From Last Time...
Lois flew over Lake Regina, feeling oddly unsettled. Something was wrong, something just didn't seem right. She slowed in midair and put her earpiece into place. She switched through the channels, hoping to get a better sense of what was going on. A frown marred her expression as she heard Rapin's voice, giving orders in his accented English to his officers. She took off for Bakamba, listening intently as she tried to discern what was happening on the ground. As she approached the town, she was able to hear the general on the phone.
<<General, you do not have the authority to do this…>>
<<I am standing my ground…>>
<<I will have no choice but to relieve you of your command>>
<<Then come over here and relieve me of my command! I will not abandon these people!>>
The sound of gunfire shattered the air. With an extra burst of speed, she careened into the town and the live firefight that had engulfed it.
********
New Stuff:
Outside, the sun was just rising over the red brick horizon when he made his way down the deserted halls. He knocked somewhat hesitantly on her door. By all accounts, the woman rarely ever slept, so it wasn't likely that he was going to wake her, but he was still an unexpected visitor. She had returned from Silban less than twenty four hours ago and perhaps at another point in his life he would have been more considerate of her time, of the possibility that there might be things in her life besides commanding armies and providing counsel.
Talan opened the door, looking a bit startled. She pushed away the few strands of blonde hair that fell over her face. "What can I do for you, sir?" she asked.
"Have you got an hour, Commander?" Clark asked.
"Of course," she replied.
"Good, I was hoping to go for a run and I'm tired of the treadmill. But Ching won't let me go anywhere without the entire Ministerial Guard…"
"I'd be happy to," she said. "But we're going armed." Talan stepped back into her quarters, leaving the door ajar. The inside of her apartment was spotless—sparse, even by New Krypton standards, and immaculately kept. She spent so much time away from the main colony that he doubted that she really thought of this place as home.
Talan returned a few moments later, carrying a holster and gun. He looked down at the weapon she handed him. He still hated these things.
"Ready to go?" she asked, checking her own sidearm before replacing it in its holster.
"Yeah," he replied.
********
The sun was high overhead when they reached the top of the ridge outside the colony. It burned brightly, trying mightily to warm the world, but it was a weak and small sun and bringing warmth to this planet was beyond its powers. Kal El stopped in front of her, breathing hard. He'd set a fast pace for their run; it was all the more impressive given how extensive his injuries had been. Only a few months ago, he was still walking with a distinctive limp.
He put his hands on his knees as he looked out at the wide expanse of arid, desolate rock and sand that stretched out in front of them. The air was cold, but beads of perspiration rolled down his face. She came to stand beside him, feeling her own heart pound from the exertion.
Kal El straightened, still looking out at the desert. Physically, he seemed strong, healthy again; his frame was well muscled and no longer bent by injuries. All signs of weakness or frailty were gone. He bore no resemblance to the emaciated and half dead figure that she and Ching had dragged out of that dungeon. But not all the damage had been physical, and new emotional wounds had been layered on top of the older ones that had yet to heal.
"So how come a geologist turned commando knows so much about rescue work?" he asked without looking at her.
"It's actually how I went from geologist to commando, as you put it," she replied. "By chance, my team was nearby when a mine collapsed. We helped out there and I was transferred to Search and Rescue. When the Expeditionary Forces were formed, I was transferred to that division. I'd barely been made a captain when the first commander of the Engagement Task Force was dismissed. I was expecting a transfer to head up the Combat Search and Rescue team at the time, but instead, the Chief of Combat Operations in Joint Command showed up at my bunk and told me I was to be the next commander of the Expeditionary Forces Engagement Task Force. He promoted me to lieutenant commander on the spot. How about you, sir?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he replied.
"Now my curiosity is piqued," she heard herself say, her words and her tone befitting a conversation between friends, not an officer and her commander. She wondered if she should try to take the comment back. Was there a gracious way out of this?
He turned and gave her a brief smile. "Earth, my planet, has a yellow sun," he began cryptically. She tried in vain to figure out where he was going with this. "It has a really…strange affect on Kryptonians. They didn't start to appear until I was about eight or nine years old. I was faster than other kids, and stronger. I never got hurt, or sick. I became invulnerable and by the time I was eighteen, I could fly."
She listened to the words in disbelief. Despite his melancholy, he had a richer and deeper sense of humor than anyone she knew, but it didn't seem like he was joking with her. His tone was too earnest, too wistful, like he desperately missed what he was describing. "Fly?" she repeated, somewhat incredulously. Had he really said the he could fly?
"It was one of the most incredible feelings in the world," he said, his voice a fervent whisper. "I could go anywhere I wanted. Gravity had no power over me. It was amazing."
He clearly was not joking. The memories affected him so thoroughly. His warm smile died and the light in his eyes faded. "It also made me feel so alone. At the time, I had no idea where I'd come from, why I was sent there, or why I was so different. I lived an ordinary life, hiding what I could do from everyone except my parents." She exhaled a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in, wondering how there could have been so much that she never knew about him.
Kal El stared out at the barren landscape, his hands on his hips. "After I'd finished school, I spent years traveling the entire planet, like you, trying to figure out where I fit in. I ended up in Metropolis, hoping to get a job as a reporter. I met Lois there and knew I could never leave. But I couldn't hide in the city, the way I had on my parents' farm. There were too many people who needed help. They'd cry out in the middle of the night and wake me up. I couldn't just do nothing. I had these abilities no one else had. There had to be some way I could help them, so I came up with a disguise."
To give himself a chance at normalcy she realized. "So you could help, and still live an ordinary life," she said.
"Exactly," he replied. She shook her head in wonderment. "I told you you wouldn't believe me."
"I believe you, sir," she corrected him quickly. "But I can scarcely imagine it. The thought of a man flying, being invulnerable…and how strong exactly were you?"
"I lifted a spacecraft into orbit once," he replied simply.
"A spacecraft? With your hands?"
He merely nodded, a half smile on his face. "But mostly it was smaller stuff. Traffic accidents, fires, stopping burglaries, a couple of mine collapses, that sort of thing. I had to knock an asteroid the size of a city off a collision course with the Earth once. It was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. Well, besides leaving."
"I should have known not to be surprised by you," she replied. Somehow the unbelievable life he was describing made him make more sense. His need to help, his strength, his courage, his compassion, and his grace all fit in perfectly to the life and the world he spoke of.
"What about you? What's the hardest rescue you ever made?" he asked.
She bit her lip and frowned, deep in thought. "I had to deliver a baby once."
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at him. He was trying, and failing, to fight off a smile. His shoulders started to shake as he began to chuckle. Soon, he was laughing out loud. Talan turned toward him. He was laughing at her? She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly indignant, she couldn't think of a thing to say. "I'm entirely serious," she said at last.
"I'm sorry," he said, still laughing, but fighting to stop. He took a deep breath and collected himself. "It's just that, you're fearless and invincible. You do the impossible like it's nothing, so I have a tough time seeing a baby as your most formidable opponent. I mean, they kind of manage to get born all on their own."
"I know," she admitted, smiling despite herself. "But I had no idea what I was doing. It's not as though I could give orders to a woman in labor or to the baby, for that matter. I was quite a bit outside of my area of expertise."
"But everyone was all right?"
She nodded slightly, still smiling. "Everyone was all right," she confirmed. "Have you ever had to deliver a baby?"
"Seventeen of them," he replied.
"Seventeen?"
"Usually it was just easier to pick the mother up and fly her to the hospital," he explained casually, as though carrying a woman in labor while he flew through the air was a normal thing to do. "But sometimes I'd get there and the mother would be too far along for me to move her. So I'd have to deliver the baby right where we were." He smiled, but there was no hint of sadness in his eyes this time. It was like the burden of his grief was forgotten, even if only for a moment. She'd thought his personality magnetic as a leader; he demonstrated courage and compassion that drew people instinctively to him. But that was only a small part of who he was, she realized. His warmth, his kindness, and his gentle humor were things he was rarely able to reveal here. These weren't the grand emotions that inspired sacrifice and loyalty and the things that changed the course of a people's history. These were the simple emotions of everyday life. The ones that shaped and changed a person forever. The ones that grew into more than just respect and admiration. The ones that…
He sighed quietly, but the sound startled her. Still smiling slightly, he asked, "you ready to go back?"
"I'm ready if you are, sir," she replied.
********
Lois sat in Dalton's office, her face pale with disbelief. The ambassador paced anxiously behind his desk. Through the speakerphone, she heard the diplomats bickering amongst themselves.
"He explicitly and intentionally violated the terms of his mandate!" Ambassador Lin's angry shouts were translated by his interpreter.
Lois watched the muscles in Dalton's jaw twitch and his face grow flushed, but he said nothing. He simply continued to pace.
"He did it to protect a UN designated safe haven," Sir Walter Hugh, the British ambassador replied.
"We want him relieved of his command," Lin insisted. Lois felt her blood come to a boil. For weeks, she'd been the model of diplomatic politeness and conciliation and Lin was still acting like a school yard bully. "General Rapin must be relieved of his command; he has lost sight of his mission objectives."
"His mission objectives made no sense," Dalton replied firmly. "How can there be safe havens if he is not authorized to protect them?"
"You should be recalling him to reprimand him!" Lin continued.
Dalton drew in a deep breath, his expression fierce and his eyes glinting with fire. "I can assure you that the next time General Rapin is in Ottawa, it will not be so that I can reprimand him. It'll be so that I can pin a medal to his chest."
"General Rapin violated the letter of his mandate in order to uphold the spirit of his mission. He and his men acted honorably and courageously. As far as France is concerned, he is the model peacekeeper," Ambassador de Saint Antoine said.
"The US government also has full faith in General Rapin," Dr. Murray agreed. Score another one for the good guys, Lois thought. The Chinese wouldn't be able to censure Rapin or call for his dismissal, not in the face of the united opposition of the other permanent members.
She looked up at Dalton as they both waited for the Russian ambassador to weigh in. "We think the general acted correctly," he said at last through his translator. "Violations of UN safe havens cannot be allowed. It would be an affront to the international community."
Lois closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. A crack had opened up, pitting the two recalcitrant members of the Security Council on opposite sides. Maybe there was still reason to hope that they could succeed through diplomacy.
"I think it is rather clear, then, that General Rapin will continue in his capacity as commander of the UNPROFIK mission," Ambassador Murray said.
"Given the findings of the UN Envoy and the report prepared by your country's special representative to Kinwara, Dr. Murray, Great Britain believes that we must reconsider the mandate. At the very least, UNPROFIK needs to be able to protect the safe havens," Sir Walter said.
"We are agreed," de Saint Antoine chimed in.
"As are we," Dr. Murray said.
"The Russian Federation has no objections to that particular change," Dr. Karamov replied carefully.
Lois watched a triumphant smile spread across Dalton's face. "The tide's turning," he whispered quietly so only she would hear.
"I cannot acquiesce to that proposal," Ambassador Lin replied.
"There must be room to negotiate," Sir Walter said calmly. "We are willing to work with you until you're comfortable with the language, Ambassador Lin."
"I will not commit to anything," Lin replied stubbornly, but leaving himself an exit to retreat from his recalcitrant position in the future.
"Of course, it is too early," the French ambassador said, his tone conciliatory.
"Well, this has been a productive discussion," Sir Walter said. "I think we've made real progress. Ambassador Dalton, I trust you'll communicate our current thinking to General Rapin."
"Of course," Dalton replied. "Thank you all." With that, he jabbed the button on the phone to end the call. He looked at her with a slight smile on his face. "We're getting there," he said.
"And all it took was an almost suicidal stand by your general and his troops," she replied.
"Again, all we can say is thank you for saving the day. I know it isn't enough."
"I'm not looking for thanks, Ambassador," she said slowly. "All I want is a sensible approach to this problem."
"I know," he replied. "And I know this is the most frustrating thing in the world for you. Being as powerful as you are and not able to stop the conflict. That's why we have to put up with this nonsense. It's a long, inefficient, maddening process, but we don't have a choice."
********
She was running.
Talan was running through the narrow passage descending down a mountainous ridge. The trail was steep and the footing uneven. But she knew this place. She had been here before. She had come down this pass before. She knew every rock and every ledge, every groove worn into the path.
She could hear the target of her hunt ahead of her, breathing hard, stumbling along the pass, cursing as he tripped. She was gaining ground on him. He was lost, this place was a maze to him and he didn't know the way out. She caught sight of him ahead of her. He hesitated, looking frantically from left to right. She continued forward without slowing, closing the distance between them. She leapt over every obstacle and every gap in the path, not breaking her long, quick strides. The adrenaline coursed through her blood vessels, her heart beating its strong, steady rhythm, pounding like a drum. She focused on the target's uneven gait as he stumbled a few paces ahead of her.
Lunging, she managed to tackle him to the ground. They tumbled over the hard, sharp rocks as they slid down the pass, coming to a stop only when he collided with a large boulder. She pinned him down against the stone and drew her weapon. She held her sidearm against his forehead, her vision blurred by rage. "You murdered those people," she seethed. "You tortured him. You worthless, contemptible monster." Her hand shook. She couldn't see his face, it was fuzzy and vague, but she could smell his fear. "You tortured him," she whispered harshly. Her finger trembled against the trigger.
She squeezed it.
Once.
Twice.
Talan woke with a start, her heart thundering beneath her breast so hard she thought it would burst. She tossed back the bedclothes and sat up, pushing the errant strands of hair away from her face. She shook her head and exhaled in a shudder, her eyes screwed shut. In a few hours' time, she was expected to launch the first wave of a new offensive.
********
Clark stared straight ahead at the communications screen, showing the images of his general commanders all around the planet. He set his jaw firmly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Zara. She frowned grimly at the screen.
"We have convened this meeting to address the intelligence failure," she said. "This happened because one officer decided that he did not trust the civilian government of New Krypton. He voiced his misgivings to no one. He hid his activities from oversight and interfered with the duties of other divisions. He wreaked havoc on the chain of command and it cost over a thousand people their lives."
"We have said this so many times we've lost count – We need the people we serve with to tell us the truth. To be honest with us," Clark continued sternly. "And if any of the officers of the military don't think they can do that, it's time for them to find a new line of work. If you cannot put aside your petty issues for the greater good, you have no business in the military."
"Make sure your officers are aware of this," Zara warned the general commanders. "We will not tolerate arrogance and self-importance among the leadership and we will not put up with infighting or turf battles. Our only objective is to defeat Nor and end this war." She ended the transmission.
Alone in the conference room with Zara, Clark closed his eyes and sighed. "The military is disciplined and honest," Zara assured him. "Almost without exception, the officer corps is completely and totally supportive of you."
"But it's the exceptions that get people killed," Clark replied dourly. "And every act of sabotage carried out looks like it was done with inside help. There are traitors among us, and I have no idea who they are."
"Putting Ching in charge of intelligence was the right first step," she said. "And when this offensive succeeds, the rebellion will fall apart."
"How can you be so certain?" Clark asked incredulously.
"Because I have faith in Commander Talan, and her forces. And I have faith in you."
He sat down on the edge of the conference table. "I should, too," he said quietly. "I know that you and Ching and Talan are the best leaders any world could hope for. That you're brilliant and decent, and that you give everything of yourselves to this, but all I see is the darkness. The doubt and the mistrust and now, paranoia."
Zara came to stand beside him and placed a hand on top of his. "Clark, talk to me," she said gently. "Please."
Clark pulled his hand away and stood up. "I can't do this," he murmured. "Dammit, what's wrong with me?" He dragged both hands through his hair and looked downward, hoping desperately that if he remained small and still, the world would forget about him, that it would leave him be.
Zara was standing in front of him again, obviously ignorant of his wish. She took both of his hands in her smaller ones. "You are like family to me," she whispered. "Please let me help you the way you've helped me."
He closed his eyes, fighting tears once again, and pulled her into his arms. "This is my fault," he said under his breath.
"No it isn't," she whispered fiercely.
"If I were stronger this wouldn't have happened. Daros wouldn't have tried to go around us. We would have prevented it. Those people didn't have to die." He nearly choked on the words.
"Listen to me," she said, her voice calm and even and soothing. "Nor killed those people. And if it had been possible to prevent it, you would have. Because that is who you are. You are a good man. Your strength and compassion give me hope. And they give hope to our people." She held him tightly, silently asking him to let her help carry his burden. But this wasn't a burden that could be shared. She couldn't lead him out of this darkness.
********
Ching glared at Daros, a vainglorious, barely competent officer who'd obviously been promoted beyond his capacity. Ching didn't know whom Daros had had to flatter in order to become the head of non combat operations in Joint Command, but that officer, too, should have been stripped of his or her rank and thrown in detention. Ching had never much liked Daros, but the other man had outranked him and had previously never demonstrated such spectacularly poor judgment.
"I want to know everyone who knew of what you were doing with that intelligence," Ching demanded as he sat across from the fallen commander in the detention center's interrogation room.
Daros looked upward with his watery eyes, as though trying to remember. Out of uniform, his hands manacled in front of him, and the smug, contemptuous look permanently erased from his face, he no longer much resembled his old, pompous self. "My entire team of cryptanalysts was transferred to the project. Nen Fas and Cayis knew, obviously. I don't know who in Cayis's division was working on the project before my team took it over."
"Anyone else?" Ching asked.
"I don't…I don't recall," Daros sighed impatiently.
"You damn well better recall," Ching barked as he jumped out of his chair. His hands on the table between them, he leaned toward Daros. "I'm not asking you to name all twelve hundred people who died because of your stupidity, I'm asking you whom you talked to about this project."
"That councilor, Alon," Daros replied suddenly. "Alon was very interested in what I was working on. I don't know how he knew about it, but he came to speak with me about the issue."
Ching leaned even further forward, his heart thundering in his chest. Was Daros serious? Alon was probably the most respected member of the Council after Shai. "What did he say to you?"
"I can't remember exactly, but he agreed with me that we shouldn't rush to judgment until we knew what was in those intercepted messages."
"So he told you not to bring this to the First Ministers' attention?"
"Not exactly," Daros replied squeamishly. He raised his shackled hands to wipe the perspiration from his forehead. "He just agreed with my interpretation. I didn't act at his direction."
Ching tried to hide his shock. Daros was most likely just criminally incompetent, but he was still an unknown variable, and Ching had no intention of revealing his thoughts to the man. Alon had access to all sorts of information that rendered the colony totally and completely vulnerable. He could easily obtain the building plans for any structure on the planet, the specifications for every craft in the fleet, intelligence estimates, classified strategy documents. There was little he couldn't get his hands on.
Ching walked to the wall and pushed the intercom button. "Guard, we're finished here," he said calmly.
********
"What is it, Ching?" Zara asked as soon as he stepped into the First Ministers' quarters. He'd said nothing about what he wanted to talk to them about, only that it was of urgent concern.
"Councilor Alon knew of the rebel transmissions," Ching said breathlessly.
"What?" Clark asked forcefully.
"Daros told me that Alon came to speak with him about the transmissions. He said that Alon agreed with Daros's approach."
"Alon isn't an idiot. The only reason he agreed with Daros was because it must have served his purpose to keep us from deciphering that information," Zara replied.
"Agreed," Ching said.
She shook her head in disbelief. "I cannot believe how much we trusted him." She started to pace anxiously. "Of course, though, he's perfectly placed."
"He's a councilor, so we haven't been monitoring his communications," Ching added.
Clark frowned grimly. "He could be speaking directly to Nor through scrambled channels and we wouldn't know."
"Ching, we need you to take this directly to the Chief Jurist. Get authorization and have Alon placed under surveillance."
"Can we trust the Chief Jurist?" Clark asked. "I don't mean to sound paranoid, but we think one of the most respected politicians in the colony is a traitor. Who else might be one?"
"The Chief Jurist was a dear friend of the former First Ministers. I've known him my entire life. If he were corrupt, he would have had plenty of better opportunities in the past to destroy the entire colony."
"Then it's settled," Clark agreed. "Ching?"
"I'll go see him at once," Ching replied.
********
Talan scanned the region through the infrared lenses. Nothing. She radioed her executive officer at the forward base's command center. "Commander, this is your operation to execute. Absent countermanding instructions from me, all teams report directly to you for instruction and deployment. We have intelligence reports of heavy rebel activity in the area, so I am anticipating substantial engagement with enemy forces."
She was going around the standard operating procedures by taking part in this mission. General commanders didn't deploy on missions – it was too difficult to maintain a strategic command from inside the firefight. But she still couldn't adjust to the idea of sending others to fight the battles while she watched and monitored and planned. "Situation report," she demanded of her subordinate officer as she continued to search the area.
"Ma'am, we have the key target confirmed on the move. Intelligence shows Nor's convoy leaving a known rebel stronghold in ground transport."
This was it. "Where are they heading?" she asked.
"Best estimate is the northwest pass. They must be heading toward the valley. They'll have to take that route."
Talan frowned. Team Two was positioned not far from the close end of the pass, but there was no way they'd be able to pin Nor down. In his transports, he'd simply be able to retreat. They had to get a force behind the convoy at the other end of the canyon, seal both ends and trap Nor. "Have Team Two take position on the northern ridge of the canyon, and prepare to move out for the mouth of the pass."
"Ma'am, that's outside our zone of engagement, we're going to break perimeter," her Lieutenant Commander cautioned.
"We've never been this close," she countered. "This is our one chance to get Nor and I will not let him escape. You have your orders, now move."
Her team of thirty soldiers moved quickly and quietly toward the pass. They would need to hurry if they were going to get into position before Nor's convoy passed through. They were going to break perimeter by several miles, leaving additional reconnaissance teams vulnerable and unprotected, but she couldn't let this chance pass. Every moment Nor remained free, her people were in jeopardy. Every moment he was free, he was cheating justice, evading the punishment he so richly deserved. They raced through the familiar pass, a place she'd known for years. She'd studied it, she'd mapped and charted it. She'd led armies through it.
"Ma'am, Team Two is moving into position," her Lieutenant Commander informed her.
She scanned the mouth of the pass up ahead, reorienting herself to the lay of the land – the high ground, the hiding places, and defensible positions. Team Two would lay the trap, her team would close the door. It was the oldest and simplest military strategy there was. It was also one of the most effective.
"Commander, break out into two squadrons, one on either side of the pass," she began.
"Ma'am, command is on the wireless," her subordinate interrupted. "Teams Four One and Two Nine are under attack. Reinforcements have been scrambled, but they're miles away."
Her mind raced. This wasn't happening. In the distance, she could hear the sound of the approaching convoy. Nor was so close. And he was going to slip through her fingers. Her team was miles away from where it was supposed to be. They should have been within striking distance of that firefight. She should have been there to protect her troops. Instead, she'd broken perimeter and left them completely vulnerable.
"Ma'am, what are your orders," her Lieutenant Commander asked, his voice taking on an anxious pitch.
She turned toward him, her heart pounding, her mouth suddenly dry. "Fall back," she said. "We're not leaving them out there."
"Aye, ma'am," he replied. "Double time! Move out!" he shouted at the soldiers.
Talan turned to look over her shoulder one last time at the long, winding road that would bring Nor through this canyon. Into what would have been a waiting trap. It was the road that would have delivered him to justice.
