27th July
06:22 GMT
"Mister Blake?"
I'm standing outside of the cage, the systems around me now near-silent. The golden energy which old Earth and Tamaranian records show to be the visible effect of his telekinesis is crackling less frequently, though the apparently random spurts are still earthing themselves in the frame. The power is being diverted into capacitors, so if Emperor Damyn had any plans for his defence he better hope he has enough batteries. The device the Psions were using to encourage Mister Blake to lash out lies in pieces on the floor. In the unlikely event that I decide to study it there are backups, but at the moment I'm more concerned with the man himself.
"Mister Blake?"
I can see colours inside him. I can see the shallow rising and falling of his chest. He's alive at least. But I can't scan deeper than his skin. As far as I and the elder Citadelian know everything that would suppress my ring has been turned off, save for the frame and the suspension field. If I can't scan him then he's the one stopping me. A self-protection reflex? Sounds plausible. Ah heck, I wish I'd asked Alan more about him. How his abilities work. Yes, asking him about other superheroes he knew well seemed logical and there was no real reason to go back to a man who he didn't know all that well and who hadn't been on Earth for over fifty years. Still…
"Mister Blake? Are you with us?"
His eyes are blank, lifeless, his pupils pointing at the floor and not tracking anything I wave in his line of sight. So, choice is: leave him and join the princesses, keep trying to get his attention, or remove the cage.
"Orange Lantern Two Eight One Four to Princess Komand'r."
An image of her head appears above my ring. "Two thousand eight hundred and fourteen what?"
"It's the number of the Sector I come from. Since I can't say my name and since there's more than one Orange Lantern now. Power should be down now. Any trouble?"
"A few traps, clever in nature, foolish in utilisation. A few soldiers, hopelessly outmatched. We should have control of command in minutes. Will you be joining us when we kill the Emperor?"
Branding him.. might be better. I'm confident that my ring can bypass whatever security the Citadel has once I can directly access the components… "Seen any Psions?"
"Not yet. I'm looking forward to that."
"We need their knowledge, Komand'r. Don't do anything rash."
"I do know how to assimilate."
Yes, she does. And I'm sure that gaining the knowledge of a top level evil scientist won't have any negative effect on her mental state at all. Or encourage her in unfortunate directions. "I'll be with you as soon as I can. Two Eight One Four out."
I lower my ring and take an x-ionised knife out of subspace. Okay, let's… Let's assume that he wakes up. What's the thing most likely to encourage him to respond positively -or at least rationally- to my presence. His parents died before he left, his sister Edna died in nineteen sixty one… Shit, he probably doesn't know-. Wait a second. He was born in the thirties. He'd have been a teenager during the Second World War. I could use Alan's voice or a hologram-. No, he's a telepath, that wouldn't work-.
Oh, just get on with it.
I reinforce my environmental shield, add telepathy defence constructs (not enough to keep him out, but strong enough that he probably won't be able to reflexively kill me) and stab the part of the frame closest to me with the knife. Lights go out over a chunk of the frame, so hopefully it isn'turk-urk-urk!
**[Ships drifting in the void as flame flares through holes in their hulls, then goes out as the spilling atmosphere is consumed.]**
I'm slammed back against the wall of the chamber as the frame explodes in a flare of gold-white energy!
**[The first rank accelerates to a sprint as fast as their bulk allows, firing shots at any Citadelian not with us. The second rank advances behind them at a walk and the rear rank uses their power armour to leap up, firing while in the air.]**
Part of the wall melts as the suspension field generator superheats the metal around it and falls out in a pile of slag. Mister Blake grasps his own body in a white/gold aura, his eyes glowing the same colours.
**[Gold/white light around me as my ship accelerates away from Earth.]**
**[Oh shit, opening fire with everything!
"Did you dare think I was not prepared to die for my cause as well?!"]**
Crushing pressure across my body! I'm being held together by my environmental shield, but he can crush harder than I can resist! Why did he have to access that memory?!
**[A living room, Nabu's voice over the radio explaining that the aura keeping the All Star Squadron out of Europe has collapsed.]**
And you couldn't just have been fixated on Diana like every other teenaged boy? I mean, okay, her old costume was a bit frumpy-.
**["Commodore Amalak, Mister Jarko, may I make a suggestion?"
Jarko waves his left arm languidly. "By all means."]**
There were perfectly good reasons why-.
**[Two old style Tamaranian navy vessels fly through space towards the Citadelian ships protecting a convoy of slave transports. The Citadelians fire, their gravity distortion waves being stopped dead by a gold/white energy field.]**
**It's to your credit, but minimising violence and allowing a transition to a more peaceful-.**
**[A snort of agreement. "Throwing in that axe thing was a great idea. Can't stop playing with it. Like my daughter with a new doll." Another snort. "He wants me to ask if you want to make this a regular thing."]**
With an effort I force my mind to jump tracks.
**["My intention is to absolutely abolish the ownership of sentient beings in Vega, but for now…" I gesture towards a nearby building. "Please, avail yourselves of the facilities."]**
**[King Myand'r greets the returning slaves in person, embracing his daughters before moving on to the others.]**
**Mister Blake, I'm trying to free you!**
**[I nod, getting to my feet. He shifts forward to the edge of his chair and gets his feet directly under him before rising. "I'll see you.. when I.. see you, I suppose."
He nods, holding out his right hand. I step toward him and wrap my arms around his chest. "I'm sorry I couldn't do better."
He puts his arms around my back. "Just don't ever stop trying."]**
"Urff."
Mister Blake lurches slightly in the air, his eyes now directly focusing on me.
**How long?**
**You've been here for about forty years. We're about to capture the control deck and-.**
The pressure around me vanishes and the glow around him intensifies.
**Then this is forty years overdue.**
There's a flare of light, and he's gone.
