"…
beyond not cool." The image of Guy floating over Stewart's ring shakes its head at me.
I walk down the corridor in the direction of the living area.
"I know, I know. But I had no other way to get back!
" His lip curls slightly as he nods.
"If the Guardians had given me a star chart months ago I wouldn't have needed to. How are things on Oa?
"
"Same old same olds. Kilowog's got me helpin' out with the rookies."
"Noo.
Noo. Guy, you need to be teaching the
veterans your technique.
" He gives me a sceptical look.
"Seriously. It's too advanced for rookies. Get Salaak to find a few Sectors with two experienced Lanterns, recall one of them and show them how it works.
"
"I don't think Salaak's really in the mood fer more 'Human shenanigans' right now."
I turn the corner and can hear the television in the distance.
"He actually said that?
"
"Yeah. Oh, you know,
translators, but…"
"Try getting Kilowog to do it then. Have you shown
him?
"
He nods. "Think he got it. Course, the only way t' check would be bringing you here."
"I'll probably pop over once my year's up. Anyway, reason I called. I got a phone call from Nylor Truggs this morning.
"
"What, you leave your number in a phone box or something?"
"He hacked GBS's phone records. You know Truggs says that he comes from the future?
" Guy nods.
"According to him we're due to be conquered by The Reach in a decade or so.
" Guy stops smiling.
"He
says that's why he came back.
"
"So why's he workin' fer Team Evil?"
"Because we failed. The League wasn't able to prevent it from happening, so he's trying to buff some other faction. Either that, or he's trying to force us to improve by giving us harder challenges. I've spent most of the day going through John's database on the Reach.
"
"He could just be bullshitting you."
"Yes… He could. I would probably have been able to tell if I could see him while he was saying it… On the other hand, looking at the stellar maps-
" I hold up my left hand and generate a chart.
"-in my
particular area of interest it looks like I'll run into them anyway.
"
The somewhat nebulous border of the territory of the Reach Stellar Empire is marked out in a slightly brighter orange hue than the worlds around it. The map is 'dead' as of Stewart's last update so it might have expanded a bit since then. Plus, most of the systems marked aren't readily habitable. Yes, they
could dismantle a few gas giants and build artificial habitats but it's so resource intensive that even the Reach don't bother outside the core of their territory. I expand one section and individual border worlds are marked out.
"See what I see?
"
Guy looks off to the side for a moment, then back 'towards camera'. "Maltus."
"They're actually curving around it. They can't hope to conquer it with brute force and I can't think how they'd corrupt the
Controllers… And I think I can probably work out who the Orange Lantern Corps' first target is going to be. Except… Do I cause the attack on Earth? From the way Truggs was talking it was fairly apocalyptic.
"
Guy shakes his head. "You can't worry about stuff like that. But…" He has a furtive look over his shoulder. "Okay, look: I'm not sure I'm meant ta tell you this, but the Guardians think that the Controllers are already fighting the Reach. Lanterns in nearby Sectors have reported seeing these
guys carrying out hit and run attacks on Reach shipping." The starchart disappears, being replaced by the
image of a burly alien with a head somewhat like that of a bulldog trading fire with a Reach starship. "They wear this red, white and silver power armour with this.. sort of black starburst symbol-."
I smile.
"The Darkstars.
"
"That what they're called? Wouldn't get too excited about it. Every time we saw them fighting Scarab Warriors they were gettin' their asses kicked."
"They'd probably do better if they had power rings.
"
Guy shakes his head. "No can do Paul. The treaty them and the Guardians signed says no Lanterns-."
"No
Green Lanterns.
"
He's silent for a moment as he takes that in. "Heh. Hehhehheh. Think they know rings come in other colors?"
"Sinestro isn't exactly subtle. On the other hand, it's a big universe.
"
"So, what? You're just gunna give 'em all rings an' let 'em go at it?"
"Hardly. Even without Bobblehead malware-.
"
"Will you lay off'f that! They don't-."
"You can't kill people, Guy! The Green Lantern Corps was at war and they couldn't kill their enemies! The Scarabs
are a threat to Lanterns -just about- but the reason you lost was because-.
"
"
We didn't lose!" The image glitches. "We got a draw and a peace treaty. No more Reach battle fleets firing on unprotected worlds from orbit!"
"What do you call it when one side advances and the other retreats? Reach occupied space is… What? Five times as big by volume now as it was then? Are they any
nicer? Give me a few hundred people who hate them, people whose worlds are under Reach control, whose people are slaves, whose strongest desire is to unmake them utterly… I think we'll get a different result.
"
"And then what? You wanna give a bunch of genocidal maniacs power rings you'd best be damn sure you can make them give them back at the end of it."
"That volume of space? Destroying the Reach will take
centuries. Besides, rings can be used to rebuild their worlds as well as killing their enemies.
" He doesn't look convinced.
"You
know I use mine like that.
"
"You ain't exactly most people. And you haven't had decades a' seein' your homeworld torn apart. That sorta pain does stuff to yah and it ain't usually anythin' good. And
you had trouble with the orange light anyway."
"So I'll ask the Controllers to be a bit more selective about it. It still gives me a core of experienced people to build my Corps from.
"
He thinks for a moment and then nods. "Plus, no one
here's likely t' complain about the Reach gettin' hammered. Doubt even the Guardians would mind
that."
"Any chance they'll approve bringing the Watchtower up to spec? If the Reach are heading this way…
"
"I'll
ask, but I doubt it. Couldn't you sort somethin' out?"
"Yes, I could build a series of space based battle fortresses armed with beam singularity projectors. Six months down the line I'll probably be able to build ones powered by Personal Lanterns in the same way Sector Houses are and equip them with nuclear force nullifiers and giant orange defensive barriers. You think they'll be okay with
that? Heck, you think the Justice League would be?
"
"Or you could just build
one."
"Wouldn't be enough. If I'm doing a job I'm going to do it properly.
"
He moves his jaw slightly to the side, then looks around again. "Ah, look, I gotta go. I'll pass it on. For what it's worth. Just don't do anythin' too crazy until I get back."
I take a moment to reflect on the activity I have planned for this evening.
"I'll see what I can do. Bye Guy.
"
He waves goodbye and the images shut down as I walk into the living room.
