Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic The Longest Road: Belief and Sacrifice - Part 4

From last time:

"Hello?" Jor El called as he opened the door to their living quarters. What met his gaze was far from what he'd expected. The room was dark and the lights wouldn't turn on. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. A soft groan broke the silence.

"Mother!" he exclaimed as he raced to his mother's side. She lay motionless on the ground in the middle of their sitting room. The furniture was overturned and everything breakable in the room appeared to have been broken. He knelt beside her, pleading like a child with her to wake. She finally began to stir in response to his frantic, panicked attempts to rouse her.

"Kal El," she whispered weakly. Jor El looked up, fear welling inside him, but his wife had already raced to the child's room. He heard her cry and it pierced his heart. She raced back into the room, holding the still form of their son in her arms. Their eyes met and he could see the tears streaming down her face.

"I'll call for help," he whispered hoarsely. He stood and raced to summon medical help. His heart pounded and his hands sweat as he spoke into the communicator. The dryness in his throat made it difficult to form the words. "I don't...I don't know what happened," he explained agitatedly into the communicator. "We found them this way, please, send help quickly!" he entreated. He terminated the communication and immediately called upon Tao Scion. The bile rose in his throat. He wasn't going to lose his son.

********

Part 4:


Jor El paced in the anteroom of the hospital. He'd grown to despise this place - it's cold walls, it's antiseptic smell.

"Please, sit down, Jor El," Lara entreated him. She extended her hand to him and he took it and sat beside her on the hard bench against the wall. She placed her head upon his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her, putting his head on top of hers. He closed his eyes and held her tightly. He prayed silently to no one at all, a desperate plea to the fates for intercession.

The sound of footsteps echoing in the hallway as someone approached startled him. He looked up to see Tao Scion walking toward them. His face was grim. Jor El's face fell as his throat tightened. Lara looked up at their dear friend. Her eyes bright with unshed tears. Tao Scion sat down beside her.

"We've stabilized him," he began to explain.

Jor El exhaled the breath he didn't know he'd been holding in. Lara sobbed in relief.

"He was poisoned. So was your mother, Jor El. We've managed to extract most of the poison from their systems, but they are both lucky that you found them when you did."

"Will they be all right?" Lara asked tremulously.

"Yes," Tao Scion said simply. He was silent for a moment. "Do either of you know who would want to harm them?"

"My mother and my son?" Jor El replied incredulously. "What reason would anyone have to harm them?"

"What if they were doing it to harm you?" Lara asked softly.

"No," Jor El responded forcefully. "No, this doesn't make any sense." He shook his head.

"Calm down, my love," Lara replied.

"I am perfectly calm!" Jor El snapped. "I'm sorry..." he began almost immediately, regretting the outburst as soon as it had occurred. He placed his hand against her cheek and kissed the top of her head. She embraced him tightly and he held her just as fiercely.

After a long moment, he looked at Tao Scion. "Can we see them?" he asked. His friend merely nodded. Jor El and Lara stood together, hand in hand, they walked toward their son's hospital room.

********

In the pre-dawn hours of the morning, Jor El held his wife in his arms. Unsurprisingly, neither had been able to sleep. Guards had been posted outside of the rooms of both his mother and Kal El, but given their delicate conditions, Jor El and Lara had not been allowed to stay with them. Tao Scion had arranged for a room for them, their own home was still a crime scene that would require an investigation.

Jor El absently ran his fingers through his wife's long hair. "What if we can't protect him?" he whispered softly, half to himself. It had taken him hours to work up the courage to say the words aloud.

"We'll go to the Council. We'll get help," Lara attempted to reassure him.

"What if we can't trust the Council?" he probed.

Lara looked up at him, confused. "Jor El..." she began.

"I'm beginning to suspect that Rae Et was somehow involved in all of this," he explained.

"Are you honestly going to accuse a Councilor of this?" she asked, incredulously.

"Not publicly, no. Rae Et commands too much power and I have no proof. I can feel it though, Lara, the woman is a force of true evil. Other than Tao Scion, and ourselves, only a few members of the High Council know what the empath told us about our son. Rae Et is one of them."

"Her personal animosity toward you is no secret, but what could she possibly have to gain by trying to kill our child?" Lara asked, her voice wavering.

Jor El was silent for a long moment. "I don't know. This world is growing ever more unsafe, and I'm afraid the next one will be no safer."

"I am so afraid," Lara confessed.

"So am I," he replied.

********

Rae Et moved briskly down the desolate corridor beyond the anteroom to the Council Chambers, the two junior councilors firmly in tow, as though she had them on a leash. It was well beyond late and approaching early morning. The exhaustion was visible in the countenances of the two young men, but Rae Et showed no signs of fatigue. "You failed," she hissed.

"We offer humble apologies," Alon began.

"Apologies do nothing to rectify the situation," she snapped. "Making another attempt before we leave this planet will be too dangerous; too likely to draw attention. We'll have to wait until we're firmly ensconced on that damned space rock. An entire generation will be wasted terraforming that vast expanse of nothingness. It will however, provide us with a rather harsh environment and the death of delicate ones such as infants will become quite commonplace and ordinary. If something untoward should befall the little El, it will hardly draw unnecessary attention."

"A wonderful bit of irony. Jor El succeeds in jeopardizing our colony's viability through overpopulation and selection of an unsuitable habitat and his own son will be among the first casualties," Shertal added.

"Try to contain your enthusiasm," Rae Et responded humorlessly as she increased her pace her footfalls echoing loudly in the empty hallway. The younger men struggled to keep up with her.

********

The sun cast long shadows as it slowly descended toward the horizon. Warm rays of light filtered in through the windows. Tek Ra, however, was in no mood to enjoy the sunset. He paced agitatedly, wearing a path into the plush carpeting of his sumptuously decorated office. The walls and furniture were warm, rich colors and the office was equipped with every possible amenity. He stopped in front of the floor to ceiling windows and looked out at the rose colored sky. A knock at the door interrupted his dour ruminations.

"Enter!" he barked. The doors silently glided open and Jor El entered the office. "Jor El," Tek Ra greeted his visitor. He could see the anxiety etched in Jor El's expression. Like Jor El, he too, had recently become a father and could not imagine how he would feel in the other man's place. If someone had tried to do something like that to Zara, suffice to say he did not believe that homicidal would begin to describe the emotional state in which he would have found himself.

"Tek Ra, how are you?" Jor El asked, a weary smile on his face.

Tek Ra laughed humorlessly. "It is odd that we all continue to ask each other these questions and exchange pleasantries given what is going on," he said as he waved a hand toward his window. "But I forget my manners," he continued. "Please have a seat," he said, gesturing toward the couch. "Can I have anything brought for you?"

Jor El sat down on the couch and shook his head. "I am fine, thank you," he replied. "How are Meiren and your daughter, Zara?"

Tek Ra sat beside Jor El. "They are both well, thank you." He paused for a long moment. "We do not know each other well, Jor El, but we have much in common. My daughter was read by the empath last week."

"So she is..." Jor El began.

Tek Ra nodded. "Like your son. The engineers and peacekeepers sent in the first wave to our new home have made substantial progress. The next group of colonists will be sent soon to join them. My family will be on that transport. I know that you and your wife have requested to stay behind as long as possible to help prepare the other transports, but I am afraid this world will descend further into chaos as time passes. It may not be safe for your son here. I do not know whom, but your little child has already made some powerful enemies, people who fear what he is and what that means for our people. That is why not even a single member of the Council knows about our Zara. If you will allow it, I will take your son with my family on the transport. We will protect him and care for him as long as it takes until you can be reunited."

Jor El remained silent. Finally, he spoke. "I thank you, Tek Ra. Your offer means a great deal to me, and it will to Lara as well. I will have to discuss it with her."

"Of course."

Jor El stood. "Thank you, again. I am afraid I must return to my work."

"I understand," Tek Ra replied.

"Good bye, Tek Ra."

"Good bye, Jor El. May fortune be with you always." As Jor El began to leave, Tek Ra called out to his retreating visitor. "The Council has decided to accept your proposal." Jor El stopped and turned back toward Tek Ra. "The largest possible number of people will be saved, because of you. This world has much to thank you for."

Jor El nodded with a sad smile and departed.

********

Lara gazed up at her husband, anxiety clear in her expression. "If you're right, Jor El, that world won't be any safer for him than this one," she commented sadly. She held their son in her arms as she fed him in the quiet of his nursery.

"I know."

Lara continued. "But Tek Ra has a point. Can we do our work and care for our son?"

Jor El sighed and placed a hand on his wife's shoulder as he looked down at Kal El. "If Rae Et is behind this, he won't be safe anywhere."

"Have the police had any more success in their investigation?"

Jor El shook his head. "No. They have no more information now than they did the night it happened. There is nothing to link her to it. And yet, I cannot be free of the feeling that she is behind it."

An awkward silence settled between them. After a long moment, Jor El spoke. "There is still one thing we have not considered." Lara looked at him questioningly. "Earth," he said simply.

"You know that we cannot..." she began, startling both herself and Kal El with the forcefulness of her tone. Kal El began to cry. "No, darling, I'm sorry," she crooned as she rocked the child. Kal El's cries soon subsided to soft whimpers.

Lara looked back toward her husband. "You know the vow our people made," she said softly.

"And I know the vow I made to you. I will keep this child safe. He will have a long, happy, healthy life, no matter what."

"Then we must begin preparations at once," Lara replied. The gravity of their decision weighed heavily upon her, he knew, just as it weighed upon him.

********

One Month Later...

Jor El had gathered his students in the hangar. It was late and the last round of diagnostics had been performed on the latest transports. Everything was going as expected. "My friends," he began. "Our work is nearly complete. The colonists have begun settling our new home. The last of the transports have been produced and we've all been guaranteed spaces on the final transport. Our society owes you all a debt. While this is a time of great sorrow, our way of life will go on, because of the work that you've done."

A tremor interrupted his speech. Everyone looked around as the lighting fixtures swayed and unsecured items fell from their places on the shelves, the more fragile of them breaking. The tremors had become normal occurrences and the necessary precautions had been taken. Anything worth protecting in the hangar had been firmly bolted down.

Jor El waited for the shaking to pass. "Good work everyone. Go home, now, and be with your families." Without fanfare, the students dispersed. Lara was waiting for Jor El at the back of the hangar, holding their son. He approached them with arms outstretched and she handed him Kal El.

"It's good to know that they will all be safe," he said quietly. Kal El began tugging at his father's greatcoat, pulling a chubby little fistful of the material into his mouth. Jor El looked down at him with a good-natured smile.

"As will he," Lara added softly. Jor El's eyes met hers in a knowing look. "We are doing the right thing, aren't we?"

"I have to believe that we are," he said.

They exited the hangar and walked into their personal laboratory, where the project they'd worked on every night for a month waited. Tucked away in a corner sat the tiny blue metal capsule with the El family crest on it. In a few weeks time, they would place their son in that capsule and send him off, hoping that another world, far from this one would provide him with what they could not. The destination had already been selected and the course charted. All the preparations had been made.

********

Two Weeks Later...

"Jor El, you cannot be serious, you must take your place on this transport!" Tao Scion entreated him. He looked behind him at the platform where the transport was docked. In a few short hours, it would leave, the last of the transports to take the survivors of Krypton to their new home. Its location was secret, to prevent those who would not be saved from trying to gain access.

The ground underneath them rumbled again but both men ignored it. Jor El merely shook his head. "Lara and I will not be going, give our places to others. Please, my friend, you must do this for me."

"Your son..."

"Will be safe," Jor El assured him. "We've made arrangements."

"So you did send him off ahead, as Tek Ra suggested?"

"Kal El will be safe," Jor El replied noncommittally.

"Please rethink your decision," Tao Scion pleaded with his friend.

"We've made our decision," Jor El said gently. "Take care of yourself."

Tao Scion threw his arms around his friend in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. Jor El hugged him back just as fiercely. After a long moment, Tao Scion drew back, his stoic mask beginning to crack. "You are a man without equal, Jor El. Our people owe you everything."

"I only wish we could have done more," Jor El replied sadly. "Take care of them, Tao Scion. They will need men like you to lead them."

Jor El turned around and quietly walked away from his only hope for salvation. He walked down the deserted pathways toward the waiting vehicle that would take him home. Their world was dead already. The streets were quiet as people had withdrawn into their homes. In other parts of the city, there were riots, but most people were spending their last hours with family. He made his way down the desolate streets as quickly as possible. He wanted to spend every possible moment with his wife and son.

********

In the laboratory that had become more like home than home, Lara held her son close, tears streaming silently down her face. The tiny baby gurgled and laughed, unaware of what was going on. The tremors had always upset him, but he seemed to be in a good mood at the moment. Jor El watched them silently, his stomach tied up in knots and his chest feeling as though it was going to cave in at any second. She looked up to see him and their eyes met. She walked toward him, still crying and he felt the tears pricking at his own eyes. He wrapped his arms around both of them and allowed himself to cry silently.

"There isn't enough time," Lara whispered through tears. "There's never enough time."

Jor El stepped back and kissed his wife before kissing Kal El's forehead. Lara handed the baby to his father. "My darling son, forgive us that we cannot make this journey with you. There was only time to build a ship large enough for you." He handed Kal El back to Lara so that he could prepare the capsule. He moved it silently out to the hangar, Lara and Kal El following behind him. He set the controls, opened the lid of the capsule, and placed the navigating globe in its position. Jor El looked at his wife, holding their happy little boy. He felt a cold, steel vise tighten around his heart.

"Be a good little boy for mother," she whispered to him, nearly choking on the words.. "We love you so much. Be a good little boy for us." Kal El wrapped his tiny hand around one of his mother's slender fingers and Jor El could see his wife trying to fight back the tears.

Jor El nodded toward her. They both knew that it was time. She lay Kal El down in the capsule, wrapping him in his blue blanket. The baby began to cry as Jor El closed the clear lid over the capsule. Lara broke down in tears as she watched her tiny son reaching for her. Jor El too, began to sob as he secured the capsule. The outer lid sealed, the baby's cries could no longer be heard. Lara reached out for his hand and took it in hers, squeezing it hard. They stepped back as the little capsule took off, racing their son away from them and this dying planet. As it disappeared, Lara collapsed in Jor El's arms as they both sobbed uncontrollably. They sunk to the ground as the world around them began to shake again. She clung to him as though she were drowning, and in a way she was. They both were. He wanted to tell her it would be all right, but he couldn't bring himself to lie. He couldn't even begin to think or move. All he knew was how much it hurt and how powerless he was to stop it. The tremors grew stronger as the lights flickered and failed. Soon it was dark. The rumbling continued, more powerful than before.

And in one long moment of chaos and fire, fury and sound, it was over.

An entire world ceased to exist.

********

Two Months Later...

A brilliant flash streaked across the Kansas sky on a gorgeous May evening that capped a day of rainbows, warm breezes, and the scent of spring with a slight hint of summer in the air.

"What was that?"

"Probably a meteor, or something," he muttered as he pulled the old, red pickup truck off the dusty road.

"It looks like it landed in Shuster's Field," she said. "We should go see what it is." She opened her door before finishing the sentence.

"Martha," he replied, shaking his head. He opened his door and followed her.

********

Almost Thirty Years Later...

The old man's thin frame shook as another coughing fit gripped his body. He gripped the armrest of his chair tightly.

"Are you all right, sir?" the younger man asked.

"I will be fine, Lieutenant Commander Ching," the old man rasped. "Bring Zara to me."

"Of course," Ching replied. He bowed respectfully before leaving the Spartan chamber. He walked down the dimly lit corridor, his heavy boots falling loudly on the metal floor of the barracks. Ching made his way through the maze to Zara's private quarters. He knocked on the heavy metal door.

"Shir Om wishes to see you, madam," he said when she opened the door. She nodded in response and stepped out into the hallway. As was his custom, he walked a step behind her as they walked toward the First Minister's chambers.

"How is he?" she asked.

"Not well," he replied simply. "He hasn't been the same since she died. Their bond was stronger than any of us ever realized. He doesn't have much time." The heavy double doors slid open as they approached.

"Come in," Shir Om called to them weakly and they entered the well-lit chamber.

"My young friends," Shir Om continued. "My time is short. Zara, I fear I leave to you a troubled world. Until a co-First Minister is chosen to rule by your side, there will be no peace among our people. Rae Et will not rest until her son is chosen."

"I will not rule with Nor," Zara replied steadfastly.

"If your people so chose, you will. You must." Shir Om coughed again. Zara touched his bony hand, but the old man shook her off.

"He is a man of no character, or scruples," Ching said.

"There must be another way," Zara insisted.

Shir Om doubled over as the coughing seized him once again.

"You need your rest, sir," Ching said. Shir Om merely nodded as Ching helped the older man out of his chair and to the bed.

"We will leave you in peace," Zara added as she and Ching slipped from the room.

"I'll summon my father," she said to Ching as they walked down the corridor. They stopped in front of the door to her chambers. Ching turned to walk away. "Stay," she said. Zara reached out and touched his hand.

Ching looked down at her hand and slowly interlaced their fingers. His eyes darted across the vacant hallway. Assured that they were alone, he followed her into her quarters and closed the door behind them.

She reached up to touch his cheek, but he turned away.

"I won't watch you marry him. I'd rather die than let the scoundrel touch you," he said sullenly.

"Let us try to avoid both scenarios." She raised his hand to her lips, never breaking eye contact with him.

"What do you propose we do?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not certain, but we should speak with my father."

Ching kissed her softly. "I'll get him." With that, he left the room.

********

"There must be another way..." Zara mused aloud as she paced in her quarters, her agitation was patently clear, but in the company of the two people she trusted more than any others, there was no longer any need for pretense or dignified detachment.

"My daughter, you must calm down," Tek Ra chided. He leaned back in his chair. His tall body still strong, though his hair and beard were now thoroughly gray and lines of worry and many harsh years were etched into his face.

"If only Kal El had survived," she continued.

"Zara, there's no point in dwelling on the impossible," Ching interrupted. He stood against a wall, his arms folded across his chest.

"He may have," Tek Ra corrected.

"What?" Ching gasped, his arms dropping to his sides. "What do you mean?"

Zara and Ching looked expectantly at her father. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees. He looked down at the ground. "Jor El and Lara refused my offer to bring Kal El with us, but I do not believe that they allowed him to perish with them. I believe they sent him to Earth."

"Earth?" Zara asked incredulously.

"Jor El would have done anything to guarantee his son's safety. Sending him to the planet of our origin would have been his best possible chance of protecting Kal El."

Zara set her jaw sternly, an expression she'd inherited from her father. "Then we'll find him."

"This is a fool's errand!" Ching replied. "Even if Kal El survived and even if we find him, there's no reason to believe that he'll come with us or that he'll be accepted by our people as First Minister. He's never been trained or tested."

"He will be accepted," Zara insisted. She turned to her father. "And why did you not tell us about this?"

"Jor El lost one child and nearly lost the other. Protecting his son, both from whomever was trying to kill him and from that." He nodded toward the heavy silver cuffs Zara wore around her wrists. "He did not want his son to be forced down a path he would not have chosen. He could not force that upon a child."

"But I chose this," Zara replied.

"Did you?" her father asked. "You were raised knowing what was expected of you. A great responsibility was placed in front of you and you were asked to choose or to walk away and the daughter I raised would never walk away."

"If he was chosen, it was for a reason," Zara said softly. "He is our last hope. If Nor is allowed to take his place, it will be the end of our people. I am going to find him."

"If that is your wish," Tek Ra replied.

Ching stepped forward. "And I will go with you."

Zara arched a brow. "I thought you said this was a fool's errand."

"I did," Ching replied indignantly. "And it is. But you should not go alone."

"You will have to leave post haste and in secret. If Nor learns of this, it will go badly for all of us," Tek Ra counseled his daughter.

"We will not have much time. Shir Om will pass soon," Ching mused. "I will arrange for a transport."

"Assemble your crew only of those whom you trust," Zara warned.

Ching nodded curtly and left the chambers.

Zara turned to her father. "It will not be easy," he told her.

Zara nodded in understanding. "Kal El will have to decide his own fate, as we all do."