From Part 35 ...
Kal smiled and touched the back of his finger to the tip of her nose. “If I’d taken you on a date, if I’d eaten chocolate with you and danced with you, I know exactly what I would want to do when we got home.”
Lois took his face in her hands. “Luckily, we don’t have far to go,” she said.
Kal bent low and swept her into his arms.
He carried her to their blanket and they made sweet, unhurried love long into the night.
Part 36
Lois woke suddenly, her heart already pounding.
In her dream, she’d been in a noisy bar. On the stage, Perry was singing with Elvis. Then, in the middle of a particularly unruly version of ‘Hound Dog,’ Perry had pointed directly at her and screamed, “You ain’t no friend of mine.”
Then, Lois had smelled coffee.
Her eyes flew open and rammed into Tek’s startled gaze. He said something Lois didn’t understand and scurried away.
She sank back into the warmth of Kal’s arms as steady rhythm returned to her heart. She rolled over and faced him. He was still sleeping. He must be tired, she thought, to sleep through her movement. She kissed his cheek. “Kal?” she said. “Kal, you need to wake up.”
His eyes didn’t open, but his smile flickered and his hand trailed slowly down her bare back.
“Kal,” she whispered. “Tek’s here. You need to wake up. We need to get dressed.”
His eyes opened, but his grin didn’t fade. “Tek’s here?”
“Yes.”
“I was hoping you were waking me for a different reason.”
She thumped gently into his chest. “Sorry, no can do. We have a couple of minutes to get dressed.”
He sighed. “Last night was the best night of my life.”
“Mine too.” Lois pushed back the blanket and began to rise.
Kal’s hand stilled her movement. “You’ve had many dates,” he said. “Real dates with real chocolate.”
“It’s not the chocolate that makes the date,” she said. “It’s the person you share it with. And last night was the best night of my life.”
He smiled, content.
“But even the best of nights eventually runs into a morning and we have to get up.”
Still he didn’t move. “Lois?”
“Yes.”
“Whatever happens today, I’ll be there for you.”
She saw the solemnity of his promise. “I know, Kal.” He sat up and the blanket fell from him, revealing his magnificent chest. Lois’s gaze sauntered over it. “It should be illegal for you to wear a shirt,” she said.
His eyebrows lifted, his gaze dropped a few degrees and his mouth curved to a wide grin. “Only if when we’re alone, the same rule applies to you,” he said.
Lois laughed as she stood. “Turn on your translator,” she said. “Tek said something, but I didn’t understand him. He could be back any moment.”
Kal dressed quickly, then went into the alcove in search of Tek.
When they returned, Kal held a cup. Tek approached Lois and offered her the cup he carried.
It was lukewarm. “Thank you, Tek,” she said.
“Riz thought you would like some beverage,” he said. “But it is almost cold now.”
Lois turned away slightly and glared at her drink. Warmth seeped into her palm and a ringlet of steam lifted from the dark liquid. Lois took Kal’s cup from him and gave him hers. He shot her a smile of appreciation.
Lois heated her drink. The aroma wafted up and she breathed in appreciatively.
They sat down and silence fell as Kal and Lois sipped their coffee. “How is your beverage?” Tek asked.
Had he seen her heating them? Or noticed the steam? “Good,” Lois said, trying to sound casual.
“It tastes as you would expect?”
“Yes. Why?”
“It was made with water from underground,” Tek said.
Lois looked askance at her cup.
“I have tested it,” Tek hurried to assure her. “It is free from any impurities.”
“The drills found water?” Kal said eagerly.
“Yes,” Tek confirmed. “The drills have located a plentiful supply of usuable water. Early estimates are it will last us years – long enough to develop other means should we need them.”
Kal leant back with a sigh of satisfaction.
“Have you ever tried beverage with milk?” Lois asked.
“That word doesn’t translate,” Tek said.
“Milk,” Lois repeated. “You get it from cows – I know you have cows, I saw them the day I followed you to the cliffs. And how *did* you get down here that day? You were on the top of the cliff.”
“There are footholds down the cliff and into the tunnel you came through,” he said.
“You climbed *down* the cliff?”
“When the water is low enough, you don’t even get wet.” Tek's eyes dropped to her cup. “You put calf food in your beverage?”
“We call it milk. It is a highly nutritious food – very good for children.”
“How do you get it?”
“You take the calf away from its mother when it’s ... older ... and then you squeeze the milk from the cow.”
“And *drink* it?”
“Yes. We boil it first to kill any bacteria.”
“But when the calf no longer needs food from its mother, the cow stops producing it.”
“Not if you keep taking it ... at least, I think that is how it works.”
“And you put it in beverage?”
“Yes,” Lois said. “It mitigates the bitterness.”
“Children drink it?”
“Yes. After boiling it, keep it cold to preserve it for a few days. And you can put it on foods, like oatmeal. And use it in baking.”
“Could it be used for babies?”
“It isn’t ideal,” Lois said. “What do you give babies if the mother can’t feed them?”
“A combination of water and grain,” Tek said. “If the baby is very young, it inevitably dies.”
“You could try cow’s milk,” Lois said. “Milk is a food, not just a drink, so you wouldn’t need the grain.”
“I will tell Riz,” Tek said. “Eb’s sister’s baby died because she couldn’t feed it and I know Eb is worried the same thing will happen to her child.” He looked from Lois to Kal. “Have you decided what you are going to do?”
“Has anything changed?” Kal said.
“Nothing that influences your situation,” Tek replied.
“Do you still believe the spaceship will fly?”
“Yes. I have gone over it in minute detail. I can find nothing that would guarantee failure.”
“But nothing that would guarantee success?” Lois asked.
“No.”
Kal looked to Lois. Lois nodded. “We’ve decided to leave New Krypton,” Kal said.
Lois searched Tek’s face for his reaction, but she could discern neither approval nor trepidation. “Everything is ready for you,” he said.
“Do we go now?” Lois said. Her heart fluttered through a couple of beats. It had been easier to decide to go when there was still the buffer of time between her and the spaceship.
“No. Low tide is still over an hour away,” Tek said. “I came here in the depths of the night – it was my best chance to remain undetected and I wanted much time to further inspect the craft.”
“How are we going to get it out?” Kal asked.
“My father planned well,” Tek replied. “The spacecraft is designed to launch over either land or water. I have demolished the sand wall.”
“So we just shoot out of the cave, onto the water and into space?” Lois asked, trying to keep the misgivings from her tone.
“Yes,” Tek said.
“And then what happens?” she asked.
“It may be a journey of great distance,” Tek warned. “I still cannot determine your destination.”
“Will we need to conserve food? Oxygen?” Lois asked.
“I have attempted to cover every eventuality towards securing your safe arrival,” he said.
“Do you think the spacecraft has flown before?” Kal asked.
“At first, I assumed not,” Tek answered. “But the heat cover on the front shows evidence of entry through an atmosphere.”
Lois felt her reporter’s instinct roar to life. “So it *could* have gone somewhere *and* come back?” she said excitedly.
“Yes.”
“Kal’s missing years,” Lois said. “We think your father kept him somewhere safe – somewhere not on this planet.”
Tek’s face didn’t show any surprise. “That possibility occurred to me too,” he admitted. “It does seem to fit – my father’s absence, him returning with Kal, his assertion Kal was safe and the existence of this spacecraft.”
Lois wasn’t sure how to phrase the next question without offending Tek. “When Kal didn’t know anything about his past, why didn’t you ...”
“Ask him?” Tek finished. “Everyone except Ked, Yent and the tutor were kept from him. I saw Kal only once before his Investiture. I was concerned for Ard. When my father was alive, he kept her mostly in our residence – for her own protection. After my father’s death, she began roaming – looking for him. I was worried people would notice her – worried Nor would notice her beauty.
“I snuck into the Regal Residence two days before the Investiture and told Kal I was Kip’s son and asked him if he would take Ard as his concubine. I didn’t know then that he had no memory of his former years. I hoped he was a good man – hoped my father’s influence would mean Ard would be safe with him. It was good that Kal had read History and knew of the work of Kip-Or.”
“Once I became the Supreme Ruler and understood that Tek had his father’s teachings, but no qualification in Science, I took him as my servant,” Kal said.
“When did you realise Kal had no memory of his childhood?” Lois asked Tek.
“We didn’t speak much,” Tek said. “I brought his food. He seemed distant and pre-occupied. I didn’t want to do anything that could affect the way he treated Ard.”
“Did you know he’d been told he was in hiatus?” Lois asked.
“Later, I heard the rumours.”
“But you knew he hadn’t been in hiatus,” she pressed. “You saw him walk into the town.”
“I didn’t know for sure he hadn’t been in hiatus,” Tek said. “But whether he had or not, the assumption was that he had been kept in the Regal Residence. That suited me because it meant no one thought too much about the caves as a possible hiding place. Finding answers would have salved my own curiosity, but would not have assisted the future of New Krypton.” Tek looked down. “And would not bring back my father.”
“As you got to know Kal you could have voiced your suspicions to him.”
“To what end?” Tek asked as he faced her again. “To bring contention to a Cabinet that already teetered on the brink of rupture? To bring uncertainty to a young man who already carried a heavy load of responsibility? No, if we were to survive, we needed to look forward, not back.”
Kal smiled at Tek. “You comprehend far more of the political landscape than I realised.”
“I say little,” Tek said. “Many assume I understand little, therefore people speak freely around me.”
“Did you know about Nor’s plan to depose Kal?” Lois asked.
“No,” Tek vowed. “I knew Nor agitated the people. I knew he talked up perceived injustices to the south. I knew he tried to stir up anger and rebellion. But I didn’t know he was waiting for the passage of time to steal the mantle that was not his.”
“Do you know anything about how Ked could have wiped Kal’s memories?”
“My father was a Southside Scientist – but he was not well accepted until we needed a new home. Before that, he was ostracised because he refused to be involved in many projects he deemed unethical. It is very possible the other Scientists would have found it advantageous to have a means to cover the past.”
“Will Kal regain his memories?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know. Perhaps in an environment that was once familiar ...”
“Have you taken the seat on the Cabinet?” Kal asked.
“Yes,” Tek said quietly. “I decided there was more to be gained from taking it than from rejecting it, so I took it.”
The men looked at each other. Tek raised his clenched fist and Kal raised his flattened palm. With his other hand Tek reached for Kal and folded his fingers into a fist.
“I am honoured to be considered your equal,” Tek said.
The fists hit each chest, as the men locked eyes.
It was Lois who broke the lingering silence. “If you’re a Regal Noble,” she asked Tek. “Does that mean you can take concubines?”
“Yes.”
“Is there a rule that you can’t take your sister as a concubine?”
“No,” Tek said. “And because the man who took Ard is a Noble, and therefore lower than me, I have already taken Ard – not as a concubine, but as a member of my household.”
Lois smiled. “I am very pleased.”
“She has moved back into her room in the Concubine Quarters,” Tek said.
“She has?” Kal asked. “What about Ching’s concubines?”
“He only has two,” Tek said. “Plus there is Bel, so three rooms are vacant. I expressed my wish to remain in my current residence, so Lady Za suggested Ard return to her old room.”
“Is Ard happy about that?” Lois asked.
“Yes. The former C3, Mo, brings books and Ard draws pictures.”
“Mo is still writing?” Lois exclaimed happily.
“Yes. She writes the book, Ard draws the pictures and Riz makes copies and gives them to the children.”
“Mo must have a good master,” Lois said hopefully.
“Mo’s master is one of the poorer Nobles,” Tek said. “I think he took Mo more for the esteem of having a former concubine of the Supreme Ruler than any real desire for her. When he learnt that Ard would be housed at the Concubine Quarters, he requested that Mo be housed there too.”
“Mo will go back to her room?” Lois squeaked with delight. “And be able to write?”
“If Ching agrees.”
“What about Jib?” Lois said. “Is there any way you can get her back too?”
“I’m a Regal Noble,” Tek said without a trace of arrogance. “I’ll ask Riz to find out if Jib wishes to live next to her sister and if she does, I’ll take her.”
“Riz is all right with you taking concubines?” Lois asked.
“I will take concubines as Kal took concubines,” Tek said. “Not for myself, but for them. Like Kal, my heart is full with one woman.”
Lois laughed, seeing for the first time that even the most abhorrent of rules could be tolerable in the hands of good people.
“There will be other changes,” Kal said. “As a Regal Noble, you will be accepted as a Scientist.”
“Yes.”
“So you won’t have to work down here anymore?” Lois asked. “You won’t have to hide your work? You can have a proper laboratory?”
“I have been granted the building where my father worked,” Tek said. “I can establish a new laboratory there and work on many things for the benefit of all Kryptonians. And, in future years, I can teach my son.”
“And your daughter,” Lois said.
Tek hesitated for the shortest of moments. “And my daughter,” he agreed.
“That is good,” Kal said.
“My first task will be to develop and install tidal power generators.”
Kal sat up quickly. “You have another source of energy?” he asked.
“I believe so,” Tek said. “On Krypton, we used wind generators but there is not sufficient wind on this planet. My father believed the tides could be used in a similar way, but hesitated because he was wary of leading people to discover the caves.”
“You think you will be able to generate power from the tides?” Kal said.
“Yes. I have always known of the possibility that the massive variation in the tides could be used for our benefit. Had our supplies become critically low, I would have suggested it – although it would have meant the end of my scientific work, because people would have become more aware of the tides and how the differing water levels change the landscape so drastically.”
“But your father was a recognised scientist,” Lois said. “He didn’t need to hide his work.”
“He lived under Cabinet rule,” Tek reminded her. “Many advancements can be used for harm as well as good. Yent showed little interest and Ked could not be trusted.”
“And your father needed to protect the spaceship!” Lois concluded.
“Possibly,” Tek said slowly. “Although I am uncomfortable with the magnitude of the risk of having a spacecraft programmed to Kal’s whereabouts. If Nor had found the spaceship, it would have taken him directly to Kal.”
“Maybe when Kal was there, it wasn’t programmed.”
“That is possible,” Tek said. “But there are still questions. My father had to know that Kal’s appearance would incite Nor and Ked. My father had to have known that his own life was vulnerable. I don’t understand him leaving a spacecraft as an open means for Nor, or anyone else, to invade another planet.”
Kal drained his beverage and put his cup in one of the bags. “Is it time we should leave?” he asked Tek.
“Yes,” Tek said. He stood and picked up a bag and offered it to Lois. “I brought your clothes,” he said. “The ones you were wearing when you arrived on New Krypton.”
Lois took the bag and opened it. “Thank you, Tek.”
“Do you want to change into them now?” Kal asked.
Lois hesitated. These clothes were from Earth. They represented the past. “No,” she said. “I’ll take them, but I want to keep wearing this dress.”
Kal nodded and picked up the globe. “I am unsure if this is meant for you or me,” he said to Tek.
Tek reached for the globe. As his hand made contact, the globe lit from within.
An arc of light illuminated the cave wall.
And in it, an image appeared.
Of two men.
