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

15th October 2012
17:02 GMT


Krandor Vat winced slightly, twitching his right wing as the muscles responsible for furling it didn't quite respond as they should. He took a moment to reflect that it was fortunate for him that Thanagar never quite adopted the sort of extreme warrior culture that some had called for. Dismissing a senior officer because they were no longer quite the brawler they'd been in their youth would have been the height of wastefulness, and politicians needed a strong arm even less.
Ooh, a little side-trip into the depths of the Thanagarian Intelligence Service, eh? More evidence that the cultist's little show was more than it seemed, no doubt. And an interesting thought: Would the kind of issue he's suffering be like a bum knee for a human, and about as awkward to move with?

If his mind ever weakened-. No. As things stood he'd be dead before that became a problem.

He could have come to Enndupar the moment the crisis was resolved, but… That would have served no purpose. Strong soldiers on patrol and ships in the air would calm and reassure better than a public appearance.
And would seem like suspiciously quick timing. Any sane security force would have him and other politicians in secure lockdown for a couple of days, just in case of follow-up attacks.

He glances down at the part of his right wing still in his field of view.

Particularly these days. Besides, there wouldn't have been time for anyone to have learned anything. Far better to give the officers involved time to piece things together so that they could present him with a complete report. No matter how well disciplined, it was good for morale for officers to be allowed to succeed.
Unless they're so inept that success would be unlikely even with all the chips on their side. Then it's time to dispose of them.

An attack by Seven Devil cultists, carried out against a major city. All hands would be raised against them now, Thanagar motivated to carry out a purge such as their forebears had never been able to carry out. No more fools or paupers drawn into their grasp. No matter how indolent or ill-disposed towards their own government, no one would want to align themselves with people who would carry out that sort of attack.
Ah, so it was an inside job, all right. I doubt the lot of them were all agents, but, like I suggested previously, a few good agents in the right place...

A chime, and he presses the button to allow his senior civil servants access to his office. Not as secure as the office in Thanaldar, but it wasn't as if he was staying for long. He would speak with the garrison commander and home guard captains later, to acknowledge their actions in preventing a catastrophe.

But first, the people who had created it.
And now we get to meet those agents' bosses, eh?

Andar Pul comes in first, subtly applied makeup disguising how tired he was. For a moment the High Mor wonders if the man's conscience is keeping him up, but swiftly dismisses the idea. It's far more likely that the effort of ensuring that his agents get to where they are required to be requires constant attention and allows only irregular rest. Darl Klus is second, and seems far more ready for action. With the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps having departed and the Earth end of the operation mostly concluded, he didn't need to put in quite so many hours.
Or he knows how to delegate better.

"High Mor." / "High Mor."

"Ambassador. Senior Analyst. Are things going according to plan?"
When OL is involved? When would they ever? OL is something you plan around, not for or against. Like a stage hazard in the Great Game of espionage.

Pul looks awkward. "Not… Precisely. Most of the senior members of the Cult who aren't under our control are in our custody. Without Paran Dul or a reliable telepath our ability to interrogate them is limited, but our best predictions show that a near-complete cleanup of the cults is now within our grasp. But we underestimated the Darkstar. She may have deduced that things were other than as they appeared."

"What led to the underestimation?"
A clean-up of anyone they don't already have in their pocket. Never know when a secret society fomenting unrest could be useful...

"Incomplete intelligence. Dul had no opportunity to study their current-generation exo-mantles in detail and only knew their approximate capacities. We prepared for improvements on the known suit types, but between the operative's skills and the exo-mantle's superlative performance that prediction was… Out. It also appears that she nonlethally disables several of our insiders, who were unable to perform their roles quite as intended."

"Can she prove anything?"
More importantly, would she feel the need to do anything with that proof? After all, I'm sure it would make great blackmail material at some point.

"I don't believe so. But on both occasions the Illustres was quite clear that he is absolutely opposed to the reactivation of the Devils. It… Shouldn't be an issue now, but whether we are successful or not, we should never perform an operation of this type again."

Galling. But he wasn't wrong, and there was no sense in pretending otherwise.
And for good reason. You got what you wanted. Better not to push your luck, since next time OL visits, he might not be in as helpful a mood.

"Ambassador."

"Operative Bleez is getting closer to him, but-."
Hmm... Now what do they think of her ideas, I wonder?

Krandor Vat makes a dismissive gestures with his right hand. "It doesn't matter. At this point I would gladly let her take our untouchables merely to have them out of our way. Thanagarians should be driven to greatness by aspiration, not fear."

The Ambassador lowers his eyes for a moment in submission. It's not a completely unquestioned viewpoint, but the High Mor is resolute on that point.
Ah, good, they're not opposed to the plan. Merely indifferent. A good way to get rid of potential disruptive elements, after all.

"Then her work is going as desired, and it is highly probably that by monitoring her we will get notice of the Illustres's visits. As for our operatives on Earth…" A wing shrug. "They made an approach. The… Forge-God, Hephaestus, wasn't interested."

"Not unexpected. What did they learn?"
Probably got enough on his plate right now, for a start. I bet he's been popular amongst the engineering community for his metamaterial knowledge.

"We've known for some time that Earth is… Unusual with regard to magic. Hephaestus admitted that he wasn't sure how the arcane transmutation of Nth metal was possible at all. Some worlds are 'thaumically'-"

A human loan word. The closest equivalent in Quarish would be 'bloody' or 'cursed', and those aren't quite right.
'Unusual', he says. The fellow has a way with understatement. But then, he probably takes the Hawks' reports with a spoonful of salt.

"-active, and others aren't. Most, in fact. Despite being ruled by demons, Thanagar isn't."

"Can it be made so?"
As Mr Zoat's Word of Zoat suggests, they're more like C'Tan, then. Beings of energy that can inhabit bodies of Nth metal as avatars, and have latched onto Thanagar like leeches.

"Not by any technique described in publically available literature. The god said that he didn't think it would be possible. When pressed, he opined that there might be fairly extreme measures that could cause a world to become active, but that he didn't think experimentation would be wise."

Pul looks unsettled. "Thanagar, High Mor?"
Yeah, you never pull shit like that in your home biosphere, after all. Because whatever Hephaestus is thinking of, it's evidently rather hard on the scenery.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. Thanagar is the centre of our people and culture. It would be easier to impress our nature upon it." Pul ducks his head slightly. "But you are right to consider the potential undesirable consequences. Nothing radical should be done without some measure of confidence that the outcome would be as we want. What worlds in this region are thaumically active?"

Klus shakes his head. "None, High Mor. None inside the Empire or amongst our neighbours. Aside from Alstair and Earth, the closest would be Alavorn."
Which is not unexpected. We know magically active worlds are rare, after all. I bet there aren't a lot across the whole galaxy.

A touch on a hologram projector and it's distance from the borders of the Empire are immediately apparent.

"It would be possible to negotiate the use of part of their world, but with it being effectively impossible for us to annex it-."
Woof, I can see that plan getting a hard 'no'.

"We will not place ourselves at the mercy of aliens, Ambassador." Vat's expression shifted to become even colder than normal. "Alliances of convenience may be considered, but not-. This."

"Yes, High Mor."
Never has that old idiom been clearer: "In times of crisis, where wise men build bridges, foolish men build barriers..." (To paraphrase...)

There's an awkward… Quiet for a moment, and Vat realised that he'd been too emphatic. Klus was too young to remember living through the Equalisation Plague. It wouldn't have the same significance for him. He wouldn't understand why they couldn't-.

He waves his right hand.

"Continue."
Heh. Such is the burden of the old, eh? To remember the worst times, where the young have never known them...

"There was… One other thing. Another.. Forge-God. Vulcan. He works with Hephaestus, but hasn't achieved the same degree of renown. He was apparently extremely interested in the Nth metal samples that Hol and Thal gave him. I doubt that he would be any more eager to come here than his compatriot, but if we needed assistance in piecing together the ritual, their report strongly implies that he would be willing to assist."

"If necessary. I remember that both the Illustres and our operatives have noted that humans are inefficient at taking advantage of the opportunities their technology affords them. Even with the reborn ancient able to instruct them, they've made no efforts to use Nth metal so far. If we must take a risk, I would rather take a risk on Earth than elsewhere. Senior Analyst, what did we learn about countering the Illustres?"
Heh. Vulcan being a little hungrier for something new, eh? That could get him in trouble, someday, I bet.

"The subspace interference matrix worked. He himself confirmed that he was unable to access his arsenal. Unfortunately, we weren't able to access it either."

"Why?"
Not the first time someone's dicked with his stash, after all. Remember the Sivana family visit?

"The physics of the system are beyond me. Some sort of.. locking technique, crystallising the boundary of the subspace pocket. Dul hasn't mentioned it, so I suspect that it's something that someone on Earth taught him. Our efforts to interfere with his constructs came to nothing; he held up the entire city while still remaining combat effective. Other Lanterns seldom go into combat with their weapons stored, so this knowledge would only be applicable during an ambush. A full report will.. take a few days more."
Looks like OL at least took measures to keep his stuff more secure. Though I feel they're overestimating the average Orange Lantern, based on the greatest among them... Still, better to prepare for the worst and be pleasantly surprised, than the opposite.

The High Mor nods. "We are close. So close, now. Continue with your work, and let me know the moment that this 'Vulcan' makes any progress."

"Thanagar soars."
I'd make a crack about flying too close to the sun, but he'd probably misinterpret it in some way.

Well, how enlightening. Possibly the worst kind of antagonist: A patriot with a cause he believes in. And not because of blind faith, but a rational estimation that his people could be better, and what he's doing is for their benefit. I'd say it'd be satisfying to see that kind of hubris laid low, but it's the sort of task that would result in a lot of suffering for people other than him alone. Perhaps we'll see it someday...
 
Evil gods, gave their worshippers magical metal that defines their society etc.

While I don't know how much Zoat will use of it, but in the comics Synn's power seems to be wholly focused on Nth metal- control over the four fundamental forces of the universe, even controlling Nth metal telekinetically, forming a giant body out of it.

Post flashpoint it's even effectively his digestive system, acting as storage for his stolen souls so he can consume more when he depletes his energy.
 
Speaking of the lack of human initiative in using extra ore-dinary resources properly, did anyone in Thanagarian Intelligence or the Hawks think to look for other forge gods from other cultures? It may be unfeasible compared to approaching known and reachable figures like Heph and Vulcan have become during the arcane industrialization, but seems like something to consider.
The militarists aren't really comfortable with the idea of gods or with their own ignorance. Those two are somewhat 'known', but any others wouldn't be.
Do they not know about Paragon coming back from the dead multiple times? Or are their anti-Lantern techniques they're testing on him just meant to apply to general anti-Lantern combat and not him specifically? They should at least know he's bonded to a cosmically powerful entity from their intelligence resources (I forget if Paragon did anything super-Ophidiany in his first visit to Thanagar).
They mostly assume that he was only dead for a given value of dead.
I believe the Psions aren't shown to be genetically evil either, right? They're just a lot more effective with their cultural indoctrination methods. I don't know how Renegade and the Controller's rehabilitation and reeducation efforts are going.
That's true in this story. I believe that in the comics the male psions are genetically evil, whatever that means.
Is the second 'ed' a typo or an amusing way to say it's warded and warded again? ;)
I don't know what this refers to.
This is very interesting since effectively it's all Paragon's fault. Because he's blocked the Reach from the region of Space where Earth is, made Nth Metal and Blocked Synn from weakening Thanagar so now we get thanagar agression towards Earth.
Not really. He knows from Truggs and their own behaviour that they'd be heading this way eventually even in the timeline he didn't exist in.
 
That's true in this story. I believe that in the comics the male psions are genetically evil, whatever that means.

Probably that they were predisposed to sociopathic and psychopathic behaviors as well as sadism.

These are behaviors we would commonly count as being evil.

And I thought that in your story they were genetically altered to be sadistic and the cultural aspect came later.
 
It would've been actually impressive if alien people could break into his ring if the Sivana couldn't do it. I don't mean they would do it to attack Paul, I mean they would do it to show off.

Also you could only block access to the pocket of a lantern only if you force that lantern one spot, if you cannot force that lantern into one spot then it will just FTL to system edge, get what's needed from the pocket and then do a scan of the area of the field.
 
I remember in Stars, Crossed, part 1 that Hawkgirl became weakened after the Nth metal in her body was turned into lead thanks to Lex Luthor's weapon. Paul should learn that trick just in case.
 
I remember in Stars, Crossed, part 1 that Hawkgirl became weakened after the Nth metal in her body was turned into lead thanks to Lex Luthor's weapon. Paul should learn that trick just in case.
He's never encountered the device Luthor used. Grayven... Isn't worried about a Thanagarian invasion.
 
i'm conflicted. on the one hand, i thoroughly enjoy the metaphysical magic concepts that you get into here, especially spreading magic and 'thaumic' activity into space. Vulcan maybe getting out and gaining new followers and sparking thaumic activity to life on a thaumically inert planet? *chef's kiss*

but on the other hand- dammit, i hate that it's the Thanagarians. i mean, it makes sense that it's the Thanagarians. but i really don't like them, the bunch of arrogant shits.

side question: what would you think about Demeter and a Dryad heading to Mars and bringing their surface back to life again? Mars is still thaumically active, right?

also: what the frag is Lobo up to in the Illustres' universe? i need more Lobo. ya bastich.
 
side question: what would you think about Demeter and a Dryad heading to Mars and bringing their surface back to life again? Mars is still thaumically active, right?
Mars is, but there's no Green there. Even back in the old days, Mars's plant life was too different for them to interface with it easily.
also: what the frag is Lobo up to in the Illustres' universe? i need more Lobo. ya bastich.
The thanagarians wouldn't hire him, the Reach haven't heard of him, the Light don't need him and few other people in the region could afford him.
 
Mars is, but there's no Green there. Even back in the old days, Mars's plant life was too different for them to interface with it easily.

how much Alec Holland is left in Swamp Thing? solving this problem seems like something right up his alley. although i suppose that would depend on whether native samples of Mars' biosphere are available somewhere... can't remember if that's ever been addressed.

The thanagarians wouldn't hire him, the Reach haven't heard of him, the Light don't need him and few other people in the region could afford him.

as much as i like to bring him up here in facetious ways, there is an interesting line about him on his character's wiki:

"Lobo was blessed with the power of detecting weaknesses in any enemy, just by looking at it." the wiki also highlights Lobo's involvement with Vril Dox.

Lobo's hedonism certainly wouldn't lend itself to being an Orange Lantern, but it sounds like he would be a feasible weapon to be thrown at the Reach.
 
I do wonder if Paul being unable to access his subspace storage during the fight meant their "security measures" were actually effective, or if Paul was just being too polite to have his ring find and destroy the subspace jamming mechanism.

The Thanagarian illuminati should also realize that OL was trying to save the city, so while they may have locked him out of a lot of his tools, his goal in the fight precluded him from using really nasty things like singularity projectors. Just because the birds stopped him from using fancy railgun rounds, doesn't mean they defanged him.
 
how much Alec Holland is left in Swamp Thing? solving this problem seems like something right up his alley. although i suppose that would depend on whether native samples of Mars' biosphere are available somewhere... can't remember if that's ever been addressed

M'gann's uncle worked in an animal preserve after getting mind-wiped, so it's safe to say that they may have some examples of ancient Martian flora.
 
how much Alec Holland is left in Swamp Thing? solving this problem seems like something right up his alley. although i suppose that would depend on whether native samples of Mars' biosphere are available somewhere... can't remember if that's ever been addressed.
I went with the Alan Moore version of Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing's consciousness is based on a copy of Alec Holland's mind made immediately before his death, after he received serious brain damage. Swamp Thing has a low IQ and often needs to be pushed into action as a result.

Swamp Thing could exist in Mars, but between the lack of liquid water and difference in 'feel' of the local plants he'd struggle.
 
*Excitement for Thanagarian empire shenanigans increases*

I do wonder if Paul being unable to access his subspace storage during the fight meant their "security measures" were actually effective, or if Paul was just being too polite to have his ring find and destroy the subspace jamming mechanism...
...doesn't mean they defanged him.

Seconding this point, since Paul has such a big gun on his side, coupled with the fact that he has an automatic escape with Greedport and only basic understanding of magic countermeasures on the Thanagarian so's end means that attempting to harm his Orange Lantern Corps (consequently also the OL Embodiment) means that a major conflict would end in their defeat.

On to other points.
Being underestimated because OL is always taking the Paragon option seems to be giving him dividends based on the power Paul and his allies have to protect themselves and pacifism allows him to hide his most devastating abilities to the detriment of his enemies in this timeline.

Yes you don't always see the Paragon interrupt symbol but that only means it's an essential part of his character now, same as his orange mentality.
 
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I went with the Alan Moore version of Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing's consciousness is based on a copy of Alec Holland's mind made immediately before his death, after he received serious brain damage. Swamp Thing has a low IQ and often needs to be pushed into action as a result.

Swamp Thing could exist in Mars, but between the lack of liquid water and difference in 'feel' of the local plants he'd struggle.

Theoretically how would bombarding the surface of Mars with Green magic and ice continents would look like?
Bombarding meaning infusion but more in this context.
 
I'm probably going to have the Seven Devils be more like C'tan than actual demons.
I'm that they used to be happy little Oort Cloud farts?

How is Illustres bad at taking advantage of technology? Isn't he the one human who is?

I remember the hawks saying that the empire wouldn't strip mine earth or something. I feel they are gonna eat their words.

They could always just ask L.E.G.I.O.N. to spare some help to activate their works magic systems.

What was their agents supposed to do that Jade stopped them from doing?
 
How is Illustres bad at taking advantage of technology? Isn't he the one human who is?

If you're referring to the Nth metal, then that's probably due to Paul not having access to it.

He can make it, but it isn't easy and he has other materials that do the job.

They could always just ask L.E.G.I.O.N. to spare some help to activate their works magic systems.

L.E.G.I.O.N. is just a space fleet.

Dox helped create N.E.M.O. and they don't have a lot of magic users.

Plus they may not want to actually help the Thanagarians since they're already dealing with one imperialist power, so they may not want to help another one.
 
Earth is the madhouse of the universe

those hawk people ain't gonna have any fun time once they get there
I am reminded of the book "bones of the past" the second book of the "Villain code" series. In that a super villain called in a alien invasion just so the major heroes would be distracted well he dramatically killed a young hero team.
The thanagarians wouldn't hire him, the Reach haven't heard of him, the Light don't need him and few other people in the region could afford him.

Paul could afford him, but I can't think of anything he wants that Lobo would be suitable for. Of course keeping Lobo busy is a good in it's own right.
 
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I hope that Paul puts the fear of god in Thanagar when they finally make their move on Earth. Hopefully Hawkman and Hawkwoman won't completely hate Paul if he goes for the genocide option.
It honestly sounded like they just want to do the standard get a better cut of the deal thing with Earth. It sounds more like Thanagar is willing to work with Earth, because we have little interest/knowledge in the material, while the other species would want more involvement. Thanagar can trade anti gravity devices or something else they have in abundance to Earth and Earth will snap it up.
 
So since Paragon and Jade are on Odym now, any chance of running into Adara? Not sure if the Hope Entity hangs out there or not. Though I do want to see Blue Lantern Bleez now as a possible Host of Adara- the wings and her blue body-paint, plus her dreams for a better future, just makes the idea quite fitting to me, and something I'd like to see.

I'm a bit confused/unsure as to whether the Central Power Batteries (or Light Fountains) for all the colors already exist or not. Most of the colors are 'claimed' in some fashion, but as far as I know Blue isn't, and that seems like something that would be good to secure as an energy source.
 
I went with the Alan Moore version of Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing's consciousness is based on a copy of Alec Holland's mind made immediately before his death, after he received serious brain damage. Swamp Thing has a low IQ and often needs to be pushed into action as a result.

Swamp Thing could exist in Mars, but between the lack of liquid water and difference in 'feel' of the local plants he'd struggle.
When you say low IQ do you mean he doesn't have Holland's doctoral knowledge or he can't think things through clearly?
 
I'm just throwing that possibility out there. Even if he doesn't go down the genocide route, Paul should do something to try and make sure they don't do something like that. Maybe somehow render the Nth metal in the primary offenders inert to demonstrate that he can and show that he can take away that which the thanagarian species thinks most important to their identity. Think of it, still having their wings, but forever bound to the ground, unable to fly ever again. That would be a great punishment for the people thinking themselves superior simply because they can fly.
How would he do that when Nth metal disrupts Ring abilities?
 
Theoretically how would bombarding the surface of Mars with Green magic and ice continents would look like?
Bombarding meaning infusion but more in this context.
I'm that they used to be happy little Oort Cloud farts?

How is Illustres bad at taking advantage of technology? Isn't he the one human who is?

I remember the hawks saying that the empire wouldn't strip mine earth or something. I feel they are gonna eat their words.

They could always just ask L.E.G.I.O.N. to spare some help to activate their works magic systems.

What was their agents supposed to do that Jade stopped them from doing?
I'm sorry?
Paul could afford him, but I can't think of anything he wants that Lobo would be suitable for. Of course keeping Lobo busy is a good in it's own right.
The SI wouldn't hire Lobo for the same reason he wouldn't hire Mxyplyzyk. He doesn't like people with poorly defined abilities.
When you say low IQ do you mean he doesn't have Holland's doctoral knowledge or he can't think things through clearly?
The latter. In theory, all of Dr. Holland's knowledge is still in there. In practice, the ideas just don't tessellate any longer.
 
And when the Thanagarians kill it?

Because less technologically advanced species then them have killed the Emotional Entities before. People really seem to forget that the Entities are both a Strength and Weakness...
First, when did that happen? Second, if you mean the Dark Multiverse comic where Nekron wins, I wouldn't count that.
 
Fucking Thangarians. ISTG they need to have the shit beat out of them, fucking xenophobic, paranoid, backstabbing assholes.
 

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