We've always known that the Reach weren't stupid. But what I perhaps didn't twig on is the fact that the volume of space they occupy means that even if they would ideally have liked to, it simply isn't possible for them to follow a single narrow set of directives everywhere. They simply have to exercise power in a decentralised way. So while their multifaceted assimilation campaigns across virtually their entire frontier were at least similar in general appearance, the sheer number of alien species they have contact with meant that it was inevitable that they'd try something a little different at some point.
After all, despite the Reach's best wishes, no two races think exactly the same. What one people find honourable, another will consider base cowardice. What one values, another will discard as rubbish. And don't even get started on
Religion...
Not all parts of the Reach keep their patsies weak. Lantern Gozzi may have been on to something about them having regular contact.
Leentniar capital ships are ugly blocks of metal and ceramics armed with spatial distortion pulser which bypass most conventional defences. Including most-
They hang in the sky in much the way
bricks should not, would you say? And their guns sound quite nasty...
The attack force fires a volley. A couple of shots ripple through space-time towards me, while the majority flow down the local gravity wells towards the local inhabited planet.
-construct defences. We don't have that many Lanterns trained for situations like this.
Good thing you're one of them, eh? After all, you're the ultimate all-rounder: Trained for everything, but master of none. Besides the whole spiritual side of things.
I wave my hands and space snaps back into shape, a blast of x-rays and gamma rays exploding from the wrinkle I just ironed.
"Fascinating." The construct Lantern Gozzi uses looks a little like a large kiln, appearing around a pulse and shrinking, her far superior understanding of the physics involved allowing her to do a much cleaner job of shutting it down that I managed. "Inefficient, but fascinating."
And the lady has a sense of aesthetics, I see. Classy. Good choice of apprentice, OL.
"Illustres to Leentniar fleet. You have not identified the reason for your attack or stated demands. You are intruding in territory in which you are not welcome. I will ask you once more to leave. If you do not comply-"
They fire another volley. Some distance away I detect a tiny flare of gamma radiation as Lantern Gozzi shuts down another.
"-then I will use direct force-"
Do they think he'll just go away if they keep shooting, or something? Talk about
persistent.
Again, I forcibly stabilise space to block the shots heading towards me. I'm actually… Well, in a few minutes I'll take enough radiation exposure that I'd die if it wasn't for my rings, and the Leentniar ships are showing small signs of wear on their frontal armour as they continue to head in to the system.
Their weapons cause damage to their own ships? Or are they just flying into the figurative smoke trail? Either way, they're really persistent.. and a little dumb, it seems...
"'Inefficient'?"
"I generally operate under the assumption that if someone uses anything more complex than a mass driver for planetary bombardment, they are showing off their 'equipment'."
Probably a sort of psy-ops, to be fair. "Look how mighty our weapons are! See how your defences crumble before them!" Probably goes a long way to settling things without much effort.
"You get that a lot in Vega?"
"Dealing with Citadelians was a frustration. Amalak is far more civilised."
"At least he's large enough not to
need to compensate for... Er... You heard nothing!"
"Not having any trouble?"
"Should I be?"
Well, Orange Rings
are one of the user-friendliest systems. As long as your ring's VI is up to snuff and your database is
extensive. Half the clever stuff OL did early on was mostly because he lacked the latter...
"You're used your ring to neutralise an attack you hadn't encountered before today."
"It's surprisingly rewarding. Coluans simply aren't adapted for combat in the way species like yours are, but I find that the intellectual change combined with the utility of my ring appeals to me."
I'm guessing Colu is a largely isolationist planet, with automata doing the bulk of combat duties... And I suspect the sheer amount of data a Ring's sensors can provide is a big bonus for her...
"Less slogging through the mud with a busted plasma gun?"
"Airless low-gravity corridors filled with smoke, and I generally only had a coil pistol."
Heheh. She's done her time in the
figurative trenches, all right...
"I'm glad that you found a new employer. That sounds like a tremendous waste of your abilities."
"That was for Amalak."
Presumably said ship had vital data he only trusted her to be able to get to, and she went in with squads of Marines doing most of the actual fighting?
"If you're considering a full-time career change, I'm sure that Dox would appreciate having someone around who can think at his level."
"I can't think at his level. No one other than his father can."
Yes, yes, Twelfth-level intellectual snobbery at its finest... Don't be too surprised when Earth surprises you, my dear.
"I don't know about that. There's a family of mad scientists back on Earth-."
"It is not possible to properly practice science while insane."
Oh, he meant the
other kind of Mad. I mean, Thaddeus Senior
was kind of angry in his early days of crime.
"I'll give you one of Georgia Sivana's communication devices and you can argue the point with her."
"You mean to say that there is a member of your species who can match intellects with a clone of Vril Dox."
One? Try a whole
family. Never mind all the other hypercognitive types.
"Yes, in some fields at least."
"I'm… Scepti-. Oh."
Ah, she looked them up. Bet she's thinking 'What the hells? How does that even work?!'
"Yeah, we get that a lot. And they've stopped shooting."
"Do you intend-. Possumizer?"
Say it with us: Earth Bullshit
tm!
"Don't try-. Huh."
"Very few people will continue shooting when their weapons are clearly having no effect."
Oh, that's hardly surprising. Especially if they continued blocking while chatting, as if it were no big difficulty. Which, for Gozzi, it probably
wasn't.
"Yes, but-. No. I was going to say 'don't try to understand', but honestly? If you can? Please explain it to me. We'd really like to know."
"Do you intend to negotiate with them?"
And if they aren't empowered to negotiate - quite likely if they don't expect to leave any planetary residents alive, given their weapons - they can put him in touch with those who can...
"I'm going to give it one more go. Illustres to Leentniar fleet, please respond."
"You're giving them more opportunities to back down that I expected. Why not kill them and move on to the rest?"
Because he doesn't want to waste anything. These people
can still be useful, but only if they can be persuaded to change.
"Because we're being recorded. And of course copies of our recordings of this conversation will make the rounds, as a comfort to our allies and a warning to anyone who might be planning on doing something stupid like becoming our enemy. Do you hear me?"
I stop transmitting.
Hearts and Minds, Gozzi. Make the enemy afraid of you, afraid to fight you, and you've won before a shot is fired.
"I can't afford to be called back to fight everyone who thinks they can stick the boot in while we're fighting the Reach. And as an organisation, N.E.M.O. can't afford to look like they can't stop that sort of attack. Word will get around."
"Leentniar Controller responding. We will quit this system."
Finally, they
speak. Now, to see if they'll
listen.
"And?"
"Refrain from further attacks against this system."
"Inadequate. All systems in your path are L.E.G.I.O.N. affiliates. We will protect all of them."
And that doesn't sound good. Evidently they think they can just keep running until they find a place NEMO
isn't guarding...
"That will be relayed to my Masters."
"How about I do it instead. Lead the way."
Uh-oh. OL, that kidn of ultimatum...
The ships had been turning away, but a moment later they visibly change their direction, then-.
The ships explode!
...Crud. Either they committed suicide to protect their home fleet's location, or their 'Masters' did it for them.
