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

AverusBlack · 2025-11-22T08:38:41+0000

mastermenthe said:
Hinon is grumpy because she can be.
Karsta is grumpy because the universe is being reasonable, and where was that sensible universe back in her day? Grumble, grumble, grumble...

Pretty sure this is why Hinon is grumpy too, lmao.

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-11-22T08:40:09+0000

Mr Zoat said:
7th August 2013
10:46 GMT

Superman looks mildly nervous as Karsta Wor-Ul's ship approaches the Watchtower. "She's not planning on hitting me again, right?"

"She didn't tell me that she was planning on hitting you, sir. But I don't think that I'm her favourite person in the universe, either."

I mean, you come out of nowhere, probably grinning like a loon about meeting another adult Kryptonian and likely made a mess of introducing yourself to someone who was in a paranoid, defensive situation. What did you think she'd do?

"Because you told me about her?"

"I didn't actually tell her that was me, sir."

And he'd rather appreciate your discretion?

"Oh. Alright, I won't either."

"Much appreciated."

Good, neither of them about to get in trouble for that.

He looks through the window at her dilapidated ship. "Is that kryptonian? I realise the Doomsday is cutting edge military technology, but I assumed that the other ships would look a little more advanced than that."

"No, sir. As far as I can tell, that's a cut-and-shut job using parts from spacefaring civilisations across three Sectors. Perfectly functional, but shoddy-looking."

So basically an Ugly. Albeit using a shuttle rather than a fighter.

"Is that deliberate, or did she just take the parts she could get?"

"Sir, I've had two conversations with her ever. I don't know much about her personal history."

But I would expect she did steal whatever parts she could use. If she was fully empowered, it wouldn't even have been hard.

"Did you offer her a job?"

"Yes. Two, actually. In addition to a position in LEGION, I thought that she would be a good candidate for colonial governor."

Although one will preclude the other.

"I'd.. be happier with her taking that role, but that would mean that the parolees would have access to a starship. I'm not sure that's a good idea."

There's an audible clunk as the airlock connects. "Feel free to discuss the idea with her. I imagine that her security systems are reasonably good."

And really, even is she puts some kind of biometric lockout, there's no guarantee she can't be coerced into something. Unless she has OL stow it somewhere off-planet alongside his offered zeta terminal.

Karsta's eyes narrow as the doors open wide enough for her to see him. Or perhaps they were like that beforehand and she was watching him through the door using x-ray vision? Whatever it was, she seems unhappy but not violent, which is about all I expected.

"Sub-commander." Kal-El smiles, right hand extended. "Welcome to the Watchtower. You're looking well."

It could really be either case. I doubt the Watchtower is that well shielded against Superman's powers...

"Kal-El." She walks out of her ship and into the docking corridor, and while she hesitates for a moment she does take his hand. And doesn't turn it into a kryptonian test of strength. "That's the Doomsday."

He nods as she releases his hand, turning to lead her towards the meeting room. "Yes, we just finished bringing it up to full working order."

No point in pleasantries with a giant eff-off battleship sitting right there... Nice talking point, though.

"Admiral Dru-Zod sent it here?"

"Ah, most of it. When we found it, it was broken up into individual modules."

Which is still an impressive aspect of Kryptonian technology. You try that with an Earth ship, and you'd end up with very expensive salvage.

"Did he leave a message saying why he sent it here?"

"Because of isolationism. He wanted some future kryptonian to find it and bring it back into use."

With the unstated expectation that said kryptonian/s would use it to restart the Kryptonian Empire. Well, that's what I gathered from it.

"Do you even know how to fly it?"

"No, but Ak-Var and I are learning."

It's probably designed to be very user-friendly.

"Learning-. You're-?" She sighs. "How are you learning to fly the greatest warship Krypton ever built?"

"Har-Zod has been able-."

She stops dead and turns to face him. "High Councillor Har-Zod is still alive?"

Hmm... Would that be a 'he's alive?' of relief, or of annoyance and eagerness to punch him out?

"Ah, no, but he created a neural clone and left it on a small listening post on Xeon. We then brought Xeon into Earth orbit."

Her face goes blank as she takes that in.

...Huh, so Earth currently has a much smaller second moonlet orbiting it. Or at least a very big, strangely structured space station.

"Do you wanna talk to him?"

"Not right now."

Read the room, Clark, i don't think she's happy to know anything of him survives...

"Okay, well, if you're interested in the governor position, I've got-" The door to meeting room opens, and he leads the way through. "-someone for you to meet."

Non looks up from his place at the table, while Karsta frowns at him in confusion. "Who are you supposed to be?"

Ah, this will be interesting. She's of an older generation, after all, so Non probably feels like a kid to her.

"Non-Du."

She blinks. "Strange uniform for a Du. Did you get released from the Phantom Zone?"

And we finally get a family name for Non, in this fic at least.

"Yes. And I wear the uniform because joined the military after receiving a brain injury."

She looks mildly puzzled, but she walks over to the table and sits down opposite him. "That should have disqualified you. Or they should have fixed it."

'They' gave it to him in the first place...

He shakes his head. "I don't remember it too clearly. I think I could still fight well enough, and follow orders. General Zod wanted someone obedient, not clever."

"General Zod. The reason why the other escaped naval personnel got hunted down."

Yes, don't go holding that against him, though.

"Yes. I don't remember why I thought… What we did was a good idea. The best I can think of is that if he'd won, we would have been able to evacuate more people."

"How do you feel about setting up home on a new world?"

A noble intention, but ultimately futile. And it probably had a much more personal reason behind it for Zod.

"I don't remember exactly what I did for General Zod, but it looks like it involved a lot of physical labour. I doubt that a new colony would need a junior researcher, but I can do farm work or construction."

"No. How do you feel about it?"

Ah, good question. This isn't about his willingness to do the work, really.

"I don't feel much of anything about it. Krypton is.. gone. The life I planned isn't going to happen, and I don't even-" He reaches up to his head with his right hand, scratching at where there used to be a scar. "-know why I chose the military as a backup option. I think I'd feel happier knowing that there was an actual plan. I don't particularly like the idea of starting from nothing, but I can't think of anything else we could do."

That's going to be a bit of a tic for him for a while, I think. I do something similar, when I cut my hair when it gets longer and still do the 'brush the hair back' motion for a week or two afterwards.

"You don't think you could run it yourself?"

"I.. don't have any experience overseeing things. And you were the Sub-Commander of the Kryptonian Stellar Navy, when that actually meant something. People will follow you. All I did was attempt a revolt which failed."

You hope so, anyway.

"Ehh…" She slumps slightly. "What about you, Kal-El?"

"I've got a life here on Earth. I'm happy to help you get started, but I don't have any particular desire to be part of it. It's…" he sags slightly. "It's not my culture."

and there's one of the tragedies of Superman. As much as he wants to know about his birth culture, he'll never feel like a part of it because of his terrestrial upbringing. Unless mind control is involved, at least.

"It's not going to be their culture either. Most of them are going to be from after the Science Council ended the Kryptonian Empire."

"My father.. didn't much like what Kryptonian society became. And from most of the reports I've seen, the Kryptonian Empire was a force for good."

Depending on who you ask, at least. The people they conquered might have objections about the force used...

She looks over to me. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

Given the way OL's been orchestrating all this, that's a fair question.

"You wanted me to fight in your war. Had second thoughts?"

"No. I think you'd be productive in either role, and I think you'd be happier with a project like that to work on."

Easy to feel that out with his empathic senses. He could probably tell she didn't really want to be part of a war again.

She thinks for a moment, not looking at anyone.

"Fine. Show me who I'll be working with."

Perhaps she might even have some insight into some of the older inmates...

So, it'll be Mayor Karsta, rather than... Captain? I suppose this is better than getting involved in someone else's war, which she probably wasn't that into as a plan. And it's likely OL will still offer Maltusian aid in rebuilding the kryptonian species. The big question will be will the parolees agree to this, or will some of them have objections to a 'deserter' being in charge over them?

WereDragon · 2025-11-22T10:04:53+0000

Mr Zoat said:
She stops dead and turns to face him. "High Councillor Har-Zod is still alive?"

"Ah, no, but he created a neural clone and left it on a small listening post on Xeon. We then brought Xeon into Earth orbit."

Her face goes blank as she takes that in.

Amazing the things you learn when you actually engage with other people.

"It's not going to be their culture either. Most of them are going to be from after the Science Council ended the Kryptonian Empire."

Nice to see someone acknowledge that. Culture is learned. And is heavily shaped by environmental factors. Accurately recreating one from a handful of survivors somewhere else is functionally impossible.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-22T10:27:40+0000

Darko said:
"I joined"

Thank you, corrected.

Wheenesss · 2025-11-22T14:11:35+0000

@Mr Zoat

I'm curious. Where did you get 'Du' for Non's family name? Is that something you just came up with yourself or was there a version of him that actually had a family name?

Duke Long · 2025-11-22T14:52:26+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Okay, well, if you're interested in the governor position, I've got-" The door to meeting room opens, and he leads the way through. "-someone for you to meet."

'to the'

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-22T15:05:38+0000

Wheenesss said:
@Mr Zoat

I'm curious. Where did you get 'Du' for Non's family name? Is that something you just came up with yourself or was there a version of him that actually had a family name?

I couldn't find any version that had a surname, so I went through a big list of kryptonian names and made up something that fit the pattern.

Duke Long said:
'to the'

Thank you, corrected.

Old Knife · 2025-11-22T15:19:02+0000

Mr Zoat said:
She thinks for a moment, not looking at anyone.

"Fine. Show me who I'll be working with."

Two jobs? Por que no los dos!
THIS WOMAN IS PLANNING ON TURNING THE REMAINING KRYPTONIANS INTO A MILITARY NEMO FORCE!
DOWN WITH THE REACH!

AverusBlack · 2025-11-22T19:22:49+0000

Old Knife said:
Two jobs? Por que no los dos!
THIS WOMAN IS PLANNING ON TURNING THE REMAINING KRYPTONIANS INTO A MILITARY NEMO FORCE!
DOWN WITH THE REACH!

Kryptonian lanterns:

The Reach: "Why do I hear boss music...?"

RoninSword · 2025-11-22T23:49:26+0000

@Mr Zoat how goes Hades courtship of Persephone?

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-22T23:53:37+0000

RoninSword said:
@Mr Zoat how goes Hades courtship of Persephone?

Reasonably well, when they're together. The issue is that both of them have recognised incongruities in their lives.

Ngamer11 · 2025-11-23T00:32:56+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Reasonably well, when they're together. The issue is that both of them have recognised incongruities in their lives.

I'm not sure whether or not I want this to work out despite everyone else thinking it'll fail or to explode spectacularly once they remember everything.

m_d · 2025-11-23T04:08:58+0000

Mr Zoat said:
The Transvaal Republic might be able to afford more tanks that it thought it would.

than

D3mented · 2025-11-23T07:23:01+0000

Currently on post 225 of the Story only section.

I got to the part where one of Red Tornado's robo bros caught MC on the toilet with his power ring off. I couldnt do it. Had to skip like ten posts down till I made sure he had his ring back.

Temporary power loss is one of my least favorite sources of drama on a good day. Temporary loss of power in such an easily preventable way doubly so. Temporary loss of power in an easily preventable way during an enemy attack where people are getting hurt cause of MC holding the idiot ball? Let's just say I'm happy I have such a backlog to work through lol.

Being low on power and having to conserve usage is one thing, that can even be really cool

there is no salvaging "I lost my power ring on the toilet during an enemy invasion of our base" for me. My irrational nerd rage can't handle the stress man.

Anyway, crisis is over, he has the ring back and I'm gonna go back to reading properly. I'm still very early on so there is pleeeenty more fic to go. It's been very enjoyable so far, even with me verbally cussing out MC for his stupidity while skipping through ten ish chapters to get past this particular part lol.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-23T08:26:20+0000

m_d said:
than

Thank you, corrected.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-23T08:27:05+0000

7th August 2013
10:59 GMT

Karsta Wor-Ul spares the ghostly projections of Jor-El and Har-Zod a brief look, but otherwise studiously ignored them as Kal-El pulls up the list of inmates.

"Ar-Ual. She's serving a fift-. A sixty-eight year sentence for 'cultural vandalism'. She should have been released twenty years ago."

I frown. "How did Krypton define 'cultural vandalism'?"

Kal-El looks blank and Karsta Wor-Ul shrugs, so I turn to Jor-El.

He frowns faintly. "It can mean a variety of things. In her case, she used a large incendiary device to destroy a museum warehouse containing irreplaceable records and instruments from our people's scientific development. We lost a thousand years of our history due to her actions. The sentence would have been more harsh, but the investigators found that she had put significant effort into ensuring that no people were hurt."

"Why did she do that?"

"She claimed at her trial that her motives were political. Since that was irrelevant to the sentence, the prosecutors didn't investigate further."

"'Political' as in anti-isolationist?"

"She claimed that particularity was irrelevant, and that by fetishising the particularity of historical events we were rejecting the universality of scientific truth."

I narrow my eyes as I think that over. "College student?"

"Yes."

Karsta Wor-Ul considers that for a moment. "We don't have any museums on Tartarath, and she went in when she was young."

Kal-El nods. "Hopefully, she'll have used her time to rethink her position. I'm sure a lot of people did things in college they feel stupid about later."

"In my case, picking up Magic: the Gathering."

"I mean she'll be able to do hard physical work."

"And have a large fertility window."

Kal-El looks mildly uncomfortable about that, but it is factually accurate. "Alright, I'll mark her down for a parole interview. Next is Vorb-Un. He had a thirteen year sentence for misappropriating experimental materials."

Karsta Wor-Ul rolls her eyes. "He wasn't stealing. He did an experiment without getting Science Council signoff in advance."

Kal-El blinks. "Father? Is that true?"

Jor-El nods. "Yes. It was a violation of the law, though I suspect that if I wasn't undermining Science Council authority with my actions they would not have been so harsh."

Karsta Wor-Ul shakes her head. "No sense taking him out. Next."

Superman frowns. "Why not? That's a ridiculous thing to imprison someone for."

"Yeah. But at his age, any sort of hard physical work would kill him. Unless you want to have him on Earth?"

He sighs quietly. "Maybe. Next is Vor-Kil. A two hundred year sentence for manslaughter. He killed his opponent in a martial arts contest."

Karsta Wor-Ul nods. "Which martial art?"

"Klurkor."

She nods. "You don't have to get Klurkor very wrong to kill someone. Was there any evidence it was deliberate?"

Kal-El looks to Jor-El, who shakes his head. "No evidence was offered that he intended to kill his opponent."

"Is a two hundred year sentence normal for an.. accident?"

"No. I suspect that there are two reasons for the long sentence. Firstly, his total lack of remorse. He was quite rude about the deceased, claiming that he should have given him a better fight."

Kal-El frowns. "Even so…"

"The other reason is that I suspect that the Science Council were attempting to suppress martial arts as a matter of policy. Or, at least, encourage kryptonians not to practice them."

"Why?"

"They considered such things to be bestial."

Kal-El looks at Karsta Wor-Ul for confirmation.

"Hah! Yeah, that sounds about right. If that's all he did, approve him. He did hard physical work when he didn't need to, and if he tries that with me I'll show him which of us used Klurkor in actual combat."

"Alright." Kal-El nods. "Nadira Va-Dim. Serving a twenty year sentence for theft."

Jor-El nods. "The latest in a long series of thefts carried out with a man named Az-Rel, each of which resulted in a custodial sentence."

Karsta Wor-Ul shrugs. "Nothing to steal on Tartarath. If they decide to run off and do their own thing, that's their problem. Mark for interview."

"Okay." Kal-El presses a button. "Ni-Van. He was part of a coup attempt, helping someone called Gra-Mo build combat robots prior to his attempted takeover."

Karsta Wor-Ul's face hardens. "Interview. Gra-Mo can stay right where he is."

Kal-El raises his eyebrows. "Are you sure? An engineer-."

"He'd be useful, right up until he tried to take over and build giant statues of himself. He's a violent charismatic narcissist. With him still in the Phantom Zone his co-conspirators can probably be rehabilitated. He can't."

"Alright. And…" He frowns as he examines the list. "This… Seems a little odd."

"What? Oh, is it the Ems?"

"Yes. It… They seem to be somewhat overrepresented."

"The whole family was a bunch of thugs. We had a couple in the navy who turned out alright, but they still had more disciplinary issues than the rest of their platoon put together."

"Petty assault..." He nods. "And disruptive behavior."

Karsta Worl-Ul nods. "Find me the youngest one and I'll give them an interview. The others can wait their turn."

"Okay. Gannar-Tar." He frowns. "Imprisoned for using a… 'De-evolutionary ray' on animals to create giant monsters? Is this a joke?"

"No." Jor-El shakes his head. "It was a side-effect of a device he created to study living prehistoric creatures. The creation of his initial creature was an accident, but he created more in an attempt to cover up his guilt. No one was seriously hurt, but it was a near thing. I suspect he would be amenable to rehabilitation."

"Alright." Karst Wor-Ul nods. "Interview. Next."

"Blak-Du. According to this… Father, you knew him?"

"We attended college together. Where we did not decide to burn down a museum. I believe that he was imprisoned for rioting in support of my belief that Krypton was going to explode." He turns to Karsta Wor-Ul. "He may be a little older than you would ideally like, but he has no defects of character."

"No." We all look around as Non-Du decides to speak up for the first time. "He would not be a good choice."

Karsta frowns again. "Why not? You're from the same House, and it sounds like he was right."

"Yes, and that is how I know him. He told me that he believed that our government needed to be overthrown in order to save our people. Some of the lengths he said he was prepared to go to were… Extreme."

Jor-El frowns. "That didn't come up in his trial."

Non-Du gestures to his head. "I would not have remembered it then. Now, I do."

Karsta shrugs. "Okay, I'll consider him for the second wave. Next."

Ngamer11 · 2025-11-23T08:33:49+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Kasta Wor-Ul spares the ghostly projections of Jor-El and Har-Zod a brief look, but otherwise studiously ignored them as Kal-El pulls up the list of inmates.

That should say 'Karsta'.

Kal-El look blank and Karsta Wor-Ul shrugs, so I turn to Jor-El.

That should say 'looks'.

"No. I suspect that there are two reasons for the long sentence. Firstly, his total lack of remorse. He was quite rude about he deceased, claiming that he should have given him a better fight."

That should say 'the'.

I really hope releasing all these kryptonians won't blow up in everyone's faces and that everyone is as thorough as possible when it comes to vetting.

Darko · 2025-11-23T08:37:25+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Karsta Wor-Ul nods. "Which martial art?"

"Klurkor."

She nods. "You don't have to get Klurkor very wrong to kill someone

Guessing it's a style that goes fur the throat.

Mr Zoat said:
rude about he deceased

"about the"

Mr Zoat said:
"The other reason is that I suspect that the Science Council were attempting to suppress martial arts as a matter of policy. Or, at least, encourage kryptonians not to practice them."

"Why?"

"The considered such things to be bestial

And if they wanted to maintain power then they'd want to make the tools if the other Guilds, like the military, seem worthless.

Mr Zoat said:
The considered such

"They"

Mr Zoat said:
Okay. Gannar-Tar." He frowns. "Imprisoned for using a… 'De-evolutionary ray' on animals to create giant monsters? Is this a joke

Clark, look at your superhero career.

This is not newm

Mr Zoat said:
"No." Jor-El shakes his head. "It was a side-effect of a device he created to study living prehistoric creatures. The creation of his initial creature was an accident, but he created more in an attempt to cover up his guilt

Wonder how he came to that conclusion.

Mr Zoat said:
. I suspect he would be amenable to rehabilitation

And you could use a geneticist.

CrazyNoVa · 2025-11-23T08:38:05+0000

If I recall correctly, wasn't there a story with a rare Kryptonian wizard who got imprisoned in the Zone a long time ago?

Might be a good oppotunity to learn about Kryptonian magic.

Edit: Thul-Kar, correct?

BR549 · 2025-11-23T09:04:13+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Alright. And…" He frowns as he examines the list. "This… Seems a little odd."

"What? Oh, is it the Ems?"

"Yes. It… They seem to be somewhat overrepresented."

"The whole family was a bunch of thugs. We had a couple in the navy who turned out alright, but they still had more disciplinary issues than the rest of their platoon put together."

"Petty assault..." He nods. "And disruptive behavior."

Karsta Worl-Ul nods. "Find me the youngest one and I'll give them an interview. The others can wait their turn."

So, what I'm hearing here is that the Ems were the Kryptonian version of the Beagle Boys.

Signaller · 2025-11-23T09:05:25+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Kasta Wor-Ul spares the ghostly projections of Jor-El and Har-Zod a brief look, but otherwise studiously ignored them as Kal-El pulls up the list of inmates.

ignores

Mr Zoat said:
We lost a thousand years of our history due to her actions.

They didn't have scans?

Mr Zoat said:
"In my case, picking up Magic: the Gathering."

Quick google returned this: https://dcthegathering.com/store/

Mr Zoat said:
Next is Vor-Kil. A two hundred year sentence for manslaughter.

Under a red or other non-yellow/blue sun, what's a typical Kryptonian life span? From context of the rest of the chapter, it seems they still age while in the Zone?

Mr Zoat said:
Jor-El nods. "The latest in a long series of thefts carried out with a man named Az-Rel, each of which resulted in a custodial sentence."

"Az-Rel is one of the few Kryptonians from Earth-One possessing psychic powers, the other known Kryptonian psychics were Nadira and Faora Hu-Ul" - ref: https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Az-Rel_(Earth-One)

Mr Zoat said:
"Alright. And…" He frowns as he examines the list. "This… Seems a little odd."

"What? Oh, is it the Ems?"
...
"Okay. Gannar-Tar."

So not in English alphabetical order, which makes sense, but what order do Kryptonian/Kryptonese letters/phonemes use?

Also, worth keeping track of how many people they have in total. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_viable_population

Bigking321 · 2025-11-23T09:14:51+0000

It's actually quite nice seeing this group talk things over and plan things together. Just a few chapters ago they wouldn't have been able to due to hostility.

It's good to see positive progress for the various relationships.

Vaermina · 2025-11-23T09:16:33+0000

Mr Zoat said:
Kal-El looks mildly uncomfortable about that, but it is factually accurate. "Alright, I'll mark her down for a parole interview. Next is Vorb-Un. He had a thirteen year sentence for misappropriating experimental materials."

If her time was already served it wouldn't be a parole interview.

Also, Kal-El wouldn't even consider not releasing someone who already served their time.

BlackCoat13 · 2025-11-23T09:27:29+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"No." We all look around as Non-Du decides to speak up for the first time. "He would not be a good choice."

Karsta frowns again. "Why not? You're from the same House, and it sounds like he was right."

"Yes, and that is how I know him. He told me that he believed that our government needed to be overthrown in order to save our people. Some of the lengths he said he was prepared to go to were… Extreme."

Jor-El frowns. "That didn't come up in his trial."

Non-Du gestures to his head. "I would not have remembered it then. Now, I do."

Karsta shrugs. "Okay, I'll consider him for the second wave. Next."

Sounds to me like an alright guy. I mean, if he had actually managed to go to those extremes, he would have been an fairly average dark hero, so long as he saved enough people.

Chojin Patriarch · 2025-11-23T09:39:09+0000

Mr Zoat said:
7th August 2013
10:59 GMT

Kasta Wor-Ul spares the ghostly projections of Jor-El and Har-Zod a brief look, but otherwise studiously ignored them as Kal-El pulls up the list of inmates.

"Ar-Ual. She's serving a fift-. A sixty-eight year sentence for 'cultural vandalism'. She should have been released twenty years ago."

Heh. I'm guessing Clark hasn't had to read Kryptonian numbering for a bit, which explains his difficulty in converting them into English. Much like with old Roman enumeration. And I expect the engrams are there to provide detailed background as needed.

I frown. "How did Krypton define 'cultural vandalism'?"

Kal-El look blank and Karsta Wor-Ul shrugs, so I turn to Jor-El.

Could be anything from burning down a museum to online trolling, given the Science Council...

He frowns faintly. "It can mean a variety of things. In her case, she used a large incendiary device to destroy a museum warehouse containing irreplaceable records and instruments from our people's scientific development. We lost a thousand years of our history due to her actions. The sentence would have been more harsh, but the investigators found that she had put significant effort into ensuring that no people were hurt."

...Okay, that's definitely vandalism. At least she took care with it.

"Why did she do that?"

"She claimed at her trial that her motives were political. Since that was irrelevant to the sentence, the prosecutors didn't investigate further."

Pah... Of course they wouldn't.

"'Political' as in anti-isolationist?"

"She claimed that particularity was irrelevant, and that by fetishising the particularity of historical events we were rejecting the universality of scientific truth."

...I can't even begin to understand that. Anything like this? I'm sure it made sense to her, though?

I narrow my eyes as I think that over. "College student?"

"Yes."

Ah. Enough learning to know of things, not enough to know why they're things.

Karsta Wor-Ul considers that for a moment. "We don't have any museums on Tartarath, and she went in when she was young."

Kal-El nods. "Hopefully, she'll have used her time to rethink her position. I'm sure a lot of people did things in college they feel stupid about later."

That's a big ask. She might be entirely unrepentant.

"In my case, picking up Magic: the Gathering."

"I mean she'll be able to do hard physical work."

Within physical limits, of course. Then again, partially-empowered kryptonian... Yeah, if she doesn't dig her heels in against 'menial work' she'll do fine.

"And have a large fertility window."

Kal-El looks mildly uncomfortable about that, but it is factually accurate. "Alright, I'll mark her down for a parole interview. Next is Vorb-Un. He had a thirteen year sentence for misappropriating experimental materials."

Well, if they have to repopulate the old-fashioned way... Someone's got to consider it, certainly.

Karsta Wor-Ul rolls her eyes. "He wasn't stealing. He did an experiment without getting Science Council signoff in advance."

Kal-El blinks. "Father? Is that true?"

Of course they'd consider that a crime...

Jor-El nods. "Yes. It was a violation of the law, though I suspect that if I wasn't undermining Science Council authority with my actions they would not have been so harsh."

Karsta Wor-Ul shakes her head. "No sense taking him out. Next."

Ah, right, Jor-El was a bit of a rebel as far as the Council was concerned. Nothing too far, but annoying and prone to serving as an inspiration for others.

Superman frowns. "Why not? That's a ridiculous thing to imprison someone for."

"Yeah. But at his age, any sort of hard physical work would kill him. Unless you want to have him on Earth?"

So mark him down for a later release. A decade? Two? However long it takes before he can live out the remainder of his life peacefully. Or have OL provide rejuvenation. Surprised that hasn't been considered.

He sighs quietly. "Maybe. Next is Vor-Kil. A two hundred year sentence for manslaughter. He killed his opponent in a martial arts contest."

Karsta Wor-Ul nods. "Which martial art?"

"Klurkor."

I'm guessing a somewhat more low-brow style than the Torquasm family.

She nods. "You don't have to get Klurkor very wrong to kill someone. Was there any evidence it was deliberate?"

Kal-El looks to Jor-El, who shakes his head. "No evidence was offered that he intended to kill his opponent."

...But did he not try particularly hard not to?

"Is a two hundred year sentence normal for an.. accident?"

"No. I suspect that there are two reasons for the long sentence. Firstly, his total lack of remorse. He was quite rude about he deceased, claiming that he should have given him a better fight."

Guy sounds like an asshole. And a bit of a blood knight, so to speak. Not really conducive to a peaceful farming settlement, unless they expect to need hunters or guards.

Kal-El frowns. "Even so…"

"The other reason is that I suspect that the Science Council were attempting to suppress martial arts as a matter of policy. Or, at least, encourage kryptonians not to practice them."

Well, that's just obnoxious.

"Why?"

"They considered such things to be bestial."

Oh, joy. Arrogant intellectualism versus 'brutish' physicality.

Or in American High-school clique terms: Nerds hating Jocks.

Kal-El looks at Karsta Wor-Ul for confirmation.

"Hah! Yeah, that sounds about right. If that's all he did, approve him. He did hard physical work when he didn't need to, and if he tries that with me I'll show him which of us used Klurkor in actual combat."

Ah, yes. The difference between 'mixed martial arts' and actual street fighting. No rules, no ring, no referee, just two people trying to put each other in hospital (or worse.)

"Alright." Kal-El nods. "Nadira Va-Dim. Serving a twenty year sentence for theft."

Jor-El nods. "The latest in a long series of thefts carried out with a man named Az-Rel, each of which resulted in a custodial sentence."

I expect he's also in there. Wonder if they're still cozied up or the conditions have driven them apart...

Karsta Wor-Ul shrugs. "Nothing to steal on Tartarath. If they decide to run off and do their own thing, that's their problem. Mark for interview."

"Okay." Kal-El presses a button. "Ni-Van. He was part of a coup attempt, helping someone called Gra-Mo build combat robots prior to his attempted takeover."

...That sounds kinda problematic, unless he was just the dumb minion.

Karsta Wor-Ul's face hardens. "Interview. Gra-Mo can stay right where he is."

Kal-El raises his eyebrows. "Are you sure? An engineer-."

Okay, just a follower, I see. I'm sure Karsta will tell us about Gra-Mo, then?

"He'd be useful, right up until he tried to take over and build giant statues of himself. He's a violent charismatic narcissist. With him still in the Phantom Zone his co-conspirators can probably be rehabilitated. He can't."

"Alright. And…" He frowns as he examines the list. "This… Seems a little odd."

...Okay, that's a hard 'no', then. Last thing they need is that sort of asshole.

"What? Oh, is it the Ems?"

"Yes. It… They seem to be somewhat overrepresented."

Well, this will be interesting.

"The whole family was a bunch of thugs. We had a couple in the navy who turned out alright, but they still had more disciplinary issues than the rest of their platoon put together."

"Petty assault..." He nods. "And disruptive behavior."

So at best, they'd run off together and form a rival group, or they'd simply prove disruptive to the whole.

Karsta Worl-Ul nods. "Find me the youngest one and I'll give them an interview. The others can wait their turn."

"Okay. Gannar-Tar." He frowns. "Imprisoned for using a… 'De-evolutionary ray' on animals to create giant monsters? Is this a joke?"

Ah, comic book science, where de-evolution' is a possible thing. Did he actual intend to cure something, or was he just wanting to make 'dinosaurs'?

"No." Jor-El shakes his head. "It was a side-effect of a device he created to study living prehistoric creatures. The creation of his initial creature was an accident, but he created more in an attempt to cover up his guilt. No one was seriously hurt, but it was a near thing. I suspect he would be amenable to rehabilitation."

Clever, but at least without advanced tech, they won't have a repeat of it.

"Alright." Karst Wor-Ul nods. "Interview. Next."

"Blak-Du. According to this… Father, you knew him?"

A cousin of Non, perhaps?

"We attended college together. Where we did not decide to burn down a museum. I believe that he was imprisoned for rioting in support of my belief that Krypton was going to explode." He turns to Karsta Wor-Ul. "He may be a little older than you would ideally like, but he has no defects of character."

Sounds kind of noble, even if he might have gone about it the wrong way.

"No." We all look around as Non-Du decides to speak up for the first time. "He would not be a good choice."

Karsta frowns again. "Why not? You're from the same House, and it sounds like he was right."

Never underestimate family knowledge, Karsta.

"Yes, and that is how I know him. He told me that he believed that our government needed to be overthrown in order to save our people. Some of the lengths he said he was prepared to go to were… Extreme."

Jor-El frowns. "That didn't come up in his trial."

I can see why he got Zoned, then. Insurrection would be quite a bit worse than mere incitement of riots.

Non-Du gestures to his head. "I would not have remembered it then. Now, I do."

Karsta shrugs. "Okay, I'll consider him for the second wave. Next."

Hopefully once they have a decent system of governance and policing set up, eh?

I can see this taking a while, especially if the Science Council got overly Zone-happy as it sounds like they did before the end. At least they can work out a solid shortlist for the initial phase of releases. Of course, then they'll need to sort out the interviews to make sure those initial evaluations are safe, and work out where to put them all before shipping them off if they aren't going to extract them onsite.

Mr Zoat · 2025-11-23T09:59:32+0000

Ngamer11 said:
That should say 'Karsta'.
That should say 'looks'.
That should say 'the'.

Darko said:
"They"

Thank you, corrected.

WereDragon · 2025-11-23T09:59:50+0000

Mr Zoat said:
"Imprisoned for using a… 'De-evolutionary ray' on animals to create giant monsters? Is this a joke?"

The only surprising bit is that it happened somewhere other than Earth.

for the second wave

Decent way of doing it. While OL could provide enough resources to setup a colony for all of them, organising so many at once would be very difficult.

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

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