From Last Time:
“What’s going on?” Clark asked.
“This town, it was so poorly defended. It was left under the control of a few dozen brigands, without orders or officers. There was never any intent to defend it. It was a decoy.”
“They wanted to draw as many forces away from the colony as they could,” Ching continued. “The communications system. They must have hit General Command, to keep them from radioing for help.”
“Or from warning Captain Brul Ro’s pilots.”
“Then the main colony…” Clark began.
“Is likely under attack at this very moment,” Talan said grimly.
New Stuff:
********
“You will be all right?” Ching asked in earnest. The force commanders and a few advisors had gathered in the communications center with the settlement’s leaders.
“We will,” the settlement’s governor responded with a curt nod. “We can spare three transports, but I’m afraid no more. We will have to begin refortifying the settlement immediately.”
Talan checked the blade of her knife before replacing it in the sheath on her belt. “We have no choice but to leave those too wounded to fight. We can spare a few medics, though. The rest of my staff and my forces will evacuate the settlement before the day’s end.”
“Ma’am?” Enza stepped forward. Clark looked at their young legal advisor. In the chaos and the din of battle, he’d almost forgotten that she was still with them.
“You will leave with us, Lieutenant,” Talan replied. “We have called up several thousand forces from around New Krypton. They are deploying as we speak.”
“But my work here is not done. I have victims to interview. We cannot prosecute without the evidence.”
“The evidence speaks for itself in wounded and haunted souls and in those who can no longer speak. Their testimony is louder than anything you or I could ever say. You have your orders.” Talan looked up from her maps, her brow furrowed. Clark could tell that there was no point in arguing with her.
“Aye ma’am,” Enza replied.
“Then we are all of accord. Thank you, governor. Ladies and Gentlemen, you are all dismissed,” Talan said. She turned to Clark. “Sir, by your permission, I will take my leave.”
“Of…of course,” Clark stammered slightly, a bit surprised when a commander so obviously used to barking orders and having them obeyed asked for his permission.
Everyone streamed out of the communications center. In the middle of the settlement, under the weak sunlight and a rusty sky, crews worked to refuel and check the transports. Talan’s weary forces were packing and preparing to depart.
“Are you ready, sir?” Ching asked as they walked through the settlement.
“Yes,” Clark replied, unsure what else to say. He watched as a now familiar scene, troops packing up in preparation to head out, unfolded in front of him. A few paces ahead, Talan and Enza walked, speaking in low tones, but not low enough to avoid being heard.
“Do not question your orders, Lieutenant.”
“I do not. My orders are to investigate and prosecute the crimes committed during this war.”
“This war is a crime!” Talan snapped with uncharacteristic anger. “You will deploy with your unit,” she said in a much calmer tone.
“My only duty is to the law. My orders are to protect that law and with all due respect, ma’am, I do not serve you or any other individual. I serve the law.”
“And in a war zone, your duty is subsumed to the dictates of military necessity. We are needed at the main colony and there is no time to discuss the niceties of our respective duties. We leave in two hours.”
********
Lois stirred the cream into her decaffeinated coffee. It wasn’t likely that the caffeine would have actually been a problem, but for any normal pregnant woman, it would have and she did need to try to keep up the appearance of normalcy. At least she could have real cream and sugar. She sat in a booth in the back of the diner, drumming her knuckles on the table top. The front door opened with a jingle and her two teenaged interviewees entered. They looked around at the few patrons at the counter before spotting her. She waved them over.
“I’m glad you guys agreed to come,” Lois said.
“Yeah, well, the only way I managed to avoid getting grounded was by telling my dad a Daily Planet reporter wanted to interview me,” Jennifer replied with a shrug.
“So what do you want to know?” Chris asked as the two kids sat down opposite Lois in the booth. They held hands, their fingers casually interlaced.
“Everything,” Lois said. “What was going through your head when you decided to jump in after the guy, what it was like, were you afraid?”
“It was cold…” Jennifer answered. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe…”
“We were lifeguards at the community pool this summer,” Chris added. “But I never had to save anybody before. I don’t know if the training really helped. I just knew I had to do something. It’s a good thing Jen was there. She’s a much better swimmer than me.”
“But I couldn’t have gotten him out by myself.”
“You guys made a good team,” Lois replied as she scribbled in her notebook. She glanced at the two teens to see them exchange a smile and a knowing look.
“I think if you hadn’t shown up, we would have had a tough time remembering how to do the CPR right,” Jennifer said. “I didn’t even ask, is the man going to be okay?” The concern was evident in her voice. She nervously tucked a long blonde strand of hair behind her ear.
“He had some broken bones, a concussion, and a dislocated shoulder, but he’ll recover. He’s in the county hospital and the doctors say he’s pretty eager to meet his rescuers,” Lois replied. She’d gone to the hospital early that morning to find out about the victim’s condition.
“That’s good,” Chris said. “So Ms. Lane…”
“Lois.”
“Lois. What’s the most famous reporter in America doing asking a couple of kids in Kansas about a traffic accident, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I wasn’t sure you’d recognized me,” Lois said with a smile.
“You discovered Superman, almost married Lex Luthor, and your husband was abducted by space aliens,” Jennifer supplied helpfully.
Chris shot her a look. Jennifer bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I guess you don’t want to talk…”
“I guess I’ve been doing a pretty lousy job of keeping a low profile,” Lois admitted sheepishly. “But I’m here in Kansas to be close to my family and I’m in this diner, talking to two pretty amazing kids because Superman claimed he was leaving a world full of heroes, and you’re living, breathing proof of it.”
********
Clark threw the last of the gear into the transport. Troops filed into the crowded vehicles and took their seats on the long rows of hard benches. Clark looked around to see Ensign Rayid jogging toward them.
“Sir!” the young medic called. “If you keep that up, you will tear those stitches again!”
Clark laughed. “Ensign, how are you?”
“Well, sir, thank you.” Rayid replied. “Is it true, sir? Is the colony under attack?”
“We don’t know,” Clark responded truthfully.
“I have been ordered to stay here. Should I not return to where I am most needed? I can be of help to you, sir.” Rayid looked over Clark’s shoulder toward the transports.
“Your help is needed here,” Clark said with a slight shake of his head.
“Then I will do what I can,” Rayid replied. “Thank you, sir, for everything.”
Clark smiled. “I should be thanking you.”
“What you’ve done here, sir, your people appreciate it. Know that you are one of us, that you bleed out here, like one of us, to save our people…I cannot express what it means to us.”
“I’m just glad I can help a little,” Clark replied. “Take care of these people, Ensign, and take care of yourself. We need more men and women like you in this world.” Clark bowed.
Rayid bowed humbly and deeply in response. “Thank you, sir, and may fortune be with you always.”
“And with you.” Clark said.
********
“Lois, this is fantastic!” Perry’s voice boomed over the phone.
Lois beamed and sighed inwardly with relief. “Thanks, Chief.”
“This just screams series; ‘Lois Lane’s World Full of Heroes.’”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Lois replied. “Well, not that name, but…”
“What’s wrong with the name? I like the name,” Perry replied.
“Oh I don’t know,” Lois said as she absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, reminded of another name she had yet to pick out. She’d been putting it off as long as possible, hoping against hope that he might be back before the baby was born.
“Well, we can discuss it later,” her boss replied and it took her a moment to remember he was talking about the column name. “So how’s everything else?”
“Good. We’re up to taping.”
“Taping? Taping what?” he asked.
“The walls. We finished the insulation and the sheet rock, now Jonathan says we have to tape,” she explained, not really knowing what taping entailed, but certain the process would be expertly described by her father-in-law.
“I’m impressed.”
“You should be,” she replied glibly.
“So what’s next?” he asked.
“Painting. I think we’re going with the yellow ducks,” she said, smiling to herself.
Perry chuckled softly. “Darlin’ you sound positively over the moon!”
“You know what? I am. I mean, none of this has been easy, and I certainly never imagined things happening like this, but I’m so happy about my baby. My son,” she whispered the last part, still amazed by the fact that she was going to be a parent.
********
They sat in silence. The soft droning of the transports the only sound. All around her, soldiers dozed or meditated. No one spoke. She looked around a the dozens of weary and resigned faces. They had learned to quell the physical manifestations of their fear. Even the youngest and most inexperienced among them had now known weeks of hard fighting. Life in times of peace had itself been difficult and treacherous. It had given them some preparation for what they’d had to face.
Physically, they were exhausted, but they were strong. They had learned to survive with little food and even less rest. They were a disciplined, capable, fighting force, down to the last man or woman. But fighting had a way of infecting you and poisoning your soul. In battle, you learned to survive, to do what needed to be done for the mission. Battle gave your life meaning and purpose. It made you party of something bigger than yourself and in doing so, it killed what was good in you. War was not a creative force. It only destroyed. And when it was gone, when it had taken all it could, it left behind bewildered and angry survivors. People who no longer knew their purpose or place in the world, people who had lost their innocence in battle and their meaning in its absence. Without war, they could no longer make sense of their lives. And they were the lucky ones. The unlucky lost everything and would never have the chance to rage at a world that made no sense.
Talan knew the seductive poison of war well. It was an intimate and constant, if unwanted, companion. She had no taste for bloodshed, took no pleasure in the kill. But kill she had. She had shed blood for months, often mechanically and almost effortlessly. Some part of her conscious mind always maintained control in the firefight. She never killed in rage or confusion, regardless of war’s shroud of chaos. She killed when she was forced to – when the protection of innocent life, or the lives of her forces, demanded it. While she took no joy in death, even she felt the clarity of necessity in battle, the exhilarated response to everything around her, heightened senses, blood racing through her veins. The adrenaline was toxic and to many, addicting. For too many men and women it was difficult to recognize the destructive nature of the feelings and to detach themselves from them.
Outside the transport, more ships joined them. She could hear the monotone rattle and hum of the ships as they made their way. It was only a few more hours until they would arrive at the main colony. The journey may have been a fool’s errand or even a suicide mission, but if there were any way they could save those people, they had to try. She looked around and caught Kal El’s eye. He looked nervous. In the beginning, they all did. She assumed that at one time, she too had been nervous and afraid. Was she still nervous and afraid? She didn’t think so, at least, it didn’t feel that way. Talan tried to remember the last time she’d felt afraid. The only thing that came to mind was the memorial for her parents. She had been barely more than a child when they died, but the memories were so vivid, so real. Surely she had known fear since then. So why couldn’t she remember it?
Talan wondered about Kal El; about who he had been, what he had left behind. Her line of work may have been anti-social, but she had learned through her years certain things about people. Every person, without exception, loved something, feared something, and had lost something. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew that for Kal El, even before he came to New Krypton to become the First Minister, the stakes were higher than for others. Talan did not envy Kal El or the work he had to do; her own responsibilities were more than enough. She stifled a sigh and closed her eyes. With the time remaining, she would be wise to take the opportunity to meditate and prepare.
********
“Commander Talan,” a voice came over the transport’s communication system. Talan got up and walked toward the pilot’s cabin. Clark looked up as she passed, realizing that he’d dozed off. A lot had changed in the last five months; before, he’d never been able to sleep on a plane. They had always made him nervous and uncomfortable. He was still nervous and uncomfortable, but it had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn’t the one doing the flying or even that he no longer could fly under his own power. His old life, his old fears and concerns, seemed so far away. Sadly, he realized, they were. Along with everything he loved.
Everyone he loved.
Lois.
He pulled the ring out from under his collar and curled his hand around it tightly. Not for the first time, he wished she was there. He could have used her help, her advice. She always knew what to do. But he realized this time was different. He had confessed his failings and his shortcomings to her before, but did he want her to know what had happened here, what he’d done here? Was that a burden he was prepared to share with her? Could he trouble her like that? Perhaps more directly, could he bear the fact that she’d be disappointed in him? That she’d never look at him the same way again?
“Sir?”
He turned around to see Talan standing behind him. He slipped the chain back under his collar.
“We are a few minutes from the target, sir. We have confirmation of the rebel presence. The interceptors are prepared to engage the enemy vehicles and positions. Several strike teams will be deployed to secure a perimeter. The rest of us will seek out the main colony. We do not know their numbers, but this is our best chance to free the colony.”
Ching joined them, a nervous frown on his face. He carried his rifle at the ready. “Soldiers, prepare to deploy. Remember this is civilian territory, so proceed with caution and do not engage if it will unduly jeopardize the lives of non-combatants.”
Clark felt the transport slow and begin to descend. “Commanders, we have confirmation of hostilities on the ground. Interceptors have engaged enemy aircraft and positions,” the pilot announced.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have your orders,” Talan announced. The soldiers undid their safety restraints and stood up as one. The transport hit the ground clumsily and the doors opened. Soldiers rushed out toward the chaos on the ground. Clark started to follow, feeling his throat go dry and his stomach tie itself in familiar knots. He felt someone grab his arm, holding him back. He turned around.
“Kal El, we will stay on board,” Ching said.
Clark looked at him, puzzled. “Why?”
“Because it is safer, sir.”
Clark blinked. Was Ching nuts? “But my people are out…”
“And it is your sworn duty to serve them, which you cannot do if you’re dead. It is my sworn duty to protect you, which is what I’m doing.”
“Zara is out there,” Clark replied, knowing he was playing a trump card. He expected more of a reaction from Ching, but the brief look of concern that flitted across his face was the only display of an emotion other than exasperation that he’d ever seen from Ching.
“It is unlikely that the rebels have compromised the First Ministers’ Residence. We will sweep the area and if it is secure, enter from above. If fortune should at all be on our side, Zara will have stayed there,” Ching explained. ‘Fat chance,’ Clark thought to himself.
“Lieutenant Commander Ching, the escorts have arrived. We will begin our approach,” the pilot said. The transport lifted off again. They flew for a few minutes in silence. Clark wondered what they would do if they couldn’t access the First Ministers’ quarters. His concerns were quickly laid to rest.
“Sirs, the Residence remain secure,” the pilot said. The transport landed roughly on the roof, jostling its few passengers.
“The escorts will provide cover. We will have to run to the emergency access. Stay close and keep your head down, sir,” Ching instructed.
The transport doors opened slowly and Clark waited anxiously as the gate lowered. He could see the emergency access just ahead of them. The air all around them was thick with smoke and the sounds of battle. He felt a pang of guilt as he thought about the soldiers down in harm’s way as he raced for safety.
“Now, sir!” Ching commanded as the gate dropped. Clark gripped his rifle tightly as the two ran side by side for the access door. Clark threw his back against the wall as soon as they reached the door, his pulse thundering in his ears. He breathed hard, his eyes darting all around at the chaos on the ground and in the air. Ching quickly disarmed and unlocked the reinforced door and they raced inside. They ran down the darkened corridor, their boots hammering loudly against the metal floor. They passed through several more locked doors and down flights of stairs before they found themselves in the familiar complex of hallways in the Ministers’ Residence. The lights, however, were all out.
“There is a communications command point in your situation room. We can reestablish communications in the colony from there and try to assess the situation,” Ching explained. They entered the situation room and Ching immediately set to work. Clark found himself standing idly and impatiently as Ching worked. The lights slowly flickered and came back to life.
“I did not return power to the entire colony so as not to alert anyone to our presence. I can reestablish visual monitoring of the command facilities, but the primary communication system has been destroyed.”
“What can we do?” Clark asked.
“The secondary system can only be reestablished at one of three places in the colony,” Ching said without looking up. “The nearest one is on the lower level of this compound. I am not authori…Sir, you need to see this.”
Clark stepped toward the bank of monitors and looked at the screen Ching had indicated. On the screen he could see Ensigns Parth and Rul and several dozen children sitting in a dark, bare, windowless room. “Where is this?”
“The bunkers underground. They must have taken shelter there. Someone has shut down the ventilation system, though,” Ching replied grimly. “They are trapped inside and the oxygen level is steadily decreasing.”
“What?”
“Parth and Rul are instructing the children to meditate and slow their breathing.”
Clark found himself holding his breath. He watched on the screen as the two young ensigns began talking to each other. “What are they doing?”
“Deciding which one will sacrifice their life to slow the oxygen depletion. The other will protect the children as long as possible.”
“What? Ching, we have to stop this,” Clark urged.
“You have to do it, sir, I do not have access. Go down into the lower level, to the communication center, and bring the system back online.” Ching tossed him a hand held communicator. “I will guide you through the process.”
Clark nodded grimly and raced out of the room. He rushed down the corridors to the stairwell and taking the steps three at a time, made his way to the darkened labyrinth of the subterranean level. He felt his heart slamming against his ribcage as he ran to the communication center. He fumbled to open the door and rushed inside, slamming the door behind him.
“Ching, what do I do?” he demanded breathlessly into the communicator. Ching talked him step by step through the process of bringing the regulatory and communications systems online. The whole thing took a few short minutes, but they stretched into an eternity.
“We are back on line, sir,” Ching said at last. “I’ve contacted Parth and Rul and reopened the ventilation system. I will try to reestablish contact with General Comm…” Ching trailed off.
“What is it?”
“You are not alone, sir,” Ching replied. “I have three unidentified individuals entering the corridors of the lower level. They are armed, and they are not ours.”
