Hi Bek!
the solar system’s bright yellow star shone, and Kal felt an oddly refreshing burst of energy as its light hit him.
So much for radiation shielding…
“Warning. Landing trajectory failure. Recalibration required.”
Meanwhile, in Roswell, ca 1947…
and touched his finger lightly to the point near where they had decided he should land.
“Error. Recalibration failure. Suitable landing trajectory not found.”
So, is that because it’s too close or too distant from Lois?
that the system may have difficulty with the landing protocol because of differences in the expected versus actual atmospheric conditions, temperature, and other factors.
Like, are they trying to have him set down on that beautiful blue meadow that spans so much of the world?
, “Impact in seven minutes, fifty-six seconds.”
Is it going to collide with near-relativistic speed, cracking open that planet’s crust like an unboiled egg?
“Manual control activation,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He had not trained for this possibility. His father had promised the ship would navigate itself.
This is gonna be a major difference: on Earth, Kal-El will have to learn that Lois must believe she’s piloting herself while Kal-El makes unobtrusive course corrections to steer her away from certain death.
SHIP’s AI: She does not seem as smart as I am. Maybe you must apply an update.
LEX: I tried applying an update once. The whole system crashed and took down the entire network with it.
(Based off the old
https://devrant.com/rants/640067/so...ear-i-upgraded-from-girlfriend-7-0-to-wi)
“Manual control activation not recommended,” the system told him.
“I am aware of that. Activate manual controls and fire reverse thrusters,” Kal instructed.
At least he didn’t tell the ship it’s for their own good.
He had no idea where he was or where to land. And he had never controlled a spacecraft before.
I recommend not landing the hot ship in dry fields or woods.
The system immediately answered. “Current speed one thousand seventy-one kilometers per hour and holding.”
One thing I noticed before: how does the Kryptonian meter and second translate to the SI meter and second?
“Decelerate to two hundred kilometers per hour within one minute,” he commanded. But the system continued beeping in error, and the ground continued to approach much too rapidly. “Recalibrate landing trajectory,” he tried again.
“Recalibration in process. Thirty-five seconds to completion,” the system whined back at him.
/Hands Kal-El directions to Groom Lake./ They got emergency landing capabilities for extra-terrestrial spacecraft as well as accommodations and medical facilities for the crew.
Patches of slightly different shades of green, yellow, and brown in rough squares suggested agricultural fields, maybe. “Farms,” he remembered. In English, they were called “farms.”
Since he’s crash landing randomly, it would be real fun if those farms where actually called kolkhozes and he crashes there and tries to communicate in English with the owner (or rather the owner‘s security team).
Then, another wave of nausea hit him, and everything went black.
Ooooooh, did the kryptonite catch up with his ship?
The voice called again, “Hello? Should I go get help?”
/Imagines Kal decorating the inside of the canopy with the last remnants of his last morning meal/
Male Voice: So, I’ll be getting help then, okay?
A young man about his age with black hair, some sort of odd black-framed goggles covering his brown eyes, and a dark blue shirt stretched tight over his broad shoulders leaned over the spaceship, peering warily inside at Kal.
Oh dear. Did he land 20 years early? Is he going to court Martha?
Kal blinked his eyes back open and watched as the man outside jumped backwards a step in surprise at the holographic control panel that materialized in front of him
Witchery! Burn him! Burn him!
Kal tried to make sense of the man’s rapid talking,
Is this going to be a Gilmore Girls situation, 20% more dialogue, all filled with pop culture references?
. I bet he can help you out.”
It will be so awkward when his dad turns out to be Ret. Col. J. Trask.
As it was, he doubted his English was recognizable enough, since the man simply stared at him blankly.
He’s probably just concentrating on not wetting himself. So, Pete Ross gonna b a big player in the story?
Kal nodded, but then realized he was not entirely sure whether a nod meant the same thing on Earth as it did on Krypton.
Actually, lowering your head during a conversation and staring below the chin is considered very impolite.
“And my parents and I live just down the hill. Your ship landed in our field. We grow corn here. My name is Clark. Clark Kent.”
what in the interdimensional shenanigans is going on here? Did Kal crash his ship through a temporal portal? Was Clark dropped here by Tempus? What will Jonathan say when there’s a second ship now?
Kal grasped Clark’s hand, and the man helped hoist Kal to his feet. He was strong, Kal noted.
Yep. Steady diet of UV rays.
The spaceship should follow me, I think. That is what Father said,”
we should name it Houdini!
A thin sheen of sweat was also visible on Clark’s neck and bare arms. Kal felt confused.
Stop it! You’ll go blind from that.
Lower part of the leg. Doesn’t normally separate from the body, unless a big dog gets too close.
This man seemed to have a lot of expressions, most of which Kal had never seen before.
Ah. I am saddened to hear this,” Kal repeated. He understood that a baby animal had died, although much of the detail was lost as he could not follow every word.
Is a cow like a cat?
Kal stiffened and stopped. His flower from his mother. It had not been in the ship when he had closed the canopy.
Eeep!
At the end of the rut, where his ship had come to a stop, Kal saw it—the beautiful white bloom, still perfect, still full and undamaged.
Awwwwwwww…you paint such pictures
This man, Clark Kent, he seemed kind and helpful, and being near him made Kal feel just a little more at ease. He lowered his eyes back to the flower.
So, nobody’s gonna mention that they look the same?
Kal-El: He wear face wires! No look same.
. He gasped as he looked down and saw a small creature rubbing against him. The animal, covered in orange fur except for its paws and the tip of its tail, which were white, made a deep rumbling sound and stared up at him with large, amber-colored eyes.
Awwww…a flerken!
“What? Oh, little Finn? He’s our cat.” Clark bent down and picked up the animal, who began to make even louder rumbling noises.
Kal-El: No, that’s a…a…flerken! Keep away! Dangerous!
(Sorry, I just had a blast with Captain Marvel…that’s already what, 10 years ago?)
. “Would you like to pet him?”
he spoke the words he had been practicing for weeks. “Yes, I…I would like to pet your cat.”
And he would be brave and strong and unafraid as he embraced his new destiny.
End Part One.
Nice weaving in of ‘destiny’.
I was mildly surprised when no one mentioned that Kal has blue eyes (one of the physical differences between him and Clark);
Huh, I went back and checked, yes, there it is in chapter one. I even noticed it while reading and then skimmed over it.
The kitty cat there is actually rendered from my own cat (who is incidentally named Finn!
I do think it’s funny that my image from chapter two also depicts orange flerken
the story will only be posted in the nfic forums and on AO3.
I hope Sara has informed you that you will also be posting it on the nfanfic archive?
The Earth is so much colder than Krypton even when it's hot? Hrm...maybe the whole heated-up core was a rather lenghty thing...Although I thought it' susually the other way around (ain't Krypton some kidn of ice planet or something? Ah, nevermind...)
I didn’t go into depth about this earlier, mainly because I didn’t want to go and crosscheck in earlier parts and with astrological information. If Krypton orbits a red giant, I think it can easily have a warmer climate? Plus, the lack of an axial tilt can make the Kandor region warmer. Kal-El always spoke about Krypton, yet he didn’t strike me as well-travelled. Someone from L.A. would also think it’s hotter than someone from New York. Anyway, yeah, originally also thought Krypton was a cooler, icy/crystal planet.
Michael
