From last time:
Lois stood in the middle of the nursery, a small teddy bear nestled in the crook of her arm, her other hand on her protruding abdomen, feeling her son kick enthusiastically. “I’m not sure Daddy will make it back for your big day,” she said softly. “If there was any way he could, he would. He’d do anything for you.”
She heard footsteps approaching behind her. Jonathan appeared in the doorway to the nursery. She turned around and smiled at her father-in-law, hoping to hide the tears brimming in her eyes. “I still can’t believe what a wonderful job you and Martha did with this room,” she said hastily.
Jonathan chuckled softly. “Well, we just did the easy stuff. We were lucky to have someone with superpowers do all the hard work.” He tapped the doorframe slightly. “You turned out to be quite the carpenter. I didn’t know you had it in you, though I shouldn’t have been surprised.”
“I had a good teacher,” Lois replied. She shifted her hand on her stomach to the place where the baby had just kicked. “He’s been pretty active today,” she explained. She walked toward Jonathan. “Here,” she said, showing him where to place his hand on her stomach. The baby kicked obligingly and she saw her father-in-law’s eyes light up.
“He’s going to be a soccer player,” Jonathan said with a grin.
“You have no idea how nice it is to be invulnerable right now,” Lois replied, smiling. “Otherwise, I think this kid would have had me all black and blue on the inside.”
“We’re all very excited to meet you, little guy,” Jonathan said. “We can’t wait for you to get here.”
********
New Stuff:
“The councilors from the Belaar Valley are demanding additional forces and materiel to reinforce the region.” Trey declared dispassionately to the small group assembled in the briefing room.
“We cannot acquiesce to this request,” General Goren replied. “We lack the resources.”
Zara gazed solemnly at the gathered advisors. “Leaving aside the threat from Nor’s forces, there is still the possibility of local unrest in the region. Nor may not need to attack the Valley to take it from us.”
Shai shook his head grimly. “That possibility is unacceptable.”
Hanging silently in the air was the opinion shared by many in the room – that the loss of the Belaar Valley to Nor could be a turning point in the rebels’ favor. The loss of the Belaar would doubtless prove to be catastrophic.
“We need more time,” General Flad offered. “Work on securing and repairing the main colony is progressing according to schedule, but we need time.”
“Then I will try to secure it,” Zara replied. “I will personally go to the Belaar Valley and attempt to bolster support.”
“A diplomatic mission may be exactly what is needed to acquire the necessary leverage, ma’am,” Trey said.
“Trey, contact the governors of the Belaar Valley and arrange the visit.” Clark spoke up for the first time in the meeting. “Commander Ching, please make the necessary arrangements in preparation for the mission.”
“Of course, sir,” Ching replied.
“Will you be going as well, sir?” General Goren asked, a puzzled look on his face.
“No,” Clark replied. “I will stay here.”
“And upon my departure, I will entrust Kal El with my decision making responsibilities in my absence. He will be empowered to act on my behalf,” Zara added.
********
Clark looked up at the sound of a knock at his door. He got up and crossed the room to the door. The door slid open as he approached. Ching stood on the other side of it.
“Good afternoon, sir,” Ching said, his hands clasped in front of him.
“Good afternoon, Ching. What can I do for you?” Clark stepped aside and motioned for Ching to enter. He thought the other man hesitated briefly before coming into the room. In the last few weeks, the tension between the two of them had slowly begun to dissipate, but Ching still seemed almost awkward around him.
“I wanted to inform you that all the arrangements have been made. Zara will leave in two days’ time for a summit with the leaders of the Belaar Valley.”
“Will you be going with her?” Clark asked.
“No,” Ching replied. “I have selected the crew for the mission, but felt I could be of more use here. Councilor Alon will be going as well, though in an unofficial capacity.”
“Good,” Clark said with a nod.
“Well, sir, if you require anything, my staff and I are, as always, at your disposal.”
“Thank you, Ching,” Clark said sincerely.
********
“I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice,” Bernie assured her.
“Good,” Lois said into the phone. “I’m going to fly Martha and Jonathan out to Metropolis tonight. We’ll be at Clark’s, so if you need us, you know how to reach us.”
“Call me in the next day or two and we’ll schedule your last appointment.”
“Sounds good. Thanks Bernie.”
“Of course, Lois. Take care of yourself.”
********
Ching looked down at his sleeping lover, so peaceful in silent repose. He smiled slightly as he brushed an errant lock of hair away from her face. The last few weeks, as he’d come to terms with the fact that Kal El knew about them, he’d found a certain degree of peace. He had, over months, come to respect Kal El as a competent and dedicated leader, but he’d been unable to keep from seeing the other man as a rival of sorts. Only in the last few days had he realized what Kal El had been saying all along – Kal El had never wanted to play usurper in Ching’s life. While his own attitude could have only been described as petulant, Kal El, on the other hand, had shown nothing but grace.
The other man had been absolutely correct – the threat to Ching’s relationship with Zara came not from Kal El, but from Ching’s own inability to control his emotions. He realized that now and could see the wisdom in Kal El’s concerns. Since then, he’d found it much easier to accept his role in Zara’s public life and to accept Kal El’s. In the end, he realized, it didn’t matter that he had to hide his feelings for her, or that Kal El would have a role in her life that he never could, what mattered were moments like this one. Moments of quiet and calm, when for the briefest of instants, he could wrap himself up in the precious things in this world. Moments when he could forget this ugly war and the horrible decisions they had to make. In these moments there was no sacrifice, no grief. There was only his lover, sleeping peacefully in his arms.
Her eyes still closed, she smiled at him. “Good morning,” she murmured sleepily.
“Sleep,” he whispered. “It is not yet morning.” He gently kissed her forehead.
Zara stretched, still smiling. “I love that moment between waking and sleeping, when I can almost imagine that the whole world has faded away and there is only the two of us.”
Ching smiled as he kissed her. “I find myself wishing for that to be true every day.”
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Does it bother you that things will never be simple for us?”
“It did,” he admitted. “But we have always known that things would be difficult. Even when we were children, we knew that.”
“What would I do without you?” She asked as she reached up to touch his face. “Do you remember when you left to begin your training? I was so enamored of you, I was certain the separation would kill me, but you did not have time then for a silly little girl.”
“I was intimidated by you,” he said with a smile. “What is a young man supposed to say to the thirteen year old girl who will one day be his leader and his commander? And I came back, did I not? I came back and found that the girl I had remembered had grown into the most beautiful and captivating woman I had ever met. I begged and pleaded with every superior who had any influence to be assigned to your staff.”
“You never told me that,” she said softly.
He smiled. “I wanted you to think I had earned that coveted responsibility. Besides, I had no idea how you would have reacted had you known how desperately in love with you I was.”
“I’m not certain the outcome would have been different. When you returned, I realized that the way I had felt about you before you left had been mere childish infatuation and that it could not compare to the strength of emotions I felt when you returned.”
“And then we spent years avoiding the subject and pretending we were not in love.”
“Your sense of duty would not allow you to seek any more from our relationship,” she added with a wistful smile.
Ching smiled and kissed her again. “Are you claiming that your sense of duty was any less developed?”
“I suppose not,” she admitted.
“I cannot believe we managed to pretend for so long,” Ching replied. “It was sheer torture, you know.”
“It was for me as well – trying to deny my feelings for you, knowing I was expected to marry someone else.”
“I was not particularly pleased about that either…every rash and stupid thing I did under the influence of love…”
Zara smiled at him knowingly. “Are you saying that being in love with me rendered you irrational?”
That was exactly what he was saying. Ching prided himself on his levelheadedness, on always being rational and reasonable. These were highly valued traits in their society and they had always been a part of who he wanted to be, who he was expected to be. In reality though, maintaining that air of imperturbable rationality had become a struggle for him. In his youth, he’d learned to fight the streak of stubbornness and passion in his nature. Training and discipline had helped, but his love for Zara had always managed to cloud his judgment. As a young man, it had been exhilarating – giving in to emotions so strong they shook him, leaving him dazed and bewildered.
Nine years ago, they began their relationship in secret. Young and foolish, they’d thought about nothing more than the moment. They’d tried to escape their responsibilities and their fates. It was a love affair that never should have ended. But born of passion and confusion and fire, it burned too quickly and too bright.
“What is on your mind?” Zara asked. He realized that he had been silent for quite some time. He wondered what he should say and settled on the truth.
“The first time we made love,” he said. He saw her blush. “You were not always this timid,” he teased.
“You were not always this brazen,” she replied.
“I have spent nine years trying to forget this,” he said as he kissed her. “I am not certain why I thought I could. I know what decorum requires, but I was a fool to believe that I could simply move on.”
“But we could not have carried on,” she reminded him.
He smiled again. “Especially since your father had me sent to the farthest corner of the planet.”
He could see the laughter in her eyes and his heart soared because he had put it there. “He did let you come back,” she replied, full of mirth.
“He did,” Ching agreed. “He was quite forgiving.”
“He loves you,” Zara replied.
“Do you think he knows about us?”
“I would be surprised if he did not,” Zara said. “But we do not speak of it.”
They were silent for a long while, simply enjoying each other’s company. “I love you,” she whispered at last.
“I love you,” he replied. “I always have. When I was younger, I thought that what I felt had to be love because it hurt so much. Being with you, being without you, both tore me apart from the inside.”
“And now?” she asked.
“When I am with you, I feel at peace,” he replied. “I have never felt this way before. It is nice.”
“Is that all it is?” she asked jokingly.
“Well it is certainly better than the pain,” he said with a smile. Their lips met in a slow, lingering kiss.
********
“Everything is in place,” the disembodied voice assured her through the communication system.
“You have given this information to Jen Mai?” Rae Et enquired.
“Of course.” The voice sounded indignant, which caused Rae Et to smile. “Every detail and every contingency have been accounted for.”
“Good,” Rae Et replied.
“Have you told your son?”
“There is no need. He will be informed when it becomes necessary.”
“We will proceed as planned. I will keep you abreast of our progress.”
“Very well. Have you decided on the cause for the ‘accident?’” she asked smugly.
“Have you a preference?”
“Accident, sabotage, whatever. Surprise me.” Rae Et leaned back in her chair, smiling to herself. True leadership, she understood, meant encouraging her subordinates to cultivate their talents, even their creativity. She folded her frail hands in her lap. Her body may have been old and bent, but her mind was still razor sharp and she commanded the respect of powerful men and women. More important, she commanded the loyalty of unscrupulous ones.
********
The entourage moved as one down the hallway like a funeral procession, Clark thought. Dressed in their formal black uniforms, he and Zara walked together, her hand resting at the crook of his elbow. With the other officers in their detail, Ching walked a few paces behind. They approached the docking bay, where Zara’s ship and crew waited. At the bay, Shai and Trey waited to greet them along with several other councilors and advisors. The ship’s small crew stood at attention nearby, prepared for inspection.
“Good tidings to our First Ministers,” Shai declared.
“Good tidings to our gathered friends,” Zara replied. Zara then turned to Clark and with the necessary flourish and protocol, bowed and formally transferred sole responsibility for governance to him. “To you, Kal El, I entrust my authority in my absence.”
Clark merely bowed in response. “May your mission of peace bear fruit and may fortune be with you, Zara,” he said, repeating the standard Kryptonian farewell.
“May fortune be with you, Kal El, and all of you, who toil in the service of peace and prosperity,” she responded. Clark noticed her gaze fall briefly on Ching as she surveyed the gathered group. Clark glanced at Ching, who remained stone-faced and impassive.
Zara’s crew saluted her as she boarded the ship and then followed her aboard. The ship launched as the assembled group watched in silence, their collective hopes for peace on board the interceptor speeding away from them.
********
“Just a second!” Lois called out as she made her way across the apartment to Clark’s front door. She’d already X-rayed it and knew that Perry and Jimmy were on the other side. She opened the door to see her grinning friends.
“Hi Lois!” Jimmy greeted her enthusiastically.
“Hi Jimmy,” she said with a smile as she hugged her young friend, as well as a nine months pregnant woman could.
“Wow, looks like the baby will be here any day,” Jimmy said.
“Yeah, and it feels like it, too,” Lois replied. Jimmy stepped inside, dusting the fat snowflakes from his jacket.
“It looks like it’s really coming down out there,” Lois said, gazing at the slowly drifting flakes of snow descending lazily through the sky.
“How are you, darlin’?” Perry asked as he followed Jimmy inside, carrying a large bouquet of flowers.
“Big as a house, but you can see that,” Lois replied.
“You look terrific,” Perry replied. “And these are for you.” He held up the flowers.
“They’re beautiful, thank you,” Lois said. “I’ll get a vase.”
“Why don’t you sit, I’ll do it for you,” Perry offered.
“Pregnant, not feeble, remember, Perry? Besides, thanks to the superpowers, I feel just fine. No aching back, no sore feet, no fatigue.” Lois took the flowers to the kitchen in search of a vase.
Perry laughed. “That really is something.”
“Make yourselves at home,” Lois called from the kitchen. “Clark’s parents just ran to the store, they’ll be back soon. She returned to the living room, where Jimmy and Perry had taken seats on the couch. She sat down in the easy chair.
“It’s good to see you again,” Perry said, beaming. “We’ve missed you around here.”
“Yeah, the newsroom isn’t the same without you,” Jimmy added.
“I miss you guys, too. And the newsroom,” Lois replied. “It’s been nice to be with Martha and Jonathan; they’ve been absolutely wonderful, but I miss Metropolis.”
The door opened and Martha and Jonathan bustled inside, carrying grocery bags. “Perry, Jimmy, it’s great to see you both,” Jonathan said as he nudged the door closed without putting down the grocery bags.
“Hi Martha, Jonathan, it’s good to have you here in Metropolis again,” Perry replied.
“Here, let me help, Mr. K,” Jimmy said as he got up from the sofa.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” Jonathan replied.
“Do you guys need any more help?” Lois asked.
“No, we should be fine,” Martha assured her.
As the other three busied themselves with putting away the groceries, Perry leaned in conspiratorially toward Lois with smile he couldn’t contain on his face. “I have good news,” he said.
“What is it?” Lois asked, her curiosity piqued.
“You know that the publishers love your column,” he began. “They love it so much, in fact, that they want you to write a book.”
Lois was stunned. It took her a moment to figure out how to respond. “What? Really?”
“Swear to the King,” Perry replied. “They want a book on Lois Lane’s World Full of Heroes.”
“Wow,” Lois replied inarticulately.
Perry grinned. “They’re as excited about this as you are.”
********
Zara rushed to the bridge of her interceptor, an anxious knot forming itself in the pit of her stomach. “Commander Rin, what is wrong?” she asked.
The harried commander toggled switches on the control panel in frustration. “The shields are down ma’am, and I cannot restore them.”
Zara’s mouth drew itself into a tight lipped frown as her mind raced. Sen, A young enlisted man behind her called out, “Commander, the circuits have been destroyed.”
“Can you repair them?” Zara asked.
“It could take hours, ma’am,” the young man responded.
“Try,” Zara insisted.
“Aye, ma’am.”
Zara shook her head grimly. “This has to be sabotage. How far away are we from the Belaar?”
“An hour’s flight,” the commander replied.
“Request all available flights as escort,” Zara demanded.
Ensign Rul, the flight’s communication’s officer looked up at her two superiors, a grim look on her young face. “Ma’am, sir, the communication’s system is malfunctioning.”
“Run a total diagnostic on the systems,” Zara commanded the crew. “If someone disabled the shields and the communications system, it’s unlikely they left the rest of the systems alone.”
“It is likely that they mean to shoot us down from the ground,” Commander Rin replied. “Evasive measures and the auto-pilot are also malfunctioning.”
“Then we must land immediately,” Zara replied.
“Aye, ma’am.” Rin started a descent.
“Everyone to their seats,” Zara commanded. She turned to Captain Voss, the co-pilot. “Go with the rest of the crew, I will take over.”
“Aye, ma’am,” Voss replied, before getting up to join the rest of the crew in the back of the ship. Zara took her seat next to the commander.
A light illuminated on the control panel in front of them. The commander told her what she already knew. “Ma’am, we have incoming fire.”
