12th August 2012
22:32 GMT
Point defence constructs appear behind me, tiny pellets of matter firing at high speed to intercept what is almost certainly-. The anti-matter plasma detonates the moment the matter intersects with it. I didn't get the quantities
quite right, but that should disperse it enough that it merely makes a
large blast when it hits the atmosphere-proper. She tries taking a shot directly
at me, but constructs don't contain matter and it's simple enough to contain it in a construct vessel.
Then my construct shears cut her gun off at the elbow.
She's still glowing, so I guess the gun was-.
The explosion washes over me, whatever anti-matter was still in the gun losing containment! The radiation isn't much of a problem, and there's no shockwave in space, but my construct armour has a few cracks in it by the time the energy wave passes over me. Nothing like the detonation of a power ring, so I'm assuming that she's wearing it somewhere-.
I'm assuming that she
was wearing it somewhere else.
It looks like between the hole made by her arm-stump, the holes I punched and the fact that she was much closer than me to the detonation… She's somewhat cooked. Still alive -if barely- but not in any condition to actually fight. The gun arm… Yeah, a containment breach. Can't have been
much anti-matter, because the arm is still recognisably arm-shaped.
This is an opportunity.
The host is in a coma, while the Scarab itself is at least
somewhat active. It should be possible for me to remove it chirurgically as it
looks like it's been forced into shutdown while still being functional enough that we could gain useful intelligence from it. I can't risk
assimilating it, but...
Hm.
I could try altering its desires
indirectly with orange light manipulation. I haven't tried that yet, and they might not be designed to self-destruct when I do that. I don't think that the Reach have any experience with that technique.
The armour is slowly growing back over the holes. I think that's an automatic thing, but just in case…
No. Just get the ring. There are other Scarabs.
The
green light is at its most intense in the middle of her chest, behind the strongest part of her armour. Makes sense, but a precise application of crumbler probes
there and
there, and a small x-ionised blade…
Another spray of vaporised blood and the ring comes free, along with a chunk of armour and… Genetic scan? Modified duthellian tissue. Probably not a volunteer, then. Probably as brain dead as the ship crew. The ring looks about as it did in its former display case, though now it's got a
little more of a glow to it.
I raise my right hand.
Come to me.
The ring
gleams and begins drifting my way-
"Illustres?"
-while the Scarab Warrior's armour bulges with shifting armour plates and semi-organic cables. I think the Scarab is trying to bypass the damaged tissue, but they're not really intended to work like that. I
let the ring settle onto my right ring finger, the
environmental shield fighting against my orange one for a moment before being put in its place.
"Illustres here. Are you in one piece, K'ryssma?
"
"I will heal. Do you have the ring?"
"Yes.
"
I look at the new ring on my finger. Guy let me fiddle with his ring a grand total of
once. I could…
Sort of make constructs, but they were… Not great. Abstract mental focus isn't a skill I've really developed.
Still, I can manage a basic-.
Warning! Unnatural Mental Influence detected!
A
rotating cube construct that… Agh,
every cube in my-. Off off off!
The cube vanishes in a
puff of green.
I look down at the ring.
Before I left, the Green Lantern comics were… Increasingly showing the Guardians as… Dodgy. The
Alpha Lanterns were the worst thing I remember them
intentionally doing… I don't know. I haven't gotten the impression that the local Guardians are like that. But… Larfleeze exists here. So they've been lying about that. Hinon confirmed that the Massacre of Sector 666 happened.
And this ring just tried to hotwire my brain into making better constructs. Better
green constructs.
"Yes, I've got it.
"
How trusting do I feel right now? I mean, K'ryssma hasn't been particular honest with me about what's going on, and… Frankly, the Guardians abdicated any responsibility regarding the Reach when they signed their treaty. And I…
Really don't want to have to deal with Guardians in evil mode. This ring looks like something that could end up taking them in some
very unpleasant directions. But they've already got the technology anyway, and making an issue out of this might worsen relations between our organisations. I should probably-.
"And I'm sending it to Maltus. Invite the Guardians to address any complaints to the Controllers, and remind them that a little honesty goes a long way.
"
"That is not yours to take."
I look at it. I could make it orange, but that might damage it.
"The Controllers gave the ship back, didn't they? I put the work in, so I'm claiming the reward. If you want my help in future, start by being honest. End.
"
I look around local space. Doesn't look like the Reach shot at anything not on the planet's surface.
"Illustres to Lantern Drusa. Cruiser and Scarab Warrior neutralised. Please secure the remains of the Reach ships in the hold of one of our cargo ships. Dump other cargo if you have to; those are going to L.E.G.I.O.N. intelligence.
"
"And the Scarab?"
I generate a construct chirurgical unit, blades at the ready. I've seen our data on removing Scarabs, and… It's never been done
entirely successfully. If I keep her alive I could have our wizards take a stab at it, but I think that's taking an unnecessary risk. Find the Scarab, find the Scarab… Ah, they actually put it in the skull rather than on the upper spine this time, how creative. Crumble the built-up armour around the head, insert construct nutrient feeds into the brain…
Good.
Take a snapshot of the brain. They might… Would they have had to leave this one a bit more compos mentis than the others? Not sure. Examining Scarab Warriors post mortem is always a little difficult. The Darkstars didn't bother trying to keep them in one piece before I arrived, and it hasn't become
more of a priority now that they theoretically
can.
Three, two,
stab and shield!
And I have a brain. The Scarab should register the host's death a second later, but if I use an animation suspension-.
The Scarab atomises.
Though I'm pleased to note that a lot of the armour stays in one piece this time. Too badly damaged to fully self-destruct? Worth knowing.
Next step, then. These remains and this brain go onto a cargo ship in the most secure storage unit I can build, then I'm heading back to the planet to do some arm twisting.
