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

[Chojin Patriarch]

7th September 2013
23:04 GMT

Heavy armour, construct armour, construct shields.

"Think very carefully about your next action."

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Because unless they have something very potent against Spectrum technology, they are definitely outgunned. And Nth Metal is not going to be that strong an advantage.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

Melee weapons are palmed and ranged weapons are raised but not pointed directly at me. No insignia and rank markers. If I'm in an oubliette then they're going to need an new oubliette in a few minutes.

A flash on my head-up display. Message from Jade, who like our alleged captors has her masers ready but not specifically aimed at anyone.

[Crows. Assassins and secret police.] One of them is briefly highlighted. [This one is requesting clarification of his orders.]

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In other words, the secret service equivalents, operating as personal guards to the High Mor during a crisis situation..

I try scanning, but something is interfering. Jade's exo-mantle appears to be unaffected. Lantern Dul has no doubt reported on the existence of Darkstars but there hasn't been a reason for them to develop specific countermeasures before now. Lanterns, on the other hand, are something they've clearly assumed that they're going to have to deal with at some point.

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So it's likely something attuned to Nth Metal throwing things off.

"Escort me to the High Mor immediately."

The one closest to me inclines his head slightly. "Stand by."

No. I don't think that I will.

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Yeah, once OL is in motion, nothing stops him without excessive amounts of force...

The room around us glows orange, and tungsten carbide chains appear from subspace wrapped around all of them except the one getting orders. Arms and wings are bound to torsos with no room to bring Nth metal weapons to bear. Their armour is mildly disruptive, but it isn't actively damaging the metal. Shove them off to the side and chain the chains to one another.

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For a second, I though that said chairs, and pictured them all tied into uncomfortable seats... But I doubt this would be any more comfortable.

And then I take a step towards the presumed-officer. His posture suggests that he's uncertain as to the correct response. The one hand on his knife indicates that he's used to responding to this sort of thing violently, but the fact that he's not even trying to use it shows that he's not an idiot.

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Also not wanting to throw his life away spiting a possible threat. Especially one that outclasses him that much.

"I was fired upon by your orbital weapon platforms. I expect an explanation from your ruler now, or I will assume that it was actually deliberate and respond accordingly. Take me to the High Mor."

He remains still for a moment, and then sheathes his knife.

"This way, Orange Lantern."

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Looks like he got the nod over his earpiece.

I dismiss my shield constructs and Jade and I follow him out of the… Teleportation redirection station? A little odd; a transition means that I travelled through the intervening space, so… Maybe it threw off my ring's sensors somehow? Or automatically teleported me when I appeared? Not sure. The alarm is off but it looks like whatever's jamming my sensors is still on. We walk through a heavily reinforced security bulkhead, more crows standing at alert off our passageway. Presumably, running towards us in response to the alarm and now called off.

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That is interesting, given the FTL Transition isn't truly teleportation, merely moving at ludicrous speeds while partly dematerialised..

"I suggest freeing your colleagues."

There are doors leading off the corridor we're walking down, but they're armoured and emphatically closed. Empathic vision shows people… Ah, I think that's a briefing room. And that one some sort of training area. I don't see anything specific about me, though I don't think these people would have access to the controls of the orbital defence platforms anyway.

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But it's definitely some sort of military bunker or safehouse.

The corridor terminates in an interior shaft big enough for thanagarians to fly up or down. Our guide spreads his wings and flaps, launching himself upwards and then hesitating, perhaps uncertain whether or not we can fly. We follow, and so reassured he accelerates upwards. About… Fifty metres up the scan jamming peters out and I can tell where we are. Huh, almost directly under the office I was aiming for.

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So the redirect wasn't that far. This is most likely a security garrison of some kind, then, not a lockdown bunker.

"I assume that the High Mor is waiting for us."

"It is not my place to comment."

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If not waiting, then hard at work finding out what the fuck happened.

[Movements of guards on their internal monitoring. Heavy incoming and outgoing communications traffic.]

Well, yes, I'd bloody hope so.

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Definitely the High Mor yelling at someone for an explanation, then.

Our escort lands in a side passage and keeps walking-. Soldiers and a handful of Crows are on guard duty, both occupying posts and milling around. We get some glares, but it looks like we're expected and no one tries anything.

I guess we're heading for a crisis room, then.

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One no doubt filled with an angry leader turning the air blue...

A couple of turn-offs that we ignore and we're lead to a very heavy door. Our guide has to remove his helmet so that his identity can be confirmed by the soldiers on duty. They then consider me and Jade, and in respect of the fact that we're about to meet their ruler in fairly hostile circumstances I drop my construct armour. Jade hesitates for a moment, and then retracts her masers. That earns us a nod, and the door opens.

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Well, at least they're smart enough not to take 'helmeted figures in a hurry' as authorisation by itself.

"-care, find him!"

Ah, it seems that the High Mor is expressing his displeasure, loudly, to several senior officers and whoever's on the end of his communication array. Said officers being… The general in command of the Thandalar garrison, whose responsibilities also include providing security to secure government sites. The head of Thandalar's police, who mostly insure that the undersiders remain appropriately beaten down. A navy captain, presumably the attaché from the home defence fleet. And a Crow in plain armour who is mostly focusing on the other three.

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So the three people most likely to be in deep shit if any of them are found responsible for this fiasco.

The police chief nods. "Alive if possible?"

"Yes. We need to find out how he did this as much-." The Crow moves his eyes in my direction, and the High Mor follows them to take me in. "As much as we need him punished. Dismissed."

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Ah, feeling the need to keep some things secret from the interloper, I see.

No salutes, I note. Not in a crisis. Instead, the general, the police chief and the navy officer move to work stations, displacing their own immediate subordinates as they get to work. The High Mor watches them for a moment, and then heads towards me and Jade with the Crow just behind him.

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Good, no arguments or panic or blame-throwing, just straight to work. Very professional folks.

"Orange Lantern." He looks my armour over. I suppose that he hasn't seen it before, and even to thanagarians the fact that my face isn't visible is a decidedly unfriendly sign. "I understand that you were the likely target."

"Yes."

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OL's not really in any mood to be friendly, after all.

"Who was with you?"

"Darkstar Nguyen and Bleez. We were-."

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No need to ask who she is, given she's a popstar.

"Taking in the sights while waiting for the Imperial Ministry of Culture and Doctrine to get their heads out from under their wings. That's approved, by the way. Take what you want."

A trivial concession, but it's nice that he made it.

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Given someone under his command seems to have been behind it, it's a small attempt at appeasement.

"Thank you. You know who shot me?"

He grimaces. "Andar Pul. A senior member of our intelligence service. He had access to our defence network in case he needed to unleash it against infiltrators. He did not have authorisation to use it against you."

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Oh, that's a named character. In Post-Crisis, he's Hawkwoman's bastard father. And possibly a bastard himself.

"Any idea on motive?"

"Not yet. It makes little sense. He would not have gained his current position if he did not have my confidence. If nothing else, he would have an escape route ready to use before acting, but so far as we can tell he's still on Thanagar."

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Which means he's confident of staying free or that he has something else he has to do before he flees.

"So, your plan to assassinate me hasn't been approved yet?"

"No, and if it ever is, I'll pull the trigger myself."

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...On OL or on the person who suggested it? Though I expect either one is valid.

I nod. "Accomplices?"

"We're going through his records now. But he's fled, and he's good at his job. Which includes having the ability to erase his own records."

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Great. So there's no clear indication of why.

"I'll want to interrogate him. As you know, I have methods-."

"Acceptable. Would you care to assist in finding him?"

"Yes." I open my awareness to the patterns of desire around me. "I rather think that I would."

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So unless Pul has some manner of concealment from the Emotional Spectrum, this will not take long.

There's going to be some very pointed questions for Pul indeed when he's found. And he will be found because OL wants that to happen. One sweep of the Honden, a quick Greediport, and OL will be flying back with him in hand... Unless something powerful has him hidden away.

 

[Diraniola]

I wonder if a construct Thangarian would still have Nth metal properties, or if they would be brought to a common base line.

Also unless this guy was 's catspaw, he's was good as got.

 

[Duke Long]

Ah, it seems that the High Mor is expressing his displeasure, loudly, to several senior officers and whoever's on the end of his communication array. Said officers being… The general in command of the Thandalar garrison, whose responsibilities also include providing security to secure government sites. The head of Thandalar's police, who mostly insure that the undersiders remain appropriately beaten down. A navy captain, presumably the attaché from the home defence fleet. And a Crow in plain armour who is mostly focusing on the other three.

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'ensure'

It does seem likely for capturing Andar Pul to be trivial, but perhaps he has help from Seven Devils cultists or Hyathis, who can give him magic to defend against empathic vision.

 

[Prince Charon]

I wonder if a construct Thangarian would still have Nth metal properties, or if they would be brought to a common base line.

Also unless this guy was 's catspaw, he's was good as got.

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Even if he is a catspaw, that Boss (or a number of others) might abandon him if he's outlived his usefulness. We don't know what the plan was, yet, nor whose it was, so it may not have gone off the rails.

 

[Mr Zoat]

"need a new"

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Thank you, corrected.

After looking him up, I now hope he's Hawkwoman's father here like in the comics.

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When you say things like that, it's probably best to specifiy which comics, because for most of Hawkman's history that hasn't been true.

'ensure'

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[B00ki5h]

"No, and if it ever is, I'll pull the trigger myself."

I nod. "Accomplices?"

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Just one little critique. Just one word to improve the scene.


"No, and if it ever is, I'll pull the trigger myself."

I nod. "Respectable. Accomplices?"

 

[WereDragon]

"No, and if it ever is, I'll pull the trigger myself."

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"Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."
Which I always though was a great description of Havelock Vetinari.

I do so enjoy Paul's space adventures. He is so much less passive, hesitant and deferring than when he is playing about on Earth.

 

[PDV]

They're not happy about it, but they're pretty realistic about the relative power levels between themselves and Paul/the OLC, and don't really want to poke the bear. Surprisingly rational authoritarians.

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IIRC, historically, the time you usually get fairly rational authoritarians is when there's a total collapse of legitimacy, usually from a monarch descending into utter fucking incompetence without particularly good lineage backing them up. That's how England got Cromwell. (Who was brutal and in some respects quite evil, but sensible, attempting to do good things most of the time, and generally pretty top tier for an authoritarian not named Lee Kuan Yew. LKY has no explanation.) Sometimes when there's a completely ridiculous destructive civil war and just about everyone wants 'anything else, god, please,' which Franco is a weak and somewhat arguable example. (Not that he was a genius, as the wonderful con job that was the question of succession after him demonstrated, but he did fairly rational things like "World War Two? No thanks, GLHF guys." I forget how exactly the Equality Plague and issues with Hyathis went, and whether we have the comics canon 'generally more docile' thing, but I think this is a reasonably plausible situation for it.

Just one word to improve the scene. [...] I nod. "Respectable. Accomplices?"

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Disagree. It doesn't need to be said. The nod conveys it. Also, he's still a Brit, understatement is more important a religion than Anglicanism.

 

[Thundersmight94]

"We're going through his records now. But he's fled, and he's good at his job. Which includes having the ability to erase his own records."

"I'll want to interrogate him. As you know, I have methods-."

"Acceptable. Would you care to assist in finding him?"

"Yes." I open my awareness to the patterns of desire around me. "I rather think that I would."

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Y'know I just remembered that Thanagar has basically no magic system still, so there is nothing stopping Paul from doing his old trick of scry teleporting to people.

 

[Ardy]

Thanagar has mostly avoided fucking with Paul. The only thing I can think of was testing him with the cultists on his and Jade's vacation. They're not happy about it, but they're pretty realistic about the relative power levels between themselves and Paul/the OLC, and don't really want to poke the bear. Surprisingly rational authoritarians.

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In retrospect it's a bit like, during the cold war, a south american pro-US dictatorship (backed by the CIA) had a popular american general vacationing there. No official reason, the general's kid liked a local band and the general liked the beaches. While there, the general would liaise a little bit with the dictatorship about communist insurgent movements, but nothing important.

Then a local artillery battalion opens fire on the beach he's sunbathing on.

No, the local dictatorship might not like foreigners, definitely not powerful foreigners, and would normally celebrate everyone else suffering disasters so they can end up more powerful, but in this case they're in danger of getting nuked, so they have to swallow their instincts and be polite to the pissed off and surviving general.