War and Peace
Convinced that ignorance was bliss, Kara decided that denial was the key to combating her unquenchable thirst for the prince of Daxam, whose life was equal parts mysterious and complicated. She was sent to Daxam for a reason and the sooner she finished that job, the sooner she could return home. A rather naïve part of her genuinely believed that once her pod thrusts out of Daxam's gravitational field, she too will be unshackled from the pull he exerted over her desires.
She spent the entire week relentlessly drafting a new peace treaty in collaboration with the Kryptonian council and their Emissary currently residing in the East Wing as well. Whatever spare time she had, she spent immersed in books she borrowed from Mon-el's personal library to gain Daxam's perspective of all past conflicts between the planets, Daxam's history, and the secret societies and cults that were founded on this planet throughout the years.
Mon-el often found his feet come to halt every time he passed her chambers. He understood the magnitude of her task at hand; he desired nothing more than for a treaty to formally put an end to this looming threat of war, however, that didn't mean he wasn't haunted by the reminder that it would entail her departure.
At first, he was pleased with her absence, the unfamiliar and confusing set of emotions she stirred within him, no longer a bother. What he failed to anticipate was this constant exasperating hole that nagged at him, making him crave the feelings he was previously afraid of, which were so much tamer in comparison. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, coming to a realization that there might not be a solution that sticks. There was nothing he feared more than her departure because he felt it might only make things worse.
Stefan saw nothing but humor in this situation, wishing they would just screw already and be done with all the unnecessary pining. Sometimes the answer was just that simple, but that was Krypton in a nutshell—absolutely nothing was simple and straightforward. He took one good disappointed look at Kara and Mon-el who were greeting each other formally outside the throne room, as he marched towards the gates of hell, praying that Lady Devil would sign the treaty without bringing up any last moment hidden agendas laced with her personal brand of ulterior motives. "The fate of our worlds rests on your shoulders today, little peacemaker. May the Gods be with you!" he nodded at Kara as they both followed him into the throne room.
Astra and Alura attended as holograms, as Kara, Stefan, Mon-el and the Kryptonian Emissary waited at the table for the Queen and King of Daxam to join. Every single person in the room suddenly kneeled at the entrance, Her Majesty had arrived. All the Kryptonians, shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. Queen Rhea strolled in wearing a sober grey gown with a floor length cape trailing behind her and a hair band instead of a crown. Looking more calm and serene than ever before, she gave everyone some hope for today's proceedings. King Lar Gand followed right behind her as they took their places at the round table at the foot of the throne, where Kara shared her first meal with the royal family.
The three Daxamites—Mon-el, Stefan and Lar Gand sat opposite to the three Kryptonians—Their Emissary, Astra and Alura. Kara and Queen Rhea seated at the opposite ends. A proud smile appeared on Rhea's lips as she admired her throne, which momentarily vanished as she sat down and noticed the hideous Kryptonian glyph on Kara's white gown. Reminding herself to focus on the big picture she mustered as much politeness as she could while addressing the Kryptonians.
At length, Kara explained the terms and conditions of the treaty to the Queen, "In conclusion, it's all pretty standard. Most of the terms and conditions are the same as the previous peace treaty between Krypton and Daxam, with the exception of a few minor details unique to this conflict."
"Except for one major difference you didn't account for," Rhea pointed out, carefully studying the document in front of her.
"What is it? I'll correct it this very instant!" Kara promised, sincerely.
Rhea cherry-picked her words for the trickiest negotiation of her life, "An embassy is technically an extension of the planet it represents. So when those Kryptonian terrorists blew up our embassy that was an attack on Daxamite territory. Soon after that, Krypton declared war on an unsuspecting Daxam by pointing its missiles at us. That's how it went down, if we show complete faith in Krypton and accept the official narrative of course…." Rhea chuckled, as if there was supposed to be a joke somewhere in there.
"Why are we questioning the investigation at this stage of the peace talks, Your Majesty? I thought we had an understanding when Kara negotiated a cease fire," Alura respectfully demanded.
"Oh Gods! Don't get me wrong, I have complete faith in Krypton and the official narrative of the attack," Rhea clarified, stretching her hands.
"Which major difference are you referring to, Mother?" Mon-el keyed in, trying to put a finger on whatever his mother was scheming.
"The obvious difference is that last time Daxam was blamed for initiating the war and even though all lives that were lost, were lost in space, no damage was done on Kryptonian territory. Setting the entire tone of the former peace treaty, Daxam paid a huge price for our proactive role. Krypton's proactive role and the loss of civilian lives on Daxamite territory at the hands of Kryptonian citizens changes things. You didn't expect me to just roll over and take it. Sign an identical version of the previous treaty, young diplomat?" Rhea raised an eyebrow to challenge, no one understood what her angle was, but her point couldn't be denied.
Alura figured that it was her subtle way of negotiating for a penalty, Daxam was entitled to demands. Hoping to negotiate for something that wouldn't burn a hole in their treasury she offered, "We can promise to return the remains of the Daxamites who lost their lives in the attack soon enough and incur the cost of the reconstruction of your Embassy."
"The Daxamite diplomats that we sent to Krypton last week have already arranged for the transfer of the remains and estimate the budget for the Embassy, an insignificant cost for the crown to endure. Money and tradition is not what I seek through this negotiation." Rhea stated calmly, the desire for money never having crossed her mind. She couldn't even fathom how it felt.
"Then what is it that you desire?" Kara was clueless about the motivations of politicians, let alone a Daxamite monarch.
Rhea laid a hand on the table and stared at her tapping index finger for a good moment, before she looked up, her impossible-to-read gaze hovering over all the Kryptonians in the room, "Nothing like a friendly exchange of knowledge and technology to forge a long lasting political friendship."
Astra and Alura exchanged a look before Astra turned back to Rhea and asked, "Do you have something specific in mind?"
"We are planning to harness the energy of our core, but considering the fact that the technology almost led to Krypton's demise, all we ask for is the documentation on the uncontrolled chain reaction that started and the solution that you and your sister came up with to contain it." Rhea requested, wearing her most innocent mask. Mon-el and Stefan were completely taken aback, this was news to them.
"Why would you harness your core? Daxam has no shortage of natural resources," Astra inquired, unsure why Daxam would follow Krypton's footsteps in regards to the worst decision her planet ever made, especially when Daxam had safer options at its disposal.
"We wish to switch to a cleaner source of energy. I understand it's a little dangerous, but I've heard a lot of how brilliantly you contained the threat Astra, and I have faith in your solution." Rhea attempted to press all the right buttons, using Astra's passion for protecting the environment and self-righteousness against her. She knew that she had already warmed up Alura with her hints at a financial penalty, considering Krypton's economic conditions post-stabilization of their core, Rhea knew she would say yes to almost anything that did not hurt them financially.
"Give us a moment to have a word with the Council," Alura requested right before their holograms froze.
"I wasn't aware that we planned on harnessing the core," Mon-el quipped, using the little break to get a better insight on what was his mother's endgame here.
Switching to a much sterner tone while addressing Mon-el, Rhea joined her hands together, "The Crown is not obligated to share every decision with the second in line. All I'm obligated to do as Queen is to groom you to take my place one day."
"I am very much aware that I am not entitled to ask for inclusion in decision making, Mother," Mon-el said in a soft tone. "What I'm curious about is the absence of a massive scientific organization that would be required to check if our core is even feasible to be utilized like Krypton's core."
"I have a team of experts, but not in the capital. You've actually met their lead scientist Lena. I thought you two were very close, such a shame you never even asked her what she did for a living. If you don't even bother keeping up with the identities of people who share your bed, dear son, then how do you expect a dull scientific facility outside the capital to catch your attention?" Rhea flashed a wicked grin, surprised at Kara's discomfort with the jab.
Stefan interrupted the family drama, "Pardon me Your Majesty, but the Crown was obligated to disclose this information with the Commander of the Armed Forces, if it involved turning our planet's core into a ticking fusion bomb."
"Only at execution stage, it's all very theoretical at this point. We might never go ahead with it, but it's smart to have an option other than exploitation of our natural resources. They won't last forever!" Rhea was at the end of her rope, she didn't expect her own people to blow holes in her plan.
"We have already started switching to renewable sources of energy, which are much safer for the people of Daxam," Stefan pressed further, convinced that there was no plan for harnessing the core. He had spies all over the planet, it was impossible to keep something of this magnitude from him.
King Lar Gand flashed Stefan the look that he reserved for rare occasions, to indicate that Stefa was getting too close to jeopardizing their political plans, "The safety of Daxamites is our first concern." This phrase was their own secret code; he couldn't afford to keep Stefan and Mon-el completely in the dark, he had to at least let them in on the fact that they were sabotaging Rhea's plan with their interference. Both of them instantly backed off.
Silently observing everything that was going on, Kara only cared for getting this treaty signed before the Queen took a complete turn on that decision as well. Something about Rhea's last moment demands that irked at her, Kara knew she couldn't trust the woman sitting across the table from her.
Astra and Alura's holograms came to life once again, Alura negotiated, "We discussed this at length with the Council and we all agree to an exchange of knowledge but this is a colossal demand, it took our scientists centuries to develop this technology. How about we turn this knowledge transfer into a two-way street?"
Rhea raised her eyebrow, she was convinced they were prepared to give her what she wanted, and this was merely a display of Kryptonian pride. She was intrigued, "What does the Council have in mind, Alura?"
"Well our general believes that the late Daxamite emissary was working on a project to gather proof for Photonucleic Effect and create means to make it a possibility even under the Red Sun's radiation before she moved to Krypton as a diplomat. We would like to have access to her research," Astra humbly requested, not caring in the least if the General's demands are met or not.
This request set off alarms in the minds of both Stefan and Mon-el. If the Kryptonian general was aware of the research, then it didn't seem farfetched to doubt if he had a hand in the attack on the Daxamite Embassy. It wouldn't be surprising for Krypton to steal Intel and later use extreme measures to not only cover their tracks but to put a dent in the research process. Thankfully the emissary shared everything with Stefan the night before the attack and wiped her devices clean and replaced her research with mind numbing gibberish.
Stefan laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thing he ever heard, "Photonucleic Effect? It is a completely theoretical concept. Yes, the Daxamite emissary on Krypton was a scientist with our Defense Research but her ideas about Photonucleic Effect were ludicrous musings of someone a bit too obsessed with science fiction based on far off habitable planets that revolve around a yellow sun. We didn't even entertain her idea; she was soon moved to a diplomatic role because she was clearly not cut out to be a scientist."
Stefan shook his head, his heart broke as he destroyed the confidential legacy his dead friend left behind, but he had to put up his best show to protect this military secret, "Whatever documentation she might have on this so-called research must have been destroyed in the explosion. She was good with words, I give her that. I didn't expect the general to be this gullible though. If he wants reading material on Photonucleic Effect, I am happy to send him copies all my favorite science fiction stories."
"Well we weren't sure about the legitimacy of it either," Astra was convinced by Stefan's argument, being a scientist she was skeptical of the general's claim. "Personally, I am much more interested in your technology for short distance teleportation beams."
This was something Rhea understood and it was a fair demand exchange for what these fools were giving away so easily, "Seems like a fair request… I will be happy to make that trade." Rhea beamed with joy, everything she ever wanted, almost in her grasp.
Kara shortly appended the treaty to include a clause for the promised exchange of technology, which became a binding agreement once Alura and Rhea signed it. As the meeting came to an end, Rhea's personal bodyguard, Shadow Lass, a raven-haired beauty with deep blue skin, strolled in and dropped an envelope in front of Mon-el. "Some girl came by to hand deliver this party invite for you, I couldn't let her in but she said it was for your eyes only," she said nonchalantly and left.
Kara noticed the time for the event when Mon-el opened the invitation, 21:30. She recalled the message she decoded at the arena, a potential save the date for Mon-el's secret meetings. The day and the time couldn't be a coincidence, "I could really use a Daxamite party after these peace talks," Kara grabbed a hold of Mon-el's forearm and noticed his pulse racing.
Mon-el laughed nervously, "It's not the kind of party that you would find appropriate, trust me."
Rhea decided to throw in her two cents, "If Mon-el thinks it's inappropriate for a Kryptonian, trust me sweetheart, you don't want to go anywhere near it, even a full blooded Daxamite such as myself wouldn't."
Exiting the room, all four who attended in the flesh had their own mission in mind. One of them was going to do something tonight that would change the entire course of rest of their lives…. Which one? That was the real question, considering the long night they all had ahead of them.
Kara's personal mission was to follow Stefan and Mon-el to this so-called party tonight. She was consumed by curiosity and before she left for Krypton the next day, this was her last chance to get to the bottom on it.
Rhea and Lar Gand stayed back in the throne room, Lar ordering all the guards to leave them alone and close the door behind them.
"Rhea, I have never questioned your decision making once, but as the King I'm obligated to know why you agreed to the ceasefire and this peace treaty, which is almost identical to the last one, and offered our teleportation beam technology in exchange for a technology we neither require nor intend to use." Lar strolled over to the other end of the table, clutching to the back of the chair in which Kara was previously seated.
"Oh, I definitely intend on using that research, just not in a way everyone assumed I would." Finally finding herself in a comfortable situation where diplomacy was no longer necessary, Rhea let out an evil laugh.
"You don't intend to harness the energy of our core, do you?" Lar tilted his head and smiled, as if he could understand what his wife had in mind.
"I wasn't lying about the team of researchers, though! The scientist I extended an invitation to, Lena, she heads a private small team of scientists who ran a simulation of what would have happened to Krypton's core if they failed to stabilize it." Rhea stood up and smiled at the glory of Daxam's throne right in front of her eyes, her feet slowly drawn towards it. "If the chain reaction continued, then right before the planet would explode, their entire core would turn into one last stable element called Kryptonite, which doesn't occur naturally. It needs a very specific set of conditions to be synthesized in a lab. Other than the theoretical simulation, we don't have all the information to replicate those conditions right now," she said as she began to ascend the stairs.
"But you will the moment they share their research you have access to their data," Lar looked up at Rhea, still unsure of her plans.
"With Lena's help can start mass producing it then, she doesn't even know what I intend to do with it," she said absentmindedly, looking up at the three bronze cloaked figures guarding the throne.
"What do you intend on doing with this element?" he asked.
Sitting down at the only seat suitable for a Queen, she clutched onto the arms of her throne and edged forward, "We might have lost the battle my love, but I will win this war unlike any of our predecessors who tried. When I am done with their world, Krypton will crumble like dust underneath my feet."