Part 27 (1/2)

The towering shard of green crystal loomed over the edge of the Square of Hope, riddled with small cavities and inclusions. Zod led him through the main entrance and along curving, faceted tunnels to where Lara was sequestered. Angled crystal spikes had been grown across the doorway like overlapping prison bars. Jor-El could see his wife's form through the translucent walls. He ran toward her, to Zod's apparent amus.e.m.e.nt.

Lara heard him coming. She pushed her hand between the crossed crystal bars, and Jor-El clasped her cold fingers. ”Lara, are you safe? Has he hurt you?”

”Other than sealing me in this cell? No-I don't think he will.”

”Make no mistake, I will will hurt you,” Zod said from several paces away, ”but only if it is the only means to achieve my goals.” hurt you,” Zod said from several paces away, ”but only if it is the only means to achieve my goals.”

Jor-El ignored him. ”I'll find a way to get you out of here.”

She squeezed his hand. ”Don't let him manipulate you. You know what he's capable of. He'll use me as a hostage-”

The General came forward and added another growth crystal to the wall. With a series of snaps and cracks, the intersecting spears thickened and began to fill in the gaps in the lattice. Lara s.n.a.t.c.hed her hand back before the bars closed around it.

”There.” Zod a.s.sumed a cordial manner. ”Now we can get on with our real work.”

CHAPTER 71.

Looking down at the contoured gel model of Argo City in his war room, Zod couldn't hide his pleasure. ”Intriguing. This presents a strategic nightmare for them. We can easily cut off the whole peninsula, and Zor-El will have to capitulate.” gel model of Argo City in his war room, Zod couldn't hide his pleasure. ”Intriguing. This presents a strategic nightmare for them. We can easily cut off the whole peninsula, and Zor-El will have to capitulate.”

Aethyr shrugged. ”Then our victory is a foregone conclusion. The only question is how long the siege will last.”

Nam-Ek looked down at the three-dimensional model, as if memorizing the miniaturized terrain. Zod had also studied reports from informants, including many of his original supporters who had been ousted from the city.

”Argo City is basically an island, connected to the mainland only by this thin strip of land, a bottleneck. We can blockade the city with a relatively small number of troops and equipment. These five bridges”-Zod traced the gentle arcs that led across the narrow bay from Argo City to the mainland-”are strategic weak points. Our soldiers can capture and hold them, effectively amputating the rebels from the rest of the world.”

”There's the ocean on the other side,” Aethyr pointed out. ”They have docks and boats.”

”But where can they go-fis.h.i.+ng? They have no navy, no wars.h.i.+ps.” He pursed his lips. ”But you make a valid point, and I prefer to be thorough. Maybe I should deploy aquatic craft so we cut them off from the ocean as well.” Nam-Ek grinned; Zod could tell he was eager to see the boats. ”None of the new structures they've built since the tsunami are proof against attack. We can bottle them up just like Kandor and then begin our bombardment. Once the way is clear, our army will invade the city.”

”Why don't you just build a new Rao beam?” Koll-Em looked hungry to see another swift cleansing blast.

”Destruction is easy but there is little satisfaction in it. What kind of conquest leaves nothing but rubble? I am the savior of Krypton, not its destroyer.” He smiled wryly at his twisting of the words Jor-El had spoken. ”The victory is much greater if I bring Argo City under my rule. That city is like a jewel in a crown.”

All the construction crews in Kryptonopolis had been rea.s.signed to the task of strengthening General Zod's impressive army. Technicians a.s.sembled large numbers of conventional weapons. His own scientists and engineers were swiftly redesigning and refitting normal vehicles. Teams worked round the clock to convert large construction crawlers into armored artillery launchers and siege vehicles; floating pa.s.senger platforms were transformed into troop transports.

The Sapphire Guards and the Ring of Strength recruited, even coerced, every one of Zod's able-bodied followers to undergo weapons training, don uniforms, and join the great campaign. The army could cross the continent and be at Zor-El's doorstep within a week after they mobilized.

Three days later Zod's a.s.sembled armies gathered outside of Kryptonopolis, ready to march. Jor-El observed the fanfare with skepticism. Were these people truly so excited to go attack another sovereign city? Had they been so duped by Zod's delusions? Yes, he realized; they probably had. By now, anyone who had openly expressed disapproval had been quietly rea.s.signed elsewhere...or had vanished entirely. The rest demonstrated their enthusiasm, or at least made a good show of it.

Jor-El stood alone, his emotions balanced between anger and helplessness. He ached for Lara, knowing she was a hostage to ensure his cooperation, and he could do nothing about it. His love for her had made him vulnerable. Fortunately, it also made him strong. If she'd had longer to talk with him, Lara would no doubt have insisted that Jor-El forget about her, and do what was right and necessary.

He vowed to save her. He would also save Krypton. There was no other option.

Wearing his crisp new uniform with the hauteur of a man in complete control, Zod marched up to Jor-El. His voice was low and taunting. ”No matter what gadgets or defenses your brother might have concocted, Argo City cannot stand against me.”

”My brother is an intelligent man. He may surprise you.”

”Ah, but my armies were equipped by an even more intelligent man.” Zod smiled. ”I was able to use the designs of the great Jor-El himself.” He made a gesture.

At the edge of the city, large warehouse buildings opened up, their heavy doors sliding into recessed ceilings to expose hangars filled with military equipment. Armored machines emerged, some crawling on heavy treads or thick wheels, others hovering above the ground with levitation pads. Jor-El struggled to grasp what he was seeing. The vehicles were loaded with missile launchers, ray projectors, thermal cannons, digging devices, and canisters that could only be powerful explosives.

”You see, Jor-El, you aren't the only one who remembers the innovative concepts you delivered to my Commission. So many dangerous inventions...so much potential for destruction. Don't you agree?” Just as Zod had kept the creation of his ostentatious statue a secret from Lara, he must have had separate teams working to produce these weapons without Jor-El's knowledge.

”I recognize some of those designs, but-how? The Commission confiscated my plans! You destroyed them.”

”I lied-for the good of Krypton.”

More and more exotic weaponry rolled out, making the General's already overwhelming army seem ten times more threatening. ”You will remain here in Kryptonopolis under close watch, but rest a.s.sured that when Argo City falls to me, you will have had a clear hand in its defeat.”

CHAPTER 72.

Zor-El knew that General Zod's army would be coming with all the force it could muster. At Borga City, the General had already shown how far he was willing to go. Now Argo City would surely face annihilation as well. army would be coming with all the force it could muster. At Borga City, the General had already shown how far he was willing to go. Now Argo City would surely face annihilation as well.

Though he had already antic.i.p.ated Zod's response, Zor-El received confirmation of his worst fears when Jor-El sent him a desperate message burst. Jor-El was being held under guard, and Lara was a prisoner-exactly as Zor-El dreaded-but even so, his brother found a way to communicate...as he always did.

To control information and to prevent word from leaking out, General Zod had shut down all outgoing communications from Kryptonopolis. The message grid had been cut off...and yet Jor-El tapped into it, sending a pulsed burst into the continent-wide power network. The message only worked once, melting down several nodes, but the ominous text had played out on the screens of Zor-El's seismic monitors.

”Zod's armies are coming.”

So they prepared for the onslaught. Zor-El's people responded with heartwarming dedication and sacrifice. The Society of Vigilance had swelled in recent days, recruiting many members from the angry Borga City refugees, and everyone in the city was on alert. Scouts patrolled the mainland up and down the coast and many kilometers into the interior, watching for the oncoming army from Kryptonopolis. It was only a matter of time.

Ironically, Zod had succeeded in unifying Krypton against a common enemy-him. Never before had so many people, so many cities, cooperated so fully toward a single goal. The widespread, and hollow-eyed, survivors from the annihilation of Borga City were only one more reminder of the crimes. Other than his lockstep followers in the new capital, everyone else had turned against the General. Zor-El watched with grim satisfaction as his people pushed themselves beyond their limits; they used their imagination, shook themselves out of their long-standing malaise, and retreated from the quagmire of stagnation. The spirit of Krypton had been reawakened. Never before had so many people, so many cities, cooperated so fully toward a single goal. The widespread, and hollow-eyed, survivors from the annihilation of Borga City were only one more reminder of the crimes. Other than his lockstep followers in the new capital, everyone else had turned against the General. Zor-El watched with grim satisfaction as his people pushed themselves beyond their limits; they used their imagination, shook themselves out of their long-standing malaise, and retreated from the quagmire of stagnation. The spirit of Krypton had been reawakened.

In his observation tower, Zor-El had finished his intensive calculations, but he felt little joy in his solution. During a time like this, he and his brother should have been laboring side by side with the a.s.sistance of No-Ton and every other scientist on Krypton. Instead of deploying his s.h.i.+eld to protect against the oncoming comet, he would now have to use it to defend against an invading army.

Utterly exhausted despite the satisfaction of success, he turned to his wife. ”Sometimes I wonder what the point is. Even if we save our city from Zod, Loth-Ur's Hammer is still going to smash the whole planet in a month.”

Alura stroked his cheek with a sky-blue blossom, then gently trailed it across his face, down his nose. He felt a rush of rejuvenation from the tailored pollens and perfumes. ”You do it because you never give up hope. You may indeed find a way to save Krypton, or save one city, or even save a single person. That is the point.”

A young auburn-haired woman rushed into the tower chamber; sweat-damp garments clung to her arms and body. ”I just came across the Alkar Bridge from the mainland. Our scouts spotted an incredible force of troops and gigantic vehicles coming toward the coast at great speed.”

Before he or Alura could ask questions, the young woman spread a thin, flexible sheet of filmcrystal on the tower wall, where it adhered to the smooth stones like a newly installed window. She smoothed a wrinkle and touched a corner so that surveillance images began to play. With the General standing proud and invincible in the lead craft, the vanguard of Zod's troops advanced on floater platforms followed by large rolling vehicles, like dragons covered with thick armor. Next came wide-barreled artillery launchers, attack vehicles studded with spikes and unidentified weapons. Behind them came rank after rank of uniformed soldiers.

Never before had Krypton seen such an army.

”General Zod must have rallied everything against us.” Alura's voice cracked.