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

[Mr Zoat]

18th May 2284
15:44 GMT -6

Governor Rusk nods when he sees me. "I don't know shit. You?"

I shake my head as we follow the crowd into the main hall. The people around me are some of the most senior politicians and military officers in our alliance, and-.

I check to make sure that my people are maintaining vigilance.

**Yes, Chief Krono.**

Good. Because it would be very bad if anything happened to this room.

"High-altitude nuclear detonation is my best guess."

"Weel shyt. Any idea who?"

I didn't ask anyone in Britain if they still had Polaris or Trident, but I'd have thought that if they did they'd have fired it when the European countries fought each other. And I don't know if Trident's missiles have the fuel capacity for a high-altitude detonation.

"Most likely a pre-War facility. American, Chinese or Russian would be my guess, but that doesn't narrow it down much."

"Weren't us, I'll tell yah that fer nothin'. Weren't those Alamo kooks, neither. Tlaloc?"

"Contrary to his core programming. And I don't want to assume this was deliberate. There were times during the Cold War where the Russians nearly fired their arsenal because their launch detection system mistook a normal cloud or a flock of birds for an American nuclear launch. If some Emperor-class A.I. got its knickers in a twist…"

Rusk nods. "Or some fool broke inta some facility they had no business being inside and pressed the wrong button. I'll try an' keep a cool-"

"Chief Krono?"

"-head."

We look up as a N.C.R. Ranger corporal hustles up to us.

"Yes?"

"General wants you, sir."

"Ah-."

Rusk nods. "Oh, you get on, son. With alla this panicking and carrying-on, I reckon the bar's probably free."

"Right. See you when I see you. Lead on, Corporal."

"Sir."

We pick our way through the not-quite panicking crowd, confirming with one another that they're all equally ignorant. Douglas and his mother are getting a few odd looks; former Enclave and person who blew up the Enclave not being a natural pair in most people's minds. And one of my brother-in-laws is talking to a priestess from Heaven's Gate.

"…er teams in the Oregon, but they're mostly keeping tabs on the Washington Brotherhood."

Ranger General Mossman is standing in front of a world map which has been affixed to an easel. Mossman is in overall command of the N.C.R. Rangers, as well as effectively being in command of N.C.R. Intelligence. He's also the reason why Chief Hanlon got to retire honourably rather than being put in front of a firing squad, so I'm tentatively willing to assume that he's a good man as well. Grant's standing next to him, nodding twitchily and occasionally glancing around the room. One nice thing about Vegas is that House got all of his anti-missile systems up and running again, so we're in just about the safest place we could be if missiles are in the air.

Another ranger dashes in and writes a time on the map before heading out again, Mossman staring at it before turning to his boss.

"I think that about-." He catches sight of me. "Mister Krono."

"General. Governor. Do you know something?"

Mossman nods. "I've been having my people contact our outposts across California and record the time when their electronics stopped working. Not everyone's reported in yet, but as far as we can tell so far, the effect hit the north first. I don't suppose you've got eyes on the Immortal, have you?"

I shake my head. "I'm afraid not. I don't have that many operatives, and he hasn't been a priority."

Another nod. "It could have been a Russian missile fired over the pole, or something someone left up there for two hundred years. As far as we can tell, all the satellites in that area have either been destroyed or disabled."

Hayes sighs. "We don't even know for certain that there haven't been other attacks all across America. Can you do something about that?"

"Yes, but not quickly. I'll need to contact the choir in Area Fifty-One, and they'll need to reach out-."

"Do it. With the satellites down, we don't have anything better. And it's not like someone can just fly up and replaced the satellites' vacuum tubes, so I think we're going to have to accelerate-."

"No, we can."

Hayes frowns at me. "You told me your saucers weren't designed for space walks."

"They're not, but the Mothership can handle that, no prob-. Ah, assuming that they've got the trained personnel, but we can send someone up if they haven't."

That prompts an eyebrow-raise. "Where did you find trained astronauts?"

"Houston, hopefully. If they've got a few pre-War ghouls around, they should remember the skills required. If not, my people have telekinesis. It should make spacewalks a lot easier than trying to manage it with a thruster pack."

"Okay, that's a start. And I've got to get soldiers mobilised. Do you think your Canadian friends will help out?"

"They might, but you'd be better off talking to-" I turn and nod at the nun. "-our steam-loving friends."

Hayes nods. "Alright. You make your calls, I'll talk to her. Mossman, keep up the good work and holla if you learn anything new."

"Right." / "Mister-. Governor."

I could reach out while standing here, but it's easier if I'm somewhere quiet, if only because people won't try talking to me. This is a little further than a casual chat, so…

**[Picture the site]**

In my mind's eye I see the focus station, and the projective and receptive telepaths currently on duty. Several look around, and I can **[feel them looking back]**.

**Krono to Station.**

**We hear you, Chief.**

**Someone just used a weapon which destroys vacuum tubes. Contact our embedded agents and get reports on what's happening where they are, how far the effect has spread and if there have been any other attacks. Report back to me when ready.**

**At once, Chief.**

**And send a message to Albert, on the Mothership. Ask him to radio me in New Vegas as soon as possible.**

**That could take a while. I don't think he's in range.**

Can't blame a man for having fun in a spaceship.

**Whenever you can. Krono out.**

I withdraw my awareness, blinking as I refocus on my physical location. I'd best head to the market and purchase some warm clothing, because I expect that a trip to Washington State is in my future.

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th May 2284
15:59 GMT -6

"Ah, sir? Mister Krono?"

A… Member of the Chairmen has threaded his way through the milling crowd.

I turn away from the map and hold up my right hand. "Over here!"

He smiles awkwardly as he passes over a note. Looks… Maybe nineteen? The Chairmen had a change of leadership a couple of years ago after their former leader tried overthrowing Mr. House. Really, they were lucky that he decided to be chirurgical about removing 'Benny' rather than just killing the lot of them, but I suppose that would have been bad for business.

I open it-.

'Look up'.

Of course.

I walk out of the hall and over to the nearest Securitron. "Robert, is your laser communication array up and running yet?"

The police officer image on the screen flickers, and then is replaced by Mr. House's face icon. "No, I've been prioritising bringing Helios and the Hoover Dam up to full operational capacity. If you want to send a message, I have the most powerful radio transmitter in the Pacific Southwest."

"Alright, please point it directly upwards, set it to shortwave and send 'Krono ready'."

"And what wavelength am I transmitting on?"

"It doesn't matter, they'll pick it up anyway."

"… Very well. Have you repaired a satellite already?"

"No. There should be something on radar. Unless they've got the stealth system working, which is a possibility."

"Might I ask who I'm talking to?"

"Albert."

"I would appreciate it if you could-."

I raise my right hand in surrender. "I'm sorry. Six years ago the aliens who provided Area Fifty-One with so many examples of their technology tried abducting people from the area around Washington D.C.. The prisoners broke out, killed the crew and captured their Mothership."

"… I… Don't imagine that the aliens use vacuum tubes or transistors."

"No, which means that if they were near to Earth, then they should have a recording of what happened."

"Yes, that-. I have a response. I'll route it through this Securitron."

The screen flickers, and then… An artist's rendition of a space suited Vault Boy's head replaces the image of Mr. House.

"Krono, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while, now."

"Yes, I-."

"What's this about the Enclave setting up in Iowa?"

Ah… I didn't… Tell him specifically, but… "I think it's fairly self-explanatory. I needed to put them somewhere, and Iowa was uninhabited. Uninhabitable without a super Garden of Eden Creation Kit."

"You gave them-. What for?"

"Because they're no longer a threat, imprisoning them was wasteful and expensive and Iowa needed to be rebuilt by someone."

"They tried to poison the Capital and they murdered my father."

"Albert… You let Colonel Autumn go. If you-."

"Yeah, because I wanted him to die slowly! I wanted him to watch while we rebuilt Washington while his whole outfit fell apart so he could see what a useless moron he was, not because I wanted him to start over!"

"Ah. In my defence, you didn't tell anyone that."

"Jeez, and now he's just-. Great. Great."

"You can still work to rebuild Washington faster, though I'll warn you now that he's actually doing a pretty good job with Iowa."

"There anyone else living there?"

I… Don't know where he might be going with this. Though I'm a little nervous about the destination, because the primary weapon of the Mothership hits as hard as a large strategic nuclear warhead, and can fire once every five seconds.

"Yes. There was a cryogenic suspension facility with a few thousand people in it. We destroyed the A.I. that was vivisecting them to use their brains as computers and let them out."

"So the Enclave's their heroes."

"I'm… Not sure how much of their history they've taught them, but… Yes."

I hear him sigh. "Why couldn't they have acted like that in Washington?"

"I'm… Not entirely clear on that. If your father had been a member of the Enclave Autumn might have killed him for disloyalty, but otherwise it makes very little sense. And… I'm sorry if this is a sensitive topic, but why did your father refuse to help them? They were trying to make Project Purity work, that's what he wanted..?"

"I'd ask, but he's dead."

I give him a moment to calm down.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Someone used a large electromagnetic pulse weapon about a hour ago. I was hoping that your ship might have detected something."

"I mean, it might, but I don't speak zetan."

"You don't speak-? How are you doing anything?"

"Guesswork. Pattern recognition. Rote learning. The layout's pretty logical. Got a couple of Brotherhood scribes up here writing a user manual… We can manoeuvre, work the transporter, fire the gun, that stuff's all fine, but if you want to look at sensor logs…"

"Would it be alright if I sent a few mechempaths up to speed things along? We're all used to zetan systems and psychic powers would-."

"Oh God yes."

"Right, I'll get that sorted."

"Okay. And once they're onboard and we've got the sensors working, we can go take a look… Where'd the attack come from?"

"We don't really know. The obvious possibilities are one of the Chinese successor states and the Washington Brotherhood. So if you could head north once you've picked up our specialists..?"

"Yeah, we can do that. Ah. Have they got any anti-spaceship weapons? Because this thing's got shields, but I don't think it's got any point defences, so we're pretty much just sitting here with our asses hanging out."

"As long as you stay far enough away from the surface it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that the officer of the watch knows to move the ship away from the planet if there's any sort of launch. And I can send our psykers up in a saucer if you like, and they can use it as an interceptor."

"I was more worried about things like giant surface-mounted ray guns."

"I have no intelligence on giant ray guns, but I can't say I've got great sources in Washington State or China. That's not a technology I'm… Aware of anyone developing. Energy weapons above a certain size have heat dissipation issues, and missiles and bombs were usually more efficient."

"I'll turn our shields up all the way, just in case."

 

[Mr Zoat]

14th September 2013
14:21 GMT

Queen Hyathis closes her eyes and tilts her head back, extruding additional leaves from her back as the local sun shines down on her. The lizarkon representatives are clearly a little uncomfortable about the situation, but that's hardly surprising; they may have thrown in with her to get out from under the thanagarians-. The Imperial thanagarians, but they don't know her and have no real connection to her beyond 'fuck those guys'.

The fact that the Antares thanagarians are being polite and friendly appears to be throwing them off a little as well. But, they don't seem to be unhappy with whatever negotiations just finished, and that's happier than they were before.

"Do you approve, Orange Lantern? I doubt that the High Mor ever spoke to a lizarkon."

"I don't doubt that you're closer to what I'd want in a ruler for this region of space than he is. I'm just not prepared to inflict the quantity of death that would be required to get you that office."

"Did you know that I've never been at peace before?"

"No. I thought that you were… A sort of specialised over-consciousness which emerged from Alstair's plant life."

"I am, sort of. But I emerged into full awareness after my predecessor was killed during the opening stage of the war. Only one of us at a time…"

"We have the same system on Earth. The Green gets only one champion at a time."

"Yes, but your champion doesn't rule your world. I-." She looks down at the lizarkon servant kneeling next to her, carrying a drinks tray. "Stand up, woman!" The lizarkon cautiously raises her eyes, clearly not quite believing what she's been told. "We don't do that on Alstair. I know that my own people are loyal to me, and from one of your kind it just feels disingenuous."

The lizarkon hesitantly stands, and Hyathis takes a glass of… Water, from the tray.

Hyathis nods to her. "Thank you." She extrudes roots from her fingertips and begins drinking. "So, if you're not here to conduct a review, what is it that you want?"

"It's only been a few days. I'm glad that you made a prompt start, but I wouldn't learn much by checking up on things now."

"Mm, true."

"But relating to that, are you having any non-military problems that I can help you with?"

"No, everything's well in hand. This is an eventuality I've planned and prepared for. Actually, I was hoping to get a few more planets, but then you appeared and I felt that I was pushing my luck."

"Yes. I meant… Thanagar mostly recruited male lizarkons for their auxiliaries."

"They also employ females in supporting roles, and anyway it's not a large problem. Unlike your species, the lizarkons don't have much in the way of sexual desire outside of mating season. We have enough to maintain the population, even if a proportion of the males will have to wear nose plugs every so often."

"Thanagar doesn't keep track of populations in their undercities. Getting a few thousand females out-."

She frowns at me. "Are you trying to break your own treaty, or is this some sort of test?"

"You're going to spend decades solidifying your grip on your new acquisitions. I think I can mostly trust you to do that in a non-evil way."

"Thank you."

"But -assuming that Thanagar trusts me at my word- they've now got extra ships to play with and a political need to reassert their dominance. So I'm putting together a defensive alliance-"

"Which I can't join-"

"-which-."

"-because of the antagonism clause in the treaty. Though that does lend credence to your claim that you've been making things up as you go."

"I assure you, that claim was entirely true."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"You aren't banned from gathering intelligence and sharing it, just from active sabotage. You aren't banned from trading with Thanagar's enemies, even at generous terms. And you don't have to continue to supply them with Nth metal."

"I was doing that in an effort to reduce tensions in the long term."

"How long is long?"

"Fifty years or so. Two changes of High Mor. Perhaps three. They'll still consider me their enemy, but they'll have larger concerns." She frowns. "How long does your species live?"

"Normal male humans can live about a hundred and fifteen years in ideal conditions, but eighty to ninety years is more normal. And then you've got Vandal Savage, who is about fifty thousand years old, so there's nothing special about our current lifespan, it's just a wear and tear thing." I clench my left fist and make myself glow orange. "If I can't enforce the treaty, it's not going to be because I got too old."

"I assume that this anti-Thanagarian alliance don't use plants, do they?"

"I'm afraid that very few species do, though I should point out that I've only spoken to one of the species I hope will be a major participant."

"How many to go?"

"Two, and a number of minor worlds. Green Lantern Guarn is making a start on those, but there are a lot of them."

"Nnnnnmmm." She considers for a moment. "Selling raw materials might be awkward, at the moment. We have a great deal of building to do as we transition to a peacetime economy and build infrastructure on my new acquisitions."

"You've got three worlds to disarm, and they have industrial capacity that's going begging. It doesn't even have to be a financial exchange. You can exchange raw materials for specialist teachers and engineers that you don't have."

"That's true. Alright, tell them to send trade envoys to Alstair, and I'll discuss specifics with them. Anything else? I'm sure you're busy."

"How have negotiations gone with Vulcan?"

"Quite well, we're getting married."

"Huh?"

She smiles, and… Honestly looks a little self-conscious. "I couldn't marry one of my own subjects, could I? They're basically part of me."

"Right..?"

"And I know that by human standards he's not much to look at, but to my spiritual senses he stands out as a tower of hard work, discipline and strength. I'm a little like the lizarkons in that regard; I didn't really have an interest until… Mm."

"Um. Good for you?"

"Do you think you could bring some of his relatives to Alstair for the ceremony?"

"It's… Not impossible. I'll-. I'll ask around. Um. Okay. Thank you for your time, but I've got people to see…"

"Of course. Be off with you. Let me know how it goes."

Of all the things I wasn't expecting today…

 

[Mr Zoat]

18th May 2284
18:02 GMT -6

Things have grown… Calmer.

Albert has -with the assistance of my mechempaths- found a way to allow satellite signals to be relayed via the Mothership's communications array. Diana was actually repositioning satellites from outside of the affected area to restore communications, so they're back in touch, and a team from Dallas is going to head south to see if Houston has anyone with astronaut training. Most people have gradually drifted back either to the day's scheduled events, or to the various entertainments Robert's people have been laying on.

Mostly to Marjorie's benefit, but given that she was the only leader out of the three families who didn't try and stab House in the back, I think she's due some sort of karmic reward.

"…quickly, but with the drawdown from Arizona we can reposition veteran divisions to Redding State if we have to."

With communication to Redding restored, Hayes has been speaking to its mayor and senators, both to check that there hasn't been any kind of follow-up attack and to reassure them that he's on the job.

"Because-." … "Because that looks like we're taking an aggressive posture, and the absolute last thing we want right now is a fight with Heaven's Gate." … "Okay, I can give priority to the First and Second Redding divisions and have them shifted north as soon as possible, but the important thing is to avoid panic when there's no evidence that this was even aimed at us."

He makes eye contact with me, and pantomime's an expression of exasperation.

"I don't know that yet, because-." ... "No, I won't be flying to-." … "No, not Shady Sands either. The-." … "Would you let me finish? Thank you. Because the communications suite is far better here than what you've got in Redding or that I've got in Shady Sands, and all of our allies are here, so if this is something big then we can agree a common position without having to play Waylaid Courier for two weeks first."

Governor Rusk elbows me. "Don't have none of that in Texas. Mayors feel if'n they gotta ask me for help they've fallen down on the job. Voters feel that way, too."

I nod. "Which is a good attitude for dealing with raider gangs, but less so for robot armies."

He shrugs. "I never said they was smart, just ornery."

Balm-Upon-Wounds frowns. "In… Utah, we have to rely on runners to relay news. I would not know that Eastport had suffered a calamity for many weeks."

"That so?"

"We have put the survivors of the Eighties to work as… Penal labour, in making roads so that drivers can relay news of great importance instead. But few roads in Utah survived the Great War."

I'm proud that he remembered to say 'penal labour'. Honestly… If we'd dealt with the Eighties earlier, we might have been able to take some of their war bands into service, but as things stood they were too committed into their identity as road warriors. And exile isn't an option, because they were exiled from California to Utah in the first place and if anything that made them worse. So alone of all of Utah's tribes the Eighties will be undone, broken up and never allowed to resurrect in any form. Once they're sufficiently beaten down, some might be allowed to join new communities, but most of them are going to die in chains.

And they earned that treatment. I checked.

"So get in contact with me if anything else strange happens." Hayes nods. "Alright. I'll speak to you again tomorrow."

He puts the phone down and sighs.

"Alright, anything-?"

The main screen flickers on, the interior of the Mothership's bridge appearing… Rotated forty degrees, with Albert barely visible in the corner.

"We getting through?"

I raise my right hand to my mouth. "You're out of focus."

"I dunno how to aim-."

There's a flicker, and we're now looking at the backs of their heads.

Rusk smiles. "Teethin' troubles?"

I nod. "Zetan tech support is horrible. I'd write a complaint letter, but we never got the address of their head office."

Another flicker, and Albert is front and centre and the right way up.

"How about now?"

I nod. "Reading you loud and clear, Captain. Is everything up and running?"

"Not yet, but we've got what you need. Turns out that the Mothership's central computer keeps records of basically everything."

"And..? Do you know how to replay and transmit it?"

"Yeah, we're going through the records now to find what you want. Hey, you mind if these guys stay up here when we're done? They've been here a couple of hours and we've got more control than we've ever had."

"If you don't mind spending some time repairing the satellites the E.M.P. wrecked."

"Eh, sure, we'll need practice with manoeuvring anyway." He turns away from the camera. "You guys ready? Alright-."

The screen flickers, and... That's the Earth, shape of the-.

Hayes' eyes widen. "Alaska?"

A circle surrounded by alien characters appears, the screen zooming in-.

Rusk sags. "Ah, Hell."

Balm frowns. "What is it?"

"American strategic missile. Pre-War. Someone put it back together, and y'all won't need three guesses to work out who."

Hayes frowns. "There were strategic missiles in Alaska?"

"Sure. Short range things they shipped back from Europe after N.A.T.O. collapsed. Moved 'em up there after they chased out the Chinese. Don't know exactly who rigged 'em to go straight up though, that takes training."

I nod. "The Immortal is a Paladin."

Rusk rolls his eyes. "The 'Immortal' is a Midwest Brotherhood deserter. Now, they lost all kinds a' things when they shattered after they fought the Calculator, but there weren't enough people missing t' make a whole new Chapter. Paladins, knights, scribes… A handful at most. And there's not many scribes who could refit a strategic miss'l."

I sigh. "So it looks like we're fighting the Washington Brotherhood sooner than I wanted. I'll head up there and get the lay of the land. The Mothership will allow me to stay in contact."

Hayes nods. "I'll get a hold of our friends in San Francisco, see what they know. And I guess Redding will be getting the reinforcements they wanted. I'll need to talk to Heaven's Gate, too."

Rusk sighs. "I'll talk to High Elder Törni. Can't imagine the Circle of Steel hasn't got a few people poking around. A Chapter going rogue is an insult to us all, especially if they're using strategic weapons. That there's exactly what Roger Maxson set us up to stop, God damn it!" He shakes his head. "He's gotta be filling his ranks out with local raiders. It's the only thing that makes a lick of sense."

"Good, that's a plan, then." I turn and head for the door. "I'll report my initial findings in two days."

 

[Mr Zoat]

15th September 2013
08:01 GMT

One more major and a few dozen minor worlds showing an interest in a cooperation agreement. The Autocrat of Margave even agreed to hold off on active measures while Hyathis tries to subvert the slave populations instead, which I thought was generous. And now I'm looking at the territory of the third major non-thanagarian regional power.

Sthuounoo.

"Lantern Guarn, I don't have any files on Sthuounoo. Is that the name of the species, or their homeworld?"

"I don't know."

I look at him and raise my left eyebrow.

"They don't like having anything to do with the Green Lantern Corps either. And while the Guardians grant us unlimited authority in our Sectors, most Green Lanterns in this Sector choose to leave them alone. They only threaten people when their territory is invaded."

"So how do you know their government isn't evil and their world isn't a hellhole?"

"Three hundred years ago an exploration vessel entered their space unknowingly and then suffered a drive malfunction. Their security fleet arrived at the same time as my partner's predecessor. There was a… Terse negotiation, and she was permitted to briefly visit their homeworld."

"Three hundred years is a long time. Can you get me an audience?"

"There is no mechanism for gaining an audience. They might be slower to shoot you if I am with you, but it is difficult to know."

"What do they look like?"

He projects a construct… Huh. Spade-shaped face, with eyes and mouth on the cutting edge. Four foot-fins and manipulator tentacles, so I'm going to assume that they were aquatic until relatively recently in their evolutionary history… Okay, the lower tentacles specialised for movement while the upper ones became 'hands'…

"No gills?"

"No, they're amphibious."

Ah, I saw the head and thought 'shark'.

"Any idea why they're isolationist?"

"No."

Aquatic species are usually good at 3 dimensional navigation-. Or I suppose that should be 4 dimensional navigation, as they have to take into account where everything is going to be in time as well. And being amphibious probably means that they don't need to keep the interiors of their ships submerged, which would dramatically cut down on the weight.

"Is it how we look?"

"Is that a joke?"

"No? It's pretty natural to be afraid of species who look like things who ate your ancestors, and our body shapes are fairly standard pattern humanoid. Theirs aren't."

"My ancestors were mostly eaten by other insectoids."

"Mine sometimes has a bit of a thing about insects, but that's mostly because of the venom."

"I have venom."

"Yes, but I'm not very likely to put a boot on with you inside it. Alright, let's head in."

We warp inwards, not particularly fast because we want them to see us coming and intercept us before we get somewhere they consider sensitive. Supposedly, their doctrine revolves around the spaceship equivalent of self-propelled guns. Small ships based around one large energy weapon, capable of damaging ships far larger than themselves. At the cost of not being efficient against ships in their own class. At least that's what the Thanagarian Empire fought when they tried intruding in this region; they weren't all that good at combating their attack craft but they were very good at hunting base ships.

Or it could be that they just never bothered to send point defence ships after base ships. That would-.

Something presses against my warp field as something tried to interdict me-. Ah, us. I lose Lantern Guarn at once, and drop back into normal space myself a moment later to avoid getting separated. Turn around and transition back towards that faint green glow.

"They are here."

"Good-" A… Frankly excessive flotilla of ships emerge into normal space about 3 A.U. away. "-show." Looks like their primary gun philosophy carries on to their battleships, but without the sort of sensors that allowed the Traitor's fleet to expand their engagement window. Instead, it looks like they're relying on armour and prow-focused shield emitters to let them survive closing the range. Yes, the battleship would probably two-shot a Thanagarian Command Carrier, if it could catch up with it and stay on target, which I'm dubious about.

Our rings twinkle. "Identify."

"I am the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps."

"Green Lantern Guarn, Sector Two Six Eight Two."

"Purpose of visit."

"Counter-Thanagar coordination."

"Sthuounoo disdain coordination with you."

"Not with me. With everyone currently being threatened by the Thanagarian Empire."

"What has happened?"

"Enduring peace with Alstair, which will release-."

"Yes."

Right, an admiral would be fully briefed on threats and on how they could evolve. I float there for a moment, waiting for some indication of-.

"Explain form of coordination."

"In the event of an attack against a party, other parties would attack Thanagarian Empire assets. The idea would be to prevent the Empire overwhelming any one target. Weaker worlds would provide material support, while-."

"Sthuounoo borders inviolate."

"Well, sure, but that will limit the amount of support the others can give you."

"Sthuounoo will not occupy Thanagarian Empire worlds."

"Could you strike governmental and military targets?"

"Yes."

"Then depending on how things go, one of the other parties could occupy them, or you could just destroy military assets and move on."

"Sthuounoo suspect that this alliance will go to war with Thanagarian Empire."

"The primary intent is to prevent war by making the Thanagarian Empire aware that its usual methods won't work. The alliance will be open about its existence once-."

"Open?"

"Its existence will be open. Your territory can remain as closed as you wish."

There's a moment of silence, and then the ships slowly wheel in space.

"Follow. Decision made on homeworld."