Ardy
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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So why did they seem to be offended by him using the word?
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
- Start date
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- self insert young justice
So why did they seem to be offended by him using the word?
jasonh23761
Not too sore, are you?
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He also makes war with the Western Brotherhood near inevitable given how much he ends up courting Enclave remnants.
But starting up a second space race is pretty funny. I don't remember if that requires taking the Bloomingfield space center in Arizona, the one the Legion takes from the Rusty Hooks not long after start.
The civil war is interesting to me, but I also played Moore with Oliver declaring for me and turning the Republic into a military junta. The only other time I saw it happen was when I set it to, and was playing Van Graff's in New Reno so I could take Redding easily enough.
CrazyNoVa
Getting sticky.
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Wait, but if "ghoul" is a slur in that world, then if Ra's Al Ghul found himself somehow stuck there, would he have to change his name because everyone would keep mishearing his name as "Racial Ghoul"?
Mr Zoat
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Because the word means 'demon' or 'monster'. If you call people demons, they get annoyed.
Someguy Somewhere
The Critical Fumbler
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Now That is one for the Omake list. Even Sinestro would be proud of the horror of 'The Milk Talk'
CrazyNoVa
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Only Mr. Zoat would be able to somehow make milk scary.
Coast to Coast (part 9)
Mr Zoat
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3rd December 2282
12:23 GMT
A ghoul in a suit topped off with a frock coat is sitting at a table reading a report as I'm led into what appears to be a private dining room. There's a hat stand with a matching top hat on it in the corner of the room, along with a cane propped up by the base. He's either acquired the services of an expert wig maker or he's one of the rare ghouls who managed to hang on to most of their hair during the transformation process, possessing as he does a full head of black hair and mutton chop sideburns. He's-.
"My God, is that tea?"
His eyes move from the report to me without any other part of his body moving. He considers me for a moment.
"Yes, actually. Roper. Who is this?"
"An ambassador from California, My Lord."
"Really, now. I'd rather assumed that the Chinese would have thoroughly ruined the place. How on Earth did they miss California?"
I hesitate, then Roper looks at me and nods.
"They didn't, My Lord. But California was reasonably well served with Vaults, and RobCo undertook the defence of the Mojave region. Plus it.. has been two hundred years. Even salted nuclear warheads don't stay dangerously radioactive forever."
"Educated too, that's a welcome surprise." He lays down his report, though not his tea. "Roper, his affidavits."
Lieutenant Roper advances, my letter of introduction in hand, and holds it out to Lord Harold. Lord Harold takes it, unfolds it one-handed and reads it carefully.
"Mmpf. Hayes. I assume he's not one of us?"
"British, My Lord? No. There are very few British people in America."
He gives me a faint glare. "No, one of us."
"A Simon, My Lord?"
His lip moves in a mild expression of distaste at the word. "Yes, one of the… Gentry."
"No. Um, I'm.. sorry if I've offended, but I was told that 'Simon' was the accepted nomenclature."
Lord Harold looks at Roper, who nods. "I'll have a word with the sergeant, My Lord."
"See that you do. The term 'Simon' is informal slang, used largely by the lower orders. 'Gentry' is more polite, though only used to refer to those of us who predate the war and occupy positions of seniority. You can use 'ardens' for everyone else, as in homo sapiens ardens."
"'Ardens' is a good deal more polite than what they settled on in America."
"Naturally. And yes. It is tea."
"Does Britain have trade with India? I realise that it's possible with wooden ships-."
"A two hundred day round trip in a clipper. We tried it, but only a fraction of the ships made it back. It should be an easier journey from California."
"They drink coffee."
"Ah." He nods. "And I suppose that the Chinese reds mined the route."
An interesting point. As far as I know, even the Shi haven't tried to make the journey to China. I don't even think that NCR traders have tried to reach Hawaii. Their trade ships and warships mostly hug the coastline when they're at sea. I… Honestly don't know what the deep oceans are like. I would have assumed that the places that weren't sterilised by radiation would be mostly recovered by now, were it not for the fact that I've seen fog crawlers and the wanamingos. As it is, I've got no idea what might be happening out to sea.
"I don't know, but that's certainly a possibility."
"Very well." He tosses the letter across the table, where it is recovered by Lieutenant Roper and returned to me. "On behalf of Her Majesty's government, I recognise you as the Ambassador of this.. 'New California Republic', Your Excellency."
"Thank you."
"You're on the wrong side of the continent for us to trade with, assuming that America's successor states have abandoned the position of isolationism."
"Given how things have collapsed, it would be impractical to enforce it. Though I'm afraid that damage to America's shipping infrastructure means that we can't really initiate trades and won't be able to for some time."
What have we actually got to trade, anyway? Brahmin and big horners are useful food animals that are adapted for radiation, but I'm not sure how well either would do in Britain. Robots? They wouldn't have the infrastructure. Water?
I just about stop myself laughing at the idea of Britain needing to import water, of all things.
G.E.C.K.s? Yes, them and everyone else will want those. Weapons? They don't have America's nuclear energy supplies. Fusion cells? They don't have the infrastructure. Knowledge? Expert personnel? Seed samples?
Lord Harold nods. "I suppose that it's worthwhile just knowing that there are other survivors in the world. So: just what is the New California Republic?"
"The people in Vault Fifteen founded a town named Shady Sands in twenty ninety seven. At that point the radiation levels were low enough for them to use their seed reserves to start farming. As the years passed the village grew into a town and got into contact with other groups of survivors. They started trading; Shady Sands had food but was short of metal and machine parts, while the survivors in Californian cities needed fresh food. In twenty one eighty nine the towns had enough in common that it made sense to come together under a shared banner, using their combined military to eliminate outlaws, raider bands and giant mutant animals from their territory. Since then, the NCR has expanded across most of the old State of California's territory and into Baja California and Nevada. Mostly peacefully, sometimes with the threat of violence and occasionally with an actual war."
"War with who?"
"The Enclave, the Brotherhood of Steel and Caesar's Legion. The Enclave were a group of descendants of part of the old American government who decided to create a weaponised virus to kill everyone else in the world. The NCR allied with the Brotherhood of Steel to destroy their bases in California, but relations broke down afterwards when the Brotherhood started demanding that the NCR hand over all advanced technology in their possession. The NCR won, and the two groups have recently signed a peace treaty. Caesar's Legion are a group of tribes brought together under the leadership of a fascist historian. They conquered the entirety of Arizona before coming into conflict with the NCR, a war which is still ongoing."
Lord Harold's eyes narrow. "Did you just say 'Cai-sar's Legion', Your Excellency? Romans?"
"He styled them after a very jaundiced version of Roman history. It's not the most ridiculous thing in America, but it is the most ridiculous that's gotten too many people killed to laugh about." I shrug. "How have things been here?"
"A mess. The nuclear missiles flew early and often, and then what little was left was subjected to decades of raids that we lacked the infrastructure to respond to. Her majesty managed to return to London to take command, but it wasn't until twenty two thirty eight that we managed to destroy the insurgent groups in London alone, let alone reach out to anywhere else. I am here to restore the control of the government to the south coast; law and order, infrastructure, governance and nationhood."
I nod. "I stopped by my home village on the way here. There didn't seem to be any sort of overarching authority."
"That's our experience of how it works. People are too busy surviving to do anything else. I prefer that. I led men of the coastal rapid reaction force before things fell apart completely. Fighting our own people leaves a bad taste in m' mouth."
I nod. "I saw a mutant whale on the docks."
"Yes, they're reasonably common in these waters now. We're hoping that we can harvest their oil as a fuel source. Shipping coal this far south is difficult, and would be impractical for naval purposes anyway."
I frown. "Why? That's what we used to do, before we switched over to oil powered engines."
"Because it will take decades at best before we can restore the railway lines north to south, and we're not the only nation harvesting whales. The French are up to something, and not a man jack of us is prepared to let them get the jump on us again."
12:23 GMT
A ghoul in a suit topped off with a frock coat is sitting at a table reading a report as I'm led into what appears to be a private dining room. There's a hat stand with a matching top hat on it in the corner of the room, along with a cane propped up by the base. He's either acquired the services of an expert wig maker or he's one of the rare ghouls who managed to hang on to most of their hair during the transformation process, possessing as he does a full head of black hair and mutton chop sideburns. He's-.
"My God, is that tea?"
His eyes move from the report to me without any other part of his body moving. He considers me for a moment.
"Yes, actually. Roper. Who is this?"
"An ambassador from California, My Lord."
"Really, now. I'd rather assumed that the Chinese would have thoroughly ruined the place. How on Earth did they miss California?"
I hesitate, then Roper looks at me and nods.
"They didn't, My Lord. But California was reasonably well served with Vaults, and RobCo undertook the defence of the Mojave region. Plus it.. has been two hundred years. Even salted nuclear warheads don't stay dangerously radioactive forever."
"Educated too, that's a welcome surprise." He lays down his report, though not his tea. "Roper, his affidavits."
Lieutenant Roper advances, my letter of introduction in hand, and holds it out to Lord Harold. Lord Harold takes it, unfolds it one-handed and reads it carefully.
"Mmpf. Hayes. I assume he's not one of us?"
"British, My Lord? No. There are very few British people in America."
He gives me a faint glare. "No, one of us."
"A Simon, My Lord?"
His lip moves in a mild expression of distaste at the word. "Yes, one of the… Gentry."
"No. Um, I'm.. sorry if I've offended, but I was told that 'Simon' was the accepted nomenclature."
Lord Harold looks at Roper, who nods. "I'll have a word with the sergeant, My Lord."
"See that you do. The term 'Simon' is informal slang, used largely by the lower orders. 'Gentry' is more polite, though only used to refer to those of us who predate the war and occupy positions of seniority. You can use 'ardens' for everyone else, as in homo sapiens ardens."
"'Ardens' is a good deal more polite than what they settled on in America."
"Naturally. And yes. It is tea."
"Does Britain have trade with India? I realise that it's possible with wooden ships-."
"A two hundred day round trip in a clipper. We tried it, but only a fraction of the ships made it back. It should be an easier journey from California."
"They drink coffee."
"Ah." He nods. "And I suppose that the Chinese reds mined the route."
An interesting point. As far as I know, even the Shi haven't tried to make the journey to China. I don't even think that NCR traders have tried to reach Hawaii. Their trade ships and warships mostly hug the coastline when they're at sea. I… Honestly don't know what the deep oceans are like. I would have assumed that the places that weren't sterilised by radiation would be mostly recovered by now, were it not for the fact that I've seen fog crawlers and the wanamingos. As it is, I've got no idea what might be happening out to sea.
"I don't know, but that's certainly a possibility."
"Very well." He tosses the letter across the table, where it is recovered by Lieutenant Roper and returned to me. "On behalf of Her Majesty's government, I recognise you as the Ambassador of this.. 'New California Republic', Your Excellency."
"Thank you."
"You're on the wrong side of the continent for us to trade with, assuming that America's successor states have abandoned the position of isolationism."
"Given how things have collapsed, it would be impractical to enforce it. Though I'm afraid that damage to America's shipping infrastructure means that we can't really initiate trades and won't be able to for some time."
What have we actually got to trade, anyway? Brahmin and big horners are useful food animals that are adapted for radiation, but I'm not sure how well either would do in Britain. Robots? They wouldn't have the infrastructure. Water?
I just about stop myself laughing at the idea of Britain needing to import water, of all things.
G.E.C.K.s? Yes, them and everyone else will want those. Weapons? They don't have America's nuclear energy supplies. Fusion cells? They don't have the infrastructure. Knowledge? Expert personnel? Seed samples?
Lord Harold nods. "I suppose that it's worthwhile just knowing that there are other survivors in the world. So: just what is the New California Republic?"
"The people in Vault Fifteen founded a town named Shady Sands in twenty ninety seven. At that point the radiation levels were low enough for them to use their seed reserves to start farming. As the years passed the village grew into a town and got into contact with other groups of survivors. They started trading; Shady Sands had food but was short of metal and machine parts, while the survivors in Californian cities needed fresh food. In twenty one eighty nine the towns had enough in common that it made sense to come together under a shared banner, using their combined military to eliminate outlaws, raider bands and giant mutant animals from their territory. Since then, the NCR has expanded across most of the old State of California's territory and into Baja California and Nevada. Mostly peacefully, sometimes with the threat of violence and occasionally with an actual war."
"War with who?"
"The Enclave, the Brotherhood of Steel and Caesar's Legion. The Enclave were a group of descendants of part of the old American government who decided to create a weaponised virus to kill everyone else in the world. The NCR allied with the Brotherhood of Steel to destroy their bases in California, but relations broke down afterwards when the Brotherhood started demanding that the NCR hand over all advanced technology in their possession. The NCR won, and the two groups have recently signed a peace treaty. Caesar's Legion are a group of tribes brought together under the leadership of a fascist historian. They conquered the entirety of Arizona before coming into conflict with the NCR, a war which is still ongoing."
Lord Harold's eyes narrow. "Did you just say 'Cai-sar's Legion', Your Excellency? Romans?"
"He styled them after a very jaundiced version of Roman history. It's not the most ridiculous thing in America, but it is the most ridiculous that's gotten too many people killed to laugh about." I shrug. "How have things been here?"
"A mess. The nuclear missiles flew early and often, and then what little was left was subjected to decades of raids that we lacked the infrastructure to respond to. Her majesty managed to return to London to take command, but it wasn't until twenty two thirty eight that we managed to destroy the insurgent groups in London alone, let alone reach out to anywhere else. I am here to restore the control of the government to the south coast; law and order, infrastructure, governance and nationhood."
I nod. "I stopped by my home village on the way here. There didn't seem to be any sort of overarching authority."
"That's our experience of how it works. People are too busy surviving to do anything else. I prefer that. I led men of the coastal rapid reaction force before things fell apart completely. Fighting our own people leaves a bad taste in m' mouth."
I nod. "I saw a mutant whale on the docks."
"Yes, they're reasonably common in these waters now. We're hoping that we can harvest their oil as a fuel source. Shipping coal this far south is difficult, and would be impractical for naval purposes anyway."
I frown. "Why? That's what we used to do, before we switched over to oil powered engines."
"Because it will take decades at best before we can restore the railway lines north to south, and we're not the only nation harvesting whales. The French are up to something, and not a man jack of us is prepared to let them get the jump on us again."
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Darko
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"at a"
"hang on"
"But"
"suprise"
So they're thr ruling class in Britain.
"passed"
"They"
Mr Zoat
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Chojin Patriarch
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If it were just the hair, I'd have leaned towards wig. I could see old sixteenth-century wigs coming back into fashion, actually. But the presence of sideburns suggests he's all natural. Or spends an unreasonable amount of time in a makeup chair.
Heh. That's how long he's been away from England:
Tea actually appeals to him for once.Which in this era should sound as ridiculous as 'Arch-Duke Rippadoodle of the Eastern Pole'. Then again, given some of the amazing things in this world...
Oh, they didn't miss it at all. To be fair, their bombs didn't need much in the way of accuracy, compensating by way of saturation...
Sensible priorities, I see.
Ah. Are we going to see some ghoulish snobbery amongst the English rulers, wot?
Yes, rather sums it up. I'm betting there's a belief that the humans can't rule themselves, because they'll just make a mess of things.
Honestly, folks, make up your mind which word you prefer. Or is it a case of 'one rule for the rich, one for the poor'?
Well, that's a bit annoying.
And probably more scientifically accurate. I hope there aren't any other things they would prefer done that Krono isn't aware of...
I shudder to picture the subcontinent. Especially if England has stepped back into control.
On the other hand... It can't be that long before they have larger saucers, capable of cargo-hauling...
I have to wonder about the whales... And the other cetaceans. Never mind whatever might come up out of the deeper places that have been enhanced by radiation...
All right. Don't know how much use that will be, since trade is a long way off...
Fortunately, it's only a matter of time until they expand eastwards and pacify the central and eastern states.
Thunk a little less 'primary industry', Krono. One thing America has is schizotech...
...That is actually a reasonable question, given the lack of prior information.
A remarkably succinct summary of two century's worth of history.
And that's basically the plots of several Fallout games, right? As sidetracked by Krono's presence...
Could be worse. The old 'Judge Dredd' comics had far worse concepts for their trans-continental relief trek. Including at least one territory of corporate-based madness.
A slow process, given that he probably has to conquer and pacify one shire at a time before moving on...
So he'd much rather persuade and convince than invade and conquer...
Heh. Probably not the most efficient method. I expect there's a lot of danger involved in catching them.
As long as they don't discover some sort of supernatural aspect to it.
I have to say, I have some measure of sympathy for the fellow, transhuman arrogance aside. He's taken quite the task on himself, and even if he's immortal (or long-lived enough to count,) pacifying the whole county a bit at a time won't be quick. Especially if he isn't doing it by force of arms.
And now he has to deal with bloody Americans showing up...His eyes move from the report to me...
GigaVanguard
Not too sore, are you?
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Aren't they always?
Early days yet, but I've gotta say I'm already loving this fleshing-out of Fallout England.
CrazyNoVa
Getting sticky.
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I wonder how the Fallout SI would have fared with a blue ring instead of an orange one, since blue rings can gradually recharge themselves over time with ambient hope? It would be interesting to see a blue lantern survive like that in a post-apocalyptic setting with no way to recharge their ring except for ambient hope. I'm not sure how many upgrades they could give themselves before their charge runs out, but I assume that they would have gone a different route and upgraded themselves in different ways than the ones this Paul did.
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Lord Ernest
At the End...
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So the Ghouls are ruling Britain... I feel like there's a political joke there, especially with the elections coming up, but I don't want run afoul of the rules and don't think I would do the joke justice enough.
Still find it extremely funny, though.
Still find it extremely funny, though.
Darko
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I'm honestly disappointed that this didn't happen:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7g6pw_0W1U
Basically after the bombs fell a lot of their history and culture was lost and in the process of rebuilding they started acting like the two idiots above because that's what they thought their ancestors were like.
And to be fair, they wouldn't be wrong.
I mean they're British, so most of them are snobby, no matter their social standing.
Or they think that their long life gives them wisdom.
Vaermina
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Giant super intelligent squid and other horribly mutated murder creatures live in the oceans now.
Mr Zoat
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I did miss the smell of barbecued widow.
Thank you, corrected.
Be sure to download Fallout London when it finally releases!
You don't make the biggest empire the Earth has ever seen by standing around like idiots.
SuperPulp2789
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Switching back to pure and true Hard Power and a more truly official empire
It took a bunch of nukes to make them "strong" and "ambitious"
néocorvinus
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The French flag will fly over London. We just need to balkanize Germany first.
moralrelativity
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than -> that
lead -> led
(to match tense with the second half of the sentence)
ForeverShogo
Not too sore, are you?
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Honestly kind of surprised the British Ghouls have it as good as they do. People tend to hate them because they look like zombies and because they tend to assume any Ghoul is about a hair's breadth from going feral.
Oh well. We can't have the French making the world any worse than it already is. Let the frog hunting season commence. Tally-ho.
Oh well. We can't have the French making the world any worse than it already is. Let the frog hunting season commence. Tally-ho.
jasonh23761
Not too sore, are you?
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Given how long the French and English have been at odds, and how badly the EU/EC (I forget precisely what Fallout called it) must have been in the aftermath of the Euro-Middle Eastern war, it really shouldn't amuse me so much that they're back at it.
Though I suppose given that the continent is right there, expecting conflict not to occur would be a tad silly.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Fallout London.
That was what Lord Harold was refering to when he said 'it wasn't until twenty two thirty eight that we managed to destroy the insurgent groups in London'.
hkim
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Mm. War.. war never changes.
Codominion (part 2)
Mr Zoat
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13th April 2013
15:22 GMT
"…out how you were getting on with it?"
The J-ian plant woman in front of me hasn't stopped staring wide-eyed since I landed. In fact, just about everyone I've flown past on my way here stared quite a lot, which… I mean, I like to think that if my kingdom was in the galactic minority and I knew that for a fact, I'd be a lot less surprised when an intelligent being from a different kingdom stopped by for a visit. It should be even less of a big deal when it's a Lantern, since they know for a fact that Lanterns can look like just about anything. Their Sector's current and former Lanterns may have been from J, but the ones before that certainly weren't.
"I say, are you alright?"
"Yes. Yes! I'm perfectly fine. Are you?"
I smile. "Yes, thank you for asking. But-."
"Are you sure? Your… Leaves look… Dead."
I.. blink. "Ah, my species doesn't photosynthesise. This-" I reach up with my right hand and run it through my hair. "-is fur. Keratin, mostly. It's a sort of built-in sunshade for my brain."
…
"Huuuuuuuuh."
"So, the computer?"
"Oh, that's great! We're in the middle of a-." She frowns. "Look, this is… Probably a stupid question, it's a big universe with lots of meat in it, but do you know the person who got it in the first place?"
"Yes." I nod. "It was me."
Her eyes widen. "Rea-?!" Then she calms herself. "Oh. Right. That's why you're checking up on things."
"Yes it is. So?"
"The speed of our computer stems and macro intelligences has increased a thousand fold, and the rollout's been surprisingly simple. The technology is so much like ours, while still being… Different? Alien? Where did you get it?"
"I bought it from an arms dealer, who got it from a stellar civilisation called The Dominion. I'm not sure why they started using plant-based computers; the rest of their technology base is more conventional. It's pretty old by their standards, but I'm glad that you've found it helpful."
I should probably investigate in more detail, because… Pamela hasn't, as far as I can tell. I suppose that her greater focus on plant-based magic means that she doesn't really need plant machines in the same way that the people of J do. And other than bringing himself up to full Alec Holland intelligence I haven't seen any sign that Swamp Thing has either.
"Thank you for bringing it here."
"And how about the people from Alstair?"
"They're… Weird and alien, but…" She stares at me again, then blinks as she realises what she's doing and who she's talking to. "Um."
"I'm familiar with how different our physiologies are."
"Right! Ah, they-. They're similar enough to us that the differences really stand out-. Physically, I mean. But they're good people, hard workers, and… There's been an increase in people being interested in… Mysticism. Magic. Because of how much they use it."
"But no real friction?"
"No, not at all. In fact, some of the researchers, they-." Her bark hardens slightly. "Ah…"
"Say no more. I'll leave you to your work."
I
step out, focusing on the familiar desires of Alstair. There's some sort of blur in the way, but it's easy to
work through-.
Ships burn and break all around me as the four-way war for Antares hots up! I armour up right away and generate construct shields just as the first optimistic volley of flak fire heads in my direction.
Um.
Now, they've been fighting for a very long time. This doesn't mean-.
Incoming message.
…
Answer?
"Hell-"
"Orange Lantern! I am so glad that you're here!"
"-o, Queen Hyathis. Um."
A large and heavily armoured ship from Mosteel wheels out of control in space, some sort of… Lichen? Eating through its hull. Moments later its structural integrity fails completely, exposing the interior structures to space. Including the crew.
"What's happening?"
"I'm winning. I'm finally winning! And I have you to thank for it!"
"The Orange Lantern Corps-."
"Was kind enough to provide me with a trading partner, new and superior computers and weapons. A new generation of ships and a whole new-"
Something takes hold of my construct barriers and turns me around.
"-me."
Hyathis is… A giant. Or at least has created a giant avatar for herself.
She releases me and raises her right arm, hyper velocity seedpods launched from some sort of internal mechanism and smashing into -through in some cases- a destroyer squadron from Dhor.
"Thanks to your computer, my mind has been expanded. This is child's play now! Oh no you don't!"
Her head turns towards… A flotilla trying to retreat out of interdiction range. Her left arm waves and their thrusters flare and fail.
"Did you think you could fly into my battle space and not pick up a few spores! Fools!"
"So… This isn't them ganging up on you because you'd pulled a little ahead, an alliance that will fall apart the moment that you're beaten back?"
"No. Not this time. This is their last hurrah before my new fleet puts itself in orbit around their worlds and does as it will. I will seed their biospheres and make prisons of their worlds, and then concern myself with them never again! And then…"
Giant eyes glow.
"Thanagar."
…
Huh.
"I'm going to have to ask that you don't seek Diana out for a rematch."
15:22 GMT
"…out how you were getting on with it?"
The J-ian plant woman in front of me hasn't stopped staring wide-eyed since I landed. In fact, just about everyone I've flown past on my way here stared quite a lot, which… I mean, I like to think that if my kingdom was in the galactic minority and I knew that for a fact, I'd be a lot less surprised when an intelligent being from a different kingdom stopped by for a visit. It should be even less of a big deal when it's a Lantern, since they know for a fact that Lanterns can look like just about anything. Their Sector's current and former Lanterns may have been from J, but the ones before that certainly weren't.
"I say, are you alright?"
"Yes. Yes! I'm perfectly fine. Are you?"
I smile. "Yes, thank you for asking. But-."
"Are you sure? Your… Leaves look… Dead."
I.. blink. "Ah, my species doesn't photosynthesise. This-" I reach up with my right hand and run it through my hair. "-is fur. Keratin, mostly. It's a sort of built-in sunshade for my brain."
…
"Huuuuuuuuh."
"So, the computer?"
"Oh, that's great! We're in the middle of a-." She frowns. "Look, this is… Probably a stupid question, it's a big universe with lots of meat in it, but do you know the person who got it in the first place?"
"Yes." I nod. "It was me."
Her eyes widen. "Rea-?!" Then she calms herself. "Oh. Right. That's why you're checking up on things."
"Yes it is. So?"
"The speed of our computer stems and macro intelligences has increased a thousand fold, and the rollout's been surprisingly simple. The technology is so much like ours, while still being… Different? Alien? Where did you get it?"
"I bought it from an arms dealer, who got it from a stellar civilisation called The Dominion. I'm not sure why they started using plant-based computers; the rest of their technology base is more conventional. It's pretty old by their standards, but I'm glad that you've found it helpful."
I should probably investigate in more detail, because… Pamela hasn't, as far as I can tell. I suppose that her greater focus on plant-based magic means that she doesn't really need plant machines in the same way that the people of J do. And other than bringing himself up to full Alec Holland intelligence I haven't seen any sign that Swamp Thing has either.
"Thank you for bringing it here."
"And how about the people from Alstair?"
"They're… Weird and alien, but…" She stares at me again, then blinks as she realises what she's doing and who she's talking to. "Um."
"I'm familiar with how different our physiologies are."
"Right! Ah, they-. They're similar enough to us that the differences really stand out-. Physically, I mean. But they're good people, hard workers, and… There's been an increase in people being interested in… Mysticism. Magic. Because of how much they use it."
"But no real friction?"
"No, not at all. In fact, some of the researchers, they-." Her bark hardens slightly. "Ah…"
"Say no more. I'll leave you to your work."
I
step out, focusing on the familiar desires of Alstair. There's some sort of blur in the way, but it's easy to
work through-.
Ships burn and break all around me as the four-way war for Antares hots up! I armour up right away and generate construct shields just as the first optimistic volley of flak fire heads in my direction.
Um.
Now, they've been fighting for a very long time. This doesn't mean-.
Incoming message.
…
Answer?
"Hell-"
"Orange Lantern! I am so glad that you're here!"
"-o, Queen Hyathis. Um."
A large and heavily armoured ship from Mosteel wheels out of control in space, some sort of… Lichen? Eating through its hull. Moments later its structural integrity fails completely, exposing the interior structures to space. Including the crew.
"What's happening?"
"I'm winning. I'm finally winning! And I have you to thank for it!"
"The Orange Lantern Corps-."
"Was kind enough to provide me with a trading partner, new and superior computers and weapons. A new generation of ships and a whole new-"
Something takes hold of my construct barriers and turns me around.
"-me."
Hyathis is… A giant. Or at least has created a giant avatar for herself.
She releases me and raises her right arm, hyper velocity seedpods launched from some sort of internal mechanism and smashing into -through in some cases- a destroyer squadron from Dhor.
"Thanks to your computer, my mind has been expanded. This is child's play now! Oh no you don't!"
Her head turns towards… A flotilla trying to retreat out of interdiction range. Her left arm waves and their thrusters flare and fail.
"Did you think you could fly into my battle space and not pick up a few spores! Fools!"
"So… This isn't them ganging up on you because you'd pulled a little ahead, an alliance that will fall apart the moment that you're beaten back?"
"No. Not this time. This is their last hurrah before my new fleet puts itself in orbit around their worlds and does as it will. I will seed their biospheres and make prisons of their worlds, and then concern myself with them never again! And then…"
Giant eyes glow.
"Thanagar."
…
Huh.
"I'm going to have to ask that you don't seek Diana out for a rematch."
Last edited:
Impatient_Quill
Versed in the lewd.
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Some cultures never learned to pay the piper.
Bigking321
Not too sore, are you?
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I don't remember any of these people.
Still enjoying it though.
Still enjoying it though.
Ngamer11
Experienced.
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Assuming we're going to follow up on this, this episode might be about Thanagar and Alstair having to face the fact that they're now equals and agreeing to a peace treaty rather than resort to war. Plus, considering how much plant stuff this will involve, we might finally see what's become of Swamp Thing.
Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
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Oh, they may understand intellectually, but seeing it for real is a different thing. Imagine seeing a plant-person walking around in our real world. A tree that moves like a person, walks about and speaks like a regular human. How strange would that be?
I mean, little rude to just call out her staring at you.
Leaves? Oh, right. J-ians have leaf-like cranial decoration.
Yeah, squishy meat doesn't do the temperature regulation thing as well as wood does.
"Know him? Of course I do! He's me." Would be the perfect time for an Obi-Wan quote.
Yes, quite reasonable. After all, who knows how you're settling in with it. No nasty hidden surprises discovered?
Heh. Somehow, that's exactly what I expect to happen if there's ever an alien ship crash. Scientists will reverse-engineer it, and adapt whatever they can into modern technology...
In Doylist reasons, it probably gives them an interesting 'alien' point, and limits the ability of guys like Batman or Cyborg to hack their computers. I suspect the watsonian reason in a similar kind of 'hard to hack' logic.
Then again, when was the last time you saw him, OL?
Ah, the other big 'plant people planet' out there. because of course OL went 'hey, you two should meet. I bet you'll get on great!'
Amazing how many different ways DC managed to do 'plant person'.
That would be really troublesome, given what happens when you rub two pieces of wood together fast enough...
Ah. I see. Some people enjoy that kind of friction, huh?
Interesting. Blocking technology? Or some sort of mystical interference?
Ah. I'm guessing Altair has tipped the balance of power in their favour, and the others have gone 'stop that!'
That was quick. Was someone expecting him, or are they just really quick off the mark?
It's only polite, especially if it's an ally. If it's one of the others, well, you can always hang up while they drop their threatening monologue.
Ah, that explains that.
Weaponised seed pods and spore missiles, by the looks of it. Impressive display of floraurgy.
Well, somebody's having fun, I see.
Taking to the field herself? She's being overconfident, methinks...
Oh, my. And I'm suddenly reminded of a Transformers Prime fanart of a cybered-up June Darby who turns into a Normandy SR-2.
And that isn't a little concerning at all, no...
That relies on them being able to beat her back down. I don't think that's happening with this sort of display.
Let's not go so far as genocide, huh?
Well, she's having a bit of a power rush. Maybe once she calms down a little she'll realize she's the mouse that roared...
...Not worried she'll poke the sleeping giant and get squashed.
Well, looks like the ripples of OL dropping a small rock in the local ponds are starting to expand. And it looks like they might be crashing into Thanagar as a minor tsunami. Let's hope he doesn't set any more big bombs off, or the galaxy might be in for a bit of rough political weather. Bad weather certain people might take advantage of...