13th July
10:29 GMT
Accelerated perception.
Compliance.
Strands of orange light reach out from the Ceebiss ring to the glowing meat-chunks that used to be Admiral Drolyk, grabbing them and turning them construct-orange. The Admiral's head is largely intact, and I wonder for a moment if he's still aware as the tendrils latch onto it and convert it as well. There's a quiet 'fizz' from my environmental shield as it vaporises the spray of blood that hits me, and a quiet 'splat' as the rest of it splashes against the ground and the astonished Fon.
The incandescent ring floats from Admiral Drolyk's phantasmal finger to the approximate centre point of the explosion as I fly back towards Fon, laying my left hand on his right shoulder.
Hellwraith, possess.
I hunger.
The ring on my left hand shimmers for a half-second, but there's no other outward sign as it flows into its new host.
End acceleration.
Compliance.
Chunks of construct-flesh impact on the floor and walls as I frantically start scanning the princesses. Implants, but not dead man's switched. Ring? Good, disintegrate them and absorb the components.
Compliance.
The chunks of construct-flesh begin rolling across the floor to a point just behind the ring. With every remaining part of the Admiral converted, it keeps glowing. A translucent image begins forming next to it, ghostly hands reaching for the ring and a snarling muzzle baring its teeth at the room.
"More thieves! Everyone tries to take what's mine from me!"
Another blast of light from the ring and Larfleeze's construct-self becomes a little more substantial. Behind him, the Construct-Lantern form of Admiral Drolyk begins pulling itself together. Ring, railguns, load crumbler rounds. And heal the princesses as best you can.
Compliance.
Larfleeze clutches the Ceebiss ring to his chest, his eyes moving briefly over the shuddering Fon before fixing on me. "You! You're already dead!"
"Hello, Larfleeze."
He bends over as if trying to mantle the ring as he uses his left hand to conceal it from me completely. Interesting that he only wears one ring himself. His right hand extends towards me, claws reaching out-. That hand collapses into orange mist as my crumbler round hits it.
"I'm still alive and still stealing from you. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"No! No! I'm going to find you! I'm going to take everything back! And I'm going to-" He lunges forwards. "-eat you!"
I back up, crumblers striking his face and chest and turning them to orange mist. He falters for a moment, pulling back so that the light from the ring can knit him back together.
Hellwraith, use Fon's knowledge to deactivate the Tamaranians' implants and deactivate all anti-Lantern measures.
I obey.
Admiral Drolyk has fully pulled himself back together, his eyes glowing orange as he glowers at me. Oh, don't even. You had that coming.
"Tear you apart!"
Larfleeze ignores the possessed Fon in favour of trying to rend me with his talons. Retreat and fire, retreat and fire! Chunks of his body disintegrate, but he keeps trying to come on. Shooting the Ceebiss ring might end the fight and it might blow a circular hole a mile across in this facility and take me and the Tamaranians with it.
"I'm stealing your stuff, Larfleeze! And you can't tell where I am, can you? Because I'm clever and you're stupid! Stupid Larfleeze! Big stupid-head Larfleeze!"
"Rraaaaaaggghh!" He jerks his right hand forwards, a beam of orange shitshitshit! I raise my hands, generating a construct shield. Can't let him hit me. Or anything else. There are all sorts of power relay systems and potential poisons, to say nothing of him probably being powerful enough to collapse the rock around us. His beam hits my shield and immediately fractures it. I abandon it and create another. Come on, he's a powerful idiot, how do I-?
I stick out my right hand and call my personal lantern out of subspace as filaments reach out from my left arm and reach around my shield to touch his beam.
The Ophidian Feeds.
"You even stole my Ophidian from me!"
"My Ophidian." Orange incandescence flares from my filaments as Larfleeze's beam fades and falters, the excess power flowing into my personal lantern. "You're not very good at this. Maybe you should ask for help?"
Please do that. I can draw power away from him, but-
Sixty two percent power remaining. Sixty one. Sixty.
-it's doing a number on my power reserves and even Larfleeze isn't dumb enough to let me recharge in the middle of a fight.
Larfleeze drops his beam and darts forward again, and I reward him with a crumbler to the face. Okay, this I can work with. Hellwraith?
Anti-Lantern measures no longer function. The chattels are liberated.
Good work. Now jam all local non-Lantern FTL and communications. Trap them around the planet.
I obey.
I load a tungsten round into the railgun, batter Larfleeze with crumblers until there's little left but mist, then shoot the solid metal slug into the Ceebiss ring. It sails backwards out of the Larfleeze cloud and slams into the far wall, prompting me to generate construct barriers around-
Fifty five percent power remaining.
-the princesses just in case. No, no explosion. Larfleeze remanifests, glowers, snarls, and then notices Admiral Drolyk. Yes, yes, come on! Put one and one together and get x>1!
"I know where you are! I'm going to send the entire Corps after you!"
'All the more to steal from you' might put him off or encourage him to come himself. Something else… "I'm too good for you! You'll never send enough! I'll win!"
"RAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!" The Larfleeze projection grabs the Ceebiss ring and stares at it for a moment. "Ceebiss, kill him! New Guy, kill him! EVERYONE, KILL HIM!"
Thank you.
Larfleeze tosses the Ceebiss ring aside. It travels a few metres and then stops in the air. It shimmers orange, then expands outwards into the form of the six legged four armed Centaur-like alien I saw when I tried touching it. The Admiral slams his right fist into his left palm while his partner lands and lowers his head to gore me with his horns.
Okay, don't know exactly how long that gives me… Hellwraith, open every internal door.
I obey.
"See you, Larfleeze."
Three crumbler rounds and his construct image dissolves to nothing just as Ceebiss' horns hit my chest plate.
