12th July
19:57 GMT
…to spend time checking up on what Amalak and Jarko are doing. Civilisations don't spring up overnight, and
newly emergent states tend not to be all that civilised. Slavery is legal in both places, though Amalak lets slaves acquired by his organisation work off their debt and the people of Asryx tend to use enslavement as a criminal punishment. Certainly, their holdings aren't
dependent on the institution.
The self-actualisation part of the hierarchy has gotten a lot more complicated, lately. But I.. suppose that's the point. My desires at this stage are so sophisticated that I
need to think about this matter in detail. On Rashashoon I wasn't all that concerned about what might happen if all the pirates died. Now, I'm invested. And… Tamaran is a place I had always intended to help out.
And… There's something..? There's something…
Orange on this planet. And I don't mean the locals. I can feel a focus of the orange light… In the capital, I think? I try focusing harder-.
"Master? What are you doing?"
I open my eyes, seeing once again the antechamber into which our hostess deposited us before heading further inside the principality's palace. Archivists are well respected for their work and their learning, so it wasn't surprising that Erraia would have a contact here.
"The simple answer is, thinking.
"
She tilts her head slightly to the side from where she lounges decorously on a settee. "Is there a complex answer?"
"Certainly.
" I lift my hands from where they rest upon my knees and point the sigils of the rings towards her.
"These are orange power rings. They grant me great power, but constantly try to twist my mind more towards avarice. I found that by reflecting upon and accepting my desires, I could.. ignore the adverse affects they can induce. So… That's what I was doing.
"
Her right ear flicks. "Have you decided that you want anything in particular?"
"No… It was more working out how best to
get what I want. Though
something is impinging on my awareness from Tamar-
" I become aware of Erraia coming in our direction, along with a couple of soldiers and a man who I judge by the manner of his dress to be a noble of some sort.
"-us.
"
Felicity appears to have heard them as well, her head turning in the direction of their faint footfalls as she comes up to a crouch. I stand, medium armour appearing from subspace. Full on power armour is a bit much for what I hope will be a polite meeting with the local aristocracy, but I need something a bit
dressy. And non-grey. After a moment's thought I add an orange robe with grey sigils as decoration. The whole ensemble covers far more of me than Tamaranian clothing would… But I don't think I'd be comfortable wearing no armour at all.
The door opens,
one of the soldiers pushing it wide before entering. She's wearing.. semi-reasonable body armour. It reminds me of
Eldar mesh armour, tough but pliant material reinforced with hard plates in places where it doesn't need to flex but
does need to protect a vital organ. Her arms are bare, and there's a small pistol and a short sword on her belt. She gives Felicity a perfunctory once over before turning her attention to me. I'm sure that she sees my armour… Not sure that she'd recognise power rings for what they are. The people of Rashashoon must hear about
Green Lanterns from their piratical guests all the time, but Tamaran is a good distance further inside Vega.
Apparently deciding that I'm not an immediate threat, she steps aside from the door and allows her
charge entry. A Tamaranian man, youngish looking, with a short mullet of curly brown hair.
His dress is more traditional: blue
short shorts, blue decorative necklace and a couple of blue straps. It doesn't take a great deal of effort for my empathic vision to show the clear bonds of
love between the two of them. They've been together as a couple for a while. The young man looks at me with undisguised curiosity, then
starts. Why..? The sigil, he saw the sigil.
"The Beast…"
"No, sir, I am not The Beast.
" Erraia walks in behind him, along with the slightly older woman who is the palace archivist.
"We simply happen to use the same power source. May I ask how you know of him?
"
He nods. "I was trained on Okaara. My instructor told me of the stories concerning the Forbidden Forest of Weeds and the monster that dwells there. I never expected to actually
meet him."
"You still haven't, and if you're fortunate then you never will.
" I frown.
"And if
I'm fortunate, you never will.
"
He nods again, then walks closer to me. "I am Prince Karras of Kalapatt, son of Prince Regent Tharras and Princess Regent Salja."
I perform a very short bow.
"My name is-.
" Ring.
"Paul."
"And my title is Orange Lantern Two Eight One Four. My companion-
" I turn my head towards Felicity, holding out my right hand to indicate her.
"-is Felicity of Karna.
"
Better than Felicity of Slagg.
Karras stops within easy arm's reach and puts his hands on my shoulders. "I bid you both welcome to my home."
"Thank you. It's nice to be-.
"
He leans forwards and kisses me on the lips. What? I-?
Oh! Right,
they can learn -he pulls away-
languages like that, can't they? Probably a diplomatic thing.
He blinks, his eyes turned away for a moment. "English? It is… Extraordinarily irregular."
"It uses so many different sets of grapheme/phoneme correspondence rules that it actually retards the mental development of anyone who learns it.
" I shrug.
"Sorry.
"
"It…" He raises his right hand to his forehead. "May take some adjusting to."
"The written version is
worse. But… To business?
"
He nods, turning slightly to the side to include the two archivists in our huddle. "I can introduce you to King Myand'r. The only observatory on Tamaran capable of monitoring the Gordanian fleet to any worthwhile degree is situated near Tamarus. And… A decision on whether or not to accept your aid would have to be made by him."
"Thank you. You..? Haven't seen my emblem anywhere
else, have you?
"
"Aside from the texts describing The Beast on Okaara, no. Why do you ask?"
"I already confronted one of The Beast's slaves near my own homeworld. I know that he's had them out looking for me. I-.
"
"Could he find you here?"
"Yes, but not easily. One of his slaves would have to.. see me, fairly close up. I ask because there's something marked by the orange light in Tamarus. If it's one of the slaves, I don't want to blunder into its line of sight.
"
"His slaves are..? Glowing orange shades, yes?" I nod. "Nothing like that has been seen in Tamarus. But is there not some risk that he could send one here?"
"Yes. That's why I want to get this done quickly. I plan on fighting him in less than twenty days and I want this dealt with well before then.
"
"I am.. not certain what help Tamaran can offer you. The few weapons we have that would be effective-."
"Not a problem. Psion weaponry aside, I'm not worried about the Gordanians' ability to hurt me. I'm more concerned about the Tamaranians they're holding on the station.
"
"You-? How powerful.. are you?"
"Very.
" I rise slightly into the air, construct armour appearing around me.
"Power rings were designed to lift mortals to the level of immortals, and I've got rather good with them. So if you have no other pressing business, let's go and see the king.
"
Congratulations, you just declared war on most of Vega. Good luck exterminating them all, especially without drawing Larfleeze's attention.
