RichardWhereat
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He didn't use that descriptor, and there are many spectrums.
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- Tags
- self insert young justice
Stsword
Versed in the lewd.
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"It is meant to be autistic? Because that's a weird place for some Spectrum representation."
Which means through context the only spectrums the poster could have been referring to where ones that an example of autism could represent.
If you can name two spectrums that could be represented by an example of autism, then you know twice as many as I do.
RichardWhereat
Aia airëa Fëanáro.
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I know thrice as many.
Sockmonkey
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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A reasonable answer to the house on fire riddle would be to remove the air. It's a physical thing and it has value since you need to breathe.
Ways and Means (supplementary, Renegade option)
Mr Zoat
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24th January
17:43 GMT -2
"Ambassador."
King Orin looks… Neither pleased nor displeased to see me. Though he's experienced enough a politician to cover any personal disquiet, at least when he knows that it's coming.
"Your majesty." I nod politely. "Minister." F'ancha gets a nod as well. He got a promotion during the last reshuffle. Not everyone who was slotted into office after the purge of Orm's nominees made the grade, and with the increased trade with the surface having a man with his experience in a more senior position makes a good deal of sense. "Lord Iqula."
Since the whole 'me being an ambassador' thing was just a bit of a lark, I haven't really had anything to do with the Poseidonis ambassador corps in general or Tritonis's ambassador in particular. I know he was a military officer before marrying into the royal family. Whether that's good for me or not… No idea. Tritonis is fairly closely aligned with Poseidonis, and I suspect that having a traditionally-inclined ambassador around is something Orin is doing to placate the conservative crowd.
"Lord Grayven."
He's actually armed, which is a little surprising. There are Atlantean soldiers just outside this conference room… I guess they assume that Orin is good enough to handle it if he tries something. Or-? No. They can't possibly believe that he could stop me.
"So, Grayven. What surprises does Queen Clea have for us today?"
"This… Is not.. precisely relating to my ambassadorial work. It's-."
"Because I was wondering how long it would take her to explain why she's been moving troops around outside her territory." Ah. Hm. While the units she's had supporting Mr Hyde do use basic concealment magics, it would be apparent to any Atlantean city that put any effort into watching them that something was going on. "For someone as ambitious as Queen Clea, I've been wondering if she intends to found a new city."
"I'm afraid I'm not-."
"I believe that Queen Clea is planning on taking more territory on the surface." Iqula doesn't seem particularly distressed at the prospect. "More islands, or a stretch of coastline. Then she could expand her trading networks."
"To the best of my knowledge, Queen Clea has no plans to conquer anywhere. Her present focus is in developing economic power."
Orin nods. "Yes, the Auranian ambassadors have been making representations to me regarding that for some time."
"Naturally, Venturia would not ask the High King to involve himself in an economic dispute between city-states."
"Did Queen Clea really ask for a oath of vassalage?"
"I'm afraid that Lord Cyprian is handling the negotiations. I don't know the exact wording. But.. given the existing poor relations between the two cities, I don't imagine that they were generous."
"If she's offering other cities better terms, that might become my concern."
I shrug, as much as I can under water. "Absolutely nothing is stopping Aurania developing its own trading relationships with the surface independent of Venturia. And with the greatest respect, High King, trade between cities isn't an area where the King of Poseidonis has traditionally had the authority to overrule his vassals."
Orin glances at Iqula, who nods.
Unlike in America, where that very much is the President's job. Though I don't say that because ragging on Arthur Curry about his American birth isn't done. As things stand, he has a good relationship with Queen Clea, something his mother never had. She's doing something he sees as good for Atlantis, and probably for the surface as well. And he's had time to look over the records of the beginning of her dispute with Aurania and I doubt they came out of it looking particularly good.
"Military action is."
"Venturia has no plans to engage in military action against Aurania at this time. It would be profoundly self-defeating to improve relations with Poseidonis like this, only to… Piss the good will away."
Wait. Is that what he thinks the troops are doing? Preparing some sort of..? Well, okay, it's better than him working out what's actually happening.
"I'm glad to hear it. So what's this about?"
"When the Light was.. dismantled, certain pieces of information fell into my hands… Including a way to trade messages with Black Manta."
Orin leans forward lightly. "Have you got him?"
"That's… Not where I was going with that. Black Manta -David Hyde- is essentially a mercenary. Having.. spoken to the man…" I wave my right arm. "At a few steps removed, I-"
"You know where Black Manta is… And you haven't killed him?"
"Your majesty, I don't kill everyone."
"Or arrested him? He's a pirate. A murderer."
"I'm a murderer."
"You were pardoned-." He blinks. "You can't possibly expect me to pardon Black Manta."
"Not precisely. Your ancestor, Queen Fiona, made provision for-."
"Recruiting outlaws." He nods, clearly unsettled by the prospect. "Fiona was dealing with a total breakdown in Atlantean society after the civil wars between Prince Shalako and Orin the First, then Dardanus and Queen Cora. Most of the people she pardoned had done nothing worse than fighting for the rulers of their cities, and she desperately needed help to overcome Kordax. None of that applies here."
"True, but consider the benefits. A group of professional mercenaries who have raided Atlantean holdings-."
"Killed Atlantean soldiers and civilians."
"Indeed. Something they will most likely continue to do in future. Alternatively, you can accept their oaths and… Did you review the curse which takes effect if people who took advantage of Queen Fiona's largess violated their new oath?"
His eyes narrow as he thinks about it. "Their blood turns to brine."
"So far, the military forces of Atlantis have not been able to capture Mister Hyde. Nor is there any real prospect of them doing so in the future. If you caught him you could… Try him, execute him… But you have to get hold of him first. If you offer him this… Commutation of his sentence, it will automatically be carried out if he attacks any Atlantean holding again. And you can order him to serve the Atlantean crown for the duration of any crisis as you see fit."
Orin shakes his head, then turns to F'ancha. The minister exhales slowly.
"It's… Ah… The law is still valid, your majesty. And while it would render Black Manta immune from prosecution in Atlantis it doesn't grant him the throne's protection against any action arising from his criminal activity against surface nations."
"I don't suppose I could just pardon him and then extradite him, could I?"
"No, your majesty, I'm afraid not."
He turns back to me and regards me for a moment. "Grayven, why are you doing this?"
"I think he could be useful."
"You can't find another mercen-?" His eyes widen slightly in realisation. "Luthor's fleet. You want him for Luthor's fleet?"
Isn't that an idea. "I haven't discussed that subject with him. Such an appointment would be up to Lex, though the similarities between aquatic and space combat aren't actually all that great at the level of technology the Earth Defence Force will be operating."
"What's Clea's stake in this?"
"I don't believe that she has one. Obviously, as a tributary queen, consulting with a wanted outlaw would be quite inappropriate."
"And if I actually went through with this?"
I shrug. "She might find that having someone more familiar with the surface and with mercantile shipping on staff is useful. But that's speculative."
"Of course." He leans back. "I won't say 'no' right away, but I'm probably going to say it eventually."
I nod. "I see. I must say, I'm a little surprised. Diana was less vengeful when I convinced Circe to turn over a new leaf, and her total kill count-."
"I'm not Diana."
Clearly. "Is there anything that would change your mind?"
"If you can convince me that there's any chance that he's had a change of heart. But I won't accept him just getting away with his crimes against my people."
I nod. "Very well. I'll see what I can do."
17:43 GMT -2
"Ambassador."
King Orin looks… Neither pleased nor displeased to see me. Though he's experienced enough a politician to cover any personal disquiet, at least when he knows that it's coming.
"Your majesty." I nod politely. "Minister." F'ancha gets a nod as well. He got a promotion during the last reshuffle. Not everyone who was slotted into office after the purge of Orm's nominees made the grade, and with the increased trade with the surface having a man with his experience in a more senior position makes a good deal of sense. "Lord Iqula."
Since the whole 'me being an ambassador' thing was just a bit of a lark, I haven't really had anything to do with the Poseidonis ambassador corps in general or Tritonis's ambassador in particular. I know he was a military officer before marrying into the royal family. Whether that's good for me or not… No idea. Tritonis is fairly closely aligned with Poseidonis, and I suspect that having a traditionally-inclined ambassador around is something Orin is doing to placate the conservative crowd.
"Lord Grayven."
He's actually armed, which is a little surprising. There are Atlantean soldiers just outside this conference room… I guess they assume that Orin is good enough to handle it if he tries something. Or-? No. They can't possibly believe that he could stop me.
"So, Grayven. What surprises does Queen Clea have for us today?"
"This… Is not.. precisely relating to my ambassadorial work. It's-."
"Because I was wondering how long it would take her to explain why she's been moving troops around outside her territory." Ah. Hm. While the units she's had supporting Mr Hyde do use basic concealment magics, it would be apparent to any Atlantean city that put any effort into watching them that something was going on. "For someone as ambitious as Queen Clea, I've been wondering if she intends to found a new city."
"I'm afraid I'm not-."
"I believe that Queen Clea is planning on taking more territory on the surface." Iqula doesn't seem particularly distressed at the prospect. "More islands, or a stretch of coastline. Then she could expand her trading networks."
"To the best of my knowledge, Queen Clea has no plans to conquer anywhere. Her present focus is in developing economic power."
Orin nods. "Yes, the Auranian ambassadors have been making representations to me regarding that for some time."
"Naturally, Venturia would not ask the High King to involve himself in an economic dispute between city-states."
"Did Queen Clea really ask for a oath of vassalage?"
"I'm afraid that Lord Cyprian is handling the negotiations. I don't know the exact wording. But.. given the existing poor relations between the two cities, I don't imagine that they were generous."
"If she's offering other cities better terms, that might become my concern."
I shrug, as much as I can under water. "Absolutely nothing is stopping Aurania developing its own trading relationships with the surface independent of Venturia. And with the greatest respect, High King, trade between cities isn't an area where the King of Poseidonis has traditionally had the authority to overrule his vassals."
Orin glances at Iqula, who nods.
Unlike in America, where that very much is the President's job. Though I don't say that because ragging on Arthur Curry about his American birth isn't done. As things stand, he has a good relationship with Queen Clea, something his mother never had. She's doing something he sees as good for Atlantis, and probably for the surface as well. And he's had time to look over the records of the beginning of her dispute with Aurania and I doubt they came out of it looking particularly good.
"Military action is."
"Venturia has no plans to engage in military action against Aurania at this time. It would be profoundly self-defeating to improve relations with Poseidonis like this, only to… Piss the good will away."
Wait. Is that what he thinks the troops are doing? Preparing some sort of..? Well, okay, it's better than him working out what's actually happening.
"I'm glad to hear it. So what's this about?"
"When the Light was.. dismantled, certain pieces of information fell into my hands… Including a way to trade messages with Black Manta."
Orin leans forward lightly. "Have you got him?"
"That's… Not where I was going with that. Black Manta -David Hyde- is essentially a mercenary. Having.. spoken to the man…" I wave my right arm. "At a few steps removed, I-"
"You know where Black Manta is… And you haven't killed him?"
"Your majesty, I don't kill everyone."
"Or arrested him? He's a pirate. A murderer."
"I'm a murderer."
"You were pardoned-." He blinks. "You can't possibly expect me to pardon Black Manta."
"Not precisely. Your ancestor, Queen Fiona, made provision for-."
"Recruiting outlaws." He nods, clearly unsettled by the prospect. "Fiona was dealing with a total breakdown in Atlantean society after the civil wars between Prince Shalako and Orin the First, then Dardanus and Queen Cora. Most of the people she pardoned had done nothing worse than fighting for the rulers of their cities, and she desperately needed help to overcome Kordax. None of that applies here."
"True, but consider the benefits. A group of professional mercenaries who have raided Atlantean holdings-."
"Killed Atlantean soldiers and civilians."
"Indeed. Something they will most likely continue to do in future. Alternatively, you can accept their oaths and… Did you review the curse which takes effect if people who took advantage of Queen Fiona's largess violated their new oath?"
His eyes narrow as he thinks about it. "Their blood turns to brine."
"So far, the military forces of Atlantis have not been able to capture Mister Hyde. Nor is there any real prospect of them doing so in the future. If you caught him you could… Try him, execute him… But you have to get hold of him first. If you offer him this… Commutation of his sentence, it will automatically be carried out if he attacks any Atlantean holding again. And you can order him to serve the Atlantean crown for the duration of any crisis as you see fit."
Orin shakes his head, then turns to F'ancha. The minister exhales slowly.
"It's… Ah… The law is still valid, your majesty. And while it would render Black Manta immune from prosecution in Atlantis it doesn't grant him the throne's protection against any action arising from his criminal activity against surface nations."
"I don't suppose I could just pardon him and then extradite him, could I?"
"No, your majesty, I'm afraid not."
He turns back to me and regards me for a moment. "Grayven, why are you doing this?"
"I think he could be useful."
"You can't find another mercen-?" His eyes widen slightly in realisation. "Luthor's fleet. You want him for Luthor's fleet?"
Isn't that an idea. "I haven't discussed that subject with him. Such an appointment would be up to Lex, though the similarities between aquatic and space combat aren't actually all that great at the level of technology the Earth Defence Force will be operating."
"What's Clea's stake in this?"
"I don't believe that she has one. Obviously, as a tributary queen, consulting with a wanted outlaw would be quite inappropriate."
"And if I actually went through with this?"
I shrug. "She might find that having someone more familiar with the surface and with mercantile shipping on staff is useful. But that's speculative."
"Of course." He leans back. "I won't say 'no' right away, but I'm probably going to say it eventually."
I nod. "I see. I must say, I'm a little surprised. Diana was less vengeful when I convinced Circe to turn over a new leaf, and her total kill count-."
"I'm not Diana."
Clearly. "Is there anything that would change your mind?"
"If you can convince me that there's any chance that he's had a change of heart. But I won't accept him just getting away with his crimes against my people."
I nod. "Very well. I'll see what I can do."
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Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
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If the link is correct, this is mispelt: 'Iqula'
In other words, the cities said 'don't stick your nose in.'
Another one. 'Iqula'
Did anyone, I wonder?
Misdirection. Keep him looking at the left hand, while the right picks his pocket.
Righteous Face-punching mode kicking in...
Wow, he isn't a complete idiot. The man actually has some political sense.
Did you review the curse which takes effect if people who took advantage...
Oooh. The question is, would he tell Hyde the punishment for oath-breaking, if the latter actually takes the offer?
Dang, missed the Diplomacy roll by that much. At least you didn't fluff it and turn him hostile...
Hopefully his advisors will try to convince him of the usefulness.
Lots of politics, and a good break from the main story.
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Oglymogly
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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I'm fairly surprised he brought up Circe. The situation is fairly different, with Circe having a literal prophecy saying Wonder Woman would lead to her downfall IIRC. While Manta is literally in it only for the money. Circe has messed with people before, but she has the defenses of being from another time and culture, already trying to adjust and fix her actions and contribute to society, and she didnt attack the island directly in this timeline.
Black Manta.... will be a mercenary on Aquaman's side? And if he pisses off some surface nation, who will they come to? I just don't see the upside for Aquaman here. If Greyven approched during a crisis that Manta could turn the tide of, that would make sense. I really expected to see the Renegade pull some cool plan out here. But I guess it makes sense, he specialized in dealing with much more pragmatic or self-interested people.
I look forward to seeing where he goes from here.
Black Manta.... will be a mercenary on Aquaman's side? And if he pisses off some surface nation, who will they come to? I just don't see the upside for Aquaman here. If Greyven approched during a crisis that Manta could turn the tide of, that would make sense. I really expected to see the Renegade pull some cool plan out here. But I guess it makes sense, he specialized in dealing with much more pragmatic or self-interested people.
I look forward to seeing where he goes from here.
DrThoth
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I imagine at this point he should have a ward against that or something; scry wards aren't as widespread in Renegade but they still exist and I think that aspect of Orange Lantern abilities is known by the Justice League.
Why exactly can't the Atlantan military deal with Black Manta, possibly by collaboration with surface governments that he's attacked as well? They don't really seem to have anything else to actually fight or do, at least in Renegade.
Has Renegade or someone else kicked off an arcanotechnological revolution in Venturia yet? Or are they just engaging in relatively conventional trade of surface goods and traditional magic goods without innovation?
Renegade's neo-Light machinations are far more interesting to me than Paragon's random pirate quest, so it's a welcome break.
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Vaermina
Well worn.
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Dawwww that's cute, Grayven doesn't realize just what kind of power the ability to command all Sea creatures gives Aquaman.
Oglymogly
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I think the issue with hunting down Black Manta is the huge amount of area he can hide in and the fact he uses magic to hide. Don't forget that the original scry ward in OL's timeline came from Alantis. BM might even use tech to hide, studying antisonar submarines for example.
As for the arcanotech revolution, i think they are just using the higher purity metals from the surface to improve their stuff for now. The big thing that OL did to revolutionize Alantis wasn't the 100% purity (though that was amazing), it was pointing out that at that purity they could use smaller, individually carved runes to combine into larger, greater-than-their-sum magic items. He kinda pushed them into their next tech age while also pointing out they could now use a assembly line.
Without the Renegade doing the early research into lower level magic that OL did, I doubt he'll make the same connections or mention them if he does. Its something that'll happen eventually, but not until surface trade becomes much more common. Or until asteroid mining becomes a regular thing.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
The prophecy wasn't worded that precisely, and Circe had killed a lot of other women who might have fulfilled it.
The sea is really big, and Atlantis is in the middle of the Atlantic.
The additional access to materials plus Circe and Sunset's efforts means that the revolution will happen, but it hasn't happened yet.
Aeess
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Canon Aquaman 16 can just control sea mammals, much less powerful than comic Aquaman and I dont think Zoat gave any indication of it being different here.
DrThoth
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I haven't heard of that, but you'd think they would make him able to control piscine life instead as something more thematically appropriate. Though an assault force of orcas would still be awesome to see.
Aeess
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I looked it up again and it seems its not even that he controls them but uses telepathy on them, I suppose it makes sense that telepathy with something as unintelligent as fish would be less useful than on mammals.
SirKaid
Know what you're doing yet?
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What power, applicable to the immediate situation, would that be? He's indoors.
Also, to put it bluntly, sea creatures can't exactly do anything to him in the first place. Grayven is far too tough for any terrestrial animal to hurt him and too strong for any terrestrial animal to restrain him. At most they might provide a momentary distraction.
I'm not saying that a fight between the two of them would be as one sided as Grayven thinks, but that's because Aquaman is strong and Grayven is arrogant, not because Orin controls creatures of the deep.
Stsword
Versed in the lewd.
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It's a word of Greg, so it's with the other minutia that people wouldn't know unless they went looking, or bothered to check the cites on the YJ wiki.
Mquz
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Hm... short of using a kraken or something, Aquaman can't really affect Grayven. Maybe use some sort of superbacteria / magic?
maybe the plan is to use trident magic to somehow nuke the room and that's why he wants his guards out?
maybe the plan is to use trident magic to somehow nuke the room and that's why he wants his guards out?
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Handlewithcare
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I'm a bit surprised. Grayven must be aware that this won't endear Orrin to him. Why all that effort just for a mercenary? Because of Kaldur?
DrThoth
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If he's just communicating and just plain unable to mentally dominate other life forms then yes, sea mammals makes more sense. Of course the next question is to ask why just SEA mammals, and if the answer is magic/the Blue then other marine life forms should be viable. But I doubt it'll be especially relevant to canon or With This Ring so I'm fine with it.
Maybe it's just me, but are all Ask Greg answers as annoyingly roundabout as that? I remember his pre-season 3 answer about the Nabu situation was brought up in forum discussion before and it was similarly irritating.
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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Wait, that name-
It's appropriate, but there's something...
That name...that initialism...
...
...
To save our mother Earth from any alien attack
From vicious giant insects who have once again come back
We'll unleash all our forces we won't cut them any slack
The EDF deploys!
CTrees
Chasing the ring
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Orin, I believe?
Coda
Versed in the lewd.
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The fire is made of philosophy. Like thermite, it needs no air to combust.
gets a nod
Mr Zoat
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Gantradies
Not too sore, are you?
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stop that depressing crap!
*coughs*
how..about this one?
A legendary hero soon will lead us to glory
Eight years ago he sunk the mothership says history
Tomorrow we will follow this brave soul to victory
The EDF deploys!
Ways and Means (part 12)
Mr Zoat
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24th January
19:54 GMT
"So what have you got?"
John glances over to where Amon Sur is just recovering from me restoring him while the Black Circle prisoners he and Xor acquired keep away in case what I did to him is contagious.
"The Black Circle snuck an infiltration squad onto the mining station. They were using the mining robots and mineral shipments to smuggle narcotics from outside the system back to the surface. But all that was a distraction from their real job."
I nod. "Using the 'damaged' mining robots to move material from the fleet. Any idea how they got past the Ungarans?"
"Gas thrusters and patience. Ungaran ships use radar and infrared sensors. It wasn't hard for them to rig the robots to run cold, or cover them in radar-absorbent paint. It was slow going, but if they got enough parts out of it…"
I nod as Xor folds his arms across his chest, looking unimpressed.
"Amon Sur only had the codes for a few of the ships here. What's the usual arrangement for things like that?"
"We hand him over to the local authorities."
"No, I meant the ships."
He frowns, not seeing where I'm coming from. "The Ungarans get them. Once they're repaired, they'll have a strong enough self-defense force that they won't have to worry about the Black Circle any more."
"Is there.. some sort of treaty concerning that sort of thing that I'm not aware of?"
"No, just customs relating to salvage rights. Why, do you want them?"
"Me, personally? No. But do the Justice League?" He looks a little more thoughtful. "The Ungarans don't appear to be concerned about power projection. They can't really get much use out of a sniper-battleship. Earth on the other hand has no defence fleet."
"The League doesn't have the authority to control spaceships."
"The UN represents the governments of the nations of Earth. Spaceships fly in space, or did you tell the Security Council about the Watchtower while I was away?"
"An unarmed space station is one thing. An actual warship is very different."
"So when's Kal-El getting his eyes plucked out? Because those guns-."
"Look. I get where you're coming from. But the Justice League is a policing organisation. Running warships isn't what we do."
"Okay, how about one of their support carriers? You don't have zeta tubes everywhere. You could easily justify it as a transport vehicle, and the Ungarans are far less likely to complain about you taking one ship."
"One ship we can't fuel, repair or crew."
"I could get you a crew. I could upgrade the Watchtower's manufacturing facilities as well."
"I'll…" He looks away awkwardly. "I'll bring it up at the next meeting."
Pushing him further probably won't be productive… I generate a construct image showing the Sector, marking the locations of Devlos's fleet support bases.
"This is where Devlos had his star bases built. These- " I briefly highlight a few before turning them off. "-are ones which either Green Lanterns or local naval assets found and destroyed. And these- " I blink a couple. "-are ones which Amon knows to still be active."
John points at one. "That's closest. And it's also near to a shipping route. We should probably head there next."
I nod. Even if we don't learn anything new, just-.
"How were they destroyed?"
I turn to Xor. "Ah… Shot to pieces? Torn apart by Lantern constructs?"
"Could they be salvaged?"
"Probably?" I look at John.
"Pull them back up?" I do so, and his eyes shimmer. "These three-" He points. "-were totally stripped by the navies. The hulls might still be there, but that's about it. Abin Sur dropped the ones he cleared out onto the nearest planetoid. There might be something worth salvaging, but I wouldn't count on it. The ones Starkaðr attacked… He tore them apart and destroyed the main reactors and computer systems, but the pieces probably could be salvaged." He shrugs. "They've been defenseless and unmanned for nearly two hundred years. I doubt there's anything left."
"Pirates are salvaging. Could they build new ships?"
"Sure. There are plenty of places they could be mining. They had engineers with the right skills, though I don't know how many got away." He looks at me. "Can you feel their desires?"
I look through the hull of the mining station in the general direction of the closest-. Too much too much! I close my eyes. "Yes, but I can't isolate them without knowing what I'm looking for."
"And you can't teleport there."
"I can fly there and teleport back to you. That might be the best way to do it, if you think it's worth checking."
"We need to check it all anyway. The question is, do we do it at the same time or leave it until we're done with the bases we know about?"
I shrug. "You've got more experience with anti-piracy operations than me. We're trying to either wrap up the Black Circle or find Mister van Wyck and sit on him. Where do you want me?"
"How fast can you get to… That one?"
"A couple of minutes. Assuming no anti-Lantern interdiction systems. I'll stop outside the system and take a look, get closer… Scan whatever's there… If it's nothing, eight minutes total?"
"Two hours for everything."
"Unless I find something. And you can call me back at any time."
He nods. "I'll take the prisoners back to Ungara and hand them over. You take the closest destroyed station. Xor, you head to the active one and monitor it."
Xor glances at me and I nod.
"Understood."
He turns around and strides towards the airlock. John walks towards the prisoners, green light enveloping them as they rise off the floor.
I had.. half-thought about trying to recruit Amon Sur. But… While there's a connection to Abin Sur and Soranik Natu there, I… Think I can find potential Lanterns who don't voluntarily join pirate groups and try to rebuild the fleets of a mass-murderer. And while Abin Sur was happy to give a ring to the woman who murdered his daughter-.
"Hey, John. Is Abin Sur's wife still alive?"
"Yeah. I'll let her know while I'm there."
"What sort of sentence is Amon Sur looking at?"
"Depends what they convict him for. Twenty to life, probably." His eyes narrow. "Aw, hell no. Guy warned me about this."
"I was just-."
"Hell no."
"I can change his desires. Rehabilitation through mind control. I could try making him the perfect Orange Lantern. That would be far more useful than having him sit in a cell for the rest of his life."
"Mind control."
I step around him. "Hey, Amon!" He looks up, his face calm but his thoughts murderous. "Given the choice, would you choose serving your prison sentence, or having me rewrite your value systems and letting you go?"
"I'd choose for you to die screaming."
"That wasn't one of the options."
He makes an obscene gesture with his right hand and then turns away.
I shrug. Okay then.
19:54 GMT
"So what have you got?"
John glances over to where Amon Sur is just recovering from me restoring him while the Black Circle prisoners he and Xor acquired keep away in case what I did to him is contagious.
"The Black Circle snuck an infiltration squad onto the mining station. They were using the mining robots and mineral shipments to smuggle narcotics from outside the system back to the surface. But all that was a distraction from their real job."
I nod. "Using the 'damaged' mining robots to move material from the fleet. Any idea how they got past the Ungarans?"
"Gas thrusters and patience. Ungaran ships use radar and infrared sensors. It wasn't hard for them to rig the robots to run cold, or cover them in radar-absorbent paint. It was slow going, but if they got enough parts out of it…"
I nod as Xor folds his arms across his chest, looking unimpressed.
"Amon Sur only had the codes for a few of the ships here. What's the usual arrangement for things like that?"
"We hand him over to the local authorities."
"No, I meant the ships."
He frowns, not seeing where I'm coming from. "The Ungarans get them. Once they're repaired, they'll have a strong enough self-defense force that they won't have to worry about the Black Circle any more."
"Is there.. some sort of treaty concerning that sort of thing that I'm not aware of?"
"No, just customs relating to salvage rights. Why, do you want them?"
"Me, personally? No. But do the Justice League?" He looks a little more thoughtful. "The Ungarans don't appear to be concerned about power projection. They can't really get much use out of a sniper-battleship. Earth on the other hand has no defence fleet."
"The League doesn't have the authority to control spaceships."
"The UN represents the governments of the nations of Earth. Spaceships fly in space, or did you tell the Security Council about the Watchtower while I was away?"
"An unarmed space station is one thing. An actual warship is very different."
"So when's Kal-El getting his eyes plucked out? Because those guns-."
"Look. I get where you're coming from. But the Justice League is a policing organisation. Running warships isn't what we do."
"Okay, how about one of their support carriers? You don't have zeta tubes everywhere. You could easily justify it as a transport vehicle, and the Ungarans are far less likely to complain about you taking one ship."
"One ship we can't fuel, repair or crew."
"I could get you a crew. I could upgrade the Watchtower's manufacturing facilities as well."
"I'll…" He looks away awkwardly. "I'll bring it up at the next meeting."
Pushing him further probably won't be productive… I generate a construct image showing the Sector, marking the locations of Devlos's fleet support bases.
"This is where Devlos had his star bases built. These- " I briefly highlight a few before turning them off. "-are ones which either Green Lanterns or local naval assets found and destroyed. And these- " I blink a couple. "-are ones which Amon knows to still be active."
John points at one. "That's closest. And it's also near to a shipping route. We should probably head there next."
I nod. Even if we don't learn anything new, just-.
"How were they destroyed?"
I turn to Xor. "Ah… Shot to pieces? Torn apart by Lantern constructs?"
"Could they be salvaged?"
"Probably?" I look at John.
"Pull them back up?" I do so, and his eyes shimmer. "These three-" He points. "-were totally stripped by the navies. The hulls might still be there, but that's about it. Abin Sur dropped the ones he cleared out onto the nearest planetoid. There might be something worth salvaging, but I wouldn't count on it. The ones Starkaðr attacked… He tore them apart and destroyed the main reactors and computer systems, but the pieces probably could be salvaged." He shrugs. "They've been defenseless and unmanned for nearly two hundred years. I doubt there's anything left."
"Pirates are salvaging. Could they build new ships?"
"Sure. There are plenty of places they could be mining. They had engineers with the right skills, though I don't know how many got away." He looks at me. "Can you feel their desires?"
I look through the hull of the mining station in the general direction of the closest-. Too much too much! I close my eyes. "Yes, but I can't isolate them without knowing what I'm looking for."
"And you can't teleport there."
"I can fly there and teleport back to you. That might be the best way to do it, if you think it's worth checking."
"We need to check it all anyway. The question is, do we do it at the same time or leave it until we're done with the bases we know about?"
I shrug. "You've got more experience with anti-piracy operations than me. We're trying to either wrap up the Black Circle or find Mister van Wyck and sit on him. Where do you want me?"
"How fast can you get to… That one?"
"A couple of minutes. Assuming no anti-Lantern interdiction systems. I'll stop outside the system and take a look, get closer… Scan whatever's there… If it's nothing, eight minutes total?"
"Two hours for everything."
"Unless I find something. And you can call me back at any time."
He nods. "I'll take the prisoners back to Ungara and hand them over. You take the closest destroyed station. Xor, you head to the active one and monitor it."
Xor glances at me and I nod.
"Understood."
He turns around and strides towards the airlock. John walks towards the prisoners, green light enveloping them as they rise off the floor.
I had.. half-thought about trying to recruit Amon Sur. But… While there's a connection to Abin Sur and Soranik Natu there, I… Think I can find potential Lanterns who don't voluntarily join pirate groups and try to rebuild the fleets of a mass-murderer. And while Abin Sur was happy to give a ring to the woman who murdered his daughter-.
"Hey, John. Is Abin Sur's wife still alive?"
"Yeah. I'll let her know while I'm there."
"What sort of sentence is Amon Sur looking at?"
"Depends what they convict him for. Twenty to life, probably." His eyes narrow. "Aw, hell no. Guy warned me about this."
"I was just-."
"Hell no."
"I can change his desires. Rehabilitation through mind control. I could try making him the perfect Orange Lantern. That would be far more useful than having him sit in a cell for the rest of his life."
"Mind control."
I step around him. "Hey, Amon!" He looks up, his face calm but his thoughts murderous. "Given the choice, would you choose serving your prison sentence, or having me rewrite your value systems and letting you go?"
"I'd choose for you to die screaming."
"That wasn't one of the options."
He makes an obscene gesture with his right hand and then turns away.
I shrug. Okay then.
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Ngamer11
Experienced.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2019
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Did he feel he should have at least given it a token effort or something? Honestly, I hope we never see Amon Sur again, cause he was nothing but a contemptible coward with daddy issues.
Wonder how many times Guy has warned the other GLs of Paul's tendency of hiring criminals?
Stsword
Versed in the lewd.
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- Aug 7, 2017
- Messages
- 1,967
I'm pretty sure you meant "Any idea how they got past the Ungarans?" since that's the question that got answered.