03 -Conflicts Part 1

///

She stood, hands behind her back and posture straight, not blinking as her father walked back and forth with calm steps.

"You lost to Don-Karek." His voice sounded too calm.

"Yes." She didn't want to hurt Don, and that opened the door for him to knock her to the mat. They laughed about it, it wasn't supposed to be a serious fight, but then... her father came into the room and saw her on the floor. He left calmly afterwards but she knew she had let him down. Then she stood up quickly and knocked Don down three more times, but these victories didn't matter, because her father wasn't there and he had already seen her fall. She hurt Don, badly. As much as it made the anger and guilt build up inside her.

She didn't apologize to Don.

"Why?"

Faora clenched her jaw, her eyes directly on her father's." I didn't want to... " Her father intensified his gaze and almost looked disgusted at her hesitation. " It was an oversight. " She swallowed dryly and didn't mention the fact that she had won three times later, her father already knew and it didn't matter. She had failed. "It won't happen again."

Her father's voice bordered on fury." A warrior does not hide behind excuses. Her father stood in front of her, staring at her with such coldness that it made Faora cringe."You are a warrior! We were created for war, to protect Krypton, we cannot fail.

"I know." She managed to say.

"And you have failed."

"It wasn't a serious fight." She tried to argue but her father pushed her back and she staggered, hitting the wall behind her but didn't fall, her posture tense and still with her hands behind her, returning to a sense position.

"Every fight is serious! What do you think they'll think seeing Ul's house herder lying on the floor?! "Her father shouted in her face but she didn't flinch, ignoring her own heart that was beating uncontrollably inside her. "One more foolish thing like that and I'll go-"he didn't finish his sentence, as a noise of a door opening sounds and Zod appears beside them.

Zod looks at Faora's father and then at her. "Lord Ul."

"I will speak with you later, child. "Her father turned away and walked by Zod's side." Zod." He nodded and Zod nodded before her father disappeared out the door.

Zod turned to her, his jaw tightening as he approached." He-"

" I'm fine." Faora said, looking at Zod.

Zod didn't ask any questions, but instead approached her and held out his hand, Faora just put her hand over his and he intertwined their fingers.

She didn't want to think about her father right now, she didn't want to think about anything." I want to train." She said and he sighed, but nodded." Okay."

/Time later/

The punch that hit her jaw sent her flying to the ground, a deafening thud sounded as her body hit the ground ,but she got up with her elbows and wiped the blood that dripped from her lip.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you so hard," a hand reached out to her. Faora looked up, where Zod was standing over her and looking at her with a bit of concern.

She scoffs." It's not the first time I've been punched in the face, Zod. I'll survive." She accepted his hand and Zod helped her up. Standing up, she wiped some of the sweat from her forehead with her wrist.

Zod sighed. "Here, let me see.: He lifted his hand to her face and gently pulled her chin to the side, showing her slightly red cheek. Zod frowned but nodded and released her chin. "It's not too bad, just a little crolian for a few weeks and you'll be fine."

"You sound like a healer."

"Very funny. "Zod snorted and crossed his arms." You know, I wouldn't have to play the healer if you'd just concentrate on the fight.

Faora gave him a sullen look." I am focused."

He stared at her. "In distant galaxies, maybe, but not here." He affirmed." I never would have hit you if you were concentrating. Are you going to tell me what's on your mind, or do I have to find a Martian to do that?"

Faora sighed. "Just..." She shrugged. "I'm thinking about the exams, that's all. She lied."

Zod raised an eyebrow. "We're two years away from the exams, there's nothing to worry about now."

"Okay, I'm thinking about the Daxamites.

"she admitted. Daxam is a cousin planet to Krypton, but its inhabitants are very different, almost savage, their leadership consists of a king and queen, and they love parties and orgies, but they are also warlike and very ambitious. She doesn't like Daxam, as much as any other Kryptonian. Daxam for her was the home of barbaric, partying, greedy, war loving people who would have no limits if it wasn't for Krypton who fought against Daxam in the past. There is a peace agreement at the moment but this is fragile, usually there is always some small fight between some Kryptonians and Daxamites, but this can evolve drastically if there are noble leaders involved.

Zod's expression hardened." The Daxamites know their place, if they dare to do anything barbaric or foolish on our planet, we will put them in their place again."

Faora looked at him for a moment. Zod, as well as she, knows how much trouble the Daxamites are, the idiots almost risked their own planet by accepting the arrival of a being from the fifth dimension. The being threw a planet-wide party that lasted a month, almost putting an end to their economic system. And she would be lying if she said she wasn't worried about the arrival of the Daxamites at the Unor festival, a time of festivities that celebrates the peace agreement and the arrival of winter on Krypton. The festival will last two months, and many Daxamites have arrived, both young and old. Faora is not very happy about this.

"I would love to help with this," she said. She said. If they get into trouble, you'd be willing to beat the crap out of some of them, right? She felt the corner of her mouth curl into a smile.

Zod returned the smile."What did you think I was talking about when I said about putting them in their place? Of course we're going to do that."

They talk as if it was something simple and happy, when in fact it was something cold and hateful. She wouldn't say she hates Daxamites, but she has a great dislike for them. However, despite her and others being ... harsh on Daxamites for good reason, some Kryptonians disagree with their methods. Such as Lara, Zor-el and a few others, who once witnessed their actions. She doesn't know if Jor-el knows about what they have already done, and isn't sure she wants to know.

She has met some Daxamites one day, it is an understatement to say that the little group that bothered her will never come to Krypton again after the beating they took. It seemed to become a tradition between her and her group to make a troublesome group of Daxamites leave Krypton for good. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was proud of it.

She never imagined herself like this, hurting and feeling no remorse. Normally, as she remembered, she was a righteous person, who wanted to help and protect those who could be considered weaker, she was a defender, someone who was not afraid to express her opinions, someone who could help even those she didn't like.  It was a reminder of her personality that she carried, the human part of her that still wished to be better.

But she is no longer human.

Yes, she still wants to help and protect, she still has that spark of compassion and honor in her being, but this is now connected to Krypton, to the symbol she carries in her chest with the motto of her home resonating in her head.

She is a Kryptonian and her loyalty, her honor, everything, is connected to her lineage. Maybe it's the genetics, maybe it's the way she was raised, how the responsibilities of an entire lineage fell on her shoulders and all she could say was yes, there was no room for no or doubt.

Years and years, your father is still pushing you to your limits. Get the best grades, beat everyone, be proud of your family, honor your legacy, honor ... Krypton.

What else could she do? Failure was not an option.

Regardless, she is willing to ignore and avoid these vultures, but will not say no to a fight if the occasion arises.

She grabbed her things off the floor and waved to Zod, finishing her training, and wandered the halls of the academy. Thinking about Martians... Martians could be a problem if they could read her mind. One more thing to add to the list of things she must avoid. If the wrong Martian reads her mind, and sees what she shouldn't, everything could get significantly worse, or if someone, anyone, accesses her mind, it could become a big problem. The means to avoid this would be... well, she would have to find someone to block her mind for her, or train herself to block invaders. She's leaning towards the second option, usually.

How? She could only think of Chi training, or Kryptonian Torquasm-Rao, a Kryptonian martial art that is used to use vital energy, or in this case, Shreearr, as they say. It helps to balance her emotionally and mentally, it's like an advanced meditation technique, but with the advantages of helping to create mental blocks and even affecting her biology in some way, not so much, but it could help her a lot when she returns to earth.

She stopped her walk when she heard a strange thudding noise and frowned, turning and following the sound, she found a training room and a Jor-el lying on the floor and a student of the academy, Tor-derak, standing above him with his fist raised. What worried her was the blood on the floor.

"Hey!" at her shout, Tor lowered his fist and took two steps back.

"It's just practice," Tor said, and Faora gave him a look that made him shut up.

"Are you all right in there?" Faora asked, concern in her tone and an angry look at Tor, who raised his hands in surrender and took steps backwards. Faora looked back at Jor-el and pressed her lips together as she saw a long cut on his forehead, some blood trickling down and a bruise already forming on the right side of his cheek. Faora gritted her teeth and turned to Tor."Get out, now." She didn't have to say it twice, Tor immediately ran out.

She looked back at Jor-el and held out her hand to him. "Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary."

Jor-el looked surprised at her sudden presence but accepted her hand and Faora pulled him to his feet ,he staggered a bit and let out a groan of pain but Faora reached out for his arm ,holding it. She frowns ,more worry growing inside her and she can't help but raise a hand to his face and carefully turn it sideways so she can see the bruise and cut straighter, noticing the redness around his cheeks and taking her hand away instantly, bad move Faora.

She clenches her jaw." We better get to the infirmary ,this doesn't look good."

"I'm fine." Jor-el stutters, his eyes on her.

"You would have fallen if I hadn't held you." Faora frowns, a little annoyed but not sure why, other than that he's being stubborn. What if the cut gets infected or something? Faora just shakes her head and pulls him by the wrist to the door. "You're coming with me, and that's not a request." She says, pulling him down the gray corridor and ignoring the stares of some of the students around her.

"Okay." Jor-el's reply was a whisper.

/// In the infirmary...

" How are you feeling?" She asks ,sitting next to him in a chair.

He smiles a little, looking slightly amused. "Fine, considering the beating I got."

"You'll get better."She says.

"I'm not cut out for fighting, you know. "Said Jor-el, he wasn't kidding, his expression was shy and he had his eyes on his hands in his lap.

 "Then I'll fight for you." Okay, she shouldn't have said that. It wasn't a lie, she really would do it if she had to, but it could be very misinterpreted, like now. Jor-el was blushing, his eyes wide at her. Faora cleared her throat and looked away, looking suddenly shy. Ridiculous, she shouldn't be shy." You are...if you need help, I'll be there." She glanced back at him.

He was still blushing and looked down at his hands in his lap again. "Okay... sure, thanks."

She needs to get out of there.

 Faora stood up, a little hesitantly." I have to go, I still have a training session to finish."

"Okay. See you later?" He looked at her in such a hopeful way that Faora couldn't resist saying yes.

//

It was night, she was leaning against a tree while watching the other classmates and friends gathered in front of her, all talking, laughing and drinking, some hiding in the corners, wearing things they shouldn't or kissing.

A party to relax,Don said before gathering as many as he could to all meet in the forest next to the Krypton academy and enjoy. It's not something forbidden or anything, the teachers don't mind, even if they knew about it. There were no classes these last days because of a holiday that lasted exactly two weeks, a time to relax and have fun, or in her case and some others, to study even more.

She can't blame them for trying to take the time to have fun, she would do it herself if she wasn't thinking 24 hours a day about the possible things that could or could not go wrong. Yeah, she's trying hard not to be so pessimistic, but considering that she tried to find the earth in Krypton's database and couldn't, she wasn't very happy. There are exactly two possibilities: 1: Earth has not been discovered yet; 2: Earth does not exist, or will exist yet? she doesn't even know, she is in a new universe, everything is the same and different at the same time. How is she supposed to know if the planet of her former life still exists ? or what universe she is in ? what can she do ?

Not much, but she can at least try.

She sees Lara talking with Jor el and laughing, both of them sitting together on a bluish log and seeming to be in a happy conversation. Faora resents the weight that fell on her heart at the sight, but she can't help but look. They need to be together.

" Hey!" A voice exclaims and a body throws itself beside her, tapping her shoulders lightly. "Hiding? "

"Is it that obvious ?" Faora snorts, an amused smile on her face as she looks at Dru Zod. "You know me well."

Zod laughed. "You know I do." An equally amused smile on his face and then he looks forward as well and seems to notice Jor-el, frowning and casting a glance at her." I see you're still keeping an eye on him. "

Faora sighed and rolled her eyes." It's not like that, I just..." She had no justification other than that she needed Jor-el, and that's not something she can just say. It might sound wrong.... or..." He's my friend, I care about him."

Dru didn't sound convinced at all, and she couldn't blame him for that." Uhum..." He gave her shoulder a gentle nudge with his.

"Is that why you keep looking at him all the time?"

"I'm helping him."

"With what?"

"With her." Faora shakes her head in Lara's direction.

Zod snorts, an amused smile on his lips. "You're a matchmaker? that's a new one."

"He's my friend."

"Mine too. That's why I worry. Jor el always has his eyes on you. Faora, don't -"

"That happens to a lot of guys around me, you should be used to it, I am." She admits, knowing her beauty and personality, she's no fool.

Zod continued, "Jor-El is not like the others, he's one of our group, and he's...more sentimental, you've already noticed that.

"What do you want me to say, Zod? I wouldn't do anything to hurt him." She speaks with indignation. How could he think that? Okay, okay, she may be a little cold to people, but she would never do anything to hurt Jor-El. It's not about who he is, but how he is.  A kind and unselfish person, shy, but smart and brave. Faora couldn't lie, she found him admirable, she found him incredible.

Zod gave her a stern look." If you think you're the best, yes you will. I know you, you said so yourself. I know you always put your duty before your emotions, so do it again, avoid it before it's too late. "

"You think I'm not trying?" She gritted her teeth." I don't control other people's feelings, and besides, it's ridiculous. He has no interest in me."Doubt fretted in her mind.

"You're not a fool."He scolded." I'm not asking you to break his heart, but to be gentle."

"We won't talk about that anymore." She gritted her teeth.

"One of these times you're going to have to talk about it." Zod said before standing up and walking away. She let out a sigh, whether it was relief or frustration, she didn't know. Maybe both.

To her surprise, Jor-El was approaching her at that moment, walking towards her with a frown and concern on his face." Hey, I saw Zod leave, you guys seemed to be arguing, is everything okay?"

Faora clenched her jaw."It's nothing to worry about, just a reminder of some training we have to do."

"Oh, how is it?" He looked genuinely curious.

"With sticks, we were discussing what kind to use.

"Oh ok... may I sit with you?"

"You don't have to ask." Faora snorted.

"Is that a yes?" He asked, still hesitant.

She just sighed and pulled him by the wrist to sit next to her, which resulted in her feeling how fast and warm his wrist was.

Faora tried not to let anything show on her face, and looked straight ahead." So...what was the young man from the house of El up to?"

"Nothing. Just talking."

"You don't like to party." She affirmed with a slight hum and Jor-el blushed, stammering a little as she replied.

"What? I...what makes you think that?"

"I don't like parties much but I come for my friends, you've never shown up at one before today. Am I to imagine that it is because of our friendship? or did you really want to try to be at one for the first time?"

Jor-el frowns, looking as if he's thinking.

"I... I don't know, I guess both ?"

" I'll take that." She smiled. "Where is your future wife, by the way? Is Lara hiding or something?"

He rolls his eyes." She's just my friend, nothing more."

" Ahem." She hums ,not at all convinced.

"Okay, what about you and Zod?"

She wrinkles her forehead." Oh no, don't reverse it on me."

He crossed his arms and gave her a look. "Fine, you don't talk about things like Lara and me, and I don't talk about you and Zod."

"Fair enough."She replied after a moment. Then there was silence until Jor-El spoke again.

"I ..." He swallowed hard, his eyes on her. Faora followed the movement of his throat and then, to his eyes, he seemed hesitant, as if searching for words.

She feigned a smile." What is it, el? Did something eat your tongue?"

He waved his hands. "No, no... I just... "He looked at her, right into her eyes. The expression on his face softening and he seemed to want to .

"I have to go," Faora said, getting up.

"Now?"

" Yes."

"Wait, can I... can I show you something?"

" What ?"

"Last week you asked me about planets and if there were any with a yellow sun, well, I found some."

She hesitates, is that possible? "I... yes, of course, I'd like to see it."

///

They were in a large astrology room in El's house. The room was gray and dark, with the light of the holographic keys around and illuminating the room. It was beautiful and further ahead was a hologram of a system of planets, planets very familiar to her. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at these planets, and the earth.

"Here." He pointed to the earth's solar system. "I found these around and near the yellow sun, a few light years away from our planetary system."

"That's amazing. "She sighed, heart warming and her mind flooding with some of the memories of her past life. Thinking of her parents, her uncles and cousins, and friend, all of them... they don't exist in this universe, do they? She would never see them again. This was something she had gotten used to, but seeing the earth again made her feel a little nostalgic, seeing her old home, right there in front of her. And the countless possibilities that came to her mind when she discovered that in fact the earth still existed.

"It is, yes." Jor-el said, drawing her attention back to him, who instead of looking at the planets was looking at her, which made her look away for a moment before asking.

"Do you have any information about these planets?"

Jor-el shook his head, looking crestfallen. "No, nothing but Mars and Saturn. The others have not yet been visited by any of our race, and probably won't, or will take a long time to do so."

Faora frowns. "Why not?"

" They are not planets as evolved as ours. My father says the Council prefers to prioritize planets with much more advanced technology and valuable resources. None of these have that. "Jor-el explains."Besides, some of them are not very receptive to visitors. Dad said that some beings from other planets have visited but never came back, and if they did, they came back afraid or disappointed. It is not a very useful or interesting planet system. Mars is having a civil war, and Saturn is having problems with its environment. And as for the others, they are unknown or have bad reputations. Who would take the risk ? "

"I would." She smiled.

To her surprise, Jor-el laughed. "Of course you would, you never run away from a challenge."

"That's a compliment, el? my ego is already pretty big." She nudged him playfully, a crooked smile on her face that grew wider when she saw the redness in his face.

"I think your ego can handle it, you're Faora Ul after all, if you can fight until nightfall, no doubt a few compliments would be nothing." He said and looked at her with his blue, gentle eyes, staring at her in a very calm, very gentle way.

She smiled slightly and looked back down to earth, noticing Jor-el's gaze on her but not daring to look back, even as she literally felt him beside her, almost touching. Close, too close.

And it was at some point when they were standing there, just enjoying the beautiful system of planets that Faora made up an excuse and without looking back, left.

She knew she had to go, she had to.

/A few minutes later

The earth exists. And she needs to start making her plans move, and she needs to create new ones for future problems.

So she is on top of a mountain at night, a man sitting facing her in a dark robe.

"You are a Sheear trainer." She said.

"Zorrik-dur."

Zorrik-dur was tall, taller than her and with a lean build, dark skin and dark green eyes, he looked to be in his forties or older. A calm but suspicious expression came over his face when he heard her words." And you would be?

"Faora Ul."

He widens his eyes." Ul ? What is the daughter of one of Krypton's greatest commanders doing here?" The Kryptonian questions , one eyebrow raised.

"I want to learn to protect my mind."

His eyebrow rose even higher.