When Kara returned to National City, her first order of business was with CatCo. Naturally she went to see Jimmy immediately.
"Hey Kara. How did your interview with this Van Doorn guy go?"
"If I'm honest, I'm still not sure what to make of him. Clark agreed with me on it, so we need to find out more about him. But that's the difficult part, right? Background info on military people is hard enough to get domestically, but for foreigners? I'm honestly at a loss here." Kara sighed.
"Maybe Cat Grant can help, but I'm not sure how to explain it to her. Or you could call Lena? She has all kinds of business connections around the world."
"Hmm. I'd still have to explain to both of them, how Kara Danvers knows about this guy and why she wants to learn more. Maybe Supergirl can ask Cat a favor. Thank you Jimmy, I think I'll go talk to Cat tonight."
"You do that. I actually have no idea, where she's hanging out these days. But you'll find her I'm sure."
Finding Cat Grants' address turned out to be much easier than Supergirl had anticipated, after all she wasn't trying to hide. As she was flying out to her mansion, Kara played the conversation they were about to have in her mind. No matter how she twisted and turned it, she could only hope that Cat wouldn't ask too many questions. However, asking questions was something the older woman had done for a living over the past decade, so how likely was that?
Supergirl circled the mansion once then landed in the backyard, before gently knocking on Cats' backdoor. She opened, confused, but seemingly happy to see Kara.
"Supergirl! I'm surprised to see you, please come in. What can I do for you?"
"It is a little bit embarrassing, but I'm happy to see you doing well. How has retirement treated you?"
"Not too bad." The older woman looked straight into Karas' eyes. "But you haven't come here, just to exchange pleasantries right?"
"Right" Kara admitted "You were the CEO of a major media company, with outlets all over the world. I have... a bit of an issue on my hands for which I need your help. Or rather, the help of your old journalist network. I had a run in with a high ranking official from a foreign country and I need to know more about this guy."
Cats' eyes seemed to stare directly into Karas' soul and for the first time in years, she did not feel like the mighty heroine Supergirl but more like the little teenage girl growing up on the Danvers farm.
"I think I can help you, if you give me a name and a baseline to start with. Might take a couple days since I need to talk to a lot of people."
"Thanks a lot Cat. Leave a message at CatCo, it will find its' way into my hands when you get your results. The name is Peter Van Doorn, dutch military general currently assigned to the UN."
"How do you know him? And why do you care?" Cat just couldn't resist her instincts to dig deeper, this much was obvious to Kara.
"Remember the Reign incident a week ago? I ran into the guy because of it. There is going to be an article about it, for CatCo and the Daily Planet as well. But I need some background info on this Van Doorn guy and I hope you can get it for me. It would really mean a lot to me."
"I'll see what I can do. You haven't given me much, but you might have given me enough. I'll leave your message at CatCo if I find anything."
When Kara walked into the DEO the next morning, she found Alex, J'onn and Winn grouped near Winns' station staring at the main screen. On it she saw a schematic of earth, with an object traveling in from space.
"What was so urgent you had to call me? Is that a meteor about to crash on our planet?" she asked as she reached her friends.
"No" replied Winn and typed on his keyboard, zooming on the object and switching the abstract radar image to what looked like a telescope view. "I think that's a spaceship, mainly because its' trajectory doesn't fit anything without a drive. But that looks more like a semi-controlled crash than a planned landing. Anyway, judging from it's current speed and heading it will "land"" - and he almost did the quotation marks with his fingers - "somewhere in northern Siberia, well within the arctic area. Polar night started a couple days ago so grab night vision goggles and the warmest coat you can find."
Winn looked at J'onn, doubtfully. "That is, IF you want to go there. Which I wouldn't advise, at all."
J'onn just kept staring at the map, which still covered the main screen. He then turned his head to look at Kara and Alex. "You two, I want both of you on that mysterious object. Find out what it is and report back to me."
Alex replied with a confused voice. "How do we get to Russia? I doubt Supergirl should just fly us there and I don't recall the DEO having any kind of transportation besides your ship."
"I'll arrange something, leave that to me. Probably a plane to a town near the crash site, then you'll need to use a ground vehicle."
Kara looked at the map, then spoke quietly, more to herself than others. "Polar Night? What does that mean?"
Winn must have heard her, because he replied near instantly. "Due to the way the earth rotates around the sun, near the poles a night can last up to six months. I'd recommend a good long sunbath before you depart, if I were you."
"It is decided then. Agent Danvers, Supergirl, go downstairs and gear up. I'll have a car waiting, your first stop will be National City Airport. I'll make some calls to get you an airforce machine to Norilsk, in Russia. It's the only airport in the region. From there, you should take the train to Dudinka since it is the biggest sea port. Then you need to head north, following the river and resupplying along the way. When you reach Dikson on the northern coast, the ship will have crashed – or landed and I can give you the exact location." As J'onn explained, everyone was silent until he finished. Then, Kara spoke up.
"Why do we not just send you and me, J'onn, and fly there? It would be so much easier than the journey you just described."
"Because one of us needs to stay here and keep an eye on National City and the DEO. And I won't send you out without someone to watch your back. So it is you and Agent Danvers."
"Still, I think it would be so much faster if I just flew us there. I can easily carry Alex and all the gear she'll need."
J'onn sighed. "Alright, fine. Agent Danvers, go and gear up. Agent Schott, go and help them. I'll get the Russians on the phone so they won't try to shoot you two down when you enter their airspace. Just, both of you, be careful out there."
At the same time, New York, General Van Doorns office
"Mister Secretary, we have an unknown object about to crash down in northern Siberia. The Susanoo is on site and ready to deploy a reconnaissance team. Do you wish us to proceed?" General Van Doorn tried to read the body language of the man he was talking to, but it was really hard if you only saw a low resolution image on a video screen. He had to "play by ear", as many diplomats and radio operators called it. The Russian minister of foreign affairs briefly looked at something else in his room, before he returned his attention to Van Doorn.
"Nyet. The Americans just sent us a request to allow two of their DEO agents into the country, to investigate the crashsite. The Kremlin wants a first hand report of their capabilities, so we'll grant their request. I still want your people in range, just in case."
Van Doorn sighed, but Russia still was the third biggest contributer to his unit, second only to China and the European Union. So he really had no choice but to do as minister Antonov requested. "Well, I wish you the best of luck then, minister Antonov. I'll forward your request to the Susanoo's commander. Let's see what the Americans can do."
"Thank you, general. Do swidanja."
"Do swidanja, minister."
As the call ended, Van Doorn started the next. "Central, geht the Susanoo on the phone." A few seconds later, a new voice was on the line.
"New York, secure."
"Susanoo, secure."
"Commander, this is general Van Doorn. I have an update on your deployment to the Kara Sea. The Russians want you to watch and monitor, American assets will take care of the unknown object. Just gather as much data as you can, without getting too close."
"Sir, what if it is hostile?"
"Let the Americans handle it. If they are sending who I think they are, they'll be more than capable of looking after themselves. You are authorized to intervene, should the American assets prove insufficient."
"Understood."
"Good. Keep me updated, I'm available 24/7. New York, out."
"Susanoo, out."
Gearing up just two agents took longer than Winn, Alex or even Kara thought. "Alright, you need nightvision and equipment handling the cold. You'll be dealing with tempreratures of -15°C on average, even lower I think because of the polar night." Winn muttered more into his tablet than talking to Kara and Alex. "Are you SURE you don't want a different outfit Supergirl?"
"No thanks, I can keep myself warm just fine. Besides, it won't be for long."
"Suit yourself then." He went to a locker, grabbed a heavy looking jacket and handed it to Alex. "This is something I came up with, a uniform meant for extremely cold conditions. Bullet resistant up to a .50 cal round with improved insulation. A matching pair of pants is here as well. Take this as well, or your face will be the first thing to freeze." He handed Alex a pair of arctic goggles and a helmet with what looked like fur lining. "And don't be surprised if temperatures drop to -30 or even lower; this is the coldest time of the year." He looked at Kara again, doubtfully. "Are you SURE you don't want at least a second jacket? Your costume wasn't designed with cold weather in mind."
Kara sighed. "I TOLD you, I can keep myself warm just with my powers."
"Suit yourself then. Alex, take this." He handed Alex a block, about the size of a big box of matches. "A little something I cooked up in the lab. High density hydro-carbon fuel. Burns for 5 hours if lit and should keep you warm. Just in case, better to have and not need than to need and not have." This time, Alex was the one to ask a question.
"Why do you give us so much stuff? I'll have a hard time carrying all this."
"Because, if anything goes wrong you'll have to survive at least two if not three days on your own before we can mount any kind of rescue. And because I don't want my friends to freeze to death." He handed Alex a last suitcase. "Those are some special purpose weapons for cold weather and that's the last of it. Stay safe guys."
Kara, Winn and Alex left the armory and returned to the main conference room. J'onn already awaited them. "Are you ready?" he aksed.
"As ready as we'll ever be I think." Kara replied. "Do we have a location?"
"Yes we do. 250 kilometers north-east of Dikson, just shy of the coastline. Not that it matters, you won't even see where the land ends and the sea begins because it is permanently covered in ice. Agent Danvers, you take the map. Good luck to both of you."
"Well, here goes nothing then. Hold on tight Alex." The sisters walked onto a balcony, where a visibly uncomfortable Alex embraced Kara. They took off and began the flight to Russia.
About 24 hours later, they reached their destination. Since she carried Alex, Kara had decided to not fly at supersonic speed and they even had to make two short rests. Clinging to her kryptonian adoptive sister was definitely not Alex' favorite way of long-distance travel.
Winn had not exaggerated, the polar night was in full effect making it pitch black with only stars providing limited light. Even Kara could feel the cold and rubbed her hands over her arms. Clad in Winns' cold weather clothes, Alex called a map on her PDA. "According to this, we are 5 kilometers away from the crash site. Should take me about 2 hours to get there on foot. And before you ask, no, we are not flying. It will be easier to get a good look without revealing our position if we stay on the ground. Our satellites haven't picked up any heat signature or activity at the crash site, but the next overpass is not due for a few hours.
"Commander, this is sensors. We have a small yet very fast flying object approaching our area of operations. Too fast for a bird and too small for a plane. Can't be a missile either, too cold for that."
"I see. So the general was right. Get our flying eye up and get ready to dive to periscope depth. Keep tabs on that small object and the crash site, I want hourly updates." Commander Nakajima got up from his seat on the Susanoo bridge and walked to his sensor officer. "What's the weather forecast? Are flight operations doable?"
"We have a blizzard coming at us. Probably 4-5 hours left before it hits the crash site. Our drones can fly high enough to stay above it, but the Skyrangers will have to remain grounded. We will probably not be able to see anything going on at the surface, while the blizzard lasts."
"I see. You have your orders, I'll be in my ready room."
Since the early days of its' inception, to all members of the Extraterrestrial combat project, or XCOM as most insiders called it, a central question had been where to locate a base and other stationary, yet necessary assets to fight off a space borne invasion. With the level of currently available technology, air and space were out of the question. Underground was considered, yet rejected because it had a distinct weakness: vulnerability to ground based attacks. When early research on the daxamite technology led to a breakthrough in metallurgy, allowing to produce a new alloy both lighter and more resilient than any steel, a third solution was obvious: Under water. First, the Susanoo was developed and built by a japanese-chinese-korean cooperative project. It was based on an old japanese design from the second world war, the I-400 class, and intended to serve as a mobile command center and base of operations for elite strike teams. It housed custom built aircraft, called skyrangers, and an assortment of UAVs to provide reconnaissance, limited close air support and transportation for its strike teams. While it's combat capabilities against other seaborne targets were limited to only 4 torpedo tubes, its stealthiness as well as the capabilities of its communications and sensor arrays were unmatched by any other vessel in service around the world.
While the UAVs could be launched submerged, the Susanoo would have to surface in order to deploy one of the Skyrangers. As it gained altitude, the small drone craft quickly proceeded toward the crashsite, its' high powered sensors transmitting many details back to the submarine.
A pair of binoculars in hand, Alex and Kara lay on a small hill just 500 meters away from what now definitely looked like a crashed spaceship. "Does the design ring any bells Kara?"
"No, not really. Besides, I've spent most of my life on this planet. You probably know more about alien tech at this point than I do."
"Fair point. Looks a bit similar to what the daxamites were flying around in, are you sure it is not kryptonian?"
"Doesn't look like anything from Krypton I have seen thus far."
Alex activated her satellite phone and livestreamed the things she saw around the globe into DEO headquarters.
"J'onn, Winn, can you tell me what I'm looking at here?"
Thousands of kilometers away, Winn leaned in closer to his screen trying to make out more details.
"I honestly have no clue, the night vision filter doesn't exactly make it easier. As far as I can tell, it doesn't emit any kind of light or radiation. Not even infrared, which means it is either perfectly insulated or has no heat source. How are you holding up?"
"I'm fine." Alex had to lower her voice, while Kara still looked at the crashsite. "But Supergirl is really uncomfortable, the cold combined with the lack of sunlight is taking its' toll on her."
"J'onn said it is your decision how close you want to get, but try to look for survivors and establish the ships' point of origin and its' purpose."
"From what I can say so far, it seems to be as big as the pod Kara arrived in, maybe a bit smaller. We'll try to get a closer look now. If you haven't heard from us in an hour, please get the cavalry going."
"Will do. Good luck you two."
The two sisters continued watching the crashsite, but as they did not see – or hear – anyone who might have piloted the craft, they decided to approach. Alex kept her distance, but Kara went close enough to the craft to touch it. As she brushed a bit of snow off of the outer hull, she revealed a silvery and perfectly smooth surface. It was clearly designed for spaceflight as it had no visible wings or similar things, that might have given it the ability to stay aloft in an atmosphere. Kara continued to brush of snow and suddenly, she heard a hiss. Almost like air being sucked in – or out of something.
She turned to look for the source, and was greeted with a blast of pure energy hitting her square in the chest. The force, combined with the surprise, knocked Supergirl to her back but would likely have killed a human. Kara looked at the craft, which was now mounting a small turret, and focused her heat vision into it. The turret disintegrated as the metal turned into gas.
It was a much stronger blast than Kara had anticipated and intended. At least, no other turret was deployed. Alex came running immediately, a worried look on her face. "Supergirl! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, thank you. What was that?"
"No idea, maybe some kind of automated defense mechanism to prevent others from tampering with it – whatever it is."
"I can't see anything that looks like an access door. It is probably unmanned, like a little probe. The design looks very kryptonian, but I can't remember anything like it."
"Strange. Anyway – are you sure you are alright? You look kinda tired; like someone who just ran two marathons and then some."
"I'm okay, just the cold." Kara shivered and crossed her arms in front of her body. "I really should have taken Winn up on his offer to make me a cold weather costume."
She then turned her attention towards what she now assumed to be a probe of some kind and focused on her X-Ray vision in an efford to look inside.
Or rather, she tried to. Nothing happened, almost as if she had lost her powers. Then Supergirl was hit with the full force of the Russian winter during polar night. It was COLD. Exhaustion hit her like a fully loaded cargo train as Kara sunk into the snow.