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

Darko · Nov 23, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
For a moment I think about suggesting that he give Batman a try-out. I'm going to need a yellow ring at some point and having him just give it to my first choice of bearer would save me time. Fortunately, sanity prevails

I'm surprised it prevailed.

Mr Zoat said:
"There is value in subtlety. Unfortunately, Scarab Warriors do not make good students

They're probably too indoctrinated to listen and adapt.

Mr Zoat said:
"-all about making deals. Do you think that you and N.E.M.O. could come to terms instead? We actually know how to use power rings, and our students pay attention to their lessons

Kalmin will not be pleased.

Ngamer11 said:
I thought Kalmin said/implied he would try to kill Paul if he tried to make a deal with Sinestro. What changed?

BlueMangoAdea said:
Kalmin's not here right now.

Also, Paul may honestly need to get rid of Kalmin at some point in the future.

True, he's useful, but he also wants to destroy everything.

Darko · Nov 23, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Boy, that would be an interesting experience. Unfortunately, Bats would probably refuse. Too many unknown risks in using someone else's tech. Particularly that belonging to someone usually painted as a villain.

Plus the rings can alter his mental state to be more intimidating, so he may not want it because it runs the risk of making him too dangerous for others.

rdfox · Nov 23, 2022

Most fanwank I've seen with Batman characters getting Power Rings usually saw Bats getting a green ring (because of his indomitable will to ensure that no child ever has to grieve for murdered parents again, plus the extreme willpower it takes to not just start packing heat and put an end to the likes of Joker), with Barbara Gordon or Steph Brown (whoever's active as Batgirl at the time--not counting Cass Cain) getting a blue ring (Batgirl is seen as a symbol of hope by Gothamites, whereas Batman is seen as a symbol of fear), and Scarecrow being the one to get the yellow ring ("Jonathan Crane of Earth, you have the capacity to instill great fear...") because of his very deep (if twisted) understanding of the concept of fear.

Of course, most fanwank then proceeds to give Nightwing a violet ring because almost all fans are obsessed with his ass, to the point where both Teen Titans Go! (Blackfire nicknaming him "Mr. Butt" because of it) and Harley Quinn TAS (as revealed in the spoiler tag) have openly referenced it being one of the best butts in the entire DCU, plus his history of having a gazillion girlfriends (including having sex with Babs when he came by to tell her he was marrying Kory), so take that with a grain of salt... but I could easily see Scarecrow being the next choice for a human Yellow Lantern if Batman turns it down.

I'm not sure this is still recent enough to need to be in a spoiler tag, but just to be safe. In the finale of S3, Harley decides that, yeah, she really has become more of an antihero than a true villain, and officially joins the Bat-Family. The reference to Dick's ass (heh) is Harley outright stating, "Don't worry, Nightwing, you'll still have the best ass of any of us." Much to his discomfiture, of course, while Babs and Damien snicker about it.

Darko · Nov 23, 2022

rdfox said:
Of course, most fanwank then proceeds to give Nightwing a violet ring because almost all fans are obsessed with his ass, to the point where both Teen Titans Go! (Blackfire nicknaming him "Mr. Butt" because of it) and Harley Quinn TAS (as revealed in the spoiler tag) have openly referenced it being one of the best butts in the entire DCU

It's a legitimate fact,

Someguy Somewhere · Nov 23, 2022

The Butt meme gets some traction even in universe

"It's gotten to the point where even characters inside the DC Universe know about Grayson's tush. In Tom King and Tim Seeley's Grayson #6, another character, Midnighter, is suffering from a condition that makes it hard for him to recognize faces, but he still ID'd Grayson from behind. He'd know that ass anywhere, this time drawn by Mikel Janin.

Source: https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/nightwings-butt-a-thicc-history-dick-grayson-booty

Venustoise · Nov 23, 2022

Darko said:
I'm surprised it prevailed.

Also, Paul may honestly need to get rid of Kalmin at some point in the future.

True, he's useful, but he also wants to destroy everything.

He could just Brand him if he has to keep him. Don't think he really does, but would Branding affect his performance with a ring?

Ardy · Nov 23, 2022

Venustoise said:
He could just Brand him if he has to keep him. Don't think he really does, but would Branding affect his performance with a ring?

Kalmin doesn't use rings unless he makes them himself and I don't think he's done so yet

Vaermina · Nov 23, 2022

So here's a question.

Why is this Paul still using a Power Ring instead of requesting the Controllers or Weaponers build him an upgrade?

We know it's possible after all since Power Rings themselves are just heavily limited copies of Korona's original Power Gauntlet.

Mr Zoat · Nov 24, 2022

1st January 2013
20:38 GMT

My gravity manipulation constructs wrestle with the technology of the Reach space station, gradually restoring space to its normal local curvature. I give it a moment to see if there are any backup devices, but it looks like it was designed with one specific purpose in mind. I send a construct probe forwards, crumbling its way through the force field and armour into the interior. The force field feels like an afterthought, but the armour's clearly designed to endure considerable stress. I assume that they weren't sure how much force it would experience when their Lantern threw it around and wanted to be on the safe side.

Alright, power plant is there, so take control so that they can't overload it or anything like that. Most ships don't have self-destruct systems for their physical structures because of the weakness that would involve introducing. Scarab Warriors do it with a program taking advantage of their innate protean nature rather than introducing something truly new. But with technology that it's essential to keep from the enemy, things are a little different.

Power plant under control I move to the main computer. A relatively mundane affair without any exceptional resistance. Shut down the gravity system first, and send a message to Scratch-Click to let them know. Did the Reach want to make sure that their own Lantern would be able to interface with it? Okay, so what were they..?

Pods. Two hundred and eighty life-support pods. Clearly designed to keep the people inside awake and alive for an extended period. Feeding tubes and catheters all around, and… Drugs to force wakefulness. Okay, and who-?

Quamen, from Qualar IV in Sector 2234. Of course, a species afraid of almost everything and whose natural response to fear is to do a fainting goat impression. Except with those drugs in their system they can't lose consciousness, and… Humans can't sustain a fear response for more than a certain amount of time, but quamen can.

I… See the logic, but that wouldn't have been what I'd have gone-.

An orange power ring floats over to me.

"Orange Lantern Flozz'm is deceased."

Gone with.

I take the ring and put it into one of my armour's pouches. I didn't know Flozz'm, but taking their ring and sending notice to their family is one of my jobs. It's going to be fairly boilerplate because I didn't know them, and I'm probably going to end up writing more about Sereaven and the war in general than them personally. Still, that's better than leaving it to Dox.

I check the medical pods. Yes, the excitative doesn't appear to have any other properties so I cut off the supply. Almost immediately there's a surge of relief as everyone on board loses consciousness. Send a general message that it should be visited by medical support and intelligence.

And then check that Scratch-Click's force has been triumphant.

Hm. Looks like the Reach fleet didn't try to disengage. Their heavier ships tanked damage to protect the rest of the fleet, which tried to get to get to point blank range. Short ranged weapon focus? Boarding? I'm not sure, but the satellite wasn't here long enough to prevent Scratch-Click from keeping his fleet at his preferred engagement range for most of the fight and they're just mopping up now.

"Illustres to Controller Hinon. Sereaven is secure for the moment. Inner circle fleet was a no-show."

"Nothing of note?"

"One Yellow Lantern, and it tried to get a boost by bringing a space station full of terrified people along with it. I'd estimate that it could have engaged one of our neophytes at a slight advantage even if its Scarab weapons are ignored."

"The next will be better."

Ring, send records direct to Controller Hinon.

Compliance.

"Hm. I think I need to talk to my cousins on Oa about this Thaal Sinestro person."

"In what regard?"

"Basic psychological screening as much as anything. His basic morals-. Have any of your homeworld's Lanterns mentioned ongoing psychological assessments?"

"I think Guy had a few checks after he woke up from his coma."

"Some rather sharp words, then. The Green Light causes fewer behavioural changes, not none. They should know better than leaving mortals unattended."

"I'm not sure that they've got the manpower. As First Lantern, Sinestro had the authority to duck out of that sort of thing anyway."

"That doesn't make it better. Ever since I came out of my coma it's as if everyone's taken leave of their senses."

"You're playing it up again, aren't you?"

"Somewhat. It is genuinely vexing. They are too old to be so foolish, and too old to be so ignorant of their own failings. Ah."

"Ah?"

"We have located the inner circle fleet. I'm sending you the coordinates-"

Karrakan. No no no no no.

"-now, and I think you should probably-."

I step out, seeking out the strong drives and confused execution that I remember from my previous meetings with

the people of Karrakan. Why the Reach are coming here I don't know. There's been some travel back and forth between here and Minosyss since the truce came into effect, but Sparta never fully unified Karrakan and while she was mistaken about there being no survivors it's a really hard place to live. We build unmanned monitor stations with interdiction systems more or less out of habit, but their interdiction fields are routinely deactivated to make patrolling easier. The Ascendant themselves are fine with that because they use boom tubes anyway-.

The Reach are also fighting Grayven. Grayven had-. Probably had dealings with Karrakan through Sparta. 'Ascendants' are compatible with New God technology in a way that gordanians aren't. Karrakan still has basically no industry. They didn't have anything to offer Grayven in terms of industrial output. But Sparta only had young Ascendants with her when she attacked New Cronos. They thought that she left the older Ascendants to die. But if she gave them to Grayven… Then they've got a very good reason for coming here. They want to choke off his supply.

Karrakan is a hellworld. The handful of asteroid mining stations the Ascendants built are the only thing worth coming here for, and that's what the ships of the Ascendants' fleet here are positioning to defend.

They are massively outnumbered by the Reach. And it seems that I've been underestimating the Reach's ship-building prowess by judging them by the ships that they deliberately put on show. The heavy ships of this fleet are larger that the biggest I've seen before: genuine battleships and dreadnoughts. But more than that, their power generation capacity is far greater, and their shields and weapons disproportionally powerful.

Their acceleration isn't bad either. Looks like they're heading for Karrakan, and some of their larger weapons are already firing. Not faster than light weapons, but their narrow beams and the size of their target means that they meaningfully hit it from halfway across the system.

I create construct interdiction field generators.

"This is the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps to the Reach Fleet."

"Ah, you're here. I should have thought that it was obvious."

"I don't suppose there's any chance that you'll tell me your name this time, is there? You're still down as 'Unnamed Assimilation Specialist' in our files."

"I try not to let ego get the better of me. But since you're here…"

Alert! Spatial distortions detected.

"Let's see if you can leave."

moralrelativity · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
that it should be visited my medical support

my -> by

Mr Zoat said:
but they interdiction fields

they -> their

Mr Zoat said:
that gordanians aren't.

capital G

Handlewithcare · Nov 24, 2022

Ah, the Nemesis. Can't wait for their flirting...I mean smacktalk.

thebishop8 · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
But with technology that it's essential to keep from the enemy,

"it's" to "is"

Mr Zoat said:
I'm sending you to coordinates-"

Karrakan. No no no no no.

"-no, and I think you should probably-."

"to" to "the"

Hinon's "no" to "now"

Chojin Patriarch · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
1st January 2013
20:38 GMT

My gravity manipulation constructs wrestle with the technology of the Reach space station, gradually restoring space to its normal local curvature. I give it a moment to see if there are any backup devices, but it looks like it was designed with one specific purpose in mind. I send a construct probe forwards, crumbling its way through the force field and armour into the interior. The force field feels like an afterthought, but the armour's clearly designed to endure considerable stress. I assume that they weren't sure how much force it would experience when their Lantern threw it around and wanted to be on the safe side.

Built like a brick shithouse, then. Understandable. I'm guessing any inertial dampening systems inside are correspondingly robust as well. Still, doesn't look like they're fighting you, so... Yoink!

Alright, power plant is there, so take control so that they can't overload it or anything like that. Most ships don't have self-destruct systems for their physical structures because of the weakness that would involve introducing. Scarab Warriors do it with a program taking advantage of their innate protean nature rather than introducing something truly new. But with technology that it's essential to keep from the enemy, things are a little different.

Makes sense. Given the mutable nature of their physiology, I assume said self-destruct process comes down to instructions telling it to 'dismantle itself'...

Power plant under control I move to the main computer. A relatively mundane affair without any exceptional resistance. Shut down the gravity system first, and send a message to Scratch-Click to let them know. Did the Reach want to make sure that their own Lantern would be able to interface with it? Okay, so what where they..?

Pods. Two hundred and eighty life-support pods. Clearly designed to keep the people inside awake and alive for an extended period. Feeding tubes and catheters all around, and… Drugs to force wakefulness. Okay, and who-?

...Huh. I was expecting a mob of Reach crew, not whatever this is...

Quamen, from Qualar IV in Sector 2234. Of course, a species afraid of almost everything and whose natural response to fear is to do a fainting goat impression. Except with those drugs in their system they can't lose consciousness, and… Humans can't sustain a fear response for more than a certain amount of time, but quamen can.

I… See the logic, but that wouldn't have been what I'd have gone-.

Heh. Space Chicken People. Seriously bizarre biology. What evolutionary processes could lead to such an.. overreaction?

An orange power ring floats over to me.

"Orange Lantern Flozz'm is deceased."

Gone with.

Only one downed? Not bad. I know, every loss is significant, but it shows the recruits' skill that only one of them died out there.

I take the ring and put it into one of my armour's pouches. I didn't know Flozz'm, but taking their ring and sending notice to their family is one of my jobs. It's going to be fairly boilerplate because I didn't know them, and I'm probably going to end up writing more about Sereaven and the war in general than them personally. Still, that's better than leaving it to Dox.

I check the medical pods. Yes, the excitative doesn't appear to have any other properties so I cut off the supply. Almost immediately there's a surge of relief as everyone on board loses consciousness. Send a general message that it should be visited my medical support and intelligence.

Such a duty came with the job, Illustres. And at least the hostages are alive. Since that's what these unfortunates were...

And then check that Scratch-Click's force has been triumphant.

Hm. Looks like the Reach fleet didn't try to disengage. Their heavier ships tanked damage to protect the rest of the fleet, which tried to get to get to point blank range. Short ranged weapon focus? Boarding? I'm not sure, but the satellite wasn't here long enough to prevent Scratch-Click from keeping his fleet at his preferred engagement range for most of the fight and they're just mopping up now.

So, they can handle it from here. But what of the real threat?

"Illustres to Controller Hinon. Sereaven is secure for the moment. Inner circle fleet was a no-show."

"Nothing of note?"

Oh, there was something of note. Not really threatening, but noteworthy.

"One Yellow Lantern, and it tried to get a boost by bringing a space station full of terrified people along with it. I'd estimate that it could have engaged one of our neophytes at a slight advantage even if its Scarab weapons are ignored."

"The next will be better."

We can but hope the Reach get frustrated by Sinestro's perfectionism making him ditch failures repeatedly. Assuming he'll let them try that again.

Ring, send records direct to Controller Hinon.

Compliance.

"Hm. I think I need to talk to my cousins on Oa about this Thaal Sinestro person."

Heh. Granny going to be telling off the young punks?

"In what regard?"

"Basic psychological screening as much as anything. His basic morals-. Have any of your homeworld's Lanterns mentioned ongoing psychological assessments?"

Sadly, the moral character of prospective Green Lanterns seems a little secondary to their ability to wield Willpower. And maybe their lawful nature...

"I think Guy had a few checks after he woke up from his coma."

"Some rather sharp words, then. The Green Light causes fewer behavioural changes, not none. They should know better than leaving mortals unattended."

Yeah, the ultra-stubborn behaviour is something of a worry.

"I'm not sure that they've got the manpower. As First Lantern, Sinestro had the authority to duck out of that sort of thing anyway."

"That doesn't make it better. Ever since I come out of my coma it's as if everyone's taken leave of their senses."

I mean, you probably did sleep through a Crisis or two...

"You're playing it up again, aren't you?"

"Somewhat. It is genuinely vexing. They are too old to be so foolish, and too old to be so ignorant of their own failings. Ah."

Sadly, as they got older, it only magnifies their existing character flaws.

"Ah?"

"We have located the inner circle fleet. I'm sending you to coordinates-"

Ah, good. A quick talking to, maybe a few object lessons, and OL can get back to Earth...

Karrakan. No no no no no.

"-no, and I think you should probably-."

I step out, seeking out the strong drives and confused execution that I remember from my previous meetings with

Right, then. That's just a little worrying, of course.

the people of Karrakan. Why the Reach are coming here I don't know. There's been some travel back and forth between here and Minosyss since the truce came into effect, but Sparta never fully unified Karrakan and while she was mistaken about there being no survivors it's a really hard place to live. We build unmanned monitor stations with interdiction systems more or less out of habit, but they interdiction fields are routinely deactivated to make patrolling easier. The Ascendant themselves are fine with that because they use boom tubes anyway-.

Gee, she didn't put due diligence into checking, in her quest for 'vengeance', did she?

How unsurprising.

The Reach are also fighting Grayven. Grayven had-. Probably had dealings with Karrakan through Sparta. 'Ascendants' are compatible with New God technology in a way that gordanians aren't. Karrakan still has basically no industry. They didn't have anything to offer Grayven in terms of industrial output. But Sparta only had young Ascendants with her when she attacked New Cronos. They thought that she left the older Ascendants to die. But if she gave them to Grayven… Then they've got a very good reason for coming here. They want to choke off his supply.

So they may declare them allies of Grayven-16, or be looking to acquire 'research specimens' to counter his technology... Either way, not good news.

Karrakan is a hellworld. The handful of asteroid mining stations the Ascendants built are the only thing worth coming here for, and that's what the ships of the Ascendants' fleet are here are positioning to defend it.

They are massively outnumbered by the Reach. And it seems that I've been underestimating the Reach's ship-building prowess by judging them by the ships that they deliberately put on show. The heavy ships of this fleet are larger that the biggest I've seen before: genuine battleships and dreadnoughts. But more than that, their power generation capacity is far greater, and their shields and weapons disproportionally powerful.

Because of course the periphery-based vessels are smaller, weaker or just older specimens of their ship-building practices... Probably helps if any not-quite-assimilated culture has an outbreak of rebellion.

Their acceleration isn't bad either. Looks like they're heading for Karrakan, and some of their larger weapons are already firing. Not faster than light weapons, but their narrow beams and the size of their target means that they meaningfully hit it from halfway across the system.

I create construct interdiction field generators.

Then again, the planet's so badly damaged, they're probably not making it all that worse. Still, shouldn't allow them a free hand with that sort of thing...

"This is the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps to the Reach Fleet."

"Ah, you're here. I should have thought that it was obvious."

Sadly, OL's brain is not a bag full of angry cats, so he can't really be as devious as you are. Hello, Nemesis guy.

"I don't suppose there's any chance that you'll tell me your name this time, is there? You're still down as 'Unnamed Assimilation Specialist' in our files."

"I try not to let ego get the better of me. But since you're here…"

And it's a lot harder to cry "Screw you, Unnamed Assimilation Specialist!" than it is to use a nice, punchy name.

Alert! Spatial distortions detected.

"Let's see if you can leave."

Guessing he wants to see how OL Greediports. While I doubt they could replicate it, they might well find a way to block or limit his destinations.

Ah, Smarmy Reach Nemesis guy. This promises to be an episode full of sniping and smarm. No doubt the fleet has plenty of Anti-Spectrum weaponry aboard, and instructions to throw everything they have at him to see what works. At least OL can be confident they don't have any Yellow Rings aboard, since the Deputy Protocol historically only allows for a limited number running at once.

Vaermina · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"I try not to let ego get the better of me. But since you're here…"

Alert! Spatial distortions detected.

"Let's see if you can leave."

Feels like LePaul got baited.

Bud-E · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
"Basic psychological screening as much as anything. His basic morals-. Have any of your homeworld's Lanterns mentioned ongoing psychological assessments?"

"I think Guy had a few checks after he woke up from his coma."

"Some rather sharp words, then. The Green Light causes fewer behavioural changes, not none. They should know better than leaving mortals unattended."

"I'm not sure that they've got the manpower. As First Lantern, Sinestro had the authority to duck out of that sort of thing anyway."

"That doesn't make it better. Ever since I come out of my coma it's as if everyone's taken leave of their senses."

Yeah I'm with Hinon on this one space cops using personality-altering rings should have regular psych exams and the Guardians should know better.

NightmareWarden · Nov 24, 2022

Bud-E said:
Yeah I'm with Hinon on this one space cops using personality-altering rings should have regular psych exams and the Guardians should know better.

She's on the same "screw comics logic/tropes" wavelength as Paragon!Paul, of course we're generally "with her." She finds Paul a little bit disturbing, but they are a lot alike. Anyone who's read this much of the story is going to appreciate her for one reason or another.

Mr Zoat · Nov 24, 2022

moralrelativity said:
my -> by
they -> their

Thank you, corrected.

capital G

No, it's the name of the species and not their nationality.

thebishop8 said:
"it's" to "is"

No, that's correct.

"to" to "the"
Hinon's "no" to "now"

Ever since I come out of my coma

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Orange Lantern Flozz'm is deceased."

Gone with.

I take the ring and put it into one of my armour's pouches. I didn't know Flozz'm, but taking their ring and sending notice to their family is one of my jobs. It's going to be fairly boilerplate because I didn't know them, and I'm probably going to end up writing more about Sereaven and the war in general than them personally. Still, that's better than leaving it to Dox

Given the gender neutral pronouns, I'm guessing this was that one potentially problematic student that hated the fact that their species relied on aliens for help.

Mr Zoat said:
"Somewhat. It is genuinely vexing. They are too old to be so foolish, and too old to be so ignorant of their own failings

The whole "age brings wisdom" thing is a myth that romanticizes wrinkles.

People can be very old, but still be very stupid.

Mr Zoat said:
Karrakan is a hellworld

And given the fact that it was a battleground for demigods, it may honestly be a little like Hell.

Mr Zoat said:
Ascendants' fleet are here are positioning to defend it.

"that are here are positioning"

Mr Zoat · Nov 24, 2022

Darko said:
Given the gender neutral pronouns, I'm guessing this was that one potentially problematic student that hated the fact that their species relied on aliens for help.

Who?

"that are here are positioning"

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Nov 24, 2022

Chojin Patriarch said:
Heh. Space Chicken People. Seriously bizarre biology. What evolutionary processes could lead to such an.. overreaction?

I'm guessing the predators on their world lacked the capacity to tell the dead from the living.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Sadly, the moral character of prospective Green Lanterns seems a little secondary to their ability to wield Willpower. And maybe their lawful nature...

The Guardians may need to be very flexible on that bit, since what one species considers to be moral or lawful may not be what others consider to be those things.

Darko · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
Who?

I remember Paul was once briefly in a mission with some problematic Lanterns.

A vengeance seeking Clicker, a sociopath, and a member that hated the fact that their species was relying on another alien race and who may have wanted to kill Paul in the future.

I remember Paul used gender neutral pronouns when thinking about the last one and I thought it was the same person.

Granted, it's possible that I'm mistaken since this story has introduced a lot of characters and it could be moths or years before we hear about them again.

So who was Flozz'm?

NightmareWarden · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I didn't know Flozz'm, but taking their ring and sending notice to their family is one of my jobs.

Darko said:
So who was Flozz'm?

We don't know yet. If Flozz'm was on screen previously (perhaps with a crowd), they weren't named.

The first death being an unknown was the most likely scenario, given how often Paul is away from the Corps. This scene is partly to show that such a reveal isn't a gut-punch for Paul like it would be for the average superhero. He isn't distracted by one death. And hey, maybe this lantern's spirit will find its way to the Orange Power Battery somehow, that would be neat.

Rafin · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I turn the construct barricade into a swarm of crumbler rams, imagine this Scarab Lantern as the embodiment of the cankerous soul of the Reach civilisation and slam them into it.

Isn't this just pre-enlightenment style thought? Why does Paul need it to be more successful here? And if it still has value post enlightenment, why doesn't he use it all the time?

Rafin · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
that it's essential

that is

Windona · Nov 24, 2022

Oh boy, that does look like an interesting fight. Graven v Paul v Reach. Though we'll see who is doing what where

Mr Zoat · Nov 24, 2022

Darko said:
I remember Paul was once briefly in a mission with some problematic Lanterns.

A vengeance seeking Clicker, a sociopath, and a member that hated the fact that their species was relying on another alien race and who may have wanted to kill Paul in the future.

I remember Paul used gender neutral pronouns when thinking about the last one and I thought it was the same person.

Granted, it's possible that I'm mistaken since this story has introduced a lot of characters and it could be moths or years before we hear about them again.

I don't remember any of that.

Rafin said:
Isn't this just pre-enlightenment style thought? Why does Paul need it to be more successful here? And if it still has value post enlightenment, why doesn't he use it all the time?

Because it makes him less him. And he's not sure if there are even more possible long term consequences, but he'd rather not find out.

Rafin said:
that is

Mr Zoat said:
No, that's correct.

thebishop8 · Nov 24, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I don't remember any of that.

Darko is probably talking about the episode in which Paul first encountered Grayven while on a mission in Reach space. Dox got incapacitated, and Paul tried to get all the orange lanterns on the mission to sing.

This section specifically:

Mr Zoat said:
"Lantern Light-Click Quiet-Cough Rasp."

Shared desires severed as his Darkstar team is slain in combat with a Scarab. He wants that Scarab to be here, but will settle for fighting them later.

"Lantern Velus."

Just can't stop killing people.

"Lantern Brobranbrak."

Pride. This one hates the Controllers for giving zhe's people shelter almost as much as zhe hates the Reach for putting them in a position where they need it. Zhe desires to rule in the Reach's place once they're destroyed.

Prince Charon · Nov 25, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
I take the ring and put it into one of my armour's pouches. I didn't know Flozz'm, but taking their ring and sending notice to their family is one of my jobs. It's going to be fairly boilerplate because I didn't know them, and I'm probably going to end up writing more about Sereaven and the war in general than them personally. Still, that's better than leaving it to Dox.

I briefly tried to imagine Dox writing a letter of condolence, and I have difficulty with the idea that he'd even be inclined to try. At best, it'd be like the telegraph messages the US Army sent out during and before World War II, but automated and even more coldly impersonal.

Mr Zoat · Nov 25, 2022

1st January 2013
20:42 GMT

The stars… Move, the universe 'above' and 'below' the system's orbital plane emptying of light sources while the rim becomes far brighter. I… Don't even want to think about the sort of gravity manipulation they've had to do to make that happen.

"Very pretty."

On the off-chance, I try warping space. I can manage a little, but the feedback I'm getting from my ring makes space-time feel unusually… Sticky. Which means that my second favourite form of faster than light travel is effectively unavailable unless I feel like trying to override their generator… Which could actually be outside of the system.

"I look forward to the day when we can do this to your home system."

"My home system?"

"Yes. Why, did you think we would grant it clemency?"

I try transitioning a test object, and… It works, but that system is dramatically slower than warping. Flying in normal space would make me deal with relativity and relativity is no fun at all. Honestly, when I imagine trying to get around Universe Prime with FTL probably being impossible I actually shudder.

"Tell you what. If you abandon your attack here, I'll take you there right now. I'll even escort your troops to the surface and do absolutely nothing to them."

"So you are a deviant even amongst your own kind."

A sternguard element of their fleet… Rotates with impressive speed to face me. They don't actually move in my direction, but their heaviest armour and main weapons are now pointing in my general direction while their existing momentum carries them along towards Karrakan.

"Oh, Earth. Did you know that we gained powered flight technology a hundred and ten years ago? Sixty six years later we had rockets capable of taking us to our moon. Giant moon. Whenever I stand on another planet and someone describes the moonrise as 'beautiful' I always end up squinting. 'That tiny thing?'"

Ring, cold gun.

Compliance.

Big cold gun.

Compliance.

"We've got hundreds of gods no one even worships because they're so common, humans with bodies made of mud, AIs that run on electromagnetic tape reels… A few weeks ago I had to fly through a pocket universe made of fragments of dreams. I call it 'hard mode' sometimes because I know of exactly no other planets that have the same range of madness that we have to deal with."

"Fascinating. Please, keep talking. This is helping me build a far more accurate psychological profile."

"And about ten years ago, a man with no higher education invented a gun that can reduce anything its beam hits to zero-"

Fire.

Compliance.

"-degrees Kelvin. Completely arrests molecular vibrations. How good's the thermal insulation on those ships?"

Okay, so don't point it at the star, unless it's a star no one's using and Leonard needs an ego boost. We're all in the inner part of the system but the beam won't hit anything for five minutes or so-

Realistic space combat sucks.

-unless… I focus on our desire and the desire of all within N.E.M.O. to strike at the Reach… No, let us draw upon the desires of species long since extinguished as well and add that to our force!

"I suppose that we'll find out in five minutes."

"Maybe."

Space wobbles like a rubber sheet, snapping back almost immediately. But the distortion carries with it a beam of max-strength cold ray, partially concealed by the ongoing beam I'm firing in the direction of those ships. No beam attenuation makes this a far better weapon for long-ranged sniping than a laser.

I watch as the Reach fleet manoeuvres, using gravity manipulation to shift a little at right angles to their main angle of thrust. Plenty to make sure that they're not on the same trajectory five minutes from now that they were when I fired. The sternguard do something-

My pulse hits the largest ship in the sternguard.

-similar, manoeuvring but not moving as far due to their lower speed.

Not that it matters.

The ship I hit tremors, but it keeps moving and manoeuvring. Maybe it-.

The hull cracks, a dozen rents appearing in the frontal armour and atmosphere venting from all of them. Usually there would be emergency force field or -given that this is the Reach- reactive armour automatically patching small holes. But it looks like those systems also just got wrecked by absolute zero and can't function. The ship isn't dead-dead, but it's severely-

"That's interesting."

-impaired in its functioning. I think I got about half of its frontal weapons, though the dorsal, ventral and side weapons are completely fine.

"Glad that you liked it."

"But can you do it again?"

"No, that's completely impossible."

We do it again, aiming at the next ship in line, predicting based on observed to-target time and manoeuvring pattern.

"Excuse me."

Ring, drop channel and try contacting the Ascendants in charge of those ships.

Compliance. Channel open.

"This is the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. Please respond."

"Illustres! It is good to hear from you."

"Ascendant Thiva. Well done for still being alive. Any idea why the Reach are coming here?"

"This is the Reach? Their ships are different from our records."

"This is one of their inner sphere fleets. They use them to defend their core systems. People don't usually see them. Consider yourself honoured."

"It is an honour I would gladly pass. As to why they are here, we are evacuating the remains of Grandmother Rhea to be interred in New Orthys. We were going to finally abandon the system after that."

"Do you have them on board?"

"Yes."

"Can you make it to the edge of the system? Without being overhauled?"

"Perhaps."

"Try it. I don't think we've got the force here to defeat them in conventional fleet combat. Did you send an alert out?"

"Yes but… The system… Can they get in?"

Given how boom tubes work, probably not using those.

"We'll have to assume that we're it for now. What can the Ascendants you have on board do?"

Ngamer11 · Nov 25, 2022

Mr Zoat said:
The hull cracks, a dozen rents appearing in the frontal armour and atmosphere venting from all of them. Usually there would be emergency force field or -given that this is the reach- reactive armour automatically patching small holes. But it looks like those systems also just got wrecked by absolute zero and can't function. The ship isn't dead-dead, but it's severely-

That should say 'Reach'.

Mr Zoat said:
"This is the Reach? Their ships are different from out records."

That should say 'our'.

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

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