Mr Zoat
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Why is using the number wrong?
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
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LZB1285
Know what you're doing yet?
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Possibly because 'Absolute zero' is a name?
Graeme
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
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As @LZB1285 says because it's a name, and the name is "absolute zero" not "absolute 0". I have literally never seen "absolute 0" used in reference to it until this thread, and quickly trying to google "absolute 0" just redirects to "absolute zero". Whilst clearly it's your story and you can do whatever you wish, you are out on your own with this (which, admittedly, has never stopped you before!)
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Replanting (part 17)
New
Mr Zoat
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8th September 2013
10:43 GMT
They look so tiny, from this far away.
In reality, they're… Not.
While not as big as, say, the Absolute Dominion, Thanagarian Command Carriers are just about the biggest ships I've seen anywhere else. Certainly the biggest that are in continual production. Good armour, good shields, good speed for their mass thanks to the Nth metal, decent primary weapons, good secondary weapons and a huge internal space packed with every sort of attack craft you could think of. They've got interceptors, void fighters, void attack craft, void torpedo boats, assault shuttles, boarding pods, aerofighters, aerobombers, reconnaissance craft and E.C.M. boats. And most types are capable of faster than light travel on their own, because their standard tactic involves having a carrier in one system and using it as a base station from which they strike out at next few systems in any direction.
I watch as all twelve of them launch reconnaissance craft.
That's a big commitment of force. About a quarter of the Empire's total fleet, if my information is up to date. Big enough that Thanagar would actually be in trouble if I notified their neighbours in other directions, because they're not exactly popular with the people they've made it clear that they intend to conquer outright. I was only expecting six, or maybe eight.
"That's a lot of ships."
"It'll be informative, how conservative they are with their positioning."
Thanagarians have excellent three dimensional awareness. Their fighters and interceptors love to use obstacles to set up rolling ambushes, and in a fleet action that usually means using their own carrier. Feign flight around its hull, lure the enemy into chasing you, and have another squadron coming around in the other direction to meet them. But carriers are a major investment. Between the cost of the ships and the experience of the crews, losing even one can set back their fleet deployments significantly. If they're suspicious here, they might well park them right on the interdiction line and-.
The carriers light up their engines and blast forward at full acceleration.
"They're all-in."
Their reconnaissance craft have far better acceleration; they're basically just engines and sensor packages with no manoeuvrability, shields or armour. They'll probably try to fly through the system and out the other side, with dedicated bleed fracture pulse transmitters sending everything back to the analysis teams on their motherships. I don't think that Antares has anything that can intercept them, unless they can put something along their flight path and then completely fluke a shot.
Actually having to deal with regular physics can make space combat quite hard.
On the other hand, if something actually does catch them, then they're dead.
"Are the Blades of Alstair here?"
Uh… "Not that I can see. And their command ship wouldn't be a match for a modern Command Carrier."
"Could they get some sort of stealth system you couldn't see through?"
"Could they? It's just about possible. Wombworld was glassed from orbit but there are probably a few pieces of psion technology around the place. But they've been spending most of their time on Tamaran and Tamaran doesn't have that technology."
"So where are they?"
"Depending on how long Blackfire waited to tell me, they could still be on their way back. Or flying to another contract."
"Do you really think-?"
"No." Hm, what's that over-? "Oh."
"The cloud near Alstair."
I nod. "Space spores. Area denial." On a scale that's actually significant. That's a lot of spores. Trillions-. No, quadrillions of the things. At least. "They don't really have fighters designed to cope with that. They'll need their primary weapons, and they're probably modifying them for dispersed fire now."
"So if it's a trap, it's going to work."
"Yes indeed. Ring, contact Dhor."
"Compliance."
Unlike Alstair, Dhor should have someone-.
A bug-eyed sharp-nosed face appears before me. "Orange Lantern. I am Delon Ma. What do you want?"
"Someone used a gamma gong controlled agent on Thanagar to try to assassinate me. I'm.. having a little difficulty in working out who it was."
"Heh. And you want me to confess?"
"It would clear things up for me."
"Gamma gongs are a strategic resource, to be used to defend Dhor from invasion. We don't have enough of them to send them off to worlds that are already the enemies of our enemies."
"You have enough to send one to my homeworld."
"Your homeworld was a poorly defended high-value target, and responsible for the defeat of my predecessor as Delon. We tried, and we lost a gong that we cannot replace."
"What, you can't afford it?"
"We cannot get the materials required. Several of the metals required to make the alloy the gong is composed of can't be found on Dhor. So if the assassin used a gong, it was not made by us."
"Who else knows how to make them?"
"Your world now has two gongs. Do you have enemies at home, Orange Lantern?"
"Not ones that can easily get to Thanagar. If the metals can't be found on Dhor, where do you get them from?"
"Raiding Mosteel. Last time we attempted to capture more, the death toll crippled our fleets for decades."
"Do the people of Mosteel know how to make gamma gongs?"
"Perhaps. They are naturally moving pieces of metal. It may well be that the mechanism by which the gong works is commonly used by all parts of their ecosystem. Now clear this channel: I have a war to fight."
His face vanishes.
"Did you really think they were just going to admit to it?"
"Probably not. But he's got a point: we've got no idea how gamma gongs work. Or how sophonts made purely of metal work."
"Magic?"
"No, we tested for that. It's almost certainly one of those exotic physics things. I-."
"I'm being hailed by the Thanagarian fleet."
"Well, put them on."
"Private vessel, this is a war zone. Leave at once. This will be your only warning."
"We'll make it clear that we're not Bleez when we get back. For now, I think we need to visit Mosteel."
10:43 GMT
They look so tiny, from this far away.
In reality, they're… Not.
While not as big as, say, the Absolute Dominion, Thanagarian Command Carriers are just about the biggest ships I've seen anywhere else. Certainly the biggest that are in continual production. Good armour, good shields, good speed for their mass thanks to the Nth metal, decent primary weapons, good secondary weapons and a huge internal space packed with every sort of attack craft you could think of. They've got interceptors, void fighters, void attack craft, void torpedo boats, assault shuttles, boarding pods, aerofighters, aerobombers, reconnaissance craft and E.C.M. boats. And most types are capable of faster than light travel on their own, because their standard tactic involves having a carrier in one system and using it as a base station from which they strike out at next few systems in any direction.
I watch as all twelve of them launch reconnaissance craft.
That's a big commitment of force. About a quarter of the Empire's total fleet, if my information is up to date. Big enough that Thanagar would actually be in trouble if I notified their neighbours in other directions, because they're not exactly popular with the people they've made it clear that they intend to conquer outright. I was only expecting six, or maybe eight.
"That's a lot of ships."
"It'll be informative, how conservative they are with their positioning."
Thanagarians have excellent three dimensional awareness. Their fighters and interceptors love to use obstacles to set up rolling ambushes, and in a fleet action that usually means using their own carrier. Feign flight around its hull, lure the enemy into chasing you, and have another squadron coming around in the other direction to meet them. But carriers are a major investment. Between the cost of the ships and the experience of the crews, losing even one can set back their fleet deployments significantly. If they're suspicious here, they might well park them right on the interdiction line and-.
The carriers light up their engines and blast forward at full acceleration.
"They're all-in."
Their reconnaissance craft have far better acceleration; they're basically just engines and sensor packages with no manoeuvrability, shields or armour. They'll probably try to fly through the system and out the other side, with dedicated bleed fracture pulse transmitters sending everything back to the analysis teams on their motherships. I don't think that Antares has anything that can intercept them, unless they can put something along their flight path and then completely fluke a shot.
Actually having to deal with regular physics can make space combat quite hard.
On the other hand, if something actually does catch them, then they're dead.
"Are the Blades of Alstair here?"
Uh… "Not that I can see. And their command ship wouldn't be a match for a modern Command Carrier."
"Could they get some sort of stealth system you couldn't see through?"
"Could they? It's just about possible. Wombworld was glassed from orbit but there are probably a few pieces of psion technology around the place. But they've been spending most of their time on Tamaran and Tamaran doesn't have that technology."
"So where are they?"
"Depending on how long Blackfire waited to tell me, they could still be on their way back. Or flying to another contract."
"Do you really think-?"
"No." Hm, what's that over-? "Oh."
"The cloud near Alstair."
I nod. "Space spores. Area denial." On a scale that's actually significant. That's a lot of spores. Trillions-. No, quadrillions of the things. At least. "They don't really have fighters designed to cope with that. They'll need their primary weapons, and they're probably modifying them for dispersed fire now."
"So if it's a trap, it's going to work."
"Yes indeed. Ring, contact Dhor."
"Compliance."
Unlike Alstair, Dhor should have someone-.
A bug-eyed sharp-nosed face appears before me. "Orange Lantern. I am Delon Ma. What do you want?"
"Someone used a gamma gong controlled agent on Thanagar to try to assassinate me. I'm.. having a little difficulty in working out who it was."
"Heh. And you want me to confess?"
"It would clear things up for me."
"Gamma gongs are a strategic resource, to be used to defend Dhor from invasion. We don't have enough of them to send them off to worlds that are already the enemies of our enemies."
"You have enough to send one to my homeworld."
"Your homeworld was a poorly defended high-value target, and responsible for the defeat of my predecessor as Delon. We tried, and we lost a gong that we cannot replace."
"What, you can't afford it?"
"We cannot get the materials required. Several of the metals required to make the alloy the gong is composed of can't be found on Dhor. So if the assassin used a gong, it was not made by us."
"Who else knows how to make them?"
"Your world now has two gongs. Do you have enemies at home, Orange Lantern?"
"Not ones that can easily get to Thanagar. If the metals can't be found on Dhor, where do you get them from?"
"Raiding Mosteel. Last time we attempted to capture more, the death toll crippled our fleets for decades."
"Do the people of Mosteel know how to make gamma gongs?"
"Perhaps. They are naturally moving pieces of metal. It may well be that the mechanism by which the gong works is commonly used by all parts of their ecosystem. Now clear this channel: I have a war to fight."
His face vanishes.
"Did you really think they were just going to admit to it?"
"Probably not. But he's got a point: we've got no idea how gamma gongs work. Or how sophonts made purely of metal work."
"Magic?"
"No, we tested for that. It's almost certainly one of those exotic physics things. I-."
"I'm being hailed by the Thanagarian fleet."
"Well, put them on."
"Private vessel, this is a war zone. Leave at once. This will be your only warning."
"We'll make it clear that we're not Bleez when we get back. For now, I think we need to visit Mosteel."
Last edited:
Darko
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Those Free Lancers were selling supervillain tech to aliens, so maybe someone from Earth got their hands on a gong and figured out how to replicate it.
The Light is the most likely culprit.
Several of them do have beef with Paul and would like to see him gone.
Not to mention that selling villain tech would prove to the galaxy that they can provide powerful weapons and give them a foothold if they plan on selling metahumans like they did in canon.
Not to mention that if Thanagar is at war then they may want to buy things that can give them an edge, and a war is likely to cost the Thanagarians a lot, so if the Light is eventually planning to go galactic then having their most powerful neighbor be weakened would be beneficial to them.
Though it could also be the Reach.
They are experts at mind control, can get their agents to infiltrate several places, and they know that Paul is a threat to them.
"get to"
"They are"
Chojin Patriarch
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Like the classic saying goes, 'Space is really, really big'. So things far away look tiny. Even if they're alien vessels bigger than any naval vessel ever made on Earth. Honestly, unless they're right on top of him, they're barely even visible with the naked eye.
And if you can take down enemy starships to have the orbital high ground, you can do whatever you live to a planet. A single carrier would be capable of devastating a planet without space defences...
Presumably focusing on Alstair, but some of them could be checking the other Antarean planets.
For instance, whether they're entering the territory of the other Antarean civilisations besides Alstair, which each of those groups would consider a blatantly aggressive move.
Much like Battleships back in the between-World War period. Too big to go unused, but too valuable to commit unwisely.
Well, that makes it pretty clear they're not here to make a show of force and then leave.
That would have to be pretty damn close, given how big space is.
And you can pull off some fun tricks, like accelerating in one direction, cutting engines and turning around to shoot while hurtling 'backwards' so you can shoot at pursuers. Though most sci-fi, DC usually included, treats space as black sky for space-combat...
So no need to worry about two lots of thanagarian forces engaging each other.
Are they likely to have something like that right now? Probably not.
Meaning they might well turn up after any shooting starts.
Nebulae usually don't appear in solar systems. Too much gravitational torque, so to speak. So that's definitely suspicious.
I'm guessing they'll latch onto any unauthorised ship that touches the cloud, growing and entwining around them in hopes of disabling them.
Checking on the other half of the suspicious vessel, eh?
Literally bug-eyed, as Dhorians have segmented eyes,as well as beak-like noses. Wonder what sort of zoological ancestry led to that?
Did you have anything to do with it, then? Or are you just being an ass about it?
So any off-world will be significant in their use.
It's probably still in a Justice League storage facility somewhere...
Huh. So someone duplicated the technology, or he doesn't know about some plot going on...
Remind me when that happened? It's been a while...
Explaining their value.
He said that and I heard 'cybertronians?', but he isn't joking. Literal living metal.
Eh, he could always hope someone would be reasonable.
The Life Entity works in mysterious ways...
Probably a politely-worded order to go away.
I suppose Llar will also be a stop on the trip at some point, the way this is going.
Only a matter of time until the first shots are fired. And even if OL can find out if there was a plot to trigger this war, I doubt the Alstairians and Thanagarians will back down. There's too much bad blood between them. That's definitely a fight the Thanagarians intend to win and will have made plans to achieve that victory...
Duke Long
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'They've'
Wow, I'd been imagining these guys as standard humanoids this whole time. Wish I'd looked them up sooner because I love the massive sharp noses.
Vaermina
Well worn.
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So did he just forget about that space ship he recovered on New Genesis?
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
CTrees
Chasing the ring
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Alternatively:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh5kZ4uIUC0
But more seriously, for something to be visible in space, either you need to be basically right next to it, or it needs to be truly huge.
Steelplaza
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So could OL… take 'em?
What are his odds?
What are his odds?
BlueMangoAdea
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A surprising amount of such things. Do Controllers need to update Paul's rings or something?
mastermenthe
Mint Thistle
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The Controllers have determined the necessity of keeping the highest secrets of physics away from their ring-bearers.
The DC universe is very vulnerable to false-vacuum-collapse (or equivalent) disasters.
Always remember, the Psions were remarkable enough for the Guardians/Controllers to avoid killing because the Psions survived the long climb to technological parity.
Sockmonkey
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Mosteel...
Gamma gongs are made of people aren't they?
Gamma gongs are made of people aren't they?
Darko
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Most likely.
Heck, I remember a Brave and the Bold episode where Kanjar Ro drained the energy from aliens to power his weapons.
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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It was taken from Volgar Zo when the Dhorians stuck their beaks into the Anti-Life mess; the Gong first appears at the end of this chapter.
liger0
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So, I've been away from this story for a while and haven't kept up with it. I think where I left off was the Power Rangers cross over. Anyhow, I stopped in because I had a random thought due to internet copypasta memes featuring the Amazon show. Have there been anymore updates featuring the Indigo Lantern in The Boys comic universe? I think I remember something about him keeping a woman, who was a corrupt executive of some kind, from committing suicide by saying he would engage in necrophilia with her corpse if she did and it shocked her enough that someone would say that that she didn't go through with it.
Darko
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The last time we saw that version was during the whole Crisis episodes.
He trained Super Duper to be an effective team, as shown when they rescued several people from a burning building.
Later one he was recruited by Raul, the Red Lantern version of Paul.
Meetings Squared (part 11)
New
Mr Zoat
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16th March 2284
11:15 GMT -6
Keats looks down at Rhett.
Rhett looks up at Keats. "I'd… Heard everything was bigger in Texas. Kinda… Thought it was advertising."
"Aaah!" Keats smiles. "You've never met a super mutant before, have you?"
Rhett glances my way for a moment, but I just give him a small smile. "If that's what you are… No."
Keats looks at me with a mild frown. "Krono, haven't you explained the history behind the Forced Evolutionary Virus, and the marvellous opportunities it provides?"
"No, I have to admit, I was focused more on modern economics and politics. I've… Gotten so used to super mutants being around that I.. hadn't thought about explaining them to someone who wasn't."
Keats looks down at his bright purple jacket. "I think that's the first time anyone's accused me of fading into the background."
Rhett shakes his head. "I'm.. sorry, what are you?"
Keats beams, and lays his huge right hand on Rhett's left shoulder. I see Rhett's right hand twitch as he forces himself not to go for his gun, and from the way he stills, removes his hand and takes a half-step back I see that Keats noticed it too.
"Where are you from?"
"Appalachia."
"And do you have mutated humans in Appalachia? Or perhaps humans who've been altered deliberately by pre-War science?"
"We have mole men."
"Were they men who became like moles, or moles who became like men?"
"They were… Miners who got irradiated, or… Something like that. Most of them aren't that smart, but as long as you stay out of the tunnels and only talk to the ones who are, they get along with regular humans okay. They do most of our mining because they're immune to the toxic gasses and radiation around most of the mineral seams."
"Ah! Yes! There are a number of settlements where super mutants like myself perform heavy manual labour, or work in radioactive environments because we're better adapted to handle those things than smaller humans. Can humans transform into mole men?"
"I… I don't know. As far as I know, the original ones did, but I've never heard of a current day human turning into one. Can that.. happen with you?"
"Certainly! I myself was once a small human man, before Lou treated me with the Forced Evolutionary Virus and turned me into the strong and handsome specimen you see before you today!"
"Ah…"
"A hundred and fifty years old, and I could pass for a third of that!"
I sigh. "Keats, we both know that you don't know how old you are."
He looks mildly affronted, but if he's going to go into full salesmutant mode the moment he sees a new potential convert, he can expect me to argue against the proposal.
Rhett frowns. "You don't know how old you are?"
"The older version of the transformation process tended to have the effect of wiping some parts of the convert's episodic memory. I still remember all of my old skills, but I don't entirely remember the details of my old life. But that was over a hundred years ago. If I hadn't changed I wouldn't remember much about it by now either!"
When we killed Cerberus, Keats's people took control of Los and the Vault-Tec facility underneath the town. Both because they were desperate for a source of F.E.V. and because there was so much F.E.V. and Cerberus-tissue there that anyone who wasn't a super mutant when they went in would be one if they ever came out. But while the conversion success rate is much better than it was over on the west coast, they still aren't exactly flush with volunteers and research into fixing their sterility has gone nowhere. Even using exo-wombs wouldn't work, because the wombs of female super mutants actually work alright. The issue is in the gametes, and if those don't work then natural reproduction will forever be out of reach.
I've offered them samples of my blood, but as Keats pointed out, if they used that version of F.E.V. they'd be turning super mutants into normal humans, which defeats the whole purpose of the exercise.
Rhett shifts awkwardly. "Ah… Look. We're supposed to be meeting a guy called-."
The doors at the end of the room are thrown open when as if summoned by magic Governor Edward Jefferson Rusk strides in. In deference to his status and age, he's been convinced to leave his long-serving suit of Vault-Tec power armour and super mutant scale shotgun at home. But it would take more than a mere wizard like me can conjure up to separate him from his ten-gallon cowboy hat, thirty a day cigar habit or-.
He heads for the liquor cabinet first, pours himself a glass of whisky and downs it.
His extremely friendly relationship with alcohol.
Then he turns to us while pouring himself another. "God damn it, Keats. Give the guy five minutes before you try converting him." Glass filled, he holds up the bottle. "Anyone else?"
Rhett blinks. "It's a little early for me."
"Early bird catches the worm, son, especially if someone's swapped my whiskey with tequila again." He takes a sip. "Tastes like I'm safe, but it's best to be thorough." He looks around, but when none of us take him up on offer he tops up his own glass and then puts the bottle back. "So, y'all joining us at this convention thing."
"Yes, Governor."
"Shoot. Why y'all do a durn fool thing like that, son? Ah'd have blown it off if ah could get away with it. Ah'd be sending Cho if ah could trust him not to pick everyone's pockets on the way out."
"I think it would pay to know what's going on over here, Governor."
Rusk nods amiably. "Shouldn't you be bothering Lyons, 'fore you bother me?"
"Ah, who?"
"Elder Lyons. Over in Washington."
"We haven't had any contact with Washington, sir. And Mister Krono came to us."
Rusk glances at me. "Yeah, he does that. How about New England? Who's running things up there these days?"
"As far as the refugees coming from that way know, no one. Some mad scientists sent killer robots after their whole government just when they were getting organised, and now their settlements just look after themselves."
"Hm. Well. Give it a generation, and maybe we could send some folks up there. Dealing with the evils of misused science and technology is what the Brotherhood's all about. How about your state, or whatever you have?"
"We don't have much of a government either. My organisation's basically descended from the emergency response committee that took control right after the War, but we don't really run things, just deal with some types of problem. My report will go to MODUS, and he'll decide who needs to know what."
"And who's this 'Modus' fellow?"
"He's a pre-War A.I. who's supposed-" Rusk starts looking a little more serious. "-to help whatever government survived the war with putting the country back together. Problem was, they were nuts, and they all killed each other trying to nuke China again."
"Just trying to be sure, son, but Modus got alla that out of his system, right? We don't have to worry about Great War Two, do we? There's not much world left to blow up."
"Oh, no, Governor. Once everybody with the authority to tell him to do stupid stuff like that died, he mostly focused on fighting the Scorch Plague and other things like that. We'd be in a much worse state without him."
"Glad to hear it." Rusk pulls out a chair and sits down. "Pull up a pew, son, and me an' Keats can talk your ear off about all the history y'all missed out on."
11:15 GMT -6
Keats looks down at Rhett.
Rhett looks up at Keats. "I'd… Heard everything was bigger in Texas. Kinda… Thought it was advertising."
"Aaah!" Keats smiles. "You've never met a super mutant before, have you?"
Rhett glances my way for a moment, but I just give him a small smile. "If that's what you are… No."
Keats looks at me with a mild frown. "Krono, haven't you explained the history behind the Forced Evolutionary Virus, and the marvellous opportunities it provides?"
"No, I have to admit, I was focused more on modern economics and politics. I've… Gotten so used to super mutants being around that I.. hadn't thought about explaining them to someone who wasn't."
Keats looks down at his bright purple jacket. "I think that's the first time anyone's accused me of fading into the background."
Rhett shakes his head. "I'm.. sorry, what are you?"
Keats beams, and lays his huge right hand on Rhett's left shoulder. I see Rhett's right hand twitch as he forces himself not to go for his gun, and from the way he stills, removes his hand and takes a half-step back I see that Keats noticed it too.
"Where are you from?"
"Appalachia."
"And do you have mutated humans in Appalachia? Or perhaps humans who've been altered deliberately by pre-War science?"
"We have mole men."
"Were they men who became like moles, or moles who became like men?"
"They were… Miners who got irradiated, or… Something like that. Most of them aren't that smart, but as long as you stay out of the tunnels and only talk to the ones who are, they get along with regular humans okay. They do most of our mining because they're immune to the toxic gasses and radiation around most of the mineral seams."
"Ah! Yes! There are a number of settlements where super mutants like myself perform heavy manual labour, or work in radioactive environments because we're better adapted to handle those things than smaller humans. Can humans transform into mole men?"
"I… I don't know. As far as I know, the original ones did, but I've never heard of a current day human turning into one. Can that.. happen with you?"
"Certainly! I myself was once a small human man, before Lou treated me with the Forced Evolutionary Virus and turned me into the strong and handsome specimen you see before you today!"
"Ah…"
"A hundred and fifty years old, and I could pass for a third of that!"
I sigh. "Keats, we both know that you don't know how old you are."
He looks mildly affronted, but if he's going to go into full salesmutant mode the moment he sees a new potential convert, he can expect me to argue against the proposal.
Rhett frowns. "You don't know how old you are?"
"The older version of the transformation process tended to have the effect of wiping some parts of the convert's episodic memory. I still remember all of my old skills, but I don't entirely remember the details of my old life. But that was over a hundred years ago. If I hadn't changed I wouldn't remember much about it by now either!"
When we killed Cerberus, Keats's people took control of Los and the Vault-Tec facility underneath the town. Both because they were desperate for a source of F.E.V. and because there was so much F.E.V. and Cerberus-tissue there that anyone who wasn't a super mutant when they went in would be one if they ever came out. But while the conversion success rate is much better than it was over on the west coast, they still aren't exactly flush with volunteers and research into fixing their sterility has gone nowhere. Even using exo-wombs wouldn't work, because the wombs of female super mutants actually work alright. The issue is in the gametes, and if those don't work then natural reproduction will forever be out of reach.
I've offered them samples of my blood, but as Keats pointed out, if they used that version of F.E.V. they'd be turning super mutants into normal humans, which defeats the whole purpose of the exercise.
Rhett shifts awkwardly. "Ah… Look. We're supposed to be meeting a guy called-."
The doors at the end of the room are thrown open when as if summoned by magic Governor Edward Jefferson Rusk strides in. In deference to his status and age, he's been convinced to leave his long-serving suit of Vault-Tec power armour and super mutant scale shotgun at home. But it would take more than a mere wizard like me can conjure up to separate him from his ten-gallon cowboy hat, thirty a day cigar habit or-.
He heads for the liquor cabinet first, pours himself a glass of whisky and downs it.
His extremely friendly relationship with alcohol.
Then he turns to us while pouring himself another. "God damn it, Keats. Give the guy five minutes before you try converting him." Glass filled, he holds up the bottle. "Anyone else?"
Rhett blinks. "It's a little early for me."
"Early bird catches the worm, son, especially if someone's swapped my whiskey with tequila again." He takes a sip. "Tastes like I'm safe, but it's best to be thorough." He looks around, but when none of us take him up on offer he tops up his own glass and then puts the bottle back. "So, y'all joining us at this convention thing."
"Yes, Governor."
"Shoot. Why y'all do a durn fool thing like that, son? Ah'd have blown it off if ah could get away with it. Ah'd be sending Cho if ah could trust him not to pick everyone's pockets on the way out."
"I think it would pay to know what's going on over here, Governor."
Rusk nods amiably. "Shouldn't you be bothering Lyons, 'fore you bother me?"
"Ah, who?"
"Elder Lyons. Over in Washington."
"We haven't had any contact with Washington, sir. And Mister Krono came to us."
Rusk glances at me. "Yeah, he does that. How about New England? Who's running things up there these days?"
"As far as the refugees coming from that way know, no one. Some mad scientists sent killer robots after their whole government just when they were getting organised, and now their settlements just look after themselves."
"Hm. Well. Give it a generation, and maybe we could send some folks up there. Dealing with the evils of misused science and technology is what the Brotherhood's all about. How about your state, or whatever you have?"
"We don't have much of a government either. My organisation's basically descended from the emergency response committee that took control right after the War, but we don't really run things, just deal with some types of problem. My report will go to MODUS, and he'll decide who needs to know what."
"And who's this 'Modus' fellow?"
"He's a pre-War A.I. who's supposed-" Rusk starts looking a little more serious. "-to help whatever government survived the war with putting the country back together. Problem was, they were nuts, and they all killed each other trying to nuke China again."
"Just trying to be sure, son, but Modus got alla that out of his system, right? We don't have to worry about Great War Two, do we? There's not much world left to blow up."
"Oh, no, Governor. Once everybody with the authority to tell him to do stupid stuff like that died, he mostly focused on fighting the Scorch Plague and other things like that. We'd be in a much worse state without him."
"Glad to hear it." Rusk pulls out a chair and sits down. "Pull up a pew, son, and me an' Keats can talk your ear off about all the history y'all missed out on."
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Darko
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"whiskey"
BR549
This is filth! FILTH!!
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Chojin Patriarch
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Ah, dry humour. A good way to break the ice, if nothing else. Especially when dealing with someone who looks like they're capable of tying you into a pretzel. Heck of a first impression, certainly.
I guess they got lucky up that way to avoid that sort of trouble.
Which says a lot about the state of things in his life when green giants like Keats aren't the strangest thing he's seen.
Look at it this way, Keats. Krono treats you like everyone else and isn't that what super mutants want?
Ooh, nearly had a bit of trouble. Not that Keats would begrudge the fellow a twitch reaction like shooting him, I think
There's probably not a lot of places that don't have some manner of altered humans around, pre-war science or otherwise.
Given the marvels of radiation, either could be possible...
Quite a useful ability to develop. I get the feeling it was somewhat intentional on someone's part back in the day, then.
I wouldn't be surprised if it were possible, but the process requires wilfully not using anti-radiation measures to stay alive in the high-radiation areas that 'encourage' the change...
I suspect that's a relative thing, depending on the beholder's perception of human purity.
Still, not impossibly, given FEV-induced lifespans.
Record-keeping in the wastelands probably isn't too precise...
...And then there's that issue.
Bit of a drawback, yes. Perhaps some clever clogs can find a treatment for it.
I suppose if you found being big, green and mean entertaining, becoming 'normal' would be a downside to regaining fertility.
Ah, Texans.
Probably helps him stay sane with all the madness the wastelands can throw at him.
I'm guessing he's a big supporter of the local liquor industry.
Just enough to put a slight buzz in his brain, eh? Loosen the gears, get the juices flowing, that sort of thing.
Not a firm believer in the goal of reunification, then? Or just practical and cynical enough to know it ain't happening overnight.
A lot better than getting blindsided by some weird thing rolling out of the desert.
Probably for the best not to bother them, I'm sure they're busy.
I suspect a lot of the people coming to this meeting wouldn't be here if Krono weren't persuading them into it.
Ah, the events of Fallout 4, eh? Or at least a lead-up to them.
It'll be interesting to see how it all works out up there.
Good for the rest of the folks, at least.
Always a good idea to have everyone on the same page, and with Krono there, I'm sure he'll get a reasonably accurate picture of things.
This convention is going to have an amazing spread of characters present, at the rate things are going. Most of them quirky and bigger-than-life, with a few calm heads to go around... Whatever gets decided, it's going to be a lively time getting there. Hopefully the bigger groups don't run away with things and start fresh trouble.
Duke Long
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'of'
'Forced'
'effect'
'has'
Yeah, suppose their species will eventually go extinct if they don't convince people to convert. Makes sense that some of them would be keen on it. And if they've ironed out most of the kinks in the process, it is actually a pretty good deal.
'sip'?
I had no idea that happened. Guess I must've missed that branch of the dialogue tree.
Mr Zoat
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Thank-.
Ah... Which do they use in Texas?
Thank you, corrected.
It probably didn't make any difference.
Zig
Not too sore, are you?
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It's not about where you are, it's about where the drink came from. Since I doubt he's importing from a country that makes whisky and it's local American stuff then it's whiskey. Then again, the standard is governed by international trade agreements in the first place, so people making it in Fallout can call it whatever they want.