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

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-10T06:10:52+0000

3rd August 2013
10:12 GMT +3

I feel Jade shift slightly in my arms, and then stop. In our current positions she can't quite tell how awake I am, but she knows that if I'm at all awake then I'll see her desire to become active and let go of her. It's-. It was almost routine, before the Anti-Life, and… Feeling her do that, I almost move my arms immediately.

But the thing is… While her sense of professional discipline normally overpowers her lassitude… Right now? She wants to be where she is.

I hadn't fully realised… I mean, I knew that she missed me, but I hadn't quite… Appreciated how much missing me was affecting her behaviour.

Huh.

"I felt your heart rate change."

"Mm."

"I know you're awake."

"Mn."

"Noo, more awake than that."

I pull her slightly closer and breathe in through her hair.

"If you miss smelling me that much I can just leave you my perfume."

"It's not the same."

"Hm. I assume you're holding on because I want to stay right here."

"Yep."

"Uuh. Okay. But in a few minutes I'm going to need to get up."

"They'll be enough hot water. We're basically on the equator."

"No, I mean I'll need to use the bathroom."

Or I could-.

She tenses as she realises that I just thought 'construct catheter' as a serious possibility, and now she actually wants to get up. Silently cursing my own imagination, I roll back slightly and move my left arm. She shuffles away a bit to start with and then pushes herself up into a sitting position, looking down at me.

"You had to ruin it."

I open my eyes, tilt my head back and sigh. "Yeah. Sorry."

She looks around, then realises that I put her clothes on a hanger last night. "Does this place have somewhere to work out?"

"Ah, yes. Bottom level. Just ignore the clones in the tanks."

That earns me a narrow-eyed glance as she puts her bra on. "I thought you moved those."

"No, I upgraded the security and added a self-destruct. I still need them somewhere secure, and I don't have anywhere better. Don't worry; they're in the corner and you won't notice them unless you look for them."

"Oh, I think I will." She considers her Darkstar field uniform. "Did you bring any of my clothes over?"

"No? Do you want me to?"

I don't mention the fact that I can fabricate molecule-perfect replicas. She knows that. If she wanted that, she'd ask for me to do that.

She walks over to the main window to look out across the verdant landscape. "If I'm moving in here, it's probably best."

"You don't have to. I mean, there's nothing wrong with your place in Gotham. Other than the location."

"And the-." She glances back at me. "Did you do anything to it?"

"It looks exactly the same as when you left."

She gives me a flat look. "And it could take a direct hit from a nuclear missile."

"Only if it was very low yield. Ah, if you're worried about clothes, maybe… Kara has something in your size?"

"Kara."

"Yes."

She makes a motion-. I realise that bra is designed for practicality, but it's actually very fetching-.

"Paul?"

"Hm, yes?"

"They wouldn't fit."

"Okay, B-." … "Taranna?"

"I'll make do." She puts on the blouse. "Did you tell Mom I'm back on Earth yet?"

"No. I thought I'd leave deciding how to do that to you."

"I suppose I could just join in with her morning jog."

I nod. "It's what I'd do. Oh-. Um."

"Problem?"

"Alan has told me that he's not completely adverse to dating, but that I'm forbidden from-" She's nodding. "-helping or making suggestions."

"Are you saying I should?"

"Um. No."

She looks at me. I avert my eyes.

"Paul, Alan's ninety."

"He hasn't been on a date for longer than I've been alive. He hasn't been on a date for longer than Paula's been alive."

"That-." She blinks. "No."

"No what?"

Her eyes narrow. "No 'don't even think about it' no."

"Um. Okay?"

"I'm going to go-" I transition out of bed and put my most normal clothes on. "-and do my morning set. Keep not thinking about it."

"I'll try?"

She walks towards the door, pausing briefly to kiss me as she passes.

Okay. Not sure what it is that I'm not supposed to think about, but if it matters to her..?

Ah… Breakfast.

EgyptianDio · 2025-11-10T06:24:54+0000

Paul can sometimes be unnerving with how... unique his thought process is but sometimes he is just adorable.

NightmareWarden · 2025-11-10T06:55:19+0000

I wonder if Jade got a commendation for her work in retrieving the ship Knockout was on.

She hasn't done anything worthy of an award ceremony yet, but there's plenty of time for that. I think getting recognition that even Lanterns appreciate, without Paul's thumb on the scale, could help her longterm development. It could restore some ambition.

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-11-10T06:57:35+0000

Mr Zoat said:
3rd August 2013
10:12 GMT +3

I feel Jade shift slightly in my arms, and then stop. In our current positions she can't quite tell how awake I am, but she knows that if I'm at all awake then I'll see her desire to become active and let go of her. It's-. It was almost routine, before the Anti-Life, and… Feeling her do that, I almost move my arms immediately.

The drawback of empathic abilities and a partner who's a trained assassin with a strong sense of kinaesthetics. Neither of you can just lay back and enjoy still moments because you know they want to do something...

But the thing is… While her sense of professional discipline normally overpowers her lassitude… Right now? She wants to be where she is.

I hadn't fully realised… I mean, I knew that she missed me, but I hadn't quite… Appreciated how much missing me was affecting her behaviour.

To be fair, how often do you two get to just sleep in like this? Usually one or the other of you has stuff to do....

Huh.

"I felt your heart rate change."

See? Expert in kinaesthetic analysis. She can probably tell when you're lying or joking just by watching facial twitches.

"Mm."

"I know you're awake."

This is starting to get like trying to get a little kid up...

"Mn."

"Noo, more awake than that."

I mean, unless you're looking for some 'morning glory', what's the point in getting up?

I pull her slightly closer and breathe in through her hair.

"If you miss smelling me that much I can just leave you my perfume."

No, no, it's not that. It's the intimacy of smelling someone's hair and working out what's their shampoo and what's their actual scent.

"It's not the same."

"Hm. I assume you're holding on because I want to stay right here."

Dang, his genius plan ruined!

"Yep."

"Uuh. Okay. But in a few minutes I'm going to need to get up."

What's the rush, you're technically on holiday leave. I'm sure your team will understand the urge for some human mating practices.

"They'll be enough hot water. We're basically on the equator."

"No, I mean I'll need to use the bathroom."

Or I could-.

OL, don't you even dare think what you're about to...

She tenses as she realises that I just thought 'construct catheter' as a serious possibility, and now she actually wants to get up. Silently cursing my own imagination, I roll back slightly and move my left arm. She shuffles away a bit to start with and then pushes herself up into a sitting position, looking down at me.

It's your own damn fault, you incessant fiddler.

"You had to ruin it."

I open my eyes, tilt my head back and sigh. "Yeah. Sorry."

On the upside, they are so in tune that she can tell what he's thinking and let him know he should feel bad for it.

She looks around, then realises that I put her clothes on a hanger last night. "Does this place have somewhere to work out?"

"Ah, yes. Bottom level. Just ignore the clones in the tanks."

...OL, you didn't really...

That earns me a narrow-eyes glance as she puts her bra on. "I thought you moved those."

"No, I upgraded the security and added a self-destruct. I still need them somewhere secure, and I don't have anywhere better. Don't worry; they're in the corner and you won't notice them unless you look for them."

Are the tanks at least opaque, or able to be covered up? I don't think she wants to do her workout with a half-dozen yous just floating there...

"Oh, I think I will." She considers her Darkstar field uniform. "Did you bring any of my clothes over?"

"No? Do you want me to?"

Ah, good, something he didn't plan in advance.

I don't mention the fact that I can fabricate molecule-perfect replicas. She knows that. If she wanted that, she'd ask for me to do that.

She walks over to the main window to look out across the verdant landscape. "If I'm moving in here, it's probably best."

At least it's a great view. And the scenery is nice. Such lovely hills and valleys...

"You don't have to. I mean, there's nothing wrong with your place in Gotham. Other than the location."

"And the-." She glances back at me. "Did you do anything to it?"

Ah, she knows him so well...

"It looks exactly the same as when you left."

She gives me a flat look. "And it could take a direct hit from a nuclear missile."

...Well enough to know that when he resorts to exact words like that, he got carried away.

"Only if it was very low yield. Ah, if you're worried about clothes, maybe… Kara has something in your size?"

"Kara."

"Yes."

The gene-tailored super-teen who casually looks like a runway model without trying?

She makes a motion-. I realise that bra is designed for practicality, but it's actually very fetching-.

"Paul?"

And remember, Kara Zor-Els usually grow up into Power Girls. Kryptonian DNA is an absolute wonder.

"Hm, yes?"

"They wouldn't fit."

Jade being a mere mortal and most definitely embodying the athletic Asiatic female form...

"Okay, B-." … "Taranna?"

"I'll make do." She puts on the blouse. "Did you tell Mom I'm back on Earth yet?"

I expect most of Taranna's stuff is either traditional clothing or Earth clothes she's taken a shine to. Not necessarily comfortable things, though?

"No. I thought I'd leave deciding how to do that to you."

"I suppose I could just join in with her morning jog."

And you know she'd just roll with it like it was nothing out of the ordinary.

I nod. "It's what I'd do. Oh-. Um."

"Problem?"

Oh, boy. What's OL getting up to this time?

"Alan has told me that he's not completely adverse to dating, but that I'm forbidden from-" She's nodding. "-helping or making suggestions."

"Are you saying I should?"

OL, if Alan has said he's not interested in dating anyone right now, accept that. And quietly hope Diana gets fed up and snags him.

"Um. No."

She looks at me. I avert my eyes.

Like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Paul, Alan's ninety."

"He hasn't been on a date for longer than I've been alive. He hasn't been on a date for longer than Paula's been alive."

...Wait, are you suggesting...

"That-." She blinks. "No."

"No what?"

Yeah, that's my reaction too.

Her eyes narrow. "No 'don't even think about it' no."

"Um. Okay?"

Don't act confused, OL, you do realise you basically suggested setting her mom up with your mentor who's literally twice her age.

"I'm going to go-" I transition out of bed and put my most normal clothes on. "-and do my morning set. Keep not thinking about it."

"I'll try?"

And maybe he'll realise what he's not meant to be thinking about...

She walks towards the door, pausing briefly to kiss me as she passes.

Okay. Not sure what it is that I'm not supposed to think about, but if it matters to her..?

Ah… Breakfast.

How can one man be so dense and so canny simultaneously?

Honestly, these two are a great couple, as long as jade can restrain her urge to kill him sometimes. Especially when he gets into that state of 'fix/do/get a thing before you even say anything out loud about it.' I get the feeling if they lived together like this all the time, he'd wake up in a clone after pushing her just a little too far...

Silverias · 2025-11-10T07:01:19+0000

OL you can literally transmute clothing for her with a thought. Come on.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-10T08:36:12+0000

Silverias said:
OL you can literally transmute clothing for her with a thought. Come on.

Mr Zoat said:
I don't mention the fact that I can fabricate molecule-perfect replicas. She knows that. If she wanted that, she'd ask for me to do that.

Duke Long · 2025-11-10T10:22:51+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Or I could-.

She tenses as she realises that I just thought 'construct catheter' as a serious possibility, and now she actually wants to get up. Silently cursing my own imagination, I roll back slightly and move my left arm. She shuffles away a bit to start with and then pushes herself up into a sitting position, looking down at me.

I… suppose the ring could deaden nerves to make it unnoticeable? Or is having a catheter put in much less uncomfortable for women than men?

Mr Zoat said:
"Ah, yes. Bottom level. Just ignore the clones in the tanks."

That earns me a narrow-eyes glance as she puts her bra on. "I thought you moved those."

'narrow-eyed'

Mr Zoat said:
She walks over to the main window the look out across the verdant landscape. "If I'm moving in here, it's probably best."

'to'

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-10T12:25:24+0000

Duke Long said:
I… suppose the ring could deaden nerves to make it unnoticeable? Or is having a catheter put in much less uncomfortable for women than men?

Even the SI has enough social awareness to realise that the solution to 'my girlfriend doesn't want a cathater put it so that we can snuggle longer' is not 'put it in really sneakily'.

'narrow-eyed'
'to'

Thank you, corrected.

AverusBlack · 2025-11-10T13:03:37+0000

Genuine question, Paul is still at the outpost in the desert, yeah? The one that got raided by the Justifiers?

In the past we've seen repeated demonstrations of Paul's fixation on security. Each time the mountain got raided, he made significant upgrades and turned the facility into a fortress, more or less. The Bir Tawil facility is out in open desert (I think?) and thus exposed on all sides. So how come Paul hasn't just said to hell with that place and ring-constructed a citadel someplace of his own, out of the way? It seems a little odd to me that he's just more or less fixed the door and upgraded the security on the clones and shrugged about the rest when for him, it would be simplicity itself to just build a properly secure facility somewhere. Anywhere. Even offplanet. Paul is literally capable of just giving Earth a new moon in the form of an asteroid in a stable orbit and living on it. There's so many options, why stick to this one little place he just happens to have?

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-10T13:09:32+0000

AverusBlack said:
Genuine question, Paul is still at the outpost in the desert, yeah? The one that got raided by the Justifiers?

In the past we've seen repeated demonstrations of Paul's fixation on security. Each time the mountain got raided, he made significant upgrades and turned the facility into a fortress, more or less. The Bir Tawil facility is out in open desert (I think?) and thus exposed on all sides. So how come Paul hasn't just said to hell with that place and ring-constructed a citadel someplace of his own, out of the way? It seems a little odd to me that he's just more or less fixed the door and upgraded the security on the clones and shrugged about the rest when for him, it would be simplicity itself to just build a properly secure facility somewhere. Anywhere. Even offplanet. Paul is literally capable of just giving Earth a new moon in the form of an asteroid in a stable orbit and living on it. There's so many options, why stick to this one little place he just happens to have?

It isn't a desert any longer. By now, Adrianna's work in regreening North Africa has turned the area green. It also has quite a lot of defences in the way of sensor networks, force fields, armour and automated drone weapons. They're just tucked out of the way because it's primarily a residence and not a battle fortress.

Old Knife · 2025-11-10T14:04:00+0000

Duke Long said:
I… suppose the ring could deaden nerves to make it unnoticeable? Or is having a catheter put in much less uncomfortable for women than men?

The problem is that it's invasive, not because it's uncomfortable.

His best option would have been to float her to the bathroom. And bring her back when done.

AverusBlack · 2025-11-10T14:23:11+0000

Mr Zoat said:
It isn't a desert any longer. By now, Adrianna's work in regreening North Africa has turned the area green. It also has quite a lot of defences in the way of sensor networks, force fields, armour and automated drone weapons. They're just tucked out of the way because it's primarily a residence and not a battle fortress.

I just wondered, mainly cuz he seemed really concerned about keeping the mountain locked down tight. If it was me in his position I'd have done what the League did and built my own station someplace that isn't near Earth, but in the Sol system. Or just built myself a spaceship and live in it. It's a lot harder to ambush someone in their bed when their bed is in a space station orbiting Jupiter or something.

I had this vague idea of wondering where the line of 'Pauls house' and "LEGION operational facility" is, which led me to wondering whether he's got to billet any LEGION staff in Sol with him, which led me to wondering about that.

boo600 · 2025-11-10T15:02:43+0000

I suppose he was suggesting that he set Alan up with either Paula... or her (Paula's) mother.

I'm still not sure what Jade thought he was suggesting, though. I doubt that even she thinks that Paul would recommend that Jade date Alan. For flip's sake, he specifically stated that Alan hadn't dated for longer than her mother was alive; that's not a statement he'd make if he was trying to set Alan up with Paula (or Jade).

Jankl · 2025-11-10T16:56:47+0000

boo600 said:
I suppose he was suggesting that he set Alan up with either Paula... or her mother.

I'm still not sure what Jade thought he was suggesting, though. I doubt that even she thinks that Paul would recommend that Jade date Alan. For flip's sake, he specifically stated that Alan hadn't dated for longer than her mother was alive; that's not a statement he'd make if he was trying to set Alan up with Paula (or Jade).

Paula is jade's mom, right? And I thought Paul was asking Jade to set up her mom and Alan.

Duke Long · 2025-11-10T18:28:53+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Even the SI has enough social awareness to realise that the solution to 'my girlfriend doesn't want a cathater put it so that we can snuggle longer' is not 'put it in really sneakily'.

No, no, I was trying to imagine how he could think for even a moment that inserting a catheter wouldn't ruin the mood, because I've had it done while conscious and it was very uncomfortable.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-10T20:00:55+0000

AverusBlack said:
I just wondered, mainly cuz he seemed really concerned about keeping the mountain locked down tight. If it was me in his position I'd have done what the League did and built my own station someplace that isn't near Earth, but in the Sol system. Or just built myself a spaceship and live in it. It's a lot harder to ambush someone in their bed when their bed is in a space station orbiting Jupiter or something.

I had this vague idea of wondering where the line of 'Pauls house' and "LEGION operational facility" is, which led me to wondering whether he's got to billet any LEGION staff in Sol with him, which led me to wondering about that.

The League didn't build anything. The Green Lantern Corps gave them an old Sector House.

Batman might have build his control centre. The SI doesn't know for certain, but doubts it.

There are currently no LEGION assets in Sol, and he couldn't really justify using them because Earth isn't a member and there's no Reach presence in Sol.

boo600 said:
I suppose he was suggesting that he set Alan up with either Paula... or her mother.

I'm still not sure what Jade thought he was suggesting, though. I doubt that even she thinks that Paul would recommend that Jade date Alan. For flip's sake, he specifically stated that Alan hadn't dated for longer than her mother was alive; that's not a statement he'd make if he was trying to set Alan up with Paula (or Jade).

No. In his mind those were separate things. He merely wanted something to compare the length of time Alan hasn't dated for to. He was confused because Jade linked the two ideas and he hadn't.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-11T06:17:58+0000

3rd August 2013
09:19 GMT

I look into the meeting room with growing horror.

"Is that..? It?"

8. 8 members of Amalak's species. I knew-.

"No. Things aren't quite that bad. These are representatives of the communities of survivors. From our neighbours who offered sanctuary, from the Crown Imperium who wanted low cost peasants to lord it over, from those who settled in Vega-." I raise my eyebrows. "Did you think I was unique?"

"No, but if I had the choice of living in Vega and living anywhere else…"

His smile grows thin. "Who mentioned 'choice'? Vega's slavers are not known for being discriminating, and my people had little ability to defend themselves."

"Ah." I nod. "And now?"

"All those I know of are now free, and Vega is more… Civil. Have you been keeping track of recent developments?"

"I read reports from Lantern Koriand'r and Lantern Komand'r, though Koriand'r is a little unfocused and I suspect that Komand'r is deliberately not telling me things."

'Unfocused' might not be the right term. Koriand'r writes perfectly cromulent reports, but they're almost entirely lacking in context. I get a blow by blow on the pirates she fought or the trade negotiations she engages in, but nothing about why it's happening. But as long as Vega's ticking over, I suppose I can live with it. Adam Blake is a good man. Since I don't have any plans for the region now that it's been de-evilified, I'm content to let him rebuild in whatever way he thinks best. Komand'r's obviously up to something, but again, that's not something I have a problem with. So long as it's in her best interest to make herself useful, she will, and it is.

"I'm a little surprised at how trusting you're being. Power rings are fairly powerful."

"If you had a significant problem with what they're doing I'm sure that you would have told me. Do you?"

"No, not at all." He look away for a moment. "It's amazing how much progress overwhelming power can bring in a relatively short space of time."

"I think it's more about how much power was required to prevent it from correcting-"

"Not-Daddy!"

"-itself-?"

I look around as Princess scuttles towards me down the corridor. She's grown larger since I last saw her, and-.

She cringes with embarrassment, indicating her enlarged thorax with her arms as she reaches us. "Do you like it? I know I look at lot like Mum…"

"Rather than me?"

"Yeaaaah."

I look her over again, and give her a ring-scan just to be on the safe side. Yes, she does take after her mother in general underlying form, but I can see plenty of differences where she's tailored things to be more palatable to other species. Her body fur is far thicker than any natural Guilder and.. appears designed to imply the presence of mammaries.

I can feel myself disapproving.

The fur generally softens the hard edges of her carapace which mammalian species find disturbing. It also distracts from the arrangement of her mouthparts, which are basically the same as those of normal Guilders.

"Did you moult, or did the Queen transfer your consciousness to a new body?"

"I've moulted… Three times since last time you saw me. I'm a big girl now!"

I smile fondly. "And just as good at emotional manipulation as you were designed to be. Well done."

She uses her secondary arms to shrug winsomely. She's about the mass of a normal Guilder now, though her body plan is significantly different.

"Does it work on the Guilders?"

"They all think I'm an idiot they have to put up with. So they don't get annoyed with me, but they keep obeying me. In a few years they'll be fully acculturated, and doing what I say will seem completely natural. And then I can help you conquer the rest of the Guild."

I extend my right hand and pat her on the head. "Good girl."

Her pedipalps twitch in pleasure, but still maintain enough coverage to obscure her chelicerae. Which aren't furry.

Amalak nods. "Shall we, then?"

I nod, and Princess and I follow him inside-.

To be greeted with deafening foot-stomping and fist pounding, as they give vent to their overwhelming desire for retribution! Amalak nods as he takes his position at the head of the table, while Princess takes a nervous scuttle-step away from the noise. I take a seat next to Amalak while Princess settles for lurking just behind us.

The pounding and stomping continues until Amalak raises his right hand, and then stops almost at once.

"Friends." His breathing is actually a little ragged. "My friends… We are close. Close to a revenge on the man… A revenge I'd given up on. Within days we will get the opportunity to look General Dru-Zod in the eye as he's made to answer for what did to our people. All that remains is to work out how justice will be enacted."

"There is… One other matter." He tilts his head towards me, clearly not happy at me butting in. "While I was arranging matters, I stopped in on your home system to surveil the damage myself. I forwarded my geophysics scans to my colleague Lantern Mother of Mercy, and she believes that she could significantly reduce the time until geological stability is restored."

Amalak's eyes widen slightly. "How much..?"

"Down to a couple of months. It wouldn't actually be habitable at that point; you'd need to almost completely rebuild the ecosystem. But the volcanoes would stop erupting, the rents in the crust would be filled in and the earthquakes would be greatly reduced. And the air would be clear, if not safe to breathe. Assuming that you all agree, she can be in the system within five days."

The ones who aren't stupefied are making nod-equivalent gestures, but I wait until Amalak does the same before nodding.

"I'll send her the message after the meeting. Be warned… If you're planning to make the journey yourselves to witness the trial, Lantern Mother of Mercy is a macroscopic life form, and takes her home planet with her when she travels."

Amalak nods again. "We won't complain. Now, I understand that the Xudarian government wants more information on how our peoples' trials were conducted?"

"They've accepted in principle that the trial will be conducted in accordance with your law, but for obvious reasons none of their judges know how that works."

One of the older men makes a gesture of acknowledgement. "Evacuating jurists wasn't a priority. We have a few people who worked in the legal profession, and we were able to preserve a lot of our government records. We have people who can advise the Xudarians, but no one who could conduct the trial themselves."

"Okay. if you can put them on notice, I will convey them to Xudar at their earliest convenience."

"I will do so."

Amalak smiles faintly. "Good. Next: witness testimony and physical evidence…"

Darko · 2025-11-11T06:24:56+0000

Mr Zoat said:
she will, and it is.

Add a " at the end.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-11T06:32:57+0000

Darko said:
Add a " at the end.

Why?

timeForced · 2025-11-11T06:34:04+0000

I was half expecting "trial by combat at full combat ability."

genkumon · 2025-11-11T06:35:22+0000

Good to see Princess again. Everyone's favorite kawaii xenospider.

RichardWhereat · 2025-11-11T06:42:38+0000

genkumon said:
Good to see Princess again. Everyone's favorite kawaii xenospider.

She is adorable, but the queen.. the way the Zoat Stand-In was fisting her. That was kawaii too.

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-11-11T07:22:39+0000

Mr Zoat said:
3rd August 2013
09:19 GMT

I look into the meeting room with growing horror.

"Is that..? It?"

8. 8 members of Amalak's species. I knew-.

It surely can't be that few left. Just the typical number of ships in orbit would have been crewed by hundreds. And if the Kryptonian bombardment only hit one part of the planet, the rest could have been evacuated.

"No. Things aren't quite that bad. These are representatives of the communities of survivors. From our neighbours who offered sanctuary, from the Crown Imperium who wanted low cost peasants to lord it over, from those who settled in Vega-." I raise my eyebrows. "Did you think I was unique?"

See? The bombardment resulted in a diaspora of Amalak's people. To be expected when your planet gets reduced to a burning cinder.

"No, but if I had the choice of living in Vega and living anywhere else…"

His smile grows thin. "Who mentioned 'choice'? Vega's slavers are not known for being discriminating, and my people had little ability to defend themselves."

Ah. So Amalak earned his title the hard way. The Klingon way. One rank at a time...

"Ah." I nod. "And now?"

"All those I know of are now free, and Vega is more… Civil. Have you been keeping track of recent developments?"

"I read reports from Lantern Koriand'r and Lantern Komand'r, thought Koriand'r is a little unfocused and I suspect that Komand'r is deliberately not telling me things."

Exactly what I'd expect from those two, really. But at least they seem to be keeping the fragile peace together.

'Unfocused' might not be the right term. Koriand'r writes perfectly cromulent reports, but they're almost entirely lacking in context. I get a blow by blow on the pirates she fought or the trade negotiations she engages in, but nothing about why it's happening. But as long as Vega's ticking over, I suppose I can live with it. Adam Blake is a good man. Since I don't have any plans for the region now that it's been de-evilified, I'm content to let him rebuild in whatever way he thinks best. Komand'r's obviously up to something, but again, that's not something I have a problem with. So long as it's in her best interest to make herself useful, she will, and it is.

I doubt training in report writing would help Kori. She really doesn't seem the sort to worry about paperwork. Komie is probably making plans to conquer the place.

"I'm a little surprised at how trusting you're being. Power rings are fairly powerful."

"If you had a significant problem with what they're doing I'm sure that you would have told me. Do you?"

Besides, he can turn a Lantern's Power Ring off casually. If they go off reservation, he can stop them without too much trouble.

"No, not at all." He look away for a moment. "It's amazing how much progress overwhelming power can bring in a relatively short space of time."

"I think it's more about how much power was required to prevent it from correcting-"

Instability does seem to be the natural state of Vega. With an unhealthy dose of 'Ruling through strength' and casual crime.

"Not-Daddy!"

"-itself-?"

I look around as Princess scuttles towards me down the corridor. She's grown larger since I last saw her, and-.

Ah, a perfect chance to catch up!

She cringes with embarrassment, indicating her enlarged thorax with her arms as she reaches us. "Do you like it? I know I look at lot like Mum…"

"Rather than me?"

"Yeaaaah."

At least she's still small enough to not seem threatening?

I look her over again, and give her a ring-scan just to be on the safe side. Yes, she does take after her mother in general underlying form, but I can see plenty of differences where she's tailored things to be more palatable to other species. Her body fur is far thicker than any natural Guilder and.. appears designed to imply the presence of mammaries.

Fluffy baps? Sounds cute. Hopefully no-one gets the wrong idea and has their own spiracle-probing incident..

I can feel myself disapproving.

The fur generally softens the hard edges of her carapace which mammalian species find disturbing. It also distracts from the arrangement of her mouthparts, which are basically the same as those of normal Guilders.

But is soft and fluffy enough not to trigger arachnophobia? I'm sure the Queen made sure of that.

"Did you moult, or did the Queen transfer your consciousness to a new body?"

"I've moulted… Three times since last time you saw me. I'm a big girl now!"

To be fair, Spider Guilders do develop rapidly, so a mere year and change can be a long time for their growth?

I smile fondly. "And just as good at emotional manipulation as you were designed to be. Well done."

She uses her secondary arms to shrug winsomely. She's about the mass of a normal Guilder now, though her body plan is significantly different.

So she's much more humanoid, of course? Only two legs for walking, unless they split somehow.

"Does it work on the Guilders?"

"They all think I'm an idiot they have to put up with. So they don't get annoyed with me, but they keep obeying me. In a few years they'll be fully acculturated, and doing what I say will seem completely natural. And then I can help you conquer the rest of the Guild."

At least on their part it's programmed pheromonal behaviour. And such a good girl to help 'daddy' out like that.

I extend my right hand and pat her on the head. "Good girl."

Her pedipalps twitch in pleasure, but still maintain enough coverage to obscure her chelicerae. Which aren't furry.

And now I picture her with a pointed little anime-girl chin that splits open to reveal way too many spikes and fangs.

Amalak nods. "Shall we, then?"

I nod, and Princess and I follow him inside-.

Good, you have been keeping the rest of them waiting.

To be greeted with deafening foot-stomping and fist pounding, as they give vent to their overwhelming desire for retribution! Amalak nods as he takes his position at the head of the table, while Princess takes a nervous scuttle-step away from the noise. I take a seat next to Amalak while Princess settles for lurking just behind us.

A rowdy people. Though understandable, given the importance of this moment.

The pounding and stomping continues until Amalak raises his right hand, and then stops almost at once.

"Friends." His breathing is actually a little ragged. "My friends… We are close. Close to a revenge on the man… A revenge I'd given up on. Within days we will get the opportunity to look General Dru-Zod in the eye as he's made to answer for what did to our people. All that remains is to work out how justice will be enacted."

And I bet that eager Red feeling is shared by a lot of them.

"There is… One other matter." He tilts his head towards me, clearly not happy at me butting in. "While I was arranging matters, I stopped in on your home system to surveil the damage myself. I forwarded my geophysics scans to my colleague Lantern Mother of Mercy, and she believes that she could significantly reduced the time until geological stability is restored."

Oooh, good news for them!

Amalak's eyes widen slightly. "How much..?"

"Down to a couple of months. It wouldn't actually be habitable at that point; you'd need to almost completely rebuild the ecosystem. But the volcanoes would stop erupting, the rents in the crust would be filled in and the earthquakes would be greatly reduced. And the air would be clear, if not safe to breathe. Assuming that you all agree, she can be in the system within five days."

And Maltus can help with that, if they have some measure of samples of the wildlife. Or they can craft entirely new species.

The ones who aren't stupefied are making nod-equivalent gestures, but I wait until Amalak does the same before nodding.

"I'll send her the message after the meeting. Be warned… If you're planning to make the journey yourselves to witness the trial, Lantern Mother of Mercy is a macroscopic life form, and takes her home planet with her when she travels."

That would be a hell of a ride. Imagine the sky when she's in FTL...

Amalak nods again. "We won't complain. Now, I understand that the Xudarian government wants more information on how our peoples' trials were conducted?"

"They've accepted in principle that the trial will be conducted in accordance with your law, but for obvious reasons none of their judges know how that works."

Good. Now to actually get those laws handed over...

One of the older men makes a gesture of acknowledgement. "Evacuating jurists wasn't a priority. We have a few people who worked in the legal profession, and we were able to preserve a lot of our government records. We have people who can advise the Xudarians, but no one who could conduct the trial themselves."

So it'll become a joint effort. It does sound like juries were made of people specifically trained to stand judgement, rather than randomly-selected citizens.

"Okay. if you can put them on notice, I will convey them to Xudar at their earliest convenience."

"I will do so."

Amalak smiles faintly. "Good. Next: witness testimony and physical evidence…"

Ah, good, the real meat of the matter.

At least things went smoothly with the community leaders so far. No hard feelings about OL's involvement, since he got them this chance. It was fun to see Princess so mature. I take it she's sitting in on leadership councils beside the Queen to learn the ins and outs that genetic programming can't teach her. A much-needed thing for a future ruler...

Signaller · 2025-11-11T08:07:53+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Be warned… If you're planning to make the journey yourselves to witness the trial, Lantern Mother of Mercy is a macroscopic life form, and takes her home planet with her when she travels."

He can learn!

Duke Long · 2025-11-11T09:20:19+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"I read reports from Lantern Koriand'r and Lantern Komand'r, thought Koriand'r is a little unfocused and I suspect that Komand'r is deliberately not telling me things."

'though'

Mr Zoat said:
"They all think I'm an idiot they have to put up with. So they don't get annoyed with me, but they keep obeying me. In a few years they'll be fully acculturated, and doing what I say will seem completely natural. And then I can help you conquer the rest of the Guild."

I don't understand the second sentence. I'd think they would get annoyed if they think she's an idiot.

Mr Zoat said:
"There is… One other matter." He tilts his head towards me, clearly not happy at me butting in. "While I was arranging matters, I stopped in on your home system to surveil the damage myself. I forwarded my geophysics scans to my colleague Lantern Mother of Mercy, and she believes that she could significantly reduced the time until geological stability is restored."

'reduce'

m_d · 2025-11-11T09:32:20+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Evacuating jurists wasn't a priority. We have a few people who worked in the legal profession, and we were able to preserve a lot of our government records. We have people who can advise the Xudarians, but no one who could conduct the trial themselves."

Chojin Patriarch said:
So it'll become a joint effort. It does sound like juries were made of people specifically trained to stand judgement, rather than randomly-selected citizens.

In English where I live, the term 'jurist' (i.e.: a person who has made a significant professional study of law, where the root of it is 'jur', which is from latin for law, followed by '-ist', for someone whose expertise lies there. Think like dentist.) is typically applied to judges and lawyers. It isn't usually applied to jury members, except in very specific unconventional juries.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-11T13:19:28+0000

Duke Long said:
'though'
'reduce'

Thank you, corrected.

I don't understand the second sentence. I'd think they would get annoyed if they think she's an idiot.

The local Guilders know that if they act up, they're all dead. Getting orders from someone they can dismiss as a fool they have to put up with generates less resistance, because it's obviously not her fault that she's making them live like this.

Clell65619 · 2025-11-11T14:54:58+0000

Mr Zoat said:
the rents in the crust would be filled in and the earthquakes

It's not Earth, so maybe just quakes? Or is the ring translating?

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-11T16:54:01+0000

Clell65619 said:
It's not Earth, so maybe just quakes? Or is the ring translating?

'Earth' as in 'ground', not 'Earth' as in 'Earth'.

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

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