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

[Lord Ernest]

The only one that I don't know how he's coping with his job is Clarissi Salaak.

The Guardians are a few, and as Maltusians they are able to do more than a few things at the same time and they are already at the limit of what they can cope with their responsibilities. How the fuck does Salaak manage his responsibilities as administrative commander of the Corps?

Oh, and regarding this crazy ring, have we seen the son of Abin Sur? I think we have but I can't recall. If not him, maybe it's Manhunter plot to discredit the Green Lanterns? Or it could be Sinestro?

 

[Ardy]

The only one that I don't know how he's coping with his job is Clarissi Salaak.

The Guardians are a few, and as Maltusians they are able to do more than a few things at the same time and they are already at the limit of what they can cope with their responsibilities. How the fuck does Salaak manage his responsibilities as administrative commander of the Corps?

Oh, and regarding this crazy ring, have we seen the son of Abin Sur? I think we have but I can't recall. If not him, maybe it's Manhunter plot to discredit the Green Lanterns? Or it could be Sinestro?

Click to shrink...

we saw sur's kid when OL fought the dude with the anti monitors armor fragment. He's a dick and a pirate

 

[Darko]

Oh, and regarding this crazy ring, have we seen the son of Abin Sur? I think we have but I can't recall. If not him, maybe it's Manhunter plot to discredit the Green Lanterns? Or it could be Sinestro?

Click to shrink...

We saw him in the Ways and Means episode.

He tried to steal a fleet of ships and give it to pirates so they could raid Sector 2814.

Paul stopped him and arrested him.

 

[Stsword]

Oh and for anyone wondering, in the comics yes child Maltusians are dangerous.

"Send you to the cornfield" dangerous.

For example, Maltus used to have a mosquito equivalent.

Then one bit a Malthusian child, and the child made the entire species disappear.

So the Maltusians decided not to have kids to save the universe from genocidal temper tantrums.

Which the writers remembered for a long time, even when the Guardians reconciled with the Zamarons and decided to create a new generation, they went to another universe for everyone's safety.

Which makes Kyle bringing the Guardians back as children a rather bad idea, though. lol

 

[Mr Zoat]

I forget, do we know how they were stolen from Oa in the first place? I think the Free Lancers just got the ring from that gone-evil/crazy Green Lantern, right?

The existence of someone both capable of breaching security on Oa and actively willing to do so seems like a major issue. The first crack-y idea that popped into my head were Indigo Lanterns, since it's been a while since we've seen them.

Click to shrink...

No, we don't know. Jordan does, but he didn't think the information was important.

 

[Tzeentch]

"A slightly flippant but essentially accurate answer. But maltusian children are extremely energy-intensive to raise. With a human infant a human parent must worry about protecting it from the environment as it will die if it becomes too hot or too cold. Maltusian infants have the power of we adults but not our hard-won control. Or our experience."

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The logic that applies to Maltusian children can also apply to many superhuman kids across the Omniverse who are born with WAY too much power of their own, like Adam from Good Omens or Anthony Fremont from The Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life".

 

[Radiant Knight]

I'm not using the stupid First Lantern version of Volthoom, if that's what you're referring to.

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I just wanna take this opportunity to rag on Volthoom's existence because holy mother of all comic fuckery, it was already bad when he was introduced, but there's entire successive comic arcs focused on him that make him even more of a dumbass mary sue. Just, ugh. The art might be neat, but the retcons... blah. Like just... let's just steal all agency and awe from the Maltusians and turn them into rank idiots who never even had an original idea in their life?

I am lessened for knowing anything about that idiot.

 

[Pinklestia]

The rings were stolen out of a laboratory on Oa. They were never meant to be released into the wild.

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That's still not a excuse. Even if it was the first prototype it still should have got a remote shutdown. More so since you know they already had AI going crazy before.

I honesty want a story were Braniac tries to take over Red Tornado only to get so delayed by all the safeguards that by the time he takes over Red Tornado has already been taken down.

"Red Tornado had six decades dealing with people trying to both control him and wanting t tear him apart to see how he works, did you honesty think he didn't take any precautions after the first few times?"

 

[Metabolicjosh]

We all know the real reason behind the Manhunters is comic books, but if I wanted to rationalize them in this story here's an idea.

In this story Zoat has occasionally emphasized that "Guardians of the Universe" is a puffed-up and entirely inaccurate title. His version of the Guardians the Green Lantern Corps only patrol the local galaxy. I get that. Given the mind-bogglingly large size of the universe, if you tried to split it up 3600 ways each Lantern would be patrolling galaxies like grains of sand. However, the title "Guardians of the Universe" shows the scope of their ambitions, doesn't it? They would like to patrol the universe, but it's impossible.... so long as you're depending on an organization that has to be personally run by a handful of Guardians and reports back to them. Thus the emphasis on the Manhunters as independent. A self-regulating, self-perpetuating swarm of aggressively hegemonizing Justice Machines to swarm the Universe. Talk about dreaming big.

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I mean, they can travel to the source wall which is the edge of the Universe, so it's not difficult to patrol the universe. You just need to have a very lackluster definition of patrol

 

[Radix]

I mean, they can travel to the source wall which is the edge of the Universe, so it's not difficult to patrol the universe. You just need to have a very lackluster definition of patrol

Click to shrink...

Not to mention that both the entity and Maltus were in the same galaxy, not to mention the 4th worlds. Everything of cosmic impirtance is in a single galaxy? What happens elsewhere?

It also feels off of the scale of empires like the reach who hold hundreds of inhabited worlds. Or is it even in the thousands?

With the tech they have I see no reason why the space between galaxies should be a major issue.

 

[gattsuru]

It's less physical distance, and more the secondary implications. Space being big doesn't just mean you need Warp 9.9999: it means that it's full of stuff.

Rough estimates for the Milky Way galaxy put it somewhere in the scope of 100 billion stars and at least that many planets, at the low end. If you have 3600 Green Lanterns, that ends up being 27 million planets per Lantern. Most of those are inevitably going to be uninteresting balls of rock, but even if you make the overwhelming majority initially void of life (and comics settings don't exactly skimp when it comes to one-off alien races), they still have tactical meaning. A Reach that 'only' finds one-in-a-thousand planets useful still would likely control literally hundreds of planets and hundreds of thousands of star systems before it made sense to take over another specie's homeworld for anything but sadism. And if they have the level of tech described elsewhere, than this starts having even worse ramifications: once even smaller megastructures are on the table, and even by comic-book science, you start getting into plausible wars where merely finding all of the enemies to kill would be too tedious to be worth it.

Going to a full universe doesn't just make this problem slightly worse; it means you end up with something on the order of 50+ million _galaxies_ (low-end, removing ones that would be too early to have planets yet) per Lantern, or 5 * 10^18 planets per lantern. That just stops being meaningful.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Onslaught

20th August 2012
15:22 GMT

Xor is impassive as I look down at what was once the Alignment's largest military prison.

"Were they all on trumped up charges like you?"

"Many. Not all. We do not adapt well. We have a place for them. Those who were simply-" He sneers. "-evil, I killed."

"Good show. How are things back on the homeworld?"

"Anarchic. They eat one another in their panic." He hesitates. "Not literally."

"You get to a point like this, and I honestly have trouble working out how they got this far."

"Momentum, and the sacrifice of souls worthier than theirs."

I nod.

"Have you planned for the aftermath?"

"No. Onigar and her friends are planning for the aftermath. I know my strengths."

I nod. Fair enough. He's only in his teens.

"So what do you see yourself doing once the fighting is over?"

"I see myself becoming High Tribune, because that is what she has told me that I should do. I think I will like it."

I nod, and then frown as I stare into space.

"So are they actually coming, or-?"

The Alignment's fleet flashes-. Ah, no, I'm too used to L.E.G.I.O.N.'s way of doing things, the sort of precision a fleet dreamed up by a coluan and a Weaponer can muster. A handful of destroyers flash into normal space. Then there's a pause. Then a battleship. Then a couple of cruisers. Then it… Basically stops.

"On your word, Lantern Xor."

"We wait until their flagship appears."

The ships move, repositioning themselves into something approaching a combat formation. Xor's people had mostly been operating as a paramilitary organisation. Heh, with an interesting twist. Xor's fixation with justice has led to them singling out particularly malfeasant state agents and publicising their misdeeds. And usually killing them in public. Which has led to the Alignment government running into a problem that they can't deal with: control of all data networks means nothing when you're fighting against someone with a power ring. Most people aren't violently rebelling, but…

The ruling regime has finally hit an approval rating of zero.

It reminds me a little of Kahndaq, actually. By the end, there wasn't any question that Adom would be ruling the country. Even the soldiers of the army he defeated… Those who he didn't tear apart, didn't really try and resist him taking political authority. When that happens, people will rally around whoever the opposition is. And that's something else the Alignment doesn't know how to deal with. Whereas before they would send Warhounds after groups that got too organised, now they've lost almost all of those Warhounds to those groups. The regular fleet and army are still apparently following orders, but opposition groups win those fights on the ground and they're not quite ready to bombard their own industrial planets from orbit.

Or rather, they can't risk the fleet refusing to obey the order. Because as… Someone in the Honor Harrington series said, fleets are commanded by people. People who don't want to be shot dead by their own marines, or hanged by the incoming government while the population cheers.

Another cluster of destroyers appear, along with a… Battle cruiser? Ah, they're selecting ships for political loyalty. And to be fair, there's probably enough firepower coming to kill Xor. His people have been avoiding going directly against the Alignment fleet for the practical reason that they don't have the ships. But with Xor openly seizing control of Industrial Penal Colony A-17 the Alignment had to do something.

"This is the colony they were sending you to, right?"

"Onigar said it was poetic. It feels right to me as-"

Three battleships appear at the rear of the fleet. All gunboats, because with the Alignment's all-lightspeed weapon setup and high speed there's little point using carriers. The battleship on the left…

"-well. We attack."

We're both already moving as he gives the order, light speed rapid-traverse turrets mounted on all of the ships of the Alignment fleet sending flicking beams through space to try and catch us. It takes them seconds to reach us and at the speeds we can move that almost guarantees a miss. Against a Green Lantern it might work because Green Lantern doctrine emphasises holding your ground and that makes them easier to hit. It's not a terrible idea against a small fleet and when the Lantern in question is acting in a policing capacity, as it demonstrates the Lantern's strength and desire to avoid destruction. But since we're resolved to kill most of these people it doesn't really work for us.

The battleships are targeting IPC A-17 with their main guns, but we've already evacuated the settlements. Including the guards, as Lantern Xor found the idea of punishing people unjustly to be completely revolting. They'll fire, and in a couple of hours what little biosphere the planet has will be largely destroyed.

But the fight here will be over in minutes and intercepting the shots won't be any great challenge.

First a quick check that the people on the flagship have this coming. Mm, mostly, which is about as good as we're going to get. This isn't the Citadel Complex. These people are free-willed, and while many of them could be reformed it's equally true that many of them could have chosen to live different lives.

Xor is already heading for the fleet, orange pulses flying towards the ships agile enough to do anything meaningful. I go for speed instead, jinking my way around the larger ships' arc of fire as I head for the flag ship. Railguns appear, targeting the shields on the largest ships. The Alignment tend to use bubble shields, so they're a little stronger than area defence shields but when they go down…

Respect to their gunnery computers, they manage to intercept quite a lot of my shots. Since I'm closing the distance the to-target time is dropping to the point where they are actually hitting me, but that's what the construct armour with the reflective coating is for. They can't switch their whole fleet to focused orange beams without doing a lot more work than they have shipyards for, so while I'm not getting complacent…

Crumbler rounds get through and shield envelopes start collapsing, though I avoid hitting the flagship just yet. Those shields need to stay up for this to work. Xor takes advantage by firing beams of orange light at the newly exposed ships, but I settle for sniping their sensors. That should make their fire less accurate… Slightly, anyway.

"Final approach."

The flag ship is evading with commendable speed given its mass, but it's not exactly Lantern-fast. I target main engines

step out

and appear up the bridge, beams of orange light piercing the heads of each of the officers on duty. A construct fortress door appears in front of each of the points of egress, and then a Dominator portal generator appears out of subspace.

Fascinating devices. And the Khundian I bought that computer core from was right about them being rather proactive about the defence of their intellectual property. But the generators aren't that easy to detect remotely, especially at infantry scale. Dominators don't use them in this way; they're just as squishy as the rest of us and prefer long ranged combat. But since our infantry is tough enough to survive passage through a portal which liberally douses them with exotic radiation, why not use it?

Warhounds storm out onto the bridge of the only capital ship in the fleet that still has functioning shields. The first four stand guard at the cardinal points, then the next wave of older and more experienced Warhounds come through and take the bridge stations, tossing the still-warm corpses aside.

The one at the command station is one of Lantern Xor's first recruits, and he smiles as the computer acknowledges his stolen command codes.

"Target the battleships and open fire."

 

[Darko]

"Anarchic. They eat one another in their panic." He hesitates. "Not literally."

Click to shrink...

Nice save.

"No. Onigar and her friends are planning for the aftermath. I know my strengths."

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He's the iron fist to her velvet glove.

speed there's little pointing using carriers.

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'little point'

our infantry as tough enough to

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'is tough'

tation is one Lantern Xor's first recruits,

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'one of'

 

[Vaermina]

Why do I feel like we missed a couple chapters?

 

[Mr Zoat]

'little point'
'is tough'
'one of'

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Handlewithcare]

Those were the people who created ultra-just supersoldiers and then became tinpot dictators, right? No big loss.

Though, for appearances sake I feel they should have offered surrender.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

Onslaught

20th August 2012
15:22 GMT

Xor is impassive as I look down at what was once the Alignment's largest military prison.

Click to shrink...

And we return to one of OL's first students, I see. I wonder how things have been going for him, hmm? Let's have a look...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

"Were they all on trumped up charges like you?"

"Many. Not all. We do not adapt well. We have a place for them. Those who were simply-" He sneers. "-evil, I killed."

Click to shrink...

Well, they can't all have been victims of prejudice and misapplied 'justice'...

"Good show. How are things back on the homeworld?"

"Anarchic. They eat one another in their panic." He hesitates. "Not literally."

Click to shrink...

...Probably worth clarifying, yes. Especially if your people have any kind of reputation for that sort of thing, given their supersoldiers...

"You get to a point like this, and I honestly have trouble working out how they got this far."

"Momentum, and the sacrifice of souls worthier than theirs."

Click to shrink...

And people too glad that they weren't the ones the bad guys' guns were pointing at to take action that would earn them a place in said sights...

I nod.

"Have you planned for the aftermath?"

"No. Onigar and her friends are planning for the aftermath. I know my strengths."

Click to shrink...

But with the unsaid threat that if people don't play nice with his ideals... Well, he's overthrown one such government...

I nod. Fair enough. He's only in his teens.

"So what do you see yourself doing once the fighting is over?"

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Besides lots of fun with your ladyfriend? Then again, you can only do that for so long before getting bored...

"I see myself becoming High Tribune, because that is what she has told me that I should do. I think I will like it."

I nod, and then frown as I stare into space.

Click to shrink...

Always nice to see friends get ahead, eh, OL?

"So are they actually coming, or-?"

The Alignment's fleet flashes-. Ah, no, I'm too used to L.E.G.I.O.N.'s way of doing things, the sort of precision a fleet dreamed up by a coluan and a Weaponer can muster. A handful of destroyers flash into normal space. Then there's a pause. Then a battleship. Then a couple of cruisers. Then it… Basically stops.

Click to shrink...

Well, that's anti-climactic. The orchestra's barely gotten warmed up for the big dramatic score...

"On your word, Lantern Xor."

"We wait until their flagship appears."

Click to shrink...

Hopefully their navigator is on target. Hate for the grand battle to be ruined by it smacking into an asteroid or something... Depending on their FTL method, anyway...

The ships move, repositioning themselves into something approaching a combat formation. Xor's people had mostly been operating as a paramilitary organisation. Heh, with an interesting twist. Xor's fixation with justice has led to them singling out particularly malfeasant state agents and publicising their misdeeds. And usually killing them in public. Which has led to the Alignment government running into a problem that they can't deal with: control of all data networks means nothing when you're fighting against someone with a power ring. Most people aren't violently rebelling, but…

The ruling regime has finally hit an approval rating of zero.

Click to shrink...

Heh. I'm guessing the remaining leadership is feeling a tickling sensation around their necks... Probably a lot of paranoia and infighting going on...

It reminds me a little of Khandaq, actually. By the end, there wasn't any question that Adom would be ruling the country. Even the soldiers of the army he defeated… Those who he didn't tear apart, didn't really try and resist him taking political authority. When that happens, people will rally around whoever the opposition is. And that's something else the Alignment doesn't know how to deal with. Whereas before they would send Warhounds after groups that got too organised, now they've lost almost all of those Warhounds to those groups. The regular fleet and army are still apparently following orders, but opposition groups win those fights on the ground and they're not quite ready to bombard their own industrial planets from orbit.

Click to shrink...

IT couldn't be happening to nicer fellows...

Or rather, they can't risk the fleet refusing to obey the order. Because as… Someone in the Honor Harrington series said, fleets are commanded by people. People who don't want to be shot dead by their own marines, or hanged by the incoming government while the population cheers.

Another cluster of destroyers appear, along with a… Battle cruiser? Ah, they're selecting ships for political loyalty. And to be fair, there's probably enough firepower coming to kill Xor. His people have been avoiding going directly against the Alignment fleet for the practical reason that they don't have the ships. But with Xor openly seizing control of Industrial Penal Colony A-17 the Alignment had to do something.

Click to shrink...

Presumably, the last of the ships the leadership is certain are loyal, through nepotism, blackmail or simple greed... Though I wonder how many crews aboard are wavering.

"This is the colony they were sending you to, right?"

"Onigar said it was poetic. It feels right to me as-"

Click to shrink...

Something of a political symbol, then. The one thing they can't let 'the rebels' have their way with, without losing massive political capital. Not that they have any left.

Three battleships appear at the rear of the fleet. All gunboats, because with the Alignment's all-lightspeed weapon setup and high speed there's little pointing using carriers. The battlehsip on the left…

"-well. We attack."

Click to shrink...

And there we are. Let's hope they sent their best admiral to command this. That'll reduce their strategic strength significantly. Maybe they'll see sense and surrender...

We're both already moving as he gives the order, light speed rapid-traverse turrets mounted on all of the ships of the Alignment fleet sending flicking beams through space to try and catch us. It takes them seconds to reach us and at the speeds we can move that almost guarantees a miss. Against a Green Lantern it might work because Green Lantern doctrine emphasises holding your ground and that makes them easier to hit. It's not a terrible idea against a small fleet and when the Lantern in question is acting in a policing capacity, as it demonstrates the Lanterns strength and desire to avoid destruction. But since we're resolved to kill most of these people it doesn't really work for us.

Click to shrink...

Orange Lanterns work much better at knife-fight ranges, well inside their guns. Easier to peel them apart that way.

The battleships are targeting IPC A-17 with their main guns, but we've already evacuated the settlements. Including the guards, as Lantern Xor found the idea of punishing people unjustly to be completely revolting. They'll fire, and in a couple of hours what little biosphere the planet has will be largely destroyed.

But the fight here will be over in minutes and intercepting the shots won't be any great challenge.

Click to shrink...

After all, sub-light speed. Even at significant fractions of c it will take some time for them to hit the atmosphere... Whoops, didn't realise they were actually light-speed. Still, no big loss, if the site is safely evacuated.

First a quick check that the people on the flagship have this coming. Mm, mostly, which is about as good as we're going to get. This isn't the Citadel Complex. These people are free-willed, and while many of them could be reformed it's equally true that many of them could have chosen to live different lives.

Xor is already heading for the fleet, orange pulses flying towards the ships agile enough to do anything meaningful. I go for speed instead, jinking my way around the larger ships' arc of fire as I head for the flag ship. Railguns appear, targeting the shields on the largest ships. The Alignment tend to use bubble shields, so they're a little stronger than area defence shields but when they go down…

Click to shrink...

Xor playing the tank, I see. Much more his style, after all. And a single point of failure for their defences? Sloppy. Not the smartest idea, even if it's better than anyone they've been fighting...
( Oof, set straight by the author... Guess that's what happens when I start assuming things.)

Respect to their gunnery computers, they manage to intercept quite a lot of my shots. Since I'm closing the distance the to-target time is dropping to the point where they are actually hitting me, but that's what the construct armour with the reflective coating is for. They can't switch their whole fleet to focused orange beams without doing a lot more work than they have shipyards for, so while I'm not getting complacent…

Crumbler rounds get through and shield envelopes start collapsing, though I avoid hitting the flagship just yet. Those shields need to stay up for this to work. Xor takes advantage by firing beams of orange light at the newly exposed ships, but I settle for sniping their sensors. That should make their fire less accurate… Slightly, anyway.

Click to shrink...

Heh. I see where this is going...

"Final approach."

The flag ship is evading with commendable speed given its mass, but it's not exactly Lantern-fast. I target main engines

step out

and appear up the bridge, beams of orange light piercing the heads of each of the officers on duty. A construct fortress door appears in front of each of the points of egress, and then a Dominator portal generator appears out of subspace.

Click to shrink...

Gotta watch out for the orange ninjas... Always going for the backstab...

Fascinating devices. And the Khundian I bought that computer core from was right about them being rather proactive about the defence of their intellectual property. But the generators aren't that easy to detect remotely, especially at infantry scale. Dominators don't use them in this way; they're just as squishy as the rest of us and prefer long ranged combat. But since our infantry as tough enough to survive passage through a portal which liberally douses them with exotic radiation, why not use it?

Warhounds storm out onto the bridge of the only capital ship in the fleet that still has functioning shields. The first four stand guard at the cardinal points, then the next wave of older and more experienced Warhounds come through and take the bridge stations, tossing the still-warm corpses aside.

Click to shrink...

Own the bridge, you own the ship. The fleet's lost the fight, and don't even know it yet.

The one at the command station is one Lantern Xor's first recruits, and he smiles as the computer acknowledges his stolen command codes.

"Target the battleships and open fire."

Click to shrink...

What's the bet someone out there is yelling "You teamkilling fucktard!"

Well, that was fun. Chalk one more corrupt regime up to the Orange Lanterns, then. Presumably Xor's going to be busy cleaning up the government for the next while... And making time with his lovely lady. So a happy ending there... Except for the government leaders whose heads will be rolling. But they were assholes anyway.

---

The battlehsip on the left…

Click to shrink...

The battleship on the left…

 

[Mr Zoat]

Those were the people who created ultra-just supersoldiers and then became tinpot dictators, right? No big loss.

Click to shrink...

No, they're the actually fairly successful oligarchy that created ultra-just supersoldiers.

After all, sub-light speed. Even at significant fractions of c it will take some time for them to hit the atmosphere...

Click to shrink...

No, as I said earlier, all of their weapons are lightspeed.

And a single point of failure for their defences? Sloppy.

Click to shrink...

Against anyone they regularly fight against, it's not. The only reason that the SI was able to negate it was Earth Bullshit Technology.

The battleship on the left…

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Oglymogly]

I'm glad to see the resolution of Xor's storyline! I really enjoyed his first arc, and this chapter is well positioned- being set immediately before the climactic battle allows for a good natural summary point while giving just enough action that it avoids a dry done-and-pat feel.

One of the greatest strengths of this story is the juggling of plotlines, and this chapter is exemplary of that. Congrats!

 

[AverusBlack]

"Orange Lantern Corps. When only the lamentations of their women will do."

At least Paul is consistent.

 

[Ngamer11]

Found an error.

Kaldur nods. "Red Rocket has informed us of a marked increase in petty thefts in western Russia, and Batman has confirmed that countries in central and eastern Europe are experiencing a similar crime wave."

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That should be Rocket Red.

Edit: Found another one.

"Good, because it's stupid, but not so stupid that I couldn't see him doing it. Orange constructs are given strength by avarice. By want and need and desire. Intense impulses of love disrupt that, but I doubt that it would come up much in combat."

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The picture doesn't work.

 

[Pinklestia]

Eh, we just had the whole diplomatic thing and now back to space battles? Okay.

 

[Ngamer11]

I just double checked what Onslaught could mean in DC Comics, and it's the name of a Quraci terrorist group. A version of them also showed up in Young Justice Season 3. Maybe we'll get to see what's been happening in Qurac lately. Whatever it is, it can't be any worse than what happened in Young Justice canon.

 

[hkim]

I just double checked what Onslaught could mean in DC Comics, and it's the name of a Quraci terrorist group. A version of them also showed up in Young Justice Season 3. Maybe we'll get to see what's been happening in Qurac lately. Whatever it is, it can't be any worse than what happened in Young Justice canon.

Click to shrink...

It could also refer to an onslaught, e.g. a fierce or destructive attack. Sometimes a cigar's just a cigar

 

[Mr Zoat]

Found an error.

That should be Rocket Red.

Edit: Found another one.

The picture doesn't work.

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Coda]

as it demonstrates the Lanterns strength

Click to shrink...

Lantern's

 

[Mr Zoat]

Lantern's

Click to shrink...

Thank you, corrected.

 

[Mr Zoat]

20th August 2012
15:26 GMT

Due to their focus on speed and manoeuvrability, Alignment warships tend to skimp on armour. They're not fragile per se, as their generators are more than powerful enough to maintain a strong shield bubble as well as power their drives and weapons. However, their doctrine calls for a strategic withdrawal before their shields get anywhere near the point of collapse. Our neighbours are attempting to do that even now, but battleship-fast isn't fast in any absolute sense.

Which means that when our main guns turn starboard, target amidships and fire, the side of the closest battleship melts.

External kibble evaporates, metal and ceramic plates vaporise and capacitors explode as the ship sags and shifts sideways. Hurriedly refocused sensor arrays on our ship show systems on the opposite side of the wound from the main generators start losing power, and the bubble shield won't re-engage without the emitters that are now either molten or without power. Local generators are designed to power thrusters and point defences, so a lot of that ship is now mission killed.

Fire is coming back at us, but our shield is easily strong enough to cope with it. The main guns from the other battleships are the only things out there that can hurt us quickly, and Lantern Xor is targeting them individually. The main threat to us is already on this ship, in the form of the crew who are probably a bit curious about why we're shooting at an ally.

A Warhound marine detail comes through the portal next, their leader nodding to me as they split up and prepare to assault the rest of the ship. There…

I scan. Yes, that makes sense.

I send a crew summary to their personal computers. No Warhounds, just normal soldiers occupying the Warhound berths. The standard weapon for soldiers expecting to fight Warhounds is a one point eight metre long high pressure plasma beam projector that's completely impractical for shipboard operations but is just about the only thing that isn't another Warhound they've got that can hurt them. With main internal communications under our control and the element of surprise, this isn't going to be a difficult fight.

"You have the bridge."

The new captain nods as the capacitors for the ship's main guns finish recharging and the guns fire again. The wound in our neighbour has now cleaved to the centre line, its primary weapons dead. I

step out

and appear on the bridge of the battleship on the port side. They were targeted by the port side weapons, but the aim there was to take the main guns off line rather than break the hull in half.

"Lock-!"

Another barrage of orange kills the bridge crew, a moment of resistance from the internal shields being the only impediment. Alignment internal shields are designed to help marines fight off attackers, but they're not designed to fight off the sort of overwhelming power I can bring to bear. And the layout doesn't appear to be intended to help with teleport attacks.

Another portal out of subspace, and another Warhound detachment emerges.

"Sorry, they locked it all down." Filaments connect me to the bridge computer systems as I work to bypass the electronic aspect of the lockout. "The crew will be-"

The central bridge doors slam open and a group of marines stomp into the room, raising their guns and getting orange pulses through their faceplates for their trouble.

"-alert and active."

The leader nods.

"Understood." She hefts her gun, the other Warhounds forming up on her. "We'll clear the ship manually. There is no point trying to self-destruct if they're alert."

"Best wishes."

I

step out, returning to

normal space inside the bridge of the battle cruiser. Another volley of shots and another dead crew. The lockdown warning might have been transmitted on fleetwide communications, and trying to take ships that don't have shields is a bit of a risk. I raise my left arm, a great coruscating pillar of orange leaping upwards and punching through the ceiling, through the deck above that and the deck above that until it finally exits the hull. Then I slowly move my arm anticlockwise, cutting through the ship.

Ring, internal communications.

Compliance.

"Illustres to Alignment crew. I am destroying this ship. Get to the escape pods and you will be detained for trial. Remain, and die. End."

Compliance.

This ship lost its force field bubble, and as far as I can tell it doesn't have a separate environmental containment shield. Air is being sucked out of the widening hole in the hull as I keep cutting. Not particularly quickly -the pressure difference is only one atmosphere- but there's nothing quite like the stuff you breathe audibly vanishing when you're not wearing a space suit to motivate a person to move.

The ship twists and screams as I reach the nine o'clock position. And of course being able to see the stars out of the giant hole in the wall does something similar. At least the crew have clamps on their boots.

Six o'clock and the lights flicker as the connection to the primary generators is severed across most of the ship. I keep going though, until ring scans show that the ship is going to keep tearing itself apart with its own momentum. Then I

step out and

reappear next to Lantern Xor.

"Everything going well?"

"The large ships-" He charges a shot as we fly towards where the cruisers are frantically backing away and trying to charge their faster than light drives. "-are defeated."

The closest cruiser is struck in the front of its shield bubble which fractures and fails, the shot carrying on and obliterating the front portion of the ship.

"Now all that remains is to complete the destruction."

"No, wait. I need the practice."

He frowns as I

step out, re-emerging

at the point at which they entered the system.

I can see their lights, shifting between fear and discipline as they try to make this a withdrawal rather than a flight. A little deeper and I can see their motives, mostly a mixture of peer pressure and self interest. Few psychopaths or other innately evil people. Much like I thought.

I raise my hands, pointing at the ships heading in my direction. My palms glow with orange light as I compass their ending. I reach out, orange hands forming around the two uppermost cruisers and squeezing, their shields buckling and failing moments before their hulls do the same. I move my hands down-.

The next one on the left is frantically signalling its surrender. I nod and move past it, crushing the next two ships. I move the hands again-.

Signals of surrender from all remaining ships.

"Lantern Xor, I believe that the day is won. What would you have me do?"

"Illustres, please intercept the shots made at the colony. We will need somewhere to put these prisoners."

I nod, smiling faintly.

"On my way now."

 

[Ngamer11]

I raise my hands, pointing at the ships heading in my direction. My palms glow with orange light as I compass their ending. I reach out, orange hands forming around the two uppermost cruisers and squeezing, their shields bucking and failing moments before their hulls do the same.

Click to shrink...

Exactly how much effort does it take Paul to just crush giant spaceships now?

 

[AverusBlack]

Exactly how much effort does it take Paul to just crush giant spaceships now?

Click to shrink...

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