10th September 2012
18:37 GMT
Following Guy's desires back is simple, though I'm careful to
leave enough of a gap that I'm not immediately caught up in the melee. Ships… Yes, they're not too far away now. Close enough that they could get closer and join in the fight if Malvolio wanted them to. I'd guess that he doesn't think they're powerful enough to do much against a Green Lantern of Guy's power.
Guy fires a construct-American football at Malvolio's momentarily exposed head as Apros explodes spatial charges all around him. Malvolio catches the ball without looking and uses the connection to Guy's ring to pull him closer. Guy tries to strengthen the link and toss him aside, but with a small grimace realises that he can't. A shotgun construct appears next to him and shoots the green link connecting him to the ball, the crumbler round severing the link and allowing him to evade Malvolio's volley. Apros makes more mine constructs and does something to cause them to shrink before sending them in Malvolio's direction of travel.
Where are the other t-? Oh. Mohawk-ponytail is collecting bits of treeman, who glows as he tries to reassemble himself. Okay, no one dead yet, I've got a chance.
"Illustres to closest blond Green Lantern."
"Lan-." His face appears above my ring, clearly somewhat distracted by the ally he's shielding while he reassembles his torso. "You. Did you get Priest?"
"I spoke to Priest, and he's not impressed about this. He wants to stay here and for you to leave."
"Why?"
"Because he thinks he can turn Malvolio into a better Sector Lantern, and because he doesn't think that his imprisonment is worth killing over."
I transition over to them, block an instinctual energy bolt and play a purple ray over the treeman's injury. It responds reasonably well, dead and dying wood coming back to life and growing back into the whole.
"Mind telling me your names?"
"Green Lantern Avir. Sorry."
I glance at him. "What for?"
"Lantern Vinkent." Treeman Vinkent checks his torso for damage, but finds nothing. "Thank you, but I must return-."
I stick a construct harness around him.
"No. I healed you. If you get back into the fight then I've picked a side. You're sidelined."
Avir raises his ring.
"That-."
"I wouldn't have been able to fight on."
"You could have your ring sub someone in, but around here that would probably result in it either going to someone who would support Malvolio, or to someone in your home Sector who wouldn't know what was going on."
Avir considers for a moment, glancing back to where the two Honour Guard Lanterns are sheltering under a shared shield as Malvolio bombards them with construct cannons.
"Fine."
He flies back towards the fight, fishing something out of his equipment harness as he does so.
"Right. Lantern Vinkent, please tell me exactly why you're here."
"To rescue former Lantern Priest and gain intelligence on Malvolio."
"And was that Guy's idea, or was he ordered to do it by the Guardians?"
"The Guardians-. He said they were okay with it."
So they didn't specifically order it, but given Guy I can't tell whether 'okay' means that they didn't protest or that they strongly advised it. Guy's not going to answer me while he's-
I'm mildly touched as I see that he's taken a leaf out of my book and switched to railguns with iron slugs.
-busy shooting his target. Who can tell me more? Whichever Guardian gave him his original orders and is presumably monitoring him a little more closely than they do most Green Lanterns, but I don't know which of them that is. No way to learn more, then. Who can tell Guy to knock it off? Illustres Chaselon, whoever the other Illustres is, Clarissi Salaak and any of the Guardians.
Who might actually take my call?
"Ring, contact Illustres Chaselon."
"Compliance."
I hadn't bothered with sorting out an official Corps to Corps point of contact because I know that any of the Earth Green Lanterns would answer me and two of them are Honour Guard Lanterns. But between him and Salaak-.
Chaselon's eyes appear above my ring. He doesn't say anything.
"Guy Gardner, Apros and Avir are presently fighting Lord Malvolio, ruler of Sector One Six Three Four. Are they supposed to be?"
"Why are you asking?"
"Because I'd like them to stop and discuss their differences and not actually fight unless they were irreconcilable."
"What is your stake in who wins?"
"Ah, Guy's a friend of mine, and Malvolio has peacefully unified a Sector that had been at war with itself. Malvolio also has some non-standard ideas about what power rings can do that I'd like to study more myself."
He rotates away to look at something off-camera for a moment.
"Honour Guard Lantern Gardner's order to research esoteric Green Lantern abilities comes from the Guardians. I can't countermand it."
"Guardians or a Guardian?"
"I don't have access to that information. If the Guardians have disagreements, they resolve them in private."
"But if he hasn't specifically been ordered to fight or kill Malvolio?"
"Then he could be ordered to stop. But if a Guardian declines to make such an order, the rest will probably follow their lead and leave Lantern Gardner to it."
"I don't suppose you know which Guardian originally ordered Malvolio's death, do you?"
"No."
Ugh. Okay, it sounds like Chaselon is prepared to put me through to a Guardian. But that Guardian might want Malvolio dead or locked up. Or they might consider it to not be part of their range of responsibilities. That's why I'm not asking to be referred right to Apa Ali Apsa, who would probably find this Sector to be an interesting case study. Ganthet's usually Earth's go-to Guardian, but I know for a fact that he was also the one who backed Jordan's decision to remove Sinestro from office. Sayd, maybe? I don't have good records on the rest of the Guardians-.
"Ring, second channel. Message to Hinon. Need to stop Green Lantern fighting someone with weird green light powers before someone dies. Which Guardian do I ask? Send."
"Message sent. Response received. 'Guardian Broome Bon Baris'."
…
I suppose that you can't vivisect someone if they're dead…
"Chaselon, could you put me through to Guardian Broome Bon Baris? I'll try and get her to call Guy off."
"Try. Yes."
