Darko
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Yep.
Hell if I remember correctly he actually thought about supporting him when he first went to Qward.
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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)
- Thread starter Mr Zoat
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- self insert young justice
Yep.
Hell if I remember correctly he actually thought about supporting him when he first went to Qward.
AidanMorgan
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So has anyone else stopped being able to view "qwa" as a word even in the DC context where it actually is a word? It's like saying kumquat over and over, it eventually hits a point where you just stop grokking it.
hance1986
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I don't. Varnathon is a snake and a smooth talker. Kalmin would not have traded qwa matter to aliens. Kalmin has some standards and hard limits and some kind of moral foundation, off it may be.
Varnathon is treating qwa matter like it's a commodity, and it's not supposed to be.
Darko
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To be honest at this point both sides are extremely problematic in what I think are different but otherwise equal ways.
gattsuru
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Back during the first trip to Qward:
It's not clear how many fail and survive, but given the philosophical nature of it, probably not many. Even actual Weaponers don't expect to be immune or even resistant to the stuff. The more interesting part is actually a little earlier:
Yet Kalmin gave one to OL, an alien. It's possible that Guy was talking about some specifically-designed safety, but again, Weaponers (and, uh, specifically Kalmin). I wonder if OL's previous transmutation of the qwa-amp counts enough for him to 'count' as a Weaponer despite his philosophical disagreements, at least compared to Varnathon.
Darko
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Coda
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it
automaton, since there is but one.
Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
Nervaqus987
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If the Reach are involved and Qward finds out, they'd probably jump into the war head first.
Selling Qwa Matter to aliens is one thing. Aliens mind controlling the High Weaponlord to attain Qwa Matter is a whole 'nother problem.
ForeverShogo
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You know, just because he's favoring obedience over initiative doesn't mean he's pursuing mediocrity or incompetence.
Cuchulin
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Except that's how you tend to get mediocrity or incompetence, one of the ways at least.
Anti-Thesis (part 17)
Mr Zoat
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11th July 2012
16:01 GMT
Varnathon is bald, which does a surprising amount to emphasize it when he sweats.
"If you're struggling… My days as an 'apprentice' are long behind me, but fortunately my most recent student is here: Weaponer and council-member Diataria Lysis. Weaponer Lysis, please demonstrate the process and refresh the High Weaponlord's memory."
"Certainly, Weaponer Kalmin."
Lysis adopts a similar posture to Varnathon, both hands extended with her palms upwards. The light of qwa energy appears in her hands, a little faster than it did for Varnathon but not to a huge degree. We all watch as it fills out the space for a traditional qwa bolt, then…
"Anti-Monitor judge my worth-. Me worthy."
The qwa energy flickers, then solidifies into qwa matter. Lysis holds it for a moment, then holds it out to Kalmin. He takes it and considers it for a moment before nodding approvingly. He then holds it up so that he's eyeing Varnathon over it.
"Let go, Varnathon. Let us see this 'bolt' you have made."
Varnathon hesitates for a moment, then exhales.
"I refuse to participate in this stupidity any further."
The glow over his hands weakens, then-. Then I brace as the qwa energy he gathered explodes! Shields flare into being in every balcony, Kalmin parries with his hammer and Lysis dives behind me. That was-. Nothing like as powerful as the blast that killed me, but by the time the flare of energy has died down Varnathon has already beaten a speedy retreat back through the door he came in by.
"Weaponer Lysis, are you injured?"
"No."
I watch through my rear-facing cameras as she picks herself up.
"Do you require the loan of enhanced defensive technologies?"
"Not from a machine."
"Weaponer Kalmin has demonstrated that he values your continued existence. Any device I supply to you would be from his armoury."
"No, machine."
"Standing by."
I should pretend to be a robot more often. It's surprisingly fun.
Kalmin raises his arms, qwa bolts safely stowed but hammer still in hand.
"Councillors! What say you!?"
"Well…" One of the Councillors -one in a lightly armoured suit rather than armour- leans on his balcony. "That was disappointing. Very disappointing. But he answered your complaints. I will check the protocols at the youth-training centres in my city and ask for more information on his trading-."
"He just failed to demonstrate the ability to carry out a task that all Weaponers must perform in order to even be Weaponers!"
"Oh, I'm sure we've all gotten a little rusty." The Councillor looks around at his fellows. Who mostly don't meet his eyes, but aren't exactly shouting out to denounce him. "I've barely done any work with qwa matter since I completed my apprenticeship."
"I see. I see. And the rest of you?"
The silence is deafening. I smile inside my armour.
"That's… Not entirely unexpected. Robot."
"Standing by."
"Qwa bolt."
I step closer and hold it out. He takes it from me and bows his head for a moment. And I take a few paces back, because-.
Kalmin flings the qwa bolt in the direction of the Councillor who dismissed him! The shield activates again but is blasted apart, the Councillor's personal shield lighting up for a moment as he staggers backwards! Kalmin's second bolt strikes him directly, vaporising him, his retinue and the entire compartment.
I leap into the gap, fists extended and crumbler fields expanded as far as they'll go! Dying to a qwa matter detonation once might be regarded as unfortunate and all that. The floor here is gone, but the energy shield protecting the next compartment is still whole. Metal and plasma shield both fail as my fists gouge chunks out of the divide, and I pull both fists downwards to create a section of wall I can knock down.
Qwa matter detonations start going off behind me, my rear cameras picking up Kalmin batting qwa bolts away from him with his hammer and returning them to their senders. Slashes finished I pull back my arms and boost, the compartment divide failing and the Thunderers within frantically grasping for their next bolts.
Too slow. One takes a chunk of wall to the chest and is knocked back while the other gets a fist to the face. The Councillor… Gone. Legged it, maybe. Right, I'm out of the line of fire of most of the surviving Thunderers and there are two-.
The Thunderer I hit with the wall cuts his way free with a qwa blade. He's clearly injured but he's coherent and this armour isn't great at brawling. I reconfigure-.
Weaponer Lysis steps around me and shoots him in the gap between his visor and gorget, killing him instantly.
"Robot."
She grabs a quiver and pulls out a qwa bolt, tests the weight and then throws it out of the balcony towards the other side of the room. It detonates inside a compartment that has already lost its shielding, killing the occupants.
"Assault."
I fly upwards at full speed, fists over my head. I punch through the ceiling into the next compartment up, a soldier who'd been firing a gun over the balcony railing getting a fist through his legs and falling-
"Aagh!"
-screaming over the edge.
"Compliance."
The Weaponer draws a pistol so I project a kinetic barrier, causing his arm to bounce off apparently empty space as he tries to bring it to bear. He reflexively pulls the trigger as it hits, firing a black beam which by pure luck hits his other bodyguard and disintegrates his soft tissues. His armour-covered skeleton collapses to the floor as I charge the Weaponer down, slapping my two hands together through either side of his torso.
Ring, transmit.
"Kalmin, is there actually a plan here?"
Lysis flies up through the hole behind me and steps in front of me, making sure that my bulk is between her and the balcony. I can't see Kalmin and the arena looks pretty wrecked.
"Kill everyone here, then pursue Varnathon."
I punch through into the compartment to my right and then step back. Lysis throws a qwa bolt through the gap, the wall warping as it detonates on the far side.
"Does that include Lysis?"
"No."
"Good, because-"
I shoulder my way through the wrecked wall. Doesn't look like anyone was in here. I turn towards the balcony to try and see if there's anyone still around.
"-she's with me and that would be awkward."
The room looks like a series of bombs have hit it. I can see corpses and body parts, but as Kalmin walks out of the smoke and vapour from one of the upper balconies I can't see any living targets.
"Now for Varnathon."
16:01 GMT
Varnathon is bald, which does a surprising amount to emphasize it when he sweats.
"If you're struggling… My days as an 'apprentice' are long behind me, but fortunately my most recent student is here: Weaponer and council-member Diataria Lysis. Weaponer Lysis, please demonstrate the process and refresh the High Weaponlord's memory."
"Certainly, Weaponer Kalmin."
Lysis adopts a similar posture to Varnathon, both hands extended with her palms upwards. The light of qwa energy appears in her hands, a little faster than it did for Varnathon but not to a huge degree. We all watch as it fills out the space for a traditional qwa bolt, then…
"Anti-Monitor judge my worth-. Me worthy."
The qwa energy flickers, then solidifies into qwa matter. Lysis holds it for a moment, then holds it out to Kalmin. He takes it and considers it for a moment before nodding approvingly. He then holds it up so that he's eyeing Varnathon over it.
"Let go, Varnathon. Let us see this 'bolt' you have made."
Varnathon hesitates for a moment, then exhales.
"I refuse to participate in this stupidity any further."
The glow over his hands weakens, then-. Then I brace as the qwa energy he gathered explodes! Shields flare into being in every balcony, Kalmin parries with his hammer and Lysis dives behind me. That was-. Nothing like as powerful as the blast that killed me, but by the time the flare of energy has died down Varnathon has already beaten a speedy retreat back through the door he came in by.
"Weaponer Lysis, are you injured?"
"No."
I watch through my rear-facing cameras as she picks herself up.
"Do you require the loan of enhanced defensive technologies?"
"Not from a machine."
"Weaponer Kalmin has demonstrated that he values your continued existence. Any device I supply to you would be from his armoury."
"No, machine."
"Standing by."
I should pretend to be a robot more often. It's surprisingly fun.
Kalmin raises his arms, qwa bolts safely stowed but hammer still in hand.
"Councillors! What say you!?"
"Well…" One of the Councillors -one in a lightly armoured suit rather than armour- leans on his balcony. "That was disappointing. Very disappointing. But he answered your complaints. I will check the protocols at the youth-training centres in my city and ask for more information on his trading-."
"He just failed to demonstrate the ability to carry out a task that all Weaponers must perform in order to even be Weaponers!"
"Oh, I'm sure we've all gotten a little rusty." The Councillor looks around at his fellows. Who mostly don't meet his eyes, but aren't exactly shouting out to denounce him. "I've barely done any work with qwa matter since I completed my apprenticeship."
"I see. I see. And the rest of you?"
The silence is deafening. I smile inside my armour.
"That's… Not entirely unexpected. Robot."
"Standing by."
"Qwa bolt."
I step closer and hold it out. He takes it from me and bows his head for a moment. And I take a few paces back, because-.
Kalmin flings the qwa bolt in the direction of the Councillor who dismissed him! The shield activates again but is blasted apart, the Councillor's personal shield lighting up for a moment as he staggers backwards! Kalmin's second bolt strikes him directly, vaporising him, his retinue and the entire compartment.
I leap into the gap, fists extended and crumbler fields expanded as far as they'll go! Dying to a qwa matter detonation once might be regarded as unfortunate and all that. The floor here is gone, but the energy shield protecting the next compartment is still whole. Metal and plasma shield both fail as my fists gouge chunks out of the divide, and I pull both fists downwards to create a section of wall I can knock down.
Qwa matter detonations start going off behind me, my rear cameras picking up Kalmin batting qwa bolts away from him with his hammer and returning them to their senders. Slashes finished I pull back my arms and boost, the compartment divide failing and the Thunderers within frantically grasping for their next bolts.
Too slow. One takes a chunk of wall to the chest and is knocked back while the other gets a fist to the face. The Councillor… Gone. Legged it, maybe. Right, I'm out of the line of fire of most of the surviving Thunderers and there are two-.
The Thunderer I hit with the wall cuts his way free with a qwa blade. He's clearly injured but he's coherent and this armour isn't great at brawling. I reconfigure-.
Weaponer Lysis steps around me and shoots him in the gap between his visor and gorget, killing him instantly.
"Robot."
She grabs a quiver and pulls out a qwa bolt, tests the weight and then throws it out of the balcony towards the other side of the room. It detonates inside a compartment that has already lost its shielding, killing the occupants.
"Assault."
I fly upwards at full speed, fists over my head. I punch through the ceiling into the next compartment up, a soldier who'd been firing a gun over the balcony railing getting a fist through his legs and falling-
"Aagh!"
-screaming over the edge.
"Compliance."
The Weaponer draws a pistol so I project a kinetic barrier, causing his arm to bounce off apparently empty space as he tries to bring it to bear. He reflexively pulls the trigger as it hits, firing a black beam which by pure luck hits his other bodyguard and disintegrates his soft tissues. His armour-covered skeleton collapses to the floor as I charge the Weaponer down, slapping my two hands together through either side of his torso.
Ring, transmit.
"Kalmin, is there actually a plan here?"
Lysis flies up through the hole behind me and steps in front of me, making sure that my bulk is between her and the balcony. I can't see Kalmin and the arena looks pretty wrecked.
"Kill everyone here, then pursue Varnathon."
I punch through into the compartment to my right and then step back. Lysis throws a qwa bolt through the gap, the wall warping as it detonates on the far side.
"Does that include Lysis?"
"No."
"Good, because-"
I shoulder my way through the wrecked wall. Doesn't look like anyone was in here. I turn towards the balcony to try and see if there's anyone still around.
"-she's with me and that would be awkward."
The room looks like a series of bombs have hit it. I can see corpses and body parts, but as Kalmin walks out of the smoke and vapour from one of the upper balconies I can't see any living targets.
"Now for Varnathon."
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BlueMangoAdea
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That escalated quickly.
Darko
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'emphasize'
'extended'
I bet it is.
Looks like they're still willing to support him even if they appeared outraged.
Handlewithcare
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So the answer was number two, corruption.
It's sad to think, but the best outcome here would actually be a drawn out planetary civil war complete with religious culling.
It could weaken the weaponers enough that Paul and others could finish the job and get rid of them.
It's sad to think, but the best outcome here would actually be a drawn out planetary civil war complete with religious culling.
It could weaken the weaponers enough that Paul and others could finish the job and get rid of them.
MagnumForce
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Here's to this giving the Weaponers enough casualties they cannot easily recover.
Yes, please do.
Chojin Patriarch
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Heh, about to be shown up by a much younger and thus less experienced Weaponer. Come, Varnathon, continue your little flop-sweat. I suspect Kalmin is going to make things quite a bit hotter for you before he's done...
And without the benefit of mechanical assistance, too. Already, she has quite the jump on him.
Not a masterwork, but acceptable for a moment's notice. No less than Kalmin would expect of a former apprentice.
Well, I see he's taking the 'Fuck this shit, I'm out' option. Brace for explosions! And not even at the end of a chapter!
Well, if the shields had been any weaker, that would have been quite messy. I hope that shows the Council what sort of Qwardian Varnathon is.
Heh, useful to functionally have eyes in the back of your head.
And despite the situation, now I'm picturing him speaking in a calm Baymax voice...
Hey, you offered. If the lady trusts her own equipment, then so be it. Let's hope she hasn't slacked off any since she left Kalmin's tutelage.
Indeed. You can discreetly sass everyone and they'll just assume Kalmin programmed you that way. Becasue Kalmin.
Now, to see how well Varnathon has them paid off... Whether by monetary means, religious or criminal...
Boy, this guy really can't read the room, can he? This is not a time for bureaucracy...
And Kalmin's made a decision, I see. These fools have spent too much time ruling and not enough exercising their skills. Things are about to get louder.
Time for some regime change. Just as I predicted. We can but hope their replacements are more useful.
Taking a moment to offer a prayer to the Anti-Monitor to guide his
Not subtle, is he?
Now, to see who decides to fight for or against him, and who tries to run.I see OL guessed exactly what Kalmin planned. No time wasted in getting stuck in.
Yes, the drawback of heavy protection. Unlike something good like, say, Astartes armour, his suit is not built for speed. Unfortunately, when the enemy are using weapons that make your armour less than effective, it's a liability.
Good to see Lysis standing by her former teacher. I'm betting we're looking at the possible new High Weaponer, once Kalmin's cleaned house.
"And... Hulk."
"Gruh?"
"...Smash."
The upside of that heavy armour? When moving, you're basically a missile. I suspect he could do a lot of damage just by cruising along at chest height, at least until the Thunderers catch on...
Oooh, fancy. Also, no subtlety needed here. If you're playing Kalmin's creation, you get to fight as Kalmin would have intended...
Yes, that would be good to know. Are there any Councillors here who you might want to keep alive? Or is it going to be a total sweep?
Total sweep it is. Looks like Qward is going to be a bit unstable 'til new Councilors get selected. Bonus.
Good to know, might get a bit awkward if you have to kill her. She's such a nice girl.
By now, anyone who's likely to run has already fled. The rest were probably those itching to have a go at Kalmin...
Nice phrasing. Qwa-bolts basically are bombs, if the thrower wants them to be. And I see Kalmin had no real trouble. As if any of these bureaucrats would have been a challenge...
No more stealth, now. The fun part begins: killing any fucker who gets between Kalmin and Varnathon... To be honest, this sort of mayhem probably breaks out every once in a while on Qward. Most of the population are no doubt hearing the explosions and musing that
'deliberations are energetic today...'Darko
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I think he can actually.
Is it ever?
If he keeps doing it then she may be the only Weaponer.
No more stealth, now. The fun part begins: killing any fucker who gets between Kalmin and Varnathon... To be honest, this sort of mayhem probably breaks out every once in a while on Qward. Most of the population are no doubt hearing the explosions and musing that
It's probably like a Klingon generation or Dothraki wedding.
If some people aren't brutally killed or if there isn't a war then it's boring.
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Mr Zoat
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Thank you, corrected.
No, the Renegade's ring says 'By your command'. 'Compliance' is what the SI's ring says.
Radiant Knight
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I'm pretty chuffed at the general good cheer OL and Kalmin exhibit in this chapter. It's just... nice. Even while they're murdering their way through the council.
Dakkan Sall
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Might not be the only one, even if Kalmin cleans house here. Depends on if it's a situation where all Weaponers are on the Council, or that only Weaponers can be on the Council. Don't know/remember which of those is the case if it's even been mentioned.
Bramble Thorn
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Not really. He is someone you would only wish on your enemies.
The issue being, the qwardians are currently his enemies, on account of their culture being amoral warmongering destroyers at best, verging into omniversal obliteration cultists at worst.
Silverias
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My mistake. I wonder why I was confused there...
PDV
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I see Kalmin subscribes to one of Ayn Rand's more idiotic ideas: "sanction", and specifically the notion that tolerating people who behave badly is sanctioning them and so is tolerating people who tolerate them; it's transitive. This is an extremely self-destructive viewpoint that ineitably leads to civil war and/or splitters too small to get shit done.
OTOH, in the words of Martellus von Blitzengard: "Don't get me wrong, I can kill [members of the ruling class] all day and know I'm making the world a better place, but [that destroys valuable resources] and I'd rather not waste too many of them. So, will killing you solve my problem, or-?"
Darko
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He's all about destruction.