Universal Union Book 3, Part 2 
By Jenni Debbage < jdse08662@blueyonder.co.uk> 
Rated: PG-13 
Submitted: November 2001


Chapter Eleven: Destination Earth

Throughout the long bright days of summer Lord Kal-El and 
Lady Lois' popularity blossomed as the season's flowering. 
Without the malicious Rad-Nor to incite unrest, the 
community of nobles came to accept, more readily, the rule 
of the First Lord and his unique Lady. And when Lois' 
pregnancy was announced the population of Krypton was 
overjoyed.

This situation didn't wholly please the lady herself as she 
waited to see if her position of consort should degenerate 
into that of mother of the heir. However, it did seem that 
her fears might be groundless as there was little change in 
the way she was viewed by the people she had come to regard 
as her family and friends. Of course, they had all, and 
this included her husband, become slightly more protective 
of her but, given her previous history, this was 
understandable, and the concern was not overly stifling.

And she had one sure sign that the groundswell of 
appreciation might be for herself alone. The invitation to 
attend the Council sessions was issued before the knowledge 
of the coming child was made known. And, though she was not 
yet a full member of the Council with the right to vote, it 
was gratifying to be asked on occasion how a Kryptonian 
problem might be tackled on her native planet. It was even 
more satisfying when her opinion seemed to be taken into 
account, as in the case of Krypton's sponsorship of the 
planet of Moy into the Federation.

A deputation from the said planet was invited to attend the 
autumn open Council meetings, along with various other 
members of the planetary group, in the hope that a more 
informal setting would allow the representatives to get to 
know each other.

It had been many years since Krypton had formally opened 
its doors to so many important visitors. Most of the 
Federation's business was conducted through 'conference 
space communiques' or, on matters of extreme importance, 
the members would rendezvous at a central point in space 
and hold a meeting on one of the greater spacecruisers. So 
this 'actual' conclave was something of an event for the 
member worlds and for their hosts, and as this was the 
first interplanetary gathering of Kal-El's reign, it soon 
developed into something of a state occasion with all 
members of the United Planets accepting Krypton's 
invitation.

This was a situation which in itself became a problem. Pomp 
and circumstance would hardly generate a relaxed atmosphere 
in which the new member could meet with its allies. Moy's 
state of technical expertise was somewhat less advanced 
than the other worlds, and Kal and his Council were 
concerned that the Moyan ambassadors would feel intimidated 
or placed in the position of supplicant.

During a meeting, held to discuss the coming 'State Visit,' 
Lord Trey was quick to suggest to his fellow Councillors 
that they were perhaps not the best people to plan this 
event, given their and the noble classes' narrow-minded and 
judgmental treatment to one strange visitor who had come 
amongst them. A somewhat embarrassed Council conceded that 
there was some truth in the Prime Councillor's statement 
and, though the resulting meeting didn't actually place 
Lady Lois in charge of the arrangements, she was given the 
position of 'special advisor' and all decisions had to pass 
her scrutiny before being adopted by the Council.

It wasn't perfect but it was more than Lois could ever have 
hoped for in such a short time and she was soon immersed in 
the complicated details of entertaining a vastly diverse 
set of visitors. Lois was also aware of the fact that, 
while the coming occasion might be ceremonial, it had very 
serious and political implications, and she had been asked 
to assist in the task of plotting the Moyans' course into 
full Federation membership. It was not totally outside the 
realms of possibility that one day she might be asked to do 
the same for her home planet.

The realisation astounded her and caused her a few 
sleepless nights. But Lois wasn't a quitter and she threw 
herself, despite the small debilities of her advancing 
pregnancy, into her given role with enthusiasm and 
determination. After all, she knew better than anyone just 
how it felt to be a stranger in a strange world.

It was in late summer when preparations were at their most 
frantic and the city of Elvar was being duly dusted down, 
deodorised and decorated for the coming celebrations; when 
frequent wrangles were breaking out amongst the Council and 
workforce employed to bring the ambitious plans to 
fruition, that a message was received from Commander Medi.

The high-ranking policeman had insisted on leading an 
undercover task force out into space in an attempt to find 
Rad-Nor. Immediately following the discovery of Nor's 
flight, a formal search by the Kryptonian spaceforce had 
taken place. However, since the most likely destinations 
were situated in areas prohibited to Federation forces, 
these sorties had produced no results. Even the deputation 
sent to Space Station Caytan had yielded up only the 
information that Nor and his followers had stopped by to 
meet up with the remnants of the space pirates, before 
flying off to an unknown destination.

The First Couple had little difficulty in persuading the 
Council that Krypton had not seen the last of the menace of 
Nor; in fact, Lords Trey and Remy were already in agreement 
that Rad-Nor at large in space might be an even greater 
danger to the planet and thus the Federation. With these 
two senior Lords' endorsement, the rest of the Council had 
readily agreed to Commander Medi's request. He had been 
placed at the head of a special squad to investigate the 
whereabouts of the rebel Lord and to expose any plot 
against Krypton and the alliance. The small detachment had 
been gone sometime now but, unfortunately, no enlightening 
news had, as yet, been sent back. All of which made the 
thought request received by Lady Lois something of a shock.

The First Lady, in her role of special advisor and with the 
support of Trey and Remy, was visiting the outskirts of 
Elvar where a temporary village was coming into being.

<Lois, we have to talk! Medi has sent information that's 
important for the family. Meet me as soon as you can at Ro-
Ellion.>

The urgency in the bald statement gave Lois pause. And why 
did Kal mention the family and not the Council? <Kal, 
what's happened and why Ro-Ellion?>

<Sweetheart, this is personal. Medi reported to Jace on the 
secure channel, and I'd rather keep it that way for the 
moment. But if you're with Lord Trey and Uncle Remy then 
bring them along.>

<Sure, Kal, I can wait, I think.> A small smirk quirked 
Lois' lips at the thought that she'd at last learned 
patience. <But unfortunately this business might take 
sometime.>

The smirk turned to a grimace as she watched the little 
altercation between the designers and the builders become 
more heated. Lois' hand eased over her aching back. She was 
now in the second trimester of her pregnancy and had 
already grown larger than she'd ever thought possible. 
Under the blaze of the noonday sun, her head had started 
throbbing and if it hadn't been for the cooling breeze from 
the river, she would already have succumbed to the heat. 
The 'village' stretched out from the existing boundaries of 
the city along the verdant banks of the River El and was 
indeed a sight to behold. Domed buildings -- of the kind in 
which she and Kal had exchanged their marriage vows -- had 
descended on this spot and were the centre points of the 
smaller living quarters. Whilst the large airy structures 
might be completely adequate for assemblage and dinning 
areas, these respected guests -- heads of state and 
government representatives -- could hardly be expected to 
live in glorified tents.

Tidy compounds surrounded by newly created gardens would 
house the planetary delegations, and every small detail was 
being attended to in order that the visitors would feel 
completely at home. The First Lady had been happy to note 
from the existing holotapes of previous conferences that 
the races were mostly humanoid. At least, in the sense that 
they seemingly possessed all the normal parts of a homo 
sapien. Lois had a picture of a 'Star Wars' universe within 
her head, where she was entertaining giant hairy animals, 
women with two heads and lizard people.... Or little cuddly 
teddy bear types... she wouldn't mind the teddy bears. Kal 
had told her that many weird forms of life existed in the 
vast expanse of space -- take the Taureans for example. 
Well, truthfully, she'd rather not take them but even they 
had resembled humans... with just very unattractive hog-
like features. Lois did not hate their physical forms 
though. They could be as ugly as sin and she could find 
them acceptable. It was their cold, murderous hearts that 
she loathed.

Besides, according to all she'd been told of these 
delegates, the Federation mainly consisted of congenial 
races who believed in the strength of alliances. Certainly, 
she had done a great deal of homework, reading up on the 
different habits and lifestyles of the visiting 
dignitaries, and listening avidly to accounts from Kal, his 
Council and anyone else who'd had dealings with these 
peoples.

Then, using that information to ensure that some well-
meaning but dumb-witted designer didn't insult her guests 
by placing the door and the main windows of a dwelling 
directly into the rising sun. It appeared that Capulans 
didn't much care for bright sunlight and didn't really like 
having windows at all. Actually, it appeared that Capulans 
didn't like any number of things and they had requested 
that their habitat be set well away from the others. But 
the most astounding thing was that they'd agreed to attend 
the gathering at all. So, it was up to Lady Lois to see 
that their comforts and bizarre requests were taken care 
of.

And that was where she and her entourage were standing now 
-- in front of the Capulan enclosure. And she was shocked 
to see the prefabricated building being erected in the 
totally wrong direction. Thankfully, the workforce had just 
begun to put the structure together and it wouldn't take so 
very much extra work to rectify the mistake but it wasn't 
surprising that a clash of opinions was about to ensue. 
Surprisingly, since Lois had taken over the role of 
'special advisor' she'd discovered in herself an art for 
mediation. Perhaps, because in many cases she understood 
the point of view of the common man, or perhaps a little of 
her husband's sensitivity was rubbing off on Lois. Whatever 
the reason, she had found her presence much in demand by 
the Council, the professionals and the labourers. 
Evidently, everyone else had uncovered her talent for 
arbitration and she frequently found herself the confidant 
of many of these troubled artisans. With renewed energy, 
Lois plunged into the present dispute, hopeful that she 
could quickly sooth crabby and indignant temperaments, and 
could join Kal-El at Ro-Ellion as soon as possible.

"Gentlemen, please! Please, don't all talk at once!" Lois' 
voice was strident and stern but once she'd caught their 
attention she lowered and softened her approach. "I know 
it's a nuisance and I don't know how the mistake arose." 
Lois sent a pointed glance in the direction of the 
architect. Back on Earth, the 'old' Lois would have been 
raving at the 'stupid fool' with the intent of completely 
demoralising him, but Lady Lois recognised that ranting was 
very unproductive and the work needed to progress smoothly, 
if the 'village' was to be ready in time for its occupants. 
Then too, the man had a large and complicated task to 
perform in designing the various accommodations, so it 
wasn't totally surprising that some things should go amiss. 
Lois decided to be magnanimous. "But that's not important 
any more and it surely won't take too much time and trouble 
to turn the building round?" Her eyebrows rose in question 
at the men before her, who shuffled their feet and scowled 
somewhat peevishly but, nevertheless, nodded in reluctant 
agreement. "That's settled then. And as to the question of 
the windows -- would it be possible to cover them with 
thick shutters?"

"Yes, My Lady," came the quick answer from the building 
overseer. "That should work out well and if the 'Professor' 
here will give me the measurements I can order them 
directly." The well-built, middle-aged foreman bobbed his 
head in the direction of the 'Professor.' He was still 
feeling slightly aggrieved at the extra work and he wasn't 
about to give the man who was responsible his proper name.

"That won't be a problem, Lady Lois-El." The architect, 
realising he'd got off lightly, spoke apologetically. "I 
think you can safely leave things to me and Brynn here. 
We'll have everything put to rights in no time."

"Thank you, gentlemen, for your cooperation," she smiled as 
she addressed them. "As a matter of fact, I do have to be 
somewhere else rather urgently. I leave the problem in your 
capable hands. I'll return tomorrow to see to the contents 
of the building. I know that we programmed them into the 
matrix but viewing them on a holoscreen just isn't the same 
as seeing them in reality." There were certain aspects of 
Kryptonian technology that Lois still wasn't confident 
with. "Till tomorrow, gentlemen. Have a nice day."

As she turned to head for her transporter, Lois couldn't 
resist throwing the Earth saying over her shoulder. 
However, putting aside architectural and building problems, 
she concentrated her thoughts. This new skill still took a 
great deal of her strength to accomplish, especially when 
she was not communicating with Kal. <Uncle Remy, Trey, 
we're heading for Ro-Ellion. There's been some sort of 
crisis.>

*****

From the moment that Lois hurried into the garden room of 
Ro-Ellion followed by her equally curious escorts, she 
realised that the news wasn't good. The family were huddled 
together in the leafiest part of the large atrium, taking 
advantage of the trees' shade while enjoying the small 
river breeze through the now open glass walls. Yet, for all 
the outward appearance of a family enjoying their own 
company on a pleasant summer day, there was tension in the 
air. Lois set her little chin aloft and walked into the 
cauldron of worried emotions, her heart lifting as Kal rose 
to meet her.

"What is it? What has happened?" She took the hand that Kal 
offered her and allowed herself to be drawn into the close 
circle. "What has Medi discovered?"

"He found out where Nor stayed on Caytan and why he 
stayed...."

"But I thought that he just made a quick call and left with 
Ballen2 and company."

"That's what we all thought but it turns out not to be 
quite true," Kal commented as he seated Lois and himself on 
a comfortable couch and waited until the two elder Lords 
found chairs before continuing. "Nor's party spent a few 
days in hiding on Caytan while Keira gave birth."

"Keira has had her baby!" Lois exclaimed. "What am I 
saying?! Of course, Keira has given birth, because I know 
that Kryptonian pregnancies are very similar to Earth ones 
and she had to have had her baby months ago.... I mean, I 
have this right, don't I? Kryptonian pregnancy doesn't last 
for a year or something?"

A reluctant smile burst through Kal's concern. "Lois, 
you're babbling! And yes, having a baby here is pretty 
similar to back on Earth. We would have told you otherwise 
and I know that Tamar has explained it all to you. And we 
know he's very happy with how your pregnancy is 
progressing, so you really shouldn't worry." Recognising 
that his pregnant wife was rather more paranoid than 
normal, Kal was happy to offer her the reassurance that she 
frequently needed. But he was also pleased when he saw her 
smile rather sheepishly and return to the matter at hand.

"Sorry! You were saying... about Keira!" Lois was well 
aware that the whole family had been anxious about the 
girl's fate.

"Keira gave birth to twins... a boy and a girl."

Lois' eyes widened. "Twins! Two babies!" Oh, twice the 
pain, Lois surmised, and... "Don't twins run in families?"

"Yes, but not this family!" Lara came to sit beside her 
children and quietly appropriated Lois' hand and stroked it 
comfortingly.

"Lois, you're not having twins. Tamar would have told us." 
Kal reminded her with just a slight edge of exasperation in 
his voice. Keira was his sister and she was so far away 
from his protection.

"Sorry! Again! I don't know what possessed me to act so 
selfishly when I should be worrying for poor Keira."

"Lois, I think we know what got into you," Lara said with 
some amusement while her eyes slid down to Lois' protruding 
middle. "And we understand perfectly. Pregnant women are 
allowed to be a little eccentric. It's the fault of those 
raging hormones...."

"And we're all perfectly aware that you're concerned for 
our daughter too." As always, Jor-El offered Lois his 
understanding. Since first she'd arrived on this planet, 
Jor had been there with his common sense and his shy, yet 
friendly smiles. Of all the El family, Jor-El was the most 
self-effacing and yet Lois often wondered if his quiet 
empathy was the foundation for this close-knit family's 
strength.

"Oh I am! Was Medi able to find out how Keira and the 
babies fared?"

Kal leaned his elbows onto his knees and his hands wrung 
nervously together. "He managed to search out the physician 
who attended the birth.... Physician! Hmph! Some charlatan 
who ran rather than face a mass-manslaughter charge on his 
own world!"

Lois' hand stole to her lips. "Oh, Kal!"

"Still, he was willing to offer up information when Medi 
bribed him." Kal raised his eyes to find his wife's warm 
sympathetic gaze envelope him. "It seems that it was a hard 
birth... but both mother and children survived it. He was 
paid to stay with them for a day and they were all alive 
when he left. That's all he knows."

"But Medi was also able to find out that Keira and the 
children were taken aboard a Taurean craft with Nor and his 
troopers the day after the physician left them. No flight 
plan was logged, but that's not surprising. Ships come and 
go at Caytan without any regulations. Though it's a pretty 
fair bet that the ship was bound for Taurus or one of its 
moons." Major Ching added the information, flexing his 
shoulder muscles subconsciously as he spoke.

Ching's injuries had healed well but there was still a 
residual stiffness in the muscles of his upper body. When 
first he'd been discharged from the military medical-
centre, he'd spent a few days at home with his family but 
he'd eagerly accepted Kal-El's invitation to continue his 
recuperation in the palace. There, he'd been able to work 
out and train with the rest of the guards and even Kal 
joined in when he found time out of his busy schedule to 
keep fit. No one had reason to remark on this move to the 
palace as Ching had been a member of the El household since 
boyhood, and so no ulterior motive was sought. But it had 
enabled Zara and Ching to spend some time together, albeit 
only as friends, and always in the company of another 
member of the family -- to do otherwise was just too risky. 
Needless to say, the couple most preferred to have Lois as 
their chaperone as she always managed to create some way 
for them to share a private moment.

Shortly after Ching's arrival at the palace, when he was 
still feeling very bruised and battered, Lois had asked him 
to attend her in the apartment under the pretext of 
presenting him with a small gift to acknowledge the 
anniversary of his birthdate. This was an Earth tradition 
and one which Lois was not about to abandon. But the 
greatest gift of all was when the lady had disappeared into 
the bedchamber and Zara had taken her place. In one 
graceful motion, Ching found himself cradling the body of 
his love and he was smothered, very delightfully, in kisses 
from her soft lips. All thought of caution fled as he 
revelled in the touch of the woman he loved. The spectre of 
death which had so recently brushed him, lent Ching a 
greater appreciation of life. No one could know how long 
they had to live and so it was the moments that mattered. 
Both Zara and Ching had made the most of that moment and 
every other which their dearest Lady Lois managed to carve 
out for them in the sanctuary of her apartment.

And at least, one good thing had come out of the pirates' 
insurrection, Ching had been speedily promoted to Major and 
had also received a commendation for his bravery. Major 
Ching's star was in ascendancy which augured well for the 
lovers' secret liaison.

Only some days previously, the newly created Major had 
returned to full active duty as Kal's personal bodyguard; a 
role that had been adequately filled by the willing Poli -- 
the unfailingly optimistic Poli, who now found himself 
assigned to the task of taking care of the First Lady. And 
was Lois the only one to have noticed a demoralised and 
jealous pout on Poli's handsome face when told the news? A 
querulous look that had disappeared so instantaneously that 
she doubted that it had ever existed. Lois instinctively 
looked behind at her Lieutenant to see how he would react 
to Ching's obvious knowledge of the situation, but Poli's 
expression showed only solicitous interest, and immediately 
her attention was drawn back to her husband.

"And Keira and her babies are now well out of our 
jurisdiction." Once again Kal-El's compassionate nature 
prompting concern for the safety of his sister and not for 
the capturing of her rebel Lord.

"I think that we're all forgetting one thing. Nor now has a 
son, born into the house of Nor and out of the house of 
El." Trey's solemn words dropped into the hush of the 
garden room. "If things go wrong here," and at that the 
elderly Lord had the grace to blush, "Nor has a legitimate 
alternative claim to the throne."

An angry and aggrieved First Lord and soon to be father 
sprung from his chair. "But things aren't going to go 
wrong. And even if Lois did have a girl... well there's 
nothing wrong with that. I would still love her and take 
care of her and, if she's anything like her mother, then 
she'd make an excellent ruler for Krypton."

"Nephew, dear boy! Don't take on so! A baby girl will be 
very welcome. After all, your mother had a daughter first 
before giving birth to you. Besides, as your father will 
assure you, science can work wonders these days. I'm sure 
that both you and Lois will produce an heir.... If not this 
time, then...eventually."

Thankfully, everyone's attention was drawn to Kal and no 
one noticed Lois' slight grimace at that thought. It wasn't 
that she didn't want more children; she just wanted to get 
over this pregnancy and birth first before contemplating 
another. And if the science was available to help her 
conceive a boy, she intended to make full use of it. There 
was no way that Lois planned on turning out babies with the 
regularity of a conveyor-belt.

"I didn't mean to offend, sire, and I wish Lady Lois a safe 
delivery," Lord Trey put in, his manner conciliatory. "But 
you must know that a female on the throne would not be 
acceptable on Krypton."

"But a traitorous Lord like Nor would be acceptable as 
regent?!" Kal's eyes blazed.

"No! Never! Yet I doubt that Nor would take that into 
consideration. I'm very much afraid that he's more likely 
to arrive here at the head of a Taurean attack force to 
take the throne by force. And the one thing that we've all 
worked so hard to prevent would occur...."

The anger quickly drained from Kal-El and his final word 
was almost a sigh. "War!"

*****

The weeks passed quickly and it appeared that their worst 
fears were unfounded, at least for the present. Yet the 
Kryptonian military force remained vigilant and Jace's 
communication section constantly scanned the galaxy to give 
warning of an impending invasion. While out in space, 
Commander Medi and his men continued in their search.

But all remained quiet. The space surrounding Krypton was 
devoid of any menacing craft, and in Elvar the summer 
mellowed gently into autumn under clear skies and the 
fading warmth of a kindly sun. No further news was received 
from Medi's team. If Rad-Nor had taken up residence with 
the Taureans it seemed as if it might be a long-term 
arrangement. Mayhap too, the man had abandoned his 
obsession with seizing the rule of Krypton.

'And pigs can fly,' Lois would state sourly whenever that 
notion was suggested. And at that Lois, Kal and the two 
bodyguards would share an enigmatic glance. Only they knew 
that in one place that wasn't such a far out concept. 
Meanwhile, the little group could only hope that Nor had 
indeed forgotten his ambitious plans and pray that Keira 
and her children were safe.

Kal-El and his Council were seriously considering calling 
the Security Chief back home as the arrival of the 
delegations for the Federation Summit was looming near, and 
Medi was simply the most able officer to organise the 
security arrangements for the visitors. And so, the message 
went out to cease his current investigation and return to 
Krypton.

Within a couple of days, Medi was home and very thankful to 
be so. He had thrown all his energy into his fruitless 
search, and now he just wanted to be in Elvar, to return to 
the comfort of things familiar. As a boy he had implored 
his family to enroll him in the Military Academy; he had 
dreamed of voyages of discovery and of adventure in distant 
galaxies, and he had applied all his energies into 
fulfilling most of these long ago wishes. Only now, space-
travel didn't hold the same appeal. It was the reason he 
had requested a transfer to the home-based security forces 
where he had proved to be a valuable asset and had soon 
found himself at the head of Elvar's force. Nevertheless, 
his disinclination to space-travel had been set aside in 
the desire to fulfil his duty and he had stoically 
journeyed off Krypton to trace the lordly terrorist. 
Regrettably, he hadn't been able to apprehend his quarry 
but he was glad to be home.

And he had been given a new job. One which seemed to be 
less fraught than his last assignment and would most 
certainly require his continued presence in Elvar. With 
renewed enthusiasm and with his customary attention to 
detail, he had immersed himself in planning the protection 
for the visiting dignitaries, his role reacquainting him 
with his fellow-conspirators of spring.

Commander Medi was in his laconic way delighted, though not 
totally surprised, to discover that he was to report not 
only to the Council but to the 'special advisor' of the 
project, the now heavily pregnant Lady of El. The wily 
policeman had been quick to appreciate the young woman's 
potential and it pleased him that others were beginning to 
stray from their preconceived ideas on women. To tell the 
truth, Medi reflected that it was probably an aristocratic-
orientated view. As a member of the forces, both military 
and security, he had worked with women troopers and, though 
they very infrequently made it into high-ranking positions 
and then mainly in administrative posts, he had found them 
just as worthy as their male counterparts. And in the case 
of this First Lady, he believed that she far outstripped 
many of the Council and heads of houses in intellect, 
initiative and sheer guts. Having reached this conclusion, 
it wasn't a huge step to wonder just how many Kryptonian 
women were being held back by the traditional beliefs of 
this patriarchal society. It seemed, to his dispassionate 
view, that the females of his race just couldn't be less 
intelligent than those on Earth. Oh, there was that female, 
Lady-Mai! Now she was a really crazy person! But even she'd 
had a certain cunning, and she'd escaped arrest, unlike her 
husband. And the dowager Lady El was a wise old 'bird'... 
ah... lady.

So Medi mused as he paced back and forth before his men at 
the gates of the 'Federation Village' as it had come to be 
known, awaiting the arrival of the First Lord and Lady and 
their High Council. This was the final inspection before 
the arrival of the Planetary Representatives. These 
Delegations would be landing on Krypton over a period of 
days and the official opening ceremony was due to take 
place at the start of next week. Everyone seemed to be 
looking forward to the event with a mixture of emotions, 
excitement, pleasant anticipation and wary anxiety.

A small line of transporters appeared coming out from the 
direction of the city and as they drew near, Medi called 
his men to attention, bowing along with them as the First 
Lord and Lady stepped to the ground. A smiling Kal and Lois 
approached their Security Chief, Kal beckoning Medi and the 
troop to rise. All his growing life Kal had been accustomed 
to this greeting yet, since he had met Lois, his own 
natural aversion to this sign of deference was increasing. 
Nonetheless, regardless of his disenchantment with certain 
traditions, he was quite aware that his people weren't 
ready to throw all of their customs into the trash-
disintegrators so he smiled graciously at the squad and 
their officers before him.

Gratefully, he noticed that Lois was doing likewise. He was 
never quite sure of Lois' reactions. She was just as likely 
to rush up to Medi, who she now considered a friend, and 
shake his hand. The two not only had a shared history in 
working towards the destruction of Rad-Nor but, since 
Medi's return, they'd worked closely on the security 
precautions for the conference. However, his astute young 
wife clearly realised that whatever was the state of her 
relationship with Medi, here she was on public display and 
she would play her part as the gracious First Lady to the 
hilt. Kal's lips turned up in a tiny smirk knowing just how 
irksome Lois found these traditional restraints. Yet she 
seldom let her inner irritation show -- Lady Lois-El was 
becoming the epitome of Krypton's idea of the perfect 
consort.

Of course, in private it was a totally different matter. 
With her family and her small circle of friends, Lois could 
relax and just be herself. But Kal was afraid that it was 
almost as if Lois was developing two different 
personalities... the dignified First Lady she showed to the 
public and the effervescent Earth girl she returned to in 
private. It was Kal's earnest hope that one day the two 
could be reconciled and everyone would know the whole 
wonderful woman whom he had come to love with all of his 
being. But, sadly, Krypton society had some way to go 
before that would be possible and, even more sadly, Kal-El 
was soon to discover that he too was not so liberated as he 
had supposed.

That, however, was for the future; in the present, the 
First Lord and Lady with their entourage spent a pleasant 
hour inspecting the finished encampment. Lois had to admit 
that Kryptonian know-how had certainly been invaluable in 
constructing this lovely city in miniature. It certainly 
did not have the look of a temporary place, except perhaps 
for the two large domed edifices in the central park area, 
and that was only because she had witnessed them flying in. 
Now with the climbing plants around their entrances and the 
generous surrounding lawns they looked like they'd been 
there forever.

So too with the domiciles. Each one was tailored to its 
visiting occupants and hopefully would have the desired 
effect of making their guests feel at home. The architects, 
planners and builders had done their work well, despite the 
few disagreements that had arisen, and Lois made a mental 
note to thank them all with a personal message and one that 
was written on paper. There were certain things that she 
preferred from her old home and paper and ink were 
certainly included in the list. There was something more 
tangible and durable in the ability to run your fingers 
over the paper and the words. Techno-messaging was just 
more impersonal than a handwritten note and she just hadn't 
taken to it with the same verve as she had some of the 
other 'adaptations' she'd found on her new world.

<Quite right, honey, and even we Kryptonians still use 
paper and pen for more important documents.> Lois shot a 
glance towards her husband and blushed rosily at the 
amusement she saw twinkling in his eyes. She hadn't quite 
mastered this thought transmitting yet and sometimes stray 
thoughts got away. Anxiously she glanced at the others. 
<Don't worry, honey, I think I'm the only one who picks up 
on your wavelength. But I think we should concentrate on 
our inspection.> His smile lit up his face as he offered 
her his arm and led her in the wake of Medi and his guard.

Medi had also excelled, and the security forces, although 
comfortingly present, were not obvious. Using a meld of 
manpower, holo-cameras and force-fields, his guards would 
be able to keep an unobtrusive watch over the village and 
be on hand to swiftly assist in any imbroglio which might 
evolve. Lady Lois had been somewhat shocked to hear that 
Federation members might take part in a squabble where 
security forces would be needed to restore the peace and 
had voiced her surprise to Kal in private. To which he had 
answered dryly that though these civilisations might have 
advanced technologically and in the main had embraced the 
concept of a peaceful galaxy, not all had yet reached the 
saintly stage of 'loving' all of their neighbours.

The First Lord and Lady with their Council in attendance 
continued with their tour of the site, offering the 
workforce their thanks and appreciation for their stalwart 
labours in creating this lovely haven and in such a short 
space of time. Yet, when only halfway through their 
inspection, Kal noticed his Lois start to flag visibly and 
he directed the party's steps back towards their 
transporters. It was typical of Lois to brush aside the 
discomforts of her condition and insist on accompanying the 
group on this the final visit to the village before it 
welcomed its off-world inhabitants. Kal, just as typically, 
had been concerned that in this latter stages of pregnancy, 
Lois shouldn't be spending so long on her feet, but, when 
voicing his worries, his indignant wife had pooh-poohed 
this worry-wart attitude. Now, however, she seemed 
disinclined to ignore his ministrations and gratefully 
allowed him to hijack her back to the palace. Lois even 
went so far as to moan in pleasurable relief when, once 
inside the transporter, Kal lifted his wife's feet onto his 
lap and gently massaged her cramped muscles.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I can't tell you how good that 
feels," Lois sighed as she stretched back into the form-
hugging chair, laying her head on the cushioned headrest 
and closing her eyes.

"Don't mention it, milady. I'm here to do your bidding." 
Kal teased in a quasi-servile voice.

"Hmph!" Lois snorted without opening her eyes. "Have you 
forgotten you're top dog around here?!" But her smile 
belayed her sarcasm. "And thank you for not saying 'I told 
you so'!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Kal smiled beatifically, then fell 
silent, continuing to rub Lois' swollen feet and ankles 
while she drifted happily off into the realms of semi-
sleep.

So it was that Lois jumped slightly when Kal gently shook 
her shoulder to warn her that they'd reached their 
destination. Rousing herself from her pleasant haze, she 
alighted as nimbly as her burgeoning body would allow, and 
crashed directly into the solid, stiffened back of her 
husband, his head cocked slightly to one side as he 
listened to a telepathic message that only he could hear. 
But whatever it was, the news was dire. Lois was sure she'd 
never seen such a thunderstruck look on that handsome face.

"Hurry, Lois!" Kal's hand grabbed for Lois as he shepherded 
her through the doors, heading with all speed to the 
elevators.

Lois allowed herself to be so led. Perhaps there was a need 
for secrecy. But the moment the elevator doors closed and 
they were alone, she turned impatiently towards her spouse, 
almost dragging her arm from his urgent clasp but not 
quite... something had badly upset him.

"Kal!? What's going on!?" Her tone was peremptory. She 
would brook no holding things back for her own good. "Tell 
me!" she commanded as he bit at his lower lip and seemed to 
be involved in some inner turmoil. "Don't you dare try to 
protect me from bad news."

Kal looked a trifle hurt at this accusation. Truthfully, he 
never intended to hold this news from Lois.... He couldn't! 
His travail was in wondering how best to tell her. In the 
end, he told her flatly. "Jace has found Rad-Nor...."

"And?" Lois took Kal's hands and shook them impatiently.

"He's at the head of a huge Taurean fleet..."

"They're on their way here? Kal, this is terrible! You have 
to alert the forces! Call a Council meeting or something! 
Can you place a force-field round the whole planet?"

"Lois!" Kal caught her rambling attention and returned the 
squeeze of her hands. He stared determinedly yet 
sympathetically into her troubled eyes. "Lois, Nor isn't 
coming to Krypton.... He's on his way to Earth! He and the 
Taurean war-fleet plan on attacking Earth!"

The shock held Lois silent for a few seconds. "Earth! Oh 
my, god! Kal! Do you think Nor knows?!" It was one of Lois' 
most admirable traits and one that Kal loved... the ability 
to cut right to the heart of the matter... no hysterical 
screams or faints.

And it deserved the truth. "I'm not sure, sweetheart, but 
it has to be a possibility!"

The one great advantage of being friends with your 
bodyguards was the fact that you didn't have to stand on 
ceremony in their company. Throughout the ride back to the 
palace, Ching and Poli had remained unassumingly in the 
background and had hurried to keep up with their charges in 
the mad dash to the elevators. Now Poli could no longer 
keep quiet; he also understood exactly what was being 
discussed.

"But how could that be?! We four are the only ones who know 
about the po... about that!" Even with the evidence that 
their special secret might be blown, Poli's trustworthiness 
and professionalism wouldn't let him speak the confidential 
words.

"Unfortunately, that might not be true, Poli." The Lord of 
Krypton held hard to his wife's hands while the muscle 
along his jaw twitched spasmodically and his full lips 
compressed into a tight line. "Anyone onboard the 
mothership could have been spying and discovered the truth. 
And there were the foraging parties...."

"Excuse me! Foraging parties!?"

"Yes, Lois! I sent out groups to check out the facilities 
in Metropolis and the US. They visited shopping malls, 
museums, libraries, cinemas, government buildings... the 
Senate... even the White House. Everywhere we thought we 
could get a true picture of life in your world. Anything of 
significance we scanned into our computers. How else do you 
think we were able to duplicate so much here on Krypton?"

Lois shrugged her shoulders, unwilling to admit to the 
unwelcome notion that her investigative powers had clearly 
deserted her on this occasion. Well, at least in her 
defence, she had been rather preoccupied with trying to 
adapt to life on Krypton, not to mention a few attempts on 
her life. "Spy satellites?!"

"Well, we have these too," Kal admitted with a sheepish 
grin, a little amazed that he could find the energy to 
smile in this time of crisis.

"But, Kal, you made sure that these groups only spent a few 
hours on the surface of Earth and you rotated the men in 
case the... 'thing' was cumulative," Ching reminded 
reasonably. "We three were the only ones who spent time 
continually on Earth and it took a few days for us to 
develop... you know what."

"Then perhaps some of the others were longer down on the 
surface before you realised anything strange would happen." 
Lois searched her mind for any suggestion that seemed a 
possibility.

"No, honey, we're always very careful when going into an 
alien environment." Kal reddened apologetically at his 
choice of words. "We do lots of checks from the mothership 
before we land, and there was all the information we'd 
gleaned from the spy satellites which meant we were pretty 
sure it would be safe but we still don't rule out any 
unexpected occurrences. It's a safeguard for both ourselves 
and the people whose world we're visiting. I mean, it's not 
impossible that our presence could have an untoward effect 
on the indigenous population, so we're always very wary. I 
made the decision that only myself, Ching and Poli would 
crew the orbship that we took down to Metropolis and I can 
tell you, the officers onboard the mothership were not 
amused... but, in this case, I pulled rank. We kept in 
close contact but no other Kryptonian was allowed to land 
until I gave the word.... And by that time we'd already 
started to notice changes...."

"I suppose it's not totally impossible that someone else 
went down without permission," Poli surmised hesitantly, 
unwilling to contemplate that a member of the Kryptonian 
military would disregard orders.

"Or kept us under close surveillance," Ching added.

"Or maybe Nor doesn't know and just chose Earth out of 
revenge on me." Kal nodded thoughtfully. "Any one of those 
is a possibility and we certainly won't get any answers 
standing around in elevators." While they were talking, 
they'd reached the bottom level. "Come on. Jace is waiting 
for us.... He might have more news."

*****

Chapter Twelve Mr President

A hastily convened Council of War met in the palace, and 
alongside the Councillors, Commanders Jace and Medi awaited 
the presence of the First Lord and Lady. Jace had indeed 
had more information for the First Lord's party on the 
planned assault on Earth. Apart from the fact that he'd 
plotted the position of the armada on its course for Earth, 
there were the substantiating rumours which had reached his 
communications centre to be passed on to his friend and 
colleague. The undercover policemen that Medi had left 
behind on Caytan had reported in. It appeared that the talk 
on the space-station was all about a massive attack-fleet 
which was on its way to Earth where, it was reported, the 
Kryptonians would be as powerful as Gods and the population 
wouldn't stand a chance against them.

There could no longer be any doubt -- Rad-Nor knew! And he 
and his troops would use their powers to conquer Earth. The 
shocking news had finally penetrated Lois' numbed senses 
and for the first time in her young life she fainted clean 
away. A combination of fear for her family and people had 
merged with the weariness of pregnancy and Lois had for 
once sought refuge in the strange twilight world of 
unconsciousness.

Lois awoke to the quiet of her bedchamber. The room was 
completely still but was there the faint breathing of one 
other close at hand?

"Kal?" Even to her own ears her voice sounded shaky and 
thin.

"Lois?!" Kal's strong arm slipped behind her swollen body 
and aided her in her quest to sit up while his other hand 
brought a small glass of some elixir to her lips. "Drink 
this! Tamar says it will clear your head and make you feel 
better."

"Tamar was here?"

"He just left a moment or so ago. He scanned you and said 
that everything was fine and that you were just shocked... 
which is hardly surprising." Kal slipped closer to Lois on 
the bed and supported her with his body. "Now drink!" And 
he brought the glass to her lips.

Lois surveyed the amber liquid suspiciously. "Well, it 
might chase the fog away from my brain... and that would be 
a good thing, but I doubt it'll make me feel any better. 
What are we going to do, Kal?" There was the hint of tears 
behind those dark lovely eyes and they went straight to 
Kal's heart.

"I've called an emergency Council meeting to work out our 
strategy. Don't worry, Lois, I don't intend to let your 
home face the threat of Nor and the Taureans alone."

"A Council meeting?! Do you think they'll agree to help 
Earth? And when is it?" The questions tumbled one after the 
other in their rush to be aired.

"About an hour from now. I had to give the Councillors time 
to get here and to organise a holo-communication for Dax-
Ver and some other heads of houses who might be involved."

"Good! Then help me up! I can't lie around all day while my 
planet is under attack."

"Lois! Drink! Then we'll talk about the meeting."

At last Lois did his bidding but with a certain amount of 
aggravation. Was this potion really what Kal said or would 
it send her into a dreamless sleep for the good of her 
health and the baby? After a few moments, however, she did 
feel a little calmer... sharper too... the room was coming 
into focus.

"See!" Kal exclaimed. "It did exactly what I said."

"Hmph!" The First Lady gave a very unladylike grunt but she 
sat up straighter on the bed.

"Admit it Lois.... You thought it was a sedative."

"Well, Tamar might have just persuaded you that I needed 
the rest."

"Oh, he knows you need the rest! But he also knows you, 
Lois, and he thought the best thing for you was to be in 
the thick of things. Otherwise you'd just fret and that 
wouldn't be good for either you or the baby."

"He's a very wise man, that Tamar." Lois smiled smugly but 
slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed, never 
letting go of her hold on Kal's arm. Tentatively she 
stood... but the room very kindly stayed in place and it 
was only a little difficult to place one foot 
experimentally in front of the other. With Kal by her side 
she made it all the way over the room to the window and 
back, then to the chair by the fire which she sank 
bonelessly into. Lois' solemn gaze rose to meet her 
husband's concerned stare. "Don't hover, Kal, I'm fine!" 
And with a lightning change of direction she asked the 
question that had been hovering, for some time, like a 
spectre in the shadows of her mind. "Do you think Poli 
could have told Nor?"

"Poli! Lois, whatever are you talking about?"

"Does Poli work for Nor?" The words echoed like a tolling 
bell in the silence of the room.

"No! Of course not! Poli?! Why would you think that?"

"Someone had to have told Nor. And it wasn't you or me! And 
I don't believe it was Ching... so that only leaves Poli."

"Lois, no! We talked about this, remember. In fact, Poli 
was the one who brought it up. It could have been anyone on 
board the ship. Why would you suspect Poli? I can't believe 
you suspect Poli." Kal marched off across the room his head 
shaking in puzzlement.

Lois shrugged. "I don't really know why.... And, yes, Poli 
did mention it but that doesn't prove a thing.... It's just 
something that's been buzzing around in my head lately. I 
just don't think he's very happy inside or that he's 
everything he appears to be."

The worried pacing stopped and Kal turned to Lois 
incredulously. "Wait a minute.... Are you saying what I 
think you're saying? That Poli has been working for Nor the 
whole time.... But that would mean that Poli is the... 
assassin?"

"No.... Yes.... I don't know! I just think that perhaps you 
don't know him as well as you think." Lois sighed into the 
heated atmosphere of the room. "And no, I don't really 
think that he's a murderer... but I think he might be a 
little jealous of your friendship with Ching."

"And you think that would be enough for him to break his 
oath to me... to betray me?!"

"It might! People can do very weird things when they're 
consumed with jealousy."

"But Poli is my friend! I'd trust him with my life! I 
already have!" Kal squatted down and made himself 
comfortable by Lois' chair, taking her hands into his 
clasp. "You couldn't know because it happened before I came 
to get you and Poli doesn't like to talk about it... says 
it embarrasses him... so we don't... talk about it; though 
I did want to reward him somehow but he wouldn't have that 
either... just said he was doing his job." For some moments 
Kal's eyes glazed over in reminiscence while Lois sat 
quietly waiting. "Poli had just been assigned as my second 
bodyguard for my proposed visit to Earth. At that time it 
hadn't been sanctioned wholeheartedly and Zor sent me with 
Ching and Poli to Scheih-Ellion while he tried to persuade 
the Council to grant me permission to woo you. It was 
almost the end of autumn but the weather had been unusually 
mild and like any normal energetic men we didn't like to 
spend much time in doors. I remember there were a number of 
young unicorns waiting to be broken to the saddle so we 
offered our services to the head groom and he was quite 
happy to put us to work. It seemed that one particular mare 
had proved to be a little feisty and had tossed a couple of 
riders and broken a few of their bones which left him short 
handed. She was a beautiful animal though... a chestnut, 
fine-boned but with a promise of developing strength and a 
coat that gleamed with warmth and colour... and she had 
fire in her eyes..."

"Sounds like she made a deep impression on you. This 
wouldn't be Firefly we're talking about?" Lois smiled. 
She'd seen the lovely unicorn in the stables at Scheih-
Ellion. Firefly was Kal's chosen mount while there and no 
one else could master her.

Sitting on the floor, Kal smiled up at his wife. "She's 
mellowed quite a lot since that day."

"What happened?"

"We worked hard on the training and finally, the time came 
to take them for their first ride. I remember, it was a 
lovely day... a little cold but the sun was shining. 
Anyway, we went a little further than we intended and into 
rougher pathways than we ought to have gone. Firefly put a 
front leg into a snake hole and was bitten. Being so 
inexperienced and skittish she threw me... hard. She was 
terrified and though the bite wasn't deadly it must have 
been excruciatingly painful. She kicked out at the nearest 
thing around her which happened to be me. The first kick 
connected and with that and the fall I was totally 
winded.... I couldn't move. I lay frozen on the ground and 
saw her lower her head. I waited for the attack, thinking 
that it could be my last moment on Krypton and that I'd 
never get to meet you. Then she charged; it all happened so 
fast and Poli was there... throwing himself over my body. 
He took the horn thrust that was meant for me. He saved my 
life."

"Was he hurt badly?"

"He was gored in the shoulder... it was bad enough. Ching 
caught Firefly and managed to calm her down and we brought 
Poli back to Scheih-Ellion where he was taken care of. But 
the important thing is that he didn't take time to think of 
his own safety. He put his own life in danger to save me. 
Does that sound like someone who would go over to the enemy 
whenever the going got tough?"

Lois studied the clasped hands in her lap. "No," she 
volunteered on a whisper. "You're right.... It was a crazy 
idea."

Disengaging one of his hands, Kal tilted Lois' face towards 
him till he could look into her hauntingly troubled eyes. 
"But you're right about one thing. I have been so 
preoccupied with other things that I've totally forgotten 
about Poli's career. He has a right to be upset; after all 
Ching's a Major now, though he does have more years in 
service. The least I can do is ask the military to give him 
his captaincy. Poli's now in charge of your safety and so 
he's entitled to the promotion.... Unless, of course, 
you're still uncomfortable with Poli as your personal 
guard. I could find another post for him... somewhere where 
he wouldn't feel dismissed."

"No!" Lois could see the uncertainty and the dismay hidden 
in the depth of Kal's gaze. Clearly he trusted Poli and it 
seemed he was right to do so.... The Lieutenant had quite 
probably saved her husband's life and that meant a great 
deal to her. Lois buried her niggling suspicions for the 
present and hurried to make amends for the doubts and added 
anxieties she'd placed in his soul. "No, Kal. I don't know 
what got into me.... I'm just clutching at straws. I like 
Poli and he's almost as much of a worry-wort as you when it 
comes to taking care of my health. Leave things as they are 
and make sure you promote Poli, though, no doubt he'll be 
as proud as a peacock with his new rank... there'll be no 
living with him." The thought made her laugh and Kal was 
quick to join her. For a second or two both forgot the 
terrible news.... But only for a second. "What will happen 
to Earth, Kal?" Her laughter ended on a choked sob. "My 
family...."

"Lois, they're not alone. Just as soon as we can organise 
the fleet we'll be going to their aid. Meanwhile, though, 
there's something that you can do."

"Me!" Lois sat up eagerly, pleased that there was something 
she could do to help. "What?!"

"Warn Earth!"

*****

It was a very pale First Lady who was escorted by her 
husband into the crowded Council chamber. The edgy whorls 
of conversation ceased at the opening of the door and hung 
heavily in the air as all eyes regarded the rounded, tired 
figure of their young consort with, it had to be said, a 
great deal of sympathy. Lady Lois had made her home with 
them here on Krypton but that didn't mean that she 
shouldn't feel anguished for her home planet which found 
itself in imminent jeopardy.

Lord Kal-El settled Lois into her chair as comfortably as 
he could, then turned to address his Councillors and staff. 
"Gentlemen, please be seated!" He waited with as much 
patience as he could muster while his request was obeyed 
and a hurried shuffling and scraping of chairs filled the 
room as everyone hurried to comply. "As you know this is a 
dire emergency and so I will dispense with any time-wasting 
protocol and get straight to the point. The outlaw Rad-
Nor," he would not dignify the man's position by giving him 
his title, "has persuaded the Taureans and some of their 
more predatory allies to assist himself and a number of 
Kryptonians who remain loyal to his lordship, to attack my 
wife's home, the planet Earth."

"And this news has been verified?" From the darkened part 
of the room at the end of the long Council table came a 
disembodied voice, the forerunner of a hologram which 
scintillated into life with Dax-Ver striding to the 
forefront of a similar, though far-off gathering.

Kal looked up and addressed the figure which slowly took on 
a more substantial shape before him. "Glad to see you could 
join us, Lord Dax-Ver. I think that Krypton will be in need 
of your expertise once more and we'd be glad of your input 
into this meeting on strategic planning."

The holo-figure clasped his hand and bowed his head in 
greeting. "It is my pleasure to serve you, sire, and 
Krypton. As you see," and at that he turned and gestured to 
the noblemen seated around his table, "I have taken the 
liberty of bringing together the family leaders in this 
quadrant in order that we can address this situation with 
as much urgency as it demands."

"Thank you, Dax. It is good to have you with us and my 
thanks to all of your guests." Kal let his eyes trail over 
the gentlemen in the hologram with a faint smile of 
gratitude, yet his mind never strayed from the gravity of 
the crisis. "As to your first question... there can be no 
doubt of Rad-Nor's intentions. Commander Jace has tracked 
the flotilla heading towards Earth's solar-system and, as 
Earth is the only habitable world there, it would seem the 
most likely destination. Even as we speak, he has probably 
entered that solar-system.... So we don't have much time."

"But why would Nor attack Earth?" asked a curious 
Councillor seated near the end of the table, voicing the 
thought that was concerning most of his peers.

"I would assume that being forced to abandon his claim on 
Krypton, Nor has substituted Earth for his plans for world 
domination." Kal allowed a few moments for this piece of 
information to sink in. "Earth is a fair planet, with rich 
mineral deposits and natural bounty; its atmosphere is 
conducive to our physiology and would make an excellent 
home for exiled Kryptonians. But it already has an 
indigenous population, and one whom I'm certain Nor hopes 
to enslave. Unfortunately, while Earth's fields of 
technology and science do have a great deal of potential, 
they are still fairly primitive when compared to the 
weaponry of the Kryptonians and Taureans and the people of 
Earth will be subjugated if we do not put a stop to Nor."

"But should we interfere with a world so far away?" That 
came from the newly appointed Second Councillor.

Beside him, Kal could feel Lois bristle. He didn't blame 
her but he prayed that she would restrain herself... an 
argument at this point wouldn't help persuade his Council 
that aiding Earth was the best procedure. He also hoped 
that the Second Councillor's opinions weren't endemic 
throughout his Council. Kal hurried to cut in before Lois 
had a chance to speak.... Only to find that another voice 
had beaten him to it.

"I find that question rather unsavoury, Lord Dinzi," said 
Trey as he rose to his feet, hoping against hope that he 
hadn't been saddled with another Mai as his deputy. "Earth 
is a totally innocent planet which is completely unaware of 
its vulnerability. If it hadn't been for the laws of our 
world demanding that the heir be married to an off-worlder 
and our subsequent invitation to Lady Lois to be our First 
Lady, the planet Earth would probably never have been 
brought to Nor's attention. Inadvertently perhaps, but 
nevertheless Krypton is responsible for the attack by our 
renegade Lord on this blameless world. And I wholeheartedly 
agree with the First Lord that it is our duty to deal with 
the consequences."

"I second the motion!" Remy rose to all of his 
inconsiderable height.

"I also," floated Dax's voice from the holoscreen.

Around the table both in Elvar and Veren Lords were 
standing or nodding their heads vigorously in agreement. 
The Second Councillor looked a trifle shaken at the force 
of the response and he gulped nervously before adding an 
amendment to his earlier statement.

"I didn't mean to suggest that we as Kryptonians shouldn't 
bear responsibility; I was just wondering what Lord Kal-
El's plans were." The man almost trembled with nervousness. 
He was making such a mess in this his first important 
Council meeting. Dinzi was also aware of what the others 
were thinking.... After all, he'd stepped straight into the 
shoes of a man who'd proved to be a spy and a traitor. He 
needed to gain his First Lord's trust and that of his 
senior. "If we intend to help Earth then this is a very big 
undertaking and, as Nor and his allies are already 
approaching their target, shouldn't we formulate our attack 
plan as soon as possible." Phew! Heads were nodding again 
and Trey and the old nobleman settled back into their 
places. "Sire, you wish to continue?!"

"Yes, indeed!" The Lord of El regarded Dinzi with 
puzzlement, his thoughts very similar to Trey's. Surely, 
they couldn't have been landed with another mole? As a 
Councillor, Dinzi had always seemed to be serious-minded 
yet unbiased; he had been an acceptable candidate for all 
Councillors as Mai's replacement... and until today, Kal 
had been quite satisfied with the man's performance of his 
duty. But there was no time for worrying speculation. In 
that, Dinzi was correct... the question of Earth's fate was 
paramount. "I propose that a rescue fleet should be sent to 
Earth, forthwith; I intend to personally take charge of the 
mission with Dax-Ver as my advisor and in actual command of 
the fleet. If, of course, he will agree." Kal looked 
towards the holoscreen and was relieved to see Lord Ver 
smiling.

"I do, my Lord!"

His attention fixed on Dax, Kal didn't immediately see the 
shocked faces around the table.

"My Lord?" Trey queried. "Do you think that's wise?" 
"Excuse me?!" Kal's wandering attention returned to those 
nearest him.

"For you to go with the fleet? I mean, it's a battle fleet 
and there will no doubt be fighting. Should you place 
yourself in danger?"

Taking a deep breath, Kal prepared to fight the 
objections... objections that he had known would arise. 
"Trey, gentlemen and my Lady... I chose Lois. I asked her 
to come here and for me, she agreed to travel the length of 
the galaxy to become my bride." Kal appropriated his wife's 
hand and absentmindedly drew soft circles on her smooth 
skin. "For that she became the target of an evil villain 
and now her home world has been drawn into the net of this 
vile monster.... And so, I feel, in some way, personally 
accountable for Earth's plight. I couldn't equate it with 
my conscience if I sent my soldiers... to ask them to put 
themselves in jeopardy, to do what I believe is my duty. I 
would have no right to be First Lord if I stayed safe at 
home while my people fought a battle which I unwittingly 
caused. And as my High Council, I would expect no less than 
that you support me in the fulfilment of my coronation 
vows."

At some point during the speech, Kal had risen to his feet 
and now all eyes were fixed on his person. There could be 
no doubt in anyone's mind that they had indeed chosen well 
when they had anointed this young man as their ruler. They 
were afraid for him; sending him to a war zone was an 
onerous undertaking, but somehow no one in either Council 
chamber had the heart to deny him his rightful place at the 
head of his armed forces. With heavy hearts each voiced 
their acquiescence.

The rest of the meeting was made up of discussing strategic 
plans and configurations of the fleet which would chase 
after Nor's invading force. Thankfully, because of the 
volatile nature of the worlds that made up this galaxy and 
all the ones beyond, a large spaceforce was always on 
standby and it wouldn't take much time and trouble for them 
to be mobilized for the mission. Kal gave the floor over to 
Dax-Ver, who was obviously the most experienced in military 
manoeuvres of all the Councilmen and very deftly a plan 
began to take shape.

Within the hour the meeting was about to be brought to a 
close with everyone who had been given a specific task 
hurrying to do their duty. However, before the lords had a 
chance to go, Kal stopped them with a word.... There was 
something else that needed to be said... two things, 
actually.

"As I'm sure you all appreciate, Nor and his men have a 
head start on us and I doubt that he'll be so accommodating 
as to wait around for us to show up before he begins his 
colonization of Earth. With that in mind I've asked Jace to 
open a transmission with Earth and I intend that Lady Lois 
should warn them of the danger they face and that help is 
on the way. And that meanwhile, they should stall for time 
and do nothing to antagonise their attackers."

"I think that would be good." Once more Trey sought to 
support his leader but he couldn't hide his scepticism and 
his next question was directed at the First Lady "But do 
you think that you can persuade them not to fight back. 
Given Earth's history, I doubt that they'll take being 
conquered lying down."

"I very much doubt that also, Trey... but knowing what Kal 
and I know... I'm afraid resistance will be useless...." 
Lois faltered to a halt, unsure of whether Kal intended to 
reveal the 'secret' or not. Surely, if the Kryptonians -- 
good or bad -- landed on Earth that would no longer be a 
secret. Lois' eyebrows lifted at Kal in a silent question 
and in return she received a small, yielding smile. Lois 
was right.

"What my wife has quite correctly refrained from telling 
you is that certain things happen to Kryptonians on Earth. 
I've known about this since living there myself but swore 
Lois and my bodyguards to secrecy because of the dangerous 
temptation it might present to less scrupulous members of 
our society. On Earth our race develops certain powers... 
certain super powers. I'm not clear about the reason for 
this but Ching, Poli and I did surmise that it had 
something to do with Earth's weaker gravity and the fact 
that their sun is yellow and not red like our own... 
perhaps it gives off some other kind of radiation. But all 
that is for the scientists to discover. I only know that in 
Earth's atmosphere, we can fly, are very strong and fast 
and all our senses become acute... hearing, seeing, touch 
and smell. And then there's heat and x-ray vision.... Oh, 
and our bodies become invulnerable to injury. With all 
these attributes, Kryptonians don't need weapons to take 
over Earth, they can easily kill with a glance or a blow. 
The people of Earth have no defence against such things and 
they should be told what to expect." An awed silence had 
filled the room and Kal slowly realised that he was being 
regarded with some incredulity. "I know that all this is 
hard to believe, but it is the truth. It took my bodyguards 
and me a little by surprise when we found ourselves 
floating and hearing distant conversations." Still, his 
lords were watching him with eyes widened in shock. "I made 
the decision back then that only the three of us should 
spend anytime on Earth so that no one else should be 
affected, and that the knowledge should be kept in strict 
confidence. I'm sorry if you should disagree with my choice 
of actions but I still believe I was right to say nothing 
and I would've continued to keep this secret had not Nor 
forced my hand."

"I agreed with my husband," Lois' clear young voice rang 
out in the charged air and it was her turn to seek Kal's 
hand. "I believed that my people should be better protected 
if no one knew of this strange phenomenon."

"As has been proved by the detestable actions of one of 
Krypton's most noble lords, Lady Lois." The wise words of 
Remy sank like a blanket over the seated men as each 
acknowledged with some feelings of guilt that their 'noble' 
society was less altruistic than they had believed.

Yet feelings of guilt wouldn't save the planet Earth and 
Dax-Ver, being a man more prone to action than 
introspection, quickly reminded the gatherings that speed 
was of the essence and everyone hurried away to do their 
respective tasks. Apart from preparing and provisioning a 
large battle fleet in a very short space of time, there 
were a great many other jobs to be taken care of. Medical 
facilities and support ships for the fleet had to be 
organised; communication channels had to be opened and the 
news had to be broken to the populace of Krypton... both 
the word of Nor's dastardly declaration of war on the 
planet Earth and Lord Kal-El's subsequent rescue mission.

And there was also the imminent assembly of the Federation 
of Planets. Trey had been elected to contact all members 
and give them the unwelcome news that the conference had to 
be postponed. It was very regrettable but unavoidable under 
the circumstances. The trouble was that some of the 
representatives were already on their way and a number of 
governments chose to come regardless... deeming that if one 
member of the Federation were involved in an armed conflict 
then technically they were too. Perhaps, as allies, they 
could aid Krypton in its struggle. It was good to see that 
the concept of the United Planets actually worked when 
faced with a real-life situation. Kryptonians faced the 
future with grim yet stoical determination as they prepared 
to lose the one thing which had been theirs for so long and 
which they now realised they had come to take for 
granted... the state of peace.

*****

Far across the galaxy in a king-sized bed a lone man lay 
slumbering in a deep and peaceful sleep. It was a quiet 
summer night and a tiny breeze lifted the edges of the 
gossamer white curtains that covered the open window. The 
open window that so annoyed and frustrated the Secret 
Service. But regardless of the breach in security which the 
agents maintained it presented, President Owen West was not 
about to give up a habit he had acquired during his boyhood 
spent in the wide countryside of Montana, where he roamed 
wild as a young boy and questions of security and 
bodyguards were a hypothetical thing of the future.

The President of the United States was justly tired, having 
returned earlier that day from a meeting with the world's 
heads of government regarding the economic crisis facing 
the Third World. It had been a long hard slog but 
eventually a consensus had been reached by the leading 
countries on a policy to aid these struggling nations which 
hopefully would not beggar the developed world.... The 
problem for the future would be how well these countries 
obeyed the letter of the treaty. Getting agreement was less 
difficult than making sure that those involved lived up to 
that agreement and so often the US was expected to police 
these treaties... with, it must be added, a few of its 
allies. The United Nations had been formed for just this 
purpose but it relied on the strength of its more important 
members to give its resolutions teeth.

But President West had put all 'work-related' problems 
behind him for a few hours as he spent the early evening 
having dinner with his family. It was a pity that his wife 
had to fly off to Metropolis to preside over a charity 
auction on the next day but it was for disadvantage and 
disabled children and that was his wife's favourite hobby 
horse; she couldn't leave the last-minute preparations to 
her assistants even for a husband who had just returned 
home. And besides, she wanted to catch up with her old 
friend Lex Luthor, who was the co-organizer of this bash. 
For some moments as he'd said goodbye, West had wondered if 
he should be jealous of the guy. Luthor was certainly good-
looking, charming and very, very rich.... But no, Lex was 
an old friend and, even if his wife was still an attractive 
woman, she was a little too mature. Owen West had noticed 
with a feeling of vague disapproval that Lex's tastes ran 
to something a little younger.

As his wife had left some hours previously, West had chosen 
to retire early and was now sleeping the sleep of the just. 
The clock by his bedside glowed redly in the darkness, 
showing that the midnight hour had passed a few moments 
ago.

"Mr President! Mr President!" The anxious and slightly 
timorous voice was accompanied by a stealthy knocking. "Are 
you awake, sir?"

The hushed voice was replaced by a deeper and more urgent 
one. "Get out of the way, Jenny. I hardly think that tiny 
falsetto of yours could be heard behind a sheet of paper 
let alone a thick door and this could be urgent." A heavier 
knock fell on the door. "Mr President!"

"Urgent! Hah! I hardly think so," the female whispered. It 
was a very good thing that she'd decided to stay over to 
get a jump on compiling the minutes for the tax-cut 
meetings. Jenny Fisher had been with the President for a 
very long time, much longer than he'd been president, and, 
when Mrs West was out of town, she always stepped into the 
breach to defend the poor man from young, overeager 
whippersnappers like this boy. "You're waking the President 
up for someone's sick joke!"

"We don't know that! And if it's authentic...."

The noise of the hushed quarrel had penetrated Owen West's 
sleep and he dazedly pushed himself upright, rubbing the 
sleep from his tired eyes as he did so. "Harry! Jenny! Get 
in here! And this better be good!" West glanced at the 
clock.... "It's just gone twelve, I've only been asleep for 
just over an hour!"

The door opened a crack and two white faces peered around 
the edge, ghostly in the moonshine sifting through the 
window. "Sir," said Harry as he insinuated his way into the 
room past the thick and dressing-robed body of the 
president's secretary. "Something very strange is happening 
and I thought it should be brought to your attention..." 
But the young aid seemed unable to continue under the 
sharpening stare of his president.

"What?! Has war broken out or something.... Has there been 
some sort of disaster.... My wife?! Has something happened 
to my wife?!"

"Oh no, sir!" Jenny bustled into the room, cinching her 
belt tighter round her fleecy robe, which was probably a 
bit warm for this time of year but the elderly secretary 
chose modesty above comfort or fashion. "You mustn't think 
that. It seems you have a phone call and I don't see why 
you have to be disturbed when you've just gone to bed but 
this fool of a boy here thinks that it might be urgent."

"But it could!" A fully dressed fool of a boy came further 
into the room and his indignation leant him courage. "You 
do have a phone call, sir, and we felt that you should take 
it, sir."

"Who thought I should take it?"

"Johnstone... the National Security advisor," Harry added.

"I know who Bert Johnstone is, Harry!" "Yes, sir.... And 
the caller said it was an international emergency.... And 
we're still trying to get hold of the Secretary of Defence, 
sir."

"The Secretary of Defence! You think he's needed here?" The 
President regarded his aid with something akin to awe. "You 
took it on yourself to call the Secretary? Harry, you have 
hidden depths."

"Not personally, no sir! Please sir, the phone call." And 
Harry pointed to the phone on the President's bedside 
cabinet.

"Ah, yes, the mysterious caller." West wriggled across the 
bed and dropped his feet to the floor, eyeing the phone 
like it was a predatory insect. "Is he some illusive bomber 
or a terrorist holding hostages who will only speak to the 
President?"

"No, sir!" For the first time Harry's eyes wouldn't meet 
his president's. He dug his hands deeper into his pockets 
in an effort to keep them still.... What if he was wrong 
and this was a hoax? "It's not a he... it's a she and she 
says she's Lois Lane!"

"Lois Lane!" Now it was Harry's turn to feel like an insect 
under Owen West's stare. "Who is Lois Lane and what does 
she want?"

"She says she used to live in Metropolis but that she now 
lives on Krypton!"

"Krypton!" West reviewed his school-day geography for a 
moment and his more present-day international briefings. 
His head shook from side to side as he came up empty. 
"Never heard of it! Remind me! Which country is that in?!"

Harry's teeth ground together... he'd reached the hard 
part. "Huh, it isn't actually a country...."

"Then what is it?" His chief's head was making even wider 
movements.

"It's a planet," the thoroughly uncomfortable aide rushed 
out.

"A planet!"

"Yes! And it is in our galaxy but way cross the other 
side!"

The President's gaze was like a microscope with Harry on a 
slide under its baleful eye. "Harry, have you been 
drinking?"

"No, sir! And I'm not on any medication. I'm just repeating 
what this Lane woman told me and if you'd just pick up the 
phone then she'd tell you too!"

"Harry, maybe she's been drinking or on medication! The 
woman is clearly a nut! How could you let her get through 
this far?"

"My sentiments exactly, Mr President!" Jenny huffed.

"Sir, I haven't completely taken leave of my senses. The 
FBI is trying to track down this Lois Lane even as we speak 
and we have put a trace on the call!" Harry announced 
slightly piqued. "And that's where it starts to get really 
weird."

"Can it get any more weird?!" But at the crestfallen look 
from Harry, Owen West, mellowed a little. After all, the 
young man had never shown any signs of insanity in the 
past. "Go on! What have you got?" He rose from the bed and, 
slipping on a robe for the sake of Jenny's sensibilities, 
crossed to seat himself on a more comfortable sofa. Somehow 
he just knew this was going to be a long night.

Harry, appearing somewhat mollified, came to stand before 
his leader. "Like I said, we requested a trace to be put on 
the call and we couldn't exactly pinpoint it as being from 
anywhere on Earth. The technicians at the listening station 
at St. Salvador's say that it's coming in via one of our 
military satellites but that its origins are somewhere out 
there." Harry's hands gestured airily towards the window 
and the sky beyond. "They've checked and double checked and 
they say there's no doubt... this message is from outer 
space!"

"Could this be some elaborate hoax?" This was certainly 
looking more interesting and Owen edged forward in his 
seat. "Could this be the result of some computer hackers?"

"I suppose it's possible but the communication experts 
don't think so."

West changed course. "Did this woman say why she was 
calling?"

"I'm afraid so, sir." Harry's head and voice dropped. 
"According to her we're about to be attacked by aliens."

"What! You have to be kidding me!"

"Maybe you should talk to her, Mr President! She did say 
she wanted to talk to you!"

Mr President jumped up from his seat and took a quick march 
about the room. He threw a beseeching look at his aid and 
his secretary and heaved a giant sigh. "Okay! But I have a 
very bad feeling about this!"

Crossing to the phone, he picked it up gingerly, almost 
afraid that it might burn him. "Miss Lane, this is the 
President of the United States speaking, what is it that 
you want to tell me? But I warn you, if this is some kind 
of sick joke, you will be dealt with very severely."

"Huh! You'd have to catch me first," came the distant voice 
of the caller.

"Excuse me!"

Light years away in Jace's communication basement, an 
impatient elbow was dug gently into Lois' side and she sent 
an apologetic glance at Kal. "Sorry, Mr President! This 
really isn't the time for humour. I've been trying to get 
through to you for ages and every second counts... Nor 
could get there at anytime now."

"Nor? Is that a name? What or who is Nor?"

"Well, his full name is Rad-Nor, Lord Rad-Nor, actually, 
and he's an enemy of my husband, who is the ruler of 
Krypton, and he was exiled because he tried to take over 
the throne... but you don't need to know that... so I'll 
just tell you that he's now on his way to Earth with an 
invasion force and you have to warn everyone that he's a 
ruthless killer and that he means to make all of you his 
slaves and that on no account should you try to fight him!"

"Miss Lane, if what you say is true and Earth is under 
attack from some alien entity then you can hardly expect us 
to just sit around and do nothing. Not unless you're in 
cahoots with these 'aliens' and don't want us to defend 
ourselves."

"I am not!" Lois' indignation threatened to choke her but 
she swallowed hard and continued. She had to get through to 
him, otherwise the consequences were unthinkable. "Mr West, 
sir, these entities as you call them are incredibly strong 
and powerful... they can even fly....."

"Fly! Like a bird, you mean?! This is some kind of joke!" 
West was tempted to slam down the phone. This woman could 
not be for real! Yet, members of his security team were 
filing into the room and gesturing that he should keep on 
talking.

"I only wish it were, Mr President. But the good thing is 
that we doubt that all the invasion forces will have these 
powers... only the Kryptonians. The Taureans will have to 
rely on weapons but their weapons are vastly superior to 
your own and we just want you to stall for time until help 
arrives."

"Taureans! Don't tell me... they're the bull people!"

"Funny, that's just what I thought when I heard about 
them... but, in my opinion, they look more like pigs.... 
Though they are human... in a manner of speaking."

"Lo-is!" Kal's voice was rising in desperation. The man on 
the other end of this communication must be totally 
confused by now, given the fact that he wasn't used to 
Lois' tendency to babble.

"Sorry! My husband's just reminded me that I tend to ramble 
on a bit when I'm nervous." Lois offered Kal an apologetic 
shrug. "So, I'll get right to the point. I know that you 
find this very hard to believe but Earth is in great 
danger... the greatest danger it's ever known. Very soon 
now a flotilla of spacecraft will enter Earth's orbit and 
you'll be faced with an enemy that you have little chance 
of defending yourselves against...."

Into the president's quickly filling bedroom came a tall, 
craggy-faced man whose pale blue eyes held the shades of 
experiences which most ordinary mortals would rather be 
without. "Owen, Mr President," Bert Johnstone had known the 
president for many years and his familiarity was not only 
tolerated but welcomed. "We've found Lois Lane!"

The president's expressive eyebrows shot up and he injected 
a conciliatory note into his voice. If this poor woman was 
crazy then it was probably best for the moment to play 
along with her. "Excuse me for a minute, miss, I have to 
confer with one of my advisors."

"He put me on hold!" Lois' shoulders lifted and her hands 
turned palm-wards to the heavens as strains of the Battle 
Hymn of the Republic drifted ethereally through the eons of 
space. "Can you believe that guy?!"

President West beckoned Johnstone further into the room. 
"So if you've found Lane then this woman is an imposter!"

"Not necessarily, sir. We haven't actually, physically 
found Lane." The Security Chief watched as his friend and 
boss dropped back into the sofa. "We know that a Lois Lane 
lived in Metropolis and was a student at Metro U's school 
of journalism... seems she was a really bright kid.... Won 
Lex Luthor's award for excellence. Then one day, around two 
years ago, she just packed up a few things and vanished."

"Vanished?!"

"Yeah! Her family filed a missing person's report and the 
police looked into it but found nothing suspicious. Her 
roommate said she'd been dating Luthor, so the police 
checked in with him, very discreetly, of course, and he 
told them that he had taken her out to dinner, in the role 
of mentor, as it was. It appears the last he saw of Ms Lane 
was when he'd dropped her off on campus and she'd walked of 
with this young guy. The next day she packed a bag and left 
a note for her friend saying goodbye and that she wasn't to 
worry. The sergeant in charge of the case put her down as a 
runaway and it turned out to be so, as both the mother and 
sister reported that she'd phoned them sometime later.... 
Only thing was, Lane never revealed her whereabouts."

"You're not suggesting she could be in outer space?"

"Normally, I wouldn't suggest anything so incredulous."

The president's sigh was heartfelt. "What do you want me to 
do?"

"Keep her talking. They're rerunning the trace on the 
call."

"Is that really necessary? I mean, this can't be for real!"

The craggy-eyebrows drew into a frown. "Mr West, sir, are 
you willing to take the chance if it is?"

"You have a point, Bert. Okay, but tell them to be quick. I 
really want to get back to bed. This has been one helluva 
day!" West composed himself and returned his attention to 
the phone call. "Miss Lane, it seems that my people confirm 
that you lived in Metropolis until a couple of years ago 
and that you were last seen in the company of a young man."

"You're back at last!" Lois' exclamation was a mixture of 
thankfulness and frustration. "Yes, that would be Kal-El, 
my husband." "And the two of you were abducted by aliens?"

"No! Kal-El is an alien," Lois mouthed the word 'sorry' to 
Kal. "And, before you ask, no, he didn't abduct me. I went 
of my own free will."

"Well, each to his own, I suppose." The president was 
clearly mystified why anyone would want to leave Earth. Oh, 
my god! He was starting to act as if this woman was telling 
the truth. She was talking again and it was only common 
courtesy to listen to her.

"I've been on Krypton for most of these two years and I'm 
married to their leader."

"Is he like a president or something?" Visions of himself 
saying 'take me to your leader' to some tinny looking 
robots flashed through his mind and he suppressed a 
slightly hysterical laugh.

"Actually, he's more like a king. Kryptonians have 
hereditary rulers...."

"Oh, a dictatorship?"

"Indeed it is not! Kal has a Council and he must rule 
within the strict confines of the law. Besides, he wouldn't 
ever do anything that wasn't in the best interests of his 
people. Kryptonians aren't like that."

"And yet, the purpose of your communication is to warn me 
that a Kryptonian is about to attack Earth." President 
West's voice cut like a razor. "Unless that is in Krypton's 
best interests."

"No, sir, I can assure you that it is not." A new deeper-
timbered voice could be heard in the president's bedroom. A 
voice soft, yet anchored with power. "As my Lady has just 
explained, the Kryptonian who is on his way to Earth is an 
exile. Believe me, my people mean you and yours no harm."

"And you, I take it, are this Kalel person?" demanded the 
president.

"I am. I'm also aware how sceptical you are but my wife and 
I are telling the truth which regrettably you'll find out 
all too soon." While Kal was speaking, Jace began furiously 
signalling his leader. "Excuse me, Mr President, but it's 
my turn to ask you to hold. Please, I beg you, do not hang 
up!"

The words might have been a request but the tone was 
commanding and, strangely, West found himself waiting while 
back in the communications room Kal redirected his 
attention.

"What is it, Jace?"

"Sire, I think that I can project a holo-image along the 
communication's beam. I'm not completely sure that it would 
work. Earth technology might not be up to it... but it's 
just possible that I can boost it from here."

"And they would see the image in the White House?" Lois 
asked in wonder and as Jace nodded in agreement. "Geese! 
That should give them something to think about!"

"Go ahead, Jace! And Lois, not a word to anyone on the 
other end for now. No use telling them that they're about 
to see something that might not happen."

Lois laughed. "No point in making them think we're bigger 
kooks than they already do, huh?"

"Exactly!" Nevertheless, Kal found himself standing taller 
and taking Lois' hand into his own. If this did get through 
then they might as well give something of a show. 
"President West, my purpose and my lady's was to try to 
persuade you not to antagonise your attackers but to wait 
until I and my fleet can come to your aid. Then I'd be 
extremely grateful for any help that you and the forces of 
Earth can provide."

"Hey, wait a minute, you're intending to come here? Who's 
to say that you're not the invader and that this Nor guy is 
just a myth?"

A hazy transparent cloud started to form in the busy 
bedroom and people started falling back, struggling to get 
out of its way. Within seconds the cloud started to form 
shapes, shimmering, slightly translucent yet very 
recognisable shapes. Two people, two young people. A man 
and a woman with others around them in a dimly lit room.

"That's Lois Lane, Owen," Johnstone gestured toward the 
female image.

"My god! Where is that coming from? Who is doing this?" The 
leader of the free world looked round in some sort of shock 
at his staff. "Is that a hologram? Whoever is doing this 
step forward!"

The deep voice was speaking again, only this time it was 
issuing from the dark-haired man in the apparition. "I'm 
afraid that's our technology. We would have warned you but 
we weren't totally certain that we could project so far." 
The couple stepped further into the president's bedroom. 
"My name is Lord Kal-El and this is my wife Lady Lois-El. 
We greet you."

"Hallo, Mr President, nice to meet you," said the lady with 
a tiny twinkle in her eye. "I can't see you, but I just bet 
you're tongue-tied. I know I've been that way myself a time 
or two since coming here."

Lois was right. The president was speechless as was 
everyone else. There was total silence in the room which 
suddenly ended when the presidential staff began versing 
their concerns all at once. On Krypton the background 
babble sounded almost hysterical. This was not going well.

"President West," Lois called. "Mr President, we didn't 
mean to startle you, we just want to warn you."

The heavily pregnant young woman in the hologram leaned 
forward anxiously. "You have to believe us. We mean you no 
harm but we are from a planet far away."

West's dropped jaw closed. "Yes, I think I'm beginning to 
believe that you are a little... unusual."

"Mr President, I think we have to believe them." The 
Secretary of Defence burst into the already crowded room 
followed closely by a heavily decorated General, the 
appointed chairman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "There 
are reports coming in from various points of the world. 
UFOs have been sighted over Beijing, Paris, Sydney and New 
York. The world is under global assault, sir."

"And this has been confirmed?"

"We don't really need confirmation; just switch on the TV."

Harry sidled forward, passing through the airy hologram on 
his way. He felt a slight tingle sweep through him, though 
he couldn't be certain whether it was from his touching the 
vision or just plain nervousness. Quickly he reached down 
and turned on the TV. Everyone watched as the international 
broadcasters and cameramen told of the plight of their 
citizens in word and picture, leaving no doubt that their 
holographic visitors had spoken the truth.

"What's being done about this?" President West demanded as 
the broadcast cut to familiar scenes of a busy night in New 
York; only this time the crowds had received much more than 
they could ever have expected. "Our forces are fighting 
back?" His voice tailed away as he watched a beam of fiery 
red light emanate from an alien craft and take out a whole 
building. In the streets below people ran screaming as they 
tried to avoid the flying debris. Many were unsuccessful 
and they perished under the flaming rubble. "Dear God! 
Where are our defence forces?"

"We're doing our best, sir, but they took us completely by 
surprise. We immediately answered with a full-scale attack 
but we're losing fighters quicker than we can get them in 
the air." This time the General replied. "As you can see, 
these aliens have superior firepower."

A sudden thought hit West. "Can they fly?"

"Fly, sir? Who can fly?"

"This extraterrestrial!"

The Defence Secretary shot his companion a surprised look. 
"I don't believe that's been reported, sir."

"Huh!" West exclaimed in some satisfaction. He really 
hadn't swallowed the super powers thing. "No beings who can 
fly!"

"If I might speak?" Kal-El raised his hand to gain the 
alarmed Earthlings' attention. "That would be correct. The 
powers take a short time to develop but after that the 
Kryptonians amongst the attackers will become invincible."

"How long do these powers take to manifest themselves?" 
West wasn't quite ready to accept all that this young 
couple implied yet it was best to learn as much as possible 
about the enemy.

"Around three days or so." The First Lord of Krypton was 
just as determined to prove his point. "Then we have to 
stop them before that can happen."

"President West, I sincerely wish that you could do so but 
Earth just doesn't have the capability. And the reason your 
radar didn't pick up the space fleet is because of the 
cloaking devices. I'm sorry but Earth doesn't have the 
technology to fight these people." Kal softened his voice 
to show that he meant no disrespect.

"Sir, I don't know anything about super powers," the 
Secretary of Defence added, "but this young man is correct. 
These space invaders don't need any more powers. They're 
swatting our fighters like flies." His eyes darted to the 
TV screen as the one-sided battle was depicted from all 
over the world.

"What about our missile-systems?"

Again Kal answered. "Exploding harmlessly against the 
force-fields. There's no way your weapons can penetrate the 
invaders' shields. Even a concerted strike couldn't dent 
the Taurean defences."

"A nuclear strike?"

"Mr President, these spaceships are in your atmosphere," 
Kal sounded slightly horrified. "Are you prepared to expose 
your own population to the fallout from such explosions. 
And I very much doubt that it would have much impact on 
your enemy. Your own people would be the losers."

A very subdued and troubled President watched the graphic 
scenes unfold on the television screen when unexpectedly 
the picture blinked then disappeared leaving behind a 
flicker of snow. Slowly he raised his stricken eyes to meet 
the compassionate gaze of the dark-haired handsome youth 
before him.

"What was it you wanted me to do, Lord Kal-El?"

"Persuade the rest of Earth's governments to parley with 
the invaders until we can get there to rescue you. In Rad-
Nor you're dealing with a power-crazed megalomaniac. Stall 
for time and do nothing to antagonise him into destroying 
you. My forces will make all speed. May your God be with 
you."

The hologram began to pulsate gently and it was clear the 
transmission was ending.

"Lord Kal-El," West called into the dimming glow. "Are your 
forces more powerful than his?"

"I certainly hope so, Mr President."

"So do I, son, so do I!"

The stunned occupants of the room still stared at the now 
empty space till, finally, the General shook himself from 
his stupor. "What happens now? We can't just sit around and 
do nothing? Our people are being slaughtered!"

West walked over to his open window, raising his eyes to 
the night sky, fearful that one of the great spacecraft 
would be hanging in the darkness, ready to wreak death and 
destruction on his beautiful capital city. Yet, thankfully, 
all was quiet and only the night stars twinkled 
unconcernedly back at him. His shoulders slumped as he 
relived the scenes he'd witnessed on the TV screens. "What 
do you suggest, General Broderick? Have we any way of 
defeating these aliens?"

For some seconds it seemed as if the General would bluster 
with some ill-conceived jingoistic nonsense but commonsense 
won out. "No, sir, not at this present time."

"Then we do what this Lord Kal-El suggests... we stall." 
Owen West turned back to his people. There was a grim but 
strongly determined set to his features. "These aliens 
might have us out-gunned but that's not the only weapon in 
our arsenal. The boy said that this Nor was a megalomaniac 
and usually these people are fairly susceptible to a little 
flattery. See if you can open a channel to these invaders 
and get me the heads of government for the countries under 
attack and our allies. If we can't out-gun him let's see if 
we can outwit him."

A whole different atmosphere pervaded the room as people 
hurried to carry out the President's requests. The world 
might be in greater danger than they'd ever faced but they 
weren't dead-in-the-water yet.... And, if the hologram 
thing was for real, they'd just acquired a pretty powerful 
ally. This Nor guy had better watch out.

*****

Chapter Thirteen Forgotten Promises

As soon as the connection with Earth had been closed, Kal 
made his apologies to Lois and, with Ching at his side, had 
hurried off to Elvar's spaceport to oversee the 
arrangements for mustering the fleet. It had been agreed 
that the two main exit points would be from Elvar and 
Veren, and that the two battle squadrons would rendezvous 
once they'd cleared Krypton's atmosphere. From there, they 
would travel at the fastest speeds possible to reach Earth, 
hoping that Nor and his forces would not wreak too much 
destruction on Lois' home planet in the interim.

Watching her husband go, Lois had felt somewhat left out of 
the loop. However, she did appreciate that her condition 
made her cumbersome, and a busy space terminal, where 
technicians were readying ships for flight and where troops 
were massing to embark for war, was not the best place for 
her to be. Besides, she had preparations of her own to 
make, but in that too, she was frustrated. Trey had asked 
for her assistance in updating the Federation members on 
the current state of the invasion. She had been flattered 
but she'd also been a little put out and, if she was honest 
with herself, she was feeling very weary. A short nap 
wouldn't go amiss and Lois found herself more than a little 
exasperated with her pregnant state. There was no time to 
be tired. Kal would return soon and she didn't want to be a 
hindrance.

This, however, proved to be a slight miscalculation on her 
part. Lois had time for a long nap, and dined with her 
lady-in-waiting, bodyguard and the rest of the family, all 
without the company of her husband. He had sent a message, 
shortly before the dining hour, to warn her that he would 
eat at the spaceport while he and his commanders attempted 
to add details to the bare skeletal plan of the rescue 
mission.

Lois tried hard not to feel excluded but it just wasn't 
working. At the dining table she'd made an attempt to join 
in the conversation without success. Small talk just didn't 
interest her while her head was filled with horrifying 
pictures of death and destruction. She understood that the 
El family were doing their best to distract her but, 
truthfully, Lois didn't want to be diverted. Her home 
planet was under attack and all she wanted was to be there 
with them.

Even before the last course was served, Lois excused 
herself and, telling Gellis to stay behind, she sped to the 
solitude of her bedchamber. Once in the corridors, she 
sensed another presence and glancing behind she caught 
sight of her familiar shadow. In the shaded light of the 
passageway her bodyguard's face looked strangely blank and 
enigmatic. Part of her mind recognised that Poli probably 
felt as excluded as she but, at present, she just didn't 
have the energy to give it much thought. Gratefully, Lois 
reached the sanctuary of her room and throwing herself 
across the bed, she indulged in a much needed bout of 
weeping. She'd never cried so much when she hadn't been 
pregnant and, normally, she didn't approve of wallowing in 
tears but tonight, somehow, the sobs wouldn't stop.

<Get a grip, Lois> she remonstrated with herself. Herself, 
though, just wasn't cooperating. Dashing a hand across her 
wet cheeks, she climbed clumsily off the bed and, ignoring 
her snivelling, she hurried, as best as her pregnant body 
would allow, into her closet. There was a trunk in here, 
somewhere, and after a haphazard search she finally found 
it.

It wasn't easy, due to her bulk, to drag the thing from its 
hiding place into the bedroom and onto the platform at the 
foot of the bed. If only she knew how to work that matrix 
thingy! But then again, perhaps trunks, not being permanent 
pieces of furniture, weren't programmed into the castle's 
matrix. Now that she came to think about it, perhaps 
nothing in the castle was incorporated into matrixes. She 
certainly couldn't remember seeing things appearing and 
disappearing here. So maybe that meant that only occurred 
in newer or temporary structures.

Having managed to open the heavy lid, Lois hastened back 
into her closet and began selecting suitable attire for 
visiting a planet that was engaged in a struggle for its 
very existence. Her sobs had subsided to sporadic gulps and 
sniffs which she ignored stoically and, so intent was she 
on her task, she didn't notice the door opening or see a 
discomfited Kal come into the room.

"Lois, what are you doing?" Kal's gaze took in the piles of 
clothing that lay strewn over the bed and on various pieces 
of furniture.

Lois halted mid-stride on her way to the trunk with yet 
some more clothes. She smiled sadly through her messy 
tears. "Oh there you are, Kal. I didn't see you come in," 
she whispered huskily and hiccuped.

Kal walked forward slowly, taking in the clutter around 
him. "Lois, what's all this?" His hands lifted wearily at 
the jumble. It had been a gruelling day and his tired mind 
couldn't assimilate why his chamber should look like the 
garage-sales he'd heard about on Earth. It might be that 
Lois had attempted to take her mind off Earth's plight by 
clearing out her wardrobe. Or, maybe, it was that nesting 
thing that seemingly happened to women in their latter 
stages of pregnancy. If that was the case, his baby would 
be nestled in very expensive and totally unsuitable 
swaddling clothes. Yet, his weary brain refused to tackle 
that particular, if somewhat puzzling, subject. He tried a 
different tack. "What are you doing here, honey? I thought 
I'd find you at the apartment."

"Well, I did think of it," Lois stated earnestly, her 
earlier depression superceded by her galvanisation into 
action. "But the clothes I keep there are mostly casual and 
I figured, if I'm going to Earth as the First Lady of 
Krypton, the Council will expect me to dress accordingly, 
though I shall probably put in a couple of Earth outfits."

"Excuse me?!" Kal's brows drew together in a frown.

"Close your mouth, Kal, and don't look so dumbfounded," 
Lois advised, starting to go through her latest 
acquisitions from her cupboard. "You're not usually so 
slow, Kal. I'm packing!"

"Packing!"

"Yes! And you shouldn't hang about either... or has your 
valet already packed for you? I must admit I haven't seen 
him but then he might have packed while I was at dinner... 
and I haven't checked your closet. I've been too busy 
deciding what to take.... I mean, I know I have to look 
like a First Lady but I don't want to put the people of 
Earth off.... What do you think?" Lois held up a silk dress 
before her. "Too grand?! What am I saying?! You've got much 
more important things to think about than my outfits! I 
have much more important things to think about than what 
I'm going to wear!" Lois sank onto the bed amid the silks 
and satins. "Is there any news?"

"Jace is monitoring the situation, and it seems that 
President West has taken our advice. He's asked for a 
meeting with Nor but so far he's had no reply. I would 
imagine that Nor is displaying his power before he comes to 
the Council table." Kal sat down beside Lois and gently 
removed the garment that she was pleating between agitated 
fingers. It was one of her favourite dresses and she'd be 
upset if it was ruined.... Strange how these silly 
inconsequential thoughts overtook his befuddled brain in 
moments of stress. He just didn't want to face up to what 
he had to do next. "I'm so sorry, Lois."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Lois quickly assured, 
her hand curling round Kal's. "All that stuff you mentioned 
in the Council chamber... about being responsible for Nor's 
attack on Earth because you asked me to marry you, is just 
not so. You couldn't have known what Nor would do."

"Well, that's not what I was apologising for, but I do feel 
responsible."

"That's because you're a kind and caring individual and I 
love you so much for that. But now we must hurry! We don't 
want to keep the fleet from flying. The sooner we leave, 
the sooner we can deal with Nor." Lois attempted to rise 
but found that she was detained by Kal, who was still 
clinging to her hands. "Kal!" Her tone was becoming 
impatient. "We don't have time to indulge your obsessing!"

"Lois! I'm not obsessing... well, maybe a little." Once 
more she tried to stand and again he stopped her. "Lois, 
please listen to me!" His intensity gained her attention 
and she turned to watch his lovely, yet unusually guarded, 
eyes. "Sweetheart, you're not going!"

"Pardon!"

"Lois, you must understand! You're about to give birth! 
It's just too risky!"

Lois' blank stare reflected Kal's worried one. A few 
words... with just a few little words, Lois' dream of 
partnership came tumbling down. "I'm not going? To Earth, 
you mean?"

"Yes! And no! We decided that it would be safer for you to 
stay on Krypton."

"We! Who is we?"

"Well, me... and the Council."

Lois jumped up as quickly as her swollen body would allow 
and this time Kal let her go. "But this is my home that's 
under attack.... I should be there!"

"I know how you feel, honey, and under different 
circumstances I might agree to take you with me. But we're 
going into a battle zone and I just couldn't focus on my 
job if I were constantly worrying about how you were doing. 
You must see that, Lois. I couldn't bear it if I lost you 
or the baby."

Lois rounded on him, a little whirlwind in action. "No, you 
don't know how I feel! These are my people who are being 
killed!" She stood in the centre of the room, her hands 
clenched, and never had he seen her so defiant. "And you 
expect me to stay here in comfort and luxury while on Earth 
my people are suffering. You can't expect that of me!"

"But I do, Lois... for the sake of our baby." Kal softened 
his tone, hoping to reach her with thoughts of the child 
who would very soon join them.

"The baby! The precious heir! That's what this is all 
about! Never mind how I feel! Let's just be certain that 
our next First Lord is safe!"

"Lois! That's not true!" Kal too bounded to his feet. "You 
know that you're just as important to me as any child we 
might have. But yes, I am concerned about the safety of our 
baby.... I don't see what's wrong in that! I don't see 
what's wrong about wishing to keep you and our child out of 
a war. But even if I did agree to your going, the Council 
would never sanction it!"

"Oh, don't pass the buck! You could overrule the Council!" 
Lois took a couple of steps towards him. "In fact, that's 
just what you should do! Tell them you want me with you!"

"I can't, Lois!"

"Can't what?"

"Overrule the Council!" Desperation was creeping through 
Kal's soul.

"Now I know that's not so!" Lois crossed her arms and 
rested them with some difficulty on top of her protruding 
bump. "I've been reading up on Kryptonian law and it seems 
that the First Lord can overrule his Council in personal 
matters."

"Under certain circumstances, yes!"

"Under these circumstances!"

"No! This situation doesn't apply! That was only put in to 
make sure that the First Lord could have the final word on 
his domestic situation. If I remember correctly, it had 
something to do with some long-ago ancestor of mine wishing 
to divorce a lady of high rank. It was even before the 
civil war, when the ruler married into the aristocracy. The 
lady in question came from an important family and the 
Council didn't approve of the divorce. It seemed, though, 
that the First Lord's passion for a much younger lady was 
stronger, and he forced through the legislation. First 
Lords were more absolute rulers back then. It's one of 
these old laws that people have almost forgotten but, as 
you see, there are no similarities." Kal had rushed through 
the explanation almost frantically. But he wouldn't hide 
behind a lie. "Though I expect I could use it if I thought 
fit." Lois held her breath as Kal watched her; his dark 
gaze beseeching her to understand. "Only, in this case, I 
agree with their decision. I can't condone your journey to 
Earth."

"Kal!" Lois' hands fell to her sides.

"Lois! You're only three weeks away from giving birth. You 
can't want to give birth in the middle of a battle!"

"But it wouldn't come to that! I could stay on your 
spacecruiser... well back from the fighting."

"Lois, there's no place that can be guaranteed safe in a 
battle zone!"

"Kal, this is something I need to do! Just as you told the 
Council that you needed to be there with your troops. 
Surely you understand!"

Kal remained implacable, his face taking on a shuttered 
look. "No, Lois! What I understand is that I have a job to 
do... just as you have your own job to fulfil... giving 
birth to our child in safety."

The two combatants stared at each other across a wider 
space than the physical one between them. However could it 
have come to this? Each isolated in their own unswerving 
opinions. Lois was the first to break the silence but not 
the deadlock.

"Fine! Fine! You go off and do whatever your testosterone-
induced state of mind tells you to, and I'll just stay here 
at home and play the part of the little woman to the hilt!"

"Lois! It's not like that!"

"Well, that's the way it appears to me, and you are an 
'absolute' ruler... you can do whatever you think is best 
and I'll just have to go along with it. But get this, Kal, 
I don't have to like it! Now go! And let me put all this 
stuff back in the cupboard because, obviously, I won't be 
needing it!"

Lois grabbed blindly for the pile of dresses on the bed and 
stumped off towards the closet once more. Only this time 
she slammed the door and hurried through the adjoining 
portal to the bathroom, thinking the locks shut as she 
went. The tears from earlier returned in full force and 
this time were accompanied by her heart breaking.

Outside, Kal debated unlocking the doors and following his 
wife. He hated seeing her in such a sad state but would his 
presence help her? There was no way that he could agree to 
her request and he understood his Lois well enough to know 
that only a complete about turn by him would appease her, 
and he just wasn't prepared to do that. This time, he was 
in the right and no amount of arguing or tears would change 
his mind. From the beginning, he had known that Lois 
wouldn't be happy with his stipulation, but he had hoped 
that she would come to see the wisdom of his decision. 
Perhaps, if he gave her time to reflect.... Kal left the 
room with a heavy heart. One thing Lois was right about... 
he did need to pack!

*****

How could a very short time seem so long? From the moment 
of his leaving the bedroom to the moment when he would 
leave the environs of her life, mayhap, forever, each 
drawn-out minute was indelibly etched into Lois' 
consciousness.

Exhausted and cried-out, Lois had finally quit the tiled 
bathroom, which had increasingly taken on the aspects of a 
sterile cell rather than the haven she needed. Ignoring the 
cluttered mess of the room, she sought refuge in the place 
where she felt closest to home, the apartment which Kal had 
fashioned for her when her well being had been his 
paramount concern. Sadly, she reflected, all things change 
and even the strongest commitment could fade. She had grown 
up with the example of her parent's disastrous marriage 
always before her, yet she had foolishly assumed that her 
relationship with Kal would be different, more enduring. 
Now the suddenness and swiftness of the estrangement shook 
her to the core. She didn't doubt that Kal still cared for 
her but that wasn't enough for Lois; she needed his 
respect. In the deepest corner of her soul, Lois realised 
that she had that respect but her hurt feelings of 
abandonment and isolation robbed her of her balance, and 
thus, she resorted to her old tried and trusted remedy; 
retire behind the barricades and repulse any attempt at 
reconciliation.

Early in the morning, Kal had shown up at her door, hoping 
against hope to find Lois more tolerant of the position he 
felt he had to adopt. Hesitantly, he knocked and waited for 
permission to answer, giving her some control over the 
situation. But, as the minutes passed, he began to doubt 
that Lois was prepared to speak with him.

<Lois, please let me in.> Kal sent his supplication in 
thought through the door. Yet all was still and quiet. 
Obviously, his wife remained in a huff. Dejectedly, he 
stared at the unyielding door as if by prayer alone the 
barrier would disappear. Unfortunately, the inanimate 
object wouldn't cooperate. Slowly he turned to walk away.

In the estimation of his wife's state of mind, however, he 
had done Lois a disservice. Throughout the night, she had 
alternated between pacing the floor and staring at the dark 
velvet sky until, as dawn approached, her exhausted body 
had given way to sleep. Kal's wake-up call had surprised 
her from the realms of an uneasy, nightmarish sleep where 
she had watched helplessly as Nor had brutally attacked 
Metropolis and single-handedly killed her family and 
friends. It had taken some moments before her sleep-fogged 
brain had recalled last night's disastrous quarrel and that 
Kal was not actually inside the apartment

As fast as her legs would carry her, Lois dragged herself 
from her bed and scurried across the living room. Kal had 
come to apologise; to tell her that it was alright for her 
to travel to Earth. Despite her lack of sleep, her step and 
her spirits lightened as she made her way to the door.

In the passageway, Kal halted in mid-stride at the sound of 
the heavy door opening. Guardedly, he took in the sight of 
Lois' wan face and the darkened shadows beneath her eyes. 
Hurting her was the last thing that Kal wanted to do, yet 
Lois had to understand that his decision had been made for 
her own good and for their baby's too. Squaring his 
shoulders he faced up to his wife. "Thank you, Lois. May I 
come in?" he asked formally. "We need to talk."

With a sinking heart the Lady of El appraised her husband. 
This was no supplicant lover. There might have been the 
glimmer of entreaty hidden in the depths of his eyes, but 
his features were set in harsher lines than Lois had ever 
witnessed when turned upon herself. This was the face of 
the ruler of all Krypton... stern and immovable.

Well, Kal was about to realise that Earthlings were not so 
accommodating as his own people. Lois Lane was not for 
turning. Carefully, she watched him pass her and move to 
the centre of the room.

"What do you want, Kal?"

"To talk, Lois, just to talk! I can't stand this... 
impasse! And it's so unreasonable!"

"Hmph!" Lois exclaimed with force. "Why is it, when I 
differ from your point of view, that I should be considered 
unreasonable?!"

Kal raised his eyes to the ceiling in exasperation. "That's 
not what I meant, Lois, and you know it!"

"No, Kal, I don't know anything anymore." Lois hugged her 
arms around her, closing in her body stance. "I thought 
that our marriage was a partnership! But now I've 
discovered that it's a very unequal partnership and I'm 
certainly not on top!"

Kal-El felt his vexation building. "Is that what you want, 
My Lady? To be on top?! Is this what all this is about? 
Getting your own way?"

"No!" Lois studied Kal's face. How could someone, who 
professed to love her, have made such a wounding and 
inaccurate accusation? "You make me sound like a spoiled 
brat! And it isn't that at all! I just wanted to be your 
equal." Her voice almost broke on her last statement.

"Lois, you are... in every way that matters!" Kal 
tentatively stepped closer to his angry wife but stopped 
when she backed off. Yet he did reach out a hand to her, 
hoping to touch her somehow. "I don't mean to downgrade you 
by asking you to stay home. I believe that giving birth to 
our baby is the most important thing there is, and I'm so 
sorry that I won't be right here with you." Kal's voice 
betrayed his deep disappointment that he'd miss out on the 
miracle of welcoming their child into the world, yet Lois 
was so entrenched in her own aggrieved feelings that she 
failed to recognise her husband's sincerity. "But I would 
feel that way whether you were giving birth to the heir to 
the throne or to an ordinary baby. You have to believe 
that, Lois."

"But that's just it, Kal! How can I believe that?! You've 
never known what being ordinary means! Since you were a 
small child you've been raised in the knowledge that your 
duty to this world came before anything else, and I was 
foolish to think that our love could change things.... But, 
now I'm quite clear on my position in your life. You've 
taught me that lesson well and I won't make the same 
mistake twice." Lois' voice was resigned yet unyielding.

"'Put me first!' Is that what you're asking, Lois? You 
can't mean that! Sometimes, duty to others must come before 
our own needs.... And this involves your world too!"

"No! You're twisting my motives! I would never...." But 
Lois couldn't go on. Somehow, she'd been made to sound 
silly and selfish again, when all she'd wanted was to help 
her people. But Kal still refused to acknowledge that. 
There was no way through this morass of misunderstanding 
that had opened up between them. Instead, she resorted to 
steely silence.

A light went out behind Kal's eyes and Lois felt herself 
shiver involuntarily at the ice that formed there in its 
stead. "Clearly, My Lady, you've made up your mind about my 
motives and there's nothing more I can say to make you 
understand my position. You will, however, remain here 
while I and my troops deal with Nor. And you have my word 
that I will do my utmost to ensure that your people suffer 
as little as possible at that madman's hands."

The coldly courteous timbre which had replaced his normal 
warm, husky tone chilled Lois to her very core, but pride 
forbade her from allowing her distress to show. 
Nevertheless, she couldn't be sure that her voice wouldn't 
tremble, so she briefly inclined her head.

Oh, zor! Had it come to this, when Lois couldn't even bear 
to speak with him?! Kal cleared his throat of the lump that 
had formed there. "Then if you've nothing further to say, 
My Lady, I'll alleviate you of my presence. I have much to 
do before our departure tonight. There will be a ceremonial 
leave-taking at the spaceport.... I'll send Poli to fetch 
you," Lois was informed somewhat imperialistically. "I see 
no reason to upset others with the knowledge of our 
estrangement."

A curt nod of the head and he was gone, the door left ajar 
behind him. Then again, Lois Lane refused to be subjugated 
and her voice followed him down the corridor.

"Don't look for me, My Lord. I have a premonition that I'll 
have the world's worst headache this evening!"

But for all her bravado, Lois felt totally depressed and 
she wandered back to her bedroom where she indulged in yet 
another bout of weeping.... Only this time she was all 
cried out and managed just a few snorts and sniffles, 
resorting instead to pummelling a convenient pillow. 
Perhaps, had she been able to see her husband's expression 
as he strode off, she might have derived a small measure of 
comfort. Despite his ferocious demeanour, at her words, Kal 
had found his stiff lips curling, of their own violation, 
into a tiny grin. That was his Lois!

*****

In a different part of the castle, another young lady had 
no ambivalent feelings about how she would take farewell of 
her loved one. Zara paced back and forward in the empty 
atrium, awaiting her fianc‚ to answer her summons. In some 
way, Zara was a little surprised at her enterprise and her 
daring. Evidently, close contact with Lady Lois had taught 
the youngest and, customarily, well-behaved daughter of the 
house of El just how subterfuge could be used to one's own 
advantage.

She had sent for Ching in the name of the First Lady and no 
one had sought to doubt her. Either everyone was too 
preoccupied with the coming expedition or Zara was becoming 
quite adept at deception. Whatever was the reason, Zara 
didn't care overmuch. She had almost lost Ching once and 
she wasn't about to let him go back into battle without 
sharing one last moment of love together.

The sliding of the doors interrupted her thoughts as Ching, 
handsomely attired in the finery of his new rank, trod into 
the spacious greenhouse. It only took a moment for Zara to 
catch his hand and lead him into the cover of the densest 
bushes where she proceeded to show him wordlessly how much 
he would be missed. The shock of it overwhelmed the Major 
for but a moment, then he was eagerly returning her kisses, 
his hands pulling her closer and entangling in her long 
silken hair. These interludes were few and precious, 
therefore they clung to each other hungrily. After many 
protracted minutes of blissful desire, reluctantly, the 
couple parted, yet their lips strayed not far from the 
other's.

"Zara, you know this is dangerous." Yet, though his words 
were of censure, their tone was gentle. "We shouldn't meet 
like this in a public place."

"No one is here, Ching. I checked earlier and everybody is 
too busy to take time out to visit the gardens and the 
surveillance camera was taken down months ago." Zara leaned 
back against her dearest's encircling arms. "Besides, I 
don't really care if we are found out. I couldn't let you 
go without saying goodbye or wishing you well. You almost 
died last time, and I never would have had the chance to 
tell you goodbye, or let you know that I would always hold 
you in my heart. I remember how terribly it hurt, standing 
in that control room, listening to Dax-Ver inform us you'd 
been badly injured, and trying to pretend that it only 
mattered a very little. I think my heart broke that day and 
it only mended when you came back to me."

"Oh, Zara, I'm sorry you were frightened so." Ching's 
fingers softly traced the tears that slipped slowly from 
Zara's overbright eyes. "But, as you see, you can't get rid 
of me so easily. I intend to be in your life for a very 
long time to come."

A tender smile lit up Zara's pale face and she pulled Ching 
in the direction of the chaise-longue by the fishpond where 
she, Lois and Gellis had begun the plan to fool the Mais 
into betraying their crimes. The first act of the plot that 
would finally send her sweetheart, her brother and the 
whole Kryptonian armed forces off into the far reaches of 
space to protect an alien planet from the ravages of a mad 
man. Zara settled into the cushioned seat and drew Ching 
beside her, holding fast to his hands.

"Just make sure that you keep that intention, my love. And 
please don't be too brave." She sent him a shy smile. "I 
know that we're hoping to have you created a peer but I 
think I'd rather have you live as a friend than lose you in 
an attempt to become my husband."

"I'll remember, Zara." His fingers intertwined with hers as 
he spoke. "And if fate is kind, then perhaps we can have 
both." A soft, wondering laugh escaped his lips. "You know, 
I never thought we'd be together... talking like this... 
about the possibility of marriage. And it's all thanks to 
Lois and Kal."

A heavy sigh burst from Zara at the mention of her brother 
and his wife. Contrary to Kal's directive that the rest of 
the family and castle household should remain in ignorance 
of the rift between the two, the knowledge of the 
continuing quarrel had spread like a wildfire. The fact 
that the First Lord and Lady were, normally, never far from 
each other's company and were very tactile in their 
relationship, meant that it wasn't difficult for onlookers 
to guess the current state of affairs between the two. And 
it certainly was no secret from Zara or Ching.

"How is Kal?" Zara hadn't seen her brother since morning 
when he'd made himself scarce by heading directly for the 
space port, immediately after his visit with Lois.

"Busy! Pretending nothing's amiss! Then acting like someone 
who's just lost everything he holds dear and making life 
difficult for anyone who comes in contact with him."

"Oh, dear, that's not at all like Kal.... He's usually such 
a mild-mannered person."

Ching laughed derisively. "You're right! It's taken quite a 
few of the subordinates by surprise, I can tell you, and a 
number of the commanders too. Anyone whose work isn't up to 
scratch is being taken to task by a stricter First Lord 
than I've ever known. He's even sniped at me a couple of 
times...."

"Oh, Ching, I'm sure he doesn't mean it. It's just that 
this argument has made him so unhappy."

"I know that, Zara, and so does everyone else. Or they're 
putting it down to his worries over what havoc Nor is 
wreaking on Earth. No one's taking offence. Kal-El might be 
their First Lord but to the military he's still a brother 
officer and a very well thought of one at that." Ching 
lifted Zara's hand and placed a reassuring kiss on her 
fingertips. Then he hesitated a moment, being less sure of 
his ground when it came to feisty, pregnant Earth women. 
"How are things with Lady Lois?"

"Not good either! She's locked in the apartment feigning a 
headache. And she never gets these. She wouldn't speak to 
anyone, until Mother threatened to send for Physician Tamar 
and then she let us in. Much good it did us though... she's 
just not talking." An anxious look suffused Zara's face. 
"Is there anything we can do to help?"

"You mean, apart from knocking their heads together?!"

"Ching!" The younger lady of El was astounded by Ching's 
lese-majesty, yet she found herself smiling despite 
herself.

"If you have a better idea, I'm open to suggestion!"

"Isn't it awful... for them to be fighting like that... and 
it came out of nowhere!"

"And both of them are too stubborn to say they're sorry! 
Except, that in this case, I can see Kal's point of view!"

"But surely, Ching, you can understand why Lois feels that 
she has to be with her people! Her family are in danger! 
And I know that if the situations were reversed, Kal would 
insist on going home!"

"But Kal wouldn't be about to give birth... so it's not the 
same thing at all!"

Wide-eyed, Zara regarded the man she hopefully had chosen 
to be her husband. All her life she had accepted the rule 
of her male relatives and fortunately their rule had always 
been kindly. Yet, even when the question of her betrothal 
to the inept Rol-Fre had arisen, she had never sought to 
question their authority but agreed to do her duty as a 
member of the royal house. So why was she now looking 
askance at the man she loved with all her heart? Was Lois' 
independent nature nurturing a similar characteristic in 
her own personality which, until now, had remained dormant? 
Zara heard herself say accusingly... "And that's a very 
sexist remark, Ching, and not one I'd thought to hear from 
you!"

"Zara! This isn't man versus woman! We have females in our 
military, which you well know!"

"But not in the front line!"

"No, I'll give you that... but there will be women along 
with the fleet. I'm quite sure that if Lois wasn't 
pregnant, Kal would want her with him. He's only trying to 
protect his wife and child here!"

"Only Lois doesn't think she needs protection!"

"Exactly." Ching shrugged dejectedly. "A stalemate!"

Zara found herself mimicking Ching's dejected shrug. "Isn't 
there anything we can do?"

"You could persuade Lois into coming to say goodbye to Kal. 
I think he's afraid that she won't turn up."

At this suggestion the young girl's chin firmed 
determinedly. "Yes, I can do that! Lois should be there. If 
anything bad were to happen to Kal, she'd never forgive 
herself...."

"Sweetheart, nothing bad will happen to Kal... or me. 
Everything will be fine, I promise." Strangely, Zara seemed 
to accept his assurances without question. Her complete 
faith in him filled him with a quiet strength and he found 
himself believing his risky promises. "Now enough about 
Lois and Kal." Ching pulled her against his hard body and 
covered her upturned face with hungry kisses. "We don't 
have much time and I'm selfish enough to want to say 
goodbye to my fianc‚e without thoughts of our warring 
friends distracting me."

*****

True to her intention, Zara had, finally, talked Lois into 
accompanying the family to Elvar's space port to wish the 
departing fleet well. It hadn't been an easy task, as Lois 
had remained adamant about her decision to stay in the 
castle, for most of the afternoon. Yet, whenever Zara 
touched on the subject that soldiers were very often hurt 
or killed in battle, she could feel her sister-in-law 
relent. Of course, Lois refused to admit she'd been 
persuaded by this thought, preferring to excuse her change 
of heart for considerations of 'keeping up appearances'. 
Zara, however, wasn't fooled. She knew that the First Lady 
wouldn't give a hoot for 'appearances' if Lois felt herself 
to be completely in the right.

This much was true, but Lois still considered herself to be 
the 'much maligned victim' in her wrangle with Kal and in 
some degree with the Council that had backed his decree. 
Therefore, it was a steely-eyed, stiff and silent lady who 
emerged from the royal transporter as dusk fell early in 
the autumn evening.

Since his angry exit, she had not seen Kal again during 
this eternally long day. From all accounts, Kal had left 
the castle soon after his visit to the apartment and had 
remained with his troops for the rest of the day. He had 
not even tried to reach her with his thoughts and, though 
she kidded herself that she would have ignored any such 
attempts, this too had hurt more than she ever thought 
possible.

So this was the other side of the coin to love... this 
empty, aching feeling... this knowledge that everything in 
her life was less clear, less comforting and, most of all, 
so dreadfully lonely. Where was her friend to share a 
tantalising tease, or to brighten her day with a word of 
encouragement... or even to chivvy her with a barbed and 
witty remark? She would give anything for the return of his 
camaraderie. And more; she would give her soul to feel the 
strength of his arms around her, caring for her... loving 
her. To lose herself in the depths of his solicitous gaze 
and receive the complete understanding that she had found 
no where else in this universe.

And yet, the Kal she thought she knew didn't exist in this 
distant, courtly leader that stood on the dias of the space 
port, awaiting the delegation from Elvar who had come to 
say goodbye. This Kal had certainly not understood her need 
to travel to Earth. How could she have been so wrong about 
someone? She'd believed that she'd learnt everything there 
was to know about her husband and yet this stranger was an 
enigma to her. Had love blinded her to his faults?

Yet the greatest problem was that she still loved him. 
Despite her anger and her pain, she couldn't stop her 
traitorous heart from leaping at the sight of him; or rein 
in the desire to cast herself into his arms and plead with 
him to forget all that had happened during this last 
disastrous day.

So spake her heart... but her head refused to yield, and so 
she would do none of these things. Lois would play her part 
to the hilt. The First Lady of Krypton would be the epitome 
of a regal consort, and no one would recognise the struggle 
that was taking place deep within her soul.

Except, mayhap, Kal, who felt the echo of her torment. Yet, 
just as his wife, he saw no way through this maze o