Thanks go to Kathy! She rocks! I sent her 24-26 over the weekend. She beta's and now it's 24-29 with the possibility of 25 turning into 25/26
. Because of that and because I think I'm close to wrapping it up... Here's 23 - a full half week early!
Last time
"Well, then, bring them here," he said, putting an arm around his grandson's shoulders. "We can use the formal dining room as a conference room – I've done it before – and meet there. If you want to call Perry and tell him it's urgent and could he please come... Well, that's your decision, but it would also mean telling him that you're Superman. He's a newsman. It's in his blood. What would he do with the information?"
"You're right. I don't think Perry would betray my confidence, but it's probably not worth the risk right now. Why don't I take all of you to Smallville. You'll be safe there and..."
"No!" Lois interrupted him forcefully. "I'm staying right here, mister."
"And so are we." Sam had an arm around Ellen who nodded her agreement.
"Then that's settled," Martha said. "The Council of New Krypton can come here."
*~*23*~*Clark stood nervously in the foyer of his grandpa's home. He knew the New Kryptonians would just... arrive, with no warning or even the lights and humming sounds from Star Trek. It was a bit disconcerting. Lord Nor had promised they'd be arriving within the next few minutes and he wasn't sure what to expect once they did.
Even though his every nerve was at attention, he was still slightly shocked when a group of seven men appeared in front of him. All of them snapped to attention then bowed slightly towards him.
Clark sighed. This could be a long meeting.
"Lord Kal-El, may I present the Kryptonian Governing Council?" Lord Nor began. He pointed to each man as he introduced them. "General Dru-Zod, commander of the forces of Krypton. Trey-Xa, special advisor to the First Lord. Lord Dax-Ur, Lord Lon-Da, Lord Jen-Mai, the remaining members of the Council."
Clark nodded at them, unsure of what he should say. He took a deep breath and held a hand out towards the dining room. "Gentlemen," he said, hoping only he noticed the slight tremor in his voice.
None of them moved.
Lord Nor cleared his throat. "Milord, it is... bad manners for anyone to precede the First Lord. If you will lead on..."
Clark sighed again and headed into the dining room. This was going to take some getting used to.
He noticed that Lord Nor was right behind him, followed by Trey-Xa, the other lords in the order they had been introduced, with General Zod bringing up the rear. He wondered if it had something to do with order of importance.
His family, including Martha and Jonathan, were waiting for them. He'd gone to pick up his father-in-law while they waited knowing both Lois and Martha would want him there.
Introductions were made and then all of them stood there awkwardly.
Trey-Xa finally spoke up. "Milord, would you allow me to assist with protocol so that we may begin the meeting?"
Clark shrugged. "Sure. Why doesn't everyone just sit down?"
Trey gestured to the head of the table and the seat to the right of the head chair. "Milord? Milady?"
Clark struggled not to roll his eyes. He caught Lois rolling hers as he held out the chair for her. The rest of the... earthlings sat on the same side of the table as Lois. Lord Nor sat on his left, followed by Trey, the other lords and General Zod.
Trey leaned forward, his forearms resting on the table. The tips of his fingers touched as he collected his thoughts before speaking. "Lord Kal-El..."
"Please, call me Clark," Clark interrupted.
The other man hesitated before continuing. "Lord Nor has informed us of the happenings on your planet. Above all, we wish to protect the people of Earth from potential destruction at the hands of unscrupulous Kryptonians."
"Which Kryptonians would those be?" Lois asked. "You guys or my husband's birth wife and her cohorts?"
"Lady Zara and Lt. Ching are here without sanction by the Council. They were to have traveled with us to assess the situation and, if appropriate, approach you, mi... Clark. Their departure was not discovered for nearly twelve hours and Lt. Ching had managed to disable the hyperlight drive on our larger ship. It was several days before new parts arrived and it was not repaired until we were well under way. They have been here for nearly two full Earth weeks while we arrived only three days ago. We believe it is our arrival that caused them to accelerate their plans for... testing you. We deeply regret any damage caused and any pain they may have caused you, milord."
"Thanks."
"Lord Nor has also told us of your marriage to your lady and of the pertinent dates. Your marriage to Lady Lois invalidates your birth marriage to Lady Zara. It will be dissolved upon your official request to the Council."
"Good to know," Lois muttered under her breath.
Trey continued talking as though he hadn't heard her. "Lord Nor has also informed us of your desire both to stay here and to make certain that the Kryptonians are left in good hands. Your concerns over which party is telling you the truth are certainly understandable. All I can do is assure you that we are telling you the truth."
Clark nodded. He'd been afraid of that.
"You don't have *any* evidence that Zara's conniving and would likely kill Clark once his usefulness was gone?" Lois had leaned back and had her arms crossed in front of her. "If you're all so sure that she's going to be an evil despot, you must have *some* evidence."
Trey hesitated before speaking again. "The Council's... awareness of Lady Zara's true nature has only come since her departure from our planet. I am afraid that her father had something of a... blind spot where she was concerned. He believed she could do no wrong. However, since her departure, a number of things have come to light. Mistreatment of several of her servants both as a child and more recently, as well. Her..." He refused to look at Clark as he continued. "...relationship with Lt. Ching."
"Call it what it is, Lord Trey," Nor interjected. "A clandestine affair of the most unseemly sort. And we do have some... circumstantial evidence. However, we cannot play the holograms on the planet without the proper equipment. We can play them on the ship if you would be willing to come with us, but not here."
"What kind of equipment?" Sam asked.
"I believe the closest translation would be 'hologram projector'. They are also capable of storing some data. We do not have any portable ones with us, I fear."
"A sphere about this big?" Clark asked holding out his hands. "Opaque?"
Lord Trey nodded. "Yes."
"Like the one my father put in my ship?"
"It is possible. There are several similar devices used for navigation and other purposes. There are also multi-purpose devices. There is no way to know without inspecting the item."
Clark stood and those to his left followed suit. "I have it with me."
The visitors remained standing at attention while Clark headed out of the room.
"You could sit down, you know," Lois told them with a smirk.
"We shall wait for the return of the First Lord," Lord Nor informed her.
"It's a bit much, isn't it?" Gramps muttered to Sam. "You know I love Clark, but First Lord? All hail Clark?"
"First Lord, Supreme Potentate, Grand Ruler of All Kal-El," Sam stage whispered back. "Not Clark."
"Right."
The faces of their guests remained impassive.
Ellen shushed them. "They are our guests. May we get you gentlemen something to drink?" she asked.
Trey shook his head. "No, thank you, milady."
Clark returned to the room holding the globe they'd found in his ship. "Here. What's this one do?"
Trey closed his eyes for a long moment. "They are sending the materials here. We should be able to see them in conjunction with that device. It is a much older version, however, there is a reasonable chance that it will be compatible."
A minute later, a large console appeared on the table. Trey took the globe from Clark and set it on the indentation.
Clark took a seat and the Kryptonians followed his lead.
Clark reached out to take Lois' hand, leaning to one side in his chair. "Okay, gentlemen. Let's see your evidence."
*****
TBC
