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

Mr Zoat · Dec 2, 2020

Darko said:
'things'
'ship is'
'falls back'
either add 'no' or 'a way'
maybe 'is not'
maybe remove 'like'
'focused'
'then reappears'
'he is now'

Thank you, corrected.

Did he try to attack her?

Yes.

theaceoffire said:
Oh no!

Now that they being fired at each other, who knows what will happen!?

Thank you, corrected.

Chojin Patriarch · Dec 2, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
3rd July 2012
10:53 GMT -5

Gordanians.

"Oh, shit, there goes the ~~planet~~ system." Oh, this is not good. Now who do we know who has Gordanians in proximity to Reach territory? ...It's Grayven! Real Grayven-16, not our dear Renegade.

Since Dox expressed displeasure at being told thing he probably already knows, I don't point out to him that the heraldry and transponder marks them out as the Unending Conquest clan. The three yellow lines and a white blob emblem that every ship, weapon and adult clan member will have somewhere. The ships are mostly as I remember from the flotilla they sent to the meeting in Youlsi. None of the civilian ships or support ships that accompanied the diplomatic mission, but the general design and the slight headache I get when I focus on them are much the same.

The dreadnaught's new. And very clearly not gordanian in construction.

Yep, definitely Grayven's lot. Not unexpected, honestly, Grayven did play a role in the affairs of L.E.G.I.O.N while Kyle Rayner was involved with them, yes? A reminder: Grayven (DC Wikia).

It.. utterly dwarfs the other ships. It could treat the heavily armoured battleships in the fleet in the way most carriers do their parasite craft. Their fleet is making excellent time to the Reach facility and as far as I can tell it's because that ship it blocking the effects of the FTL jammers. I'm having trouble matching it to anything on file. Most species don't build ships that large, and most of them are civilian ships. In a military setting they're too clumsy; equal tonnage of smaller ships are a better bet in most situations. It… Could be a support ship of some kind; shipbound gordanian clans do generally grow their own food and raise their young on ships, and something that size could have plenty of space…

Clearly compensating for something. Most likely feelings of inadequacy as a rather lame-duck god of Conquest. No doubt bristling with weaponry of all sizes, from point-defense lasers to a full-length main beam weapon.

Fall Before Me!

But that doesn't feel right. This… Feels like a warship. A pure warship.

And OL can feel that narrative aura of Godspeech, I see. Not cleanly, that's nothing new, but he's picking up on it...

A squadron of gordanian cruisers accelerate away from their formation, swiftly running down a Reach vessel which had been heading in their direction. They open fire at what a professional navy would consider optimal engagement range, their shots are accurate and disciplined, and one ship that took a hit from the Reach vessel's primary weapon fall back in formation and takes cover behind a ship with fully powered shields. Most gordanian warfleets would struggle for that degree of discipline.

So, moving as if someone else were in charge. And not just at the command level, but at the individual ships' scale. I bet someone's mico-managing!

Hm.

It's not gordanian, but I'm not sure whose it is. It's also got the same headache aura that the small-. Relatively small gordanian ships have…

I eagerly await the day when OL hears Godspeech clearly for the first time... It'll mean he's broken through to a whole new level of interaction.

"Any of you recognise that?"

Light-Click Quiet-Cough Rasp gives their antennae a shrug-wiggle. "No. Not the ship or the style or the underlying technology."

Velus shrugs. "It's big."

Yes, Lantern Velus, we can all see that. How about something that is actually more insightful?

Brobranbrak doesn't respond, but does continue studying it in detail.

"When you look at it… Do you feel..? Strange?"

Phrasing!

Velus smiles awkwardly. "No, no, you're thinking of the khundians. Killing doesn't arouse me. It's more of a… An intellectual satisfaction."

"I didn't mean in a libidinous sense. Like a… Headache? Like there's something… More, than what you're seeing?"

"I don't think I even understand what you're asking. Moving pretty fast, there. How worried are we right now?"

Man, if only he knew someone who can pick up on things like that... Oh, wait... Time to phone a friend, methinks?

"If it really came to it we could accelerate just as hard. We're not because we don't need to. The gordanians might be racing to get into position to aid the Reach…" But the Reach ships are reforming their formation in a way which suggests that the other interlopers aren't any friendlier than we are. "But that doesn't seem to be what's happening."

"How did they even get here? Are there… Two of you?"

I love how he thinks of that. And how he sounds as if that's a thought more horrifying than getting in the middle of two separate, non-friendly armies.

"I've met hundreds of me, but they all came from parallel universes and I've got way to detect that. But if I can do something, I'm not arrogant enough to assume that no one else can have a similar ability."

All… Right. Given the speed of light and the relative position of the fleets…

Time to abuse physics for thinking time!

Out I go

and back again, ready to take advantage of light speed sensors. FTL ring scans shows the gordanian fleet not all that far behind me, and I take advantage of that fact to get some better quality scans in. The gordanians don't change direction, and while something they're doing causes my scan returns to glitch slightly, I'm able to power through it. Slower than light scans in the direction of their sudden appearance…

I wonder, could he break a hostile Godspeech narrative by pushing through it? He's certainly resisting its' arcane disruption well enough to get scan data...

A giant portal.

I shift further away

A Macro-scale Boom Tube? No, he'd recognize that, surely. I presume it's actually a giant Hush Tube, then.

for another look, knowing perfectly well that the quality is only going to degrade. That-. There are a lot of different forms of portal, some of which don't need a device at the end point. Even a zeta tube technically doesn't, as long as you don't mind a degree of precision. And I didn't detect any zeta radiation. The other type of portal like that I'm familiar with is Canis Minor's boom tube. Canis always seemed rather dismissive of warships, but apparently their ships did make use of boom tube generators.

...How have you not made the obvious connection yet? Clearly it's using New Genisisian or Apokalyptian tech...

Going the other way

is easier, the focuses desires of the Orange Lantern Corps standing out rather obviously. I send the images I recorded to Dox, then wait for a response.

And Dox is probably going "What the fuck is this shit? Anyone recognise this?"

Velus points at the gordanian fleet. "Find anything?"

"Know anything about Apokolips?"

Ah, he does suspect. Now to do some fact-checking, eh?

He doesn't respond, his eyes flashing-.

"Oh."

Yes, 'oh.' For the record, Apokalips beat back the early Green Lanterns by using Fear-based counter-attacks and defences. And then strong-armed the Guardians into a non-aggression pact based on that beat-down... So 'oh.' sums it up about right. And top marks for accessing your Ring database rather than have it explained to you.

"I can't be completely sure, but I think that's a New God dreadnaught. I'm not 'worried', exactly, but I'm concerned that there's something going on that I don't know about."

Hm.

And now he gets the idea to call a New God, huh? Avarice Enlightenment, folks. Great for direct focus, not so good for sudden swerves, huh?

"Orange Illustres to…" Who's going to be on Earth? Coutara doesn't have the connections yet, the greenies could be dealing with things anywhere else in the Sector. Alan's probably still on the tour. "Dame Carole."

Her face appears almost immediately. "Lord Citrine. What aid can I lend you?"

...What about Ghia'ta? Off-world? Or does she know not to answer his calls, because shit gets crazy when she does?

"Nothing exciting, I'm afraid. Are you anywhere near Canis Minor?"

"The dog rider from Apokolips? No. Do you wish for me to relay a message?"

She sounds almost insulted, doesn't she? Don't tell her she was the last option...

Transmit.

"I'm sending you the image of a ship. Please ask him if he recognises it."

"You believe it is Apokoliptian?"

Very quick of her. After all, Canis is Apokaliptian... And why else would OL want to talk to him? Only surprised that he didn't Greedport over to Canis to ask in person, but I guess he has a responsibility to remain on-site.

"Yes, though if it's not there's still a good chance that he'll recognise it."

"I will begin-. Ah, I have him. One-"

One quick scan and transition...

The image vanishes for a moment, the reappears.

"-moment. Hail, warrior!"

Oh, god, he's going to go, "Let's you and me fight!" Isn't he?

"That may not be the best-."

The image shudders and then vanishes.

Yep. I'm suddenly reminded of Agent Coulson talking to Black Widow on the phone during the Avengers movie. Listening to the sounds of violence like it's hold muzak...

"That may not be the best approach, because Canis is Apokoliptian and considers violence to be artistic."

The image reappears.

"I should have made my intentions slightly clearer, but his is now restrained and still able to speak with you."

...Please don't let him be turned on...

Oh, who am I kidding! Of course he is!

"Thank you. Could you put him on?" Canis's face replaces hers. "Canis."

"Do you need me to return? I was conducting a tour of the most heavily damaged sites to gain inspiration. I had informed Aqualad…"

...Though hopefully his arousal isn't because of Dame Carol...

"No, I just need to know if you recognise this ship. Dame Ferris, if you could..?"

Canis glances away for a moment, then nods.

"Yes. Though this image tells me little. It appears… Older. I have no idea who commands it."

Maybe have him boom tube on site long enough to taste the Godspeech? After clearing it with Dox, though...

"Thank you. I'll-."

The gordanian and Reach forces being firing at one another.

"I'll let you know how it goes."

Great... And now I'm reminded of Sengoku Musou 1, when Date Masamune shows up during your story battles...

Well, this is a pickle. Do the NEMO forces join the fight and try to swamp both forces, or let them fight it out at the cost of showing off their stuff? Why did Grayven-16 pick right now to take action? Did he have warning of the NEMO action or is it just coincidence? I'm sure we'll find out soon enough!

A little Godspeech!

Mr Zoat said:
Fall Before Me!

But that doesn't feel right. This… Feels like a warship. A pure warship.

Alan's probably still on the tour. "Dame Carole."

It's been a while, is that actually how she spells her first name?

Handlewithcare · Dec 2, 2020

So Grayven shows up at the exact moment the Corps and the Reach clash? That's not suspicious AT ALL!!!

Darko · Dec 2, 2020

Handlewithcare said:
So Grayven shows up at the exact moment the Corps and the Reach clash? That's not suspicious AT ALL!!!

This clan of Gordanians did show up on that diplomatic meeting and asked about Reach planets that they may claim, so it's not all that surprising that they'd show up.

DrThoth · Dec 2, 2020

After the whole incident with The Key, Paragon really should consider 'learning' Godspeech, at least as much as he's able to. He picked up the words of the Anti-Life broadcast in that episode, I believe. His pre-enlightenment orange thought processes registered as Godspeech to Scott and Barda when they first met, so I think he should be able to manage something similar now.

moralrelativity · Dec 2, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
as long as you don't mind a degree of precision.

don't mind a degree -> don't mind losing a degree

Darko said:
This clan of Gordanians did show up on that diplomatic meeting and asked about Reach planets that they may claim, so it's not all that surprising that they'd show up.

Ooo, that makes sense. That was a while ago, good job remembering it.

Darko · Dec 2, 2020

Chojin Patriarch said:
Yep, definitely Grayven's lot. Not unexpected, honestly, Grayven did play a role in the affairs of L.E.G.I.O.N while Kyle Rayner was involved with them, yes? A reminder: Grayven (DC Wikia).

Granted this Grayven is very, very different than his comic counterpart in a lot of ways.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Clearly compensating for something. Most likely feelings of inadequacy as a rather lame-duck god of Conquest.

Oh, please, overcompensating is an Apokaliptian trait that's not limited to just him.

Did you see the ships Darkseid has in the show?

Chojin Patriarch said:
So, moving as if someone else were in charge. And not just at the command level, but at the individual ships' scale. I bet someone's mico-managing!

I think it's more macro-managing, like just giving them all an order, but not focusing on every single one of them.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Man, if only he knew someone who can pick up on things like that... Oh, wait... Time to phone a friend, methinks?

I wouldn't call Canis a friend, more like a coworker.

Chojin Patriarch said:
I love how he thinks of that. And how he sounds as if that's a thought more horrifying than getting in the middle of two separate, non-friendly armies.

Some people that know OL would feel horrified that there are two of them.

Chojin Patriarch said:
I wonder, could he break a hostile Godspeech narrative by pushing through it? He's certainly resisting its' arcane disruption well enough to get scan data...

He was able to break whatever spell Melmoth had on that New God zombie, so maybe he can.

Chojin Patriarch said:
A Macro-scale Boom Tube? No, he'd recognize that, surely. I presume it's actually a giant Hush Tube, then.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...How have you not made the obvious connection yet? Clearly it's using New Genisisian or Apokalyptian tech...

He may honestly be using a different type of portal.

In the comics he tried to get his hands on Zeta Beam tech to help him, so maybe this version is also using something other than a Boom Tube, because maybe it was damaged somehow, or it needs power to run which he can't provide.

Chojin Patriarch said:
And Dox is probably going "What the fuck is this shit? Anyone recognise this?"

Oh, I'm betting he recognizes it.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...What about Ghia'ta? Off-world? Or does she know not to answer his calls, because shit gets crazy when she does?

She may not want to be anywhere near Canis.

And can you blame her.

Chojin Patriarch said:
She sounds almost insulted, doesn't she? Don't tell her she was the last option...

Wouldn't you be insulted to be told to spend time with someone like Canis.

I think you would, and also will be very scared.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Very quick of her. After all, Canis is Apokaliptian... And why else would OL want to talk to him?

To get some art done.

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Please don't let him be turned on... Oh, who am I kidding! Of course he is!

Maybe it's an artistic turn on you pervert!

Chojin Patriarch said:
...Though hopefully his arousal isn't because of Dame Carol...

It's either her, or Paul.

Or both.

Chojin Patriarch said:
Maybe have him boom tube on site long enough to taste the Godspeech? After clearing it with Dox, though...

Would he recognize Grayven if he saw the speech?

Grayven and he may not have even met, due to just not having the opportunity, or Grayven leaving Apokalips.

gustyeagle · Dec 2, 2020

DrThoth said:
After the whole incident with The Key, Paragon really should consider 'learning' Godspeech, at least as much as he's able to. He picked up the words of the Anti-Life broadcast in that episode, I believe. His pre-enlightenment orange thought processes registered as Godspeech to Scott and Barda when they first met, so I think he should be able to manage something similar now.

Yeah, it was any orange text, Scott and Barda seemed to hear. It seems kinda strange that he doesn't have a better handle on it already. There is no way that Godspeech is as complicated as his orange instant transmission.

Ardy · Dec 2, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
"I've met hundreds of me, but they all came from parallel universes and I've got a way to detect that.

"whut?"

-All the other lanterns

Darko · Dec 2, 2020

DrThoth said:
After the whole incident with The Key, Paragon really should consider 'learning' Godspeech, at least as much as he's able to. He picked up the words of the Anti-Life broadcast in that episode, I believe. His pre-enlightenment orange thought processes registered as Godspeech to Scott and Barda when they first met, so I think he should be able to manage something similar now.

gustyeagle said:
Yeah, it was any orange text, Scott and Barda seemed to hear. It seems kinda strange that he doesn't have a better handle on it already. There is no way that Godspeech is as complicated as his orange instant transmission.

The reason he probably hasn't learned it by now may be because he doesn't deal with New God related things all that often.

The only missions I can remember involving a New God were the fight with Kanto, the Key and that cult.

He may not try to learn it because there is no pressing need to learn it.

It may also be more difficult for him to learn it since his soul is very, very odd.

Gantradies · Dec 2, 2020

Vaermina said:
Of course, the procedures for killing an Entity in a host are pretty much the same as the procedures for killing a very powerful Lantern or Guardian.

or at minimum have a shared foundation/significant overlap, agreed!

DrThoth · Dec 2, 2020

Darko said:
The reason he probably hasn't learned it by now may be because he doesn't deal with New God related things all that often.

The only missions I can remember involving a New God were the fight with Kanto, the Key and that cult.

He may not try to learn it because there is no pressing need to learn it.

It may also be more difficult for him to learn it since his soul is very, very odd.

I assume that in the long-run, he'll want to do something about Darkseid, so familiarizing himself with New God stuff will be useful. Familiarity with how New Gods work would also have potentially been useful during the fight with the grundygod whose name I forget (either Aurakles or Aurakles's daughter), even just in realizing what was going on faster.

The fact that he's already approximated Godspeech, to Sott and Barda and also to the Sphere in a rough way, does make it sound like a feasible thing for him to do- more difficult than a typical New God, most likely, but still worthwhile.

Mr Zoat · Dec 2, 2020

Chojin Patriarch said:
It's been a while, is that actually how she spells her first name?

moralrelativity said:
don't mind a degree -> don't mind losing a degree

Thank you, corrected.

WorstMirari · Dec 2, 2020

ooooh I picked an excellent time to get caught up!
(as always, thanks for writing, Zoat!)

Sorrow · Dec 2, 2020

If it is Graven-A (for actual), then he might be looking to make "friends". In the "Orange Lantern Corp, bow before your God!" sort of way?

Flightless Man · Dec 2, 2020

DrThoth said:
I assume that in the long-run, he'll want to do something about Darkseid, so familiarizing himself with New God stuff will be useful. Familiarity with how New Gods work would also have potentially been useful during the fight with the grundygod whose name I forget (either Aurakles or Aurakles's daughter), even just in realizing what was going on faster.

The fact that he's already approximated Godspeech, to Sott and Barda and also to the Sphere in a rough way, does make it sound like a feasible thing for him to do- more difficult than a typical New God, most likely, but still worthwhile.

With how the Sheeda was handled, I figure Renegade will fight darkside Earth or Apokalyse on while Paragon deals with an invasion on Earth or an OL corp invasion of Apokalypse. One half will be the Apokalyptian army/elites. One half will be the big man himself.

gustyeagle · Dec 2, 2020

Darko said:
The reason he probably hasn't learned it by now may be because he doesn't deal with New God related things all that often.

The only missions I can remember involving a New God were the fight with Kanto, the Key and that cult.

He may not try to learn it because there is no pressing need to learn it.

It may also be more difficult for him to learn it since his soul is very, very odd.

I agree, but OL is really underestimating the importance of new god stuff. Mother and Father boxes, anti-life, New Gods, and Darkseid are either huge threats or significant power multipliers he should be looking into.

edit : He has been struggling with quite a bit of anti-life stuff, and a little bit of intergang. You'd think that almost dyeing to a necomatic baby construct might have left a bigger impact

Pez · Dec 2, 2020

I think the question is, and in 1000+ pages, this probably has been addressed before, but does this story follow what we learned about Darkseid attacking Earth in the 12th Century, and only leaving after making a deal with Savage? I would assume not, given the existing interactions with Apokolips.

Of course, everything dealing with New Gods in S3 kinda makes what happened in S1 seem stupid.

Mr Zoat · Dec 2, 2020

Pez said:
I think the question is, and in 1000+ pages, this probably has been addressed before, but does this story follow what we learned about Darkseid attacking Earth in the 12th Century, and only leaving after making a deal with Savage? I would assume not, given the existing interactions with Apokolips.

Of course, everything dealing with New Gods in S3 kinda makes what happened in S1 seem stupid.

Probably not, but I doubt it will matter.

Darko · Dec 2, 2020

gustyeagle said:
I agree, but OL is really underestimating the importance of new god stuff. Mother and Father boxes, anti-life, New Gods, and Darkseid are either huge threats or significant power multipliers he should be looking into.

edit : He has been struggling with quite a bit of anti-life stuff, and a little bit of intergang. You'd think that almost dyeing to a necomatic baby construct might have left a bigger impact

Ehh, he hasn't really dealt with New God things as much as other things, so it's understandable that he wouldn't focus on it as much, especially since he also deals with other things.

Pez said:
I think the question is, and in 1000+ pages, this probably has been addressed before, but does this story follow what we learned about Darkseid attacking Earth in the 12th Century, and only leaving after making a deal with Savage? I would assume not, given the existing interactions with Apokolips.

Of course, everything dealing with New Gods in S3 kinda makes what happened in S1 seem stupid.

Season 3 was just dissapointing, at least in my opinion.

And yeah, that thing with Savage probably didn't happen here.

I think the Light started working with Darkseid after Psimon and Queen Bee made contact with Apokalips, at least I seem to remember Paul mentioning that, and not since the 12th century.

Pez · Dec 2, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Probably not, but I doubt it will matter.

That's what I thought, but it never hurts to ask.

Darko said:
Ehh, he hasn't really dealt with New God things as much as other things, so it's understandable that he wouldn't focus on it as much, especially since he also deals with other things.

Season 3 was just dissapointing, at least in my opinion.

And yeah, that thing with Savage probably didn't happen here.

I think the Light started working with Darkseid after Psimon and Queen Bee made contact with Apokalips, at least I seem to remember Paul mentioning that, and not since the 12th century.

I think the entire thing with Apokolips was just a way to create more conflict, and give the Light more power. Because, let's be honest, Darkseid doesn't need to make deals. If he wants metahumans, he'd just conquer us and take them, like the Reach did.

And... how the Reach took Earth if we had some deal with Darkseid is beyond me. Unless the Light asked for help, and Darkseid just laughed at Savage.

S3 was horrible. I wanted "Young Justice", and I got "Outsiders" with some political and social justice crap thrown in.

Vaermina · Dec 2, 2020

gustyeagle said:
I agree, but OL is really underestimating the importance of new god stuff. Mother and Father boxes, anti-life, New Gods, and Darkseid are either huge threats or significant power multipliers he should be looking into.

edit : He has been struggling with quite a bit of anti-life stuff, and a little bit of intergang. You'd think that almost dyeing to a necomatic baby construct might have left a bigger impact

He's probably underestimating the importance of it because he doesn't realize he's in a homebrew universe where the New Gods have been super buffed from anything shown in the comics.

Coda · Dec 3, 2020

Vaermina said:
He's probably underestimating the importance of it because he doesn't realize he's in a homebrew universe where the New Gods have been super buffed from anything shown in the comics.

I'm uncertain that this is actually a buff, just more well-defined. New Gods in comic canon are really rather poorly described, and it's hard to get a good idea on just how powerful they are. They're clearly meant to be powerful -- they wouldn't be called "Gods" if they weren't.

Stsword · Dec 3, 2020

Coda said:
I'm uncertain that this is actually a buff, just more well-defined. New Gods in comic canon are really rather poorly described, and it's hard to get a good idea on just how powerful they are. They're clearly meant to be powerful -- they wouldn't be called "Gods" if they weren't.

The Norse Gods, whose Space equivalents are the basis for the New Gods, weren't even innately immortal. They had to eat golden apples to stay young.

The Norse Gods, who got their divine artifacts stolen, got kidnapped, etc.

Baldur, who died from an arrow wound.

The Norse Gods who recruited mortals to fight the Giants at Ragnarok.

You are taking baggage from some cosmologies and trying to apply it universally where it doesn't apply.

Hell, considering New Gods are a stealth sequel to Marvel's Thor, let's take a look here.

Thor had Sif almost becoming a bride of Dracula.

Thor had one of his god buddies rushed to a hospital after being shot. Yes, somewhere in the Marvel universe there are doctors who can put "Surgically removed bullets from a god to save his life" on their resume.

Now as for the New Gods themselves, people seem to have trouble grokking something- Their powers are individual, not generic.

Comparing the power levels of Darkseid, a universe conquerer, to the slaves who literally lick his boots is an immensely silly exercise.

There's a Mr Miracle issue in which Barda had to save Scott's life by tanking a boulder for him.

Mr Zoat · Dec 3, 2020

3rd July 2012
10:57 GMT -5

Fixed positions in space are… A mixed blessing. Certain types of weapons -kinetics, mostly- can hit from almost any distance away, but since the citadel doesn't need to be able to move the normal problems of moving large masses don't limit its armour or other defences. If you fire kinetic weapons at it, it can deal with them with its flak batteries or just tank it. But at the same time, if someone can point a sufficiently large gun at you and you can't move, you're toast, while a far smaller ship -or a Lantern- might be able to evade.

In this region major battle fortresses are popular with anyone who can afford them because of the combination of popular offensive strategies and defensive strategies. The most dangerous single things are Scarab Warriors and Lanterns, who combine a high damage output with extremely high evasiveness. Structures are therefore mostly defensive, with electronic warfare, shields and point defences. And that's great most of the time. But that New God warship has a gun most of the Reach fleet could fly into.

The initial shots come from the gordanian ships as they copy our actions, squadrons shifting position to destroy beacons and mines. A few Reach fire support ships take shots at… I'm guessing the dreadnaught, but at this distance their shots won't hit for nearly a minute even if the dreadnaught maintains its course perfectly. In open space ships with FTL guns are deadly, but in a place where everyone is trying to gum up the working of space-time they're not much more effective than other types of big gun-focused ship.

The dreadnaught isn't firing yet. I can see what I think are weapon mounts, but I'm not sure what their optimal range is and I doubt that a New God is going to try fighting anything as small as a b-

By My Order Be Unmade.

A Reach battleship, several nearby escorts and a bastion station behind it are reduced to vapour in an explosion..?

-uoy…

O-w. Ow.

No, what-?

Focus. That was an FTL weapon, with the rather confusing profile of appearing to hit before they're fired. There was no sign of any sort of charge build-up in the dreadnaught's primary weapon, but the destroyed ships were in a direct line with the ship's long axis. So they've got FTL sensors as well, which… Some gordanians used to buy that sort of technology from the psions, but it's unusual. Lanterns get spoilt by their FTL sensors; most fleet engagements happen between groups of people who can only see where the other side used to be.

By My Hand Be Cast Down.

This time the dreadnaught strikes the planet directly, the facility's shield failing to do a thing to block the shot as it disintegrates the main base, the surrounding land, the… Well, the moon was a frozen desert, but now it's a frozen desert that's been knocked out of its orbit by a combination of the force of the shot and the rapid evaporation of about a twentieth of its mass, the now-visible core of the world doing that.. interesting combination of freezing and boiling that water does in a vacuum.

Never seen rock do that before, though I suspect this is going to become a recurring theme of this war. And not just by our enemies; Dox assured me that we won't be doing it to worlds that still have hostage populations-. 'Salvageable' hostage populations, but once we get to the point where we're directly fighting worlds whose populations consist entirely of Reach citizens I imagine that I shouldn't expect much restraint.

The Reach fleet gets underway, accelerating at… Yes, their best speed towards the gordanians. Even allowing that the rest of the fleet is more potent than what most gordanian mercenaries manage… Yes, I can calculate their damage output based on how quickly they destroyed that first Reach ship, scale upwards… The Reach fleet should easily win if the dreadnaught isn't factored in. I don't have any idea of what its secondary and tertiary weapons can do, so it's impossible to say who truly has the advantage.

But I don't think that someone who could get their hands on a New God warship would have judged their entry into this war carelessly.

Dox is getting.. a lot of requests for orders. I'm not hearing any responses.

I don't have any rank in L.E.G.I.O.N., but Orange Lanterns are very much my concern. I don't want to undermine Dox, but if he isn't.. saying anything…

Illustres to all Lanterns.

"Looks like a New God can have a midlife crisis."

It's a weak witticism, and I doubt the Lanterns who don't come from a species with the standard pattern humanoid reproductive system would understand the reference.

"I hope that everyone is watching very carefully and recording precisely the capacities of the gordanian fleet. The sensors the L.E.G.I.O.N. fleet uses are good, but they're not power rings. And while I'm sure that everyone is disappointed that someone is going to beat us to killing a Reach fleet… There are plenty more where they came from."

I don't do anything exotic, but the orange lights around me intensify… Or rather, return to their previous intensity after dipping when the gordanian fleet appeared. I'm not a particularly good public speaker and I don't have a personal relationship with these Lanterns so there's probably not much more I can do until Dox decides what he wants us to do. I could try contacting that dreadnaught directly, or try reaching Councillor Vayneek to discover their intentions… But I don't want to undermine Dox.

The Reach fleet is firing in earnest, now, as the gordanians continue to accelerate and cluster tighter. Reach prow-mounted primary weapons are all firing at the dreadnaught, which-. Definite lateral movement, there. Trying to move itself out of the densest cone of fire? Those weapons are a good deal slower than light, so-.

This time, I see the moment when the fleet-scale boom tube appears.

It opens just in front of the dreadnaught, the entire fleet passing through before all but the earliest shots from the Reach intersect with their former position. Okay, are they.. disengaging? Somewhat anticlimactic, but if they just want to soften our target up for-.

Then the exit appears, immediately behind the Reach fleet. The smaller gordanian ships are out first, shooting after the larger Reach ships and rapidly closing to point blank range. Reach ships are tough, but their attackers have a weapon loadout focused on short range bombardment and are highly skilled at coordinating their fire. One gun-battleship has its shields breached before it can reorientate them, the barrage breaking its armour and piercing its primary generators a moment later.

Reach return fire is slower but not slow, hampered more by the relative position of the fleets than the sloth of the crews. They're turning, but their formation isn't designed to fight an enemy coming from that direction and-.

And then the dreadnaught is through and their efforts-

By My Will, Cease.

-all seem rather irrelevant.

Two battleships this time, and I think… It's targeting the Reach fleet's flags. And it turns out that it does have secondary weapon batteries and I can't even see the Reach fleet's return fire now. Scaled up Apokoliptian blasters. Far slower than light but far more powerful than the infantry version. Reach ships crumple, their shields failing in moments and their hulls only shortly afterwards. That… Means there's a powerful New God on that dreadnaught, either that or a team of less powerful ones perfectly coordinating themselves.

The gordanians aren't having it entirely their own way. One of the flanking Reach squadrons manages to reposition itself and make a coordinating counterattack. Two gordanian cruisers are caught while attacking a.. carrier? And reduced to drifting hulks as the squadron heads for a gordanian battleship a little way behind them. They're also careful to keep a number of gordanian ships between them and the dreadnaught, which isn't a terrible idea…

But I've seen Canis, Scott Free and Barda interact with New God technology. The commander of that ship isn't going to miss in a situation like this. The only question is whether they take the shot themselves or order the battleship to deal with it. The fact that they haven't shared blaster technology with the gordanian ships suggests that they aren't perfectly cooperating… So what wins out? Pride in the power of their fleet, or contempt for those who fail to grasp their own power?

The battleship spots the attack and opens fire, its primary and secondary batteries picking targets by class. Its support squadron turn away from their targets a moment later, moving to flank the attackers. The Reach ships are dying faster than their worse-positioned comrades, so if this is a sacrificial-.

The dreadnaught fires, miss-.

No. Ring, show me that again.

Compliance.

No, not missing. The squadron's command ship had a Scarab Warrior who was flying at the gordanian battleship. The dreadnaught apparently considered that to be the only thing the battleship couldn't deal with on its own. And two blaster secondary batteries are enough to shred a Scarab Warrior.

I look back to the ongoing combat, only to find that it's not really ongoing. The Reach fleet has ceased to be, the few survivors being pursued as they try to flee. They aren't getting away though; the dreadnaught is opening smaller boom tubes for the cruisers to intercept them, all the while turning to-

Trouble Me No More.

-utterly shatter the moon with its main gun.

Huh.

Then a new fleet-scale boom tube opens just ahead of our fleet.

Darko · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
weapons -kinetics, mostly-

maybe 'kinetic'

Mr Zoat said:
to say who is truly has the advantage.

'who truly has'

Vaermina · Dec 3, 2020

Mr Zoat said:
Then a new fleet-scale boom tube opens just ahead of our fleet.

And this is where LEGION get's an offer Dox won't refused.

hance1986 · Dec 3, 2020

So allies of convenience between LEGION and Lord Grayven? Possible. But if this is the 16 version of canon Grayven? We've gotten spoiled with Renegade Grayven. And Paragon Grayven is not having his divine portfolio usurped by the SI.

An issue I would like to see more is Paul's orange light perception and awareness and how it works with the unspoken New God elements, like the Godspeak.

Handlewithcare · Dec 3, 2020

So the toss is between Grayven merely trying to scavenge some Reach territory or attacking the Corps as well.

Mentally healthy people wouldn't even consider a two front war like this, but no one has ever acused Apokalyptians of being mentally sound.

liger0 · Dec 3, 2020

Well... shit. I take it that actual!Grayven is there to kick asses, take names &/or conquer planets and he doesn't rightly care whose asses he kicks.

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

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