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

[Agent Orange]

because he thinks it's funny.

Click to shrink...

He started doing because he thought it was funny, these days it's a habit, tomorrow it might be a crutch for the same reason all bad habits are. What happens if he can't move that hand for whatever reason (always tie down the casters reliant on gestures)? Will he just be stuck? What's the point of adding a component to the closest thing he has to an innate power.

 

[transhumansage]

When did I ever call anyone 'mate'?

You're fictional?

Click to shrink...

i dont know all your behavior so far leads me to believe you are from australia. *snort* lol

 

[Sockmonkey]

Pony names are less silly than people think. Most western surnames are based on jobs their original ancestor had. Smith, Baker, Carpenter, etc.

 

[Flightless Man]

I dunno about breaking them. But I can see how being told that every single horrid thing that has ever happened to you, Batman's parents being murdered for instance, was just for another worlds entertainment might just fuck with your head.

That and the idea that every action you take is actually one that is being written for you, and that you have no free will.

I think everyone on the Justice League is more than capable of pushing past it. But still....

Click to shrink...

My answer is make SI's earth a fake movie/book/show in DC. It's my go to choice now. Who cares if they are fictional to you, if when on day 2 in DC verse you see a rerun for a 90's sitcom and its a snapshot of your life. You have knowledge of world, everyone can have some knowledge of you. Are you in a comic or did a sitcom character (you) become real? Basically the every writers idea is a window into he multiverse theory.

I thought Paragon Paul was believed by everyone to be from a alternate universe around a decade ahead?

i dont know all your behavior so far leads me to believe you are from australia. *snort* lol

Click to shrink...

He's very non confrontional as Paragon, my money is on Canadian. We have never lost a war but also never started one. We win when everyone else has tried and we decide its really worth fighting over but drag our heels for ever.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Corrected.

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Senevri]

Just test out and get on with your life.

Click to shrink...

On the other hoof, she's immortal, so what's the rush? You can only go to high school with your friends once.

OTOOH, if she's not in the same school, or didn't have friends, what's the rush? She can always come up with a fake ID and go through high school later.

Still, saying things like, "I can't wait to get out of HS, it's a waste of time" is SUCH a juvenile thing to claim...

 

[Sorrow]

26th June 2012
14:14 GMT -7

"If it feels wrong, don't do it. But you should make sure that you're sure that it feels wrong, and that it's not that you think it should feel wrong."

Click to shrink...

Uhh... >_<

Wha-at did I just read?

 

[Pez]

Has Artemis stopped her relationship with Tao because of the sudden disparity in their life experience? He's been fairly militarized so he might understand her better than most. I'm not sure if he's similarly immortal/ageless as New Gods though, since his divine Awakening wasn't a New God-affiliated process (I haven't read anything about the original comics version).

Click to shrink...

It hasn't been mentioned. The all mighty Zoat mentioned he might try to fill in the gaps from Artemis's/the Team's perspective (regarding the 'mind control' comment). She's a vastly different person now, so I'd assume that whatever brought her and Tao together might not still be there.

Plus... she did just run off to ponyland.

 

[Pinklestia]

Uhh... >_<

Wha-at did I just read?

Click to shrink...

Basically don't do things you do not want to do because they feel wrong. But make sure you are not doing those things because is something you don't want to do, not because is something you are were told you should not do.

 

[Darko]

It hasn't been mentioned. The all mighty Zoat mentioned he might try to fill in the gaps from Artemis's/the Team's perspective (regarding the 'mind control' comment). She's a vastly different person now, so I'd assume that whatever brought her and Tao together might not still be there.

Plus... she did just run off to ponyland.

Click to shrink...

I think Zoat mentioned both her and the renegade are going to try and get back into their respective romantic relationships, so she may still be dating Tao.

Also going to Equestria isn't an indication that she broke up with him.

People can want to have some time away from their loved ones, but that doesn't mean they don't love them anymore, or that they don't want to be near them for a long time.

Her going to another place most likely means that she wants to go to a place where she won't feel so much stress, not that she wants to leave her life on Earth behind.

 

[rkyeun]

"I don't think my role in society is defined by shooting arrows at stars."

Click to shrink...

You literally redefined an entire society by shooting arrows at a star. And killing that star.

 

[Flightless Man]

I was wondering if we were going to find out the Paragon timeline Sheeda are infact the ones Grayven and Artemis conquered. Doesn't seem like its the case.

 

[Darko]

Zoat the title for this renegade chapter is called 'Otherworld', but it should be called 'Cold Iron', like the previous one.

 

[Mr Zoat]

26th June 2012
16:16 GMT -5

That'll… Do.

Far enough underground for shelter against low-power weapons, masked against most commonly used forms of sensor, tough enough to withstand intermediate assault for long enough for the energy shields to rise. Interior is low-price-civilian-home, which… Is adequate for our purposes. No overt sign that the locals are aware of us, but without knowing more about their society I can't be completely sure what that would look like.

"Orange Lantern, you about ready?"

I nod at Jordan's head as it floats over my ring.

"Temporary shelter ready to receive refugees."

"We'll be down in a minute."

"Is the rest of the ship secure?"

"I think so. The rest of the crew are just trying to stay out of our way."

"We don't really have the facilities to take them prisoner." I look around. "I could build one down here, but… We don't have anyone who could stop them using magic. So I guess… Smash the bridge and drive and leave them there?"

"Or we could talk to the local government about taking them prisoner."

"'We' or 'me'?"

"If this 'Malvolio' guy is real, I need to be there."

"I'll use my armour's stealth systems and actually find the local authorities while you bring the refugees down."

"Don't start anything without me."

"I'm not Guy, Green Lantern."

"Yeah. I can predict him. GL out."

Right then. I drop my construct armour and alter my armour for improved stealth. Then I go invisible, and use my armour's flight systems to head at speed towards the closest settlement. It's not actually all that far away, but it's a small village with a small airport and some farmland. Less chance of sophisticated monitoring equipment than somewhere larger. It should let me get a better idea of what they're like before risking further contact.

The thought occurs to me as I accelerate to near the speed of sound…

We've… Won.

Without Sivana's help… Further help, cleaning up the Sheeda holdouts could take a long time, but without the Castle Revolving, that's it. When their initial attack bounced I was convinced this was inevitable, but now it's… Happened. Gloriana played her hand, and her strongest warriors couldn't stand against the League. If she'd limited herself to some harvesting and then returned to the future she'd probably have managed it, but…

I'm reminded of the first White Dwarf battle report when they released Battlefleet Gothic. The man playing Eldar forgot the 'run' part of 'hit and run' and lost an escort squadron to a bombardment by the Imperial Navy. One of the other members of staff had to write 'hit and run' on a piece of paper and wave it at him to remind him, then he woke up and didn't lose another ship. Even managed a draw by disengaging his fleet once the Imperials closed the distance.

The point being, of all the sensible and rational-based-on-incomplete-information things she could do, Gloriana did this. That… Suggests a mind incapable of comprehending that she might be… Not in the moral wrong, but in the practical wrong. If she were running a hundred metre sprint, she could be ninety metres behind the field and still be completely confident that she'd end up taking the gold. She's incapable of backing down, not because she's so proud that she'd rather die than lose, but because she can't conceive of any situation where she might lose.

I bet it would be fascinating to look inside her.

I slow as I approach a low wall, my ring notifying me that Jordan is entering the atmosphere in as covert an insertion as a Green Lantern carrying passengers can manage. The wall marks the outer border of the settlement, a small stone-paved path encompassing the settlement. But… The wall is faux-stone, small gullies pretending to be mortared joins actually just moulded indents in larger single pieces of synthesised stone, with a strip of light paint to aid in the illusion.

Yeah, this looks like something I could see a space resort doing. Pre-assembled walls are easier to put together centrally than cutting local stones and making mortar on-site. Probably needs less maintenance as well. And the pavement is a sort of faux-stone mat?

I sigh. It is going to be tourists, isn't it?

I fly over it, further signs of plasticization metaphorically leaping out at me as I look around. A small pond fed by a hose, fake fish tied to the bottom by a string which produces movement by rotating the plate the string is attached to. Synthetic grass sheets laid down over the local soil, a handful of local succulents poking through here and there at the edges. Reed sunshades made of printed reeds, a single piece made to look like it was woven but actually held together with staples.

It's like a space package tour. I… I'm less sure that this is a product of Malvolio's imagination. If only because a man of his era would find it easy to imagine a proper stone wall.

I float upwards slightly, spotting a family of the species I scanned earlier in the fields… Picking some sort of round purple fruit from a short tree. This clearly isn't an agricultural production centre, so the only thing I can come up with is that it's a back-to-nature holiday home. The adult male has a bucket and is working his way along the line of fruit trees while the adult female is riding herd on the children, who appear completely fascinated by their environment. City children getting their first taste of nature, I assume.

I fly onwards, heading towards the centre of town. The other villas are more or less the same, but the structure near the airfield has substantially more advanced technology inside it. That should be the best place find out more.

The building… Looks a bit more natural, a bit more honestly weathered than the rest, even though its brutalist design probably wasn't meant to. Maybe it was repurposed from an earlier role? A female white alien is sitting in an office, doing… Actual paperwork, and they don't appear to be entirely at home with using a pen. Which is what I'd expect of someone from an advanced civilisation who's being forced to slum it. Goodness knows that my handwriting is far worse than it was when I was in school. They're probably the best person to talk to if we get that far.

I phase through the back wall and look at the villa complex's computer core for a moment, check my surroundings, then phase in and connect myself to it.

Oh.

It's literally just a local management mainframe. It isn't connected to a global data network and doesn't have a social database. No alien films… I've got names of current and former residents… Nothing about government or civil organisation. Not a total shock; it's not like most computers on Earth have a full copy of Encarta Populi in their hard drive. The lack of a data network is a little strange; that suggests that these people are fairly hardcore about their isolationism. Which is a little at odds with the walls, but… Aliens.

Can't get anything useful here. It looks like I'll have to either go to a larger settlement or ask. Ask. Manually ask a question like some sort of unusually verbose caveman.

I switch over to my less intimidating light armour and head towards the office.

"Excuse me?"

"Just a moment!"

I stop, standing at parade rest as the tour operator puts her pen down, stretches her fingers, then gets up and heads out from the office.

And stops dead when she sees me.

"Hello."

"Hiiiiiii. I… Didn't know we were expecting any guests today."

"You're not. I'm-."

"Great Torch, is this actually an invasion? I-I didn't read that part of the manual! I don't know what to do!"

"I'm not invading you. But certain… Things are happening, and I need more information-."

"And you're going to suck it out of my ears?!"

I frown. "No? Why would you even think that?"

"Oh, you're just ruining all of my alien abduction fantasies!"

…

"Sorry?"

 

[Mr Zoat]

Zoat the title for this renegade chapter is called 'Otherworld', but it should be called 'Cold Iron', like the previous one.

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[RichardWhereat]

Don't ruin her fantasies OL, give her ear a lick, and suck, and a nibble or two.

Then maybe grab her bodily and bite her neck, sucking on it while you hold her in place, and nibble back up to her ears, and suck on them harder.

Pull her body against yours. Grasp her by the back of the head, and around her back. Abduct her thoroughly.

It could set the tone for interspecies contact, for generations to come.

 

[Agent Orange]

"Great torch, is this actually an invasion? I-I didn't read that part of the manual! I don't know what to do!"

Click to shrink...

I love everything about this... interaction ["You're... not going to abduct and probe ravish me?"] but I can't help but note this expression. Nope, not Malvolio at all.

 

[Dur'id the Druid]

......... Your drawing a lot of inspiration from that Star Trek TNG episode where Riker was caught on an under-cover mission on a non-warp civlization, and helped by that alien with an overactive imagination of alien sexual encounters, aren't you?

 

[Sceptic]

actually held together with stables.

Click to shrink...

So they're just horsing around?

 

[Joelseph14]

26th June 2012
16:16 GMT -5

That'll… Do.

Far enough underground for shelter against low-power weapons, masked against most commonly used forms of sensor, tough enough to withstand intermediate assault for long enough for the energy shields to rise. Interior is low-price-civilian-home, which… Is adequate for our purposes. No overt sign that the locals are aware of us, but without knowing more about their society I can't be completely sure what that would look like.

"Orange Lantern, you about ready?"

I nod at Jordan's head as it floats over my ring.

"Temporary shelter ready to receive refugees."

"We'll be down in a minute."

"Is the rest of the ship secure?"

"I think so. The rest of the crew are just trying to stay out of our way."

"We don't really have the facilities to take them prisoner." I look around. "I could build one down here, but… We don't have anyone who could stop them using magic. So I guess… Smash the bridge and drive and leave them there?"

"Or we could talk to the local government about taking them prisoner."

"'We' or 'me'?"

"If this 'Malvolio' guy is real, I need to be there."

"I'll use my armour's stealth systems and actually find the local authorities while you bring the refugees down."

"Don't start anything without me."

"I'm not Guy, Green Lantern."

"Yeah. I can predict him. GL out."

Right then. I drop my construct armour and alter my armour for improved stealth. Then I go invisible, and use my armour's flight systems to head at speed towards the closest settlement. It's not actually all that far away, but it's a small village with a small airport and some farmland. Less chance of sophisticated monitoring equipment than somewhere larger. It should let me get a better idea of what they're like before risking further contact.

The thought occurs to me as I accelerate to near the speed of sound…

We've… Won.

Without Sivana's help… Further help, cleaning up the Sheeda holdouts could take a long time, but without the Castle Revolving, that's it. When their initial attack bounced I was convinced this was inevitable, but now it's… Happened. Gloriana played her hand, and her strongest warriors couldn't stand against the League. If she's limited herself to some harvesting and then returned to the future she'd probably have managed it, but…

I'm reminded of the first White Dwarf battle report when they released Battlefleet Gothic. The man playing Eldar forgot the 'run' part of 'hit and run' and lost an escort squadron to a bombardment by the Imperial Navy. One of the other members of staff had to write 'hit and run' on a piece of paper and wave it at him to remind him, then he woke up and didn't lose another ship. Even managed a draw by disengaging his fleet once the Imperials closed the distance.

The point being, of all the sensible and rational-based-on-incomplete-information things she could do, Gloriana did this. That… Suggests a mind incapable of comprehending that she might be… Not in the moral wrong, but in the practical wrong. If she were running a hundred metre sprint, she could be ninety metres behind the field and still be completely confident that she's end up taking the gold. She's incapable of backing down, not because she's so proud that she's rather die than lose, but because she can't conceive of any situation where she might lose.

I bet it would be fascinating to look inside her.

I slow as I approach a low wall, my ring notifying me that Jordan is entering the atmosphere in as covert an insertion as a Green Lantern carrying passengers can manage. The wall marks the outer border of the settlement, a small stone-paved path encompassing the settlement. But… The wall is faux-stone, small gullies pretending to be mortared joins actually just moulded indents in larger single pieces of synthesised stone, with a strip of light paint to aid in the illusion.

Yeah, this looks like something I could see a space resort doing. Pre-assembled walls are easier to put together centrally than cutting local stones and making mortar on-site. Probably needs less maintenance as well. And the pavement is a sort of faux-stone mat?

I sigh. It is going to be tourists, isn't it?

I fly over it, further signs of plasticization metaphorically leaping out at me as I look around. A small pond fed by a hose, fake fish tied to the bottom my a string which produces movement by rotating the plate the string is attached to. Synthetic grass sheets laid down over the local soil, a handful of local succulents poking through here and there at the edges. Reed sunshades made of printed reeds, a single piece made to look like it was woven but actually held together with stables.

It's like a space package tour. I… I'm less sure that this is a product of Malvolio's imagination. If only because a man of his era would find it easy to imagine a proper stone wall.

I float upwards slightly, spotting a family of the species I scanned earlier in the fields… Picking some sort of round purple fruit from a short tree. This clearly isn't an agricultural production centre, so the only thing I can come up with is that it's a back-to-nature holiday home. The adult male has a bucket and is working his way along the line of fruit trees while the adult female is riding herd on the children, who appear completely fascinated by their environment. City children getting their first taste of nature, I assume.

I fly onwards, heading towards the centre of town. The other villas are more or less the same, but the structure near the airfield has substantially more advanced technology inside it. That should be the best place find out more.

The building… Looks a bit more natural, a bit more honestly weathered than the rest, even though its brutalist design probably wasn't meant to. Maybe it was repurposed from an earlier role? A female white alien is sitting in an office, doing… Actual paperwork, and they don't appear to be entirely at home with using a pen. Which is what I'd expect of someone from an advanced civilisation who's being forced to slum it. Goodness knows that my handwriting is far worse than it was when I was in school. They're probably the best person to talk to if we get that far.

I phase through the back wall and look at the villa complex's computer core for a moment, check my surroundings, then phase in and connect myself to it.

Oh.

It's literally just a local management mainframe. It isn't connected to a global data network and doesn't have a social database. No alien films… I've got names of current and former residents… Nothing about government or civil organisation. Not a total shock: it's not like most computers on Earth have a full copy of Encarta Populi in their hard drive. The lack of a data network is a little strange; that suggests that theses people are fairly hardcore about their isolationism. Which is a little at odds with the walls, but… Aliens.

Can't get anything useful here. It looks like I'll have to either go to a larger settlement or ask. Ask. Manually ask a question like some sort of unusually verbose caveman.

I switch over to my less intimidating light armour and head towards the office.

"Excuse me?"

"Just a moment!"

I stop, standing at parade rest as the tour operator puts her pen down, stretches her fingers, then gets up and heads out from the office.

And stops dead when she sees me.

"Hello."

"Hiiiiiii. I… Didn't know we were expecting any guests today."

"You're not. I'm-."

"Great torch, is this actually an invasion? I-I didn't read that part of the manual! I don't know what to do!"

"I'm not invading you. But certain… Things are happening, and I need more information-."

"And you're going to suck it out of my ears?!"

I frown. "No? Why would you even think that?"

"Oh, you're just ruining all of my alien abduction fantasies!"

…

"Sorry?"

Click to shrink...

Probe her probe her probe her probe her. Fulfill her fantasies

 

[Vice Xarno]

......... Your drawing a lot of inspiration from that Star Trek TNG episode where Riker was caught on an under-cover mission on a non-warp civlization, and helped by that alien with an overactive imagination of alien sexual encounters, aren't you?

Click to shrink...

episode name pls

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

26th June 2012
16:16 GMT -5

That'll… Do.

Far enough underground for shelter against low-power weapons, masked against most commonly used forms of sensor, tough enough to withstand intermediate assault for long enough for the energy shields to rise. Interior is low-price-civilian-home, which… Is adequate for our purposes. No overt sign that the locals are aware of us, but without knowing more about their society I can't be completely sure what that would look like.

Click to shrink...

Not bad for something largely intended to be temporary housing.But OL never does things by halves, does he? That's going to make for some very confused archaeologists somewhere down the line, though.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Orange Lantern, you about ready?"

I nod at Jordan's head as it floats over my ring.

Click to shrink...

So they've basically pacified the Castle Revolving?

"Temporary shelter ready to receive refugees."

"We'll be down in a minute."

Click to shrink...

And if Hal's been practising his shit, that's literally one transition away...

"Is the rest of the ship secure?"

"I think so. The rest of the crew are just trying to stay out of our way."

Click to shrink...

Sensible, given what they've seen the heroes, especially the Lanterns, doing to any opposition. Presumably Glory-bra's pulled her forces back in hopes they'll get bored and wander off.

"We don't really have the facilities to take them prisoner." I look around. "I could build one down here, but… We don't have anyone who could stop them using magic. So I guess… Smash the bridge and drive and leave them there?"

"Or we could talk to the local government about taking them prisoner."

Click to shrink...

Wouldn't really do to leave a bunch of sado-masochistic space elves with a taste for torture and murder hanging around unattended. Smacks of irresponsibility, really.

"'We' or 'me'?"

"If this 'Malvolio' guy is real, I need to be there."

Click to shrink...

At least OL will be there to moderate how the scenario plays out? Hopefully things don't go quite as pear-shaped as original Canon.

"I'll use my armour's stealth systems and actually find the local authorities while you bring the refugees down."

"Don't start anything without me."

Click to shrink...

No, OL never starts fights. Not unless he's got absolute superiority in firepower, positioning and surprise, anyway. It's a pity other people don't feel the same way.

"I'm not Guy, Green Lantern."

"Yeah. I can predict him. GL out."

Click to shrink...

...Ouch. True, but ouch. After all, you know how Guy will react in most situations, especially with Will Enlightenment. OL seems to change tacks on a whim as he realises moment-to-moment desires...

Right then. I drop my construct armour and alter my armour for improved stealth. Then I go invisible, and use my armour's flight systems to head at speed towards the closest settlement. It's not actually all that far away, but it's a small village with a small airport and some farmland. Less chance of sophisticated monitoring equipment than somewhere larger. It should let me get a better idea of what they're like before risking further contact.

Click to shrink...

Well, he did say they were about modern-day in terms of tech. If it's anything like Earth... Our Earth... Then they're not likely to have any equipment capable of detecting him in any way, outside of some remote high-end science lab...

The thought occurs to me as I accelerate to near the speed of sound…

We've… Won.

Click to shrink...

Feels like a let-down, huh? You were expecting it to be harder, maybe? But the Sheeda aren't ones for long-term conflicts, from what we've seen. They go in, hit hard, and finish up with minimum wastage of bio-mass...

Without Sivana's help… Further help, cleaning up the Sheeda holdouts could take a long time, but without the Castle Revolving, that's it. When their initial attack bounced I was convinced this was inevitable, but now it's… Happened. Gloriana played her hand, and her strongest warriors couldn't stand against the League. If she's limited herself to some harvesting and then returned to the future she'd probably have managed it, but…

Click to shrink...

She couldn't keep her eye on the bigger picture, could she? She got bogged down in the insult of people actually fighting back, and winning, against her.

I'm reminded of the first White Dwarf battle report when they released Battlefleet Gothic. The man playing Eldar forgot the 'run' part of 'hit and run' and lost an escort squadron to a bombardment by the Imperial Navy. One of the other members of staff had to write 'hit and run' on a piece of paper and wave it at him to remind him, then he woke up and didn't lose another ship. Even managed a draw by disengaging his fleet once the Imperials closed the distance.

Click to shrink...

For the layman, think 'space navy combat game' with a high granularity of simulation of physics. Eldar ships are corsairs, fast in the right conditions but prone to struggling when things turn against them, lightly armoured and crewed with potent weapons. Imperial ships, by the Emperor, are bricks of massive armour and armament, best at presenting broadsides or carrier operations. If the former get in the line of the latter's guns, they go away fast...

The point being, of all the sensible and rational-based-on-incomplete-information things she could do, Gloriana did this. That… Suggests a mind incapable of comprehending that she might be… Not in the moral wrong, but in the practical wrong. If she were running a hundred metre sprint, she could be ninety metres behind the field and still be completely confident that she's end up taking the gold. She's incapable of backing down, not because she's so proud that she's rather die than lose, but because she can't conceive of any situation where she might lose.

Click to shrink...

And what we've seen of her bears that out. She's been drinking her own Kool-aid, basically believing she is a goddess, and that all other life exists for her entertainment. Such hubris fills her that she cannot comprehend anything she orders done failing, unless it's a deliberate act of betrayal. The ultimate in narcissistic self-aggrandisement.

I bet it would be fascinating to look inside her.

Click to shrink...

"Oh, my..." </Takei> But seriously, I doubt she can hold onto any particular desire for long. It'd be a whirlwind of fleeting wants and passing fancies, too shallow to be more than a puddle. You'll probably feel like you need a shower afterwards, though...

I slow as I approach a low wall, my ring notifying me that Jordan is entering the atmosphere in as covert an insertion as a Green Lantern carrying passengers can manage. The wall marks the outer border of the settlement, a small stone-paved path encompassing the settlement. But… The wall is faux-stone, small gullies pretending to be mortared joins actually just moulded indents in larger single pieces of synthesised stone, with a strip of light paint to aid in the illusion.

Click to shrink...

Huh. So, 'modern' construction pretending to be something much older. Moulded concrete or similar, dressed to look 'old-fashioned'. Probably alogn the lines of sixteenth- or seventeenth-century English manors, I bet.

Yeah, this looks like something I could see a space resort doing. Pre-assembled walls are easier to put together centrally than cutting local stones and making mortar on-site. Probably needs less maintenance as well. And the pavement is a sort of faux-stone mat?

I sigh. It is going to be tourists, isn't it?

Click to shrink...

No more real than Disneyland. The airport is probably a good indicator it's not particularly functional as anything but a holiday park.

I fly over it, further signs of plasticization metaphorically leaping out at me as I look around. A small pond fed by a hose, fake fish tied to the bottom my a string which produces movement by rotating the plate the string is attached to. Synthetic grass sheets laid down over the local soil, a handful of local succulents poking through here and there at the edges. Reed sunshades made of printed reeds, a single piece made to look like it was woven but actually held together with stables.

It's like a space package tour. I… I'm less sure that this is a product of Malvolio's imagination. If only because a man of his era would find it easy to imagine a proper stone wall.

Click to shrink...

I still suspect he probably forged the planet and its people out of will or transmuted matter a century or two back, and let them go, content to watch their daily lives like some cosmic voyeur. I wouldn't be surprised if he considers the place to be like an an antfarm - a flurry of activity and beings living out their lives, but ultimately fake.

I float upwards slightly, spotting a family of the species I scanned earlier in the fields… Picking some sort of round purple fruit from a short tree. This clearly isn't an agricultural production centre, so the only thing I can come up with is that it's a back-to-nature holiday home. The adult male has a bucket and is working his way along the line of fruit trees while the adult female is riding herd on the children, who appear completely fascinated by their environment. City children getting their first taste of nature, I assume.

I fly onwards, heading towards the centre of town. The other villas are more or less the same, but the structure near the airfield has substantially more advanced technology inside it. That should be the best place find out more.

Click to shrink...

Some things truly are universal, it seems. Children will be children, whatever the species... Presumably the airport and its environs is the management centre for the 'park'...

The building… Looks a bit more natural, a bit more honestly weathered than the rest, even though its brutalist design probably wasn't meant to. Maybe it was repurposed from an earlier role? A female white alien is sitting in an office, doing… Actual paperwork, and they don't appear to be entirely at home with using a pen. Which is what I'd expect of someone from an advanced civilisation who's being forced to slum it. Goodness knows that my handwriting is far worse than it was when I was in school. They're probably the best person to talk to if we get that far.

Click to shrink...

Presumably filling out forms that have to be handwritten for some arcane bureaucratic reason. I bet she's just a middle manager, stuck out in the boondocks on this funpark and wishing she were anywhere else...

I phase through the back wall and look at the villa complex's computer core for a moment, check my surroundings, then phase in and connect myself to it.

Oh.

Click to shrink...

Disappointment ensues. Note very computer can be a quantum-processing ultra-CPU one power surge away from sapience, with a collective database of its' makers' entire knowledge base...

It's literally just a local management mainframe. It isn't connected to a global data network and doesn't have a social database. No alien films… I've got names of current and former residents… Nothing about government or civil organisation. Not a total shock: it's not like most computers on Earth have a full copy of Encarta Populi in their hard drive. The lack of a data network is a little strange; that suggests that theses people are fairly hardcore about their isolationism. Which is a little at odds with the walls, but… Aliens.

Click to shrink...

So, closer to the Eighties in terms of infotech. They probably have to send floppies off with weekly updates in the mail with whatever regular flights turn up out here.

Can't get anything useful here. It looks like I'll have to either go to a larger settlement or ask. Ask. Manually ask a question like some sort of unusually verbose caveman.

I switch over to my less intimidating light armour and head towards the office.

Click to shrink...

Why, OL. I thought you'd relish the chance to interact with a new species. Besides, you can't just hack every database you come across. You miss out on such fascinating things that way.

"Excuse me?"

"Just a moment!"

Click to shrink...

She's probably assuming it's a visitor she hasn't met yet. There's probably enough traffic to allow that...

I stop, standing at parade rest as the tour operator puts her pen down, stretches her fingers, then gets up and heads out from the office.

And stops dead when she sees me.

Click to shrink...

Yes... Did you actually describe the locals as anything other than 'flat-faced' and 'white-skinned'? Because I'm guessing they aren't nearly as Human-like as I'm picturing...

"Hello."

"Hiiiiiii. I… Didn't know we were expecting any guests today."

Click to shrink...

Well, she's taking this rather calmly at least. No screaming, after all! Yet.

"You're not. I'm-."

"Great torch, is this actually an invasion? I-I didn't read that part of the manual! I don't know what to do!"

Click to shrink...

They have a manual for first contact with an extra-planetary race? How forwards-thinking of their government. And that does indeed sound like a reference to the Golden Satellite... It probably serves as their sun in this pocket dimension.

"I'm not invading you. But certain… Things are happening, and I need more information-."

"And you're going to suck it out of my ears?!"

Click to shrink...

...What sort of movies has she been watching?

I frown. "No? Why would you even think that?"

"Oh, you're just ruining all of my alien abduction fantasies!"

Click to shrink...

Okay, someone cue up the Tennant Whats, please?

Not quite what i was thinking, but it works.

…

"Sorry?"

Click to shrink...

Yeah, we could hear the record-screech in the conversation all the way out here, OL. This is going to be hilarious...

Well, I don't think that's what any of us were expecting, was it? The question is, is she just quirky, or is everyone there like that? Tomorrow should be very interesting to see.

---

...fake fish tied to the bottom my a string...

Click to shrink...

...fake fish tied to the bottom by a string...

...that it's a back-to-nature holiday home.

Click to shrink...

Double-space there.

...that suggests that theses people...

Click to shrink...

...that suggests that these people...

 

[QuiescentQueste]

>I bet it would be fascinating to look inside her.
Wow dude. Lewd.

 

[Dur'id the Druid]

episode name pls

Click to shrink...

I'm not actually sure, just remember the plot. Starts with Riker getting seriously injured, and being discovered to be not a native at a hospital.

 

[Agent Orange]

"Is the rest of the ship secure?"

"I think so. The rest of the crew are just trying to stay out of our way."

"We don't really have the facilities to take them prisoner." I look around. "I could build one down here, but… We don't have anyone who could stop them using magic. So I guess… Smash the bridge and drive and leave them there?"
[...]
The thought occurs to me as I accelerate to near the speed of sound…

We've… Won.

Without Sivana's help… Further help, cleaning up the Sheeda holdouts could take a long time, but without the Castle Revolving, that's it.

Click to shrink...

Isn't a bit premature to celebrate? If the Sheeda still have control of the bridge and drive... You're just asking to be caught with your pants down when Glory-bra pulls a Janeway and triggers self-destruct after hitting you all with Hold Person and Dimensional Anchor. If she needs to ritually sacrifice her entire bridge crew for it to stick she will.

I still suspect he probably forged the planet and its people out of will or transmuted matter a century or two back, and let them go, content to watch their daily lives like some cosmic voyeur. I wouldn't be surprised if he considers the place to be like an an antfarm - a flurry of activity and beings living out their lives, but ultimately fake.

Click to shrink...

My thoughts exactly. Even if all of this isn't one big illusion along with dream characters made real (well as real as "people" of Mundus are) it could still be Malvolio's equivalent of Sims game (he conjured a world and brainwashed any visitor that stumbled into his prison/realm). The only thing that sticks out as extra weird is that the local seem to be aware of space aliens being a thing and even have contact with them (probably catering to space alien tourist). But I guess it could all be merely a response to OL's expectations.

 

[Darko]

assault for long enough for the energy

Click to shrink...

maybe 'assault long enough for'

"Don't start anything without me."

"I'm not Guy, Green Lantern."

"Yeah. I can predict him. GL out."

Click to shrink...

Harsh, but true and fair.

One of the other members of staff

Click to shrink...

maybe ' of the staff'

The point being, of all the sensible and rational-based-on-incomplete-information things she could do, Gloriana did this. That… Suggests a mind incapable of comprehending that she might be… Not in the moral wrong, but in the practical wrong. If she were running a hundred metre sprint, she could be ninety metres behind the field and still be completely confident that she's end up taking the gold. She's incapable of backing down, not because she's so proud that she's rather die than lose, but because she can't conceive of any situation where she might lose.

I bet it would be fascinating to look inside her.

Click to shrink...

I'm betting she'd get on real swell with Vandal, given that they're so similar.

Or she might decide to kill him.

Sometimes being very similar to your romantic partner is a negative instead of a positive.

that she's end up taking the gold

Click to shrink...

'she'd not 'she's

so proud that she's rather die than los

Click to shrink...

'she'd rather'

held together with stables.

Click to shrink...

'staples'

I float upwards slightly,

Click to shrink...

maybe 'I float slightly upwards'

"Great torch,

Click to shrink...

maybe 'touch'

I frown. "No? Why would you even think that?"

"Oh, you're just ruining all of my alien abduction fantasies!"

…

"Sorry?"

Click to shrink...

So Paul is more of a Kirk than a Picard, given all the alien girls that want him.

Granted Picard also had some impressive game.

episode name pls

Click to shrink...

I'm not actually sure, just remember the plot. Starts with Riker getting seriously injured, and being discovered to be not a native at a hospital.

Click to shrink...

It was called First Contact.

It was the 15th episode of season 4.

 

[Darko]

...Ouch. True, but ouch. After all, you know how Guy will react in most situations, especially with Will Enlightenment. OL seems to change tacks on a whim as he realises moment-to-moment desires...

Click to shrink...

Paul is like a cocaine addicted chipmunk, you never know what he's going to do.

Well, he did say they were about modern-day in terms of tech. If it's anything like Earth... Our Earth... Then they're not likely to have any equipment capable of detecting him in any way, outside of some remote high-end science lab...

Click to shrink...

Malvolio may have come from a time where some magic was used, so there is that.

She couldn't keep her eye on the bigger picture, could she? She got bogged down in the insult of people actually fighting back, and winning, against her.

Click to shrink...

Melmoth was telling the truth about her.

And what we've seen of her bears that out. She's been drinking her own Kool-aid, basically believing she is a goddess, and that all other life exists for her entertainment. Such hubris fills her that she cannot comprehend anything she orders done failing, unless it's a deliberate act of betrayal. The ultimate in narcissistic self-aggrandisement.

Click to shrink...

Just like Vandal Savage.

"Oh, my..."

Click to shrink...

Damn it Takei!

But seriously, I doubt she can hold onto any particular desire for long. It'd be a whirlwind of fleeting wants and passing fancies, too shallow to be more than a puddle. You'll probably feel like you need a shower afterwards, though...

Click to shrink...

Eh, Paul has looked into some pretty disturbing places before.

Also she may be able to hold onto her greater desire of causing pain all the time.

I still suspect he probably forged the planet and its people out of will or transmuted matter a century or two back, and let them go, content to watch their daily lives like some cosmic voyeur.

Click to shrink...

And all the while he watches from above, gently sipping on a glass of octopus urine.

Well, I don't think that's what any of us were expecting, was it? The question is, is she just quirky, or is everyone there like that? Tomorrow should be very interesting to see.

Click to shrink...

Now I can't help but imagine a hentai world with its rules.

 

[Handlewithcare]

This is a weird world.

Isn't this some kind of pocket universe? So why do they even know other worlds exist and expect an invasion?

And if they do have access to the wider galaxy...why is Mavolios space station here?

And that faux naturalism crap...

Could it be that the entire world is just meant as entertainment for the prisoner? To prevent him from going insane?

Or even a form of therapy? Make him stare at a peaceful society 24/7 till he becomes peaceful too?

 

[RichardWhereat]

Isn't this some kind of pocket universe? So why do they even know other worlds exist and expect an invasion?

Click to shrink...

There's no evidence of sapient alien life in this universe, and we've got people who claim to have been abducted. It's not so weird to have people expecting an invasion.

Let alone people who want to be probed.

 

[Mr Zoat]

So they're just horsing around?

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

best at presenting broadsides or carrier operations.

Click to shrink...

Since when?

Some things truly are universal, it seems. Children will be children, whatever the species...

Click to shrink...

Whatever humanoid species, possibly.

Presumably filling out forms that have to be handwritten for some arcane bureaucratic reason. I bet she's just a middle manager, stuck out in the boondocks on this funpark and wishing she were anywhere else...

Click to shrink...

No, it's to maintain the primitive theme.

...fake fish tied to the bottom by a string...
Double-space there.
...that suggests that these people...

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

I'm not actually sure, just remember the plot. Starts with Riker getting seriously injured, and being discovered to be not a native at a hospital.

Click to shrink...

First Contact.