15th January
15:49 GMT -6
"A.. duel?" Kara frowns at me as we fly over St Roch in the direction of the rebuilt residence of the Hawks. "Are you sure that asking her to come is a good idea?"
"We need someone to introduce us. And I'm sure there are visa requirements that-."
"I meant… Are you sure that it's a good idea for you to be the one who asks her?"
We land, and I pat her on the back. "Why do you think I invited my meat shield along?"
I head towards the door as she frowns at my back. "I won't be back to full toughness for.. hours."
"It's a joke, Kara." I ring the bell, though I'd be astonished if they didn't already know that I'm here. "And it's months, not hours. You've caused significant organelle die off."
"Oh, I-. Oh."
"You didn't notice.. any difference in your flying?"
"Not.. really. Once I learned to fly well enough that I wasn't a risk to nearby buildings, I… I've tended to walk."
"You don't get… Stopped in the street? People don't recognise you?"
She shakes her head, her hair briefly falling over her face. "No. Many people on Earth wear the sigil of House El. In a.. way which.. would actually be illegal for aliens on Krypton. I don't think people recognise me as Kara Zor-El. Which…" She brushes her hair out of her face. "Which is not to say that people don't stop me to.. talk to me."
I nod encouragingly. "Making friends, that's good."
"Friends-? No, I mean… I get hit on. Usually, fairly crudely. I had thought maybe that was how humans did things, but I asked around the office and apparently I'm just an 'asshole magnet'."
"Oh. Um, sorry." What single non-arseholes of roughly the right age do I know? Gosh, it's all… Team members, Atlanteans she's almost certainly already met due to working at KordTech… The Sivanas? No. "If you-."
The door opens and Ms Hol stands before us, mace at her hip. Which is progress, I suppose. "Orange Lantern. Kara Zor-El. What brings you here?"
"I'm finally getting around to taking that trip to Thanagar. Hawkman One, Hawkgirl and Silver Scarab are repairing their ship for interstellar travel, I'll be picking up Lantern Dul and Kara let me twist her arm into coming as well. Are you interested in a trip home?"
She regards me carefully for a moment. "Who is Lantern Dul?"
"Orange Lantern Paran Dul. She's doing the same job as you: keeping tabs on dangerous aliens and reporting back to Thanagar. Only she drew the short straw and got assigned to the Reach. I think she's more than due some time back on the homeworld."
"She's thanagarian?"
"Yes. But since she's posted further away, she has even less contact with Thanagar than you do. I doubt that she's up to date on the relevant protocols."
Her arms tense slightly. Irritation with someone not present. "Then why is she going at all rather than doing her duty?"
"Because everyone they sent with her died and she's been on her own for years." There's a slight change in her posture. Thanagarians expect a lot from their long term operatives, but they're not supposed to be stationed somewhere without any friendly contact. Especially the ones on long distance postings. "And because the Orange Lantern Corps didn't exist when she was dispatched and she needs new orders."
A nod. The gesture still doesn't appear to come completely naturally to her, but she has been on Earth for eight years. Unlike Lantern Dul or the members of the Blades of Alstair, she knows human body language.
"Do you want me to write you an introduction?"
"Lantern Dul has mentioned to me that the government of Thanagar is concerned about magic. As a result of your time on Earth you are your species' leading… Government-loyal expert on the issue. I strongly suspect that your superiors would appreciate having you on hand to consult when I offer them my aid."
"Do you know why the Thanagarian government has an interest in magic?"
"A combination of your report on the human use of it, your historical contact with the Seven Devils and your conflict with Queen Hyathis."
She stares at me for a moment. "You hired an Alstairian mercenary company."
"No, Tamaran hired an Alstairian mercenary company. And they would still have hired them if they'd been High Council-affiliated rather than Hyathis-loyalists."
A slight tremor in her wings as I refer to followers of Queen Hyathis as being the loyal ones.
"We received word that Hyathis is undertaking a major shipbuilding effort."
"There's a four-way war going on in her home system. It would be more strange if she wasn't building ships."
"These are a new design, different to anything she's built before. And we know full well that you visited Alstair shortly before she started. What are you playing at, Orange Lantern?"
Huh. I suppose the people of J would share the Dominion computer specifications with their new trade partner, wouldn't they? And with that… All sorts of design opportunities open up. And it might let them bridge the gap between the technology of her thanagarian subjects and the platforms she commands.
"I needed Green Lantern Medphyll's help, and thought that improving his planet's technology was a good way to warm him up to the idea. Since I was doing a post run for the Blades anyway, I raised the idea of an information exchange with Queen Hyathis. She approved it and sent a guy."
"We think she's planning a new attack on the Thanagarian Empire with the information you helped her get. If she does, millions of thanagarians will die."
"Because… The Thanagarian Empire totally wouldn't invade Alstair if it thought that it could?" I shrug. "And can't come to peaceful terms due to… What was the reason again?"
"Self-determination."
"Yeah, I do know how much self-determination alien residents of the Thanagarian Empire get. Especially when compared to the alien residents of Alstair." She doesn't really react. "I'm not Thanagarian. I have no obligation to your government. Out of my desire to improve technology and make sure that your government doesn't do something stupid while fixing its ignorance problem, I've offered my assistance with this matter. You don't have to accept… But you probably should."
More deliberate staring. "Earth to Thanagar is a four week journey each way at my ship's best speed."
"Unless you're being towed by a sufficiently capable Lantern. In which case it's.. maybe half an hour. Come on, you can try pumping Ms Parker for information on her ship's primary drive specifications again."
"Maybe I just don't want to spend time around you."
"Reasonable enough, but ask yourself this." I lean forward, smiling. "Do you really want me to be on Thanagar unsupervised?"
Her face goes a little blank, then she leans back into her house.
"KATAR! WE'RE VISITING HOME!"