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

[Mr Zoat]

Honestly, I'd assumed the Maxson Chapter and all other chapters outside of Lost Hills had either been set up by remote or left Lost Hills during the early stages of the NCR-Brotherhood War at the latest.

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I'm pretty sure that canonically they all left between Fallout 1 and Fallout 2.

Please note that the Maxson Chapter in Colorado and the town of Maxson in California are different things.

When it comes to inciting incidents, if one ignores Lonesome Road in its entirety, then the Brotherhood finding out the NCR had essentially annexed a missile base would be a very useful inflection point. Perhaps the Brotherhood did petition for access but a group of hardliners forced the issue when the NCR either rebuffed them or simply took too long to respond.

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Yeah, that's a possibility. I was thinking something about a minor conflict over salvaging rights in the Navarro region blowing up, but that works too.

All good examples of things they could be doing or leveraging. I was speaking more towards how utterly boring I found playing as the Lost Hills in the current iteration.

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Oh, yes, it's as snoozefest as it is now.

I wonder if the symbiotes are a leftover experiment from the smurfs or a a qwardian. This would be a great world for a special yellow lantern plot.

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Sorry, it's just a fluke of native evolution. The Han Solo on the Millennium Falcon.

Wait. Could this give Jade a way to temporarily use Paul's innate superpower?

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Ah... It's never been tested on humans before on in the case on thanagarians it removes their individuality. So, could it? Technically, yes, that's a possible outcome. So are death and insanity.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

14th September 2013
11:32 GMT

Polara isn't particularly close to Thanagar, even if it is technically in the same Sector. It also has the distinction of the constant attention of a quarter of the Thanagarian navy and a respectable record against them in fleet engagements. They haven't won, but they have done well enough that Thanagar hasn't been able to press into their core territory.

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Which is impressive. I assume Thanagar hasn't thrown extra forces this way due to that Nth Metal bottleneck previously mentioned. They simply can't draw forces from other borders without weakening them to the point they'd be vulnerable to plucky attacks.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

And they know that they'll get the chance to do so again, because this is the point of origin of the Equalizing Plague.

For the locals it's a perfectly normal symbiotic bacteria; a part of how they learn and preserve what previous generations have learned. Something like a trill symbiote, just compulsory. But contact with aliens and a slight genetic mutation and we get the Lord High Equalizer and the collapse of pre-Empire thanagarian civilisation.

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So it's basically a networked database that every living polaran can tap into, plus passive sensory sharing they barely notice.

I wave as the system defence ships carefully monitor us flying towards their homeworld. "Have you been here before?"

Lantern Guarn makes an affirmative gesture. "As did my predecessor. Thanagar was not the only world infected, and the other worlds want assurance that they will not be infected again."

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I'm sure they do. Not every race is comfortable with the level of shared consciousness the polarans have, I warrant.

"How did they get cured? Was it Hyathis?"

"Their bodies adapted. It is usually hard for a disease to infect other species."

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So some races might have gained similar capabilities to the polarans? Something akin to a biological internet?

"And the thanagarians just got unlucky?"

"I am not a microbiologist, but the lizarkons were not infected. Or if they were, they showed no symptoms."

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Not outwardly... Who's to say what traits they actually presented?

"And what was your predecessor doing during that period?"

"She was moving between here and the infected worlds, assisting the researchers who understood the bacteria the best in creating a cure. Though her efforts ultimately came to little, it was the best chance that she had to help."

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Providing a go-between for worlds not advanced enough to have instant interstellar communications, among other duties?

"I didn't mean to sound that accusatory."

"No, I should not have assumed that you did. Often, even if a Lantern is aware of a major catastrophe, they may not have the knowledge or power to do anything about it. A power ring is not a sign of ultimate power."

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I suspect OL just has a bit of a skewed perspective because he's just that damn powerful now.

"I understand. There are several kryptonians on my homeworld. Their homeworld exploded, and the local Green Lantern was a few hours too late to save it. Not his fault, he honestly did his best…"

"I have never been in the situation of losing an entire planet. But this is not a peaceful Sector. On two occasions I have been fired upon by both fleets in a conflict."

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And not by two ships firing on each other that you flew between to stop a firefight, I take it.

"I've got a few ideas if you're interested in improving your own capabilities, both in terms of raw power and skill."

"I do not think that I am lacking. My performance-."

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It's probably fine for an average Lantern in an average Sector. OL's just coming at this from a 'You wouldn't last five minutes on Earth, I bet' perspective.

"The Green Lantern Corps trains Lanterns up to a level where they can function in an 'average' Sector, and then leaves the rest to them. I… Used to have regular sparring sessions with my Sector's Green Lanterns, and we all got better as a result. If that's not practical for you-." Hm. "I assume that you don't have a local Star Sapphire or Sinestro Corpsman?"

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If he does, they've been very careful not to cross paths with him.

"I don't know what those are-." He makes a gesture of astonishment. "Oh. I have not seen one. And we do not have an Orange Lantern, either."

"You do, but Lantern Dul is mostly involved in fighting the Reach." We descend through Polara's atmosphere, heading towards their one alien-friendly city. "If you've got a candidate in mind, let me know."

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I like he had to look that up. If that query shows up on Salaak's screens, he'll probably glance at the logs and realise OL's there and sigh exasperatedly.

"I will. What are your ideas for getting stronger? I am alone in this Sector."

"Talk to Lantern Priest of Sector One Six Three Four. His Sector is almost completely peaceful, and he's so good that he doesn't need a ring."

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Nor a Lantern proper, given his ability to recharge without.

"I thought it was only the Guardians who had such power."

"No, anyone can learn it, it's just really hard. And even the first few steps on that path can result in significant increases in personal power."

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And probably takes more time to invest into it than Guarn has to spare, I suspect.

"If it will not distract him from his duties, then I will consult with him."

"The actual most powerful Green Lantern ever is his Sector partner, so him being distracted isn't really an issue."

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...That would be Chaselon, right? Or was it Malvolio? Been a while, so my memory isn't the best.

Huh. We're low enough to observe individual people, and… Quite a lot of the people here are wearing either full on power armour, space suits or at least A.B.C. protection gear. Some… Aren't, but most of them are wearing face masks or have visible health monitor readouts.

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A curious fashion choice. Members of the species who travel off-world perhaps, ensuring they don't infect anyone?

"Have there been other outbreaks?"

"Not outbreaks, no, but the bacteria sometimes infects someone from another species. While it is not precisely harmful, it is disconcerting."

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Presumably they begin to feel polaran thoughts and sensations? Which if you weren't prepared must feel like one hell of a schizophrenic episode.

"Have you ever had it yourself?"

"Once, for a few days. I will not forget it. Have you encountered something similar?"

"Not… Really. One of my old team mates is a telepath, and she usually set up a telepathic network for us when we were on a mission. But it's not really… The same."

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Feeling a bit of nostalgia for 'the good old days' already, OL?

I'm not surprised by the way the orange glow flows amongst the natives. They don't all have the same desires exactly, but there's a commonality between each individual. Humans in isolated rural communities sometimes have something like it, where everyone knows everyone and there's a limited amount of external contact. But here it's a product of their symbiotes.

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But they are individuals, right? It's not a true hive-mind, were each body is just a cell of the whole.

I watch as a polaran steps around someone he couldn't have seen, other polarans briefly directing their eyes that way. As I understand it, the one who dodged wouldn't even be consciously aware of why they moved. Or rather, it would be completely instinctual, with their conscious mind catching up a moment later. Likewise, a few glance up at us, but we don't seem to hold their attention.

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And if it's as instinctual as it sounds, they probably won't even bother to think about it.

The crowd is looking at us. Individuals aren't.

A couple get into aerial transportation vehicles and head… Toward our target building at an accelerated rate. Other vehicles are coming in from other directions-.

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Looks like folks are gathering for something.

"The conclave is gathering."

"Mm."

"They don't have a government in the sense that most species do. When a major decision needs to be made, a cross section of their species gathers like this."

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And presumably the collective connection allows those gathered to vocalise the opinion of larger groups?

"But they're not a true gestalt, otherwise they'd only need one person."

"Yes. They all have the same information, but they can think about it differently. At least, that is how I understand it."

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And then polls are taken to evaluate the overall preferences of the people as the knowledge disseminates?

Yes, the building we're going to is more of a small open air coliseum than a parliament or government office. I can see polarans walking calmly towards the available seats… Though again, unlike a true gestalt they are actually talking amongst themselves.

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Probably sharing thoughts and opinions on what is known, swaying others through the shared connections.

As Lantern Gaurn and I take out positions in the centre of the arena, there's some sort of… Pointing of multiple sets of arms in various directions, then a pause, then some arms move… Several… 'Rounds' of that happen, and then a single individual moves to a podium facing us.

"Lanterns. Welcome to Polara. Its people will now hear your request."

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Effectively agreeing on a single voice to speak for them, eh? A focus that all of them can listen through...

This is going to be fascinating, seeing how the things these folks are told spreads through the population at large, and how they respond to any offers made. I assume overall voting would be done by machine, as actually tabulating them would be tricky with just meat brains. We'll see one way or the other, I hope.

 

[Ngamer11]

...That would be Chaselon, right? Or was it Malvolio? Been a while, so my memory isn't the best.

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It's Malvolio.

 

[Mr Zoat]

It's Malvolio.

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Yes. As a member of the Honour Guard, Illustres Chaselon is not assigned to a Sector.

 

[Darko]

Does anyone remember the chapters with the Brimstone TV show crossover?

 

[Mr Zoat]

Does anyone remember the chapters with the Brimstone TV show crossover?

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Here.

 

[Stsword]

You know, speaking of powerful Green Lanterns, I think Penelops deserves mention.

The oceans of his aquatic home were boiling, aliens were increasing the power of their sun to "terraform" and colonize their neighboring planet.

They were incapable of stopping the process, so Penelops put his planet in a stable orbit farther away.

By himself.

So kudos for having the strength of will to move a planet and the skill to do so without killing a bunch of his people or wrecking the planet.

 

[Steelplaza]

We know he made the Kryptonian species because of Despair, and if I remember correctly

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There was a story told about it in a Sandman comic, yes. I think even in comic book land, you don't have to take stories like that to be completely literal and factual. In the world of myths and dreams, Rao prevented Krypton from being saved, and in the land of physics it was a natural solar flare, and both are true and that sort of thing.

 

[Someguy Somewhere]

This setup is pretty different from gestalts in other fiction

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If that interests you, might want to give A Miracle of Science a shot. Very Interesting concept with Mars....Human Colony world that went into isolation, and when they came back out, every citizen was linked in a hive mind via nanotech.

Spoiler: Spoilers for the Comic

Everyone is an individual, but everyone also has a low bandwidth mental radio to the group, or use a high bandwidth connection to effectively channel the Gestalt. Oddly enough there are some issues with how sub groups work, it's described as akin to the two hemispheres of the brain, with people coming down on a divide between creative artistic types vs rational scientist types, and while they can still transmit via the link, communicating complex concepts it's still best for them to talk it out person to person to get it to jump the gap.

Also it's just wonderfully full of mad science....seriously, it's a medical condition, a memetic disorder that trained cops have to deal with on the daily.

 

[Darko]

really thought this though."

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"thought this through"

 

[Mr Zoat]

"thought this through"

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Thank you, corrected.

 

[ForeverShogo]

The war between the NCR and the Brotherhood is simply the result of the Brotherhood's own stupid dogma. They consider themselves the arbiters of technology. They and they alone can be trusted with anything they decree to be too advanced for the rest of humanity to have.

The hardliners got mad when the NCR became more expansionist, because they knew that the more the NCR grew the less likely it'd be that they'd ever be able to dictate how they use technology. They made demands of the NCR regarding the control of technology that the NCR refused to comply with, so they started their stupid war.

Which burned a lot of goodwill towards the Brotherhood that the NCR previously had given that before this they were held in such high regard that the NCR named one of its founding states Maxson.

And the technology they freaked the hell out over isn't even stuff like outsiders getting nuclear technologies or ray guns or whatever. The Brotherhood freaked the fuck out over the NCR getting access to Hoover Dam. A goddamn hydro-electric dam in outsider hands is too much for them, with the Brotherhood likening it to "children playing with an atomic bomb".

So no. There really doesn't need to be any one inciting incident to explain away just how stupid the Western Brotherhood of Steel is.

 

[Mr Zoat]

14th September 2013
11:39 GMT

"We have reached out to our neighbours before. But the memory of collectivisation lingers in their decision-makers. They are content to allow us and the Thanagarians to batter and bloody each other, certain that we will weaken one another and that their interests are served by keeping out of it."

The Speaker makes a gesture… Indicating a polite request for information.

"What has changed, other than your presence?"

"I've enforced a peace treaty between Thanagar and Alstair."

That generates a round of muttering.

"I don't know if you're aware-."

"We know that Alstair undid thanagarian collectivisation, and that they hate its queen for her generosity. We considered attempting to make an alliance with her, but she was absorbed with the war in her home system."

"That's over too. She won. The other three worlds are her vassals now."

"Then she would be the obvious place to look for friends."

"Except that the peace treaty I imposed prevents her taking military action against the Thanagarian Empire. She can trade, but that's it, and her technology base isn't compatible with yours."

"That is unfortunate. Does Thanagar consider your treaty to be enforced?"

I nod. "As far as I can tell."

"Then not only are they free to redeploy the fleet they had ready for action against Alstiar, but they have been dealt a humiliation. They will feel the need to demonstrate their strength."

"Yes."

He makes a six-arm-drooping gesture of dismay.

I nod sympathetically. "I know, that's why I'm here."

"Did your enforcement of your peace involved destroying many of their vessels?"

"No. None, actually. One Command Carrier will need a month in a shipyard and they'll need to appoint a new admiral, but that's about it. My preferred resolution involves no fighting, just a gradual build-up where no one can risk an engagement."

"We will need to build up now anyway."

"Yes. By my estimation…" I generate a construct image of the Sector large enough to be visible by everyone. "There are three military powers capable of actively resisting the Thanagarian Empire. None of them can take on the combined might of the Thanagarian Navy, but by coordinating efforts you should be able to counter them."

"If we can coordinate, and are willing to coordinate."

Oh dear. "Do you have a standing dispute with either of the others?"

"The margave had sponsored slave uprisings which usually serve to cause the death of the slaves. Such callousness is distasteful to us."

"How distasteful?"

The Speaker looks around at the assembly, waiting while muttered conversations and frantic hand gestures are undertaken. "Not distasteful enough."

"And the other?"

"Sthuounoo is profoundly isolationist. Our previous emissaries were fired upon."

"Alright. I'll deal with them, you send new instructions to your ambassador on Margan Prime."

"Acceptable. And necessary."

"Now, the weaker civilisations. Are you prepared to sign defence treaties? Begin an uplift program?"

"In principle, yes. We come with selflessness built in. But I'm not certain that they will cooperate with us willingly."

I frown. "Why not? None of them have lifespans that would make the Equalization Plague disproportionately significant."

"In order to ensure that all parties to our treaties are being honest with each other and entering into the agreement in good faith, we-."

I slump slightly. "You dose them with telepathic bacteria."

"It is a basic part of our diplomacy and psychology. It does not need to be permanent-."

"But all the species around here remember what involuntary exposure looks like and aren't happy about getting dosed again, even if it's temporary."

"It has been a problem with even basic trade agreements."

"Is that something you need or something you want?"

His lower hands remain on his lectern, which his other four are raised towards the rest of the conclave. They gesture in the affirmative.

"I realise that it's inconvenient, but it's-."

"No, no, one of my friends is telepathic-. Does it have to be plague, or are other types of mind-to-mind contact acceptable?"

"I couldn't decide that without experiencing it, but they might be acceptable."

"And it's just a one-off, you don't need constant contact?"

"We would need it again if the treaty were to be revised, but not otherwise."

"Okay, start the initial negotiations and I'll find a telepath for the latter stages. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes."

"Good. What are your current bottlenecks?"

"Raw material availability. Our shared knowledge makes training specialists easy, but the Thanagarians have been careful to prevent our territory from expanding."

"Iron, tungsten, titanium, carbon?"

"All those things and more."

Not because they're actually short, but because materials you keep extracting become progressively harder and harder to get, requiring more and more time and energy. And without a bypass, like a matter transmuter, nanotech or a legion of mining robots, that's a significant problem.

"Alright, I'll bear that in mind. Any opportunities arising, where getting cooperation now would let you capitalise on it?"

"Thanagarian ship construction has slowed recently. We believe that this is due to them having trouble transmuting the required quantities of Nth metal. Anything that could be done to limit-"

I'm wincing.

"-their access to more would be quite helpful."

"You should plan for that being less of a problem, at least for a few months. They found a better technique, but Hyathis is making them pay a great deal for it."

"That might also be useful. How much more?"

 

[Vaermina]

"You should plan for that being less of a problem, at least for a few months. They found a better technique, but Hyathis is making them pay a great deal for it."

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I dont get this, why don't they just refuse to pay?

Hyathis can't stop them from collecting without violating Vulcans deal, which he would smite them for.

 

[inglorius]

Vulcan does not give a fuck about Thanagarian empire, he deals with people in front of him, which are now under Hyathis authority.

 

[Mr Zoat]

The war between the NCR and the Brotherhood is simply the result of the Brotherhood's own stupid dogma. They consider themselves the arbiters of technology. They and they alone can be trusted with anything they decree to be too advanced for the rest of humanity to have.

The hardliners got mad when the NCR became more expansionist, because they knew that the more the NCR grew the less likely it'd be that they'd ever be able to dictate how they use technology. They made demands of the NCR regarding the control of technology that the NCR refused to comply with, so they started their stupid war.

Which burned a lot of goodwill towards the Brotherhood that the NCR previously had given that before this they were held in such high regard that the NCR named one of its founding states Maxson.

And the technology they freaked the hell out over isn't even stuff like outsiders getting nuclear technologies or ray guns or whatever. The Brotherhood freaked the fuck out over the NCR getting access to Hoover Dam. A goddamn hydro-electric dam in outsider hands is too much for them, with the Brotherhood likening it to "children playing with an atomic bomb".

So no. There really doesn't need to be any one inciting incident to explain away just how stupid the Western Brotherhood of Steel is.

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Any story which requires one side to be a total moron is a bad story.

In Fallout 2, the Brotherhood had outposts in several major cities in California, including Shady Sands. If they couldn't function around other people without going full magpie, no one would tolerate those. In Old World Blues, the Brotherhood cooperated with the embryonic NCR to eliminate Enclave holdouts. By all accounts, the two groups got alone fine. In Murphy's focus tree, he finds a picture of General Drummond posing for a picture with some Brotherhood Paladins after the Siege of Navarro, because they fought together and actually got on quite well.

On a practical level, the Brotherhood would know that 1) the NCR doesn't had advanced weapons of the sort that Roger Maxson was concerned about and 2) that it had a huge number of soldiers. Even if they wanted to go to war of them for some reason, they would have to know that a conventional was wasn't a viable option... But apparently they did it anyway?

Going by what the NCR were doing in Fallout: New Vegas, the Brotherhood was correct. They missed the fact that Helios was the power supply for an orbital laser, assigning a moron to research it. They were also trying to get samples of zombie plants which killed their entire vault.

 

[Chojin Patriarch]

14th September 2013
11:39 GMT

"We have reached out to our neighbours before. But the memory of collectivisation lingers in their decision-makers. They are content to allow us and the Thanagarians to batter and bloody each other, certain that we will weaken one another and that their interests are served by keeping out of it."

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One bad experience sours the entire relationship, eh? Certainly, a race that habitually exudes a telepathic 'plague' might have trouble making friends, especially if they insist on doing so as a negotiating practice.

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

The Speaker makes a gesture… Indicating a polite request for information.

"What has changed, other than your presence?"

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This sort of thing is probably why they prefer the 'telepathic bacterial dose' approach.

"I've enforced a peace treaty between Thanagar and Alstair."

That generates a round of muttering.

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Yeah, pretty clear implications there, especially for folks already fighting Thanagar.

"I don't know if you're aware-."

"We know that Alstair undid thanagarian collectivisation, and that they hate its queen for her generosity. We considered attempting to make an alliance with her, but she was absorbed with the war in her home system."

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Well, good news on that front, sort of.

"That's over too. She won. The other three worlds are her vassals now."

"Then she would be the obvious place to look for friends."

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Unfortunately, there's also bad news.

"Except that the peace treaty I imposed prevents her taking military action against the Thanagarian Empire. She can trade, but that's it, and her technology base isn't compatible with yours."

"That is unfortunate. Does Thanagar consider your treaty to be enforced?"

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I suspect supporting proxies would really be skirting the lines of the treaty, too.

I nod. "As far as I can tell."

"Then not only are they free to redeploy the fleet they had ready for action against Alstiar, but they have been dealt a humiliation. They will feel the need to demonstrate their strength."

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And with an active conflict in this direction... Yeah, I can see a cause for concern for the Polarans.

"Yes."

He makes a six-arm-drooping gesture of dismay.

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Huh, hadn't realised they were multi-limbed. Guess it comes in handy sometimes.

I nod sympathetically. "I know, that's why I'm here."

"Did your enforcement of your peace involved destroying many of their vessels?"

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Frustratingly, not as much as he could have.

"No. None, actually. One Command Carrier will need a month in a shipyard and they'll need to appoint a new admiral, but that's about it. My preferred resolution involves no fighting, just a gradual build-up where no one can risk an engagement."

"We will need to build up now anyway."

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Ironically, the sort of massive build-up OL seems to prefer likely breeds uncomfortable tensions, even as they stare futilely in a state of MAD...

"Yes. By my estimation…" I generate a construct image of the Sector large enough to be visible by everyone. "There are three military powers capable of actively resisting the Thanagarian Empire. None of them can take on the combined might of the Thanagarian Navy, but by coordinating efforts you should be able to counter them."

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As long as Thanagarian agents don't start espionage to disrupt treaties and alliances...

"If we can coordinate, and are willing to coordinate."

Oh dear. "Do you have a standing dispute with either of the others?"

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Joy, the side-quest unfolds... It can never be a case of 'sure, we can do that easily!' for OL, can it?

"The margave had sponsored slave uprisings which usually serve to cause the death of the slaves. Such callousness is distasteful to us."

"How distasteful?"

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Amongst their own populations or amongst Thanagarians? Either way, it's not cool.

The Speaker looks around at the assembly, waiting while muttered conversations and frantic hand gestures are undertaken. "Not distasteful enough."

"And the other?"

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Ah, the joy of being middle-of-the-road politically. Not outraged enough to action, too outraged to sit idly.

"Sthuounoo is profoundly isolationist. Our previous emissaries were fired upon."

"Alright. I'll deal with them, you send new instructions to your ambassador on Margan Prime."

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Let's hope both plans go well. The Margave might be trickier, given how persuasive OL can be.

"Acceptable. And necessary."

"Now, the weaker civilisations. Are you prepared to sign defence treaties? Begin an uplift program?"

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Protecting such underdeveloped states as the folks OL talked to a few chapters back, of course.

"In principle, yes. We come with selflessness built in. But I'm not certain that they will cooperate with us willingly."

I frown. "Why not? None of them have lifespans that would make the Equalization Plague disproportionately significant."

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And curing the infection seems to be a solved issue in most cases.

"In order to ensure that all parties to our treaties are being honest with each other and entering into the agreement in good faith, we-."

I slump slightly. "You dose them with telepathic bacteria."

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Ah. Now we see why they're not popular.

"It is a basic part of our diplomacy and psychology. It does not need to be permanent-."

"But all the species around here remember what involuntary exposure looks like and aren't happy about getting dosed again, even if it's temporary."

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It kind of helps to ask people's permission beforehand, you know.

"It has been a problem with even basic trade agreements."

"Is that something you need or something you want?"

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Because if it's the former, they'll have to learn to deal with disappointment.

His lower hands remain on his lectern, which his other four are raised towards the rest of the conclave. They gesture in the affirmative.

"I realise that it's inconvenient, but it's-."

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Well, they're either going to have to be more polite about the requirements, or learn to deal with uncomfortable negotiations.

"No, no, one of my friends is telepathic-. Does it have to be plague, or are other types of mind-to-mind contact acceptable?"

"I couldn't decide that without experiencing it, but they might be acceptable."

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That'd be a peculiar experience for the telepath. Wonder if Adam Blake's interested in giving it a try?

"And it's just a one-off, you don't need constant contact?"

"We would need it again if the treaty were to be revised, but not otherwise."

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Hmm. A possible case where the Genomorphs can be vitally useful...

"Okay, start the initial negotiations and I'll find a telepath for the latter stages. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes."

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Well, good to have that sorted for now.

"Good. What are your current bottlenecks?"

"Raw material availability. Our shared knowledge makes training specialists easy, but the Thanagarians have been careful to prevent our territory from expanding."

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A strange thing to hear in space. I assume Thanagar is making things difficult along their front lines, while the other polities sort of box the Polarans in on other sides.

"Iron, tungsten, titanium, carbon?"

"All those things and more."

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Presumably due to time and effort rather than available sources. Space being very big, after all.

Not because they're actually short, but because materials you keep extracting become progressively harder and harder to get, requiring more and more time and energy. And without a bypass, like a matter transmuter, nanotech or a legion of mining robots, that's a significant problem.

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Sounds like that could be a useful selection of technologies to trade for, perhaps.

"Alright, I'll bear that in mind. Any opportunities arising, where getting cooperation now would let you capitalise on it?"

"Thanagarian ship construction has slowed recently. We believe that this is due to them having trouble transmuting the required quantities of Nth metal. Anything that could be done to limit-"

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Ah, man, and I thought the Renegade was prone to having decisions come back to bite him...

I'm wincing.

"-their access to more would be quite helpful."

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...Little late on that front, alas.

"You should plan for that being less of a problem, at least for a few months. They found a better technique, but Hyathis is making them pay a great deal for it."

"That might also be useful. How much more?"

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Depends on how fast Vulcan cares to work the forge, I suspect.

Solve one issue and two more pop up to take its place, eh? This is going to be a delicate balancing act for OL to manage, but once everything's set up, hopefully it can spin on without him. Just have to put up with some aggravation in the short term. And who knows, if it all works out, he could bring about a lasting peace in the Sector...