24th August
02:45 GMT
It's very…
Green.
The Sto-Oa system is either a bizarre anomaly, or the Guardians did more than a little housekeeping when they moved in. Aside from Sto-Oa and Oa itself, there's nothing here. No other planets, no asteroids, not even
dust. And as we're technically in interstellar space here, there's a whole
arc of space where there aren't any stars. It's
actually a little disturbing to look at, like there's a place in space you could fall out of.
Sto-Oa itself is an orange dwarf star and Oa orbits it far more closely than Earth does Sol. From where I am, if I block my empathic vision the result is that the side of Oa closest to it looks
purple while the side facing away is purely green. The purple side is darker, making it look like night happens when the sun is in the sky.
But when my empathic vision is active? Solid green. So solid that it obscures Sto-Oa, obscures space, even obscures the individual light sources on the planet. I thought that the Guardians or.. maybe even Guy would stand out. They don't. I couldn't even say for certain that they're down there.
Another flicker of green draws my attention, and I take the opportunity to turn away from the planet to look at it. It's a
Green Lantern, an elfin-looking woman with a complicated arrangement of pink hair trailing behind her as she flies back to Oa. Must be glad to have a power ring; there's no way that hair would stay tangle-free without a protective environmental shield keeping the strands apart.
I don't think she's seen me. I'm not.. glowing that brightly, and most Lanterns don't have empathic vision. I'm sure that the
Guardians have…
Heh. For a moment I consider dropping a cloud of dust, purely for the mischief value. No. Bad Lantern.
"Orange Tw-.
" Ah. No, I'm not, am I?
"Orange Illustres to Honour Guard Guy Gardner.
" I watch my ring for a moment.
"Guy? Come on, you
invited me.
"
I cross my legs, relax my muscles and stare at my ring's sigil for a moment.
Have the… Gits blocked me again..?
Ugh. Okay, what do I do? I
could just throw my arms wide, create a massive orange sigil and wait for someone to pick me up. How many Green Lanterns are there down there? Probably not that many. Green Lanterns generally stick to their Sectors. Honour Guard Lanterns generally have enough to keep themselves busy… Wonder if they've attacked Colu yet? Anyway, there'll probably be a
few around, plus any rookies who are still undergoing basic training. If Lantern Savenlovich is being mentored then she probably
isn't, but according to the data I took from John's ring there could be anything from four to twelve rookies down there. That's the normal range due to deaths in the line, resignations and retirements, and outside major wars it's pretty consistent. Guy said that the Guardians had approved shoot-to-kill on Qwardian officers, but they waited for
me to handle Ragnar. And I have an
invitation. They're not going to freak out if I fly down there, are they?
I switch to a standing position and accelerate towards Oa, space bending around me as I do so. John's map showed the Green Central Power Battery being over
there, along the dawn line. Certainly, there seem to be a lot more buildings around there. Actually, it's interesting exactly how much of Oa
isn't built on. With such a small population I suppose that -unlike on the heavily populated Maltus- there's no need for extensive structures. There are.. green light.. nodes of some kind..? Probably there to act as a relay for a shielding system. Still… Far more buildings than they need. Do they date from a time when there were
more Guardians? The Guardians certainly strike me as a people who wouldn't destroy something just because they didn't need it any longer. They still
use Manhunters, for goodness sake.
During major wars, far more Lanterns than normal would be stationed here, and they'd need to use more of the buildings than are routinely occupied. Then there's diplomatic visitors… Do they do prisoner rehabilitation? Are there.. work release programs? I realise that Hinon probably mentioned it as a
joke, but I
am going to ask Dennap if she
actually wants me to. Just so I can see the look on Hinon's face when I tell her that I did.
I reduce my warp effect as I fall through Oa's atmosphere, keeping myself subsonic. No sense in creating a racket or anything. I turn my empathic vision up a
little, and I'm now close enough to see the strands… Huh. Yes, those near-cuboid structures contain powerful green light focuses. More than that, I can see
strands of green light forming links through the air. It's fascinating… B
uuut perhaps I shouldn't fly near them while I'm only grudgingly allowed here. Instead-.
Ah! Green Lanterns over
there. A group of
five, and they're heading this way. Hopefully, that's my escort. I head a little further away from the green structures and descend further until I'm only ten metres or so off the ground. Quick check of my robes, yep, not naked…
Huh, they don't have the green sigil on their-.
The first green pulse hits me in the chest as I begin to realise what's happened. These are- construct armour, power armour- rookies and they've somehow gotten away from their tutor.
Further green pulses strike my armour, with even more missing me and
blowing small craters in the ground below us.
I fly sideways, making sure that I keep facing the approaching Greenies. I don't recognise three of them, but the
Xudarian… No, Tomar-Re's older. Pass. The blonde with the yellow skin is almost certainly
Arisia Rrab, so no jokes about Rrab life insurance costs or life expectancy… Construct megaphone.
"Could we possibly talk about this?"
The Jem'Hadar-looking one at the rear of the pack
generates a construct torpedo and fires it in my direction.
"I have an invitation!"
I swerve in the air, still facing them as they try to close the distance. The torpedo construct
follows me as the bolts start to seriously abrade my construct armour.
Right! Had enough. I've tried reasonable, and now it's time to put these raucous rookies down with the minimal level of force practical. If the Guardians wanted them to stay in pristine condition, they should have put
reins on them.
I stop in the air and stick out my left arm, catching the construct torpedo by the bow cap and tossing it aside. It
explodes a moment later, light and… Far less force than when
John throws constructs like that around, actually.
Green Greenies, right.
I generate a shield in front of me bearing the orange sigil and I stop retreating, allowing them to close the distance. Their
energy pulses slam into it accurately enough, though I'm sure that if it were
me shooting like that
Christopher would be patting me on the shoulder and referring to me as 'son'.
"Get over here.
"
An orange construct x-clamp on a chain shoots
around my shield and
flashes across the space between me and a Lantern who looks a little like a sea anemone and closes around… His..? Torso before dragging him back to me.
"Agh!"
"Blob-blob!"
I drag him to a halt next to me and
grab him with my right hand, his environmental shield shimmering and buckling around mine.
Corrupt.
And
gone. He drops slightly in the air as his ring's flight ability shuts down, then I extend my own around him.
"For future reference:-
"
I extend my left hand, pulling his power ring from one of his tendrils-
"-if someone tries to talk to you?
"
-before dropping him and letting him fall the three metres to the ground.
"LISTEN TO WHAT THEY'RE SAYING.
"
I jerk my shield forward, slamming into Ms Rrab and an eight-limbed cyborg insect of some kind and knocking them aside. The Xudarian and the Jem'Hadar look-alike with the tall head get construct clamped.
"Make this a lesson you only have to learn once, hm?
"
