1763/Ghosts of Mars

Ghosts of Mars
Date of Scene:	20 May 2020
Location:	Mars, Sol System
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Clark Kent, Kara Danvers

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Clark Kent has posed:
The Fortress of Solitude was a source of constant surprises. Just as soon as Kal thought he'd seen or read everything the ancient Kryptonian database had to offer, something new would surface as if by unseen forces at play pulling him in specific directions. Such is the case in this instance. Seated at one of the consoles, watching a recording of his father Jor-El, a message scrolled across the screen in the background.

This is a recording he'd watched many times, several dozen at least, and yet he couldn't remember ever seeing it. A distress signal, something distant, like an old radio broadcast transferred over millenia from a distant past that had long been written off by all of the Council.

Peering closely, it was clear that this was in the Sol system...

"Kara." Said into one of the communications consoles nearby, "I need you to meet me.. Something's... it's strange.. Something's come up. I'll tell you more once we're there.. We're going to Mars."

Kara Danvers has posed:
And so, here Kara is. The desolate surface of Mars that was itself once home to a thriving and unique culture. She knew that much. One of their last survivors, after all, was a member of the Justice League alongside her cousin. The rest of Kal-El's news, however, was more jarring.

The surface of the Red Planet is nothing but rock and dust, stretching out for miles in every direction. The faintest of winds turn dust devils in the sand, and the young Kryptonian woman hovers a few feet in the air. For a moment she even considers picking up a rock to bring home as a souvenir.

Slowly she lowers to the ground, red boots leaving vague footprints. She crouches to look at the ground, trailing a finger through the dust to draw a rough approximation of her house's emblem. The same shield that represented hope on her long-gone world.

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal isn't far behind Kara, touching down only a few short moments after her boots touch the red sand of the planet. Looking across vast rolling surfaces of a monotony of shades of red, he turns to his cousin with a furrowed brow... speaking in a voice possibly only because of the unique anatomy of their people, "I saw something in one of the recordings from home." He repeats this, the lack of atmosphere making his voice sound distant like they're miles beneath water.

"It was a distress signal on one of Jor-El's computers.. in the background. I'm sure I'd have recognized it and it certainly isn't the first time I've watched the recording..." Looking back across those hills, pointing off after surveying to a distance Rock Outcropping.

"Several hundred miles that way. I feel like Jonn would have mentioned if there were an outpost here, but it certainly looked Kryptonian." Then, there's no telling how long that outpost had been buried or destroyed.. or even if there was anything to find at all.

Hovering, he begins to fly in the indicated direction, scanning the distance for any signs of what he'd seen on the holographic projection.

Kara Danvers has posed:
"If he knew about it," Kara answers, standing up from where she is drawing the symbol in the dirt, "The Martians have a fascinating culture, but they did not leave the system as far as I am aware. Kryptonian technology would be sufficient to keep an outpost well hidden in much the same way your Fortress is not known to the governments of Earth."

It's hard for Kara to let go of that Kryptonian narcissism sometimes. It was so prevalent throughout her young life that it is easy to view other cultures as more primitive. There's no mistake that she struggles with Earth technology, so far beneath what she was raised with that it was like asking a modern Earthling to perform mathematics in Babylonian cuneiform.

When the direction is indicated, Kara takes to the air and fires forward like a shot. The thinner atmosphere of Mars allows for less wind resistance, while the lack of population means there's no risk of causing damage in her wake. So she races off ahead, surveying the ground beneath her as she goes.

Clark Kent has posed:
"Maybe." Kal says in response, sounding unconvinced even as he picks up his own speed to match Kara's. So use to pulling back his strength that it never occurred that he wouldn't have to on Mars. There's nothing to hurt here, no life to destroy in the massive shove off of speed capable in this thin atmosphere. Nor is he concerned with missing anything with their enhanced vision.

Which becomes apparent almost immediately to Kara. Staring at, through, and around the rock outcropping, it's as obvious as if it had been painted open door to Krypton on the side of a barn. Especially to someone /raised/ on Krypton, as she was. The markings are clear, but it's the 'dark spot' several miles beneath the surface that gives it away.

Shielded, even now, from their vision. It'd be enough most would over look it that weren't actively looking for it. Like the entrance, which is the false wall of one of those rocks itself.

Kara Danvers has posed:
There's a degree of familiarity to the design. Outposts were not so often hidden on Krypton, but even when trying to conceal itself the craftsmanship of her culture is apparent. She stops quite suddenly in the air, veering off to land before the outcropping. She once more touches down on the sand, moving towards the false wall to press her bare hands against it. Certainly, it'd be easy to just tear it open, but one does not simply throw dynamite around the Parthenon to get at whatever good stuff might lie beneath.

"It is here," she announces, gesturing down through the ground towards the dark spot far below, "Come and see if you can open it."

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal pulls short when Kara does and looks back her way as he moves to rejoin, staring down at where she's indicating with an understanding nod as to why he'd missed it... Landing near her, then, he looks over those rock outcroppings. Tapping at a flat surface with the balled outter edge of his fist until he finds one that makes something of a different echo.

"Here." He shouts back to where she is searching, pushing the panel in and up to reveal a small black surface with a red circular lense that moves gingerly across his features. Then that of Kara, <<"House of El. Admission granted.">>

"That's not omenous." He murmurs to his cousin, glancing her way as the two sections slide apart to reveal the long open hatch leading straight down into the surface of the planet. "I suppose this isn't the time to show my manners by offering ladies first?" Smirking, he moves to enter and drop down at a controlled pace.

Kara Danvers has posed:
"Forget the ladies first," Kara calls back, following after to step off the edge and drop a bit more rapidly towards whatever waits below, "You should respect your elders, Kal-El!"

As she rockets downwards, her golden hair and cape flutter up about her. Her red skirt flutters about her hips as she experiences the joy of freefall that can only really come when you know that you can escape gravity at any moment.

"Slow!"

Clark Kent has posed:
Until the atmospheric generators that simulate the intense pull of Krypton take hold.

It hits Kal first, jerking him out of his slowing descent the last half mile, slowing only by slamming his hands into the side of the shaft and pushing with every ounce of strength he suddenly cannot muster beneath the artificial Red Sun emulators!

"Kara!" His voice is even more distance, glad only in that whatever is creating the effect has duplicated breathable air since he can feel the strength being sapped from him with each passing second. "Brace yourself!" Whether the warning reaches her in time, that's the real question.

She almost certainly hears him hit the bottom like a lead pipe in a dark hole.

Kara Danvers has posed:
Only a few feet from the ground, Kara feels the strange pull and hears the warning. But it's not unfamiliar for her. Sure, it's been many years since she felt it but it's the atmosphere and environment she grew up in. There's a last second exertion of the solar reserves in her cell, allowing her to fly enough to slow the fall and land neatly on her feet.

"Rao!" she announces, peering around and holding out her hands to take in the forgotten heat of the red sun generators.

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal wasn't so lucky and didn't have years of experience to fall back on. When Kara makes it to the bottom on a careful cushion of solar energy, he's leaning up against a wall just inside the tunnel connected to the shaft with his head braced up against the smooth black metal structure.. "Well that was fun." He does not sound as if he means that.

Pushing his way up from the sitting position with a wince, testing his ankle with a little weight and finds it, at the very least, supports him. But he's walking with a limp. "So this is what it felt like..." A bit of amazement in his voice as he too holds out a hand to feel the unfamiliar radiation bleeding out from the generator. Squinting to see in the odd atmospheric distortion it creates off the abysmally dark structure.

"This place is massive.."