| Synopsis
| - At the end of last issue, Jemm, Son of Saturn and his henchmen had burst into the Council chamber unannounced, interrupting a meeting of the ruling Council. Specifically, the Council was engaged in peace talks with Wing-Master Dae, commander of the Thanagarian military, when the Saturnians muscled their way in.
As we begin, there is general chaos as a result of the violent and abrupt intrusion. Several of the security guards are down. Indignation is expressed by everyone present. Wing-Master Dae is highly insulted at being interrupted during this important meeting.
Jemm and his thugs are in attack mode. The Saturnians' powers include super strength, flight, and the ability to fire powerful energy beams from their forehead. We see them use those powers aggressively as Jemm taunts the Kryptonians rather arrogantly. But when the Saturnians pull their weapons, General El has seen enough. He disarms them at super speed, and then responds with a little bit of force of his own; although it is very restrained considering the provocation. General El confronts Jemm, and introduces himself as Superman; since he and Jemm have had dealings in the past, but Jemm may not recognize Superman out of costume. Superman tells Jemm that this is not the time for fighting, and convinces Jemm to stand down.
But the war of words continues. Jemm is angry because the Kryptonians felt entitled to move one of Jupiter's moons around as if they owned it. Wing-Master Dae is angry because the Saturnians sided with the Rannians against the Thanagarians in the recent war. And General El is just trying to keep a lid on everything. Jemm does put in a good word for Superman, calling him noble, and thanking Superman for helping Jemm in the past during a time of need. It is out of gratitude for Superman's past good deed that Jemm, having spoken his peace, agrees to withdraw with his henchmen. He warns that the Saturnians "will be watching".
But on the way out, Jemm does a curious thing. He bows before the member of the religious guild who is present, and graciously gives praise to Rao as a "majestic God". Jemm and the other Saturnians then depart.
As Wing-Master Dae prepares to leave, General El asks her if they have established peaceful relations. Dae replies that no, they only have an accord. She indicates that this is as much of a concession as you ever get from the Thanagarians. On her way out, Dae tells General El that the Thanagarians also "will be watching". Superman must feel like he is hearing double.
With the battle in the Council chamber over, things seem to get back to normal. Superman is invited to join the Council during recess, and he gets to see a member of the Artists Guild and a member of the Military Guild having a very heated exchange about militarism versus peaceful coexistence. We learn that these arguments are a daily occurrence within the Council. When Superman weighs in with a message of peace, his words are lost on the Military Guild Member.
The scene shifts, and we observe members of the Red Shard, Kal-El's military unit, gossiping about their members. They observe that Non follows General El around very closely, and ridicule him for doing that. They then mention that Lieutenant Nar similarly spends a lot of time with General El. They speculate rather derisively that Lieutenant Nar has strong romantic feelings for General El, and is trying to make it with him. Nar walks in on this discussion, and is visibly annoyed. She scolds them, telling them to respect their General, and to respect themselves.
Another scene shift, and we are watching the military in combat training. Commander Gor is aggressively bullying and hurting other members of the Military Guild, when Non jumps in and gives Gor a powerful and well-deserved taste of his own medicine. General El seems to really appreciate this, and uses it as an example to his troops; telling them never to be cocky, because there is always someone stronger.
Yet another scene shift, and we observe members of the Labor Guild complaining that they never got representation on the Council, as they feel they had been promised. Someone asks Tyr-van to talk to General El, and ask him to put in a good word to the Council on their behalf. Tyr-van expresses severe regret that he no longer has clout with General El since their falling out.
We switch to General Zod, still in stasis and recovering from his wounds. Zod requests a private conversation with Kal-El. They talk about Non, and why he sticks so close to General El. Kal-El suspects that Non may be keeping an eye on him out of loyalty to Zod; to protect Zod against an attack that Non imagines Kal-El is planning. But Zod reveals that the opposite is true. Non sticks to Kal-El because Kal-El reminds Non of Jor-El, who was Non's very close friend on Krypton before Non had his lobotomy.
Zod also asks Kal-El if New Krypton is ready for war. Kal-El indicates that while New Krypton is ready to defend itself if necessary, he is tired of hearing talk of war, and has no taste for it.
Suddenly, General El is alerted to a new security threat. Kal-El goes to investigate at the home of Council member Mar-Li , and finds the Council member down, covered in his own blood, and apparently dead. Standing over him, much to Superman's shock, is his old friend Adam Strange.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)