Darko
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I think it involved them getting Match.
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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
I think it involved them getting Match.
Someguy Somewhere
The Critical Fumbler
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Going by the OG Source material,TheOne320, 'five months ago' would be the team finding Superboy for the first time.
There was a brief mention of a later encounter (based on the add on comic books) with a Genomorph, leading to mental hallucinations, monkey's and Joker stuff, that was mentioned as happening that was glossed over, maybe they went back to visit after that?
Regarding the 'Renegade' side of things, while there are tangential connections between the two story lines (or as some people view it, different play thru's of the 'Game') there is no direct cross over between them (Yet). However, I'd say that Renegade does....grow on folks, after a while, and gives a bit of perspective on the main story. As you keep reading you'll run into several more different Paul's that ended up in even stranger settings, so the cast of alternates does grow a bit. Paragon Paul and Renegade Grayven are still the stars of the story, but there ARE interactions between the other versions as the story develops.
Aside from that, welcome to the insanity that is the comment section, I hope you enjoy your stay.
There was a brief mention of a later encounter (based on the add on comic books) with a Genomorph, leading to mental hallucinations, monkey's and Joker stuff, that was mentioned as happening that was glossed over, maybe they went back to visit after that?
Regarding the 'Renegade' side of things, while there are tangential connections between the two story lines (or as some people view it, different play thru's of the 'Game') there is no direct cross over between them (Yet). However, I'd say that Renegade does....grow on folks, after a while, and gives a bit of perspective on the main story. As you keep reading you'll run into several more different Paul's that ended up in even stranger settings, so the cast of alternates does grow a bit. Paragon Paul and Renegade Grayven are still the stars of the story, but there ARE interactions between the other versions as the story develops.
Aside from that, welcome to the insanity that is the comment section, I hope you enjoy your stay.
Vaermina
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Maybe, but source resurrection usually trumps Black Light.
Doccer
Versed in the lewd.
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Huh. Until I hit the link I thought that was a Joker quote.
Ngamer11
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They go there later after Paul has had a few space adventures.
hkim
Know what you're doing yet?
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It is also a Joker quote.
Anti-Thesis (part 8)
Mr Zoat
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11th July 2012
03:21 GMT
Armourandstealthsystemsnow!
There's a moment where the universe seems to twist, and then space reappears. Space reappears because the planet we were standing on is in a parallel universe and its equivalent is on the other side of its sun. Which I'm assuming is why we aren't immediately being shot to pieces by Qwardian weapon batteries right now. The stars are mostly in the same places, though the L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet is replaced by Qwardian ships and the ships of their vassals and trading partners.
I try not to scan too actively, because I know that of all the threats the Green Lantern Corps has faced it's the Qwardians who best match the Guardians technologically.
"Kalmin, what the hell?"
"This is urgent business." He floats in space, his armour and personal defence shield protecting him from the vacuum. "I was willing to wait while you recovered your full power… And I'll admit to being interested in how you managed to recover from a qwa energy explosion. But that is all. I will fix the sickness that besets my people now, whether you like it or not."
"I wanted to check with Hinon that I actually am fully recovered-."
"You are. I checked."
"I don't mean to insult you, but you're not a Controller. And you haven't spent anything like as much time studying me as Hinon has."
"I've studied you. And I've studied other humans. I had Harold Jordan in my dungeons, and a few dozen others I took apart so that I'd have a baseline."
The drawback of the token evil teammate being, naturally, that they're evil.
"If you could provide me with their names and appearances, it would help me close the missing person investigations."
"They weren't that interesting."
"That's not the point as far as humans are concerned." I look around. None of the ships appear to be heading in this direction. "Can I assume from the fact that we aren't hiding that we don't need to?"
"We don't try and stop Lanterns coming to Qward. It saves a tremendous amount of time."
"I.. thought that after last time, we might be worth special measures."
"Oh, the Thunderers will be out for your blood and the surviving individuals will be castigated for their failure. But Qward won't care about anything you did."
"And who is manning those ships?"
"Junior Weaponers and technicians. There might be a few Thunderers on board, but they'll be there as vassals of the Weaponers. They won't be in command positions."
"That seems… Lax. What if someone brought in a planet-killer weapon?"
"Killing Qward is more difficult than killing most worlds. The outer surface of the planet shields the q'ardajin within with miles of rock and metal. Our sun could go nova and none of our population would be harmed. We have planetary shields, interior shields, sensor baffles and all manner of other more exotic defensive technology. We like it when our enemies come to us. If you think you can destroy Qward?" He folds his arms across his chest. "Strike true, for you will not get a second chance."
"Seemed to go pretty well last time."
"We are not humans, who weep and wail at every death. A handful of Thunderers and some equipment is barely an alertness drill."
Not that I'm in position to check, but nothing he's said rings untrue or contradicts my records.
"Alright. So what's our first step?"
"I need to return to my workshop."
"Won't it have been destroyed?"
Kalmin does a sort of smile-sneer.
"Not without significant losses. And no, probably not. With their living targets fled, the Thunderers won't take out their rage on mere stone and metal. They will nurture their hate for the day they see you again."
"And not you?"
"Why? I didn't fight them. And neither would I. They know better than to intervene in quarrels between Weaponers."
"Oh. So… Why am I here? I thought I was coming along to stop them killing you, but from the sound of it I'm just going to make your life harder."
"I think you'll be an adequate distraction. Varnathon will probably assume that the orange rings are my design. Alternately, if you stay inside your armour then it's unlikely that the Thunderers will trouble you until you use your ring."
"You think that Varnathon won't know about the Orange Lantern Corps?"
"He's a merchant. He probably knows that the Reach are fighting an 'Orange Lantern Corps', but I doubt that he's troubled himself with the details. I certainly didn't bother to learn the name of everyone we did business with when I was Chief Weaponer."
He has a point. There's no such thing as interstellar news media. Even things that are common knowledge of L.E.G.I.O.N. member worlds are completely unknown to the wider universe. Most people back in the positive matter universe 16 probably still think that the Green Lantern Corps is the only one. Varnathon has two whole universes to spy on and a finite population to do it with. The Reach probably don't know that we're employing Kalmin and (correctly) assign responsibility to the Controllers, but Varnathon… Does he even know about the Controllers?
Not sure.
I retract my environmental shield so that it no longer shows on the outside of my armour.
"How are we getting to your workshop? Do you have a teleport beacon set up?"
"If I had a teleport beacon anyone could have killed me. And I wouldn't have teleported us into space. We're going to fly into one of the ports and walk to a tunnel to the core. I want people to see me. I want other Weaponers to know that I'm back and that I want their attention. I want Varnathon to have time to consider his mistake."
"And then you'll rally his opponents?"
"If there are any. I'm not expecting to leave many survivors."
"Yes, about… That. What's the aim here? Are you trying to unreform q'ardajin society along more traditional lines? Because if you're just trying to wipe out your own species, I don't particularly want to help you."
Because unpleasant though they are, the q'ardajin have clearly demonstrated the capacity for reformation. They can deal peacefully with aliens. They can trade with their neighbours. Without the Anti-Monitor personally sticking his oar in, they're within the range of civilisations I don't believe that I need to exterminate.
"No. I will be a scourge, a reminder of what we are. The unworthy will die, and those who survive will be cleansed. I have no interest in total extermination."
"Alright. I'll follow your lead. Where do you want us to start?"
03:21 GMT
Armourandstealthsystemsnow!
There's a moment where the universe seems to twist, and then space reappears. Space reappears because the planet we were standing on is in a parallel universe and its equivalent is on the other side of its sun. Which I'm assuming is why we aren't immediately being shot to pieces by Qwardian weapon batteries right now. The stars are mostly in the same places, though the L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet is replaced by Qwardian ships and the ships of their vassals and trading partners.
I try not to scan too actively, because I know that of all the threats the Green Lantern Corps has faced it's the Qwardians who best match the Guardians technologically.
"Kalmin, what the hell?"
"This is urgent business." He floats in space, his armour and personal defence shield protecting him from the vacuum. "I was willing to wait while you recovered your full power… And I'll admit to being interested in how you managed to recover from a qwa energy explosion. But that is all. I will fix the sickness that besets my people now, whether you like it or not."
"I wanted to check with Hinon that I actually am fully recovered-."
"You are. I checked."
"I don't mean to insult you, but you're not a Controller. And you haven't spent anything like as much time studying me as Hinon has."
"I've studied you. And I've studied other humans. I had Harold Jordan in my dungeons, and a few dozen others I took apart so that I'd have a baseline."
The drawback of the token evil teammate being, naturally, that they're evil.
"If you could provide me with their names and appearances, it would help me close the missing person investigations."
"They weren't that interesting."
"That's not the point as far as humans are concerned." I look around. None of the ships appear to be heading in this direction. "Can I assume from the fact that we aren't hiding that we don't need to?"
"We don't try and stop Lanterns coming to Qward. It saves a tremendous amount of time."
"I.. thought that after last time, we might be worth special measures."
"Oh, the Thunderers will be out for your blood and the surviving individuals will be castigated for their failure. But Qward won't care about anything you did."
"And who is manning those ships?"
"Junior Weaponers and technicians. There might be a few Thunderers on board, but they'll be there as vassals of the Weaponers. They won't be in command positions."
"That seems… Lax. What if someone brought in a planet-killer weapon?"
"Killing Qward is more difficult than killing most worlds. The outer surface of the planet shields the q'ardajin within with miles of rock and metal. Our sun could go nova and none of our population would be harmed. We have planetary shields, interior shields, sensor baffles and all manner of other more exotic defensive technology. We like it when our enemies come to us. If you think you can destroy Qward?" He folds his arms across his chest. "Strike true, for you will not get a second chance."
"Seemed to go pretty well last time."
"We are not humans, who weep and wail at every death. A handful of Thunderers and some equipment is barely an alertness drill."
Not that I'm in position to check, but nothing he's said rings untrue or contradicts my records.
"Alright. So what's our first step?"
"I need to return to my workshop."
"Won't it have been destroyed?"
Kalmin does a sort of smile-sneer.
"Not without significant losses. And no, probably not. With their living targets fled, the Thunderers won't take out their rage on mere stone and metal. They will nurture their hate for the day they see you again."
"And not you?"
"Why? I didn't fight them. And neither would I. They know better than to intervene in quarrels between Weaponers."
"Oh. So… Why am I here? I thought I was coming along to stop them killing you, but from the sound of it I'm just going to make your life harder."
"I think you'll be an adequate distraction. Varnathon will probably assume that the orange rings are my design. Alternately, if you stay inside your armour then it's unlikely that the Thunderers will trouble you until you use your ring."
"You think that Varnathon won't know about the Orange Lantern Corps?"
"He's a merchant. He probably knows that the Reach are fighting an 'Orange Lantern Corps', but I doubt that he's troubled himself with the details. I certainly didn't bother to learn the name of everyone we did business with when I was Chief Weaponer."
He has a point. There's no such thing as interstellar news media. Even things that are common knowledge of L.E.G.I.O.N. member worlds are completely unknown to the wider universe. Most people back in the positive matter universe 16 probably still think that the Green Lantern Corps is the only one. Varnathon has two whole universes to spy on and a finite population to do it with. The Reach probably don't know that we're employing Kalmin and (correctly) assign responsibility to the Controllers, but Varnathon… Does he even know about the Controllers?
Not sure.
I retract my environmental shield so that it no longer shows on the outside of my armour.
"How are we getting to your workshop? Do you have a teleport beacon set up?"
"If I had a teleport beacon anyone could have killed me. And I wouldn't have teleported us into space. We're going to fly into one of the ports and walk to a tunnel to the core. I want people to see me. I want other Weaponers to know that I'm back and that I want their attention. I want Varnathon to have time to consider his mistake."
"And then you'll rally his opponents?"
"If there are any. I'm not expecting to leave many survivors."
"Yes, about… That. What's the aim here? Are you trying to unreform q'ardajin society along more traditional lines? Because if you're just trying to wipe out your own species, I don't particularly want to help you."
Because unpleasant though they are, the q'ardajin have clearly demonstrated the capacity for reformation. They can deal peacefully with aliens. They can trade with their neighbours. Without the Anti-Monitor personally sticking his oar in, they're within the range of civilisations I don't believe that I need to exterminate.
"No. I will be a scourge, a reminder of what we are. The unworthy will die, and those who survive will be cleansed. I have no interest in total extermination."
"Alright. I'll follow your lead. Where do you want us to start?"
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Darko
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'I'd have'
He kidnapped them before he joined Paul?
'who is'
'shields'
'sound'
He probably does.
True, but the people they're trading with are pretty damn evil and they're helping them.
Frank Iannetta
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Well, you have to give it to Kalman. He knows his mind and what he wants.
Chojin Patriarch
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I'm impressed. Presumably the gear was assembled in his subspace pocket on his new ring, but I think he may have set a new record for the time taken to don it...
Ah, imperfect parallel universes. No doubt Maltus was positioned more comfortably in its orbit by the Controllers...
I'm surprised that is not a more common phrase around the Weaponer.
I get the feeling Kalmin's idea of testing it consists of 'Hit something with it. If it breaks, it wasn't ready yet.' Though if this is all it took to break OL, Kalmin was clearly wrong to follow him in the first place...
On the other hand, he's one of the most experienced Weaponers in the field of Spectrum Energy Manipulation. Admittedly, he favoured Fear, and dabbled in Hope, but I doubt it took much to master Avarice...
And if anyone's forgotten, Kalmin (and by extension the Weaponers and Thunderers) are Green lantern foes of old. It stands to reason that he would have studied the common examples of his latest enemy to establish a baseline for damage.
...You picked him, OL... No regretting that choice now.
Why go out hunting an enemy who typically comes to you? Must save a ton of time and effort...
Does the mountain care about the howling of dogs? Does the sea give one whit of concern for the storm? Yeah, I can see that being a tenet of their faith...
So mostly mooks and grunts. And generally not nice people.
It takes a particular mindset to fortify your entire world to withstand the death of its sun...
They'll throw whole armies away just to learn what their latest foe can do? Yep, the Qwardians have quite a Hat for their Planet, and it fits them very well...
Presumably it's well-defended even for a Weaponer's base. Probably a death sentence just setting foot near it without access permissions...
I know, he seems overconfident, but this is a Qwardian who forged power rings from the dying fears of an entire world. He's no doubt earned every bit of that confidence...
Beneath their holy notice? Or is it treated more like squabbling children?
...Goddammit, Kalmin...
See, it's that kind of thing that gets you bit in the ass. Like when Hal Jordan kicked you where the Anti-Monitor split you...
He may well not know even know (or care) that they're Maltusians like the Guardians.
And have a giant glaring hole in his security? Please. I bet Kalmin keeps things locked down harder than a high-security prison...
Because the new guy would be so sloppy to leave enemies alive? OL, remember who you're talking to...
Besides, an Orange Lantern hardly needs help to do that, even a people as advanced as the Qwardians...
And with a little more work, they could be turned to more useful purposes, eh?
I'd bet it involves flying straight through the largest patrol fleet while waving giant middle fingers at them... Figuratively or literally.
Well, I see OL's just gonna roll with it. Best case, he makes some trouble, then disappears while keeping the defenders' eyes off Kalmin. Worst case, he has to Righteously Face-punch some Thunderers...
Win-win either way for Kalmin.
Vaermina
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This really sounds like another in a long line of two steps back situations...
Darko
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We don't see him all that much but if we do then it probably will be.
I think he's still going to regret it a bit.
Ngamer11
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Just noticed. That should be 'worlds'.
Mr Zoat
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Probably not.
Thank you, corrected.
Handlewithcare
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The question I would ask most urgently if I were Paul is how the Reach contacted/keep contact with Qward.
If they can freely switch between universe thast would make them exponentially more dangerous.
They could hide pockets of survivors everywhere, harvest resources or build ships where most of Pauls allies can't reach them or bypass defenses just by flying to the corresoponding spot in the other universe and siwtching back
If they can freely switch between universe thast would make them exponentially more dangerous.
They could hide pockets of survivors everywhere, harvest resources or build ships where most of Pauls allies can't reach them or bypass defenses just by flying to the corresoponding spot in the other universe and siwtching back
Prince Charon
Just zis guy, you know?
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Given the way DC humanity has been shown to act, I can see them driving their geniuses crazy. On the other hand, some of those geniuses may not have been all that sane to start with.
Darko
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The Qwardians could have contacted them by themselves.
They're interested in selling weapons now and the Reach are very powerful, so most likely can afford them.
Coda
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Oh sure.
If you're American. British English uses different rules for how group names pluralize. (or pluralise, if you're not American)
losses
Mr Zoat
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Unless he's thrown it away he's still got an Anti-Green Lantern ring in a pouch somewhere.
But beyond that, he's still dubious about hope. Red only ever produced berserkers in his tests. He could use orange, but he suspects that the Controllers and the SI understand the orange light better than he does. He doesn't want to use yellow due to Sinestro. That doesn't really leave him with anywhere to go.
In canon, he only went after Sinestro after getting access to white.
Thank you, corrected.
Darko
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And Indigo is out probably because he doesn't want to lose his mind.
Violet is also probably beyond him.
Stsword
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In Superboy and the Ravers a bad guy had a plan to wipe out Qward.
He was going to merge the Anti-Matter and New Earth universes.
Those planets that have doppelgangers, like the two Earths, and Qward and Oa, would find themselves occupying the same space, a big physics no no.
So really big kabooms.
He was going to merge the Anti-Matter and New Earth universes.
Those planets that have doppelgangers, like the two Earths, and Qward and Oa, would find themselves occupying the same space, a big physics no no.
So really big kabooms.
Maxx Crowley
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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With the amount of Super-Science on their Earth, with things such as The Atom's belt....can normal geniuses even be considered as such.
I'm also still shocked OL hasn't approached the Atom yet. Size-shifting tech can be broken as fuck.
....I'ma go watch Ant-man and Wasp again.
scooterboo
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Oh, I see my mistake. "The" can be used on a singular entity or plural entities, in which case the singular gets "do" and plural gets "does". To see if it is singular or plural, put "a" in front of it and if that makes sense, it must be singular.
Fallin (part 4)
Mr Zoat
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20th May 2282
19:21 MTZ
"Sir? Could you tell me what's going on?"
Corporal Alejandro Pérez walks besides me as I head away from the forward trenches on the NCR side of the southern part of the Colorado River. This used to be the territory of a gang called The Rapids, but the NCR conquered and settled it while I was still dealing with the Whisperers. It went… Um, a good deal smoother than their half-arsed efforts in the Mojave, at least in part because the Legion wasn't actively trying to disrupt things. And in part because the majority of the settlements didn't actually like their vicious gang overlords and were not completely opposed to them being replaced.
**Certainly.** He starts slightly at my mental voice, but doesn't comment on it. The fact that the NCR has allied with a group of psychics is common knowledge now, even if most of the soldiers haven't directly interacted with us. **I'm escorting an ambassador from a potential ally who wants to get a better idea of how the NCR works and what the Legion is like.**
"Sir? And you brought them here?"
Corporal Pérez is from another area that the NCR conquered: Baja California. I hadn't really thought about it, but I've learned since coming here that it was part of Mexico before the war. Honestly, that… I mean, I'm sure there are perfectly good historical reasons why a part of the country with only a tiny land connection to the rest of Mexico didn't get annexed by the USA… At least, before the Resource Wars. It still sounds about as sensible as the Polish Corridor separating Weimar Germany from Prussia, but, I mean, that still happened.
Anyway, the NCR's a lot less popular in Baja California than it is up here, and it's only the fact that Mayor Hayes of Dayglow has been working his arse off improving community relations that keeps them from forming an organised resistance. It will be interesting to see what happens there in the next senate election, because most of the citizens will be eligible to vote and none of them care a whit for what the Brahmin Barons want out of the legislature. I foresee -using purely mundane foresight since I don't particularly want a migraine today- democratic change in the NCR's future.
**Yes. Can you think of anywhere better?**
The crossings are fortified, the artillery sighted and the snipers on watch. Early in the war the Legion actually managed to swarm over the river and overwhelm the NCR positions. It took the NCR's river navy -and a little help from my spies- cutting off their supply lines to allow the NCR army to push them back to this point.
On the other side of the river it's just about possible to make out the dug-out trenches that the Legionaries hide in during the day. It's easily possible to make out the wooden crosses with captured NCR soldiers and settlers bound to them in the California sun. Not all of them are still alive. Most of them are booby trapped.
"Like… Literally anywhere? Somewhere like Primm gives a pretty fucking accurate idea what the Legion's like."
The Legion tried pushing across the Hoover Dam to the north of here, only to be met with mass fire from the NCR soldiers and Mr. House's Securitrons and an armoured fist counter-attack from 'mercenaries' in 'recovered' power armour. The Legion infiltrators in the lower levels of the Dam actually got cut off from behind before being surrounded and crushed. Right now the eastern end of the Dam is a fortress which even Legion tenacity can't assault without being bled white.
**No Legionaries to kill in Primm.**
The problem is working out how to actually attack. Legion territory is huge, and its tribal people devoted to the Legion. That's why flipping Costa del Sol is such a big deal; if we get the Legion's leadership and destroy their industrial centres in Flagstaff and Phoenix then the war's effectively over. At least until Lanius decides to stick his oar in.
The sentry watching the gate of the nearest NCR strongpoint raises her right hand in greeting as the armoured gate clunks open. I wave back.
"So… Is this it? The big push? We're..? Actually going over there?"
**'Big push'? No. But things are going to start happening.**
We walk inside, the door mechanism immediately being put into reverse. Miss Vialla's inside talking to the base commander, but she makes her apologies and heads out way the moment she sees us.
"Corporal, this is Miss Lucia Vialla. Miss Vialla, this is your cousin Corporal Alejandro Pérez."
Miss Vialla smiles at him while Corporal Pérez looks puzzled.
"Ah, I got a big family, but I don't-."
"Her mother was your father's sister."
"You m-?" He smiles at Miss Vialla. "You're Aunt Rosa's daughter?"
Miss Vialla lunges forward and hugs him, and he reciprocates.
"We-. We thought she was dead, with the storm-. Where'd she wash up? Mexico?"
Miss Vialla nods. "Yes. She-." Her mouth clenches, and she glares at me. "Krono. Why have you done this?"
"While it is quite understandable that your father would want to reunite with former allies across the Gulf of California, I felt that your own enthusiasm would be diminished if you could speak to your mother's part of the family and hear from them what the NCR is doing in Baja California. And what the Legion's doing in Arizona. And since Corporal Pérez was here, it seemed to be in everyone's interests that I introduce you."
"Wait, you-" Corporal Pérez frowns. "-got the NCR's chief mindfucker playing tour guide? Ah, no offence."
"Some taken. How do you feel about spiders?"
"Ah. I-? Ah. Who exactly did-" He looks at Miss Vialla's gun and belatedly notices her bodyguard. "-Aunt Rosa end up marrying?"
She looks at me. "How reliable are these men?"
"I'm a telepath. The Legion doesn't have spies in the NCR military any longer."
Mine are far better. And, you know, supposed to be there.
"My father is President Vialla, ruler of Costa del Sol."
"Oh. Oh shit. If.. you're here, then…"
I nod. "Then we need to encourage Caesar to reinforce the lines here." I walk towards the closest watchtower and begin climbing up. "You might want to watch this."
I nod to the NCR Rangers on sniper-.
"Lot of our guys over there, Krono." One of them glares at me through his gas mask. "If it was me, I'd want us to have shot me by now."
The ghoul bodyguard, Miss Vialla and Corporal Pérez climb up behind me.
"Matters are in hand. In fact…" I reach out towards the Legion lines with my right hand and close my eyes, listening to the buzz of the thoughts of the Legionaries. I'm not trying to read them, just to pick up their location. Naturally the forward trenches are manned… "You'll want to shoot in just a moment."
I close my right hand, and lift.
The sniper looks out across the river as Miss Vialla raises her binoculars.
"Okay, Mister Wizard, what am I-?" A flailing Legionary floats into the air, trying and failing to grab hold of anything to stop himself floating away. "Holy shit. How the fuck you doing that?"
"Do you not hear yourself call me a wizard?" … "This is actually quite hard, so if you wouldn't mind-?"
He raises his rifle, checks the anemometer on the watchtower table, aims and fires. I don't.. feel an impact.
"Ah, shit. Could you stop him flailing around so much?"
"No, actually." Not at this distance.
He reloads, aims a little up and to the left, then fires again. This time I feel it as the bullet strikes home, and I immediately begin withdrawing my support. The corpse-to-be falls in the open, bleeding from a chest wound that will probably kill him.
I nod.
"As I see it, a magician and a sniper picking them off like this will probably do a number on their morale. There… Aren't any Costans over there, are there?"
…
Ten minutes later, the Legionaries rise as one from their trenches and charge.
19:21 MTZ
"Sir? Could you tell me what's going on?"
Corporal Alejandro Pérez walks besides me as I head away from the forward trenches on the NCR side of the southern part of the Colorado River. This used to be the territory of a gang called The Rapids, but the NCR conquered and settled it while I was still dealing with the Whisperers. It went… Um, a good deal smoother than their half-arsed efforts in the Mojave, at least in part because the Legion wasn't actively trying to disrupt things. And in part because the majority of the settlements didn't actually like their vicious gang overlords and were not completely opposed to them being replaced.
**Certainly.** He starts slightly at my mental voice, but doesn't comment on it. The fact that the NCR has allied with a group of psychics is common knowledge now, even if most of the soldiers haven't directly interacted with us. **I'm escorting an ambassador from a potential ally who wants to get a better idea of how the NCR works and what the Legion is like.**
"Sir? And you brought them here?"
Corporal Pérez is from another area that the NCR conquered: Baja California. I hadn't really thought about it, but I've learned since coming here that it was part of Mexico before the war. Honestly, that… I mean, I'm sure there are perfectly good historical reasons why a part of the country with only a tiny land connection to the rest of Mexico didn't get annexed by the USA… At least, before the Resource Wars. It still sounds about as sensible as the Polish Corridor separating Weimar Germany from Prussia, but, I mean, that still happened.
Anyway, the NCR's a lot less popular in Baja California than it is up here, and it's only the fact that Mayor Hayes of Dayglow has been working his arse off improving community relations that keeps them from forming an organised resistance. It will be interesting to see what happens there in the next senate election, because most of the citizens will be eligible to vote and none of them care a whit for what the Brahmin Barons want out of the legislature. I foresee -using purely mundane foresight since I don't particularly want a migraine today- democratic change in the NCR's future.
**Yes. Can you think of anywhere better?**
The crossings are fortified, the artillery sighted and the snipers on watch. Early in the war the Legion actually managed to swarm over the river and overwhelm the NCR positions. It took the NCR's river navy -and a little help from my spies- cutting off their supply lines to allow the NCR army to push them back to this point.
On the other side of the river it's just about possible to make out the dug-out trenches that the Legionaries hide in during the day. It's easily possible to make out the wooden crosses with captured NCR soldiers and settlers bound to them in the California sun. Not all of them are still alive. Most of them are booby trapped.
"Like… Literally anywhere? Somewhere like Primm gives a pretty fucking accurate idea what the Legion's like."
The Legion tried pushing across the Hoover Dam to the north of here, only to be met with mass fire from the NCR soldiers and Mr. House's Securitrons and an armoured fist counter-attack from 'mercenaries' in 'recovered' power armour. The Legion infiltrators in the lower levels of the Dam actually got cut off from behind before being surrounded and crushed. Right now the eastern end of the Dam is a fortress which even Legion tenacity can't assault without being bled white.
**No Legionaries to kill in Primm.**
The problem is working out how to actually attack. Legion territory is huge, and its tribal people devoted to the Legion. That's why flipping Costa del Sol is such a big deal; if we get the Legion's leadership and destroy their industrial centres in Flagstaff and Phoenix then the war's effectively over. At least until Lanius decides to stick his oar in.
The sentry watching the gate of the nearest NCR strongpoint raises her right hand in greeting as the armoured gate clunks open. I wave back.
"So… Is this it? The big push? We're..? Actually going over there?"
**'Big push'? No. But things are going to start happening.**
We walk inside, the door mechanism immediately being put into reverse. Miss Vialla's inside talking to the base commander, but she makes her apologies and heads out way the moment she sees us.
"Corporal, this is Miss Lucia Vialla. Miss Vialla, this is your cousin Corporal Alejandro Pérez."
Miss Vialla smiles at him while Corporal Pérez looks puzzled.
"Ah, I got a big family, but I don't-."
"Her mother was your father's sister."
"You m-?" He smiles at Miss Vialla. "You're Aunt Rosa's daughter?"
Miss Vialla lunges forward and hugs him, and he reciprocates.
"We-. We thought she was dead, with the storm-. Where'd she wash up? Mexico?"
Miss Vialla nods. "Yes. She-." Her mouth clenches, and she glares at me. "Krono. Why have you done this?"
"While it is quite understandable that your father would want to reunite with former allies across the Gulf of California, I felt that your own enthusiasm would be diminished if you could speak to your mother's part of the family and hear from them what the NCR is doing in Baja California. And what the Legion's doing in Arizona. And since Corporal Pérez was here, it seemed to be in everyone's interests that I introduce you."
"Wait, you-" Corporal Pérez frowns. "-got the NCR's chief mindfucker playing tour guide? Ah, no offence."
"Some taken. How do you feel about spiders?"
"Ah. I-? Ah. Who exactly did-" He looks at Miss Vialla's gun and belatedly notices her bodyguard. "-Aunt Rosa end up marrying?"
She looks at me. "How reliable are these men?"
"I'm a telepath. The Legion doesn't have spies in the NCR military any longer."
Mine are far better. And, you know, supposed to be there.
"My father is President Vialla, ruler of Costa del Sol."
"Oh. Oh shit. If.. you're here, then…"
I nod. "Then we need to encourage Caesar to reinforce the lines here." I walk towards the closest watchtower and begin climbing up. "You might want to watch this."
I nod to the NCR Rangers on sniper-.
"Lot of our guys over there, Krono." One of them glares at me through his gas mask. "If it was me, I'd want us to have shot me by now."
The ghoul bodyguard, Miss Vialla and Corporal Pérez climb up behind me.
"Matters are in hand. In fact…" I reach out towards the Legion lines with my right hand and close my eyes, listening to the buzz of the thoughts of the Legionaries. I'm not trying to read them, just to pick up their location. Naturally the forward trenches are manned… "You'll want to shoot in just a moment."
I close my right hand, and lift.
The sniper looks out across the river as Miss Vialla raises her binoculars.
"Okay, Mister Wizard, what am I-?" A flailing Legionary floats into the air, trying and failing to grab hold of anything to stop himself floating away. "Holy shit. How the fuck you doing that?"
"Do you not hear yourself call me a wizard?" … "This is actually quite hard, so if you wouldn't mind-?"
He raises his rifle, checks the anemometer on the watchtower table, aims and fires. I don't.. feel an impact.
"Ah, shit. Could you stop him flailing around so much?"
"No, actually." Not at this distance.
He reloads, aims a little up and to the left, then fires again. This time I feel it as the bullet strikes home, and I immediately begin withdrawing my support. The corpse-to-be falls in the open, bleeding from a chest wound that will probably kill him.
I nod.
"As I see it, a magician and a sniper picking them off like this will probably do a number on their morale. There… Aren't any Costans over there, are there?"
…
Ten minutes later, the Legionaries rise as one from their trenches and charge.
Last edited:
Darko
Connoisseur.
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2019
- Messages
- 23,195
'to be in'
At least he's not a spiderfucker.
Did not expect to see this.
So does he know about paragons trip to Vega?
'are you doing'
Remove one 'you'