Post by redsycorax on Jan 10, 2022 3:14:22 GMT
On Earth-112, the United States and Soviet Union both lack nuclear weapons, which cannot be developed due to that world's laws of physics which prevent artificial nuclear fission and fusion. Resultantly, as well as a bacteriological and chemical warfare arms race, the US space programme is heavily militarised. There were a great deal more than seventeen Apollo missions and the USSR was able to rapidly subdue Afghanistan, while the US embarked on an Iranian War to bring down the Ayatollahs. Resultantly, on this Earth, the Cold War did not end with the collapse of the USSR in 1991, because that did not happen here. While the USSR has withdrawn from the Warsaw Pact nations, they are bound to it by trade and economic ties. East Germany has been entrusted with their post-Soviet leadership instead and has suppressed anti-communist dissent in Poland. On Earth-112's Moon, there are Soviet, Chinese and American lunar bases and a similar state of affairs applies to space stations.
When it comes to the metahumans we're familiar with, there are some variations on basic themes. After a border clash between the US Clavius and Soviet Aristarchus bases, both Leonid (Red Star) Kovar and Richard (Nightwing) Grayson were caught in the crossfire, killing them both. Starfire and Red Star's wife Melodi are still mourning the deaths of their husbands. On this Earth, however, Green Hornet took the place of Batman. Repelled by the drift and aggression of the United States, Superman, Lois Lane, Supergirl and their children have all left Earth to resettle elsewhere. Green Arrow has settled in Europe, while Hawkman and Hawkwoman have returned to Thanagar. Wally West is now the Flash, Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris are on deep space Green Lantern and Star Sapphire duty. Wonder Woman and the Amazons have evacuated Themiscyra and left Earth, as have Aquaman and the Atlanteans. Both have settled elsewhere on new exoplanet homes.
++
CLAVIUS CITY 2009: LUNAR SENTINEL:
Brian Reid turned off the LNN newsfeed and prepared to leave his office for the evening. As ever, there were pinpoints of light on the Earth above them all. Deceptively beautiful, the beads marked massive infernos and ongoing military action as the United States, USSR, Peoples Republic of China and the European Union fought their proxy wars, regardless of the reality of accelerating climate change around. What a mess, Reid reflected. It was hard to believe that it was only thirty years since the first military bases had been established on the Moon, against alien aggression, and when that ceased, Alpha City was constructed in the late nineties to store chemical waste- but a freak runaway reaction had demolished the Plato crater installation on September 13, 1999, killing all 411 people on it. That hadn't stopped the bustling, brash Moon Zero Two Tranquility City base from springing up around the Apollo 11 disaster memorial. Hard to believe that it was only fifty years since the first attempted human landing on Earth's satellite...
However, Apollo 12 had succeeded, and five years later, veteran cosmonaut Alexei Leonov landed Zond 1V on the lunar surface in the Shackleton crater in a single person lunar module. And with that, the lunar resource race was on.
In his habspace, he sat down and connected his tachyon set to the Lunar Justice Assocation:
"Koriand'r? Wally?"
"Hi, Brian. X'Hal, it's lonely up here."
"Any sign of hostile activity?"
"No, none from either the Soviet Union or anyone else. Nor any extra-terrestrial presence."
"What about you, Wally?"
"Nothing that I can detect. Which means interdimensional tech or invasion is non-operative."
"Good. That means no incident report to fill in for the Lunar Commission back home."
"So let's talk. I miss the others."
"I know. The Teen Titans seem so long ago now."
"Yeah, I was Kato to Ray Chou's Hornet at the time."
"Sometimes... I wonder what my life would have been like if Dick had lived."
"He sacrificed his life to prevent the outbreak of war along with Red Star. Both died heroes, Kory."
"Can...we not talk about that, please?"
"Sorry, Wally." Wally West still harboured some residual guilt about what had happened. He had allowed suspicion of lunar Soviet colonisation efforts to affect his judgement and the cost had been his teammate's life. He still kept himself guarded around Koriand'r and avoided interaction with Commander Melodi Kovar where possible. At times, he also wondered how Barry would have viewed all this.
Except sometimes, conflict was inevitable.
LUNAR SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC, ARISTARCHUS:
"Commander Kovar? Trouble."
"Nyet. The Americans would have warned us. We have a good emergency situations relationship no matter what our respective overlords intentions are."
"It isn't the Americans this time, nor is it one of the other international lunar settlements. New Windsor Base in Mare Imbrium reports an incoming interstellar object. Recorded alien species vessel profiles have been cross-matched, with no positive identification. It is, therefore, an alien species previously unknown to us."
Suddenly intent on her rask, Commander Melodi Kovar's attention switched to the matter at hand:
"Identify risk configuration."
"Defensive weaponry only, with a handful of inhabitants onboard. Prognosis indicates that we may be facing interstellar refugees or survivors from a nova or planetary environmental degradation incident."
"Damn protocol. Commander Melodi Kovar to Clavius. Have you detected the incoming craft? New Windsor just contacted us about it."
Lunar Governor Lana Lang's voice crackled on the other end of the communication link:
"Check, Melodi. Our sensors are showing the same as yours. This clearly isn't a hostile vessel and from the analysis of the wear and tear on its surface and the damaged cabins within it, it's been spacebound for some time. Koriand'r? What's your take on this?"
"Nothing known to Tamaranian interstellar contact. It's a new one to me too."
"I was afraid of that. It's decelerating, though. Blazes. Given our respective superiors, we can't let them settle on Earth for their own safety."
"Concur, but what about the abandoned Nigerian moonbase attempt. It was almost operational when that coup in Lagos meant they discontinued because of a change in their national priorities. With some assistance, it could be brought up to habilitability standards."
"Excellent idea, Melodi. I would suggest that we don't tell our respective governments until the craft ends up in lunar orbit. Fortunately, they can't monitor this lunar intercommunication channel so this will be a surprise to them. Who would ever have thought sunspot comms interference could be so useful?"
PERRY CRATER:
As the starship door opened, Starfire's eyes widened:
"Alanna! Alanna Strange?! Where's Adam? What's..."
"My husband is dead, Koriand'r. And Rann... three years ago, Alpha Centauri A, our lead primary, abruptly went nova. Adam and my father Sardath tried their best to get as many people off the planet and its colonies before the wavefront hit, but millions still died. Given the political situation on Earth, we won't impose additional divisions on an already fraught and contentious world. But... the nova wavefront is on its way. It will reach your solar system within the course of a year."
Koriand'r looked at Wally: "Not if we get there first, it won't."
Melodi Kovar's voice crackled: "Koriand'r, you'll die."
"My life has been so empty without Dick for so long, Melodi. This world has given so much to me. It's time I paid it back."
'My friend, would Dick have wanted this?"
Wally spoke up: "She won't be the only one, Melodi. Barry would do this if he were still alive."
"Wallace, please, I don't blame you for what happened to Leonid. It was his own choice."
"Melodi, make sure Alanna's ship is repaired so she can get to her people out at... Tau Ceti? I'm afraid we won't be coming back."
SIX TRILLION MILES FROM EARTH/ONE LIGHT YEAR:
And thus it was Koriand'r and Wally West travelled past the heliopause, the point at which the Sun's electromagnetic field gives way to the interstellar medium and soon witnessed the roiling, turbulent and nearly blinding red, orange and yellow mass, millions of miles across. And therein happened an event which is still told centuries afterward. Of how a valiant Tamaranean Princess pushed her power to the maximum and took the nova turbulence into herself, until she could take no more and her body reached apoptosis, flaring blindingly once into the darkness. And of how Wallace West, the second man to hold the title Flash, sped across the surface of an outlying dwarf planet, faster than he had ever done, but enough to send the radiation and heat wavefront into the far future. But there was a cost, as there always is, and in the process, the Flash was fatally irradiated and died, before the Green Hornet's relief vessel could reach him.
However tragic this event, it had one salutary function. The Soviet Union, United States and other superpowers looked up from their warring world and realised that if it had not been for the valiant self-sacrifice of the Flash and Starfire, humanity would not have survived the Alpha Centauri A nova. And although many said the cost was far too high, the consequence was multilateral disarmament talks as the nations of the world disposed of their chemical and bacteriological arsenals. In time, a unified humanity sent its starships past the single red dwarf of Proxima Centauri, out to Barnard's Star and Rann's successor worlds around Epsilon Indi, Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti. And even today, several centuries later, a monument stands on the outermost dwarf planet of our solar system, Sedna, depicting the faces and upper bodies of the brave woman and man who gave their all so that humanity might live. Each year, on Starfire Day, the solar system's farflung cultures stop to comemorate the Flash and Starfire's actions. And in their memory too, successive generations of the Green Hornet line have fought crime and injustice on the Moon, Mars and throughout interplanetary space.
THE END
When it comes to the metahumans we're familiar with, there are some variations on basic themes. After a border clash between the US Clavius and Soviet Aristarchus bases, both Leonid (Red Star) Kovar and Richard (Nightwing) Grayson were caught in the crossfire, killing them both. Starfire and Red Star's wife Melodi are still mourning the deaths of their husbands. On this Earth, however, Green Hornet took the place of Batman. Repelled by the drift and aggression of the United States, Superman, Lois Lane, Supergirl and their children have all left Earth to resettle elsewhere. Green Arrow has settled in Europe, while Hawkman and Hawkwoman have returned to Thanagar. Wally West is now the Flash, Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris are on deep space Green Lantern and Star Sapphire duty. Wonder Woman and the Amazons have evacuated Themiscyra and left Earth, as have Aquaman and the Atlanteans. Both have settled elsewhere on new exoplanet homes.
++
CLAVIUS CITY 2009: LUNAR SENTINEL:
Brian Reid turned off the LNN newsfeed and prepared to leave his office for the evening. As ever, there were pinpoints of light on the Earth above them all. Deceptively beautiful, the beads marked massive infernos and ongoing military action as the United States, USSR, Peoples Republic of China and the European Union fought their proxy wars, regardless of the reality of accelerating climate change around. What a mess, Reid reflected. It was hard to believe that it was only thirty years since the first military bases had been established on the Moon, against alien aggression, and when that ceased, Alpha City was constructed in the late nineties to store chemical waste- but a freak runaway reaction had demolished the Plato crater installation on September 13, 1999, killing all 411 people on it. That hadn't stopped the bustling, brash Moon Zero Two Tranquility City base from springing up around the Apollo 11 disaster memorial. Hard to believe that it was only fifty years since the first attempted human landing on Earth's satellite...
However, Apollo 12 had succeeded, and five years later, veteran cosmonaut Alexei Leonov landed Zond 1V on the lunar surface in the Shackleton crater in a single person lunar module. And with that, the lunar resource race was on.
In his habspace, he sat down and connected his tachyon set to the Lunar Justice Assocation:
"Koriand'r? Wally?"
"Hi, Brian. X'Hal, it's lonely up here."
"Any sign of hostile activity?"
"No, none from either the Soviet Union or anyone else. Nor any extra-terrestrial presence."
"What about you, Wally?"
"Nothing that I can detect. Which means interdimensional tech or invasion is non-operative."
"Good. That means no incident report to fill in for the Lunar Commission back home."
"So let's talk. I miss the others."
"I know. The Teen Titans seem so long ago now."
"Yeah, I was Kato to Ray Chou's Hornet at the time."
"Sometimes... I wonder what my life would have been like if Dick had lived."
"He sacrificed his life to prevent the outbreak of war along with Red Star. Both died heroes, Kory."
"Can...we not talk about that, please?"
"Sorry, Wally." Wally West still harboured some residual guilt about what had happened. He had allowed suspicion of lunar Soviet colonisation efforts to affect his judgement and the cost had been his teammate's life. He still kept himself guarded around Koriand'r and avoided interaction with Commander Melodi Kovar where possible. At times, he also wondered how Barry would have viewed all this.
Except sometimes, conflict was inevitable.
LUNAR SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLIC, ARISTARCHUS:
"Commander Kovar? Trouble."
"Nyet. The Americans would have warned us. We have a good emergency situations relationship no matter what our respective overlords intentions are."
"It isn't the Americans this time, nor is it one of the other international lunar settlements. New Windsor Base in Mare Imbrium reports an incoming interstellar object. Recorded alien species vessel profiles have been cross-matched, with no positive identification. It is, therefore, an alien species previously unknown to us."
Suddenly intent on her rask, Commander Melodi Kovar's attention switched to the matter at hand:
"Identify risk configuration."
"Defensive weaponry only, with a handful of inhabitants onboard. Prognosis indicates that we may be facing interstellar refugees or survivors from a nova or planetary environmental degradation incident."
"Damn protocol. Commander Melodi Kovar to Clavius. Have you detected the incoming craft? New Windsor just contacted us about it."
Lunar Governor Lana Lang's voice crackled on the other end of the communication link:
"Check, Melodi. Our sensors are showing the same as yours. This clearly isn't a hostile vessel and from the analysis of the wear and tear on its surface and the damaged cabins within it, it's been spacebound for some time. Koriand'r? What's your take on this?"
"Nothing known to Tamaranian interstellar contact. It's a new one to me too."
"I was afraid of that. It's decelerating, though. Blazes. Given our respective superiors, we can't let them settle on Earth for their own safety."
"Concur, but what about the abandoned Nigerian moonbase attempt. It was almost operational when that coup in Lagos meant they discontinued because of a change in their national priorities. With some assistance, it could be brought up to habilitability standards."
"Excellent idea, Melodi. I would suggest that we don't tell our respective governments until the craft ends up in lunar orbit. Fortunately, they can't monitor this lunar intercommunication channel so this will be a surprise to them. Who would ever have thought sunspot comms interference could be so useful?"
PERRY CRATER:
As the starship door opened, Starfire's eyes widened:
"Alanna! Alanna Strange?! Where's Adam? What's..."
"My husband is dead, Koriand'r. And Rann... three years ago, Alpha Centauri A, our lead primary, abruptly went nova. Adam and my father Sardath tried their best to get as many people off the planet and its colonies before the wavefront hit, but millions still died. Given the political situation on Earth, we won't impose additional divisions on an already fraught and contentious world. But... the nova wavefront is on its way. It will reach your solar system within the course of a year."
Koriand'r looked at Wally: "Not if we get there first, it won't."
Melodi Kovar's voice crackled: "Koriand'r, you'll die."
"My life has been so empty without Dick for so long, Melodi. This world has given so much to me. It's time I paid it back."
'My friend, would Dick have wanted this?"
Wally spoke up: "She won't be the only one, Melodi. Barry would do this if he were still alive."
"Wallace, please, I don't blame you for what happened to Leonid. It was his own choice."
"Melodi, make sure Alanna's ship is repaired so she can get to her people out at... Tau Ceti? I'm afraid we won't be coming back."
SIX TRILLION MILES FROM EARTH/ONE LIGHT YEAR:
And thus it was Koriand'r and Wally West travelled past the heliopause, the point at which the Sun's electromagnetic field gives way to the interstellar medium and soon witnessed the roiling, turbulent and nearly blinding red, orange and yellow mass, millions of miles across. And therein happened an event which is still told centuries afterward. Of how a valiant Tamaranean Princess pushed her power to the maximum and took the nova turbulence into herself, until she could take no more and her body reached apoptosis, flaring blindingly once into the darkness. And of how Wallace West, the second man to hold the title Flash, sped across the surface of an outlying dwarf planet, faster than he had ever done, but enough to send the radiation and heat wavefront into the far future. But there was a cost, as there always is, and in the process, the Flash was fatally irradiated and died, before the Green Hornet's relief vessel could reach him.
However tragic this event, it had one salutary function. The Soviet Union, United States and other superpowers looked up from their warring world and realised that if it had not been for the valiant self-sacrifice of the Flash and Starfire, humanity would not have survived the Alpha Centauri A nova. And although many said the cost was far too high, the consequence was multilateral disarmament talks as the nations of the world disposed of their chemical and bacteriological arsenals. In time, a unified humanity sent its starships past the single red dwarf of Proxima Centauri, out to Barnard's Star and Rann's successor worlds around Epsilon Indi, Epsilon Eridani and Tau Ceti. And even today, several centuries later, a monument stands on the outermost dwarf planet of our solar system, Sedna, depicting the faces and upper bodies of the brave woman and man who gave their all so that humanity might live. Each year, on Starfire Day, the solar system's farflung cultures stop to comemorate the Flash and Starfire's actions. And in their memory too, successive generations of the Green Hornet line have fought crime and injustice on the Moon, Mars and throughout interplanetary space.
THE END