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

thebishop8 · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
"I'll let you know how it goes."
3rd July 2012
10:57 GMT -5

The last line from the previous chapter is above the date, I'm assuming that's unintentional.

Mr Zoat · Dec 3, 2020

Darko said:
maybe 'kimetic'

What is a 'kimetic'?

'who truly has'

thebishop8 said:
The last line from the previous chapter is above the date, I'm assuming that's unintentional.

Thank you, corrected.

Darko · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
What is a 'kimetic'?

I meant 'kinetic'

frommerman · Dec 3, 2020

Grayven's whole thing is conquest. He wants the territory and the supplication of the survivors. The OLC, on the other hand, just wants genocide. They don't care about the territory, just about removing the Reach from it.

I think their values are sufficiently orthogonal as to not intersect. Assuming Grayven is willing to talk at all before opening fire, I anticipate either an alliance or non-aggression pact.

Darko · Dec 3, 2020

frommerman said:
Grayven's whole thing is conquest. He wants the territory and the supplication of the survivors. The OLC, on the other hand, just wants genocide. They don't care about the territory, just about removing the Reach from it.

I think their values are sufficiently orthogonal as to not intersect. Assuming Grayven is willing to talk at all before opening fire, I anticipate either an alliance or non-aggression pact.

The OLC doesn't actually want to wipe out the Reach completely, as Paul told those Gordanians during the diplomatic meeting, they just want to make sure they aren't a threat anymore by removing their territory and damaging their army.

And I'm assuming they also want to help the victims of the Reach.

Chojin Patriarch · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
"I'll let you know how it goes."
3rd July 2012
10:57 GMT -5

Fixed positions in space are… A mixed blessing. Certain types of weapons -kinetics, mostly- can hit from almost any distance away, but since the citadel doesn't need to be able to move the normal problems of moving large masses don't limit its armour or other defences. If you fire kinetic weapons at it, it can deal with them with its flack batteries or just tank it. But at the same time, if someone can point a sufficiently large gun at you and you can't move, you're toast, while a far smaller ship -or a Lantern- might be able to evade.

One of the classic problems of space combat: What happens when the other guy has more gun? We're about to see, methinks.

In this region major battle fortresses are popular with anyone who can afford them because the combination of popular offensive strategies and defensive strategies. The most dangerous single things are Scarab Warriors and Lanterns, who combine a high damage output with extremely high evasiveness. Structures are therefore mostly defensive, with electronic warfare, shields and point defences. And that's great most of the time. But that New God warship has a gun most of the Reach fleet could fly into.

My, my... Dammit, now I'm thinking of Gryps II from the Gundam Universal Century timeline... Big gun, big target. But the Dreadnaught is a lot tougher than a converted O'Neill Cylinder...

The initial shots come from the gordanian ships as they copy our actions, squadrons shifting position to destroy beacons and mines. A few Reach fire support ships take shots at… I'm guessing the dreadnaught, but at this distance their shots won't hit for nearly a minute even if the dreadnaught maintains its course perfectly. In open space ships with FTL guns are deadly, but in a place where everyone is trying to gum up the working of space-time they're not much more effective than other types of big gun-focused ship.

The joy of using gravity-based weapons a lot. I suppose conventional space combats, without Lanterns involved, tend to be a bit more submarine-warfare-inspired.

The dreadnaught isn't firing yet. I can see what I think are weapon mounts, but I'm not sure what their optimal range is and I doubt that a New God is going to try fighting anything as small as a b-

By My Order Be Unmade.

I don't know, Grayven-16 probably enjoys stepping on bugs...

A Reach battleship, several nearby escorts and a bastion station behind it are reduced to vapour in an explosion..?

-ouy…

A classic moment of "What the fuck?!" Especially for the Reach.

O-w. Ow.

No, what-?

Seriously, he has to learn how to pick up Godspeech properly soon, if it gives him headaches through the Ring's healing like this... Heck, this might encourage him to do so.

Focus. That was an FTL weapon, with the rather confusing profile of appearing to hit before they're fired. There was no sign of any sort of charge build-up in the dreadnaught's primary weapon, but the destroyed ships were in a direct line with the ship's long axis. So they've got FTL sensors as well, which… Some gordanians used to buy that sort of technology from the psions, but it's unusual. Lanterns get spoilt by their FTL sensors; most fleet engagements happen between groups of people who can only see where the other side used to be.

Tense knife-fights with opponents you can't actually see. Yup, guessed as much.

By My Hand Be Cast Down.

This time the dreadnaught strikes the planet directly, the facility's shield failing to do a thing to block the shot as it disintegrates the main base, the surrounding land, the… Well, the moon was a frozen desert, but now it's a frozen desert that's been knocked out of its orbit by a combination of the force of the shot and the rapid evaporation of about a twentieth of its mass, the now-visible core of the world doing that.. interesting combination of freezing and boiling that water does in a vacuum.

...Definitely in the Wave-Motion Cannon/Macross Cannon class. If this were a 40k battle, Abbadon would have an erection right now at the destructive power...

Never seen rock do that before, though I suspect this is going to become a recurring theme of this war. And not just by our enemies; Dox assured me that we won't be doing it to worlds that still have hostage populations-. 'Salvageable' hostage populations, but once we get to the point where we're directly fighting worlds whose populations consist entirely of Reach citizens I imagine that I shouldn't expect much restraint.

Hey, you wanted this war, you don't get to be squeamish about it afterwards. Ends justify the Means, after all. We can expect quite a few atrocities on all side, by the time this is done...

The Reach fleet gets underway, accelerating at… Yes, their best speed towards the gordanians. Even allowing that the rest of the fleet is more potent than what most gordanian mercenaries manage… Yes, I can calculate their damage output based on how quickly they destroyed that first Reach ship, scale upwards… The Reach fleet should easily win if the dreadnaught isn't factored in. I don't have any idea of what its secondary and tertiary weapons can do, so it's impossible to say who is truly has the advantage.

So it comes down to Grayven-16's dick substitute making the difference. Why am I not surprised at all by that?

But I don't think that someone who could get their hands on a New God warship would have judged their entry into this war carelessly.

Dox is getting.. a lot of requests for orders. I'm not hearing any responses.

Hopefully he's thinking and processing strategic data, not frozen by shock. That will not help his position.

I don't have any rank in L.E.G.I.O.N., but Orange Lanterns are very much my concern. I don't want to undermine Dox, but if he isn't.. saying anything…

Illustres to all Lanterns.

...And OL undercutting him isn't going to help either. Still, that kind of is the Illustres' job. When the Clarissi is indisposed or unresponsive, guess who the Lanterns look to for orders.

"Looks like a New God can have a midlife crisis."

It's a weak witticism, and I doubt the Lanterns who don't come from a species with the standard pattern humanoid reproductive system would understand the reference.

Still, I'm sure ring translation can provide an equivalent euphemism... Or aphorism or whatever it is...

"I hope that everyone is watching very carefully and recording precisely the capacities of the gordanian fleet. The sensors the L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet uses are good, but they're not power rings. And while I'm sure that everyone is disappointed that someone is going to beat us to killing a Reach fleet… There are plenty more where they came from."

And the more scan data the analysts have to work with, the easier it'll be to find a way to kill them.

I don't do anything exotic, but the orange lights around me intensify… Or rather, return to their previous intensity after dipping when the gordanian fleet appeared. I'm not a particularly good public speaker and I don't have a personal relationship with these Lanterns so there's probably not much more I can do until Dox decides what he wants us to do. I could try contacting that dreadnaught directly, or try reaching Councillor Vayneek to discover their intentions… But I don't want to undermine Dox.

Yay... Remember, you picked him, OL. If he turns out to be unsuitable for field leadership duties, it's on you.

The Reach fleet is firing in earnest, now, as the gordanians continue to accelerate and cluster tighter. Reach prow-mounted primary weapons are all firing at the dreadnaught, which-. Definite lateral movement, there. Trying to move itself out of the densest cone of fire? Those weapons are a good deal slower than light, so-.

This time, I see the moment when the fleet-scale boom tube appears.

Because of course if they have a fleet-scale rapid transit option, why not use it in combat?

It opens just in front of the dreadnaught, the entire fleet passing through before all but the earliest shots from the Reach intersect with their former position. Okay, are they.. disengaging? Somewhat anticlimactic, but if they just want to soften our target up for-.

Then the exit appears, immediately behind the Reach fleet. The smaller gordanian ships are out first, shooting after the larger Reach ships and rapidly closing to point blank range. Reach ships are tough, but their attackers have a weapon loadout focused on short range bombardment and are highly skilled at coordinating their fire. One gun-battleship has its shields breached before it can reorientate them, the barrage breaking its armour and piercing its primary generators a moment later.

Instant flanking manoeuvre, just add kabooms. Hard to keep your guard up when you have to be aware of all directions becoming attack vectors.

Reach return fire is slower but not slow, hampered more by the relative position of the fleets than the sloth of the crews. They're turning, but their formation isn't designed to fight an enemy coming from that direction and-.

And then the dreadnaught is through and their efforts-

"There's no escaping them now." Seriously, why am I picturing an Eve Online battle right now?

By My Will, Cease.

-all seem rather irrelevant.

Grayven certainly is bombastic, isn't he, when he's speaking in Divine voice? No doubt it'll apply to his in-person appearances too...

Two battleships this time, and I think… It's targeting the Reach fleet's flags. And it turns out that it does have secondary weapon batteries and I can't even see the Reach fleet's return fire now. Scaled up Apokoliptian blasters. Far slower that light but far more powerful than the infantry version. Reach ships crumple, their shields failing in moments and their hulls only shortly afterwards. That… Means there's a powerful New God on that dreadnaught, either that or a team of less powerful ones perfectly coordinating themselves.

Since the weapons get stronger when a New God is backing them, I take it. Grayven-16's literally reaching out and touching the foe. And what he touches dies.

The gordanians aren't having it entirely their own way. One of the flanking Reach squadrons manages to reposition itself and make a coordinating counterattack. Two gordanian cruisers are caught while attacking a.. carrier? And reduced to drifting hulks as the squadron heads for a gordanian battleship a little way behind them. They're also careful to keep a number of gordanian ships between them and the dreadnaught, which isn't a terrible idea…

Feh, as if friendly fire matters to Grayven-16? I fully expect him to shoot through his servants to strike down his foes... He's that kind of bad boss...

But I've seen Canis, Scott Free and Barda interact with New God technology. The commander of that ship isn't going to miss in a situation like this. The only question is whether they take the shot themselves or order the battleship to deal with it. The fact that they haven't shared blaster technology with the gordanian ships suggests that they aren't perfectly cooperating… So what wins out? Pride in the power of their fleet, or contempt for those who fail to grasp their own power?

Contempt for his worthless minions, who are cannon fodder for his plans, grist for the mill of his war?

The battleship spots the attack and opens fire, its primary and secondary batteries picking targets by class. Its support squadron turn away from their targets a moment later, moving to flank the attackers. The Reach ships are dying faster than their worse-positioned comrades, so if this is a sacrificial-.

The dreadnaught fires, miss-.

Or maybe they're just trying to get out of the way of the planet-killer. Seriously, anywhere the dreadnaught's main gun is pointing is the last place you want to be...

No. Ring, show me that again.

Compliance.

Ah, he noticed something amidst the chaos?

No, not missing. The squadron's command ship had a Scarab Warrior who was flying at the gordanian battleship. The dreadnaught apparently considered that to be the only thing the battleship couldn't deal with on its own. And two blaster secondary batteries are enough to shred a Scarab Warrior.

Which means most Orange Lanterns aren't going to far much better. Time for a strategic withdrawal, perhaps? Quickly?

I look back to the ongoing combat, only to find that it's not really ongoing. The Reach fleet has ceased to be, the few survivors being pursued as they try to flee. They aren't getting away though; the dreadnaught is opening smaller boom tubes for the cruisers to intercept them, all the while turning to-

Trouble Me No More.

Looks like Grayven-16's had enough play for the moment. The question is, what does he intend to do next?

-utterly shatter the moon with its main gun.

Huh.

Then a new fleet-scale boom tube opens just ahead of our fleet.

Shiiiiit.

Oh, boy. What's Big G planning, then? Was the annihilation of the Reach outpost a show of force ahead of aggressive negotiations? A demonstration of what awaits if the NEMO forces don't bend their knees? Or is he just going to steamroll them too...

Godspeech, and a lot of it!

Mr Zoat said:
The dreadnaught isn't firing yet. I can see what I think are weapon mounts, but I'm not sure what their optimal range is and I doubt that a New God is going to try fighting anything as small as a b-

By My Order Be Unmade.

Focus. That was an FTL weapon, with the rather confusing profile of appearing to hit before they're fired. There was no sign of any sort of charge build-up in the dreadnaught's primary weapon, but the destroyed ships were in a direct line with the ship's long axis. So they've got FTL sensors as well, which… Some gordanians used to buy that sort of technology from the psions, but it's unusual. Lanterns get spoilt by their FTL sensors; most fleet engagements happen between groups of people who can only see where the other side used to be.

By My Hand Be Cast Down.

And then the dreadnaught is through and their efforts-

By My Will, Cease.

I look back to the ongoing combat, only to find that it's not really ongoing. The Reach fleet has ceased to be, the few survivors being pursued as they try to flee. They aren't getting away though; the dreadnaught is opening smaller boom tubes for the cruisers to intercept them, all the while turning to-

Trouble Me No More.

Darko · Dec 3, 2020

Chojin Patriarch said:
Ends justify the Means, after all.

Careful. That kind of thinking leads to Tangseid..

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Definitely in the Wave-Motion Cannon/Macross Cannon class. If this were a 40k battle, Abbadon would have an erection right now at the destructive power...

Just not near Lucius, or any other Slaaneshi.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Yay... Remember, you picked him, OL. If he turns out to be unsuitable for field leadership duties, it's on you.

Technically OL is the field leader here, while Dox is the strategic one.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Feh, as if friendly fire matters to Grayven-16? I fully expect him to shoot through his servants to strike down his foes... He's that kind of bad boss...

Maybe to the ones he doesn't know, but if he's like his Earth 50 counterpart then he may have more care and loyalty to those closer to him.

I think I remember him taking that Tamaranean away after renegade exposed her to the AL Equation.

NightmareWarden · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
I'm not a particularly good public speaker-

You are when you want to be.

Seriously though you avoided plenty of common pitfalls with your Relative Earth Progress presentation.

PDV · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
dreadnaught, which-. Definite lateral

Mr Zoat said:
hostage populations-. 'Salvageable' hostage

Stray full stops after the dashes.

Mr Zoat · Dec 3, 2020

PDV said:
Stray full stops after the dashes.

Those aren't stray; they've got a forever home.

AidanMorgan · Dec 3, 2020

Something is deeply wrong with me because I'm reading that last bit of godspeech as "BEGONE, THOT" instead of what it actually says.

Traiden · Dec 3, 2020

I have quite enjoyed this story and have followed you from the other forums to here. Can't wait to read even more of this.

Bramble Thorn · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
What is a 'kimetic'?

Even though it was a typo, I'd like to answer this anyway.

I do hereby coin the word kimetic as a contraction of kinetic-memetic. It is an effect that combines a physical force with a memetic one. A sword that cuts memories as it cuts flesh. A stupid stick that bludgeons away intellect as well as bruises. A sentence that when read punches the reader in the face. After learning that stepping on a crack will break your mother's back, stepping on a crack does break her back.

Those are example kimetics.
You're welcome.

WereDragon · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
But I don't want to undermine Dox.

By all appearances he is doing a fine job of undermining himself.
Dox is a "super-genius" too stupid to use social skills while trying to run an organisation of highly disparate individuals. He might be a superlative RTS player and grand strategist, however that does not mean he is a good or even passable leader.

ForeverShogo · Dec 3, 2020

I don't think they'll attack each other. They kind of already have a deal with Grayven even if they didn't know that Gordanian Ambassador was negotiating on Grayven's behalf.

Essentially, Grayven was free to attack the Reach in whatever way he wished and he and LEGION agreed not to fuck with each other.

I mean, sure, he could always renege on the deal . . . But I think this is just going to be some grandstanding.

Coda · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
b-

-ouy…

I think this is supposed to be "buoy"?

Flightless Man · Dec 3, 2020

Coda said:
I think this is supposed to be "buoy"?

no Bouy is noun and Buoy is a verb.

Edit: never mind the dictionary page shifted over finally and the verb definition moved under buoy and second noun one moved over, sorry for correcting you when i was wrong. i think you are correct and bouy only says definition is head. Weirdly now im picturing headshots.

Coda · Dec 3, 2020

Flightless Man said:
Edit: never mind the dictionary page shifted over finally and the verb definition moved under buoy and second noun one moved over, sorry for correcting you when i was wrong. i think you are correct and bouy only says definition is head. Weirdly now im picturing headshots.

The one that says "(head)" is broken. It's supposed to be a redirect heading to correct a commonly misspelled word, and it isn't a definition in and of itself.

Flightless Man · Dec 3, 2020

Coda said:
The one that says "(head)" is broken. It's supposed to be a redirect heading to correct a commonly misspelled word, and it isn't a definition in and of itself.

Oh, well now my funny visual is gone

Thanks for clarity. i was spelling it wrong for years, will be hard to change.

Main note: I am loving this arc. I was really disappointed with Paragon/Sheeda/Malvolio so i am glad it turned around so fast on me. I'm really excited to see who gets drawn in to what seems to be turning into an entire universe at war. I wonder if anyone from Vega will be called in for aid?

I'm kind of suprised Paul never got someone looking into how to magically reset/purge a scarab. How useful would that be as a combat ability? Or even if they have tto capture a few and resett them, the Intel.

Mr Zoat · Dec 3, 2020

Coda said:
I think this is supposed to be "buoy"?

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · Dec 3, 2020

Flightless Man said:
I'm kind of suprised Paul never got someone looking into how to magically reset/purge a scarab. How useful would that be as a combat ability? Or even if they have tto capture a few and resett them, the Intel.

Mostly, because he doesn't have a scarab, doesn't have spare magicians, using magic in space is really hard and he has no real reason to believe there'd be any sort of special interaction.

DrThoth · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Mostly, because he doesn't have a scarab, doesn't have spare magicians, using magic in space is really hard and he has no real reason to believe there'd be any sort of special interaction.

Is Jaime's Scarab being rendered inert by magic not part of comics canon? I assumed it was (and that would be part of Paragon's background knowledge).

I hope they can capture a Scarab Warrior for study at some point, and find a way to safely separate the device from the host.

I forget any WoZ on the subject, but what's the Green Beetle/Scarab of Mars up to? I'm not sure what the canon timeline is on its activation.

Stsword · Dec 3, 2020

DrThoth said:
Is Jaime's Scarab being rendered inert by magic not part of comics canon? I assumed it was (and that would be part of Paragon's background knowledge).

I hope they can capture a Scarab Warrior for study at some point, and find a way to safely separate the device from the host.

I forget any WoZ on the subject, but what's the Green Beetle/Scarab of Mars up to? I'm not sure what the canon timeline is on its activation.

Yes it is, when it's not canon that the scarab is magic.

Originally it was magic, in Time Masters it even showed Nabu making the scarab to kill Vandal Savage out of a time communicator Rip Hunter invented.

Then that was retconned into it being Reach machines, and magic messed up Jaime's scarab.

Then that was retconned, the Reach Scarabs are in fact aliens that the Reach enslaved.

Currently in the comics, the Scarab is again a magic artifact, according to Dr Fate himself, and Jaime had to deal with Arion the sorcerer trying to getting his scarab back.

Flightless Man · Dec 4, 2020

DrThoth said:
Is Jaime's Scarab being rendered inert by magic not part of comics canon? I assumed it was (and that would be part of Paragon's background knowledge).

I hope they can capture a Scarab Warrior for study at some point, and find a way to safely separate the device from the host.

I forget any WoZ on the subject, but what's the Green Beetle/Scarab of Mars up to? I'm not sure what the canon timeline is on its activation.

yeah it being from comics, was my reasoning. But if Zoat isn't a big Blue beetle reader, i can understand him not being aware of the one relatively minor thing especially with how it has retconned.

Mr Zoat said:
Mostly, because he doesn't have a scarab, doesn't have spare magicians, using magic in space is really hard and he has no real reason to believe there'd be any sort of special interaction.

Im sorry if that sounded like i was knocking your decisions. I am more curious as to why it was left out. With everything you have done here, even if it was overlooked, i don't mind. Paul/You has been over worked bringing this to us every day. I was more realizing/wondering if you didn't read Blue Beetle, so SI doesn't know one is on earth for him to tinker with/how valuable it would be.

You do raise a good point on magic not being galaxy far reaching. so he could have overlooked it. Hopefully he thinks of it as an Earh defence after this conflict. This is going to have the Reach lashing out. One asteroid will destroy earth in revenge.

Mr Zoat · Dec 4, 2020

3rd July 2012
10:59 GMT -5

I note that the gordanian fleet hasn't manoeuvred into position to actually travel through their end of the boom tube yet.

I note the redoubled threads of fear weaved through Lanterns guarding the L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet. This isn't the situation for a speech. This is a time for orders and direction. While the Reach fleet was here, with the people Dox picked for this mission, we didn't have to worry about fear. The antipathy they felt caused everything else to be pushed aside. But that's a big ship with a very powerful-

"Ah..?"

-gun.

"Yes, Lantern Velus?"

"So… Are we leaving?"

I don't know if someone from New Genesis would leave a portal in place as an intimidation technique or not. I have been assuming that they'd be more inclined to communicate before opening hostilities. This sort of statement of power feels Apokoliptian in a.. way I can't precisely define.

"Because… I know you said this was a trial run and you could handle anything unexpected, but it doesn't look like there's anything here for us."

"That's up to Dox. Retreating would be a little difficult."

"Why can't we just leave the same way we came here?"

Because Dox didn't test the system. He couldn't, if he wanted to keep it a surprise to the near-ludicrous degree that he wanted to. Which means that it's perfectly possible that the archmages are running around putting the whole thing back together right now, and they're having to do that ship by ship and take a shuttle to travel between ships because there's no way that dreadnaught isn't blocking technological teleportation and magic based teleportation isn't a good idea when someone like me has been throwing disruptive energies around.

"Because the aim was to win a propaganda victory, and I'm afraid 'we came, we watched someone else do our job, and then left' doesn't have quite the same ring to it. Still, it's up to Clarissi Dox. If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll consult with him."

He nods, and goes back to watching the boom tube.

Ring, quietly, don't make my face appear over his ring, message Dox.

Compliance.

Clarissi Dox, the Orange Lantern Corps and I would appreciate orders.

…

Oh.

That's a shame.

Looks like it's up to us then.

First, direct the fleet. Velus was right; our target has been destroyed. The thing to do now is to either attack the outer sphere or pick another mid-sphere fleet to destroy. And since ultimately this part of the campaign is about liberating people my preference is for the former…

"Illustres to L.E.G.I.O.N. flag captain. Has Commander Dox been incapacitated?"

"He's.. not responding."

"Then I am assuming command of this fleet. Objections?"

"… No. Sir."

"What is our first contingency target?"

"Reach reserve fleet four seven two nine."

Unsurprising.

"Then that's where we're going. Illustres to Orange Lantern Corps. We're leaving. I am assigning you L.E.G.I.O.N. ships to tow to the edge of the FTL jammers' effect radius. Carry out this order at once. Any Lantern who does not receive an assignment is joining me on rearguard duty. Pay attention, you may learn something."

The Lanterns with a military background respond first, the rest only hesitating for a moment before going into action. The Reach are perfectly capable of interfering with Lantern FTL, but it is possible to overcome it with enough effort. Of course, while my Lanterns are focusing on that, they're not going to be able to fight the gordanians off effectively.

"You all know perfectly well that a construct you generate is only as strong as your desire for it to exist. And, frankly, protecting a bunch of people that you've never spent any time with isn't a high priority. Not a lot of altruists around here. I've found that the trick is to eliminate in your own mind the distinction between means and end. By which I mean that there's little ultimate difference between killing a Reach ship yourself and saving a colleague who will go on to kill a Reach ship due to your action. Want the means, want the ends. For example, I don't really know any of you."

I make a very obvious reaching gesture with my left hand, rings glowing as a rather large wall appears. And then gets bigger, surpassing the surface area of the fleet scale boom tube. And bigger, surpassing the surface area of the moon the dreadnaught destroyed. And bigger.

Yes, I think that's big enough.

"Nonetheless, harm to you makes it harder for the end I wish to achieve to manifest into reality. Which means that I really have to do my utmost to keep you in one… Is there a reason why you're not joining in with this shield? Is suicide by gordanian that appealing-"

Lanterns raise their rings, additional layers forming behind the middle of the construct wall. They're nothing like as large as mine, and the efforts of the rearguard as a group are uncoordinated.

"-to you, because if it is, I'm the last person who will condemn you for seeking to realise your heartfelt desires, but for everyone else: make an effort."

A small nudge, and one that none of them will be consciously aware of. Just enough to make it seem obvious to my merry gang of pernicious individualists that when they all want the same thing they should combine their efforts. I wait and watch, and the multitude of barriers under mine merge into a unified whole, more than a few Lanterns displaying species-appropriate signs of surprise as it happens. Hopefully they'll be more able to do it on their own initiative in-

The dreadnaught comes through the boom tube.

-future.

There's a slight dimming in the barrier, but now that they've got something to focus on most of the Corps isn't experiencing anything like the same degree of distraction.

The dreadnaught doesn't fire. Or bring through any of the rest of its fleet. And while it's coming through the tube, it appears to be making a point of doing so as slowly as possible.

Apokoliptian New God doing everything it can to seem intimidating? I can only think of one appropriate response.

"I realise that this is a bit of a disappointment to many of you, but we'll destroy a different Reach fleet shortly. The gordanians are clearly a disciplined and well-equipped fighting force, but equally they clearly don't have the numbers to truly threaten the entirety of the Reach. So with that in mind; a song, from my homeworld. Feel free to join in once you've learned the chorus."

"The sun on the meadow is summery warm
The stag in the forest runs free
But gather together to greet the storm
Tomorrow belongs to me."

Darko · Dec 4, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Clarissi Dox, the Orange Lantern Corps and I would appreciate orders.

…

Oh.

That's a shame.

Is he being blocked?

Mr Zoat said:
FTL jammers affect redius.

'radius'

Mr Zoat said:
Just enough to make my it seem obvious

remove 'my'

Mr Zoat said:
Hopefully they'll be more do it on their own initiative in-

maybe add 'be more able to do it'

Mr Zoat said:
Or bring though any of the rest of its fleet.

'bring through'

Mr Zoat said:
"The sun on the meadow is summery warm
The stag in the forest runs free
But gather together to greet the storm
Tomorrow belongs to me."

Well that was disturbing.

DrThoth · Dec 4, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Apokoliptian New God doing everything it can to seem intimidating? I can only think of one appropriate response.

I hope he follows up by transmuting a giant cake to smear the dreadnaught with.

Darko said:
Is he being blocked?

He seems to be able to communicate with other Lanterns and the LEGION captain, so it appears to be something specific to Dox. Maybe Dox is analyzing the New God energies or something; he created a boom tube once, I remember.

Darko · Dec 4, 2020

DrThoth said:
I hope he follows up by transmuting a giant cake to smear the dreadnaught with.

I'm thinking pie instead of cake.

RichardWhereat · Dec 4, 2020

It's been a while since we got a song.

Ct613hulu · Dec 4, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
3rd July 2012

"The sun on the meadow is summery warm
The stag in the forest runs free
But gather together to greet the storm
Tomorrow belongs to me."

This seems like a highly unusual choice for an inspiration song, particularly given that it was originally meant to praise the Nazi party. Is there any particular thinking behind this or are you just a fan?

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

Umm, ackchyually...

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