Chapter 9: Good Intentions And Chaos

"-I repeat, be on your guard. There is no telling when or where your party may be attacked. You should receive this message in roughly forty-seven minutes from time of transmission, this is an unfortunately necessary delay to prevent the Council from detecting our own use of their comm networks."

Flicking a switch on the ship's control console, Faora turned to the general after they had finished listening to the message. "Jor's ability to get into trouble never ceases to amaze me." Zod muttered quietly to himself with a sigh, though a hint of approval could be detected in his voice. The General gave a wary frown at the bulkhead above him. "It's certainly fortunate we didn't make it ridiculously easy for any of our enemies to atomize us at any give moment..." The dry sarcasm in Zod's voice was thick enough to dull an omni-blade.

"Stop whining so much kryptonian. I doubt the turians were planning on you two picking up a gigantic bomb by hand and strapping it to the top of your ship. Pretty stupid if you ask me, which you didn't. Impressive though..." Wrex rumbled, his scarred face locked in a wide, thoughtful grin at the absurdity of it all.

"I would snap your neck for insulting the General if I did not think removing highly unstable ordinance from our hull wasn't a far more pressing issue." Faora muttered darkly as her hand fell to the ragged blade on her hip.

"Seems my popularity with the females hasn't changed from the good old days." Wrex mused to himself with a chuckle, ignoring the menacing look on the armored woman's face.

Zod physically placed himself between Faora and Wrex, amused and annoyed in equal measure at the pair. They had been going at it for hours, more or less ridiculing or threatening each other in various ways. "Enough! You!" Zod stared at Faora and jabbed his finger towards the airlock. "Kindly dispose of that device Sub-Commander." Zod spun on Wrex next. "And you, go lean against a crate or do something useful. Either way, do it quietly."

"Sure thing human." Wrex chuckled and sarcastically saluted the General. "Should I bend over my hump for her too while I'm at it?"

"As long as you do it quietly." The General answered bluntly, wondering what happened to turn those two veteran soldiers into squabbling children. He sighed and shook his head as Faora walked back to the airlock, donned her helmet, and sealed the door behind her.

"You know, this reminds me of a-" Wrex began, but was promptly interrupted by Zod.

"What part of don't speak to me is beyond your comprehension krogan?" Zod asked, somehow keeping his voice level and calm despite the increasing pressure behind his temples.

"Annoying little whelp aren't you?" Wrex grunted, and crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. "No sense of humor too."

Zod, for his part, didn't bother to reply, focusing on the task at hand while checking on the status of the rather primitive jammer they had to borrow from the krogans. No sense in strapping on a bomb to your ship that could be remotely detonated if you couldn't temporarily jam any incoming signals first.

"I have detached the first and second connection struts, permission to remove our 'cargo' General." Faora frowned at how easily she had snapped the temporary welded beams holding the device in place. It had been a minor miracle that the bomb hadn't sheared off during their initial ascent into orbit.

"Permission granted Sub-Commander." Zod replied, keeping his balance steady even as the ship shook from Faora snapping off the third and final strut they had added to their vessel so that the bomb didn't end up falling back to the planet during their ascent. It hadn't been pretty, but it had gotten the job done.

"Package on the way, General." Faora calmly reported, after giving the bomb a solid push off of their vessel. Watching it leisurely float off into the void, the Sub-Commander dusted her armored hands off out of habit before climbing back into the ship through the airlock. "I would suggest we leave before the bomb exits the range of our jammer." She stated once the door was sealed behind her.

"The thought had crossed my mind Sub-Commander." Zod muttered, already altering their course to place as much distance between them and the bomb as quickly as possible.

"You worry too much kryptonian. Should get plenty of range with this baby." Wrex gave the hastily wired jammer a gentle pat. "Nothing but the best korgan tech has to offer." As if to prove him wrong, the small blinking box sparked and shorted out. Wrex's grin faded almost immediately when he realized the jammer was no longer operational. "Oh. Might be a good idea to go faster."

Zod's right eye started to twitch in annoyance, as if he hadn't had enough problems. Faora barely managed to seal the inner hatch before the small dot on their sensors disappeared and at the same time a blinding white light erupted behind them. "Hold on!" Zod shouted, and didn't wait for Wrex and Faora to secure themselves before he punched the throttle as far as it would go. Wrex was too slow and gave a startled yelp when he fell head over hump into the back of the ship while Faora managed to grab onto a railing, just able to stop herself from suffering a similar fate.

Pinned against the rear bulkhead of the scout ship, Wrex waved one of his misproportioned arms to get Zod's attention. "Um. Little help?"

"As soon as I am sure that we escaped the destructive shock wave behind us, I will consider it." Zod shouted back, too busy with accelerating the ship. The engines started to whine in protest, but they were still within the killzone.

"If we survive, remind me to give you a good death!" Faora shouted, her hands clenched tightly around the railing. The ship was shaking violently at this point as the shockwave from the bomb nearly overtook them.

Still pinned, Wrex gave her a bored nod. "Will do."

"I hate everything about your primitive species!" Giving Wrex a look that promise horrible, painful death, Faora was more than a little irritated to find that she didn't seem to be able to intimidate the old Battlemaster one bit.

"Hey, let's not say anything we can't take back before we die. But just out of morbid curiosity, how come?" Wrex asked, and crossed his arms over his chest as he rocked back and forth on his hump with every hard shake of the ship. The image of a giant rock turtle on his back was hard to erase from Faora's mind.

"AAAARRRRGGHHHH!" Faora snarled and let go of the rail, intent on smashing her fist into Wrex's scarred face, only to get pinned next to him just out of arm's reach.

"Well hello there beautiful. Miss me?" Wrex grinned and chuckled low in his throat at the menacing glare Faora was sending his way. After she had briefly struggled to try and smash her gauntlet into his face of course.

Instead she had to resort to more useless verbal threats. "By Rao I will rip out your spine and beat you to death with it!"

"Spines." Wrex scoffed and grinned wider than ever. "Good luck with that, the benefits of a redundant nervous system."

"As soon as we have returned to New Krypton, I will arrange for a sparring match between the two of you! Preferably to the death. That should settle your childish disputes!" Zod shouted at both of them in exasperation, their continued need to prove to be the 'Alpha' warrior had finally worn Zod's patience down. Not that there was much of it to begin with. "Or I might just shoot you both myself, saving you the trouble of killing each other, if you refuse to be QUIET!"

"Yes, General." Faora replied, her calm veneer back in place despite still being pinned on her back.

"Someone's grumpy. Fine." Wrex answered with far less respect than the female soldier, but he nonetheless understood that Zod meant every word.

Zod rolled his shoulders and returned his complete focus to the controls in front of him. "Good. I'd like to be able to hear my own thoughts if they might possibly be my last."

"Wouldn't blame you if they happen to be about Sub-Commander Feisty here." For once, Faora was strangely silent, much to Wrex's slight amazement. "Wait a minute..." Wrex stared at her for a solid three seconds, noticing just the slightest hint of pink on her cheeks before bellowing with laughter. "Well, I think I know what her last thoughts are gonna be about!"

"I doubt that." Zod replied with a sudden coldness in his voice, a barely audible warning for the krogan battlemaster to stop. "Ten seconds to wave front. Diverting all non-essential energy to shields. Brace for impact."

"I can think of worse ways to die then a gigantic fiery explosion in space." Wrex said with a shrug.

"As can I." Faora replied, and nodded her head in agreement. "At least it will be a good death, if it is our time."

"Wait a minute. Why don't you just jump us to FTL?" Wrex asked, and was met with stunned silence from both kryptonians.

Zod glanced over his shoulder with a glare before seeing Faora's raised eyebrow and, frowning, spun back to his console with more than a few muttered curses. "I've been calculating a possible escape vector this whole time. But everything close to this sector is a threat. Asteroid belts, hard radiation from the blast, even a black hole within the next few light years."

"I'm hearing a lot of excuses back here. Must just be my bad hearing since I'm from such a primitive species." Wrex rumbled.

"Good point, we are dead if we don't try something. We have nothing to lose." Zod agreed with the old krogan warrior. Running his fingers over the controls, plotting the necessary course and making final preparations to make the jump to FTL, Zod slammed his fist down on the activation button. Moments later, the phantom drive flared to life, hurtling them across the void and far from the immanent spherical blast wave.

"Oh, this is much better." Wrex said with a nod as they came out of FTL a few moments later to the sound of screeching, rending metal and a wall of rock where the port bulkhead used to be. "Been around a while, but that's a new one. Never seen a piece of space crap wedged into the hull of a ship." He grumbled as he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself to his feet now that they weren't under immediate threat of death and he wasn't being pushed into the floor from their frantic pace.

Faora was less than amused as well when her gaze fell on the asteroid that had grafted itself to their vessel. "It appears that the phantom drive malfunctioned and we have merged with a small astral body on reemerging from hyper space."

"Gee, you think so?" Wrex scoffed as he went over to lean against the rocky mass. "And here I thought you were a shapely grunt, got brains too, didn't see that coming."

Somewhat concerned with the catastrophic problems his further curiosity would likely cause, Faora batted his arm away before he could do more than tap it. "That is the only object retaining our atmosphere and holding together critical hull junctions. I would appreciate it if you did not lean against it. Remove yourself or I will remove you. Permanently."

"Enough. We are still alive, we should be grateful for that." Zod reminded his two passengers. Pulling up a map of the local star cluster, he let out a sigh of annoyance when he saw that they weren't anywhere near something that could be considered a civilized system. "Though it seems we will have to postpone our negotiations with the krogan clans for now. We'll have to make best speed back to New Krypton once we know the ship can take another jump."

"Sir! You can't be ser- I respectfully request that we... jettison our cargo before approaching the home system." Faora hurriedly corrected herself.

"Request denied." Zod muttered with a distracted wave of his hand as he glanced at the status displays.

"Can the 'cargo' get a word in edgewise? I'm not in any hurry to go back to Tuchanka now that I get to be the first krogan to see the kryptonian home world." Wrex rumbled in obvious glee. "You know how many people want to see where you guys put your feet up after a long day of kicking quads?"

"Quite a few I imagine." Zod deadpanned as he activated their communications systems. To his relief, they weren't critically damaged by their partial melding with the asteroid.

"Quite a few?" Wrex retorted before throwing his hands in the air. "Everyone! Last I heard was that every intelligence agency in known space was looking for clues for where to find you guys. Even the Shadow Broker if the rumors are true. Considering he hired me to kill you, that's not so surprising." Wrex answered him.

"We do have another option General."

"Yes, what?"

"Permission to render our guest unconscious for the rest of his stay." She spoke before glancing at the krogan.

"Who me?" Wrex asked, feigning surprise at the threat to his person.

Zod sighed but shook his head again in denial to his Sub-Commander's request. "If our 'cargo' wasn't the brother of a somewhat influential person, I might be tempted."

"Yes sir." Faora growled in compliance.

"You really need to let off a little steam, relax a bit before you break something." Wrex offered, taking a step back at the malicious gleam in Faora's blue eyes. "Or not."

Earth

United North American States, Vancouver

Alliance Headquarters

The entire city of Vancouver had been silent ever since the sudden appearance of the alien ship hovering gracefully on the grounds of Alliance HQ. Initially the inhabitants, as was always the case when something happened without any indication, were panicking when the large vessel slowly moved towards the city. It didn't take long for people to begin scrambling all over the streets in an attempt to escape from the presumed invasion. Interceptors were dispatched for all the good it would do, the police moved out in force to restore order, all the while frantically hailing the alliance. But fortunately the panic of Vancouver's population subsided shortly after it was announced that the vessel's sudden appearance was part of a joint venture between the newly arrived Kryptonian delegation and the Admiralty. The fact it was even partially true likely helped to some extent. Unfortunately, the lack of panic meant that reporters would descend upon the ship like vultures.

As expected the few hasty erected barricades didn't stop reporters from trying to swarm the base where the ship was currently heading towards. Soon the voracious mob and their ever present flock of camera drones surrounded Alliance HQ like a frenzied school of sharks.

"Kara... where are you going?" Zor worriedly asked, focusing a hawk like stare on his smirking daughter's retreating form.

Kara shot a wide grin over her shoulder as she started forward, the roadblocks and barriers the only thing keeping the masses away from the landing strip. "Just saying hello dad, don't be so melodramatic. Or better yet, don't be such a party pooper as Krista would say."

"You spend too much time with her." Zor grumbled.

"And you don't spend enough." Kara retorted.

"I don't like it... you'll be far too exposed." Versa muttered, ever watchful of any threat to her charges as she and the other kryptonian guards formed a protective circle around them without needing to be told. Zor turned to Versa with a grateful nod as he tried to reach out to stop her, but Kara was already on the move.

"Relax dad, I'm just trying to make a good first impression. You know, to improve our relationship with the Alliance? Now, would telling them we're their new benevolent overlords be too much?" The horrified expressions from Zor and most of the Alliance representatives, along with amused smirks from their guards and Admiral Grissom were enough to get Kara to drop the act. "Just kidding! Sheesh, you'd think other alien races must do that all the time from the look on your faces."

"You must be very proud." Grissom chortled, unable to keep a straight face even if his life had depended on it. "But to be honest, I would pay good money to see the look on their faces when she tells them that."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me Admiral." Zor replied as he sighed in exasperation.

"I'm just that transparent." Grissom said as he slapped a hand on Zor's suited back before falling into step with the exuberant blonde. "You know what Kara, I think I have an idea. Lighten this whole 'first contact' BS up a little."

"Whatever it is, I suggest you ignore him." Fleet Admiral Socar growled, in no mood for Grissom's antics on one of the most historic days for the Alliance. It demanded a certain level of decorum, and she knew all too well the old man had a tendency to ignore proper etiquette during such occasions. He'd done the same damn thing when he had taken the first ship through the relay.

Proving he hadn't changed in all that time, Grissom waved Socar's protests off. "Put a sock it in Vivian. Intelligent people are busy trying to make a lasting impression here." With that, Grissom turned to Kara and leaned to whisper conspiratorially in her ear. If the grimace on Zor's face was anything to go by, then Grissom's superior wasn't going to be happy.

"Alright, but honestly I don't want to frighten anyone." Kara hesitantly replied as Jon gestured towards the waiting crowds with a flourish. With a shrug, Kara bent her knees slightly and...

"Ah hell." Steven Hackett muttered, as a furious Socar facepalmed when Kara leapt into the air, gracefully landing in front of the assembled reporters with a loud CRUNCH as the pavement cracked slightly beneath her boots. "Well, I suppose that's one way to stop people from asking stupid questions." He commented dryly, and shook his head when he met Grissom's mile wide grin.

Zor could only sigh, he could almost see General Zod's reaction once he heard of this, or more likely saw it himself. At the very least one eye would begin to twitch in anger, and a lot of training programs would have to face his wrath before he had calmed down enough not to reprimand them straight into the phantom zone and back.

Waving towards the group as they collectively scrambled back a few feet, Kara gave them her best smile. "Hello! My name Kara Zor-El, and that embarrassed looking man behind me is my father, Zor-El." Zor could only sigh again as he soon found himself beside his all too easily excitable daughter with Grissom right next to him. Socar and their respective guards were behind them in turn, appearing formidable despite the scene playing out in front of them. And having to dash after their guests to catch up.

One man in particular seemed a little more daring than his peers and was the first to approach the edge of the media barriers before pushing his way past so he was standing directly in front of the young woman. "Um, it's nice to meet you Kara. I'm Oliver Asan al-Jilani, Alliance News Network. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Go ahead. That's what I'm here for Ollie. I can call you that right? A friend of mine told me that it was a human custom to shorten names." Kara said with a smirk, grinning at the smile that got out of the reporter.

"Of course. As a representative of your species, I'm sure you can understand that a lot of people out there are, well, a little scared right now. It's not every day a mysterious race and their highly advanced ship show up out of nowhere after all. So, my first question is simple, do kryptonians pose any danger to humanity?"

"No, that I can promise you right now. We're here trying to find our own way in your galaxy, same as everyone else out there. The last thing we want is to frighten any of our neighbors and possible allies." Kara said still smiling, ignoring the fact that Zod would rather like it if he were feared by any possible threat to his people.

Grissom nudged Zor, gesturing to Kara as she continued to try and reassure those watching her. "I'm betting she gets that from you. Likes to act innocent and all, but is far more intelligent than she lets on."

"Indeed..." Zor admitted with a wry grin. It was a useful tactic to throw off anyone that met her for the first time, and as expected, it was working here.

"I see, in that case, can I ask what topics you've been discussing with the Admiralty?" Oliver asked, purposely keeping his tone light and casual for the benefit of the billions of extranet viewers observing this historic moment.

Kara was no fool though, and could see the gleam in the man's eyes. He was fishing for information like any good reporter, but that was kind of the point. He was just better at hiding it than most. With that in mind, she couldn't disappoint the galaxy wide audience now could she? "Well I'd be happy to tell you, but the very welcoming Fleet Admiral Vivian Socar says she'd have to shoot you. I'm pretty sure she was joking."

The scathing look Vivian was throwing her way suggested otherwise until a camera drone panned towards her. She hurriedly adopted a strained smile until the camera moved away from her and onto Grissom who was just eating this up judging from the wide grin on his wrinkled face.

"What the young lady politely avoided saying is that we're tryin' to work things out for everyone's benefit. Once we know something for sure, we'll be happy to share it with you folks at home. Isn't that right Admiral?" Grissom stated, and turned his gleaming gaze on her, knowing this was going to cost him later and not really giving a crap. He was too old for propriety.

Socar nodded, mildly surprised at the lifeline Grissom had offered her. "Absolutely. But as negotiations have only just begun-" Vivian never got a chance to finish.

"Like for instance, that ancient kryptonian vessel that was here on Earth under our noses all this time, which is now sitting behind all of you fine folks." Grissom tossed a salute to the Alliance marines who were hurriedly ordered to secure the site around the scout ship from curious citizens and reporters alike. The harried squad rapidly saluted in turn while trying not to openly gawk at the large hovering ship themselves.

"Wait. I'm confused..." al-Jilani started, only for Kara take Grissom's lead and head towards the ship with her entire entourage in tow.

"Basically Oliver, my people sent out thousands of scout vessels millennia ago, searching for habitable worlds and other intelligent races. It's been hypothesized this one lost its way and crashed in the Arctic. Old records indicate my great grandmother a few millennia removed was the captain." Kara explained her audience, unknowingly showing her love for knowledge.

"Wow... that's rather impressive. So, in a way, this is a family reunion." Al-Jilani mused quietly, more to himself than anyone else.

"You could say that, yes. The House of El is very proud of her accomplishments. I'm actually named in her honor." Kara informed him with a self conscious blush, while Oliver tagged along next to her, not about to give up this once in a lifetime interview to some hack from Westerland News.

"Well, you certainly seem to be doing a good job living up to her legend. Any thoughts on future relations between humanity and kryptonians?" Oliver asked as they neared the hovering vessel, giving Kara his most charming smile.

Zor decided to step in, having been quiet long enough despite his initial trepidation. The displeased look he gave the reporter was one of an overprotective father, one that had Oliver's grin vanishing just as quickly. Kara rolled her eyes, but didn't interrupt her father as he opened his mouth. "We have talked extensively of opening trade between our two peoples, but as has been stated before, we've only just begun our negotiations. It will be some time before anything is finalized, but I for one am hopeful these are the first steps in a mutually beneficial future for everyone involved."

Jon gazed up at the bulbous looking craft, hanging a good twenty meters above them as one of the marines curiously glanced at an odd blip on his omni-tool display before it disappeared. "Everything alright son?" Grissom asked as the young officer quickly gave a salute and nodded in the affirmative, clearly not used to being around a living legend. Jon hardly noticed, having already turned his attention back to Kara and the ship before them. "Well this might be a problem. Let me guess, don't want the local primates banging on the hull with rocks?"

"She's been in cold storage for a few centuries. Would you want someone scratching the paint?" Kara asked in response, earning her an amused snort from the old man.

"Well, we gonna stand here all damn day, or are you going to give me a tour young lady?" Grissom jokingly asked.

"Never thought you'd ask old man." Kara smirked before bodily throwing Grissom over her small shoulder, barely hiding the smirk on her face as the stunned crowd gave a concerned gasp. Grissom shouted out a string of profanities at her, but she merely chuckled in response. "Keep your arms and legs close, and your mouth shut for two seconds, don't want you to bite your tongue off." Without further ado, she sprung off the ground and easily landed on the lowered boarding ramp before setting Grissom down inside the vessel. "There, that was easy."

"Manhandle me like an old sack of potatoes why don't you? Anyone else I'd might have had an issue with that." Grissom sternly told her as he brushed off his uniform before giving her a wise ass smirk. "You, I'll just thank for a fun ride." Looking down at Vivian and Hackett, Grissom smirked and leaned against the side of the bay door. "Who's next?!" He called out, curious who would take the plunge first. "Come on already, not everyday you get to board a foreign ship for the first time!"

"So much for my pride." Hackett groaned as Versa offered a gauntleted hand and cocked an eyebrow. "Well, what the hell. Permission to board?" Steven dryly quipped as he took Versa's arm and held on for dear life. Somehow, the slightest hint of a grin on the taciturn soldier's lips didn't seem very reassuring. Before Steven could blink, he felt a rush of wind against his skin as the ramp rushed towards them, doing his best not to look queasy as his feet settled under him a moment later. "We're not doing that again." He stated after he was sure his stomach wasn't going to cause him any trouble.

As the three remaining guards boarded the vessel with almost suspicious alacrity, that only left Vivian and Zor-El, both of which looked rather uncomfortable at the thought of what laid before them. Hesitantly holding his hand out to the Fleet Admiral, Zor hoped this wasn't going to 'bite him in the ass later' as Krista was fond of warning him and his daughter. "I sincerely apologize for any offense madam."

"At least you're a gentleman about it." Vivian muttered darkly before nodding towards the ramp. "Carry on, this isn't the worst thing that's happened to me, I can assure you. Having Jon in my life is taxing enough."

Zor started to reach towards the woman, only to stop and rethink his approach. "Um... how would you prefer that I-"

"Honestly, as long as you don't cop a feel, I really don't care." Vivian muttered with a sigh, giving a mild yelp of surprise when a blushing and uncomfortable looking Zor nodded and proceeded to lift her bridal style, doing his best to slowly ascend to the waiting group. Once they were safely settled on the edge of the ramp, he gently set her down, much to Vivian's silent gratitude. "And they say chivalry's dead."

"As my brother would say, proper manners are universal. Or at least they should be." Zor said and deflected the compliment.

"Huh. He sounds like a smart man." It was Kara's turn to be mortified for once when she caught the look Admiral Socar cast her father. "I bet the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree does it?"

Zor seemed at a loss for words as Vivian stared into his nervous gaze. "Ah... I-I must confess, I'm not exactly sure what you mean."

It took all of Kara's willpower not to glower at the human woman, who was clearly sizing her father up for additional adventures in diplomacy. Kara knew that more than one kryptonian woman had considered her father attractive, Kara had no problem with that. As long as they didn't show it, or act upon it, or gaze at her father for too great length of time, especially in her presence.

A loud cough interrupted Vivian's train of thought as she turned to see an impatient Grissom gesturing to the corridor around them. "Are you two done? I'm sure we'll get to the crew quarters soon enough, then we can leave you two….alone." Grissom grunted, earning yet another seething glare from Vivian while Zor could only cough and look away, his cheeks turning bright red behind his visor.

"Does he have a mute button I don't know about ma'am?" Steven asked Vivian.

"Damned if I know Captain. You're his friend, you tell me. I've looked for one for years. Only one I could think of would be a bullet to the brain." Socar hissed, glaring at the man many considered a hero. She merely viewed him as the greatest annoyance ever to cross her path.

Grissom wasn't amused anymore. "I heard that Captain. Or should I say Lieutenant Hackett. And Viv, you can kindly kiss my wrinkled ass."

"Ahem, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to start the tour now. But if..." Kara gave a small involuntary shudder. "...you'd like to give Admiral Socar a private tour father-"

"No! I mean..." Zor couldn't stop himself from giving Vivian an apologetic look before addressing his daughter. "I am more than confident in your ability to clear up any confusion for our esteemed guests."

"Right, moving on." Kara shuddered again, trying to shake the image her overactive imagination had conjured up about her father and the Fleet Admiral as she led the way into the ship. "I don't need to point out the obvious here I'm sure." She indicated the cargo bay they were currently standing in, along with various survey vehicles, stowed supplies, and, unsurprisingly, several damaged or vacant stasis pods. Sweeping a gauntlet covered hand over one to brush away a millennia of dust, Kara sighed when her eyes fell on a dried up skeleton contained within. "Are the rest in similar shape?" She asked solemnly, having a feeling she knew the answer already.

Her father only nodded as he and the rest of the guards ran a quick sweep of the other pods. "May Rao guide them to the final peace they deserve."

Totally dumbfounded at the sight before her, Socar hesitated before she dared to speak up. "I- you have our condolences. Is there any memorial or funeral rite you wish to observe at this time? Any delay to our ongoing negotiations is completely understandable under these circumstances."

"Actually..." Zor seemed at a loss as to how best to answer her, hesitantly continuing after an awkward pause. "Up until our departure from Krypton... the most common method of dealing with the remains of our dead was summary liquidation. The um..." Zor let out a nervous cough, noticing the varying looks of thinly veiled distaste or outright disgust at his comment. "The 'resources' were recycled for the use in the Genesis Chambers."

"My god." Vivian managed to say, utterly shocked at the revelation. "I hope that's no longer the case."

Kara took the lead, much to Zor's immense gratitude. "Part of the reason why we left was to start over, to break away from the old, cold ways most of Krypton was content to let continue. We have my uncle, my father's Chamber 'brother', to thank for that. And while we still are unsure how to handle that particular aspect of life, we have decided not to follow the old ways."

"So... Okay, I'll just say it. What do you do with anyone who is killed nowadays?" Grissom asked, genuinely curious, if a bit hesitant.

Zor stepped in to answer this and spare his daughter any more embarrassment, she had had no say about the ways of their past after all. "For now, those we have lost during the crossing are kept in their original stasis pods, awaiting whatever ceremony we deem suitable to honor their sacrifice."

"In that case, since this crew lost their lives on Earth, may I request an Alliance honor guard be allowed to pay respects at this ceremony?" Hackett politely asked, stunning his fellow officers with his bold request. What was more pleasantly surprising were the nods his question received from both Kara and Zor. And more importantly, to Steven at least, the solemn expressions this got from their guard detail.

"I have to ask, but why?" Kara directed her question to Hackett, who only raised an eyebrow in response. "Why would you make such a request? It's touching, but I'm curious as to why you'd make it in the first place."

Hackett had expected the question, and had an answer ready for the young woman before him. "They died on our soil but they were a part of your military, and they deserve to be honored as such. To me, it doesn't matter that they weren't human, they still served in the defense and safety of their homeworld. That's good enough for me."

"You make a good point Captain." Vivian said, giving the man an appreciative glance as Zor walked past her, quickly followed by Kara and their detail. It surprised none of the humans when they each removed their cloaks and used them to cover the shattered tubes in a surprisingly human show of respect.

It wasn't until they opened the door to the next chamber after this impromptu memorial that they ran into trouble. An adventurous Grissom had forced his way to the front of the group, only to have Versa glare down at him. "With respect. I will lead the search of this vessel."

"Hardass." He muttered, but let Versa take the lead all the same.

"Jon. Stop being an ass. I know that's nearly impossible for you but-" Socar huffed, but was cut off as the hatch next to her abruptly opened and a small, floating metallic object spun towards her before springing open into a decidedly menacing form. Twin tendrils, several feet long, floated languidly on either side of the drone, their ends radiating blue energy that crackled menacingly. "What in the world is that?"

"Security drone. I didn't think it'd still be operational. Don't. Move." Kara quietly warned as the device seemed to observe Vivian for a moment, before lunging towards her, a tendril already whipping its way towards her abdomen. Only to be stopped by Zor's shout of warning as he blocked the strike with his gloved hand and wrapped the tendril around his wrist before instinctively yanking it free of the drone. The drone gave a mechanical screech as one of its main weapons was torn free of its chassis, only to be blown apart a moment later by plasma fire from Versa and Pross. "Father!"

Zor fell to a knee, his hand at his side, but he brushed Kara off as gently as he could. "I'm quite alright. Just a bit singed, I've had worse."

"We should get you looked at, just to be safe." Vivian offered, even as her eyes searched for any additional movement. Her hand had already slipped into a pocket, finding the mandatory vail of medi-gel all Alliance personnel were required to carry while on duty. Before Zor could protest, she had already slathered a small amount over his singed palm where the tendril had ripped into his armor.

"Zor! Come quickly, you must see this." Pross had taken a knee not far from the others, nudging a bit of torn cloth and flesh that seemed to be floating in the air. "Someone was here before us."

Activating his omni-tool, Steven cursed as a tell tale fabric cloaking suit flickered into existence a moment later, exposing a dead man who had clearly had a run in with the security drone judging by the massive burns and cuts on his body. "Active camouflage netting. Didn't do this man any good."

"It's goddamn Cerberus, I'd bet my shiny new hat on it." Grissom cursed as he knelt next to the captain. "Guess we had unexpected guests onboard, and they were good enough not to set off our security alerts. Your drone made mincemeat of this one though." He gestured to the dead operative for emphasis.

"Jon, shut up, that's classified information." Vivian snarled, but even as the words left her mouth, she knew it was a pointless gesture.

"Why? The body's right here, plain as day. Not a lot of point in hiding the obvious." Jon countered as he stood to his feet.

"They must have boarded right after you lowered the rear ramp." Hackett said as he turned to Kara. "Kinetic shield gens can be tinkered with to allow someone to affect their own mass, making them far lighter and able to jump a lot higher. I've seen it done. With a small thruster pack..." Hackett moved to turn the man over, not surprised to find a compact jetpack like device attached to his armor. "We need to get all of you to a secure location. Now. There's no telling how many more agents they-"

Suddenly a loud, decidedly unpleasant klaxon sounded throughout the ship.

Kara jerked her head to the undulating alarm before starting for the door. "We need to get you out of here now!"

Grissom nodded, even as Socar grabbed his arm and started dragging the older man after her. "Ah. So that wasn't the 'welcome aboard' ominous alert?"

"Intruder alert. That's the alarm for the ship to engage its phantom drive and take us back to the colony." Kara responded just as they made the cargo bay, only for the boarding ramp to seal itself up before they could reach it. "Great. Sorry to say but uh….you just got unofficially invited to our backyard. Congratulations, at least you'll be among the first humans to see New Krypton." She sheepishly admitted, her face as red as it was ever likely to get.

"Help! Can't you do something about this?! This damn thing won't- aarrghh." A loud yell from down the corridor instantly grabbed their attention, sending the other two guards racing toward the threat while Pross and Versa concentrated on protecting the others. A few loud cracks of their battle rifles and a loud clang later, the pair returned dragging a wounded human between them.

"Why am I not fucking surprised." Socar growled, having had enough of unwanted surprises for one day.

Grissom just sighed and walked over to the limping man. "Hey there Boris. Too bad those boys weren't a tad slower. Burnt and slashed would be a great look for you. Oh, and you almost got a senior officer killed by the way." Without any warning he slammed his fist into the man's stomach, causing a stunned Commander Mikhailovich to wheeze and gasp for breath. "Just thought you'd like to know."

"You just might have doomed us to extinction Commander. I hope you're goddamn happy." Turning to Kara and Zor, Hackett sighed as he tried to do damage control after receiving a nod from Socar. "The Commander and his compatriot don't exactly represent the Alliance, but you've probably figured that out. We've been hearing rumors of a rogue intelligence organization turned pro human terrorists. Cerberus." Hackett growled while giving the wheezing man a death glare. "I'd gladly shoot him myself on the spot if I thought that would in any way make up for this damn travesty of diplomacy."

"You wouldn't!" Mikhailovich wheezed out, but was ignored by everyone around him.

"That won't be necessary. I understand this Cerberus isn't something you like to talk about from what little I've heard of them from my brother." Zor said as he finally got to his feet, and nodded to the man before them. "But I don't think it's merely rumor anymore."

"Gee ya think Bor-El?" Grissom retorted.

"Be it as it may, I'm not about to pass judgment on an entire species just because of a few rogue elements." Zor replied despite his own anger at their willingness to put them all in danger for their own gains.

"Zod might." Kara offered with a shrug, having the decency to look properly guilty when Zor frowned at her. "He has always had the best interest of our species at heart, but you know as well as I do how... extreme he can be in the name of protecting his people."

"Then it's a good thing my brother is one of his few and closest friends. If anyone can force Zod to see reason, Jor can." Zor told the humans, trying to give them even a slight sense of reassurance, as he opened up a nearby compartment and rummaged around until he came out bearing a collection of breathers for the humans among them. "Since we're heading to New Krypton and our colony vessel, you're going to need these. The atmospheric generators on this ship seem stuck on your local atmospheric conditions, probably due to damage to the environmental software, but once we're within orbit, you won't be able to survive without these."

Grissom allowed Kara to place the device behind his ear with a grunt of annoyance. "Oh joy. First Boris almost gets us killed, now we have to deal with this Zod guy. He doesn't exactly sound like the forgiving type if you ask me."

"If you knew him as well as we do, you'd understand why." Kara replied, understanding all too well why Zod was as passionate he was when it came to the safely of the kryptonian people. He had very good reasons to be unforgiving and hard, even cruel at the worst of times.

Vivian gestured to the various kryptonians around her. "Well, you six know this man. How would you suggest we handle this mess?" Vivian asked as Zor activated her breather, looking for any decent advice she could get at this rate.

"If you try to deceive the General, you will die." Versa helpfully informed her as Pross and the other guards gave the human Admiral knowing nods.

"Oh, is that all?" Grissom sarcastically asked in response. "Shouldn't be hard at all then."

"If he wants blood, he can have mine. I was one in charge of security for this meeting, so this is entirely my screw up. I'll be the one to take the blame and face the consequences." Hackett sternly told them, his tone offering no rebuke even as Vivian glared at him.

"He'll expect your leader to address him, and will accept no less." Zor didn't resist the urge to run a hand down his face in embarrassment at the Versa's blunt response. And Socar's companions weren't exactly helping the situation either. "Be honest. That's the best advice I can give. He might be a hard man, but he truly is a good one. He and Jor are the two most responsible for getting us this far."

"Appeal to his honor, his better nature. Dru isn't really that bad, he's just... intense sometimes. If he doesn't see you or humanity as a threat, he won't act rashly. It's his second, Sub Commander Faora-Ul, that I'd worry about. She's loyal to the extreme and won't hesitate to eviscerate anyone she deems a threat to the General's life." This Kara directed at Boris, almost hoping Faora got a minute alone with the man when they reached the colony.

"Right. So basically humiliate ourselves?" Grissom retorted, none too happy with the news while Vivian and Hackett remained thoughtfully quiet.

"That... would mostly likely be an effective approach." Zor offered with a nod.

"Well, it has the virtue of being very non threatening." Kara shrugged, she honestly couldn't predict exactly how Zod would react to a disaster like this. The last rogue elements among their own people hadn't gotten a chance to stand trial for their crimes. Zod and his soldiers had annihilated them and their base in plasma fire. She sincerely hoped the same wouldn't happen to humanity.

"Outstanding." Hackett muttered under his breath.

Colony Vessel In Orbit Of New Krypton

Twelve hours later...

"Krista! What are you doing here?! You know that you not al-" Kal's concerned, terse whispers were cut off as Krista jammed a suited hand over his mouth and glanced around the loading crate to make sure none of the hangar personal had spotted them.

"I was bored, so I decided to see what all the fuss was about." In truth, she missed Jor-El and Kara and the rest of them. Even though she knew that Zod and Faora would most volunteer her for some extensive 'training' exercises if she were caught. So when news had spread that their respective ships were coming back, she had made a beeline for the hangar deck.

Jor's party had arrived not long after, to her immense relief. She had almost run out to greet them, if not for the horrified look on Kal's face she might have. It was obvious he wanted to greet his father even more so than she did, but he was clearly afraid of disappointing Jor by getting sucked into Krista's prohibited exploits. Her curiosity only increased when of all things, a drell woman followed Jor from his ship. She seemed astounded by her surroundings and more than a little confused, and once again Krista was kept at bay by Kal's pleading blue gaze.

"Are you alright?" Irikah hesitantly asked as Jor seemed to stare off into space for a moment.

"I believe I should be the one asking you that question." Jor told her with a smirk. "It is nothing to worry yourself over, I assure you. But, if you must know we are being watched. Kal, Krista, you can come out of hiding now, it's quite alright." The two shared a look, Kal's full of guilt, while Krista only sighed in resignation before they stood up and walked out from behind the crate. Jor only smiled down at the two in response. "We have a guest Kal. Krista, no need to be rude."

"Hey." She said in way of greeting.

"Not much for conversation are you?" Irikah said with a faint smile, glancing at the boy next to the human girl who could only be Jor's son going by the guilty look on his face. "Cute kid. You must be Kal, I can tell you take after your father already. Too da-darn curious for your own good."

"Yes ma'am." Kal replied with a downcast look.

"I'm Irikah, ma'am is my mother. And I'm not nearly that old. It's nice to meet both of you." The drell said as she crossed her arms and nodded to the two children.

"So how'd you get mixed up with this bunch of intergalactic goody two shoes anyway?" Jor smirked and shook his head at Krista's question, having grown fond of her wit even if it was borderline rude most of the time.

Irikah cracked a grin. "They thought they were saving my life at the time. That was before we were attacked by a second group of mercenaries, so I guess they did at the end of the day."

"We were merely rendering our assistance." Jor pointed out.

"That's his way of saying you're welcome for saving your butt." Krista snarked, ignoring Kal's embarrassed wince.

"I gathered as much." Irikah chuckled in reply, already taking a liking to the human in front of her. Her smile died however when she recognized the young girl. "Wait... I know you. You're the young human girl that-"

"Yeah, don't remind me." Krista growled.

"Sorry, I won't bring it up again." The drell hurriedly replied, before turning to address Jor. "You truly are as good a man as you've said. Not many can make that claim, especially in this day and age."

"Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to get some rest?" Jor patiently asked Irikah, noticing her fatigue after having barely closed her eyes for the entire trip back. "...And I know of two overly curious guides who would be glad to show you to your new quarters while I attend to other urgent matters."

"Nice to see you too Jor." Krista retorted sarcastically, but she couldn't keep the frown on her face if she had tried as she jerked her head towards the nearest hallway. "Well, what are we waiting for- What in the hell. Is that?"

The small group all turned to look where Shepard was pointing, seeing a scout ship limping into the hangar before promptly collapsing to the deck as if in pure exhaustion. Kal, being Kal, was the first one to point out the obvious. "Father. Why is there a small asteroid sticking out of the hull of that ship?"

"I will endeavour to discover that out my son, but I suggest you say nothing of this, to anyone." Jor advised his son, he could already guess that Zod's mood wouldn't exactly be at its best.

"Gee ya think? Zod's going to be a lot grumpier than usual." Krista grumbled in response before leading Irikah and Kal out of the hangar. There was no way she was sticking around for what was going to be a very interesting day for Jor and his own escort. But a loud booming voice stopped her in her tracks a moment later.

"Hah! I told you we'd make it! And you thought we'd get vaporized or sucked into space!" The biggest krogan she'd ever seen cheerfully roared as he jumped out of the crippled ship, his red eyes gleaming with excitement. "Nice place. Could use a bit of color, but still, not bad." The behemoth's red eyes narrowed when he noticed a small mammal staring up at him. More amazing was the fact she wasn't afraid of him, but seemed to be sizing him up calmly. "Who're you ya gutsy little pyjak?"

"Shepard. Krista Shepard." She replied, having crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side while Kal took a hesitant step back from the massive armored being.

Wrex hardly noticed, his full attention on the kid in front of him. Rubbing a hand under his chin in thought. "Hmm. I know that name. Mindoir brat huh? You're a survivor Shepard. That's a handy talent to have."

"Is being ugly and annoying a handy talent too?" Krista quickly retorted, not even noticing as Kal gently attempted to pull her away from the huge old warrior she was needlessly antagonizing.

"Yup, and you've got all three in spades human. You got a quad, I'll give ya that. The name's Urdnot Wrex, and if you're lucky, maybe you'll get to die fighting me in a glorious battle one day whelp, when you're older of course." Wrex retorted with a knowing nod, giving Krista a patronizing pat on her head.

"Wrex huh." Krista sarcastically spat out as she jerked away from his oversized hand. "What kinda stupid name is Wrex?"

"What kinda moronic name is Shepard?" The krogan shot back without missing a beat.

Krista could almost feel a noticeable chill in the air when she noticed Faora walking over to glare up at the massive krogan. "You were told not to leave my presence. For any reason. And now I find you trying to intimidate a small child. Truly, you come from a brave and honorable race." Faora darkly snarked with a frown of disgust.

"And your point Ullie?" Wrex rumbled back, grinning at the death glare that had been the last thing most enemies ever saw when facing Faora-Ul. "You need to relax, kick back, pop open a can of ryncol, something. Maybe accept a breeding request, or five."

No one was that surprised when Faora slammed the krogan against Jor's ship hard enough to leave a sizable dent. "The next words you speak in my presence will be your last."

"Better say something clever then." Wrex retorted with a smirk as Faora pointed at the deck.

"Do not leave this spot unless you are told to do so." The sub-commander ordered the large krogan, her expression promising agony if he failed to comply.

"Nice meeting you Wrex, keep pissing Faora off, I promise I'll come to your funeral." Shepard snarked at the pinned alien.

"Not likely whelp, but I'll see you around Shepard." Wrex answered surprisingly calm for someone who was on his best way to get killed gruesomely within the next five minutes.

"Wrex." Noticing Zod conferring with several technicals and looking like his generally frustrated self, Krista just couldn't resist getting his attention. "Hey Dru, your new hood ornament is a little bit much, don't you think?" Before Zod could so much as glower at her, Krista yanked a sullen Kal and a smirking Irikah after her out of the hangar bay.

Jor could only shoot his old friend an apologetic look before saying, "If you promise not to seek retribution, I shall promise to never ask you precisely why an iron based asteroid is lodged in your hull. Or why you seem to be missing half a ship for that non matter."

"Noted, Jor. And I will endeavor not to ask how you managed to get yourself into a firefight on a so called peaceful world since we're on the subject of failure. But I am going to ask you why I just saw Krista dragging yet another alien after her, or were you hoping I wouldn't notice?"

"That's...a bit of a complicated story, but it goes with the reason why we were attacked." Jor admitted sheepishly.

"Indeed. Your naive actions have no doubt encouraged the less peaceful minded forces of this galaxy to see us as being weak and vulnerable. And soon I fear all of our resources will be dedicated merely to sustaining all these stray beings you insist on bringing back with you. I'm not even going to ask this time. But she's not staying. At least I thought it was another 'she' from my fleeting glimpse."

"I had no intention of keeping her here, but she's in danger from an assassin that has developed an...unhealthy obsession with her." Zod turned to walk away, only to sigh and spin on his heel before Jor continued. "And a surprisingly well armed force that attacked us saw her with us." Jor pressed on despite almost being able to feel the searing heat coming from Zod's hostile glare. "My pilot and bodyguard will also be needing medical attention due to said attack."

"You might have told me that part first." Zod growled, slamming a fist against the dented section of Jor's armored chest and catching his wince of pain. "See to it that you seek out a medic as well, old friend." It was impossible to miss the biting sarcasm in Zod's voice. "I will deal with your mission debriefing later. For now, keep that woman you brought with you out of trouble. As for those you attacked you..." Zod ominus said, before jabbing a finger in Jor's chest. "I will not tolerate the existence of beings who would gladly escort my people to the gates of extinction. And I suggest you grow used to the idea of necessary violence and ignore your pacifist tendencies."

Jor raised an eyebrow and frowned darkly in response to the man's statement. "I could say the opposite of you my friend. Tell me Zod, was violence necessary to complete your mission? Your new friend, Wrex is it? He seems to meet your moral standards nicely, the two of you should get along quite well."

Knowing when he had been outflanked, Zod decided to drop the matter for the moment. "That is a very long and annoying tale. I'll share it with you when-"

"It seems my brother and niece have returned as well." Jor said with a wincing smirk as Zod hung his head in exhausted defeat.

It didn't take long for the scout vessel to land and allow her mixed assortment of passengers off. "I don't suppose I can hope that their mission was a flawless success?"

"From the look of things, I'd say not." Jor replied, amused and annoyed in equal measure when he caught sight of the humans, one of which was bound hand and foot in glowing orange cuffs. Zod muttered a string of curses in their native tongue when he saw the trio of humans following after the man in Systems Alliance uniforms.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zod quietly asked, not having the energy to issue the enraged demand such a scene would have usually justified. On a normal day at least, but today was clearly the very polar opposite of normal.

"We ah, had a slight mishap when we were giving several members of the Alliance a tour of-" Kara began, but wasn't given a chance to finish.

"Why would you do such a thing in the first place? You know I gave strict orders- just continue." Zod muttered, too tired to even yell anymore, and desperately avoided the urge to rub his hand over his face.

"Well, you see, it was a good will gesture, since this particular vessel had crashed on Earth quite some time ago and..." Zor thought better of continuing to explain when he saw the glare Zod was directing at him.

"Why. Did. You. Bring them here?" Zod asked, his tone wreaking of pure annoyance as he thrust an arm towards the small group of humans. He honestly didn't even care why one of them was bound right now.

"I take it you're the man in charge, General Dru-Zod?" One of them asked, a highly decorated officer if the medals on her dress blues were anything to go by.

"I am." Zod stated, curious as to where this was going.

"I'm Fleet Admiral Vivian Socar, and on behalf of the Systems Alliance, I claim full responsibility for the actions perpetrated against your vessel and personnel while under my protection." Without saying another word, she took a knee before the scarred frowning officer next to her could open his mouth and bowed her head slightly.

Zod raised an eyebrow at that, truly impressed by this woman's character and willingness to take the blame for actions that he easily surmised her beyond her control. It was refreshing, especially after the day he'd had thus far, but kneeling before him was just too much, even if she was respecting his culture. With more than a little help from Kara and Zor, he guessed.

"Oh for the love of Roa, get up." He demanded at last. "That is hardly necessary. You've shown strength where few possess it. I can count on one hand the number of beings I have encountered that hold as much authority over others as I who rightfully deserve it. You already strike me as the type that has earned her right to command."

Vivian mentally breathed an immense sigh of relief as she stood to her feet, her expression unreadable. "I'll take that as a rare compliment General Zod."

"Good. Because it was. Admiral, perhaps you would join me in private so we may discuss the day's events in a slightly less chaotic environment and let our Seconds handle this mess for now."

"Gladly. Hackett, make sure the prisoner's secured. Then ask someone about setting up temporary quarters for us, at least until we can get back to HQ. And Grissom, keep your mouth shut." Jon glared daggers at Vivian, but didn't say a word in response. Today had been beyond unusual.

"Trust me, your stay will be very temporary. What you see around you now isn't exactly my idea of operational security. Honestly I would rather entertain the idea that is all a horrible nightmare than admit this state of affairs even remotely resembles sanity."

"I know exactly how you feel." Vivian commiserated, as she grimaced at the sight of a krogan on red armor leaning against a shuttle and giving her an unnerving grin. "Please tell me your people drink alcohol."

"What?" Zod asked, confused by Vivian's comment.

"Here, and for the record, I'm disappointed in you Viv." Grissom admonished, reaching into his tunic and tossing the younger woman a small silver flask. "Always carry the essentials."

"How the hell-" Before Socar could even finish, Grissom pulled out another flask and took a gulp, or rather attempted to, except the shield of his breather helmet made sure that the flask didn't reach his mouth and the liquid spilled upon the floor. Grissom muttered a curse before purposely dumping the rest of his flask on the floor before tossing the empty container over his shoulder. Vivian was less than amused, for another reason altogether. "Great. I'm surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy, present company excluded General."

Zod only shook his head and started away. He needed to leave the hangar deck before he hit something, hard. But not before issuing one last order. "Prepare our restrained 'guest' for interrogation." He marched on and left the humans wondering what exactly he meant by that.

Soon to be ex-Commander Mikhailovich's pleading glance at his fellow officers was quickly blocked by the petite armored form of Faora. "With pleasure General."

"You can't let them do this! I am an officer of the Alliance!" Mikhailovich shouted desperately to the other human officers present.

"Actually, you betrayed the Alliance for Cerberus. That's treason, and if we were in Alliance space you would be executed. As far as I am concerned they can do whatever they want to you if it keeps the peace." Socar told him, disgust for the man clearly visible on her face.