Post by liquidsword34 on Jun 8, 2012 11:44:27 GMT -5
It's difficult to describe how I, Kara Zor-El, felt just minutes from embarking on a journey which would change my life forever. A journey to Earth, something no Kryptonian had ever done before, a huge scientific and technological step forward for not just Argo City, but for Krypton. A journey which would take me away from most of my friends and all of my family for years. A journey which could open intergalactic communication between the two planets. So to describe how I felt?
I felt ridiculous. For one thing, I'd had no more than two hours sleep, what with saying goodbye to relatives, packing for once I reached Earth and, obviously, excitement. Because of this, my dirty blond hair looked messy, while my usually wide green eyes were barely open! Secondly, was what I was wearing. The idea had been that when we traveled to Earth, me and the other Kryptonians would be showing humans what Krypton life was like. Namely, traditional Kryptonian clothes. A short red cape hung from my shoulders, reaching to around my thigh, with a thin golden trim around the edges. My knee high red boots felt uncomfortable due to only having been given to me days before.
The blue one piece I wore on my upper body was created from a Kryptonian material, capable of protecting the wearer from even the most dangerous of conditions. It hugged tight against me, as though at any second it would turn against me and attempt to crush the life out of me. My wrist-guide, synced to my DNA to provide me with information, communication and a variety of other needs, was the only thing I wore which didn't feel alien to me, having been a constant accessory and help to me for all of my sixteen years.
I could barely take in the sights, sounds and smells of the shuttle launch bay: Five rockets, each at least twenty feet tall, stood upright, their narrow red noses pointed upwards towards the clear black night sky which the stars had abandoned. The shimmering gray metal of the pod was loosely fitted together, designed to disintegrate mid-journey and leave only the smaller pod inside of it to carry its occupants to their destination. The shuttle bay floor, made of the same metallic material as the rockets outer shell, was coated in thin layers of dirt, dust and a variety of liquids ranging from water to rocket fuel.
"All Argo City cadets be prepared to launch in five minutes" a dull robotic voice announced through a speaker system.
Around me stood forty or so other people. Four of them were also headed to Earth (Or supposed to be heading to Earth), while the others were scientists working on the rockets, family members of cadets or, in the case of my father Zor-El, both.
"...And remember, when you land, check that your wrist guide is set to English. I know you're almost fluent in it but you'll be tired from the journey an..."
"Father" I interrupted, "we've been over all of this daily for the last few months."
My father and mother laughed loudly. A trace of sadness was clearly detectable in both their laughs, as though as much as they tried to hide it they wished I could maybe spend just another few days on Krypton. My father was one of the scientists who worked on the shuttles, mainly the life support systems on the inner pod which would carry the person inside (Well, me) safely to their destination. He'd also been looking into how a Kryptonian reacts under a yellow sun, but between him and hundreds of Argo City's other scientists their best guess was "things will change".
My mother, Alura, was a member of the Argo City council, albeit one of the more minor members. In her own words she "went to meetings and listened to old men tell old men about other old men", or something along those lines. Either way, she never seemed to enjoy her work.
"Promise me you'll contact Krypton as soon as you land."
"Yes mother."
"And make sure to see if your body's changed in any way.
"Yes father."
My mind was a million miles away. I clutched my luggage under my arm whilst staring up at the towering rockets, my heart beating in my chest like a ticking time bomb.
"Not having second thoughts are we, Kara?"
The bomb in my chest defused itself as I turned to look at Jax-Ur. Jax-Ur was another one of the cadets being sent to Earth and my best friend. We had been friends since we were both too young to speak and had both been pulled out of standard education to take part in the Argo City space program, during which time we grew close.
His family were members of the Kryptonian military and so Jax-Ur wore a black full body suit with dark green metal plates covering his wrists, feet, throat and chest. The metal plates shimmered as the bright shuttle bay lights bounced off of them, Jax-Ur having clearly been polishing and cleaning the thick amour for hours before.
"Of course not, I've just been..."
"Relax Kara, I was just joking"
Jax-Ur always seemed to reassure me and make me relax even when I was most nervous, his voice soft and soothing to the ear.
"You heading to your shuttle?"
"In a moment" I replied as I looked back at my mother and father. Without words I hugged them both, all three of us now crying.
"Goodbye Kara" my mother mumbled as I walked away, not wanting to prolong the sadness. I made my way up a set of rusty metal steps towards the raised launch pad my rocket stood on, the door wide open. The area within the rocket was a small white chamber, designed so that once the rocket left Kryptons atmosphere the rest of the shuttle would peel away and those inside the chamber would go into suspended animation until the chamber landed. To put it simply, you go in, get thrown at a planet, then fall asleep. The chamber itself was just large enough for me to lay down in next to my bag. I stepped into the rocket after waving a last goodbye to my parents. I put my bag down inside the chamber and opened it, letting Krypto hop out.
Oh, yes, Krypto. Krypto was my pet dog, only five years old at the time, which for a Kryptonian dog was still very early in his life. When stood on all four legs, Krypto was about as tall as my knees. His fur was a beautiful snow white, while his eyes were wide and a deep blue, rare for even a Kryptonian dog. Since the day we got him, Krypto and me have been inseparable. Although I had been told not to take him to Earth, my mother and father agreed to turn a blind eye, knowing how close we were and with my father being interested on how a Kryptonian dog would change under a yellow sun.
"All cadets please enter your shuttle and seal the door."
Holding my cape in one hand so it did not get trapped, I slammed the metal door shut, leaving me and Krypto in the chamber with only the dim and dull internal light to stay away the darkness. I curled up next to Krypto as outside the door I heard the sounds of engines turning on, thrusters activating and cheers from the crowd. The chamber warmed up as the rockets thrusters activated, my skin felt like it was being crushed and boiled underneath the layer of indestructible material.
With a lurch the shuttle made its way up out of the bay, gaining speed as the wind whistled past the metal exterior. Krypto started to whine loudly and push against me. The whistling stopped and was replaced by a great clanging as the shuttles outer shell disintegrated, leaving the chamber to complete its journey alone. I wrapped my soft cape around the two of us as it started to dawn on me that I was now in outer space.
Then, the shaking happened.
It started with one loud banging sound as something hit the outer shell. My first thought was that it was the last piece of the shuttles shell falling away, but this theory was promptly disproved by more banging.
"Shuttle two, shuttle two come in."
I put my wrist-guide up to my mouth, the bright light stinging my eyes like chlorine.
"This is shuttle two."
I never liked all this "shuttle two" talk. I know that right next to the shuttle two button somebody had written "Kara Zor-El, the tiny blond female" or something along those lines, but for official purposes, I was a space shuttle.
"Your chamber has entered what looks like an asteroid field be advised you have already traveled too far for us to intervene. Your craft may go off course."
"WHAT?!"
My voice echoed around the small space as Krypto drifted off to sleep.
"You should still reach your destination but it may take longer than predicted."
I felt my body freeze up, both due to the suspended animation gradually coming into effect and the fear stabbing into my heart. My ears seemed to close up, my mind not wanting to listen any more.
"Shuttle two do you copy me your craft..."
I heard fragments of the transmitters dull voice as I drifted off, the banging on the outside of the craft drowning his voice out.
"Shuttle two come in..."
I shut my eyes as my body went limp and I lost consciousness.
I felt ridiculous. For one thing, I'd had no more than two hours sleep, what with saying goodbye to relatives, packing for once I reached Earth and, obviously, excitement. Because of this, my dirty blond hair looked messy, while my usually wide green eyes were barely open! Secondly, was what I was wearing. The idea had been that when we traveled to Earth, me and the other Kryptonians would be showing humans what Krypton life was like. Namely, traditional Kryptonian clothes. A short red cape hung from my shoulders, reaching to around my thigh, with a thin golden trim around the edges. My knee high red boots felt uncomfortable due to only having been given to me days before.
The blue one piece I wore on my upper body was created from a Kryptonian material, capable of protecting the wearer from even the most dangerous of conditions. It hugged tight against me, as though at any second it would turn against me and attempt to crush the life out of me. My wrist-guide, synced to my DNA to provide me with information, communication and a variety of other needs, was the only thing I wore which didn't feel alien to me, having been a constant accessory and help to me for all of my sixteen years.
I could barely take in the sights, sounds and smells of the shuttle launch bay: Five rockets, each at least twenty feet tall, stood upright, their narrow red noses pointed upwards towards the clear black night sky which the stars had abandoned. The shimmering gray metal of the pod was loosely fitted together, designed to disintegrate mid-journey and leave only the smaller pod inside of it to carry its occupants to their destination. The shuttle bay floor, made of the same metallic material as the rockets outer shell, was coated in thin layers of dirt, dust and a variety of liquids ranging from water to rocket fuel.
"All Argo City cadets be prepared to launch in five minutes" a dull robotic voice announced through a speaker system.
Around me stood forty or so other people. Four of them were also headed to Earth (Or supposed to be heading to Earth), while the others were scientists working on the rockets, family members of cadets or, in the case of my father Zor-El, both.
"...And remember, when you land, check that your wrist guide is set to English. I know you're almost fluent in it but you'll be tired from the journey an..."
"Father" I interrupted, "we've been over all of this daily for the last few months."
My father and mother laughed loudly. A trace of sadness was clearly detectable in both their laughs, as though as much as they tried to hide it they wished I could maybe spend just another few days on Krypton. My father was one of the scientists who worked on the shuttles, mainly the life support systems on the inner pod which would carry the person inside (Well, me) safely to their destination. He'd also been looking into how a Kryptonian reacts under a yellow sun, but between him and hundreds of Argo City's other scientists their best guess was "things will change".
My mother, Alura, was a member of the Argo City council, albeit one of the more minor members. In her own words she "went to meetings and listened to old men tell old men about other old men", or something along those lines. Either way, she never seemed to enjoy her work.
"Promise me you'll contact Krypton as soon as you land."
"Yes mother."
"And make sure to see if your body's changed in any way.
"Yes father."
My mind was a million miles away. I clutched my luggage under my arm whilst staring up at the towering rockets, my heart beating in my chest like a ticking time bomb.
"Not having second thoughts are we, Kara?"
The bomb in my chest defused itself as I turned to look at Jax-Ur. Jax-Ur was another one of the cadets being sent to Earth and my best friend. We had been friends since we were both too young to speak and had both been pulled out of standard education to take part in the Argo City space program, during which time we grew close.
His family were members of the Kryptonian military and so Jax-Ur wore a black full body suit with dark green metal plates covering his wrists, feet, throat and chest. The metal plates shimmered as the bright shuttle bay lights bounced off of them, Jax-Ur having clearly been polishing and cleaning the thick amour for hours before.
"Of course not, I've just been..."
"Relax Kara, I was just joking"
Jax-Ur always seemed to reassure me and make me relax even when I was most nervous, his voice soft and soothing to the ear.
"You heading to your shuttle?"
"In a moment" I replied as I looked back at my mother and father. Without words I hugged them both, all three of us now crying.
"Goodbye Kara" my mother mumbled as I walked away, not wanting to prolong the sadness. I made my way up a set of rusty metal steps towards the raised launch pad my rocket stood on, the door wide open. The area within the rocket was a small white chamber, designed so that once the rocket left Kryptons atmosphere the rest of the shuttle would peel away and those inside the chamber would go into suspended animation until the chamber landed. To put it simply, you go in, get thrown at a planet, then fall asleep. The chamber itself was just large enough for me to lay down in next to my bag. I stepped into the rocket after waving a last goodbye to my parents. I put my bag down inside the chamber and opened it, letting Krypto hop out.
Oh, yes, Krypto. Krypto was my pet dog, only five years old at the time, which for a Kryptonian dog was still very early in his life. When stood on all four legs, Krypto was about as tall as my knees. His fur was a beautiful snow white, while his eyes were wide and a deep blue, rare for even a Kryptonian dog. Since the day we got him, Krypto and me have been inseparable. Although I had been told not to take him to Earth, my mother and father agreed to turn a blind eye, knowing how close we were and with my father being interested on how a Kryptonian dog would change under a yellow sun.
"All cadets please enter your shuttle and seal the door."
Holding my cape in one hand so it did not get trapped, I slammed the metal door shut, leaving me and Krypto in the chamber with only the dim and dull internal light to stay away the darkness. I curled up next to Krypto as outside the door I heard the sounds of engines turning on, thrusters activating and cheers from the crowd. The chamber warmed up as the rockets thrusters activated, my skin felt like it was being crushed and boiled underneath the layer of indestructible material.
With a lurch the shuttle made its way up out of the bay, gaining speed as the wind whistled past the metal exterior. Krypto started to whine loudly and push against me. The whistling stopped and was replaced by a great clanging as the shuttles outer shell disintegrated, leaving the chamber to complete its journey alone. I wrapped my soft cape around the two of us as it started to dawn on me that I was now in outer space.
Then, the shaking happened.
It started with one loud banging sound as something hit the outer shell. My first thought was that it was the last piece of the shuttles shell falling away, but this theory was promptly disproved by more banging.
"Shuttle two, shuttle two come in."
I put my wrist-guide up to my mouth, the bright light stinging my eyes like chlorine.
"This is shuttle two."
I never liked all this "shuttle two" talk. I know that right next to the shuttle two button somebody had written "Kara Zor-El, the tiny blond female" or something along those lines, but for official purposes, I was a space shuttle.
"Your chamber has entered what looks like an asteroid field be advised you have already traveled too far for us to intervene. Your craft may go off course."
"WHAT?!"
My voice echoed around the small space as Krypto drifted off to sleep.
"You should still reach your destination but it may take longer than predicted."
I felt my body freeze up, both due to the suspended animation gradually coming into effect and the fear stabbing into my heart. My ears seemed to close up, my mind not wanting to listen any more.
"Shuttle two do you copy me your craft..."
I heard fragments of the transmitters dull voice as I drifted off, the banging on the outside of the craft drowning his voice out.
"Shuttle two come in..."
I shut my eyes as my body went limp and I lost consciousness.