From Last Time:
Rab Dun looked up from her desk as the two men entered the room. By Kryptonian standards, Rab Dun's office was a chaotic clutter. She preferred to be able to scrutinize and review each project carefully and kept the files and holograms where she could access them easily. The tables and shelves of her workspace were covered at all times, the files organized in a system only she could understand. "Welcome, gentlemen," she began. "Do we have any further information?"
Ching shook his head grimly. "The engineer we traced the improperly accessed files to claims he had nothing to do with them."
"I spoke to him this week," Lok Sim added. "He didn't seem like he was lying. He had no idea why the files were traced back to him."
"Could he have accessed them mistakenly?" Rab Dun asked.
The First Ministers' chief of staff clasped his hands behind his back. "It's a possibility," he replied. "And not an unlikely one."
She frowned, digesting this latest bit of information. "But you're not confident that this is our explanation?"
"No, ma'am," her communications engineer replied. "Neither one of us is satisfied that the inquiry is complete."
"So where does that leave our investigation?"
"Back at the very beginning, I'm afraid," Ching replied.
"Is there anything else you need to aid in your search?" she asked.
Lok Sim stared straight ahead, his eyes unblinking. "Full access to personnel files, ma'am."
Her own protocols meant that normally, she was the only person with complete access to those files – there was too much sensitive and private information contained within them. But the safety at the colony itself was at stake, and these were trustworthy men. "You will have it," she replied. "But I insist that you bring anything of interest to me before you act upon it."
Ching bowed formally. "Of course," he responded.
********
New Stuff:
Lois could understand why Clark hated airplanes. After nearly four years of being able to fly anywhere she wanted to go in moments, under her own power, something about planes seemed terribly unnatural. Besides, why take almost two and half hours to get to Metropolis when she could get there in five minutes? But she didn't want Jon getting used to flying with Ultrawoman, or for her and her son to be too closely associated with the superhero. So Lois, Jon, and the Kents caught a flight from Wichita to Metropolis to spend Jon's third birthday with Lois's parents and Perry and Jimmy.
She hated how rough the take off and landing were on her little boy. She knew that little children's ears couldn't pressurize the way adults' did during the change in altitude and she'd seriously started to wonder if flying commercial was worth it. But during the rest of the flight, he was an angel. Once they'd landed and he could see the other planes outside the little oval-shaped window, he was excited again.
"Big airplanes!" he exclaimed, pointing out the window with his finger.
"Very big airplanes," she agreed.
"Do you like airplanes, Mommy?"
"I do," she replied. "Do you?"
"Yeah," he agreed with a vigorous nod.
As the 'fasten safety belt' sign finally turned off, she undid Jon's seatbelt. "Grandpa Sam is going to meet us at the airport and then we're going to go to his house," she explained. "And your Grandma Ellen is going to be there. And tomorrow we're going to see your Uncle Perry and Uncle Jimmy." In front of her, her in-laws were already getting the luggage out of the overhead compartments. Once they'd deplaned, Martha took Jon's hand so Lois could help her father-in-law with their bags.
Sam Lane met them by the baggage claim and was immediately too taken with his grandson to pay much attention to the luggage coming down the carousel. "Look at you!" he exclaimed as he lifted Jon in the air. "My goodness, you've gotten so big!"
"Hi Grandpa Sam," Jon replied. His grandfather beamed with pride.
Sam turned to his daughter, still holding his grandson in one arm. "Princess, you look terrific," he said. As he doted on his grandson, Lois couldn't help but wonder if having a grandson hadn't taken some of the sting out of not having any sons. She hoped that he could be a better grandfather than he was a father, and she'd decided to give him a chance to do just that.
"Hi Daddy," she replied as she gave her father a hug. The adults exchanged pleasantries as they gathered the luggage and made their way to Sam's car.
"So how's the new book coming along?" her father asked as he handed his grandson back to Martha and grabbed a pair of suitcases.
Lois shouldered Jon's bag and grabbed another, following her father toward the parking garage. "I’m just getting started on it," she replied, surprised to hear her father taking an interest in her work. "But it's going well."
"Well, I can't wait to read it," Sam responded. Out of the corner of her eye, she regarded her father curiously. Perhaps Sam Lane did have an interest in making amends.
********
Tem Ra and his brother stood at attention as their instructor entered the briefing room. In long, quick strides, the lieutenant commander approached the podium at the front of the room. "Be seated," he announced and the newly minted ensigns retook their seats. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to your final week of advanced combat aeronautics. For today's exercises, we have a special guest instructor." Every pair of eyes turned toward the door. Dek Ra elbowed his twin in the ribs as they both drew in a sharp breath. Their sister walked into the room and everyone jumped back to their feet at perfect attention. She was dressed in a simple, black flight uniform just like the students, no formal robes, no greatcoat. The lieutenant commander stepped aside to give her the podium.
"I'm very happy to be flying with the lieutenant commander at my wing for today's exercises. Your objective is evasion and escape. You will be practicing the maneuvers you've learned during this course, with the intent to evade us for as long as possible. Good luck."
The First Minister and the flight instructor exited the briefing room into the hangar bay, the students filed out behind them. "This should be interesting," Tem Ra whispered.
"First one she knocks out has to clean the bunk for a week," Dek Ra replied quietly as they walked toward their waiting Interceptors. The ground crews were standing by, ready to secure the pilots in their crafts.
Tem Ra smiled. "It's a bet," he responded.
In the end, Tem Ra outlasted his brother, but not by much; neither one 'survived' longer than five minutes. Most of their classmates didn't fare any better. During the debriefing, the dispirited students listened to Zara as she commented on the training exercise, complete with the video footage.
Dek Ra sat sullenly, replaying in his mind the basic, stupid errors he'd made that had placed him in his sister's crosshairs. He traced each maneuver backward, realizing how Zara had always been several steps ahead of him, knowing exactly how he was going to act and react. He was 'dead' almost as soon as he'd taken off.
"I know that most of you are disappointed with today's exercise, but you've all shown that your fundamentals are strong. There is no substitute for experience; the lieutenant commander and I have both been flying for better than a decade. Your ships are immense, complicated, and sensitive instruments. For now. Eventually, they will be extensions of your mind and body. You will learn to control them instinctually, without conscious thought, freeing your mind to predict your opponent, not just react. That is all for today. You are dismissed."
********
The gallery was again packed as the jurists entered the courtroom. At the defense table, Nor and his attorneys stood up. Clark waited with Enza and Mar Dov at the other table, trying his damnedest not to fidget with nervous energy. The jurists took their seats and the collective audience followed suit.
"This panel of jurists has considered the evidence presented against the defendant on the charges of kidnapping, torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It is the panel's verdict that the defendant is guilty on all counts. The defendant is hereby sentenced to a life of exile and hard labor in the outerlands, the sentence to be carried out forthwith."
Clark let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in and turned to look at Nor. Anger was etched into the other man's face, but he remained impassive. A murmur rose up in the gallery and was soon an almost deafening din. A quartet of guards approached Nor. One began to place the manacles on Nor's hands, when the prisoner finally revolted.
"You have not won!" he exclaimed as he shoved the guard, his face was flushed and his eyes wild with anger. "This isn't over! This trial was a farce and a sham! You're nothing but pathetic lackeys who scrape and bow at the ignorant morons who lead you." The four guards rushed to subdue him. The prisoner continuing to shout invectives as the lead jurist tried, in vain to restore order. Finally, Nor was restrained and dragged out of the courtroom.
It was over, Clark thought to himself. He closed his eyes. It was finally over. He felt almost dizzy, disconnected from reality. He'd waited four years for this. And it seemed, not quite real. He breathed deeply, knowing he was now so much closer to being free, so much closer to going home.
********
Ban Mol looked around at the group of warlords, assassins, and men of general disrepute. They were gathered around a table in a dark, dingy bunker basement, but it certainly wasn't the worst accommodations any of them had had. The hologram of the colony's schematics glowed brightly in the dimly lit room.
"Assuming everything goes according to plan, we will have a limited, but distinct window in which to carry out this operation. The detention facility is relatively isolated from the rest of the colony, but it is imperative that the colony's forces be prevented from interfering with the extraction. Air defenses will be compromised and we should be able to achieve a limited grounding of aircraft due to power and system failures. We will override the normal security system and access corridors will be locked down, preventing free movement within the colony. That will leave the colony's forces no choice but to evacuate to the outside and regroup, delaying them further. It also means they'll have to take a much longer route to the detention center, buying us additional time. This, of course, assumes that they will be en route to the detention facility.
"We've planned strategic explosions, using the colony's own energy systems, here, here, and here," he explained as he pointed to General Command, the administrative compound, and one of the wings of the colony dedicated to civilian housing on the schematics. "These sites were chosen for their significance and to maximize chaos. Emergency and military forces will be busy responding to the explosions, diverting further resources and attention. We will have limited ability to further adjust and manipulate the colony's life support and defensive networks once the operation begins, but we should not rely on this capability. We must be prepared for the eventual arrival of forces from other settlements in response to the chaos, but this shouldn't affect our initial window.
"Once the operation begins, we will have no more than a few hours to complete retrieval and extraction. We do not have the operational strength for close air support, so this will be a hard extraction."
"What are the other mission objectives?" one of the men asked.
"There are no other mission objectives. We cause a diversion, we get Nor, we get out."
"How does this fit into our long run strategy?" another inquired.
"The war is over, gentlemen. We lost. This is a rescue, wrapped up in revenge."
********
The evening that the verdict came down, Clark announced his intent to abdicate and leave New Krypton. As his chief of staff, Ching stood with him and Zara as Clark addressed the High Council. As his words caused a rippling murmur to rise up through the Council, they caused a shockwave to spread across the planet. There was always speculation about whether Kal El was going to return to his own world. While many no doubt suspected he would, Ching imagined that no one thought it would come so quickly.
"As soon as my replacement is confirmed, I will return to Earth," Kal El announced. "While this world has come to mean a great deal to me, Earth was my home for thirty years, and it is time for me to return there. We have accomplished what we said we would – the war has ended, justice has been served, and the process of rebuilding a stronger, more united New Krypton is well underway. I've done what I came here to do, and I'm happy to know that I'm leaving a world with a hopeful future. But because the question of succession was itself at the heart of the civil war that nearly tore this world in two, I will not leave until a capable and trustworthy successor has been confirmed. First Minister Zara and I nominate General Commander Ching for the Council's consideration. There is not a man alive who has done more to guarantee the safety and welfare of this colony, and no one with a greater knowledge of the great and terrible responsibilities that come with this office."
Ching was stunned. He, of course, knew Clark intended to nominate him, but he hadn't expected it to be now. The other man had quickly and cleanly turned the focus from himself to his designated successor. But then, that shouldn't have surprised Ching. Clark never came here seeking fame and glory – if that had been his desire, he would have been better off staying at home, where he was regarded as a god, not just a mortal leader. It didn't matter to Clark that he didn't have one last moment in the sun, the entire world hanging on his every word. In fact, Ching very much suspected that Clark wanted nothing more than to be rid of the attention.
Clark turned toward him, just as every other pair of eyes in the auditorium fixed on Ching. He stepped forward, his hands still clasped in front of him. "I am, of course, humbled and honored by the First Ministers' nomination. Should the Council choose to consider me for this tremendous responsibility, I will do whatever I can to be of assistance to the vetting process," he managed, hoping he wasn't rambling idiotically. Ching glanced at Zara, who couldn't quite hide the smile on her face. For his part, he tried as best he could to look suitably solemn and dignified. He wouldn't make much of a candidate if he grinned like a fool.
Clark smiled at his chief of staff and at the entire chamber before continuing. "I am certain that this Council will find Ching to be a highly qualified and worthy candidate, and I look forward to the day when we will all greet him as the new First Minister. Thank you all, and may fortune be with you and all of the people of New Krypton," he finished.
The Council got over its initial shock at the announcements and stood to applaud heartily. Kal El had entered their world, upended most of their familiar routines and usual customs, challenged them to become more than they were, and now, in his exit, he was leaving them bewildered and surprised.
And eternally grateful.
********
He slammed his hand against the desk's surface. "Dammit," he growled. He nearly leapt out of his seat at the feel of a pair of hands on his shoulders.
"Shhh," his wife murmured. "Thia's asleep," she said softly as she massaged his tense muscles.
Lok Sim placed a hand on top of one of hers. "I'm sorry," he replied. "I've been through these files so many times, and there's nothing here."
"No leads?" she asked, her hands still.
"None," he responded, dismayed. "There's a damage control engineer I thought might be suspicious but her personnel file is completely clean and I can't trace any unexpected activity back to her."
"Who is it?"
"The Damage Control Chief on duty one night when I was on the watch. Her behavior seemed odd, erratic, but she has no affiliation with any suspicious individuals, no apparent motive for betrayal, and has a perfect service record. Her family also checks out clean. She was widowed four years ago – her husband was a lieutenant in the ground forces, killed in action."
"What about that junior engineer?"
"He claims he never accessed those files and I believe him." He sighed despondently. "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there's nothing here at all and it was just a misunderstanding."
Enza wrapped her arms around him and kissed his temple. "I don't think that's true. What you found doesn't make any sense, not if it were an accident or a mistake. Someone has accessed those files and gone to great trouble to cover it up."
Lok Sim turned to look up at his wife, still standing behind him. "I don't know what to do next," he admitted.
"Maybe you shouldn’t focus on the trail of the evidence and instead think about who would stand to benefit from accessing those files," she suggested.
"Before, the sabotage always led back to Rae Et, but she's dead and Nor's in prison."
"So who would be trying to break Nor out?"
"That's just it, it makes no sense. Most of his top lieutenants were captured or killed, and frankly, I don't think any of those remaining would have the capabilities to do this." He sighed again in agitation. "And apparently I'm not capable of figuring it out, either."
"Yes, you are," his wife replied. "But you've been at this all night. Let's go to bed, and turn back to it in the morning."
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Go ahead without me," he said. "There's still more I want to do here tonight."
"Love, you're exhausted…" she began. "I don't want you to fall asleep here at this desk."
"You did the exact same thing almost every night for the first six months of our marriage," he responded, surprised by the hurt tone in his own voice. He regretted the words the instant they crossed his lips. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"It's true," she admitted in a soft whisper, running her fingers through his hair in a way that made him shiver. The simplest touch from her always was his undoing. "And maybe I'm a hypocrite for it, but you need some rest so you can come back to this from a new perspective."
Perhaps she was right. Maybe he had gotten too lost inside his search to see the entire picture. "Just give me a few more minutes," he said, acquiescing at last.
"All right," she replied as she bent down to kiss his cheek. "I love you," she whispered in his ear.
Lok Sim closed his eyes. "I love you, too."
It wasn't long before he gave up on the files. Annoyed with his lack of progress, and most especially, for snapping at his wife, he padded silently into their room and tried not to make any noise as he got ready for bed. Of course, the instant he lay down she would wake up – she was simply that light a sleeper – but he could still try not to disturb her. As soon as he slipped into bed, she turned on her side to face him, her eyes open.
"I imagine you slept better before we were married," he murmured wistfully.
"I sleep terribly without you," she replied.
"What I said before…please know that I didn't mean it. I was frustrated, but that's no excuse…" he began to apologize, but the feel of her hand against his cheek stopped him.
"It's forgotten," she whispered. Her soul seemed incapable of nurturing a grudge. Bitterness and acrimony found no purchase there, despite all the hurt she'd suffered. Or maybe it was because of the pain of losing her family that she knew the toxic destructiveness of remaining angry.
He had no intention of trying her extraordinary patience or wearing down the easy grace she bore. He hoped that he would never cause her a single moment's pain. Closing his eyes, he turned his face to kiss the palm of her hand. She found her way into his arms, their bodies fitting so perfectly together. The rightness of it brought him the peace he couldn't buy with a thousand apologies. She held him – and let him hold her – soothing away all his troubles. The soft, even sound of her breathing let him know that she'd fallen asleep. He dipped his head down to see the slight smile turning up the corners of her mouth. Perhaps she wasn't merely humoring him when she told him that she slept better with him there. Indulging a small smile of his own, he closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.
********
Zara slipped out of her greatcoat, draping the garment over a chair in Ching's quarters. "Shai wholeheartedly endorsed your candidacy today," she said. "More than half the Council seems ready to accept you at this very instant."
Ching stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Probably not this *very instant,*" he murmured as his lips brushed the sensitive skin below her ear. "It is late. I imagine many of them are asleep or otherwise pleasantly occupied."
"Mmm," she sighed and closed her eyes as she placed her hands on top of his. "Somehow, I don't think sleep is on your mind."
"You know me too well," he replied as he kissed her neck. She could feel him smile against her skin.
"Better than anyone," Zara whispered as she turned around in his arms. A dark tendril of her hair spilled forward. Ching reached to tuck the strand behind her ear, his fingers lingering against her cheek.
"I love you," he said softly. He tilted her chin up and covered her lips with his.
"I love you," she replied, her hands trailing down to his sides. "Everything will be so different when we're married."
"Some things will be. I'll be able to gaze at you in public like a love struck fool without igniting a scandal, but this will be exactly the same," he said as he framed her face with his hands. "We don't need vows or the words of some judge to make this real. This has been about forever since even before the first time we made love." Ching kissed her again. Her lips parted under the gentle, yet insistent pressure from his. Their tongues met as the kiss deepened. The sensation was so familiar and yet so exhilarating. It sent a jolt of pleasure skittering down all of her nerve endings. She moaned softly into his mouth and felt his arms tighten around her.
"Make love with me, Ching," she whispered, her lips inches from his.
"You don't ever have to ask," he replied.
********
She loved this dream.
Lois closed her eyes as she floated into his open arms. He hugged her tightly, wrapping his cape around her. Clark smiled at her as he tipped her chin up with one finger and let his thumb trace the outline of her bottom lip. He covered her lips with his and kissed her softly. Her tongue swept the inside of his mouth. God, she could never get enough of him. The taste of him, the smell of his skin, the feel of his breath against her cheek as he whispered that he loved her.
"Dance with me," he murmured quietly in her ear as he took her hand and held it against his heart. He let his other arm slip down to wrap around her waist. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest.
But instead of his broad warm chest, she came into contact with nothing but the cold night air. Shocked, she opened her eyes and watched him drift away from her. She started to fly after him as he floated upward to the infinite emptiness of space. But she couldn’t reach him. Lois stretched out her hand to him as he reached for her. "Please, don't let go of me," he said. He was being pulled away from her, by what she didn't know.
"Clark!" she cried out. "No!"
The sound of her son, bursting into tears startled her awake. She sat up slowly, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry," she said softly as she walked across the darkened bedroom over toward her little boy. He stood by the doorway, fat tears rolling down his face. Jon started to cry harder. "I didn't mean to scare you."
"Mommy," he cried as he held his arms out to her.
Lois gathered him up in her arms. "Did you have a bad dream, sweetie?" He nodded feebly. "Me too," she replied as she ran a soothing hand up and down his back. "Do you want to sleep here?" she asked him. Jon nodded again. She carried him to the bed and laid him down. Jon was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was her little angel. Lois closed her eyes and tried to settle back down to sleep. She felt terrible for startling him. She had a tendency to float in her sleep, especially when she was dreaming, so she kept the door to her bedroom locked. But she must have forgotten tonight. In the middle of her own nightmare, she hadn't heard him open the door and wander inside, awake because of his own bad dream.
Propped up on her elbow, she gently kissed his forehead before lying back on her pillow. She listened to the sound of his heartbeat, letting it lull her back to sleep. Lois tried not to think about her nightmare and what it meant. She wasn't losing him; she couldn't lose him. Her eyes stung with tears. Sighing quietly, she wiped them away and tried to sleep.
********
He leaned down and placed a large hand on his niece's arm. "We're going to be late picking you up tonight, remember?" She nodded silently. "So what are you supposed to do?"
"Do my schoolwork with Davi until you come get me," Thia replied. "But what if it's too hard?"
Lok Sim smiled and tried not to chuckle. The little girl standing in front of him was just about the smartest person he knew. "Then I'll help you with it after dinner tonight," he said. All around them, the other children were filing into the classrooms. The corridors were alive with the wonderful sounds of boisterous laughter and happy voices. "Can I have a hug?" he asked.
Thia wrapped her small arms around him and hugged tightly. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you," he said.
"I love you, too," she replied.
********
"Ma'am, are you certain you wish to come with us?" the shifty little man asked as she took her seat on the ship. She didn't like Ban Mol, but then, Rae Et didn't like anyone. He certainly had proved to be more competent than Jen Mai and that truly was all that mattered.
"I won't wait for you to make a mess of this operation. I want to be somewhere where I can exercise the necessary control, should anything not go according to plan."
"Of course," he replied with a nervous, jerking bow. She could see the beads of sweat starting to form on his brow. His anxiety didn't surprise or concern her. She would have been more concerned if he weren't tense.
"One other thing," she added, folding her hands in her lap.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"When you find Son Mai, make sure to kill him," she said casually. Rae Et straightened the collar of her greatcoat with practiced boredom. Ordering other people's deaths had long since ceased to have any impact on her mood or disposition.
Ban Mol gaped for a moment, obviously wondering if she'd actually just demanded the execution of one of her son's lieutenants. She scowled and he finally picked his jaw up from where it had fallen to his knees. "Um, yes, of course, ma'am," her subordinate stammered.
"Oh, and don't tell Jen Mai anything of it," she concluded with an exasperated sigh. "I'll still need him to be useful for just a little while longer."
********
Their guards surrounded them as they left the conference room. Clark held his arm out for Zara, smiling as he thought to himself that this was one of the last cabinet meetings he'd ever have to attend. Soon, Ching would be walking arm in arm with Zara to and from these interminable things, instead of following several paces behind them.
"Unless you object, I plan to promote Enza to lieutenant commander," Zara said quietly.
"No objections," Clark responded immediately. "She did a tremendous job with the trial. Do you think she'll be satisfied staying on as your legal advisor? I'm sure the Guild is going to be making her some rather tempting offers."
"You're right, which is why Ching and I will ask her to be our chief of staff," she replied matter-of-factly.
Clark tried to suppress a grin as they turned a corner in the center of the administrative compound. "You always were several steps ahead."
"It's helpful when you're the First Minister," she said softly. He could hear the laughter in her voice.
He placed his hand on top of hers where it rested on the crook of his elbow. "I'll bet," he murmured. "So what else do we have lined up for today?"
"Council debate. Ching's accession should be locked up today. A briefing with Rab Dun on the reconstruction effort. And then you have a meeting with the Chief Jurist to discuss the process of abdication and I have a call with the governors of the outer settlements." The guards in front of them opened the door to the deserted anteroom outside the Council Chambers.
"We have a very strange marriage," Clark whispered as they stepped into the room. He pulled the doors closed behind them.
She fought back a laugh. "We do," she agreed.
"Well, pretty soon we'll be divorced and back with spouses who sleep with us."
"Clark!" she exclaimed, her smile belying the indignation she was trying to convey. "When did you become so impertinent?"
He shook his head as he grinned. "When it finally hit me that I'm going home."
"I am so happy for you," Zara replied softly. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
"Just make sure to invite me to the ceremony," he said. "I love weddings, even the stiff, formal affairs you Kryptonians call weddings." Clark hugged his friend, genuinely thrilled that, after years of sacrifice, of putting everyone and everything above herself, she would finally be getting her heart's desire.
Sighing as she stepped back, Zara looked up at him. "Come now, we need to be suitably somber for this Council debate."
He wiped the smile off his face. "It won't do for us to show up looking happy. This is politics after all."
"I can be bored if you can," she agreed.
"Oh believe me, I'll be bored." Clark held out his arm to Zara as the doors to the Council Chambers opened for them.
********
She slung her bag over her shoulder and started toward her transport. "Assuming everything goes as planned, which, knowing babies, it won't, I'll be gone about a week," she said to her lieutenant commander.
"Aye, ma'am," he replied.
"There isn't much that needs to be done here, this is more of a caretaking assignment, commander," she explained. "I trust everything will be fine, but you know how to contact me."
"Of course," he said with a nod as they exited the building.
Faral saluted them as they approached the waiting craft. "May fortune be with you, ma'am," the gruff sergeant said with a barely suppressed smile. "And with your brother and his wife."
"Thank you, Sergeant," she replied as she stepped onto the transport. She took her seat as the doors closed behind her. Talan had been deployed when both her nephews were born and hadn't seen either one until some months after their births. Being able to welcome her niece into the world was something she was looking forward to. Besides, someone had to look after the boys while their mother and father took care of the brand new baby. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. They wouldn't reach Wey Rem until after nightfall and meditating seemed as good a way as any to pass the time.
********
With simple keystrokes, a chain reaction began. Once started, it would accelerate and grow on its own, seeping its way into every corner and crevice in the colony's network. The system would start to slow, data processing would break down, monitoring programs would shut off, automatic controls would reverse themselves.
The shattering of the newfound peace, the destruction of so many hopes and dreams and lives rebuilt began not with rockets and gunfire. It began with a few simple keystrokes.
********
Ban Mol looked up from the communications screen on the ship. "Your contact is reporting the first signs of system failure," he announced.
"Very good," Rae Et replied, sounding for all the world like a proud parent applauding a child. "Any complications?"
"The contact is asking if he's all right," Ban Mol said, tensing his shoulders and bracing himself in the event that this simple comment was what triggered his superior's infamous and deadly temper.
Instead, Rae Et chewed her lip thoughtfully for a brief moment. "Say that he won't suffer another moment and that as soon as Nor's safe, we'll let him go."
He nodded nervously and relayed the message exactly as he received it. "It's done," he said, the relief in his voice clear to his own ears. Each of these seemingly small tasks was nothing more than an opportunity to fail Rae Et and earn her wrath, leaving him constantly on edge.
"Good. Now put the order in to have the prisoner killed," she replied nonchalantly.
He stared agape. "But, but you just said he wouldn't suffer anymore," he stammered, too much in shock to think about how his comment was interfering with his self-preservation instincts. Was he trying to court disaster?
Rae Et stared at him through cold, narrowed eyes. "Then have him killed quickly," she explained as though he were a simpleton and his point was the stupidest one she'd ever heard.
Ban Mol nodded dumbly and carried out the order. He operated the communications system with trembling hands and struggled to find his voice as he repeated her instructions. He spoke in harsh, guttural sentences, knowing that keeping up a façade of anger was the only way to keep his voice from cracking with anxiety. In mere hours, she'd ordered the deaths of two people the instant they ceased to be useful. How much longer could it possibly be before she found him to be similarly disposable?
********
Lok Sim smiled as he squared off against his opponent in the deserted officers' gym. He held up his hands defensively as he shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other.
"Do you have any idea how ridiculous this is?" she asked, shaking her head as she regarded him.
"Come on, love, your review boards are next week," he replied. "Let's start with grappling and throws." She evaded his first few attempts to trap her, but eventually he grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her into his arms, spinning her around so her back was to him. Lok Sim held her tightly, taking advantage of her captive status to kiss the sensitive spot just behind her ear and let his lips wander down her neck.
His body pressed tightly against hers, he felt her shiver. It ran all the way down her spine, through her limbs and across every muscle. "You're supposed to be helping me prepare, remember?" she asked. Why was she able to keep focusing? He was already well beyond distracted.
"Prepare for what?" he asked absently.
She jabbed him playfully in the ribs with her elbow. "The basic combat skills exam."
"All right, let's try the hip toss." Lok Sim adjusted his hold on her, placing one arm loosely around her neck. Enza grabbed his wrist and elbow and started to pull him forward, but he had no difficulty keeping his balance. "I have a hundred pounds and almost a foot on you," he said. "If we make this a test of strength, I'm afraid it won't be a fair fight. Your center of gravity is lower than mine. Turn your hips, drop your shoulder, and use my weight against me."
She did as he instructed and threw him off-balance, this time literally. Lok Sim found himself falling forward as he lost his footing. The mat seemed to approach in slow motion and he couldn't help himself; he held on to her, bringing her tumbling to the floor with him. His wife fell on top of him, landing squarely in his arms. "You did that on purpose," she said, smiling down at him.
"Of course I did," he replied, as he reached up and brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face.
Enza shook her head. "I still don't know why lawyers need to know basic combat." She placed her hand on the mat beside him to get her balance and stand up. Lok Sim gently ran his fingers over the long, old scar on her upper arm, the harsh reminder that the war had made warriors of them all. It had torn them out of their lives, placed them in harm's way, and forced them to make difficult decisions and unfair sacrifices. He regarded her as she watched his fingers move slowly over her skin, barely touching her. He could feel the sparks of electricity created by the whisper-light contact. She stared intently at his hand before looking down at him, her eyes dark.
Lok Sim lifted his head from the mat as she leaned toward him. Their lips parted and their tongues met in a slow, sweet kiss. He sighed contentedly and fell back against the mat, his eyes closed. His wife took the initiative to kiss him again, assaulting his senses. She moaned into his mouth and he felt his breath hitch in his chest.
A bone shattering siren pierced the air, assailing their ears. Enza scrambled to sit up as they both looked up, trying to discern the cause of the alarm. "That's the emergency security system," he said. They stood up and rushed toward the door. He found his communicator and fumbled to put the earbud in place. His heart plummeted into his stomach as he listened to garbled, barely comprehensible transmissions. "Defense systems are down, explosions have been confirmed in the administrative compound."
She looked at him, eyes wide with disbelief. "There's a small arms locker at the end of the north corridor," she said. His heart thundering in his chest, he followed directly behind her. As she disarmed the door, he stood protectively over her, glancing frantically from side to side. The hallway was empty, the sirens echoing in the metal-plated corridors, the blinding strobes flashing incessantly. Unlocking the door, she forced it open. He herded her in, hoping to get her away from the exposed hallway. Moving feverishly, she threw him a flak vest and started pulling weapons out of the storage locker.
He pulled the vest on over his sparring uniform and put on a pair of leg holsters, complete with handguns. Grabbing a strand of explosives, recharging packs, and a rifle, he completed the transformation into a walking arsenal, trying to ignore the fact that he hadn't actually fired a weapon since basic training years ago. Lok Sim watched his wife adjust her protective vest with trembling fingers. Finally getting it tightened, she looked up at him, her eyes wide. He opened his mouth but couldn't form any words.
She grabbed the lapel of his vest and pulled him down, kissing him fiercely. "I love you," she said in a harsh whisper.
"I love you," he replied immediately, almost as a reflex. He looked down at her. She fought tears, but her mouth was set in a defiant line. She didn't say a word, but he knew exactly what she was telling him. 'Don't tell me it'll be all right. Don't say we're going to make it. Don't tell me Thia will be fine. Don't make me cry because I won't be able to do my job.'
She was saying goodbye to him. Just in case…he couldn't even bring himself to consider the thought.
If she needed quiet strength from him, he would give it. If she needed him to pretend he wasn't terrified, that the thought that he might never be with his wife again wasn't turning his insides to ashes, he could pretend. But he'd be damned if the last time he kissed her was going to a frantic, confused kiss that caught him off guard. He pushed her back against the locker wall, framing her face with his hands, and covered her lips with his. Lok Sim pressed the length of his body against hers, kissing her with every bit of passion within him.
"I love you," he said breathlessly as he backed away.
She looked up at him, gasping for air. It took her only a moment to regain her composure. "We have to get to Thia." The desperation was clear in her voice.
He nodded grimly. "First, we need to get to a network station and try to figure out what's happened. If we go in blind, we won't be able to protect her." He picked up the rifle and wrenched open the heavy door, certain that at any moment, his heart was going to explode from pounding so hard in his chest.
