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

Reader mode
Mr Zoat said:
"Can your LEGION fight in the ocean?"

"The guns we use? We don't really need to."
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Mr Zoat said:
"Assuming that they haven't upgraded a lot since my last update, no primary weapons. About thirty anti-attack craft coilgun turrets and maybe a couple of light laser batteries. It's not a warship. If they pointed all of their guns at the Earth -which they can't, the shape of their ship doesn't allow it- and fired, nothing would reach the ground. They have maybe twenty actual marines, a few hundred armed robots -mostly fairly cheap ones- and all of their personnel have some weapon training."
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Snort.

That's some reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal show of force right there.
 
Mr Zoat said:
"It almost certainly has holds filled with refined metals. If Manga Khan used his ring, he could have harvested asteroids on their way into the system. The quantities of metal they hold could crash Earth's metal markets. In addition, they have records of the technologies used by hundreds of spacefaring civilisations. And they'll sell them, crashing any technology market. They might not want to attack anyone on Earth themselves, but they'll happily sell weapons to anyone who wants to buy them, thus destroying Earth's balance of power."
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He's not going to conquer the Earth. He's going to buy it, after all the little humans have killed themselves off with the weapons they bought from him. He wouldn't really do that, but I bet a few people are probably thinking it.
 
Ngamer11 said:
He's not going to conquer the Earth. He's going to buy it, after all the little humans have killed themselves off with the weapons they bought from him. He wouldn't really do that, but I bet a few people are probably thinking it.
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He is NEVER EVER that lucky.

And if he literally caused planetary genocide of an entire species he would be breaking at least a few GLs laws.
 
Is there a way to search the entire thread for keywords, or increase the number of posts per page?

I've pretty much forgotten who the breakaway faction was so I could go back and read, but the thread is massive.
 
Mr Zoat said:
He nods slowly.

"So you are confident that the presence of the Cluster Ship is not a military threat to Earth, or to human civilisation as a self-governing society?"

"Not as long as Atlantis doesn't invade-" I give King Orin a sidelong smile. "Venturia, no."

"Thank you, Orange Lantern. The Chair yields the floor."
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I highly suspect Paul just got played.
 
Shotiegun11 said:
If Atlantis was actually capable of dealing with the situation they would have done something over the last 50 years.

And also not kidnapped a child as a political prisoner and then try to install her aS a Queen without consulting the ACTUALLY FUCKING PEOPLE WHO SHE SOULD BE RULING.
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... or the law books of the city-state they want her to rule, and the treaties tying it to Poseidonis. Either a bunch of people over the past 60 years were idiots, or they were malicious and wanted to create a precedent that Poseidonis can ignore the laws and customs of its tributary cities (a very dangerous precedent to try to set, as it could cause the other cities to wonder if they're next, and think that maybe someone else should be First Among Equals), or possibly both.
 
The comparison with ownership of a Orange Lantern Ring to ownership of a Mercedez Benz seems incredibly inaccurate as a Power Ring is a weapon of mass destruction. It seems like common sense for the organization in charge of distributing and regulating their use to exercise a high degree of control to ensure that they are not misused.

To present a new metaphor: The fact that a person has control over an American made Nuclear Weapon is either a sign that this person is operating with the backing with the United States or that something has gone terribly wrong.
 
Grimnar said:
Snort.

That's some reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal show of force right there.
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That was in reference to the actual LEGION fleet he was expecting. Not... This.
BlueMangoAdea said:
I think the threadmark is missing.
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I swear, this site eats threadmarks.
thebishop8 said:
Change "is" to "it".
Change "empire" to "empires".
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Thank you, corrected.
Darko said:
'it hasn't' not 'is hasn't'

'empires' not 'empire'

Forgot the threadmark
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Mr Zoat said:
5th April
19:33 GMT -5

Why?

My forehead bangs against the table in front of me.
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My god, we've found something capable of making OL headdesk. That's the level of annoyance Manga Khan exudes, folks.

Why?

And again.
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Good thing his environmental field protects him.

Why?

And again.
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Otherwise he'll had one hell of a red mark on his forehead... He's already got a headache.

Did Dox decide to give a power ring to Lord Manga Khan? Did he just find one? But Dox hates things going out of his control-

"Orange Lantern? Is this a.. bad time?"
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Oh, god, is he doing this in front of other people? That's got to send such a message!

-and becoming a problem for him. If he'd picked up a ring like that then Dox wouldn't have given him a significant job.

I look up at the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United Nations, Mister Naif al-Sheikh, and shrug.
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...He was headdesking in front of the UN Security Council? Pffft... One moment, need to catch my breath...:V

"I doubt that I'd be here if it wasn't."

Mister al-Sheikh looks for a moment at the rotating Chair of the Justice League, who as luck would have it is King Orin at the moment.
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I can imagine him wanting to ask if this is normal behaviour for him...

King Orin doesn't look at me.

"Very well. If you could tear your attention away from your desk for a moment, perhaps you could tell the Security Council why the Orange Lantern Corps is blockading Earth."
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That's a big assumption. But Manga Khan's broadcast could be taken in so many ways...

"We're not." I shuffle into a more comfortable position on my chair. "The Orange Lantern Corps does not restrict its members from engaging in private commercial activity. Lord Manga Khan's announcement was made on behalf of ClusterCorp and in his role as Chief Operating Officer of ClusterCorp. The fact that a person owns a Mercedes-Benz is not proof that the German government is supporting them. In addition, the Earth has neither interplanetary imports or exports. He can't prevent Earth from doing something is hasn't ever done and isn't trying to do."
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That's actually a good point. Unless someone gets a space fleet going, Earth doesn't really have any hold of its local space.

"He has a power ring."

"He does."
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And dear god, I am still laughing at the idea...

"Is he here under your authority?"

"He's here in response to a request-. I was expecting a LEGION flotilla to arrive in a few months."
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I suppose Venturia's 'alliance' with NEMO isn't exactly a secret. Though I expect there's been some briefings going on about what that even is... Presumably that's why OL is involved here.

He regards me sternly.

"You don't seem entirely pleased."
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What clued you in? Was it the headdesking? The faint moans of 'Why?'...

"A LEGION flotilla would be crewed by disciplined soldiers. ClusterCorp has a habit of skirting the technical definition of interstellar piracy a little too closely for my liking."

There's a.. stirring amongst his colleagues.

"Piracy?"
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May as well keep digging that hole, OL. I doubt you're climbing out anytime soon.

"Different empire have different laws on what levels of contact are allowed between civilisations of different levels of technological sophistication. And they have them… Because they recognise that a small group with space age technology can easily dominate a primitive planet. That introducing certain technologies can massively disrupt a species' social and technological development. But there's no galactic UN where a set of legal standards could be agreed upon and Earth isn't under the aegis of a larger empire. The closest to a standard set of rules is 'how far can I go before the Green Lantern Corps stops me', but the Corp's rules of engagement are defined by precedence and are well know to spacefaring civilisations. ClusterCorp won't cross that line, because it would create too much trouble for this exercise to be profitable. But they'll do anything else, because they're here to make money."
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To sum up, there's no Prime Directive, only 'What'll piss off the Greenies?' and that depends a lot on the local Lanterns, I bet. Some are a little more easy-going than others, after all.

"Are we to understand that you have no command authority over him?"

"I have seniority, but Dox hasn't put him under my command. Unless we encounter a situation outside of his original orders, then yes, I have no direct authority over him."
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One of those things they were still hashing out about his position, eh? Really need to organise your place in chains of command...

"What level of military force does the ClusterCorp possess?"

"By the standards of their home region, the Cluster Ship is a lightly armed trading vessel with a corporate security battalion. But the precise armament isn't important because they have the run of the system. They could be completely unarmed and all they'd need to do in order to wipe out life on Earth is throw a sufficiently big rock at us."
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And that would be bad for the bottom line, so I doubt they'd bother. I remember a White Dwarf article about why Exeterminatus usually uses some Cyclonic Torpedoes instead of a big rock. The reply was a breakdown of fuel costs, crew needs and time taken, versus just shooting them (much cheaper.)

"Even so, I would like to know how lightly armed."

"Assuming that they haven't upgraded a lot since my last update, no primary weapons. About thirty anti-attack craft coilgun turrets and maybe a couple of light laser batteries. It's not a warship. If they pointed all of their guns at the Earth -which they can't, the shape of their ship doesn't allow it- and fired, nothing would reach the ground. They have maybe twenty actual marines, a few hundred armed robots -mostly fairly cheap ones- and all of their personnel have some weapon training."
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So, basically, it's a big-ass freighter with the space-going equivalent of BB guns...

"And a power ring."

"And a power ring. Earth has plenty of power rings already. He hasn't had it for long, and… I'd describe him as being moderately powerful with no desire for actual combat. Any of Earth's native Lanterns could beat him in a fight."
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Presumably, this is from his files or a databurst from Maltus and the OLC command? Unless he's operating on long-range ring scans and metaknowledge.

"You appear to be trying to reassure us."

I shake my head. "Oh, no, that ship is a potential civilisation-ender. I just don't want you to mischaracterise it. It's not a military threat; it's an economic threat."
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That's going to take some explaining, methinks... I doubt many of the councillors are masters of Economic Theory.

"Explain."

"It almost certainly has holds filled with refined metals. If Manga Khan used his ring, he could have harvested asteroids on their way into the system. The quantities of metal they hold could crash Earth's metal markets. In addition, they have records of the technologies used by hundreds of spacefaring civilisations. And they'll sell them, crashing any technology market. They might not want to attack anyone on Earth themselves, but they'll happily sell weapons to anyone who wants to buy them, thus destroying Earth's balance of power."
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Hence his headdesking earlier. This is not going to improve the reputation of the OLC in Earth space.

A few Security Council delegates are looking more concerned now, but… Nothing like what they were when they thought it was an armed warship.

"If he already has all of that, what exactly is he hoping to trade for?"
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I doubt he's after local culture. And Earth really doesn't have much to offer except... Oh dear...

"I don't know exactly. If you're asking me to speculate, I guess any of the unique technology Earth possesses, and… Magic objects and expertise."

"What about cultural objects; art, literature..?"
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Pfft. As if Manga Khan would pay for anything he could steal from the internet... He probably has a rule that says 'if it's online, it's free!'

"Anything that has a copy publically available, they'll already have taken. Otherwise they might try and buy a few pieces for display, but there isn't much of a interstellar art market. They're here to make money for the ClusterCorp; they have no other objective."
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So... Not interested in this Earthly thing called Love, or anything like that. Porn, maybe, for the exotic factor, but, again... "If it's online, it's free!"

"Al… Right." He consults his notes. "Now, Manga Khan himself. What is a 'Lord-Lantern'?"

I roll my eyes. "There's no such thing as a 'Lord-Lantern'. He's a Lantern who already-. No, he's not even a Lord. He just picks out words and syllables in his trading partner's language and starts calling himself that. 'Lord' is short and implies authority, so he chose it as his English language prefix. He picked 'Manga' and 'Khan' for the same reason. 'Lord Comic King', that should give you some idea of the psychology you're dealing with."
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It could have been worse. Anyone want to imagine some of the word-salad titles he could have made?

"Why doesn't he use his actual name?"

"Because it's-"

I generate a construct of a cloud of dust, then have it twinkle in patterns.
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Ah, the Hanar style of communication. I'm sure his people's conversations are pretty, at least. A heated debate might look like a rave.

"-this. The suit of armour you saw in his transmission is just an environmental suit he wears so that humanoids have something to interact with. His natural form is a sentient gas cloud."

He nods slowly.
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Just smile and nod. Aliens are weird...

"So you are confident that the presence of the Cluster Ship is not a military threat to Earth, or to human civilisation as a self-governing society?"

"Not as long as Atlantis doesn't invade-" I give King Orin a sidelong smile. "Venturia, no."

"Thank you, Orange Lantern. The Chair yields the floor."
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Boy, that was not a good showing. Another kind of 'low politics', I suppose?

I doubt OL could tell Manga Khan to go easy, either. The big gold guy would probably quote any number of anti-monopoly laws at him, completely missing the point...This is going to be a long week for OL, I bet...:oops:
 
Vaermina said:
Because once Paul admitted it wasn't a military threat, the issue stopped being a UN Security Council issue, and became a general UN issue.

Further, since it's not a military threat, they can exclude most of the Justice League from negotiations.
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You really think the UN is going to drop the potential military threat the ship presents just because of the word of one guy, no matter how well informed he is. No they would want to be careful.

Also the League is probably the only group that is used to dealing with aliens in any manner, unless you want to count the Light, so their expertise could be needed.
 
Grimnar said:
Snort.

That's some reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal show of force right there.
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What part of "can crash your economy with ease" is not a threat?

Seriously, this guy might be one of the biggest threats Paul ever faced.

Because he operates like Paul does,minus the restraint and in the same hierarchy as he is in, meabing he can't just overrule him.

That guy could wipe out earth!

All he has to do is claim that he sold one country something. He doesn't even have to specify what, because everyone would have to assume it's weapons.

Meaning an immediate first strike might be the only option.

And that's entirely ignoring the metal market crash!
 
Darko said:
You really think the UN is going to drop the potential military threat the ship presents just because of the word of one guy, no matter how well informed he is. No they would want to be careful.

Also the League is probably the only group that is used to dealing with aliens in any manner, unless you want to count the Light, so their expertise could be needed.
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You're making the mistake of treating the Comic's UN as a reasonable body that get's things done.
 
GamingPizza1998 said:
So he's a fart
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Ohh that could be bad.

Remember the last time a sentient fart showed up in a work of fiction thousands of clockwork people died as well as several insect guards and one assassin, and the universe was nearly destroyed by said fart that wanted to bring back his fellows so they can destroy life.

This may be bloodier than most people would expect.

Vaermina said:
You're making the mistake of treating the Comic's UN as a reasonable body that get's things done.
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Zoat portrays a realistic world that just so happens to have superpeople living in it, so it's unlikely the UN will make such mistakes, especially since the fate of their world is under threat and they can't afford to make mistakes.

That UN lady from the Common Sense chapter in Byalia was pretty reasonable
 
Mr Zoat said:
but the Corp's rules of engagement are defined by precedence and are well know to spacefaring civilisations.
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  • The Corp in this context would be ClusterCorp, so I think you mean the Corps' or perhaps the Corps's to refer to the GLC.
  • precedent or perhaps precedents? "Precedence" would be more like priority.
  • known
 
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