Pruning (part 9)
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Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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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…
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…
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