Warning: perspective flip and accompanying attitude. Zod is a product of his upbringing and did not even consider all Kryptonians to be people until he was stuck with only a handful left. Plus, by the standards of a society that has had FTL travel for more than a hundred thousand years, humans are just local wildlife with delusions of grandeur.
Nam-Ek at his left shoulder, Lieutenant Tor-An at his right, and Commander Ul under strict orders to stay behind and take command of the ship, just in case. For a moment, the woman looks as if she is considering mutiny for the first time in her life.
All the more reason to leave the ship in her capable hands.
The commander will keep Jor-El and even Lara in line – though the two women have struck up an unlikely friendship over the years, Zod has full confidence that loyalty to her general will always come first for Faora-Ul.
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As the shuttle descends towards the position Earth's transmission came from, Zod takes a good look at the situation on the ground. He is distinctly unimpressed.
The humans have brought enough weapons to appear hostile, but nothing that could back up the threat should he take it seriously. How tactically unsound.
Kal-El, on the other hand, has positioned himself a short distance in front of the humans. He is wearing the insignia of his House – if in a rather outdated version, the boy must have found this suit on the old scout-ship – but otherwise gives a poor showing of 'hope'.
He looks physically more mature than would be expected for his years – side-effect of the yellow sun, the general suspects – but Kal-El's stance betrays his inexperience. Zod feels his fingers twitch with the urge to correct this, but that will have to wait until the humans are out of the way. Though, why the boy allowed them to surrender him is still beyond the general.
At least, Kal-El doesn't flinch when the shuttle approaches him closely before coming to a stop in a swirl of up-churned dust. For that, Zod grants him the curtesy of turning the visor of his helmet transparent as he descends the shuttle ramp, like he would on approaching a Kryptonian base.
"Greetings, Kal-El. I am General Dru-Zod."
There is a muttered reply, caught halfway between defiance against the aggressor the Kryptonian general has painted himself as and some innate civility.
Zod acknowledges it with a nod and steps past the boy, to take a closer look at the human Kal-El was speaking to until just before the shuttle made its final approach.
"What about the woman?" the Kryptonian general asks. "Is she yours? Should we take her along, too?"
One of the human soldiers immediately steps in front of the indicated female, the first worthwhile act Zod has seen of the wretched bunch.
"You asked for the alien. You didn't say anything about one of our own!" the human snarls.
It is encouraging that they seem to have some notion of protecting their people, the Kryptonian general concedes. There is hope the boy might have learned something useful here, then.
Of course, Zod still ignores the human and turns back to Kal-El. "Well?"
The boy sputters that she is not his anything but her own person, but his attachment is clear to see.
"You value her," the Kryptonian general states the obvious, and cannot help but lecture, "You don't leave anything you value in the hands of those hostile to you."
He takes another step towards the woman and the human soldier puts his hands on his weapon – courageous if utterly futile. Zod might actually feel a sliver of regret about killing the man, if it comes to that.
It is the woman that keeps things from escalating further.
"It's all right," she says, stepping past her protector. "I'll go."
It is basic politeness to gesture her towards Kal-El and then the Kryptonian general turns his back on the rest of the humans, and especially the one with stars on his chest, the one who seems to be in command and yet has not said a word to all of this. Some 'General', indeed!
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Inside the shuttle, the boy insists on putting himself between Zod and the woman, which means the latter comes to stand next to Nam-Ek, making her look even more delicate and fragile than she is.
But speaking of which …. The general sends Tor-An to fetch some spare breathing mask, lest the mere act of breathing the ship's atmosphere should kill the human before Zod can deliver Kal-El and his pet to the former's parents and let them sort out the mess their actions created.
Once aboard the ship proper, the general leads the way to the observation deck and the scientists awaiting them there.
"Jor-El, Lara, this is your son Kal."
The boy stops dead at the sight of his parents and Zod gives him a none-too-gentle shove in the right direction to keep him moving. Then the general turns on his heel and leaves – he has no interest in watching Jor at a loss for words or ever-defiant Lara surrendering to tears. Let the House of El reunite on their own.
Zod will allow them a few hours for that, before he insists that they retrieve the Codex and then pick up the stranded scout-ship. Those ancient things were massively overengineered, it might even have a functioning Genesis Chamber aboard ….
Distracted by that happy thought, he nearly steps on a squishy human trying to bar his way.
"His parents?!" the woman hisses. "You put out …," a vague gesture, that the general assumes to encompass all of his recent efforts, "all this to return Cla—, Kal-El to his parents?"
"Yes," Zod gives back curtly, not slowing his step. Let the human move aside or get run over, whichever she wishes.
She jumps aside at the last possible moment but moves to trail after him.
"But why all the threats? You could have asked nicely, you know, that's how we usually …." She peters off.
"You don't leave anything you value in the hands of those hostile to you," she quotes back at him, before a door closes behind the general, faster than her human reflexes can cope with.
She is quick on the uptake, Zod will grant her that. The scientists will probably like the new pet.
A/N: General Swanwick is a curiously underdeveloped character in Man of Steel. And especially in this scene, he just stands there and let's Hardy take the initiative! No wonder he leaves an underwhelming first impression on any alien visitors ….
