With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

[Mr Zoat]

12th September 2013
22:32 GMT

A flood.

Not caused by building on a flood plain, or global warming, or having a country that's below sea level Netherlands. No, it looks like they… Mined into an aquifer, resulting in thousands of gallons of water gushing out of the mines and deluging down the slope onto the town.

Lantern Stewart glances up at me as we dive down. "Can you stop the water?"

"Yes, easily."

"I got the town. Get to it."

I transition forwards-. Ugh, the rock's somewhat porous and a large chunk of this mountain face is starting to give way. Just sticking a bung construct in the mine entrance isn't going to be enough. Instead, I create a giant water tank construct and attach it with a hose to the opening-.

Yeah, that a lot of pressure.

And then… Extend an orange aura through the rock, reinforcing it as I go… That'll… Do…

Behind me, John's hoiking people out of the water and dropping them off on dry land. Unfortunately, the town is located in a depression in the valley floor. It might keep the wind off a little, but it means that the water isn't going to flow away.

And then-. Ah, I see. Geothermal energy in the rock, melting built up ice from beneath, which isn't visible from the top because that's all still frozen. Nasty. But with a cold gun construct I can at least freeze the water in the tunnels… Gradually, so that the expanding water doesn't rupture the tunnels. Not much I can do about the… Still somewhat active volcano, but they're almost certainly going to have to relocate the town anyway now. They can just shift it up the valley a little, dig a drainage channel and then let the water flow away.

Need to check what's downstream first, but given how the water cycle works there's almost certainly a river not too far from here.

Or-.

My ring shimmers, and John's face appears.

"How's it look?"

"The mountain's a weakly active volcano. They dug through it and inadvertently created a channel to a glacier aquifer that had been on the boil."

"I wondered why they weren't freezing. Can you make it safe?"

"Give me about thirty seconds."

"I'll check the town, then to a survey to see if it's safe to make a drainage channel to get rid of the sitting water."

"Right. I'll do what I can to seal the mountain."

Because aquifers are temporary if you poke a hole in it. And removing the giant heat sink from the active volcano could do all sorts of things to the local environment, and given, A, that I don't intend to hang around and, B, the technology level of the locals doesn't look high enough to do serious monitoring, it's probably best that I leave it as close to as it was as possible.

And I can't risk just collapsing the tunnel in case it causes a landslide. And while I'm perfectly capable of transmuting ice to rock… It's not exactly going to be fast going.

"What brought you here?"

"I wanted a word with you, actually."

"So you.. didn't know this was happening?"

"No." Not… Picking up any sort of beacon. "Did you?"

He shakes his head. "Just doing a patrol of the Sector and picked it up." I see him go for height and scan the surrounding area. "What did you wanna talk to me about that you couldn't do over our rings?"

"Thanagar. And…" I look at the partially submerged town. "Other places."

"I got Lantern Guarn's report. Did you really need to kill the admiral?"

"No. I could just have left. I might have been able to drag the fleet… Maybe, but I know that the Thanagarians have at least some construct-disrupting technology and those things have a lot of attack craft. I could have punched through some other part of the hull, but he was the commanding admiral. It was his decision. Why should I take it out on other navy personnel? The only other thing to do would have been to try to get hold of the High Mor myself, and the problem there is that I don't have a fast way to do that. I could have gone back to Thanagar and forced my way into government buildings to his bunker, but that wouldn't have stopped the fighting."

"And did you really need to say 'they've got other admirals' to Hawkman?"

"Lantern Stewart, I feel that I've been acting under a mistaken impression of what the Green Lantern Corps actually does."

"Oh yeah?"

"So, I get the Reach. The Green Lantern Corps couldn't sustain the war without crippling itself, and the treaty at least slowed their expansion. Similar problem with the Dominion and the Spider Guild, and Apokolips flat out won last time your Corps tried to invade them. But what about Thanagar? Or the Antares war, for that matter?"

"You planning on picking a fight with Thanagar?"

"They're militarily expansionist, slave owning, and one of their leading intelligence operatives told me that the plan for Alstair was to destroy it from orbit. And yet, the local Green Lanterns appear to be happy just leaving them to it. Now, I'm not planning anything, but I was wondering how they were under the threshold for Green Lantern intervention."

"If they had destroyed Alstair, things might have changed. Fact is, interplanetary civilisations fight sometimes. You see how they treat their slaves?"

"No mass executions, they don't get worked to death and they get at least basic medical attention?"

"I don't like it, but it's a whole lot less bad than it could be."

"Same with downside?"

"Downside of what?"

"No, that's what they call their slums. They're quite big. As far as I can tell, the only path for advancement for most thanagarians there is military service."

"Who do you think paid for my college degree?"

"No, I mean, that's literally the only legitimate career available and I think they've set it up like that deliberately. So given that their government oppresses other species, their own species, and was planning genocide…"

"I'm not exactly sure. Being incompetent isn't enough. War usually just results in a mediation attempt, so long as they're mostly focusing on military targets. But with everything that got reported about Antares I'd be surprised if Lantern Guarn wasn't getting orders to start paying them a lot more attention."

"Is there anyone we're keeping an eye on in this Sector?"

There's a flash of green as Lantern Stewart uses a construct drill to create a drainage channel.

"No, we're clear. Everyone's peaceful or primitive. We're the problematic world, and we're just a problem for ourselves."

I dismiss my construct, and nod as the new rock takes the strain. I'll dump the water back at the summit, and then I'll be done.

"Would you mind keeping me appraised? I feel rather involved, now, and I'd like to make sure that things don't get worse."

"Sure. I can do that."

 

[Mr Zoat]

548 West 120th Street
Morningside Heights
New York
10027

March 3rd, 2006

Transcript 72
Green Lantern

GL: Y'know, it's funny you ask about that.

TA: Do you remember the event?

GL: Yeah, yeah, I do. It stuck in my mind because it was such a surprise. She was always a little…

TA: Primitive?

GL: I was gonna say unworldly. So when she said that she was made out of clay, we all kinda looked at each other and… You know, we thought maybe they just.. didn't tell her where babies come from.

TA: When did you learn she was being completely literal?

GL: When did I learn it for sure, or when did I believe her?

TA: Both, I suppose.

GL: Well, I started believing her right afterwards, because she clearly knew what she was talking about. But I didn't visit Themyscira until Forty Eight, and that's when I got to see what those ladies can do with… With magic.

TA: Are you allowed to talk about it?

GL: Ah, yeah? I mean, you'd do better asking at the embassy, and we… Might run out of time. I was there for a few-

TA: Yes, I-.

GL: -days, I-. Sorry.

TA: No, I-. I meant to say that I've scheduled an appointment, but you had an outsider's point of view. Getting both is usually better than one or the other.

GL: Well, I can schedule another meeting, but it won't be for a couple of weeks.

TA: That's fine, thank you. So… Did you talk to him?

GL: No, I was too shocked at seeing her… Hugging a guy like that, that I didn't think to say anything to him until after he'd already walked off. I think Carter and Shiera were too, because we all just sort of stood there in shock until Diana walked up to us to say 'hi'. Like I said, ah… She was fifteen, sixteen back then, and we all figured that she was… Innocent. Sheltered. And we.. tried not to think about how the War Department stuck her with a handsome junior officer as an escort instead of someone from the Women's Auxiliary or something like that.

TA: You think that assigning Lieutenant Steven Trevor to her was..? They were trying to..? Honey pot her?

GL: It… I mean, he was her first point of contact, but he was an airman, a pilot, not a diplomat or… Something.

TA: Did the War Department know about..? Themyscira's… 'Demographic oddity'?

GL: Hah! Yeah, that's… That's one way of putting it. Uh. Well, I know she told 'em, but… I don't know if they set any store by it.

TA: Do you think they thought she was lying?

GL: I think maybe they thought she was a bit simple. Ah, at the start. Or maybe a bit crazy. You understand… Back then we hadn't had the kind of.. direct evidence that pagan gods exist that we have now, so…

TA: I see. Do you remember how the conversation went?

GL: I think it started with me just… Pointing at him as he walked away and saying 'Diana, who was that guy?'. I mean, he was obviously quite a lot older than her… I knew she could look after herself, but…

TA: You felt protective. A young girl away from home-.

GL: Right, right.

TA: And what did she say?"

GL: A little frown, a little shrug, and then she said 'Phaenon'.

TA: Is that his..? His actual name?

GL: No, it-. Getting out of sequence, but apparently so many societies have myths about him that he just takes whatever name they give him. I don't… I don't remember if she ever said his original name… She might not even know. Or maybe he doesn't think it matters. She actually asked me if I was going to call him 'Adam'.

TA: …

GL: I don't think he's actually Adam, like in the Bible, but, ah… I'm not exactly a biblical literalist. I could see how… Parts of his life coulda gotten mixed up in the stories that got written down later. Or maybe Cain? Anyway, anyway, so I asked if he was from Themyscira, because… Maybe they keep a few guys around..? And she said, no, but he's the only man allowed to visit whenever he wants. So I asked 'why', and by that point Carter and Shiera were coming out of it, and we all… We went to sit down at a table. And she said that when her mom was fighting Hercules, he was there and helped them all out. Held him off while they got to the boats to take them off the mainland.

TA: Did she say when that was?

GL: About three thousand years ago.

TA: And she was completely sure it was the same man?

GL: Yeah.

TA: Did she think that was strange?

GL: Ah, not really. Most of the women on Themyscira are about three thousand years old. And he's-. If it's really him, then he's a lot more than three thousand years old.

TA: Were you..? Aware of him before that?

GL: Ah… I think Carter showed me a couple of pieces with… His symbol, the circle and the lines coming off. He said my ring and lantern made him wonder if there was a connection, but that was the only time I saw him, so if there is one then he didn't care about it. Honestly, I was thinking about it in terms of some older guy buying drinks for a teenage girl in a bar, not… Nearly meeting the supposed ancestor of all humanity.

TA: What was her relationship with him?

GL: According to her, she thought he was like what a father would be like. He, ah… When he visited, he told her stories about all the different civilisations he'd visited… Though she said that he sometimes just made stories up for fun, and he'd never tell her which was which. Ah… Apparently, he was in some sort of contest with Captain Philippus for who could be the best dad… I don't exactly know how Amazons handle that part of things.

TA: I suppose there's still a division of responsibilities-. Sorry, it's just that I've been… Interested in the Ancestor for.. most of my life. Finding out that there are people who actually know him-.

GL: It's fine, Carter was the same.

TA: Had he met him in his past lives?

GL: No, but according to him he'd had some near misses. Times when he'd run into something he'd built, or some group that had some story to tell about him. Not that he knew about it, because he hadn't ever gotten all his memories back before. I guess that was part of why they both froze up.

TA: It's a real shame that he died when he did. I'd love to be able to talk about this with someone who knew as much about the subject as he did.

GL: Well, Doctor Adams, if you could find his current incarnation, I'm sure he'd feel the same way.

TA: Oh, please. Theodore's fine.

 

[Mr Zoat]

13th September 2013
14:13 GMT

"Orange Lantern." George Harkness raises his pint glass in my direction as I approach his table. "Been a while."

"Indeed it has." I incline my head towards the seat opposite him. "May I join you?"

He shrugs. "Worked out well last time."

I sit, move one of the coasters a little closer to me and put down my pint of orange juice.

Mister Harkness smirks at it. "Good f' you, staying on brand."

I glance back at the bar, behind which are beer pumps decorated with unfamiliar brands. "Speaking of brands… What happened to the beer?"

"Bunch a' big beer comp'neys went unda. Can't get the raw materials to their big centralised breweries. Places like this either brew their own or get it from micro breweries. Or both."

"What's that done for the quality?"

"I usually buy import anyway. Not that I can get any of that anymore."

He looks at me expectantly.

"I'll get you a crate of Guinness."

"Bonza. So what'd'ya want this time? Looks like you got the costume sorted out."

"I understand that you've gotten back into the entertainment industry."

"It's a living. And I'm a bit more famous than I used to be."

"So, is this a..? Permanent thing..?"

"Well I'm not going to be fixing the Arctic anytime soon, am I? And I'm not dumb enough to pick a fight with Flasher when the world's collapsing."

"Would you be interested in more public relations work?"

He looks at me quizzically. "Did Cold put you up to this?"

"I did ask him about how he thought we could rehabilitate his… Colleagues?"

He snorts, looking away. "Former colleagues, at this point."

"Trickster's licensing his designs to KordTech. Kadabra's studying in Atlantis. Heatwave's-."

"Thought you were all about real names."

"I'm massaging your ego."

"Strewth, I'd-" He leans back. "-have brought me other trousers if I'd known."

"He's working in construction, Weather Wizard is undergoing professional counselling-."

Mr. Harkness frowns. "He agreed to that?"

"I don't think he's realised that's what's happening. He likes to talk about himself, and KordTech has had to abandon weather control system production in order to focus on more immediate concerns, so we're paying him to take the strain."

"Hm. Bunch of.. sell outs…"

"Is there a cause you're working for that I don't know about?"

"No, but it's the principle of the thing, isn't it?"

"Is it? I thought it was about money and infamy."

"Look, I know perfectly well that being able to freeze anything is a bigger deal than being able t' throw boomerangs really well. But at least I can tell myself that I didn't sell out."

"Sell out what to whom?"

"You, you fucking villain whisperer. You're going to make a rational argument to me now, aren't you? About how I can make more money going legit, without the risk of getting arrested. About how I can get more famous as a carney than as a criminal."

"Something like that. It seems to me that you've considered it yourself."

"I did it, didn't I?"

"So if you've already made the decision..?"

"No. This is just until the world's a bit less on fire. But if I take a job from you, that's it. I can't deny it to myself any more."

"Sounds like you're cutting off your nose to spite your face, there."

"Maybe. But it's my nose and my face."

"Though if you throw your nose away that's not yours anymore." He snorts, and takes a sip of his pint. "Is that..? Just me? Or do you feel that way about working for anyone?"

"Any hero."

"It's nice that you still think that I qualify."

He frowns. "Why wouldn't you? If it's about the taking over the world thing, you're doing a better job that the no-hopers who were doing it. That really is a public service."

"I was thinking more about the millions of people I've killed."

For a moment he doesn't respond. Then there's a faint smirk in the left corner of his mouth as he decides that I'm deadpanning a joke. I smile politely as he maintains it, though his eyes grow increasingly nervous as they roam my face, searching for tells. The smirk fades as he leans back slightly.

"Bullshit."

"Oh, I've had the best of intentions. They were all very bad people. Or working for very bad people. Or at least part of a very bad civilisation, even if I couldn't confirm their goodness or badness on an individual basis. Or good people who had to be standing too close to the bad people. Or people who were on the wrong side of a war, who might actually have been fairly good people if only they were more discerning on the subject of who they took orders from."

"Like when?"

"Depending on what incident you're asking about, anything from two years ago to a few days ago."

"Standing too close.. to bad people..?"

"I was bombarding cities from orbit. And yes, the people living in those cities were cannibals, but it's a little unfair to blame children for what their parents feed to them."

"…right. Cold didn't mention any o'this."

"Well, no. It's not like I go around boasting about the fact that I'm probably the second greatest killer in human history."

"Who's the greatest?"

"Vandal Savage, because he's had tens of thousands of years to build up his total. At my current rate I won't equal that for a decade or so." I smile. "So about that P.R. work..?"

"Eh." He smiles nervously. "Never too late to learn new tricks, hey?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th May 2284
08:48 GMT -6

The N.C.R. Rangers guarding the N.C.R. suite recognise me, but they're professional enough to check me for weapons before allowing me inside. The garrison and the administrators overseeing the N.C.R. logistics and settlers have their own permanent places of habitation, and part of the delegation is staying there… Read 'underlings and lickspittles'. President Hayes was originally going to be here from the start, but he had 'urgent business' and now he's going to show up fashionably late.

And since I'm a telepath, I know for a fact that 'urgent business' was 'being a massive drama queen and flying in on a fighter-escorted vertibird when everyone's already here to see it'. But, fine. The N.C.R.'s come a long way under his leadership and if the worst he wants to do is show that off a little, I guess he's earned it.

The N.C.R. Rangers don't recognise Granite, but then there's no real reason why they would. A few Rangers acted as escort for the first part of the Enclave prisoner transfer, but Granite was already in Illinois when that happened. A couple might have seen him while he was working with me in Area 51, but he honestly doesn't stand out all that much. I think it's how how nervous he looks that's setting off alarm bells.

But because we're not idiots, we're not armed-. Well, I'm always armed, but I can't really disarm my brain and the N.C.R. citizens who've gone through our training know perfectly well-

**Hi Steven.**

**Morning, Sir. And yes, we do.**

-that they couldn't really stop me.

**His mother? Really?**

**Someone had to be. And does someone need to redo his telepathic ethics course?**

**Sorry sir, but he's thinking it pretty loudly. Senator Chitsa is doing a final briefing in the living area now.**

**Thank you.**

One of the Rangers -not Steven, his skills are too valuable-

**Thank you, sir.**

-to waste on tour guide duty- escorts us down the corridor and through a reception area, before stopping at a door.

"Please wait here, sir. I'll notify the Senator that you're here."

"Thank you." I nod placidly, while the Ranger disappears inside and Douglas… Starts pacing around the room like a caged animal.

A moment passes, and he clenches his fists and stops as he recognises what he's doing.

"Hey, ah, Krono? I don't wanna… Seize up when Mom comes out. Can you do something to make me… Calmer about this?"

"I could, but it's honestly not a good idea. It can mess up how different ideas connect in your mind, as well as suppressing other emotions as a side effect."

"Okay, yeah, that-. That makes sense. Hoo!" He smiles nervously. "This is-." He breathes out. "I know it's probably okay, but-."

The door bursts open, and an elderly woman dashes out, takes one look at me and Douglas and then throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her face to his chest.

Douglas needs a moment for his brain to engage, then he hugs her back. "Hey Mom."

Senator Chitsa has-. Ah, the sort of flat face and angled eye orbit that I associate with parts of Asia, though her skin isn't all that much darker than mine. Given the purges that America underwent prior to the end of the Great War I assume that her ancestors were from somewhere other than China, though I suppose that Vault 13 had good relations with the Brotherhood of Steel prior to the Enclave's attack. Her hair is tied into a pony tail which goes to the middle of her back, and the once-black hair has mostly turned white. Her suit appears to be in the pre-War style but tailored for a woman, suggesting that it's a modern recreation.

"Douglas."

Well, looks like my work is done. I didn't really think that she'd have had a relationship with a former Enclave soldier if she was the sort of bear grudges about their organisation, but it's nice-.

"Uh." A woman in well-tailored leathers frowns from the doorway. "Who's that guy?"

"Oh, that's Douglas Granite."

"Gra-? Oh. So… Looks kinda young to be Mom's old boyfriend."

"Ah, no, that's their son."

She blinks, and I start seeing the family resemblance. "Oh. Shit. That's big brother Dougie?"

"If you're Senator Chitsa's daughter, then yes." Family resemblance to her mother, not to Douglas. "I assume half-sister?"

"Yeah. Ah. I thought he was living in a Vault somewhere?"

Douglas and Senator Chitsa have separated a little and are now having a conversation I make a point of not listening to.

"He was until his late teens, at which point he joined his father's mercenary company. He's the Vice Governor of Illinois now."

"Oh. And where's his father?"

"Dad's, uh." Douglas and his mother have one arm around each other, but they're looking our way. "Dad's been dead for twelve years, now. I've got some family on… His side of the family, but you're the first person I've met on Mom's side." He makes a point of smiling, and offers her his free hand. "Douglas Granite."

She takes it a little awkwardly. "Vesley."

"Ah, is that your first name, or..?"

Senator Chitsa shakes her head. "We don't use family names in Arroyo. Not traditionally. Not unless one of us marries someone who does."

"Ah…" Vesley considers her mother and half brother. "Do you want me to go set up the stage? Give you and Dougie-. Douglas, some time?"

The Senator nods, and Vesley gives them a nod before-. I follow her towards the exit.

She glances at me as we exit the N.C.R. suite. "Were you just along for support, or are you riding the caboose?"

"Oh, he worked for me for a while after leaving the Sierra Army Depot. Ah, does your mother know that Marcus lives near here?"

She nods. "Yeah, we're planning on visiting him after the conference. They've only seen each other a few times since they blew up the rig. Not a lot of Mom's old adventuring squad left."

"Oh, and Goris is downstairs."

She blinks, frowning. "Really?"

"He's been working as my bodyguard, but I've been flying around a lot lately and he doesn't fit in the plane."

"Anyone else Mom knows?"

"Ah, I think John Cassidy's daughter works the caravan routes around here."

"I was.. joking, but alright. Goris is the only one of them I've actually met." She smiles as we reach the stairs. "He used to let me ride around on his head when I was a little girl."

"That was rather brave of you."

She shrugs. "He was the only deathclaw I'd met. I didn't know why everyone else in the village was so afraid of him. Are you here for the conference too?"

I nod. "Krono, currently the chief of the Skywalker tribe."

"You're Hayes' magical gopher?"

I nod as we reach the lobby. "That's me. I-."

And there's a giant cowl, and a pair of white claws and-

"Agh!"

-Goris grabs Vesley and throws her into the air, effortlessly catching her when she falls back down.

"Ah, I thought you would have grown, but you're still tiny."

"Uncle Goris! Put me down!"

 

[Mr Zoat]

14th September 2013
08:22 GMT

The Thanagarian cruiser-carrier in front of me deploys thrusters and accelerates backwards away from me as my construct Ophidian glowers at it. For something like this, scaring a military vessel out of someone else's territory, actually calling on her power is entirely superfluous.

And… I'm a little uncomfortable with how… Merged we were getting when I browbeat the High Mor into signing the treaty. The Ophidian isn't hostile. Quite the contrary, according to Hinon she likes me more than anyone and anything the Controllers have on record. And the Ophidian has no problem with helping me. She wants everything, and having perspective is something that she values. So calling her whenever I need her is fine as far as she's concerned; she's doing what she wants to.

But being perfectly fine merging with the Embodiment of Avarice is moving away from being human. And that's… That's something that I want to hold on to as long as possible. All other things being equal.

I mean… Apotheosis is a thing that can happen. And even without divine heritage, the exotic energies I've been absorbing… I'm probably going to experience something like that eventually. And that's… Fine. Plenty of minor members of the Hellenistic pantheon used to be mortals. The original version of Wonder Woman ended up becoming a goddess in the comics. Not sure what it will mean in practice…

The thanagarian ship finally gets enough distance from me that the pilot feels that it's safe for them to turn the ship. It rotates so that it's nose up relative to the orbital plane of this system and activates its main sub-light drive, rapidly accelerating out from between the odd binary dwarf planet pair and towards 'safety'.

State-endorsed piracy. It's disgraceful. Not only are there plenty of worlds within easy reach of the Thanagarian Empire that they could easily terraform, not only do they already have plenty of worlds they're not using to anything like their peak capacity, but they insist on subjugating by brute force rather than using their superior economic power to bring other worlds into their sphere of influence. Hyathis is giving more generous terms to places she's been at war with for centuries than the Thanagarians use as their opening offer.

This isn't an efficient use of my time, but I can't say that I regret it.

I raise my right index figure to my forehead

and

appear next to Lantern Guarn as he watches from orbit around the system's one inhabited planet.

"They're leaving."

He makes a gesture of acknowledgement and gratitude, tilting his head back and flaring his throat sacks.

"I'm trying to understand Green Lantern rules of engagement. Isn't chasing off pirates your job?"

"Pirates, yes. But… The Guardians know that we're not all as strong as Lantern Gardner or… You. The Thanagarian Empire was getting to the point where I would need to take action, but I can't defeat them by myself. Instead, I would need to ally myself with their enemies, or raise a coalition to oppose them."

"Your partner?"

"On Oa for training. My previous partner was killed by… Pirates."

"That sounds like something that should have caused more disquiet."

"The galaxy is a large place, Orange Lantern. There are many expansionist empires, and only a handful of Honour Guard Lanterns. I cannot take time away from my primary tasks to focus on increasing my own power, not without a partner to cover for me. Even with one it would feel like an indulgence."

"Do you know of anyone who would make a good Orange Lantern?"

"What characteristics are required?"

"Ideally, they would be someone who has a selfish desire to create peace. Who was so unsatisfied with the state of things today that it created a powerful sense of disquiet within them."

"Hm. No one comes to mind. There probably are people like that amongst the slaves and lizarkons, but I don't interface with their hives."

"And I don't want to take the time away from Earth that I'd need to in order to train them up. And not just because of the time it would take; it would be an obvious sign to Thanagar that I've decided to become their enemy."

He stares at me for a moment.

"Do you not think that grub has already moulted?"

"There's a difference between someone who has interests and ambitions contrary to yours and may oppose you, and someone who is obviously building up with the intent of finishing you off. Thanagar is the violent and xenoservus empire. I'm curtailing their influence… Fine. They won't like it, but they know that they'll survive. But if it looks like I intend to wipe them out, then they'll employ any and all methods to dissuade me."

"Their slaves would make good hostages."

"The thanagarians of the old colonies would make good hostages. Particularly if Andar or Hyathis turn the ones on the colonies they're occupying, which is entirely possible."

"Would they make good Orange Lanterns?"

"I don't think Andar would. Hyathis… Maybe. I'm not sure that she's got the mental stability to stay on-mission…"

The alternative is that I get an existing Orange Lantern to do it. But who? The Reach are a far larger problem than Thanagar-.

For a moment I consider giving rings to Hawkman and Hawkwoman.

No.

Everyone in Vega is going to be busy. I could probably look out across the universe and find someone with exactly the right set of desires…

"Standard practice is to build an alliance between at-risk worlds?"

"Yes."

"I'm assuming that there isn't any one good nucleus world?"

"Alstair."

"So no."

"Alstair fulfils the requirements. Orange Lantern, is your aim to unmake the Thanagarian Empire?"

"Yes. By which I include reforming it so substantially that it effectively becomes something else."

"Hyathis is best positioned to achieve that aim."

"But a substantial proportion of the Empire's population will resist to the death. But if we could promote an internal reform process…"

"How? The High Council has enforced a monoculture. There is no separate internal locus of power."

"The old colonies?"

"Not unified, either internally or with each other. And they have just as many slaves as Thanagar itself."

"Alright. How about this world?"

"They're barely interstellar. They have only eight billion people spread across their home system, and none outside of it. Their internal development strategy-."

"But they're better people than the thanagarians?"

"Yes. Though that may only be because they lack the reach."

"Then we may as well start with them."

"Yes? Ah. We?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

14th September 2013
08:59 GMT

The dominant species of this world are pseudo-mammalian, with four arms and faces which put me in mind of a camel. The upper arms are designed for strength, while the lower pair are used for fine object manipulation. Their legs are digitigrade, and they often walk around on legs and knuckles. The person we're waiting to see isn't their president or prime minister, but is more like the United Nations Secretary General; a civil servant appointed by the powers of the world to handle certain administrative matters. Lantern Guarn was able to get us an accelerated interview; his secretary just hung up on me.

"Lanterns." The man flares his nose in a smile-equivalent, and knocks his major knuckles on the ground in a 'I'm not punching you' gesture of friendliness. "What can Fthaymon do for you?"

I start to open my mouth, then realise that his eyes are focused on Lantern Guarn. Which isn't too surprising; naturally he'd assume that the one he's actually heard of was taking the lead. Well, may as well let him.

"Convenor, there was a ship of the Thanagarian Empire in your system. I believe that it was the source of the raids which your mining settlements have recently been enduring."

The Convenor clenches his minor hands in a gesture of agreement. "You are probably right. We assumed that it was something like that after they kindly offered to annex us. Are they powerful?"

I nod. "They're the most powerful stellar nation in this Sector. But they've recently suffered a military setback and I'm concerned that they might lash out to prove that they've still the top dog."

"And raiding us was intended to apply pressure?"

"Yes, just so. They had a bottleneck which prevented them from expanding their navy above a certain size, and their population isn't all that large. Getting willing compliance in a way which gets them most of what they want and doesn't require them to leave a garrison is the usual way they handle worlds at your level of advancement."

"And the terms remain stable?"

I frown, smiling. "Convenor…"

"I am not surprised, but there is nothing we can do except grovel in the dirt if they send an actual war fleet."

"That's not entirely true."

Lantern Guarn makes a gesture of affirmation. "We wished to speak to you about the idea of combining your efforts with those of other worlds to contain Thanagar."

"A large group of worlds who cannot resist them are not going to be able to resist better just because they combined their efforts. It doesn't matter how many times you add zero to zero; it never becomes greater."

"Naturally, not everyone's contributions would be equal. And it would probably have to be combined with a degree of uplift."

"Advanced worlds giving technology to less advanced worlds? Why would they?"

"Thanagar frequently uses the less technologically ept lizarkons as infantry and garrison troops. They don't do that because they're egalitarian."

"So we would take on the higher risk operations that don't require more sophisticated technology or knowledge."

"This is just an outline to gauge interest. But do you think that's something that your people might be willing to do?"

"It would be better than simply being occupied. I would need to discuss the specifics before agreeing to anything."

I take a copy of the N.E.M.O. treaty out of subspace and translate it to the local language before-. Passing it to his aide, because that's the local protocol.

"That's the standard treaty that my own military alliance uses. It's worked reasonably well so far."

Though I'm not sure how it will handle the transition to peace. I'm sure that Dox has something in mind, and we've already had some friction from worlds who feel that they can reduce their commitment now that their own worlds aren't being actively threatened. The trade networks mostly make up for it… But honestly we've been lucky that we haven't had any species who were truly irreconcilable. The closest anyone's had to slavery has been debt-bondage, and the people who used that were willing to moderate things a little to lubricate relations with their new colleagues.

"I will see to it that it is distributed and discussed prior to policy formation."

"We would like your permission to sound out other worlds in your name. We would not offer binding agreements of course, but it would be useful if we could say that you were already interested."

"We are always interested in coming to equitable terms with other worlds, it simply isn't practical for us to proactively pursue then. Now, what is the Green Lantern Corps' interest in this matter?"

"I cannot fight an entire empire by myself. The only way I can stop the expansion of the Thanagarian Empire is if I have a battle fleet to fight alongside."

He looks at me. "And the… Orange Lantern Corps?"

"I want a stable universe. That requires a political structure where people cooperate at least a bit, and warmongers get slapped down. I also don't want to have to be the one doing the slapping down personally every single time. The best way I've found to make that happen is regional power blocks who cooperate internally and compete externally in a way that's mostly peaceful."

"Am I to understand that you believe that you could 'slap down' the Thanagarian Empire?"

"Ah, probably. But then I'm a single point of failure in galactic peace, and that's a bad thing because, one, this isn't The Orange Lantern Illustres Show featuring The Rest of the Universe, and two, because I'm not completely immortal and so can't totally guarantee it."

...

"You are immortal?"

"Not completely. I've recovered from physical death twice, but there are still ways to keep me down. And I only have finite time, I can't be everywhere at once, and I'd pretty much have to crush a malefactor rather than just present a threat-in-being that they had to take into account."

"Is immortality..? A technology that can be discovered?"

"Uh…" I take out a rune stone and wave it around. "Maybe? My particular form involves imprinting my consciousness onto the structure of my soul, and then transferring it to an uninhabited clone body when my current meat suit dies. But that's not practical for most people." I shake my head. "A lot of advanced species have forms of life extension, I don't know enough about your species or culture to make suggestions."

"Perhaps we can trade for that as well."

"It's unlikely. Different species would require a good deal of customisation in the approach, even if there were points of commonality. Unless you've got any further questions, we'll make a start on sounding people out."

"Nothing for now-. Ah. What should we do if the Thanagarians return?"

"If they just send a cruiser, keep your ships in port as much as you can. If they send a fleet, surrender as quickly as possible."

Lantern Guarn makes a gesture of partial agreement. "Yes, and use the beacon to signal me in either case. I can either fight them myself, or ask Orange Lantern to aid me."

"We've got two members of the Green Lantern Corps Honour Guard assigned to Earth on a semi-permanent basis. If I'm not available, one of them should be."

"Very well. Thank you for giving this matter your time. I pray that you are successful."

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th May 2284
15:12 GMT -6

Vesley leans closer to me as Diana displays her plans for building health clinics across New Mexico.

"How nuts is she?"

We both contemplate the large screen displaying Diana Stone's chosen avatar. Not her own long-abandoned human face. Not the tank that is her current residence. Not a symbol of her former employer Greenway Hydroponics, of which she is the last surviving executive. No, it's a live video feed of a giant holographic image of the Roman goddess Diana which she's projecting in a dedicated audience chamber in Vault 29.

"Compared to what?"

She glances my way for a moment. "A sane person."

"A touch of megalomania. As long as she's got something to work on you'll hardly notice."

"…combination of medic protectrons and trained human physicians, I anticipate a substantial improvement in the treatment of physical injuries and simple diseases. Unfortunately, I am still lacking the base chemicals to synthesise more sophisticated medicine, as well as the aforementioned shortage of medical doctors."

WARDEN's robotic avatar nods. Or rather, bends its waist slightly and then straightens up. "I've had to provisionally put Brotherhood scribe-physicians from the Maxson Chapter in charge of our Department of Health, but we don't have enough people with advanced medical training to both oversee the healthcare professionals we have and actually perform medicine."

One of the local members of the Followers of the Apocalypse leans forwards. "If you're saying that you don't have any kind of medical training college, what kind of qualifications do they have?"

The Diana image stares out with an air of benevolent imperiousness. "I have made certain to ensure that members of the Twin Mothers tribe have a practical grounding in basic medicine. Their medical men and women can clean and sew wounds, set bones and treat fevers. I have avoided training them in more complex forms of medicine."

The Followers frowns. "But… You predate the war. You're probably one of the leading authorities of medicine left. I can't imagine that there's much you couldn't teach them."

"Vault Twenty Nine was an experimental Vault."

The Follower's eyes widen. "Oh God. What was the experiment?"

"In essence, to see if people raised without advanced technology would build a happy and stable society. Alas, while my people demonstrated that it is possible, the Legion who conquered and enslaved them demonstrated that there is no causal link. In cooperation with WARDEN I have begun increasing the sophistication of the educational program for those of the tribe who have returned to me."

The Follower… Doctor Gannon, slumps back in his chair, and I can feel the relief in his mind. The fact that the Vaults were never meant to save anyone… Or at least, the fact that doing so wasn't their primary purpose, is relatively common knowledge across California. And other places are painfully aware that some Vaults 'went bad' or had messed up things happening in them. I don't think anyone has ever had the chance to directly question someone who set up such a Vault before.

The representative from Vault City leans forwards. "We've got fully trained doctors, and I suspect that persuading them to move to another Vault would be a good deal easier than trying to talk them into moving to… Some.. tribal village. But what are you offering in exchange?"

Diana frowns at the idea of someone not jumping at the chance to selflessly help people, but it's WARDEN who answers. "Essentially, immortality."

"Pardon me?"

"They'd be the first generation of fully trained physicians in Colorado since the bombs dropped. They'd form policy, get hospitals and schools named after them, and they'd have the gratitude of the state. It would be a major increase in status for anyone who wanted to move out of your city."

The representative nods. "Okay, I can see you getting some volunteers on that basis. But what does Vault City get?"

Diana's frown smoothes slightly. "I can prioritise you for seeds and seedlings, as well as agricultural equipment. I understand that your farms are manpower intensive."

To put it mildly. Vault City uses wastelander labourers in preference to robotic labourers, and those wastelanders… They've moved away from the serf-labour system they used to use, but they're still very much second class citizens and… The Vault City citizens seem to like being able to lord it over them. They were having a problem with people leaving, but the obvious place to go after leaving Vault City was New Reno, and after Anderson attacked it it's become a good deal less appealing. Of course, if their farms switch to using the farmhand version of Mr. Handy or even just regular tractors, they'll need to improve the education of their labourers so that they can maintain them properly.

"That's… Acceptable, but we'd also like access to the Colorado Dome."

WARDEN pseudo-nods again. "That isn't a problem. It'll be good for Doctor Goddard's-."

Diana's image crackles and vanishes, replaced by the text 'signal lost'. The C-27 WARDEN is piloting stumbles a few steps before straightening up.

Vesley stares at them. "What just happened?"

I'm frowning, expanding my awareness to see if I can feel anything untoward. "WARDEN?"

The C-27 looks around. "Command unit WARDEN is not available. Please state your request."

"Why isn't command unit WARDEN available?"

"Satellite uplink has been disrupted. Please stand by. Should you require police assistance, this unit is ready to protect and serve."

The screen comes back to life, but it's not displaying Diana. Instead, the green and black image of Robert House's avatar is on display. "'Disrupted' is putting it mildly. My early warning system just detected a high-altitude nuclear detonation. The resulting electromagnetic pulse appears to have shut down Diana's remaining satellites. Fortunately, my own systems are hardened against that sort of attack."

I blink. "Was it-? Someone actually built a GoldenEye?"

"Would you care to explain that, Mister Krono?"

"From a… Work of fiction. The GoldenEye satellites were… Satellites with nuclear bombs in them, designed to cripple an enemy's electronic infrastructure. They were rather more dangerous against people who relied on transistors rather than vacuum tubes, but it's not as if anyone can replace the overloaded vacuum tubes in the satellites."

"So our long-ranged communication systems are crippled."

And I need to make sure that the people on the zetan mothership are alright.

The Vault City representative is already on her feet. "I need to try and get in contact with Vault City. Would the hard lines be affected?"

"Of course not." I can hear House roll his eyes. "And any radios that aren't hardened would simply need their vacuum tubes replaced. That's why my company continued to use vacuum tube technology in the first place. Mister Krono?"

"WARDEN and Vault Twenty Nine are both hardened, so they should be fine even if we can't reach them from here. I can have people reach out telepathically-. Are there any incoming strategic missiles?"

The room gasps, but that's the obvious reason to use a GoldenEye. It wouldn't cause the damage depicted it the film, not in this universe, but it could deactivate radar stations for an hour or two.

"Not that I can detect, but my capacities aren't what they were. I didn't detect the launch."

"It might have already been up there. Alright." I turn to the other attendees. "Everyone, check in on your lead negotiators, get initial damage and intelligence reports, and reconvene in half an hour."

Because I think this is the start of something unpleasant.

 

[Mr Zoat]

14th September 2013
11:32 GMT

Polara isn't particularly close to Thanagar, even if it is technically in the same Sector. It also has the distinction of the constant attention of a quarter of the Thanagarian navy and a respectable record against them in fleet engagements. They haven't won, but they have done well enough that Thanagar hasn't been able to press into their core territory.

And they know that they'll get the chance to do so again, because this is the point of origin of the Equalizing Plague.

For the locals it's a perfectly normal symbiotic bacteria; a part of how they learn and preserve what previous generations have learned. Something like a trill symbiote, just compulsory. But contact with aliens and a slight genetic mutation and we get the Lord High Equalizer and the collapse of pre-Empire thanagarian civilisation.

I wave as the system defence ships carefully monitor us flying towards their homeworld. "Have you been here before?"

Lantern Guarn makes an affirmative gesture. "As did my predecessor. Thanagar was not the only world infected, and the other worlds want assurance that they will not be infected again."

"How did they get cured? Was it Hyathis?"

"Their bodies adapted. It is usually hard for a disease to infect other species."

"And the thanagarians just got unlucky?"

"I am not a microbiologist, but the lizarkons were not infected. Or if they were, they showed no symptoms."

"And what was your predecessor doing during that period?"

"She was moving between here and the infected worlds, assisting the researchers who understood the bacteria the best in creating a cure. Though her efforts ultimately came to little, it was the best chance that she had to help."

"I didn't mean to sound that accusatory."

"No, I should not have assumed that you did. Often, even if a Lantern is aware of a major catastrophe, they may not have the knowledge or power to do anything about it. A power ring is not a sign of ultimate power."

"I understand. There are several kryptonians on my homeworld. Their homeworld exploded, and the local Green Lantern was a few hours too late to save it. Not his fault, he honestly did his best…"

"I have never been in the situation of losing an entire planet. But this is not a peaceful Sector. On two occasions I have been fired upon by both fleets in a conflict."

"I've got a few ideas if you're interested in improving your own capabilities, both in terms of raw power and skill."

"I do not think that I am lacking. My performance-."

"The Green Lantern Corps trains Lanterns up to a level where they can function in an 'average' Sector, and then leaves the rest to them. I… Used to have regular sparring sessions with my Sector's Green Lanterns, and we all got better as a result. If that's not practical for you-." Hm. "I assume that you don't have a local Star Sapphire or Sinestro Corpsman?"

"I don't know what those are-." He makes a gesture of astonishment. "Oh. I have not seen one. And we do not have an Orange Lantern, either."

"You do, but Lantern Dul is mostly involved in fighting the Reach." We descend through Polara's atmosphere, heading towards their one alien-friendly city. "If you've got a candidate in mind, let me know."

"I will. What are your ideas for getting stronger? I am alone in this Sector."

"Talk to Lantern Priest of Sector One Six Three Four. His Sector is almost completely peaceful, and he's so good that he doesn't need a ring."

"I thought it was only the Guardians who had such power."

"No, anyone can learn it, it's just really hard. And even the first few steps on that path can result in significant increases in personal power."

"If it will not distract him from his duties, then I will consult with him."

"The actual most powerful Green Lantern ever is his Sector partner, so him being distracted isn't really an issue."

Huh. We're low enough to observe individual people, and… Quite a lot of the people here are wearing either full on power armour, space suits or at least A.B.C. protection gear. Some… Aren't, but most of them are wearing face masks or have visible health monitor readouts.

"Have there been other outbreaks?"

"Not outbreaks, no, but the bacteria sometimes infects someone from another species. While it is not precisely harmful, it is disconcerting."

"Have you ever had it yourself?"

"Once, for a few days. I will not forget it. Have you encountered something similar?"

"Not… Really. One of my old team mates is a telepath, and she usually set up a telepathic network for us when we were on a mission. But it's not really… The same."

I'm not surprised by the way the orange glow flows amongst the natives. They don't all have the same desires exactly, but there's a commonality between each individual. Humans in isolated rural communities sometimes have something like it, where everyone knows everyone and there's a limited amount of external contact. But here it's a product of their symbiotes.

I watch as a polaran steps around someone he couldn't have seen, other polarans briefly directing their eyes that way. As I understand it, the one who dodged wouldn't even be consciously aware of why they moved. Or rather, it would be completely instinctual, with their conscious mind catching up a moment later. Likewise, a few glance up at us, but we don't seem to hold their attention.

The crowd is looking at us. Individuals aren't.

A couple get into aerial transportation vehicles and head… Toward our target building at an accelerated rate. Other vehicles are coming in from other directions-.

"The conclave is gathering."

"Mm."

"They don't have a government in the sense that most species do. When a major decision needs to be made, a cross section of their species gathers like this."

"But they're not a true gestalt, otherwise they'd only need one person."

"Yes. They all have the same information, but they can think about it differently. At least, that is how I understand it."

Yes, the building we're going to is more of a small open air coliseum than a parliament or government office. I can see polarans walking calmly towards the available seats… Though again, unlike a true gestalt they are actually talking amongst themselves.

As Lantern Gaurn and I take out positions in the centre of the arena, there's some sort of… Pointing of multiple sets of arms in various directions, then a pause, then some arms move… Several… 'Rounds' of that happen, and then a single individual moves to a podium facing us.

"Lanterns. Welcome to Polara. Its people will now hear your request."

 

[Mr Zoat]

14th September 2013
11:39 GMT

"We have reached out to our neighbours before. But the memory of collectivisation lingers in their decision-makers. They are content to allow us and the Thanagarians to batter and bloody each other, certain that we will weaken one another and that their interests are served by keeping out of it."

The Speaker makes a gesture… Indicating a polite request for information.

"What has changed, other than your presence?"

"I've enforced a peace treaty between Thanagar and Alstair."

That generates a round of muttering.

"I don't know if you're aware-."

"We know that Alstair undid thanagarian collectivisation, and that they hate its queen for her generosity. We considered attempting to make an alliance with her, but she was absorbed with the war in her home system."

"That's over too. She won. The other three worlds are her vassals now."

"Then she would be the obvious place to look for friends."

"Except that the peace treaty I imposed prevents her taking military action against the Thanagarian Empire. She can trade, but that's it, and her technology base isn't compatible with yours."

"That is unfortunate. Does Thanagar consider your treaty to be enforced?"

I nod. "As far as I can tell."

"Then not only are they free to redeploy the fleet they had ready for action against Alstiar, but they have been dealt a humiliation. They will feel the need to demonstrate their strength."

"Yes."

He makes a six-arm-drooping gesture of dismay.

I nod sympathetically. "I know, that's why I'm here."

"Did your enforcement of your peace involved destroying many of their vessels?"

"No. None, actually. One Command Carrier will need a month in a shipyard and they'll need to appoint a new admiral, but that's about it. My preferred resolution involves no fighting, just a gradual build-up where no one can risk an engagement."

"We will need to build up now anyway."

"Yes. By my estimation…" I generate a construct image of the Sector large enough to be visible by everyone. "There are three military powers capable of actively resisting the Thanagarian Empire. None of them can take on the combined might of the Thanagarian Navy, but by coordinating efforts you should be able to counter them."

"If we can coordinate, and are willing to coordinate."

Oh dear. "Do you have a standing dispute with either of the others?"

"The margave had sponsored slave uprisings which usually serve to cause the death of the slaves. Such callousness is distasteful to us."

"How distasteful?"

The Speaker looks around at the assembly, waiting while muttered conversations and frantic hand gestures are undertaken. "Not distasteful enough."

"And the other?"

"Sthuounoo is profoundly isolationist. Our previous emissaries were fired upon."

"Alright. I'll deal with them, you send new instructions to your ambassador on Margan Prime."

"Acceptable. And necessary."

"Now, the weaker civilisations. Are you prepared to sign defence treaties? Begin an uplift program?"

"In principle, yes. We come with selflessness built in. But I'm not certain that they will cooperate with us willingly."

I frown. "Why not? None of them have lifespans that would make the Equalization Plague disproportionately significant."

"In order to ensure that all parties to our treaties are being honest with each other and entering into the agreement in good faith, we-."

I slump slightly. "You dose them with telepathic bacteria."

"It is a basic part of our diplomacy and psychology. It does not need to be permanent-."

"But all the species around here remember what involuntary exposure looks like and aren't happy about getting dosed again, even if it's temporary."

"It has been a problem with even basic trade agreements."

"Is that something you need or something you want?"

His lower hands remain on his lectern, while his other four are raised towards the rest of the conclave. They gesture in the affirmative.

"I realise that it's inconvenient, but it's-."

"No, no, one of my friends is telepathic-. Does it have to be plague, or are other types of mind-to-mind contact acceptable?"

"I couldn't decide that without experiencing it, but they might be acceptable."

"And it's just a one-off, you don't need constant contact?"

"We would need it again if the treaty were to be revised, but not otherwise."

"Okay, start the initial negotiations and I'll find a telepath for the latter stages. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Good. What are your current bottlenecks?"

"Raw material availability. Our shared knowledge makes training specialists easy, but the Thanagarians have been careful to prevent our territory from expanding."

"Iron, tungsten, titanium, carbon?"

"All those things and more."

Not because they're actually short, but because materials you keep extracting become progressively harder and harder to get, requiring more and more time and energy. And without a bypass, like a matter transmuter, nanotech or a legion of mining robots, that's a significant problem.

"Alright, I'll bear that in mind. Any opportunities arising, where getting cooperation now would let you capitalise on it?"

"Thanagarian ship construction has slowed recently. We believe that this is due to them having trouble transmuting the required quantities of Nth metal. Anything that could be done to limit-"

I'm wincing.

"-their access to more would be quite helpful."

"You should plan for that being less of a problem, at least for a few months. They found a better technique, but Hyathis is making them pay a great deal for it."

"That might also be useful. How much more?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th May 2284
15:44 GMT -6

Governor Rusk nods when he sees me. "I don't know shit. You?"

I shake my head as we follow the crowd into the main hall. The people around me are some of the most senior politicians and military officers in our alliance, and-.

I check to make sure that my people are maintaining vigilance.

**Yes, Chief Krono.**

Good. Because it would be very bad if anything happened to this room.

"High-altitude nuclear detonation is my best guess."

"Weel shyt. Any idea who?"

I didn't ask anyone in Britain if they still had Polaris or Trident, but I'd have thought that if they did they'd have fired it when the European countries fought each other. And I don't know if Trident's missiles have the fuel capacity for a high-altitude detonation.

"Most likely a pre-War facility. American, Chinese or Russian would be my guess, but that doesn't narrow it down much."

"Weren't us, I'll tell yah that fer nothin'. Weren't those Alamo kooks, neither. Tlaloc?"

"Contrary to his core programming. And I don't want to assume this was deliberate. There were times during the Cold War where the Russians nearly fired their arsenal because their launch detection system mistook a normal cloud or a flock of birds for an American nuclear launch. If some Emperor-class A.I. got its knickers in a twist…"

Rusk nods. "Or some fool broke inta some facility they had no business being inside and pressed the wrong button. I'll try an' keep a cool-"

"Chief Krono?"

"-head."

We look up as a N.C.R. Ranger corporal hustles up to us.

"Yes?"

"General wants you, sir."

"Ah-."

Rusk nods. "Oh, you get on, son. With alla this panicking and carrying-on, I reckon the bar's probably free."

"Right. See you when I see you. Lead on, Corporal."

"Sir."

We pick our way through the not-quite panicking crowd, confirming with one another that they're all equally ignorant. Douglas and his mother are getting a few odd looks; former Enclave and person who blew up the Enclave not being a natural pair in most people's minds. And one of my brother-in-laws is talking to a priestess from Heaven's Gate.

"…er teams in the Oregon, but they're mostly keeping tabs on the Washington Brotherhood."

Ranger General Mossman is standing in front of a world map which has been affixed to an easel. Mossman is in overall command of the N.C.R. Rangers, as well as effectively being in command of N.C.R. Intelligence. He's also the reason why Chief Hanlon got to retire honourably rather than being put in front of a firing squad, so I'm tentatively willing to assume that he's a good man as well. Grant's standing next to him, nodding twitchily and occasionally glancing around the room. One nice thing about Vegas is that House got all of his anti-missile systems up and running again, so we're in just about the safest place we could be if missiles are in the air.

Another ranger dashes in and writes a time on the map before heading out again, Mossman staring at it before turning to his boss.

"I think that about-." He catches sight of me. "Mister Krono."

"General. Governor. Do you know something?"

Mossman nods. "I've been having my people contact our outposts across California and record the time when their electronics stopped working. Not everyone's reported in yet, but as far as we can tell so far, the effect hit the north first. I don't suppose you've got eyes on the Immortal, have you?"

I shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I don't have that many operatives, and he hasn't been a priority."

Another nod. "It could have been a Russian missile fired over the pole, or something someone left up there for two hundred years. As far as we can tell, all the satellites in that area have either been destroyed or disabled."

Hayes sighs. "We don't even know for certain that there haven't been other attacks all across America. Can you do something about that?"

"Yes, but not quickly. I'll need to contact the choir in Area Fifty-One, and they'll need to reach out-."

"Do it. With the satellites down, we don't have anything better. And it's not like someone can just fly up and replaced the satellites' vacuum tubes, so I think we're going to have to accelerate-."

"No, we can."

Hayes frowns at me. "You told me your saucers weren't designed for space walks."

"They're not, but the Mothership can handle that, no prob-. Ah, assuming that they've got the trained personnel, but we can send someone up if they haven't."

That prompts an eyebrow-raise. "Where did you find trained astronauts?"

"Houston, hopefully. If they've got a few pre-War ghouls around, they should remember the skills required. If not, my people have telekinesis. It should make spacewalks a lot easier than trying to manage it with a thruster pack."

"Okay, that's a start. And I've got to get soldiers mobilised. Do you think your Canadian friends will help out?"

"They might, but you'd be better off talking to-" I turn and nod at the nun. "-our steam-loving friends."

Hayes nods. "Alright. You make your calls, I'll talk to her. Mossman, keep up the good work and holla if you learn anything new."

"Right." / "Mister-. Governor."

I could reach out while standing here, but it's easier if I'm somewhere quiet, if only because people won't try talking to me. This is a little further than a casual chat, so…

**[Picture the site]**

In my mind's eye I see the focus station, and the projective and receptive telepaths currently on duty. Several look around, and I can **[feel them looking back]**.

**Krono to Station.**

**We hear you, Chief.**

**Someone just used a weapon which destroys vacuum tubes. Contact our embedded agents and get reports on what's happening where they are, how far the effect has spread and if there have been any other attacks. Report back to me when ready.**

**At once, Chief.**

**And send a message to Albert, on the Mothership. Ask him to radio me in New Vegas as soon as possible.**

**That could take a while. I don't think he's in range.**

Can't blame a man for having fun in a spaceship.

**Whenever you can. Krono out.**

I withdraw my awareness, blinking as I refocus on my physical location. I'd best head to the market and purchase some warm clothing, because I expect that a trip to Washington State is in my future.