With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

8th February
20:48 GMT

"Just let them leave?! After everything they've done?"

Genuine anger. I suppose that's fair. The Gizzard Spiker clan were the ones who first made an alliance with the Citadel. Before that, the karnans were more or less maintaining their own sphere of influence. And now I'm telling him that the part of his most hated enemies that he hates most wants to just leave. Of course, they're also the part which resent their loss of status most and will fight the hardest.

"They will lose all of the local resource extraction facilities which the Citadel awarded them. Given the amount of rebuilding that you're going to be doing, I'm sure that you'll find having them handed over to you in full working order quite beneficial."

"How could I possibly believe that will happen?"

"Having negotiated this treaty, I will be its guarantor. While you are free to include a penalty tariff in your discussions, I was thinking five hundred deaths for each violation."

"Five-?" There's a wave of fur across his body as the surprise momentarily makes it fluff up before he regains control.

"As I said, if you think that is inadequate or would prefer fungible reparations rather than bloody retribution, you may say so."

"Mm. I thought you didn't approve of mass killings."

"I don't, but I do believe in consequences. The gordanians alive now aren't the ones who seized Karna. Though I understand why you do, it would be unreasonable for a disinterested party such as myself to try to hold them responsible for it. On the other hand, if they spit in my face and negotiate in bad faith…" I shrug. "My weapons are more precise than yours. I can be sure that I kill the ones who made the decision and carried it out, and do so without endangering allied civilians."

"And you couldn't just kill them all now?"

I think for a-.

"You think you could?"

"The deciding factor would be my own ability to maintain motivation while slaughtering defenceless civilians. I also wouldn't be able to reliably protect any karnan slaves in the area. But yes."

Mass emotional manipulation isn't something I've practised. Not sure how I could practise it without being more than a little immoral. So while in theory I might be able to remove the desire to fight back from everyone in Gordane, there are all sorts of side effects that could come about as a result. Side effects like losing the drive to breathe or move out of the way of oncoming vehicles or pull one's hand out of a fire.

"You actually believe it."

"Are you willing to agree to that term?"

"No."

Kalista's face twitches, but she's too experienced to say anything while I'm still here. I think that the Omega Men would be very glad to actually achieve a peaceful resolution to the Vega conflict. Vigilantes in Vega don't usually live to see retirement.

"Then-."

"But I will agree to a temporary ceasefire-" He indicates an area on the map, places the fleeing gordanians have been retreating to. "-to allow the gordanians to retreat to these areas. I am willing to exchange our people for theirs. All for all."

Ring?

A map appears in my mind, and I update the map in front of me. Showing him where the surviving gordanians are is a slight risk, but he has orbital supremacy over this hemisphere. I'm not showing him anything he couldn't find out in a few hours.

"If you can wrangle your troops here and here... Given how many irregulars they've recruited, I recommend organising a feast of some sort to keep them back."

He growl-snorts. Hm. To be fair, the gordanians do appear to have realised that starving manual labourers is a dumb thing to do, and that rationing people working in food production doesn't really work. Their main control mechanism is limiting their chattels' access to technology, not limiting their access to necessities.

"Or perhaps some sort of registration system so they can get in touch with relatives? I can direct gordanian refugees here-" I add orange arrows to the maps. "-around the karnans."

"Acceptable. How soon can we begin the exchange?"

"Eight hours."

His whiskers bristle. "Why the delay?"

"Gordanians don't see as well in the dark as karnans. They don't want to land at night. They have agreed to begin collecting karnans at once and have them arrive just after first light, but that's the earliest they're willing to do."

Gaharrugh considers. He could probably get hold of floodlights, but…

"Acceptable. That will allow us time to pull our forces back from the landing areas." He turns from the map to look at me. "They will be fully loaded when they arrive?"

"I wouldn't recommend insisting on that, unless you want them crammed in. Gordanians take up quite a lot more space than karnans."

"Mm."

"So? A ceasefire, the gordanians retreat to extraction points and you allow transports in?"

Gaharrugh looks around at the faces of his officers, and the Crown Imperium's observer.

"Yes. I will agree to that now. The ceasefire to begin in half an hour-." A couple of officers wince, and Gaharrugh widens his eyes slightly. A mildly challenging expression amongst the karnans. Though he must realise that they have a point. Wrangling an armed mob over an area the size of a continent in half an hour is a bit of a tall order. "In an hour and a half. We will begin… Making room for their retreats when we can."

"Acceptable. Will you deactivate your jamming so that the gordanians can coordinate their side of things?"

"Yes. But there are to be no encrypted transmissions. We will be listening."

"Understood." Hm. "What about other enslaved species?"

"They come to us."

"Including gordanians?"

Like batarians, gordanians are perfectly happy to enslave one another. There weren't all that many, not with karnans so readily available, but when one clan conquers another they don't always just absorb them. There probably would have been more resulting from the little civil war they just had if the karnans hadn't invaded. Though between gordanians it's more of an extreme demotion than unpersoning.

"No. They can keep them."

"Understood. Do you have any other messages for the Council at this time?"

"No."

"Good show. Now, about my payment."

"What payment?"

"I don't owe either you or the gordanians anything. But given all of the land redistribution that's going to be happening I think you can spare me a few acres."

His nostrils flare, but he doesn't appear to be particularly shocked. "What for?"

"I wish to build a temple to my people's death god. It will be used exclusively for ritual and devotional purposes. You and anyone else who wish to visit are free to do so and hear the teachings of Lord Hades."

He considers. Crazy Lantern wants to build a temple…

"You have many rings-."

I roll my eyes and hand him the book.

"It's a training guide. Read and inwardly digest, then send anyone who gets it to speak to me. Now, if you'll excuse me?"