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

[Darko]

I have no idea what Green Arrow is talking about here. What is half right and why did he decide that this is a good time to get a tattoo

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I'm guessing the tattoo is some kind of magical protection.

Do you mean that he doesn't know currently after the Anti-Life crisis started or that he didn't know the roster before that happened either? Does that mean Paul doesn't really talk to his former team mates anymore? Not even off screen? I would have thought that they would remain his for pretty much the foreseeable future, at least on the periphery.

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It's possible that he's just been too busy.

Something else: I didn't quite understand what gives most (all?) of the Justice League the ability to cope when most baseline humans don't seem to. And why there isn't any mention of other superpowereds outside America that weren't members of the Alliance either. Like the various superfunctionaries in China and Russia for instance.

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The League is made up mostly if people that have various exotic abilities or aren't human.

Even the ordinary humans are extremely resilient people that have dealt with a lot of unique situations, like mind control, so they may have developed a resistance to it.

Most people don't have exotic abilities and they haven't dealt with mind control.

And I think Mist mentioned talking to other heroes about acting like New Gods, so there's your other heroes.

 

[Senevri]

"So sugah." Anne-Marie drifts down to stand beside me. She's thrown a blouse and sarong on, but those really do more to emphasise the thing they're concealing than to actually conceal it. "What was that about a ring?"

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Either fishing for engagement or...... An oops incoming.
I wonder if that counts as "Suddenly, Ninjas explode!"

 

[Rockinalice]

Nice idea, but relying on one guy to fix them all the time isn't exactly efficient or reliable.

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it literally took decades to melt them as they are now, (even then it's not all that unnatural that they melt even as much as they have on a geological scale) Bobby always has access to the full potential wether he know about that potential and uses it is something else entirely (Emma was able to know how strong he was as soon as she was in his body) using Bobby would solve the problem for more then long enough for Reed, Doom , Tony, Banner, or someone else to build devices that can do it.

They only need Bobby to get it done Fast the smart people can handle it long term

 

[Mr Zoat]

If you do make a Planeswalker Paul, are you planning to have this deck as the basis for his abilities?

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Since I'm not...

Ah...

He'd probably use whatever spells the people around him did. Developing a personal style is a very long-term thing.

Nice idea, but relying on one guy to fix them all the time isn't exactly efficient or reliable.

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That's the issue. A device can be replicated. Relying on one person is a bad idea.

I have no idea what Green Arrow is talking about here. What is half right and why did he decide that this is a good time to get a tattoo?

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Evacuating everyone, yes. Bombarding the planet, no.

I also don't get why Connor Hawke would be the person to talk to about enlightenment. Then again, I didn't even remember Connor Hawke appearing in this story before.

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He's been mentioned a few times. He's a Buddhist who grew up in a religious commune, if I remember correctly.

Do you mean that he doesn't know currently after the Anti-Life crisis started or that he didn't know the roster before that happened either? Does that mean Paul doesn't really talk to his former team mates anymore? Not even off screen? I would have thought that they would remain his for pretty much the foreseeable future, at least on the periphery.

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He talks to the ones he knows, but he doesn't keep up to date on the roster unless one of them mentions it.

Something else: I didn't quite understand what gives most (all?) of the Justice League the ability to cope when most baseline humans don't seem to. And why there isn't any mention of other superpowereds outside America that weren't members of the Alliance either. Like the various superfunctionaries in China and Russia for instance.

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Determination, focus, and being a little crazy.

 

[BrotherofaStudio]

What exactly did you mean by you are not? You are not planning on using that deck as a basis or there isn't going to be a Planeswalker Paul? It's not as clear to me.

 

[Darko]

I'm wondering what Canis Minor is doing.

Given his loyalty to Darkseid, the Team and the League may have had to ditch him.

 

[Stsword]

It's a relative thing, of course. She gets knocked around more to show how powerful a bad guy is, since she's the tank of the team. Same reason Wolverine gets torn up regularly in the comics, despite logically being skilled enough to avoid most of the attacks he takes...

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That's a conscious choice actually- he takes a couple of hits, he gets angry.

At the very least he gets the adrenaline pumping, becoming faster, stronger, ignores pain.

He might even heal faster when angry like the Hulk, although obviously not at the same level.

On Earth-1008 his powers got enhanced and he's basically the Hulk with claws.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

I'm wondering what Canis Minor is doing.

Given his loyalty to Darkseid, the Team and the League may have had to ditch him.

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Nah....he's easy. See, darkseid wants to study the anti-life fragment, and clearly that means conflict. Canis can only help Darkseid's understanding by trying everything possible to subvert it.

 

[Mastigos2]

I do wonder if it is possible for someone (my mind keeps going to Constantine) to counteract the subservience aspect of Anti-Life by leaning into the other aspects of Anti-Life itself.

Like ... "Free will is pointless? Well so is the will of that fecking arshole. Everything is pointless so I'll do nothing"

Basically, accepting the Antilife in but rejecting that Darkside is an exception

 

[BrotherofaStudio]

I do wonder if it is possible for someone (my mind keeps going to Constantine) to counteract the subservience aspect of Anti-Life by leaning into the other aspects of Anti-Life itself.

Like ... "Free will is pointless? Well so is the will of that fecking arshole. Everything is pointless so I'll do nothing"

Basically, accepting the Antilife in but rejecting that Darkside is an exception

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While I disagree that life is pointless, I do think that is a funny yet very clever solution.

 

[Mr Zoat]

What exactly did you mean by you are not? You are not planning on using that deck as a basis or there isn't going to be a Planeswalker Paul? It's not as clear to me.

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I'm not going to make a planeswalker SI.

 

[BrotherofaStudio]

I'm not going to make a planeswalker SI.

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Ah well, that's a pity. Mind if I ask why not? Also if there had been one, what planes would have been regularly visited by this Alternate Paul? Because if Theros had been visited I would have loved to see him deal with Heliod in a manner similar to how Zeus was dealt with.

 

[Darko]

, that's a pity. Mind if I ask why not?

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I'm guessing it's because juggling more versions may be too hard.

 

[Mr Zoat]

Ah well, that's a pity. Mind if I ask why not?

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Because I'd have to establish an entire setting. That isn't something I can to in 5000 words.

Also if there had been one, what planes would have been regularly visited by this Alternate Paul? Because if Theros had been visited I would have loved to see him deal with Heliod in a manner similar to how Zeus was dealt with.

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Theros is after my time. Ulgrotha, maybe?

 

[BrotherofaStudio]

Because I'd have to establish an entire setting. That isn't something I can to in 5000 words.

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I'm not sure how you would have to establish the setting, especially with all the snippets we have of the other alternate Pauls. But if you say you can't do it in 5000 words I believe you. Is there any chance that you could make sort of recaps or timelines of the stories of the alternate Pauls, the parts that we haven't seen.

Theros is after my time. Ulgrotha, maybe?

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So if this Planeswalker Paul did exist he would take up the fight left behind by Serra to fight the Baron Sengir? And while Theros is after your time, can I assume you at least know what the Plane's theme is?

 

[Mr Zoat]

1st January 2013
20:24 GMT

I know that the timings were approximate, but it is a little aggravating that the Reach aren't more prompt.

My ring blinks again. I take a moment to feel the location of the Lantern trying to contact me, and close the call.

Bit of a dick move on my part, I suppose. They're sure to be happier confirming my identity. But as good as our security procedures are, protocol in situations like this is to avoid confirming my location to anyone until the engagement begins. My general armour style has been copied by enough humanoid Lanterns that it's not that distinctive and my environmental shield doesn't really look all that different to what the others have.

So I can't talk to anyone. Not locally and not throughout N.E.M.O. because the more places I communicate with, the more likely it is that the Reach will pick up on it. I'm not going to head deep into Reach territory and remind them why they keep their inner circle fleets there without checking with Dox first. So unless Dox directly gives me a new order I'm stuck waiting for the enemy fleet to arrive.

…

Wonder if I should build an X-Box into this thing? Or an emulator, anyway. With the components I can get access to, it wouldn't be all that hard. Just have to work out how to manage the control pad. By comparison these gauntlets are so light they'd throw off my instincts.

…

The waiting isn't the worst of it, it's just the most annoying. Because the Reach are wasting my time. I could phase out, but the Reach have phasing technology and it would probably do more to draw their attention than to deflect it.

"Twenty Orange Lanterns in the wall,
Twenty Orange Lan-terns-."

No, the rhyme scheme doesn't work.

I peer in the general direction of Reach space, 'rimward' and 'down' of this system's orbital plane. I could reach out and try and perceive them, but again, that might be something they can detect.

Though this could be a strategy. If they haven't found a way to block me, I should be able to increase their desire to be more aggressive and feed us ships. I-.

"Admiral Scratch-Click to all N.E.M.O. assets. Reach vessels have arrived at the edge of the interdiction area. All ship captains are to manoeuvre in accordance with plan three."

I've never met Scratch-Click. They were a borderline case for joining the Corps -and a borderline case for burrow-guard syndrome- but it was felt that having as many experienced fleet officers loyal to Maltus in strategic command positions outweighed the possible good they could do with a power ring. But there are… A lot of fleets this size, and a lot of admirals.

Compared to most fleets in this region of space, L.E.G.I.O.N. ships are far more agile than others of their mass. Getting them moving is a simple matter, and they turn and accelerate in a way that puts me in mind of Star Fleet ships. Citadel and Gordanian ships are far clumsier, and the Reach are not quite as agile. They're not heading directly into the enemy; that's a good way to get flanked by a second fleet jumping in on a different vector. But since we can see at least one fleet, it doesn't make sense to hold station in high orbit any longer. We're going to have to fight them before too long, so we might as well position to intercept them even if we're not doing that immediately.

Some Lanterns -the most war-hungry- head off with the vanguard, while others hang back in case they need to reposition the larger ships in a hurry. A couple actually sit on the hulls, which doesn't do much to save ring power but does add to the spectacle as their brain starts interpreting the hull as 'ground'. I've seen some Lanterns try to vomit as a result of the vertigo when other ships move around theirs.

I hold back with the sternguard. Details are coming in about the Reach fleet, and it's… Nothing exciting. And it's doing that annoying thing where they fly around the edge of the system just inside the interdiction field without coming deeper. That's something out of 'Baby's First Fleet Tactics'. If it works, it draws the defenders out of position so that a strike fleet of high acceleration ships can dart in once the defenders are out of position, destroy the main target and then everyone can fly away. Even if the defenders don't take the bait, the fleet in being can force the defenders to leave a large fleet in position for a substantial period of time.

Lanterns are a fairly solid counter for that sort of thing, since we're not affected by the defenders' interdiction field. I could take that fleet. The rest would probably gang up on individual ships before falling back to recover, but they'd eat through the fleet unless it fell back.

So that can't be the main attacking force. Hm. I wonder-.

Ah. I smile as our artillery ships line up their long axis weapons. Faster than light weapons designed specifically to counter this sort of nonsense. Reach fleets usually prefer to close the range and overwhelm their enemies with their short ranged weapons and deployed Scarab warriors. It didn't take them long to realise that that didn't work against fleets backed by Lanterns, so they reconfigured. And so we had to modify one of our carrier designs so that the launch bays and crew habitation areas were replaced with a giant gun. At the moment it's not a perfect counter; it's weak at any range other than extreme range and isn't anything like powerful enough to destroy a fleet. But it does mean that-

Two green lines shine out from one of the smaller Reach ships and flow back towards the artillery ships. Always a little confusing that FTL weapons look like that. And that's another problem: they don't hit all that hard. We're not Apokoliptians and we can't build our own hyper blasters. These… Well, that Reach destroyer is going to limp back to the shipyards, or-.

The artillery ships fire again and the destroyer's hull evaporates, atmosphere burning and energy stores exploding. I remember that in Babylon 5 one of the station's maintenance engineers said that he could tell who lost a ship in a furball by the colour of the explosion caused by differences in the ship's atmosphere. Of course, in this reality most humanoids breathe atmosphere so similar in composition that that doesn't really factor into things.

Another volley, this time targetting one of the larger Reach ships. Looks like they've improved the armour-. And they're turning in-system. Yes, sitting at long range is a far less appealing prospect now, isn't it? And of course there's the fact that the defender can always turn off their interdiction system and jump onto your fleet to consider. Not a good idea most of the time, as the systems need time to propagate and fade away and if the attacker's navigator is on the ball they can return the favour by jumping onto whatever you were defending… But they have to keep the possibility in mind.

"Admiral Scratch-Click to all N.E.M.O. assets. Reach vessels have turned inwards and are accelerating. All ship captains are to advance with plan three."

That means that the whole fleet will advance a little, while leaving us enough time to move back if another fleet appears elsewhere. Reach ships don't have the range to fire on the planet from anywhere near their current location with their energy weapons, but it isn't all that hard to fire missiles or kinetic rounds if they've switched some of their ships over to that. We should be able to detect that and the planet's defences should be able to stop anything hitting the surface, but the usual plan is for the fleet to try and intercept Hail Mary shots before that becomes necessary.

Alright, so far so normal. But that's not an inner circle fleet. That's a normal periphery raiding fleet. We can't ignore it but it doesn't make sense for them to use it this aggressively. Even without Lanterns, this L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet would be able to destroy it without undue losses.

I know there's a trick.

I just don't know what it is.

The L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet is well away from Sereaven now. Just about far enough away that it would be awkward to turn back, but-. Yes, longer range weapons on the battleships are firing on the Reach, who don't quite have the range to fire back yet. The Reach are committing to a full burn, charging directly for us with only minimal evasive action. Fire ships? No, no, the mass distortion shows that they're still conforming to normal ship profiles. Which could be faked, but just chucking fire ships at a fully mobile fleet isn't going to-.

Warning: fear detect-

There's a shimmer as a Yellow Lantern transitions into the system, with a… Small space station held in their construct grip. A Scarab, blue armour with yellow highlights, they transition away immediately.

-ed.

"Admiral Scratch-Click to all N.E.M.O. assets. Reach have deployed an interdiction system. Plan four is-."

I brace myself as the system's gravity begins to warp.

 

[Ngamer11]

Lantern are a fairly solid counter for that sort of thing, since we're not affected by the defenders' interdiction field. I could take that fleet. The rest would probably gang up on individual ships before falling back to recover, but they'd eat through the fleet unless it fell back.

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That should say 'Lanterns'.

Ah. I smile as our artillery ships line up their long axis weapons. Faster than light weapons designed specifically to counter this sort of nonsense. Reach fleets usually prefer to close the range and overwhelm their enemies with their short ranged weapons and deployed Scarab warriors. It didn't take them long to realise that that didn't work against fleets backed by Lanterns, so they reconfigured. And so we had to modify one of our carrier designs so that the launch bays and crew habitation areas were replaced with a giant gun. At the moment it's not a perfect counter; it's weak at any other than extreme range and isn't anything like powerful enough to destroy a fleet. But it does mean that-

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I think that should say 'anything'.

Warning: fear detect-

There's a shimmer as a Yellow Lantern transitions into the system, with a… Small space station held in their construct grip. A Scarab, blue armour with yellow highlights, they transition away immediately.

-ed.

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Is Sinestro actually working with the Reach? Or is this just another test to see what makes a good Yellow Lantern?

 

[Bloodalchemy]

Considering Scarabs can body jack people they could generate a lot of fear in their puppet body.

Unlikely to a good pairing in the long term but useful for experiments to learn about fear and yellow light in general.

 

[Mr Zoat]

I'm not sure how you would have to establish the setting, especially with all the snippets we have of the other alternate Pauls. But if you say you can't do it in 5000 words I believe you. Is there any chance that you could make sort of recaps or timelines of the stories of the alternate Pauls, the parts that we haven't seen.

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Not much of one.

So if this Planeswalker Paul did exist he would take up the fight left behind by Serra to fight the Baron Sengir? And while Theros is after your time, can I assume you at least know what the Plane's theme is?

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It would start by having him try to deal with the Deacon's War. Serra's church was set up so that higher clerical appointments could only be made by Serra. With her gone, no one can get promoted and the organisation gradually got taken over by the bureaucrats. They then competed and eventually fought amongst themselves for power.

 

[Mr Zoat]

That should say 'Lanterns'.
I think that should say 'anything'.

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

1st January 2013
20:24 GMT

I know that the timings were approximate, but it is a little aggravating that the Reach aren't more prompt.

My ring blinks again. I take a moment to feel the location of the Lantern trying to contact me, and close the call.

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Yeah, I figure OL isn't in much of a talking mood. Every minute spent here is one not spent helping to free Earth, so the sooner the Reach response is dealt with decisively, the sooner he gets to return. And chattering with junior Lanterns isn't going to help with that.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Bit of a dick move on my part, I suppose. They're sure to be happier confirming my identity. But as good as our security procedures are, protocol in situations like this is to avoid confirming my location to anyone until the engagement begins. My general armour style has been copied by enough humanoid Lanterns that it's not that distinctive and my environmental shield doesn't really look all that different to what the others have.

Click to shrink...

Though no doubt they've made their own modifications to the basic silhouette. More weapons, different systems, adjustments for size or variant limb orientations...

So I can't talk to anyone. Not locally and not throughout N.E.M.O. because the more places I communicate with, the more likely it is that the Reach will pick up on it. I'm not going to head deep into Reach territory and remind them why they keep their inner circle fleets there without checking with Dox first. So unless Dox directly gives me a new order I'm stuck waiting for the enemy fleet to arrive.

…

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To be honest, that seems kind of paranoid, but given the functionary Nemesis seems to have a sixth sense for where he is, it's necessary.

Wonder if I should build an X-Box into this thing? Or an emulator, anyway. With the components I can get access to, it wouldn't be all that hard. Just have to work out how to manage the control pad. By comparison these gauntlets are so light they'd throw off my instincts.

…

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Feh, I'd just go for the direct neural control. Also, Playstation pad layout is more comfortable. For me, anyway. Never been an X-Box fan.

The waiting isn't the worst of it, it's just the most annoying. Because the Reach are wasting my time. I could phase out, but the Reach have phasing technology and it would probably do more to draw their attention that to deflect it.

"Twenty Orange Lanterns in the wall,
Twenty Orange Lan-terns-."

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Thank goodness you're not on an open channel. Can you imagine the others hearing you? "Oh, god, what is that song? It's stuck in my head!"

No, the rhyme scheme doesn't work.

I peer in the general direction of Reach space, 'rimward' and 'down' of this system's orbital plane. I could reach out and try and perceive them, but again, that might be something they can detect.

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Ah, the joy of remembering that space is not a 2-d plane. A mistake many shows make for their starship manoeuvres. No, Space is not an Ocean. It's a Sky with no real Down.

Though this could be a strategy. If they haven't found a way to block me, I should be able to increase their desire to be more aggressive and feed us ships. I-.

"Admiral Scratch-Click to all N.E.M.O. assets. Reach vessels have arrived at the edge of the interdiction area. All ship captains are to manoeuvre in accordance with plan three."

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Ah, about time. But is this just them poking the bear? I doubt they'd send their full force in blind.

I've never met Scratch-Click. They were a borderline case for joining the Corps -and a borderline case for burrow-guard syndrome- but it was felt that having as many experienced fleet officers loyal to Maltus in strategic command positions outweighed the possible good they could do with a power ring. But there are… A lot of fleets this size, and a lot of admirals.

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In other words, a fine defensive mind. Good at holding the line?

Compared to most fleets in this region of space, L.E.G.I.O.N. ships are far more agile than others of their mass. Getting them moving is a simple matter, and they turn and accelerate in a way that puts me in mind of Star Fleet ships. Citadel and Gordanian ships are far clumsier, and the Reach are not quite as agile. They're not heading directly into the enemy; that's a good way to get flanked by a second fleet jumping in on a different vector. But since we can see at least one fleet, it doesn't make sense to hold station in high orbit any longer. We're going to have to fight them before too long, so we might as well position to intercept them even if we're not doing that immediately.

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Heh. Not like the days of yore, when sailing fleets would sail in lines at each other then turn to bring broadsides to bear... And the best admirals could arrange to cross the enemy's T without the same being done to them.

Some Lanterns -the most war-hungry- head off with the vanguard, while others hand back in case they need to reposition the larger ships in a hurry. A couple actually sit on the hulls, which doesn't do much to save ring power but does add to the spectacle as their brain starts interpreting the hull as 'ground'. I've seen some Lanterns try to vomit as a result of the vertigo when other ships move around theirs.

Click to shrink...

...At least until they remember they don't have to be nauseous if they don't want to be. At least with a Power Ring, they effectively get a front row seat via long-range scanning.

I hold back with the sternguard. Details are coming in about the Reach fleet, and it's… Nothing exciting. And it's doing that annoying thing where they fly around the edge of the system just inside the interdiction field without coming deeper. That's something out of 'Baby's First Fleet Tactics'. If it works, it draws the defenders out of position so that a strike fleet of high acceleration ships can dart in once the defenders are out of position, destroy the main target and then everyone can fly away. Even if the defenders don't take the bait, the fleet in being can force the defenders to leave a large fleet in position for a substantial period of time.

Click to shrink...

Just a probing scouting force. The real fighting craft will be waiting to see what you do. Not the home fleet, you personally.

Lantern are a fairly solid counter for that sort of thing, since we're not affected by the defenders' interdiction field. I could take that fleet. The rest would probably gang up on individual ships before falling back to recover, but they'd eat through the fleet unless it fell back.

So that can't be the main attacking force. Hm. I wonder-.

Click to shrink...

No profit in throwing a flotilla away, after all. If they're attacked, they'll probably retreat out of system.

Ah. I smile as our artillery ships line up their long axis weapons. Faster than light weapons designed specifically to counter this sort of nonsense. Reach fleets usually prefer to close the range and overwhelm their enemies with their short ranged weapons and deployed Scarab warriors. It didn't take them long to realise that that didn't work against fleets backed by Lanterns, so they reconfigured. And so we had to modify one of our carrier designs so that the launch bays and crew habitation areas were replaced with a giant gun. At the moment it's not a perfect counter; it's weak at any other than extreme range and isn't anything like powerful enough to destroy a fleet. But it does mean that-

Click to shrink...

So, basically energy-weapon variants of Mass Effect ships? How subtle. Still, better than scrapping at knife-fight range.

Two green lines shine out from one of the smaller Reach ships and flow back towards the artillery ships. Always a little confusing that FTL weapons look like that. And that's another problem: they don't hit all that hard. We're not Apokoliptians and we can't build out own hyper blasters. These… Well, that Reach destroyer is going to limp back to the shipyards, or-.

Click to shrink...

By themselves, they don't hit hard. But coordinate two or three on one target...

The artillery ships fire again and the destroyer's hull evaporates, atmosphere burning and energy stores exploding. I remember that in Babylon 5 one of the station's maintenance engineers said that he could tell who lost a ship in a furball by the colour of the explosion caused by differences in the ship's atmosphere. Of course, in this reality most humanoids breathe atmosphere so similar in composition that that doesn't really factor into things.

Click to shrink...

To some degree, the energy release of the ship's power plant would have more effect on visual, unless it's simply venting burning atmosphere. But even then, there's only so many ways to effectively power a ship.

Another volley, this time targetting one of the larger Reach ships. Looks like they've improved the armour-. And they're turning in-system. Yes, sitting at long range is a far less appealing prospect now, isn't it? And of course there's the fact that the defender can always turn off their interdiction system and jump onto your fleet to consider. Not a good idea most of the time, as the systems need time to propagate and fade away and if the attacker's navigator is on the ball they can return the favour by jumping onto whatever you were defending… But they have to keep the possibility in mind.

Click to shrink...

In fights on this scale, whoever shoots first usually wins. Unless you're tough enough to take that initial shot and rush in...

"Admiral Scratch-Click to all N.E.M.O. assets. Reach vessels have turned inwards and are accelerating. All ship captains are to advance with plan three."

That means that the whole fleet will advance a little, while leaving us enough time to move back if another fleet appears elsewhere. Reach ships don't have the range to fire on the planet from anywhere near their current location with their energy weapons, but it isn't all that hard to fire missiles or kinetic rounds if they're switched some of their ships over to that. We should be able to detect that and the planet's defences should be able to stop anything hitting the surface, but the usual plan is for the fleet to try and intercept Hail Mary shots before that becomes necessary.

Click to shrink...

And you can only make those physical projectiles so large. Too big, and they're easy to spot and too slow to be evasive. Too small, and they can't pack enough punch to do much damage. Sure, that's enough to wipe out a city, but...

Alright, so far so normal. But that's not an inner circle fleet. That's a normal periphery raiding fleet. We can't ignore it but it doesn't make sense for them to use it this aggressively. Even without Lanterns, this L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet would be able to destroy it without undue losses.

I know there's a trick.

Click to shrink...

The old game of 'what are you planning?' Always tricky, especially if you don't share the same strategic methodology.

I just don't know what it is.

The L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet is well away from Sereaven now. Just about far enough away that it would be awkward to turn back, but-. Yes, longer range weapons on the battleships are firing on the Reach, who don't quite have the range to fire back yet. The Reach are committing to a full burn, charging directly for us with only minimal evasive action. Fire ships? No, no, the mass distortion shows that they're still conforming to normal ship profiles. Which could be faked, but just chucking fire ships at a fully mobile fleet isn't going to-.

Click to shrink...

Or they have something in mind that'll invalidate the normal responses...

Warning: fear detect-

There's a shimmer as a Yellow Lantern transitions into the system, with a… Small space station held in their construct grip. A Scarab, blue armour with yellow highlights, they transition away immediately.

Click to shrink...

Mother-fucker. An actual Yellow Lantern, or just an experimental model equipped with bootleg Spectrum technology?

-ed.

"Admiral Scratch-Click to all N.E.M.O. assets. Reach have deployed an interdiction system. Plan four is-."

I brace myself as the system's gravity begins to warp.

Click to shrink...

...Oh, that can't be good. Something tells me the space station is a planet-killer of some kind. Unprofitable, but if they feel vindictive enough...

So, the battle begins. And there's already one surprise. Wonder if this is another Yellow Ring sent out as an experiment, or if the Reach scientists have been messing with copying Spectrum technology outright? Either way, that guy just became OL's primary target. Well, once this gravity-warping thing is dealt with, anyway...

---

We're not Apokoliptians and we can't build out own hyper blasters.

Click to shrink...

We're not Apokoliptians and we can't build our own hyper blasters.

 

[moralrelativity]

kinetic rounds if they're switched some

Click to shrink...

they're -> they've

 

[Mr Zoat]

In other words, a fine defensive mind. Good at holding the line?

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More, 'will obsessively destroy anyone threatening his position'.

Heh. Not like the days of yore, when sailing fleets would sail in lines at each other then turn to bring broadsides to bear... And the best admirals could arrange to cross the enemy's T without the same being done to them.

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Admiral Nelson: "Ameteurs'.

We're not Apokoliptians and we can't build our own hyper blasters.

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they're -> they've

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[Vaermina]

There's a shimmer as a Yellow Lantern transitions into the system, with a… Small space station held in their construct grip. A Scarab, blue armour with yellow highlights, they transition away immediately.

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Oh hey, I remember this from the comics.

Guess here LePaul fucked things up bad enough that there was no Green Lantern around to smack down the prototype before it could return to The Reach.

Which means The Reach should now be able to produce Scarab Lanterns.

 

[mastermenthe]

Wonder if this is another Yellow Ring sent out as an experiment, or if the Reach scientists have been messing with copying Spectrum technology outright?

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Doesn't the treaty with the Guardians (not the one with the Green Lantern Corps, The Guardians themselves) dictate that The Reach are not to make use of spectrum technology or else suffer the Guardians wrath?

 

[Sordid Snake]

"Twenty Orange Lanterns in the wall,
Twenty Orange Lan-terns-."

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"Oh, oh, oh, what a lovely Corps.
Who wouldn't be a Lantern, eh?
Oh, it's a shame to take the pay;"

 

[Darko]

I know that the timings were approximate, but it is a little aggravating that the Reach aren't more prompt

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Yeah, it's always annoying when the bad guys aren't punctual

while others hand back in

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"hang back"

bait, the fleet in being can force the defenders to leave a large fleet in position for a

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"fleet can force"

Warning: fear detect-

There's a shimmer as a Yellow Lantern transitions into the system, with a… Small space station held in their construct grip. A Scarab, blue armour with yellow highlights, they transition away immediately

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Looks like the Reach is working with other people aside from Apokolips.

 

[Darko]

Doesn't the treaty with the Guardians (not the one with the Green Lantern Corps, The Guardians themselves) dictate that The Reach are not to make use of spectrum technology or else suffer the Guardians wrath?

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Not sure.

The most that's been shown about the treaty is that the Reach can only take Iverson a species if they're invited and that GL are not able to interfere.

 

[Windona]

Ooo, a yellow light scarabed warrior. On one hand, combining the light of fear with a member of a species that is feared and with one of their warriors makes for a good combination. On the other hand, highly regimented structures and the rigidity of Reach writ and hierarchy means there is a good chance no scarab warrior can fully exploit the potential of a ring.

Doesn't the treaty with the Guardians (not the one with the Green Lantern Corps, The Guardians themselves) dictate that The Reach are not to make use of spectrum technology or else suffer the Guardians wrath?

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The only bit about the Treaty I know is the non-interference part, and how the Reach can only integrate worlds that agree to let the Reach in.

 

[Shotiegun11]

Shoulda hunted down Sinestro a long time ago. A fun adventure to arrest / kill him with Jordan / Guy / other Honor Guard Green Lanterns / best Orange Lanterns that want more advanced combat opportunities.

Oh, this could NOT be the Sinestro Lantern Corp. could just be a Yellow Lantern Corp, or another Weaponer making another Yellow Ring. But I'd imagine Sinestro is mixed up in this somewhere. Maybe more of his fake construct deputy yellow rings.