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

Mr Zoat · Sep 30, 2024

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Calculator would see me doing that and initiate an attack while I was distracted.
Should be either 'doors open' or 'door opens'...
I dive across the front of the lift as hard as I can...
...and hit the Sentinel Command Slave directly.

Thank you, corrected.

Akshka · Sep 30, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Vengeance!"

CRASH!

A new robot smashes into the lift platform from above and storms forward, giant sword and shield at the ready!

"Witch-Man!"

My God, what a man

Dur'id the Druid · Sep 30, 2024

One of the amazing things in your characters stories here, is his ability to multitask. On the one hand he's negotiating a peaceful surrender, and the other hand he's under Fire from the same artificial intelligence! Must be really throwing off its social skills!

Ardy · Sep 30, 2024

Dur'id the Druid said:
One of the amazing things in your characters stories here, is his ability to multitask. On the one hand he's negotiating a peaceful surrender, and the other hand he's under Fire from the same artificial intelligence! Must be really throwing off its social skills!

Well, more like negotiation skills rather than social. This is still the same guy who didn't notice that that Seris showed up an hour after he pledged himself to Eris

Mr Zoat · Oct 1, 2024

22nd December 2282
12:01 GMT -6

An upsized C-27 body with the sensor module head replaced by a.. brain jar, containing a human brain that still has eyes attached to it. One organic, and the other cybernetic.

Blaaaaart!

It raised its shield as I raised my gun, bullets abrading but not penetrating the thick armour pl-

I thrust out with my good leg, using telekinesis to actually move as it-. He swings his giant sword hard enough to crater the concrete floor!

-ate!

Lanius. Calculator put Lanius in a custom humanoid robobrain.

Really need a stimpack!

Lanius steps off the lift platform and charges! He's not going to stab me, he's just going to trample-!

Jump-!

AARGH!

"Where is your strength now, Witch-Man?"

Couldn't jump high enough! He shield-bashed me into the wall! Roll!

CRUNCH! "Where is your magic?"

Dodged his stomp, lost my gun. Telepathy-. Blind him!

What? I can't feel him. Is-? The case, it's got a nullifier built in! Stand up on one leg as he turns around, get a stimpack and inject it in my leggaaaaaah!

Okay, that'll-. Knnnnnuuurghit back together. How do I-? Square room, lift in the middle. Calculator isn't moving it. Since he doesn't appear to have a gun I can just circle around, but he's fresh and I'm not.

"Your alliance of weak cowards may have dragged down the Legion like a swarm of ants dragging down a deathclaw, but you will not live to see it."

Talking. Talking is good.

"The strength of a civilisation isn't the strength of any one of its members. A man with a weapon will usually beat a man without one, even if the one without is stronger. The man who built that weapon doesn't have to be brave, just skilled at his craft. A man with a gun will usually beat one with a sword. A man with a good gun will beat one with a bad gun. And as Joshua Graham learned, a man with a plan will usually beat a man who only knows how to charge!"

"Then beat me, learned man."

Telekinesis on the-.

Why isn't that working? JUMP!

His sword craters the wall as he puts too much force into his swing. Don't put-. I frantically hop to keep myself balanced as-. Bullets are being pushed out of my leg by the stimpack. I'll have to dig the rest out later, but hopefully I'll at least be able to put some weight on it before too long.

I hop backwards as Lanius pulls his sword from the wall.

"Looks-. Looks like you're not above… Using technological aid yourself. What would Mister Sallow think?"

"He would think that I have shamed myself. And he would be-" He pulls the sword free. "-correct. But so long as I can slay the Legion's enemies then there is some value in my life."

He brings his sword back and raises his shield for another charge. Hop, hop… And brace myself against the rear of the lift shaft because this is going to hurt.

I'm leaning against the floor.

**[Gravity is coming from that way.]**

Lanius lunges two steps and then… Stops acting like Wile E. Coyote and falls with an almighty clang!

Move back move away, lower myself and hang down the far side.

"Magic will not stop-"

Lanius leaps, grabbing the opposite side of the shaft with both hands and pulling his brain case up over the lip. I let go of the opposite side, drop and-.

That's the floor, roll and up and jump onto the lift and hit the button for the surface! Mechempathy, make sure that Calculator can't override it…

And collapse as the doors clank shut, and the lift starts to rise. Okay, manual check on my leg… Usable… Ish. There's a slight pain when I move the muscles as the bullet fragments still inside cut the flesh, but that's bearable.

CLANG

The lift door deforms as Lanius punches it, but the platform rises past it anyway.

Okay, so he's strong enough to break through there, but there's no easy way for a mechanoid of his size and weight to climb the shaft. I can't make the lift go faster-.

"You're just leaving him there!"

"Yes, Calculator. Yes I am."

"That was from both of us!"

I shuffle over to the railing around the edge and pull myself up. "You and Lanius-?"

"Me and Doki!"

"What, Doki Doki's never heard of a puzzle-"

CLANGclunkclunkclunkCLASH!

"-boss?" And that was the door, which means that Lanius is now in the lift-

CRUNCH!

-shaft.

CRUNCH!

Ah, he's probably sticking his hands in the walls and pulling himself up. I didn't think that was possible. Ah…

I look up, and watch the first basement door go past.

Next door. Nothing stopping my psychic powers in the shaft. Mechempathy, open the top door without the lift being there. And ignore the crunch-crunching as Lanius gets into a rhythm. Get ready to run.

And there's the opening and go!

I telekinetically reinforce my injured leg and run, wincing every time it hits the ground but not daring to slow down! Ah… Take out another stimpack and inject it into my chest to deal with my other bullet holes.

SSSEEEEEEEEEEE!

And keep running because Lanius just cut through the lift platform. Exit's not too far away, and then-.

Clompclompclomp-!

Aaagh!

"Where do you flee to, Witch-Man?"

Shield-bashed me again, but now I'm out… No active Sentinel units, and I can bleed later. Mechempathy.

Lanius stomps out of Vault Zero, heading for where I lie on the floor. "There are no weapons here. No allies. No holes for you to cower in!"

"We didn't disarm ARGOS."

Lanius stares at me. "What do you-?"

"RECIDIVIST DETECTED!"

WHOOOOM!

Lanius's robot body vanishes as one of ARGOS's primary railguns obliterates it, legs collapsing and arms flying out to the sides as his brain case flips over and lands on the ground. It's armoured enough to survive the impact and the bio-gel could keep him alive for a century.

I should probably find some way to kill him, but I've got more immediate concerns.

"ARGOS… Got any stimpacks?"

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 1, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
22th December 2282
12:01 GMT -6

An upsized C-27 body with the sensor module head replaced by a.. brain jar, containing a human brain that still has eyes attached to it. One organic, and the other cybernetic.

Because, as you may remember, Krono punched one of them into a bloody mess last time they met. Presumably it was easier to use the existing eye than wire a pair in, and I doubt Calculator had the time to make sure Lanius wouldn't object to having binocular vision again...

Blaaaaart!

It raised its shield as I raised my gun, bullets abrading but not penetrating the thick armour pl-

That's pretty tough. Must be a inch or two thick.

I thrust out with my good leg, using telekinesis to actually move as it-. He swings his giant sword hard enough to crater the concrete floor!

-ate!

Ugh. Don't you just hate going into a boss fight carrying existing damage, especially injuries with a forced debuff?

Lanius. Calculator put Lanius in a custom humanoid robobrain.

Really need a stimpack!

And maybe once this is all over, a good drink. To forget the stupidity of that idea.

Lanius steps off the lift platform and charges! He's not going to stab me, he's just going to trample-!

Jump-!

Hooray, massively outmassed by your opponent.

AARGH!

"Where is your strength now, Witch-Man?"

Where's your's, tin man? Aren't the Legion against cybernetics?

Couldn't jump high enough! He shield-bashed me into the wall! Roll!

CRUNCH! "Where is your magic?"

Stop slapping him around and he'll show you.

Dodged his stomp, lost my gun. Telepathy-. Blind him!

What? I can't feel him. Is-? The case, it's got a nullifier built in! Stand up on one leg as he turns around, get a stimpack and inject it in my leggaaaaaah!

Because any Boss worth his salt is immune to most of the common debuffs you can throw at them. Lazy developers.

Okay, that'll-. Knnnnnuuurghit back together. How do I-? Square room, lift in the middle. Calculator isn't moving it. Since he doesn't appear to have a gun I can just circle around, but he's fresh and I'm not.

"Your alliance of weak cowards may have dragged down the Legion like a swarm of ants dragging down a deathclaw, but you will not live to see it."

Talking. Talking is good.

No point trying to point out that the Legion are a bunch of jackasses. He's been drinking the kool-aid for years.

"The strength of a civilisation isn't the strength of any one of its members. A man with a weapon will usually beat a man without one, even if the one without is stronger. The man who built that weapon doesn't have to be brave, just skilled at his craft. A man with a gun will usually beat one with a sword. A man with a good gun will beat one with a bad gun. And as Joshua Graham learned, a man with a plan will usually beat a man who only knows how to charge!"

And what is your plan, Krono? Any idea on how to beat this?

"Then beat me, learned man."

Telekinesis on the-.

Why isn't that working? JUMP!

Too heavy? The suppressor extends to its weapons? it's sword is bolted into its hands? Could be anything stopping him from disarming it.

His sword craters the wall as he puts too much force into his swing. Don't put-. I frantically hop to keep myself balanced as-. Bullets are being pushed out of my leg by the stimpack. I'll have to dig the rest out later, but hopefully I'll at least be able to put some weight on it before too long.

Assuming you get out of this pickle, anyway.

I hop backwards as Lanius pulls his sword from the wall.

"Looks-. Looks like you're not above… Using technological aid yourself. What would Mister Sallow think?"

That would be the Legion's Founder? That would be an interesting angle to go for.

"He would think that I have shamed myself. And he would be-" He pulls the sword free. "-correct. But so long as I can slay the Legion's enemies then there is some value in my life."

He brings his sword back and raises his shield for another charge. Hop, hop… And brace myself against the rear of the lift shaft because this is going to hurt.

Time for a big old wallop of telekinetic energy?

I'm leaning against the floor.

**[Gravity is coming from that way.]**

...That works too.

Lanius lunges two steps and then… Stops acting like Wile E. Coyote and falls with an almighty clang!

Move back move away, lower myself and hang down the far side.

Because that gravity trick is an AoE, and he doesn't get immunity to it, of course.

"Magic will not stop-"

Lanius leaps, grabbing the opposite side of the shaft with both hands and pulling his brain case up over the lip. I let go of the opposite side, drop and-.

I assume he's got gravity pushing towards the exit of the lift car, and Lanius is dangling into the corridor, then.

That's the floor, roll and up and jump onto the lift and hit the button for the surface! Mechempathy, make sure that Calculator can't override it…

And collapse as the doors clank shut, and the lift starts to rise. Okay, manual check on my leg… Usable… Ish. There's a slight pain when I move the muscles as the bullet fragments still inside cut the flesh, but that's bearable.

Painful, but not crippling given his healing factor and pocket meds.

CLANG

The lift door deforms as Lanius punches it, but the platform rises past it anyway.

Determined, ain't he? Gee, you think he's got a grudge or something after that beating back at the prison?

Okay, so he's strong enough to break through there, but there's no easy way for a mechanoid of his size and weight to climb the shaft. I can't make the lift go faster-.

"You're just leaving him there!"

It's not like he can't follow. Not easily, but he will give chase, given his focus on Krono.

"Yes, Calculator. Yes I am."

"That was from both of us!"

Which means Doki, given anyone else would have had a distinct 'voice'.

I shuffle over to the railing around the edge and pull myself up. "You and Lanius-?"

"Me and Doki!"

A rare case of them agreeing on something...

"What, Doki Doki's never heard of a puzzle-"

CLANGclunkclunkclunkCLASH!

"-boss?" And that was the door, which means that Lanius is now in the lift-

Oh, joy. He's going to be climbing after Krono, now.

CRUNCH!

-shaft.

CRUNCH!

Now, if Krono could just sever the lift cables or something, once he can get out safely.

Ah, he's probably sticking his hands in the walls and pulling himself up. I didn't think that was possible. Ah…

I look up, and watch the first basement door go past.

...And I doubt the lift car crashing into him would knock him loose, wouldn't it?

Next door. Nothing stopping my psychic powers in the shaft. Mechempathy, open the top door without the lift being there. And ignore the crunch-crunching as Lanius gets into a rhythm. Get ready to run.

And there's the opening and go!

And now he's basically backtracking out of the complex, isn't he?

I telekinetically reinforce my injured leg and run, wincing every time it hits the ground but not daring to slow down! Ah… Take out another stimpack and inject it into my chest to deal with my other bullet holes.

SSSEEEEEEEEEEE!

Might want to watch your count, Krono. Probably only so many you can carry, never mind whatever risk of overdosing on them.

And keep running because Lanius just cut through the lift platform. Exit's not too far away, and then-.

Clompclompclomp-!

Hopefully lead him outside and pull the gravity trick straight up?

Aaagh!

"Where do you flee to, Witch-Man?"

Good question. I doubt Krono is just running blindly in panic. He's too much of a thinker for that.

Shield-bashed me again, but now I'm out… No active Sentinel units, and I can bleed later. Mechempathy.

Lanius stomps out of Vault Zero, heading for where I lie on the floor. "There are no weapons here. No allies. No holes for you to cower in!"

Unless he's got a cloaked saucer on overwatch, just in case he needed air support...

"We didn't disarm ARGOS."

Lanius stares at me. "What do you-?"

...Oooh. I wonder if WARDEN has Lanius pegged as a runaway or did Calculator square it away with him as Doki?

"RECIDIVIST DETECTED!"

WHOOOOM!

...Then again, I doubt ARGOS would recognise Lanius in this form. Good thing he's programmed to attack threats.

Lanius's robot body vanishes as one of ARGOS's primary railguns obliterates it, legs collapsing and arms flying out to the sides and his brain case flips over and lands on the ground. It's armoured enough to survive the impact and the bio-gel could keep him alive for a century.

I should probably find some way to kill him, but I've got more immediate concerns.

"ARGOS… Got any stimpacks?"

Since he'd need some way to ensure captives wounded in the process of arrests would survive the trip to the prison...

Well, that takes care of Lanius. Pity they can't fit ARGOS inside and let him take care of some of the security bots that way. And speaking of security bots, I hope the other captives aren't having too much trouble with them, given how Calculator was focusing his attention on Krono. Then again, they do have power armour, psychic powers and other advantages...

SuperPulp2789 · Oct 1, 2024

Guys, favor I am trying to look for this old snip wherein Paul butts in on some tv show interview wherein Hugo Strange or someone else, tries to blame superheroes for the presence/existence of so many supervillains

I'd just like to see it

rdfox · Oct 1, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Shield-bashed me again, but now I'm out… No active Sentinel units, and I can bleed later. Mechempathy.

...so, Krono, would you say that you ain't got time to bleed?

Mr Zoat · Oct 2, 2024

29th April 2013
22:41 GMT

Reach particle beams splash off my construct shields as we're introduced to the one obvious drawback which Effigies have when compared to Orange Lanterns: the complete lack of a way to shield their allies. Mr. van Wyck spots the source of the attack, checks to see if there are any Effigies not already occupied, sees that there aren't and then dives at the ship himself.

It's actually a class that I don't recognise. A similar hull design to their patrol cruisers but with a much larger primary gun. If I had to guess it's supposed to be a capital ship hunter, or it could just be that they build it with less stamina because it was only ever going to hang around in friendly systems.

From the way its shield is buckling under Mr. van Wyck's assault, it doesn't look like they improved the defensive systems. Though to be fair, very few places design shield systems to take being punched. Usually it's more a combination of plasma or electromagnetic fields to disperse or deflect energy. Plasma shells are intended to also be able to stop space debris, but Effigies hit a bit harder than a micrometeorite.

I can see the shield buckle with my unaided eyes as his molecular disruption ability bites into the plasma, causing it to glow in sort of blue-mauve ripples. Then he's through, and these ships don't have much better anti-attack craft guns than other Reach ships I've seen.

I wonder why that is? They certainly had them when they fought the Green Lantern Corps, and the Reach aren't the sort to lose the design templates. Maybe it's because moving power from main guns to point defences would weaken those ships too much against L.E.G.I.O.N.? There are far more L.E.G.I.O.N. capital ships than there are Orange Lanterns after all, and Scarab Warriors can kill weaker Lanterns one-on-one. Perhaps they decided to focus on the more common assailant and rely on the Scarabs to raise their game.

Perhaps they'll create a new generation once the Scarab casualties get unsustainable.

Mr. van Wyck's attack pattern has gotten more precise since I first watched him. Rather than smashing the hull, he's targetting the weapon systems. In other circumstances not destroying the ship might be a mistake, but here keeping our ship safe has absolute priority. Destroying a ship that isn't rigged to explode using raw strength isn't actually that easy. Main drives, reactors, capacitors and the bridge, and even then the ship might well survive to be repaired and any bit you don't destroy can probably keep operating. Smash the guns off and it can't shoot at your ship.

Capital ship guns might lack precision and struggle to get through shields on ships of a similar size, but once they do they usually do widespread enough damage that the target gets destroyed.

I generate 'THANK YOU' in construct letters as the last of his target's primary guns comes free from its hull. He actually does a double take when he turns around and sees it. Then he smiles awkwardly and-.

I dismiss the construct, then gesture at the rest of the fight with my right hand. He nods and returns his attention to it.

Well, I say 'fight', but in reality there's not a lot that this small collection of Reach ships can do against the Effigies. They're getting more hits in than the first target the Effigies hit today, but they're not achieving any more and most of them are already drifting wrecks. The last two are getting-.

One activates-. Hm. I wasn't interdicting that type of drive. It's gone, though the other… It's flying away as fast as it can at sublight. Its drive hasn't been destroyed… Did the other have a non-standard setup? Or was it the designated survivor and the rest of them are under orders to fight for as long as they can to gain information?

With the Effigies now finishing the job and tearing the crippled ships apart, I can take one eye off our ship. I generate… Yes, one of those faster-than-light ship-scale weapons, based on the design of the Tartarathian ships Devlos Ungol once commanded. Scanning, based on angle of travel…

There. Target and fire.

Warning: low power.

And there, the designated survivor fails at its job.

I dismiss the construct as Mr. van Wyck does a quick check on the squad and then flies towards me.

"You're welcome."

"Good awareness."

"The ship that left. That was what you shot, right?" I nod. "You know why it left? Were they just running away?"

"I suspect they were trying to get their sensor readings of the fight to their comrades, but I don't know for certain. Can you guard the ship for a moment? I need to recharge."

He turns away and makes the 'assemble' gesture to his squad. It takes a few moments for them to notice, but after less than a minute most of the squad has formed up around our ship.

Quite good. Could be better, but without a better way to communicate…

I raise my hands and bring out my personal lantern. I really need to have another go at making one. Just… Had too much happening.

"This is my cause, this is my fight,
Shine through the void with orange light.
I've claimed all within my sight,
To keep what is mine, that is my right."

My constructs shut down as orange light streams out of the personal lantern and into my rings.

"Do you gotta say that every time?"

"Technically, no, but it's… Ritual." Recharge complete, I send the lantern back into subspace and restore the construct barrier around the ship. "There was an... Event, that made me think about what I was trying to do as a Lantern, and that's when I came up with it. Now it's just… Part of the whole thing. With newer Lanterns I encourage it as a way to keep them stable."

"Stable? I didn't think that thing about Lanterns going crazy was true."

"It happens. Usually they can recover once we take their ring away, but… There's a reason for the suitability tests. I don't like sending Lanterns to the Blue Cells, but…" I shrug. "Everyone gets briefed when they apply, but we can't really… Orange Lanterns think in anomalous ways as part of being good Lanterns, so it's hard to have a standard way of checking up on them. Squad members are supposed to keep an eye on each other, but with the mix of species, they often don't know the warning signs either."

"H.. uh." He looks away. "That-." He clams up, looking around. "What's their fleet doing?"

"Not much. Moving to muster points, from the looks of things."

"Why aren't there more of them?"

"Don't know. Messed up as this is, it might not have a high priority with the Hive Fathers. Plus, they tend to keep their large fleets in central locations and send them where they're needed, rather than having a medium sized fleet everywhere."

"How about..? Scarabs?"

"I'd guess that if there are any Scarabs here, they're down on the colony and blending in."

"Can she-? The Darkstars, can they handle that?"

"I've seen-."

Alert.

"Wait."

Ooh.

"What?"

"Remember how the Reach had a fleet to relieve your last target, but we left before it arrived?"

"Yeah?"

"They're here."

Ngamer11 · Oct 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
I can see the shield buckle with my unaided eyes as his molecular disruption ability bites into the plasma, causing it to glow in sort of blue-mauve ripples. Then he's through, and theses ships don't have much better anti-attack craft guns than other Reach ships I've seen.

That should say 'these'.

boo600 · Oct 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
Before I achieved enlightenment, if was part of the process of keeping my mind focused and stable.

Huh. I thought he just said 'recharge' until the Nabu Incident - which was after he reached enlightenment.

Mr Zoat · Oct 2, 2024

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'these'.

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
29th April 2013
22:41 GMT

Reach particle beams splash off my construct shields as we're introduced to the one obvious drawback which Effigies have when compared to Orange Lanterns: the complete lack of a way to shield their allies. Mr. van Wyck spots the source of the attack, checks to see if there are any Effigies not already occupied, sees that there aren't and then dives at the ship himself.

Good, checking to make sure someone else isn't already doing the same job. Marty's learning with every action. That lack of teamwork abilities is a definite drawback for joint task force use, though. Jevek might need to look at that...

It's actually a class that I don't recognise. A similar hull design to their patrol cruisers but with a much larger primary gun. If I had to guess it's supposed to be a capital ship hunter, or it could just be that they build it with less stamina because it was only ever going to hang around in friendly systems.

Basically a mobile anti-ship cannon turret, then? Definitely seems more useful as a garrison tool than a frontline platform.

From the way its shield is buckling under Mr. van Wyck's assault, it doesn't look like they improved the defensive systems. Though to be fair, very few places design shield systems to take being punched. Usually it's more a combination of plasma or electromagnetic fields to disperse or deflect energy. Plasma shells are intended to also be able to stop space debris, but Effigies hit a bit harder than a micrometeorite.

Heh. 'Star Trek/X-Men' is such a strange encounter. Still, it does show why super-strong guys like Gladiator can be a threat to starships.

I can see the shield buckle with my unaided eyes as his molecular disruption ability bites into the plasma, causing it to glow in sort of blue-mauve ripples. Then he's through, and theses ships don't have much better anti-attack craft guns than other Reach ships I've seen.

I wonder why that is? They certainly had them when they fought the Green Lantern Corps, and the Reach aren't the sort to lose the design templates. Maybe it's because moving power from main guns to point defences would weaken those ships too much against L.E.G.I.O.N.? There are far more L.E.G.I.O.N. capital ships than there are Orange Lanterns after all, and Scarab Warriors can kill weaker Lanterns one-on-one. Perhaps they decided to focus on the more common assailant and rely on the Scarabs to raise their game.

Plus, ships away from the places they expect to see Lanterns probably don't get much point defence training. Less close-in combat, after all.

Perhaps they'll create a new generation once the Scarab casualties get unsustainable.

Mr. van Wyck's attack pattern has gotten more precise since I first watched him. Rather than smashing the hull, he's targetting the weapon systems. In other circumstances not destroying the ship might be a mistake, but here keeping our ship safe has absolute priority. Destroying a ship that isn't rigged to explode using raw strength isn't actually that easy. Main drives, reactors, capacitors and the bridge, and even then the ship might well survive to be repaired and any bit you don't destroy can probably keep operating. Smash the guns off and it can't shoot at your ship.

It also minimises casualties amongst the crew, which we know he's concerned with.

Capital ship guns might lack precision and struggle to get through shields on ships of a similar size, but once they do they usually do widespread enough damage that the target gets destroyed.

I generate 'THANK YOU' in construct letters as the last of his target's primary guns comes free from its hull. He actually does a double take when he turns around and sees it. The he smiles awkwardly and-.

Pity he can't reply in kind.

I dismiss the construct, then gesture at the rest of the fight with my right hand. He nods and returns his attention to it.

Well, I say 'fight', but in reality there's not a lot that this small collection of Reach ships can do against the Effigies. They're getting more hits in than the first target the Effigies hit today, but they're not achieving any more and most of them are already drifting wrecks. The last two are getting-.

Especially now that the Effigy troops are more aware of what they can take in terms of hits. Easy to plow through shots you might have baulked at before.

One activates-. Hm. I wasn't interdicting that type of drive. It's gone, though the other… It's flying away as fast as it can at sublight. Its drive hasn't been destroyed… Did the other have a non-standard setup? Or was it the designated survivor and the rest of them are under orders to fight for as long as they can to gain information?

With the Effigies now finishing the job and tearing the crippled ships apart, I can take one eye off our ship. I generate… Yes, one of those faster-than-light ship-scale weapons, based on the design of the Tartarathian ships Devlos Ungol once commanded. Scanning, based on angle of travel…

Can't have them getting away with useful intel in the Effigy troops or word of what they took just yet.

There. Target and fire.

Warning: low power.

A busy day for OL, it seems. Amazed he hasn't focused on Lantern-less recharging Malvolio-style.

And there, the designated survivor fails at its job.

I dismiss the construct as Mr. van Wyck does a quick check on the squad and then flies towards me.

They really do need to get communications systems. Must be annoying having to gather after every fight to check on each other.

"You're welcome."

"Good awareness."

Not that long ago he'd have been to focused on fighting to be watching.

"The ship that left. That was what you shot, right?" I nod. "You know why it left? Were they just running away?"

"I suspect they were trying to get their sensor readings of the fight to their comrades, but I don't know for certain. Can you guard the ship for a moment? I need to recharge."

Something else, the Effigy team will have to get used to working with Lanterns: Limited power capacity.

He turns away and makes the 'assemble' gesture to his squad. It takes a few moments for them to notice, but after less than a minutes most of the squad has formed up around our ship.

Quite good. Could be better, but without a better way to communicate…

Using their flames as semaphore lights, perhaps? Though that would require making signals to indicate orientation of the signaller to avoid accidental misinterpretation.

I raise my hands and bring out my personal lantern. I really need to have another go at making one. Just… Had too much happening.

"This is my cause, this is my fight,
Shine through the void with orange light.
I've claimed all within my sight,
To keep what is mine, that is my right."

Heh. I wouldn't be surprised if his next one came out better. Certainly, he could polish the look better.

My constructs shut down as orange light streams out of the personal lantern and into my rings.

"Do you gotta say that every time?"

Well, no, but it's fitting. Like reminding yourself of your duty each time. Useful for Orange Lanterns especially.

"Technically, no, but it's… Ritual." Recharge complete, I send the lantern back into subspace and restore the construct barrier around the ship. "Before I achieved enlightenment, if was part of the process of keeping my mind focused and stable. Now it's just… Part of the whole thing."

"Stable? I didn't think that thing about Lanterns going crazy was true."

Oh, it is. How is Larfleeze doing, by the by?

"It happens. Usually they can recover once we take their ring away, but… There's a reason for the suitability tests. I don't like sending Lanterns to the Blue Cells, but…" I shrug. "Everyone gets briefed when they apply, but we can't really… Orange Lanterns think in anomalous ways as part of being good Lanterns, so it's hard to have a standard way of checking up on them. Squad members are supposed to keep an eye on each other, but with the mix of species, they often don't know the warning signs either."

Even with a database of psychological signals and behavioural quirks, it can't be easy.

"H.. uh." He looks away. "That-." He clams up, looking around. "What's their fleet doing?"

"Not much. Moving to muster points, from the looks of things."

Guessing they've decided discretion is the better part of valour. Treating the planet as a lost cause until they enemy retreat, no doubt.

"Why aren't there more of them?"

"Don't know. Messed up as this is, it might not have a high priority with the Hive Fathers. Plus, they tend to keep their large fleets in central locations and send them where they're needed, rather than having a medium sized fleet everywhere."

And if each system's interdiction fields can do that accelerating thing OL noticed before... It probably doesn't take long to get from place to place.

"How about..? Scarabs?"

"I'd guess that if there are any Scarabs here, they're down on the colony and blending in."

After all, jumping in against unknown foes sounds like a very unprofitable way to die.

"Can she-? The Darkstars, can they handle that?"

"I've seen-."

Alert.

Not trouble on the planet, I hope.

"Wait."

Ooh.

"What?"

Don't keep us in suspense, OL, spill.

"Remember how the Reach had a fleet to relieve your last target, but we left before it arrived?"

"Yeah?"

"They're here."

As in, the same fleet? Interesting.

Odd, if it's the same fleet. This system can't be that close to their previous target that it'd have followed them all the way here, right? Unless said fleet is a major response group for multiple sectors. Or someone aboard has a vested interest in the planet. I suppose we'll see soon enough, if OL decides to wait for them. After all, I doubt the ground team's done yet.

NightmareWarden · Oct 2, 2024

boo600 said:
Huh. I thought he just said 'recharge' until the Nabu Incident - which was after he reached enlightenment.

I bet if he is doing charge-intensive mundane activities like repairing a country's worth of roads, that makes sense. But when lives are at stake like this, pushing unimportant (distracting) Desires away seems worthwhile. Especially if hours of travel time or darkstar preparation have happened since the original planning discussion. Or if Paul has been awake for a few consecutive days, that would Warren an oath.

boo600 · Oct 2, 2024

…what? No, that's not what I was talking about. I have no issue with him making an oath to recharge here.

But he said that he used to use the Oath to keep mental stability, before he achieved enlightenment. This contradicts him just saying 'recharge' until he came up with his oath - after he reached enlightenment.

Mr Zoat · Oct 2, 2024

boo600 said:
…what? No, that's not what I was talking about. I have no issue with him making an oath to recharge here.

But he said that he used to use the Oath to keep mental stability, before he achieved enlightenment. This contradicts him just saying 'recharge' until he came up with his oath - after he reached enlightenment.

It's been a while, but I think he varied between the two. He could just say 'recharge', and I remember him doing that in front of the team once, but I'm reasonably sure he said the whole thing a few times as well.

boo600 · Oct 2, 2024

https://forums.spacebattles.com/thr...-justice-si-thread-three.277974/post-12815401

"The SI gets his own oath after Nabu gets Zatara." And he specifically says (to the team) that his oath is 'recharge.' (Before then). They all groaned, because there was some interest and build-up.

Sorry to jump down your throat about this - to Vaermina you, a little - but while my memory isn't perfect, this bit was memorable enough that it broke immersion/continuity for me. I hope you don't mind my attempted contribution as a continuity checker/editor thing/who knows what - I've certainly never written an epic-level story with interesting side character for days, and don't feel this is a major mistake to make, particularly after a decade plus since that part of the story. I just found it jarring.

Darko · Oct 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
enlightenment, if was part of the process of keeping

"it was"

Old Knife · Oct 2, 2024

Paul became Cakeman and has no desire to relive that experience.
Hence the Oath.

Mr Zoat · Oct 2, 2024

boo600 said:
https://forums.spacebattles.com/thr...-justice-si-thread-three.277974/post-12815401

"The SI gets his own oath after Nabu gets Zatara." And he specifically says (to the team) that his oath is 'recharge.' (Before then). They all groaned, because there was some interest and build-up.

Sorry to jump down your throat about this - to Vaermina you, a little - but while my memory isn't perfect, this bit was memorable enough that it broke immersion/continuity for me. I hope you don't mind my attempted contribution as a continuity checker/editor thing/who knows what - I've certainly never written an epic-level story with interesting side character for days, and don't feel this is a major mistake to make, particularly after a decade plus since that part of the story. I just found it jarring.

It's not Vaerminaing if you're provably right. As I said, it's been long enough that I don't really remember. I'll change it.

Darko said:
"it was"

Thank you, corrected.

Ardy · Oct 2, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
"Stable? I didn't think that thing about Lanterns going crazy was true."

...Illustres didn't say anything about being stable? Did Wyck just pick up the implication?

topin89 · Oct 2, 2024

boo600 said:
https://forums.spacebattles.com/thr...-justice-si-thread-three.277974/post-12815401

"The SI gets his own oath after Nabu gets Zatara." And he specifically says (to the team) that his oath is 'recharge.' (Before then). They all groaned, because there was some interest and build-up.

Time for some proof! OL never said specifically that his oath is "recharge."

Mr Zoat said:
M'gann looks curious. "What's the Ophidian?"

"The Embodiment of Avarice. Giant snake elemental thing made of orange light. Very dangerous."

Wallace squints with his right eye. "And.. it.. talks to you every time you say the oath?"

"Maybe. I haven't wanted to... Oh, no, I don't usually say the oath to recharge."

"Well, what do you normally say?"

I set the bioship to follow the course and then stand, right arm extended with my right hand under the lantern. My team mates -and Captain Marvel- lean forward to get a better look. I hold my left back, take a deep breath, and bring the ring forward with great solemnity to tap it against the core.

"Recharge."

They sag.

Yet it is also true that he made his oath after the enlightenment, in an attempt to purify his ring. So yes, event, no, not because of stability issues.

Mr Zoat said:
Firstly, the ring is mine. No. The ring is me. Over the past few months it has become so much a part of who I am and what I do that I'm not sure how I'd cope without it. It should be here, it should work, it is wrong

Wrong.

that I am denied it.

--snip--

Zatanna is

"Ours." Around me is the colossal presence of the Ophidian, strange and overwhelming and yet... Somehow familiar. "My Agent. We are of one mind. The Order-Lord's actions are unacceptable."

The ring is damaged.

"Yes."

Will you aid me?

"Declare our intent to the universe. Make your oath to me."

BABUM.

My eyes snap open. I can still feel it, the heartbeat of universal avarice.

BABUM.

And I know what I want to say.

"This is my cause, this is my fight!
Shine through the void with orange light!
I've claimed all within my sight!
To keep what is mine, that is my right!"

The ring rises from my hands, shaking, orange light shining

Way cooler, it's his first declaration of his cause to shake the universe.

Mr Zoat · Oct 2, 2024

Ardy said:
...Illustres didn't say anything about being stable? Did Wyck just pick up the implication?

Thank you, further modified.

Mr Zoat · Oct 3, 2024

29th April 2013
22:45 GMT

Orange light illuminates local space as I both generate images of the ships heading towards us and generate the most powerful interdiction fields that I can manage.

Every few seconds they buckle as the Reach interdiction stations try and disrupt them. These are places designed to fight Lanterns, after all.

Mr. van Wyck takes the ships in. "How big are they?"

I add a minnow-scale image of the ship we brought with us for size comparison.

"Oh."

"Worse thing is, these ones-" I highlight the battleship and cruiser types. "-are classes we haven't seen in the Periphery at all. As far as I can tell, they're primarily designed for fighting small targets."

Effigy Krillik looks closer at their primary armament. "I don't recognise those."

"Variable direction energy discharge weapons. They sacrifice peak output in exchange for being able to send energy in… Not quite any direction, but any direction described by the disc at the base. Depending on the targetting software and exactly how fast they can charge up, they could be anywhere from 'hard' to 'impossible' to evade. Supreme Commander Dox considered using a similar weapon layout for anti-Scarab work."

"He decided against it?"

"Scarabs are rare, and every major battle would have Orange Lanterns available to counter them. He decided it wasn't worth the drop in effectiveness against warships."

Krillik -and several other Effigies- look to Mr. van Wyck. He looks uncomfortable for a moment, then works through it.

"What? We're not invulnerable. We're tougher than most Lanterns with construct armour, but those things were designed to kill Lanterns." He turns to me. "Do you know how far they can shoot?"

"For all versions of that weapon that I've seen, attenuation is a problem. Otherwise they'd be shooting at us now. As an estimate…"

I generate an image of this star system, mark the incoming Reach fleet's position and then draw a circle around it. It's about fifty times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

"That's its peak effectiveness range. After that it will hit less hard. Plus, I doubt that it's a faster than light weapon, so at that range it's taking about a minute to hit you."

One of the other Effigies sneers. "A minute? That's not going to hit anything."

Krillik raises a limb. "We don't know their rate of fire. And look: there are a lot of them. We would have to fly at close to our best speed to avoid them, and if we closed the distance then their odds get better."

"Do you guys have a long-ranged attack that I don't know about?"

Mr. van Wyck shakes his head. "And we can't go at them full speed."

"Why not?"

There are a few winces.

"It's… Navigation. Space is…" He makes a circle with his right hand. "You know, really big. If we fly past them, we can't really… It can take a moment to work out what system we just flew out of, and then it's hard to spot where the fight is actually happening. By the time we work out where stuff is…"

"Improved stellar navigation coming with the next update?"

There are a few laughs. Mr. van Wyck shrugs. "Or we could just bring you wherever we go."

"Jade likes my face too much to replace it with a white mask." I frown. "How did you find that shipyard, then?"

"Memorize the location relative to places we know, then head for the closest star. We didn't have a chance to get a feel for the area here." He looks away for a moment. "Fucking hope we get improved navigation, yeah. But-. Er, what about the really big ships?"

I bring one into greater focus. "Standard dreadnought layout. Big guns, giant gun, lots of smaller guns. The battleships are more of a threat to us, but… Its big guns can hit the planet surface through the atmosphere from quite a way away. If they decide to destroy the settlement, there's not much you can do to stop it."

"You can?"

"I'll be trying, but those are very big guns and I lose a lot of utility when I'm anchored in place. And I can't move much anyway because…"

I point to the interdiction field generators, which choose that moment to have a big wobble.

"Can we just fly away and lead them off?"

"We could try, but there isn't really any pressing need for them to follow us. The only interesting thing in this system is the colony. And that fleet is easily big enough to split up and go after both us and the Darkstars."

"I guess we get to test ourselves out, then." He grins at his subordinates. "Who's up for wrecking some biiiig ships?"

A few of them nod, but it's a pretty hard test of their resilience. And possibly an unnecessary one.

"There.. might be an alternative."

Mr. van Wyck raises his eyebrow ridges at me. "Yeah?"

"Here." I generate two maps, one of this system and another of the surrounding systems. "These-" I mark thirty seven locations. "-are the stations they're using to counter my interdiction fields. Each one that gets destroyed makes their fleet a little slower."

"How many to stop it completely?"

"Um." I generate a map of the entire Reach Core and light up about three million locations. "About that many. But if you destroy all thirty seven then it'll take them half an hour to get into firing range with their dreadnoughts, and if it takes the Darkstars that long, it would probably be better for me to try scooping the settlement with a giant grabber construct because something's gone very wrong."

Mr. van Wyck nods. "What sort of weapons do those places have?"

I dismiss the maps and ships, and generate a construct of one of the stations.

"Scaled down versions of weapons on the battleships, and fewer of them. To begin with."

"What d'you mean?"

"The fleet is sending their cruisers ahead to reinforce them. Adding in their weapons and improved armour would make them much harder to hit."

"What happens if we don't hit them all?"

"The fleet arrives faster, and then the ground operation becomes unviable." I shrug. "I don't know exactly how long we need. If you don't want to charge the fleet, hit as many as you can."

"Right." He nods. "Map of the local area?"

I restore it, and he starts assigning targets.

Chojin Patriarch · Oct 3, 2024

Mr Zoat said:
29th April 2013
22:45 GMT

Orange light illuminates local space as I both generate images of the ships heading towards us and generate the most powerful interdiction fields that I can manage.

Every few seconds they buckle as the Reach interdiction stations try and disrupt them. These are places designed to fight Lanterns, after all.

Rolling through like a fully-loaded cargo truck through paper screens, huh? Only so much he can do to hold them off without leaving their carrier-ship to its own devices. And doing that would be a complete mission failure.

Mr. van Wyck takes the ships in. "How big are they?"

I add a minnow-scale image of the ship we brought with us for size comparison.

...Oh, my. The Reach like to build them big at home, don't they?

"Oh."

"Worse thing is, these ones-" I highlight the battleship and cruiser types. "-are classes we haven't seen in the Periphery at all. As far as I can tell, they're primarily designed for fighting small targets."

Well, if nothing else, you're getting interesting intelligence on less commonly seen ship classes.

Effigy Krillik looks closer at their primary armament. "I don't recognise those."

"Variable direction energy discharge weapons. They sacrifice peak output in exchange for being able to send energy in… Not quite any direction, but any direction described by the disc at the base. Depending on the targetting software and exactly how fast they can charge up, they could be anywhere from 'hard' to 'impossible' to evade. Supreme Commander Dox considered using a similar weapon layout for anti-Scarab work."

Very clever. Probably energy intensive, but a ship that big could easily handle them.

"He decided against it?"

"Scarabs are rare, and every major battle would have Orange Lanterns available to counter them. He decided it wasn't worth the drop in effectiveness against warships."

I'm guessing it's like trading shot rounds for slugs in a shotgun. Exchanging spread for single-target power

Krillik -and several other Effigies- look to Mr. van Wyck. He looks uncomfortable for a moment, then works through it.

"What? We're not invulnerable. We're tougher than most Lanterns with construct armour, but those things were designed to kill Lanterns." He turns to me. "Do you know how far they can shoot?"

I would have to assume that at close range it'd be like flying into clouds of plasma...

"For all versions of that weapon that I've seen, attenuation is a problem. Otherwise they'd be shooting at us now. As an estimate…"

I generate an image of this star system, mark the incoming Reach fleet's position and then draw a circle around it. It's about fifty times the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

Heck of a long range at planetary scale, even if it's not impressive at system scale.

"That's its peak effectiveness range. After that it will hit less hard. Plus, I doubt that it's a faster than light weapon, so at that range it's taking about a minute to hit you."

One of the other Effigies sneers. "A minute? That's not going to hit anything."

Sure, one shot might not be scary. Imagine hundreds all coming your way at once.

Krillik raises a limb. "We don't know their rate of fire. And look: there are a lot of them. We would have to fly at close to our best speed to avoid them, and if we closed the distance then their odds get better."

"Do you guys have a long-ranged attack that I don't know about?"

And they only have to hit you guys once to knock you about. At which point you will probably be locked onto by the entire array.

Mr. van Wyck shakes his head. "And we can't go at them full speed."

"Why not?"

At the speeds they're capable of... A single degree of inaccuracy can cover a lot of space as they travel...

There are a few winces.

"It's… Navigation. Space is…" He makes a circle with his right hand. "You know, really big. If we fly past them, we can't really… It can take a moment to work out what system we just flew out of, and then it's hard to spot where the fight is actually happening. By the time we work out where stuff is…"

One more thing for the tweaks to-do list, then. I get the feeling Jevek never really wanted them to be anything more than short-range reusable munitions...

"Improved stellar navigation coming with the next update?"

There are a few laughs. Mr. van Wyck shrugs. "Or we could just bring you wherever we go."

Or a regular Lantern. Surely one or two might be willing to experiment...

"Jade likes my face too much to replace it with a white mask." I frown. "How did you find that shipyard, then?"

"Memorize the location relative to places we know, then head for the closest star. We didn't have a chance to get a feel for the area here." He looks away for a moment. "Fucking hope we get improved navigation, yeah. But-. Er, what about the really big ships?"

Oh, joy. They can get lost. What kind of design plan were you working from, Jevek?

I bring one into greater focus. "Standard dreadnought layout. Big guns, giant gun, lots of smaller guns. The battleships are more of a threat to us, but… Its big guns can hit the planet surface through the atmosphere from quite a way away. If they decide to destroy the settlement, there's not much you can do to stop it."

And they probably would, just to deny it to the enemy. And then blame them for it in their internal press releases... If they revealed this at all.

"You can?"

"I'll be trying, but those are very big guns and I lose a lot of utility when I'm anchored in place. And I can't move much anyway because…"

Take his generators away, and they'll be here in a couple of seconds, probably.

I point to the interdiction field generators, which choose that moment to have a big wobble.

"Can we just fly away and lead them off?"

You underestimate their numbers, methinks. They'd probably detail their smaller ships to corral you guys, while the big ones look to the settlements.

"We could try, but there isn't really any pressing need for them to follow us. The only interesting thing in this system is the colony. And that fleet is easily big enough to split up and go after both us and the Darkstars."

"I guess we get to test ourselves out, then." He grins at his subordinates. Who's up for wrecking some biiiig ships?"

Don't get cocky, kid. That's been the downfall of many a young commander.

A few of them nod, but it's a pretty hard test of their resilience. And possibly an unnecessary one.

"There.. might be an alternative."

Mr. van Wyck raises his eyebrow ridges at me. "Yeah?"

Do tell, OL? One that doesn't require playing torpedo against battleships that could give a Death Star a run for its money?

"Here." I generate two maps, one of this system and another of the surrounding systems. "These-" I mark thirty seven locations. "-are the stations they're using to counter my interdiction fields. Each one that gets destroyed makes their fleet a little slower."

"How many to stop it completely?"

...You don't have all day, or that many people, I bet.

"Um." I generate a map of the entire Reach Core and light up about three million locations. "About that many. But if you destroy all thirty seven then it'll take them half an hour to get into firing range with their dreadnoughts, and if it takes the Darkstars that long, it would probably be better for me to try scooping the settlement with a giant grabber construct because something's gone very wrong."

Good gravy. I know space is big, but that's insane...

Mr. van Wyck nods. "What sort of weapons do those places have?"

I dismiss the maps and ships, and generate a construct of one of the stations.

Nominally sitting ducks... With big guns cradled in their arms.

"Scaled down versions of weapons on the battleships, and fewer of them. To begin with."

"What d'you mean?"

"The fleet is sending their cruisers ahead to reinforce them. Adding in their weapons and improved armour would make them much harder to hit."

Because of course they've got that many ships.

"What happens if we don't hit them all?"

"The fleet arrives faster, and then the ground operation becomes unviable." I shrug. "I don't know exactly how long we need. If you don't want to charge the fleet, hit as many as you can."

Joy. So they're really only fighting a delaying action for the ground force. And sooner or later, they'll have to haul ass out of there.

"Right." He nods. "Map of the local area?"

I restore it, and he starts assigning targets.

Hopefully they can navigate over that short a distance. Wont help if one or two get lost between systems.

And once more, another shortcoming of the Effigy design spec is highlighted. I hope Jevek doesn't think he'll replace Lanterns with his people, because they aren't going to manage that. Honestly, if a few Lanterns had the guts to volunteer for the process, that might make for a better mixture. They'd get better support and intelligence, at least...

Mr Zoat · Oct 3, 2024

Me said:
Who's up for wrecking some biiiig ships?"

Thank me, corrected.

BartlettMagic · Oct 3, 2024

its good to see Effigy Prime really coming into his own as a leader here, and i hope that continues. he and the Illustres could make a hell of an offensive pair to keep making incursions into Reach space if they were to sync their mojo. but i am still waiting for the other shoe to drop with that Controller who's alliterative name i can't recall at the moment.

Bud-E · Oct 3, 2024

Since Jevek was one of the Controllers who said they didn't have names does it bother him that everyone knows and refers to him by name?

Rin · Oct 3, 2024

You know, if I was a Reach commander and I learned about this operation, one of my first takeaways would be that creating and releasing information on morally abhorrent experiments is an excellent way to make N.E.M.O waste resources in rescue operations, and also a good way to lure their valuable assets into traps.

I could easily see the Reach spinning up a few dozen more small-scale atrocities solely in response to this, just to see if it works.

At which point, the only way to win is not to play the game. N.E.M.O would have to *stop* rescuing people in order to disincentivise further 'experiments'.

Mr Zoat · Oct 3, 2024

Bud-E said:
Since Jevek was one of the Controllers who said they didn't have names does it bother him that everyone knows and refers to him by name?

Martin doesn't call him that.

It doesn't bother him, he just thinks it's foolish.

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

Dedicated ragequitter

Wait, am I lost?

Know what you're doing yet?

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Dedicated ragequitter

Veteran Lurker

Connoisseur.

Know what you're doing yet?

Dedicated ragequitter

Experienced.

Welp

Dedicated ragequitter

Veteran Lurker

Versed in the lewd.

Welp

Dedicated ragequitter

Welp

Connoisseur.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Dedicated ragequitter

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Virgin Centrist

Dedicated ragequitter

Dedicated ragequitter

Veteran Lurker

Dedicated ragequitter

peekaboo, you fucks you!

Stand up so I can push you down!

Always up for a chat

Dedicated ragequitter

Users who are viewing this thread