It's a live world and habitable, if very wet and covered by a rather thick atmosphere compared to Krypton. It even has sentient lifeforms, and looking at them – their communications are laughably accessible for anyone passing by – Lara knows without a doubt that this is the planet Jor has chosen for their son.
It is also a world incredibly fractured: every little scrap of land stands for itself, eyeing their neighbors with distrust at best and fighting outright wars with them at worst. Lara has programmed Kal's pod to descend on solid ground (even if she didn't expect there to be so little of it), near an inhabited structure but some way from any larger civilization centers. Now she feels that avoiding any larger landmasses would have been the safer choice and frets about what sort of chaos she has sent her baby boy into.
Zod looks over the same data and takes the conclusion one step further. "Where is he, Jor-El? Kal should be so much stronger, so much faster, so much more than any of them. How can he not be obvious? What does he fear that he would hide himself?"
It is heartening to see the general treat Kal as one of their own, a son of Krypton that Zod owes protection. It is terrifying that her husband looks nonplussed rather than completely self-assured when he starts, "The yellow sun …."
"Yes, yes, the sun," the general snaps, waving away the argument. "But the atmosphere down there is barely breathable and you do not know how that balanced out the sun for a developing child."
It is utterly terrifying that Jor does not immediately counter that, and so Lara echoes Zod's question. "Where is he, Jor? Where is our son?!"
"I'm certain he's fine," her husband assures, and at least that response is swift and full of conviction. It does not answer her question, though, and both Lara and the general scowl at the evasion.
Faced with that rare alliance, Jor folds.
"I don't know, exactly. I have located the scout-ship – it's near the northern pole – and the pod is about here," her husband points to an area in the middle of one of the larger landmasses. "But Kal is a single lifeform among billions. I cannot locate him from orbit."
Before Lara can voice what she thinks of that, Jor holds up his hand with a confident smile that reminds her of the brilliant leader of the science caste of so long ago. "It shouldn't be too hard to find him, however. If he has left the vicinity of the scout-ship, I will simply ask him to come to me."
"Ask him," Zod repeats flatly.
"Their communication systems are laughably accessible," her husband declares. "I can insert my own message into them and ask him to meet me. Of course, it'll be his own choice if he comes, but I'm certain I can explain …"
"No," the general cuts him off abruptly.
"Excuse me?!"
"If you announce yourself as a desperate parent looking for his child, you give everyone who hears you power over you and over Kal. That will not do! Their arsenal is primitive but I am not willing to gamble that nothing they can do can injure an untrained youth."
Jor has that look in his eyes that says he's about to argue, and so Lara intervenes. "Neither am I."
She eyes Zod thoughtfully. "What do you propose?"
"I will ask for the boy and I will retrieve him."
Her husband protests that the message he left with Kal contained his knowledge up to Zod's attempted coup, and therefore their son is unlikely to trust the general. But as Jor has to admit that it was also composed with the expectation of never meeting Kal again, of having died in Krypton's destruction long before their son was old enough to understand the message, he finds himself overruled and finally accepts the proposal with ill grace.
SZSZSZSZSZSZS
"You are not alone," every Earthly communication device the combined efforts of Jor, Lara and Jax-Ur can take control of broadcasts, in every local language they could decipher.
"My name is General Zod," the transmission goes on, "I come from a world far from yours. I have journeyed across an ocean of stars to reach you. For some time, your world has sheltered one of my citizens. I request that you return this individual to my custody. For reasons unknown, he has chosen to keep his existence a secret from you. He will have made efforts to blend in. He will look like you, but he is not one of you. To those of you who may know of his current location: the fate of your planet rests in your hands. To Kal-El, I say this: surrender within 24 hours, or watch this world suffer the consequences."
Subtlety has never been one of the military caste's strong suits (nor the science caste's, to be honest), but while Lara approved wholeheartedly of Zod's decision to make his declaration in full armor – for her baby boy's safety, she is all for a show of strength – the final phrasing seems a bit … over the top.
"You sound like an invader," she admonishes.
The general gives her a pointed look.
"I gave the less trustworthy elements of their leadership incentive to hand over your son, not try to use him as a bargaining tool," he replies, and there is nothing she can say against that.
SZSZSZSZSZSZS
More than half of the allotted 24 hours have passed before a person calling himself General Swanwick – Zod sneers contemptuously at the title – aims a moderately focused signal at their ship and proclaims Earth ready to surrender Kal-El to them.
For once, Jor looks as troubled by the message as Lara feels. She is too distracted to listen to the exact words her husband hastily exchanges with Zod as the general makes ready to depart for the planet, but there seems to be a 'misunderstanding' in there. Zod looks unconvinced, but when the general briefly grips Jor's shoulder, the gesture has all the gravitas of a solemn promise.
Lara understands Zod well enough by now to know that he keeps his promises. She will hold onto that hopeful thought, for the next few hours.
