10th September 2012
08:59 GMT
The fleet he's brought -
and I can feel the green from the other side of the system- is large, but it's 'escort important head of state' large, rather than 'you're now being invaded' large. There are a wide variety of ship configurations so I'm going to assume that they haven't settled on a doctrine-.
No, that's not what this is. Each species under his aegis has sent a small flotilla. He's showing that he rules a multi-species polity. Communicating that there's no reason why
you couldn't be one of them. Most empires have a core species and then treat others better or worse depending on their philosophy. Krypton generally treated the worlds they dominated alright, though any active resistance was put down comprehensively as a reminder that it
wasn't a negotiation. Controllers are excellent people to be ruled by, as the populations they've rehoused will attest. At the far opposite end of the spectrum, we have the Reach and their quicksand approach to empire building: looking relatively harmless until you're stuck and then pulling you under and drowning you.
He wants to be clear to everyone seeing this galaxy's centre of Lanternism that that isn't how he does things.
"Ring, contact… Squire Wallace.
"
"Communication request sent."
Because when Lord Malvolio ends a conversation with 'This is
not the end', it's probably best to find out exactly what he meant by that
first.
A construct holoprojector appears in front of me, and a moment later an image of Lord Malvolio's personal assistant shimmers into being.
"Lantern-." He starts in surprise. "
Orange Lantern. This is… Unexpected. What brings
you here?"
"Access to records concerning past Lanterns second only to those of Oa. I assume that your master is here for much the same reason?
"
"I would not presume to answer such a question on his behalf."
"Fair enough. The locals are a little concerned about your fleet being here. Would you care to relay your master's intentions?
"
"He has requested that any Lantern who makes contact be conveyed into his presence at the earliest opportunity."
"I wasn't certain if -given our past altercation- such a request would include me.
"
"He directly stated that it included Lantern Jordan. You weren't mentioned, but I have no reason to believe that he holds you in
greater disfavour."
"Okay. I'm available now. Is there a queue?
"
"No, you are invited immediately. Please come to the command cruiser at once."
"Certainly. I will be with you shortly.
"
I end the communication, glancing at Lantern Dul as I do so. I
could bring her with me, even if she ended up having to wait outside during my meeting. On the other hand, if it came to a fight, she'd just be in the way. And it would be useful to have someone out here keeping an eye on things.
"Lantern Dul, monitor things from here. Let me know if the fleet makes any overtly aggressive action.
"
Her eyes are locked on the ship
upon which I can feel Lord Malvolio's presence.
"
That's a human?"
"Broadly.
"
Hm. I'm not going to try stepping out anywhere near Lord Malvolio again and space warping seems… Dubiously wise. Instead, I make an
inertia-suppression drive construct and use
that to fly across the system, careful to avoid looking at my own sensor readings as I go.
These things are slow and require huge amounts of power when compared to other faster than light systems, to say nothing of the… Physics anomalies which can sometimes result from incautious use. But I've survived contact with an actual deliberate time machine, so I'm not too worried. And almost no one bothers trying to interdict them for much the same reasons that no one really uses them and because no one really uses them, which means that Lord Malvolio almost certainly won't. No one in Sector 1634 had the technology, so…
And I'm here, lights illuminating… I think that's a landing bay, though it doesn't appear to have a significant quantity of fighters or bombers inside. Visitor landing? Or perhaps Lord Malvolio's private landing area. I dismiss my construct and fly to it at a more sedate pace. Hm, multi-layer atmosphere shield. Usually ship builders consider that to be unnecessary, as it's easier to throw up an impermeable shield or actual armour if something goes wrong with the first one. Not sure what that says about Lord Malvolio or his ship builder. There's enough space in here for a shuttle or two, but it's empty at the moment. I wonder-?
A door in the side of the room opens, and Wallace walks in with an escort of two soldiers.
Dreadnaughts wearing primitive looking power armour. Their species was one of the most active during the wars following Lord Malvolio's disappearance, and not as a unified faction. I'm glad for the neighbours that they've accepted his return, and nervous for their slightly more distant neighbours that they've accepted his return.
"Orange Lantern. Thank you for arriving so promptly."
"No trouble, Wallace. Is his lordship at home?
"
"He is on the ship and eager to speak with you."
I fly closer and land just ahead of him, his bodyguards appearing not at all troubled.
"Lead the way, then.
"
He walks back between his bodyguards and through the door by which he entered, and I walk along beside him. The guards fall in behind us, their greater size making them take one step for every three of ours.
"Has Lord Malvolio given any indication of how he feels about our last encounter?
"
"In what sense, sir?"
"The Flash's gross violation of Lord Malvolio's hospitality. I rather assumed that he would hold us all responsible.
"
"It is true, he was quite enraged. Since then, however, I have had the liberty to visit the Earth, and learn a little more of what the Sheeda did that so enraged your party."
"You've visited Earth?
"
"Covertly. Lord Malvolio was mindful that his
personal arrival would have been somewhat provocative, and I did not wish to draw undue attention unto myself." He frowns mildly. "Still, the behaviour of The Flash seemed to be somewhat at odds with his typical character."
"A normal war might last years, but individual soldiers won't spend more than a tiny proportion of that actually fighting. The Justice League fought multiple times each day for months on end, for the entire war. The Flash moves at supernatural speed, but for him the rest of the world slows down. For him, each fight wasn't minutes or hours, it was days or years. Or longer. He spent centuries of subjective time looking at all of the evils the Sheeda inflicted on humanity at close range.
"
"I see. Yes, his behaviour is a good deal more explicable when viewed in that light. What has become of him?"
"At the time, not a lot. With things how they were, we just couldn't spare him. Now, he's on a leave of absence and getting therapy. We can't risk someone with his abilities losing control of himself like that again.
"
"And the Sheeda? What of them?"
"Very few Sheeda were captured alive. In theory, those held by various Earth nations should have been handed over to the special tribunals that were set up by the agreement of Earth's governments to try and punish them for their actions during the war. Most were found guilty of capital crimes, though a few didn't meet the required threshold. Those are in prison.
"
"And so die the Sheeda."
"Not necessarily. I would be surprised if some of the more powerful countries didn't offer a few sanctuary in exchange for their knowledge of magic or biotechnology. And… The Sheeda are humans from the far future. In theory, our descendants will become like them. It's just a matter of time.
"
"A most disquieting thought."
"Possibly due to our studying the biological material they brought back with them.
"
"Why would anyone desire to become such as they?"
"One gene sequence to grant greater longevity, one for faster wound healing, another for visual acuity or intelligence. Immunity to cancer…
" I shrug.
"Improving yourself seems like a good idea, and then eventually you look back and wonder how you got where you are.
"
"A subject on which we could
both opine."
I just nod.
...Oh. And Priest's ring didn't go in search of a successor? Or maybe he was simply reassigned...
