Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Bits o' Legionnaire Business Re: Legion Worlds Seven (finished 27 July 21)

Guys, thank you for your kind words. I am very grateful.

You'll be seeing more of War-Wolf soon (ish) and the mystery villain will be putting their plans into action right after the next Hit Squad storyline.

Don't feel too sorry for Brek, he's definitely on a character arc and I've some long term plans for him. Actually, knowing where it leads him too, I think you might feel a little bit sorry...

Omni, I first introduced 2 invisible Khunds on Ventura when the team went up against that crime boss, so I imagine theyre a pair of thugs for hire. We'll be getting into more about them soon (ish, again).

I'm hoping to have at least half a dozen posts up by the end of the week as after that I'll be away for a week or two.

Coming up, Mon El and a team from Second Base try to stop a war somewhere they don't have UP peacekeeping authority and there are other big players involved, we'll also have a face off between Shady and Lady Memory with unexpected consequences, the interns discuss their love life, Troy and Monica go on a date, and Southern Lights gives himself a good talking to (kind of).

Thanks again guys, really appreciated your support

C

Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Southern Lights meditated.

Within him resided some vestige of the soul of another dimension and in moments like this the young mystic from Starhaven felt something of the connection. It felt like the memory of a taste from childhood , so close to being realised but ultimately elusive. He knew it was there and, after Mysa Nal and her magical companions had commented on its nature while they were above Talok viii, he was desperate to find out more.

In the Voligaxxian System this other-dimensional entity had been running an experiment with the indigenous peoples, somehow manipulating them, chosing their Emperor... Southern Lights was not certain exactly how far the manipulation went but he was certain the natives of that distant planet had little choices in their planetary development. While there on a mission, he had opened himself up to this entity in an attempt to communicate with it and it had somehow used the magical connection to infect him with its being...

<<you are wrong>>

The voice wasn't heard so much as understood at some visceral level within his core. Southern Lights shot to his feet and looked around. After several deep breaths the young mystic resumed his lotus position on the floor.

<can we speak?> he asked, unsure if the consciousness could fully hear or even understand.

<<you are wrong>> again the words rang within him.

<will you explain?> he asked, trying hard to keep his fear and apprehension out of the tone of the message.

Images and sensations flooded his being. It took several seconds for Southern Lights to realise he was being shown the history of the Voligaxxian System. In sensations that went beyond his own sensory perceptions he became aware of the symbiotic relationship that had developed between the small inhabitants of the world and the consciousness of the far-distant realm. As these sensations expanded, the young mystic learned how this strange relationship had grown and evolved over many hundreds of millennia.

As the history presented itself Southern Lights learned that the trans-dimensional rift within the Voligaxxian system had exposed all live from the first cells through to the feral natives and this ...soul to each other. Neither had understood the other but as the small world skipped across the edges of the rift the strange consciousness had no option than to feel the emotions and disharmony that the natives of the world all shared.

The consciousness had tried to sooth these beasts' passions as they burned through its existence like a virus. It had failed in many attempts over a thousand cycles until this alien soul had been in possession of the being that had fought its way to be the leader of a group of the dominant species that held control over a small area on one of the land masses on this planet. All of this had been very strange to the inter-dimensional consciousness - independent thinking beings were truly unknown to it and concepts of society, leadership and even fighting were all counterintuitive to its timeless and alien omni-inclusive perspective.

Over another millennium the inter-dimensional soul had taken control of more and more leaders as they could order their followers to stop fighting amongst themselves and it had eventually led them to accept one true ruler for their entire planet that it kept a tight rein upon. A side-effect of the symbiosis was the feral creatures became immune to aging, much as the consciousness had been (as it had no understanding of time prior to encountering this reality). The Voligaxxian's also became sterile, another side effect of the symbiosis to the non-gendered, unique consciousness.

As much as the alien soul had calmed the natives the consciousness grew to have an understanding of the native's inbuilt natural urge to battle among themselves to better their offsprings opportunities and so, the choosing of each new Emperor grew to become a ritualised brawl that helped ease these primitive urges.

Over time it had learned about the wider universe the Voligaxxians inhabited and this too had been shocking; the concept of infinite space and independent worlds were something it truly struggled to comprehend.

The few beings alien to the world that it encountered did not have the symbiotic nature of the small natives of this world, so the consciousness was never able to learn anything more of these alien being's perspective of the reality they inhabited. The consciousness longed to understand these strange beings, so, over the centuries it began to make plans...

The previous Emperor had leaked a story that his life was under threat. That Emperor had been acting upon urges that the distant consciousness had been drip-feeding for a decade. It needed to see beyond this one wild world and had hoped for an off-worlder it might communicate with. The consciousness had the urge to learn if all the independent beings within this dimension that ruptured into its own existence were as strange as the feral Voligaxxians.

With Southern Lights spirit-magic bridging the gap between them, the consciousness had entered the Legionnaire: it had finally been given the opportunity to view the universe through a being not limited to one small planet.

Southern Lights reacted at this point as, like all natives of Starhaven, he had been brought up to firmly believe in the role of self-determination on a person's lifepath. That the alien soul could stowaway within him was a concept he found repulsive. As strongly as he could, the mystic tried to explain his beliefs though the consciousness still struggled with the concept of independence; from the reality it inhabited there was only it... it and that dimension were one and the same. The only existence the soul had known was its own.

It had no true understanding of Southern Lights' anger, no real feel for his passions. And, as the Legionnaire and the truly alien soul considered each other, the words of the Black Witch came back to Southern Lights:

"Be true to your heart..."

To be true to his heart.... Southern Lights had always been told he had a kind heart; he was well known to give support to those around him, sometimes even to a reckless extent. Was this what Mysa meant? She had also said he had an important role to play regarding this most alien of beings...

<I will allow you to remain and observe only if we agree that you will never interfere in any of my choices> Southern Lights offered as a compromise. He held his breath for several seconds until the voice within his core replied.

<<agreed>> The swensation of agreement and gratitude flooded the young mystic's body.

<thank you> there was a sigh of relief as Southern Lights sent this thought. There was silence between them for several long seconds before the Legionnaire added:

<I would also be happy if perhaps you could teach me of your reality as well, as sharing of understanding may help us communicate clearer going forward>

<<...agreed>> There was a lightness to this message, as if the consciousness was surprised and happy at this arrangement.

Southern Lights meditated for a further four hours that day. He only stopped when Mon El contacted him regarding a mission. The mystic from Starhaven smiled as he happily confirmed he would join his Daxamite mentor, feeling lighter and more focussed than he had in weeks.

Tyroc - Deputy Leader - Troy Stewart of Marzal city pocket dimension, sonic control
Monica Sade of Rimbor - strength, reflexes, line of sight teleportation


Tyroc and Monica Sade had been on a date.

It hadn't gone well as the meal wasn't great, the wine was too sharp and they had a long wait for a rather tepid dessert. The ambient music was loud and the lights to dim, so they ended up communicating through their telepathic link as they could neither hear or see each other clearly.

Just to complete an otherwise disappointing evening one of the restaurant staff had tipped off paparazzi. As they stepped out into the cool Sydnopolis evening onto a plaza overlooking the holo of the ancient Opera House, there had been a fleet of camera drones and a scrum of reporters waiting. The Legionnaires were not really all that surprised as the lights flashed and voices started shouting questions about everything from personal matters regarding their relationship to the current whereabouts of Second Base.

Troy had given his best statesman-like smile but refused to comment as he called for a warp from Henry. Monica had not smiled as she turned away from them. The warp appeared beside the two Legionnaires and they stepped through to their personal quarters on the distant planetoid. As they did a drone flew after them and got through to Second Base. As the warp was closing Monica punched it, sending it back through to Earth.

"That'll be news Tinya won't want broadcastin', y'know that?" Troy grumbled.

"Legionnaire punches intruding inanimate object... not much of a story, is it? Shouldn't spy on us like that, bloody vultures!" She said, her anger at the intrusiveness of the media was clear. This had been their first night alone in weeks and she was obviously annoyed now.

"Better let Network know." Troy stomped to their holo-pit.

"Whatever you want. I'm going to the gym Troy, come join if you fancy getting physical." Monica Sade popped out of sight before he could reply.

Troy Stewart activated the holopit control panel and called for First Base. A holo of Theena appeared before him, a small grin on her face.

"Hey Troy, everything okay?" Her tone made it obvious she had already tracked some story regarding the Second Base team leader.

"yeah, kind of... it's manageable anyways."

"Oh-kay. Ahh... I take it you're calling about the story that just broke saying you and Monica are splittin' up. Says you went for a meal, looked miserable and didn't talk the whole night then Monica broke a media-drone as it tried to ask a few questions... any truths?" Theena asked.

"Kind of accurate, 'part from the splittin' part. And the not talking, we used TP as the music was too loud. Food was pretty much less'n average so not much t' smile 'bout in there. We won't be back or giv'n' it any rec'mendations. She did punch that bloody drone though, it followed us back through Henry's warp to our apartment... you able to deal wit' this? You want me t' give a statement?"

"Don't worry yourself there, I'll make sure the press knows this sort of intrusion isn't welcome and let slip it's a fairly rubbish restaurant too and that's why you weren't too happy. That should keep the media satisfied." Theena gave a big smile before adding, "Enjoy the rest of your night Troy, catch you soon." And with a wave of her hand the holo-transmission ended.

Troy Stewart smiled to himself. With that dealt with, he wondered if it was too late to rescue the plans he had for this evening... one super-quick sonic shower and then he'd join Monica in the gym and, who knows, perhaps it wouldn't be a write-off after all.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Intern: Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form


Science Police alert: increase in skirmishes between Gedunian and Dreggraranian fleets at the outskirts of the B'laxor system.

Excerpt from 31st Century History - Minor Wars and Other Troubles: History will look back at the animosity between the Gedun and the Dreggraran and wonder why they ever bothered. Both races were from the same mother world originally, though neither would ever mention that long dead world's name. They shared technology and culture; even their most common languages were similar enough that they could communicate without much trouble. It seemed the only thing they differed on was agreeing which ruling class was correct in assuming their ultimate position, with neither wishing to cede ground. As is often the case where the ruling elite have the choice between compromising their own ego-fuelled belief in their automatic superiority or having other sentient's children killed in battle to prove said superiority the two races had been fighting against each other on and off for almost five hundred years. The UP issued a quarantine around the systems where the most trouble was concentrated though it has often been known to spill over into neighbouring planets jurisdictions.

Mon El flew ahead of the cruiser with the Green Lantern close behind.The ongoing tension between the two planets from neighbouring systems had bubbled and boiled for almost half a millennium now and lately it had escalated. The UP Council were concerned that the increasing tension over the last month or so would lead an all-out conflict. If it did, it could mean serious destabilisation within one of the buffer zones between the United Planets and the Dominion. While neither the Gedun or the Dreggraran's systems were official members of the United Planets, they both had many trade agreements and had signed several non-aggression treaties with the UP in the last century. It was very much in their interest to keep the Gedun and the Dreggraran from committing to any horrific action that might send their ongoing conflict spiralling out of control and leave the Dominion with an easy route through to the UP.

The Legion had been asked to intervene in the latest skirmish and attempt to create a dialogue between the two worlds.Dkyun Mu was the first to act.

A pulse of green energy spat from her Oan power ring that disabled the approaching battle cruiser. Mon El signalled that he would go ahead to discuss the current situation with Southern Lights and Lexikon, while the Green Lantern waited in space and Otaki, Karate Kid and the new intern Strobe stayed onboard the cruiser.

The flight ring created a communication link onto the command deck of the huge, heavily armed craft, and the Daxamite Legionnaire asked for permission to board. His tone made it perfectly clear that he was only being polite by asking...After several seconds of silence, the Gedun commander accepted. Henry provided the warps that allowed Mon El in space and Lexikon and Southern Lights from the cruiser to step into the surprisingly luxurious command deck. The Green Lantern remained out in space, her Oan Power Ring keeping the war craft immobile.

"Legionnaires, you cripple my ship and now come for spoils..." there was little warmth in the voice as it came from the small Universal Translator disc on the bi-peds throat.Mon El approached the pale blue bi-ped that had spoken and bowed his head in respect.

"Sir, your ship is merely frozen in place while we seek a less destructive solution to your problem."

"Kill the Dreggraran. Kill them all ...then we will have peace."

"That's not how we operate, you know that sir so please let's all try to be reasonable." Mon El sounded calm, almost dismissive as he replied.

The blue skinned bi-peds shuffled awkwardly around, muttering in a guttural language to one of its colleagues. They each exhibited small jerky movements that Mon El assumed were part of their species language.

<The one on your left wants to attack us but his colleagues have told him not to be stupid, he said he still might...> Lexikon sent through the flight ring generated telepathic matrix. Mon El sighed before he turned to the Gedunian that he had just been warned might attack him.

The Daxamite smiled broadly as he spoke."How about we arrange a meeting between your two people's leaders and I will personally assure everyone's safety? I mean, between the Legionnaires present, we are more than capable of easily tearing your fleets apart if we really wanted to, so...", he casually shrugged as if to signify how minor an effort this would be before continuing, "...surely no-one would be stupid enough try anything silly, now would they?" The Legionnaire smiled again, this time with the edge of a threat showing.

The two Gedun quickly agreed with his assessment.

The Legionnaires were immediately struck by the awful smell - it was something akin to three days dead fish and rotting sewage in an ammonia bath.

Mon El had asked if the Legionnaires could host the meeting on their cruiser though this was quickly scuppered with both sides wanting any talks to take place in the Helix Citadel - a space station created countless generations ago that sat on the border between the two worlds, built to house ambassadorial meetings and culturally the only neutral space either people would acknowledge. Both sides had invested technology to neutralise each other's weapons, sophisticated surveillance systems and, as far as the Legionnaires could determine, it was the only place where they would not kill each other if the discussions became heated.

Karate Kid remained on the cruiser, monitoring the Citadel. She had not shown her disappointment at being left behind but Mon El knew the young martial artist was hoping to see the inside of the Citadel as part of her Legion experience. Still, he wanted someone watching their backs from the relative safety of the cruiser.

Inside the ornate meeting room on the Citadel Otaki willed the eco-protect filters from the atmosphere that her flight ring generated to scrub the smell from around her so she didn't gag. She knew that starting a potential peace process dialogue by vomiting on the hosts floor was never going to work out well or give you the credibility to carry off such a delicate mission. As she fought the initial gagging reflex her psychic abilities reached out and she touched each mind on the ship.

The representatives of the two people were stood in groups on opposite sides of the large, starkly furnished room. Bina could sense their confusion and resentment. Outside of the room there were half a dozen others associated with the two groups that echoed these feelings. As she reached out to scan the entire base, she found several dozen of the Gedun and Dreggraran working on the maintenance of this station. Suddenly, the young psychic became aware of two more minds that were definitely not of this race. She knew what they were immediately.

<There are two Dominators on the lower decks, just caught sense of them> She sent to the team. Mon El nodded though didn't respond to her. The intern, Strobe turned and stared at her though, his face showing his surprise.

"Fellow sapients," the Daxamite said to the Gedun and the Dreggraran representatives, "in order to ensure we have a secure and fruitful meeting I have asked our teammate, the Green Lantern, to remain out in space. She will ensure there are no outside forces at work here. Neither of you know of any outside forces that may be trying to involve themselves in our attempt to bring peace here today, do you?" He stared at the Gedun before turning his stern gaze on the Dreggraran.

It didn't take Lexikon's translation abilities to see that both groups looked uncomfortable.

"So... there's more going on here than just a few gun-happy ships facing off in space then? Would you like to explain it to me, please?" Mon El's voice didn't betray his disappointment.

"Her Majesty, the Eternally Young Queen..." Began the Gedun representative, while the Dreggraran shouted over the top, "His Most Daring Royal Highness..."

"Enough!" Mon El barked. His eyes flashed red. "Just answer me this - why are there Dominators below?"

There was a sudden silence in the room as both sides realised that the Legionnaire was aware of their other guests at the Citadel.

"Perhaps we should bring them up to join in with this conversation?" Lexikon added with a vicious smile.

The Dominators had obviously been monitoring the conversation as less than two minutes later they walked through the doors into the state room.

One was tall and thin while the other was more bulky and noticeably shorter. Both were wearing red cloaks with gold embroidered around the edges while bearing large red circles upon their foreheads showing them to be of high status.

"Legionnairesss, you have no durisssdiction out here." One of them said, its voice grating in its coarseness.

"Neither do you." Otaki replied immediately. Mon El gave her a reproachful glance before speaking.

"We are here to stop a war. Can you say the same?"

"They are traders who wish to share technology..." the Gedun ambassador said.

"With the Dreggraran people... and only with the Dreggraran..." His counterpart interjected. The two groups stared at each other, much as the Legionnaires and Dominators were staring. There was no love lost between any of the groups present.

"No, they're high-caste so won't just be traders... why are you really here?" Mon El said.

"Our busssinesss is busssinesss sso none of your consscern, Legionnaire." the taller dominator hissed.

<If it helps, I could cast a truth spell... it would affect us all though> Southern Lights sent to Mon El along a personal bandwidth.

<Let's wait, though keep it ready. Thank you>

"If your trade leads to a war then it will become our business." The Daxamite turned away from them and returned his attention to the Degun ambassador. "Why are they here? What do they want to give your people that you'll risk going to war?"

"Weapons... they have offered us a way to defeat the Dreggraran once and for all." As the ambassador proudly announced this his opposite number started shouting that it would be the Dreggraran that would do trade with the Dominion.

The Dominators both laughed in the scratchy chittering that annoyed Mon El. He had seen enough of their manipulative practice over the centuries to know that neither the Degun or the Dreggraran would win here.

<Otaki, keep an eye on the Dominators please, let me know if their moods change... I have a feeling we're missing something here so want to keep them under the microscope>

The Dominator cruiser spun out of warp several light-seconds away from the Helix Citadel.

Dkyun Mu sent a message to Mon El letting him know what was happening as she sped towards the huge ship. The Green Lantern created an emerald bubble around herself that matched the size of the approaching craft and with a thought she altered the energy's shape so it became the Legion's symbol, writ large against the stars. Those aboard would immediately recognise it and realise what they were facing, and she hoped it might give them pause...

Three missiles fired from the underside of the ship. Dkyun had several seconds to react - more than enough time to alter the energy shape into three twisting tubes that turned the missiles around so they flew back towards the Dominator craft. Surely, she thought, they were smart enough to not risk annoying a Green Lantern? They must know what the Oan power ring allowed her to do... the missiles exploded harmlessly a dozen klicks from their mothership.

Dkyun Mu's ring warned her as a warp opened only metres away from her. A tall four-armed Dominator stepped through. It had a red hexagon with a white symbol on its forehead - a caste designation she did not recognise. She also quickly realised it was not wearing protective equipment against the vacuum of space. She knew the Dominators had tried to create a super-powered slave race over the last few years and realised that now perhaps they had succeeded. Only this one did not look like anyone's slave!

<Legionnaire Lantern, ssstep aside. We are here to trade with these sssavagesss> The Dominator's telepathy felt rough, as if it had scratched its words into her thoughts.

<We are here to stop a war between the Degun and Dreggraran. If it continues, your trade will be affected so it is of utmost...> Dkyun replied.

<I do not care. You have one Terran minute to remove yourssself or I will obliterate you> And with that a warp appeared and the Dominator stepped through leaving the Green Lantern alone.

I'll try to get a few more posts in before Xmas, but if I run out of time hope you enjot these and have a marvellous time over the holidays.

C

Science Police Psychiatrist - Doctor Anje Falkner, alpha-level telepath
'Captain Heavyweight' - Captain Tuk Shir of the Science Police from Daxam, Senior Team liaison, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability


As the counsellor to the Legion Anje had expected there would be difficult times, but the current level of anxiety and fear that quite a few members of the team were experiencing since dealing with the terrible situation on Talok viii was beginning to feel almost overwhelming. She had needed to request assistance from the Titanian Institute on Naltor.

She had spent eleven hours straight in her office today and had held twelve sessions with various team members as they processed the feelings that remained after their possession by the Blight. All of them were finding it difficult to deal with the mood swings, fear and anxiety that they now experienced. In the last two days Anje had asked three of them to remove themselves from the active-duty roster, which hadn't gone down well in two of the cases. When she checked the duty roster before leaving her office, she was relieved to see that they all had done as asked.

It had been a tough day, on the back of a week of tough days with at least a solid week more already booked into her calendar ahead of her. The Blighted Legionnaires needed support and she intended to give them every iota of help that she could.

Captain Tuk Shir, her Daxamite husband, was in their apartment as she arrived. As usual, the place was spotlessly clean. This was one of the many reasons Anje loved her husband so much; he had an intense dislike for clutter so would happily clean up after her. It was one of the few habits that Anje didn't share that she had never tried to get him to stop.

"Tuk, darlin', is there any wine open?" She called out as the door irised closed behind her.

Within a second the powerfully built Daxamite was at her side with a freshly opened bottle of clear Chablis and a tall glass flute. He smiled broadly and kissed his wife on the forehead before presenting her with the glass, half full of freshly poured alluring dry white wine.

"Oh, I think I might just love you. " She said wearily as she rested her head against his shoulder, "Like totally love you... for real." She added with a small cheeky grin.

"Bad day?" He asked before kissing the top of her head gently.

"Was, yeah... It's better now." She lifted her head to his and they kissed.

After Anje had showered and pulled her warm bath robe around herself, she made her way through to their kitchen area. She could hear her husband clattering around and smiled as she wondered what he was up to; cooking wasn't one of his strengths really but she was almost always grateful for whatever he presented to her when she got home if she'd had a long day. The circular room had pale dusty olive-green walls and white units with several flag banners from the worlds where the couple had previously been posted hanging in the dining section.

Upon the circular dining table was a freshly pressed white cloth. On it stood a tall gothic looking candle holder with a happily twinkling candle and two small bulbous red glass vases each with several long-stemmed yellow and white roses. Tuk Shir dimmed the lights with a word as his wife entered.

"I thought tonight we could... well, after we've eaten, we might want to relax and enjoy ourselves. We've both had a hectic couple of weeks." As he spoke Anje could see the knowing smile on his face, the same mischievous half-grin that she had seen the very first time they had met at a Science Police conference almost a decade before. Without even acknowledging it she knew that the Legionnaires and majority of the SP's seconded here would never have believed just how flirtatious and god-damn sexy the big Daxamite could be once he got out of his stuffy uniform.

"Uh huh, and how do you think we'll manage to do that? Have you seen the size of my caseload?" Her tone was teasing and the smile she gave her husband echoed his.

"To be honest, it wasn't the size of your caseload that I've been admiring..." His cheeky reply.

Anje spontaneously laughed for the first time that day.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Intern: Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form


Mon El considered his options.

The Gedun and Dreggraran were squabbling while the Dominators chittered their rude laughter. Lexikon stood to one side watching them all with a cool aloofness. Otaki stood at the other side of the Daxamite, while Southern Lights and Strobe were behind him.

Dkyun Mu had seconds until the Dominators would potentially attack her yet he was stuck here trying to resolve this stupid situation. Southern Lights could survive in space though his magics were not up to stopping a Dominion battle-cruiser. Karate Kid was onboard the cruiser and while she had, after much training, mastered the controls Mon El doubted that she would be entirely competent in a fire fight. There was only one option left and he hated to use them in this level of confrontation though couldn't see any other way to support the Green Lantern.

<Strobe, if you are up to it son, do you want to support Dkyun against a Dominion battle-cruiser? It seems there's a meta-Dominator with it so she might appreciate some support>

<Oh.. of course. Yeah, I'll get right out there> And with that the intern vanished from sight as he altered his form into a stream of x-rays and sped to the Green Lantern's side.

<I think these two are more than they appear so be prepared. Dkyun just met a Dominator that exhibited meta-abilities, I wonder if these are the same>

<They both feel very certain of themselves> Otaki shared with the group.

<Their kind always does. It makes it a pleasure to teach them the errors of their ways> Lexikon sent as reply which gave Mon El a smile.

As Strobe appeared to vanish, Mon El told the assembled ambassadors that his colleague had gone to deal with another matter, intentionally being vague, and he hoped to keep the meeting from being disturbed. The Dominators laughed again.

<Okay, listen we have no real authority here so need to make sure the Gedun and Dreggraran find out for themselves what the Dominion are after> Mon El shared, <Southern Lights, do you have that truth spell? Better warn the team what to expect...>

Mon El knew he could be causing more problems but realised that technically the Legion had no legal authority here and was desperate to show the Dominators up for what they truly were. Anything would be better than these two races fighting over a bogus trade agreement and the Dominators carving another system up for their own gain.

<The Truth Spell will make it impossible to tell a lie... if it's easier, you do not have to speak but if you do it will be 100% honest and heartfelt. It will only last for a quarter of one hour but in that time, everything said will be the whole truth>

<Okay... we all understand?> Mon El asked the team. They all agreed. <okay Southern Light, do it, let's try having an honest conversation for a change>

The young mystic smiled as turned away from the groups present and went to stare out of a portal at the vastness of space outside the station. As he did, he muttered arcane words and stretched his fingers out, releasing the truth spell onto everyone present in the room at that moment.

Dkyun Mu was not surprised when the intern approached her.

Strobe remained in x-ray form, amazed that somehow the technology within his also transformed flight ring allowed him to still access the telepathic grid. He had no idea how Brainiac had created the miraculous rings but was grateful for them at that moment.

<What do you need me to do?> Denal Lort asked the Green lantern.

<Perhaps if I distract them you could disable their craft. Dominion ships have multiple small Q-generators arranged much like a helix within their crafts. It is the gestalt that gives them power. If you could disturb the magnetic holding fields in a couple of them, I believe it would cause severe power fluctuations in their cruiser without risking their lives> The Xudarian Green Lantern had been an astro-engineer before Soddam Yat had asked her to join the Lantern Corps and it appeared she knew more than just standard design parameters.

<Oh... okay, if I bounce off a few in concentrated x-ray form that might work>

<good luck, and be careful as I believe there is at least one meta-being on board>

In x-ray form the intern from Dryad found the cruiser's docking bay and snuck aboard. He knew that trying to enter through the hull would have been impossible as all space-faring vessels would have protection from radiation.

When Strobe had first been given the gene-tailoring that allowed him to transform into electro-magnetic energy he had most struggled with how different his senses were in his new form. Instead of sight and hearing he could now sense matter, energy and vibrations by their size, strength, density, direction and output. Colours and textures were things he could gather by the output signal, though they were still something he found strange. These altered senses did help in this case though as the Q-engines radiated intense energy fields that his senses could clearly define even through all the floors separating them.

In concentrated x-ray form the intern bounced through the ship intentionally colliding hundreds of times per second against the magnetic shielding around several of the Q-generators that Dkyun Mu had told him of. In under ten seconds the magnetic fields started to wobble, creating redundancy programming to click into place and power outages within nearby sections. Strobe had intentionally struck close to the lower levels where the weapons section was housed hoping that this would save the Green Lantern from having to deal with any more attacks. With that thought, Strobe decided to see how long it would take him to disrupt the entire cruiser's energy supplies. He reckoned he could do it in a minute, at the most.

Outside of the Dominator cruiser, Dkyun Mu maintained her distance from the craft. Karate Kid had contacted her and asked if she wanted the Legion's ship to support her but the Green Lantern declined saying the martial artist would best serve the team if she remained closer to the Citadel.

As expected, the Dominion ship released a volley of missiles. They were easily caught and dismantled a safe distance from the Legionnaire in bursts of emerald energy. Even as the last of them was shattering a flare of pulse-light blasted out towards the Green Lantern. She easily avoided these, setting up a circuit of reflective discs that sent the blasts back towards the huge craft. Dkyun was smart enough to know that the Dominators were merely testing her as these assaults were not particularly impressive. As a second barrage started the weapons system appeared to twitch before the firing stopped entirely - Strobe had obviously disabled the power supply.

There was a couple of seconds of calm before a warp opened in front of the Legionnaire and the four-armed Dominator that had approached her earlier stepped through.

<I do not know how you disssabled my Q-enginesss but that will not ssstop me>

The Dominator lunged at the Legionnaire. Their yellow fists pounded upon the energy bubble the Green Lantern created around them.

<You will remain there until this situation is resolved> Dkyun replied and turned to watch the cruiser.

<No! You are wrong> A warp appeared underneath the Dominator and it dropped through to escape from its emerald confinement.

First Base

Titan - Nasir N?Cube of Titan, alpha-level telepathy
Spoiler ii - Gord Eno of Naltor, precognition, specialising in short range visions for combat situations


Gord Eno practiced his combat skills blindfolded.

He had been in this small dojo on a quiet lower level for half an hour fighting the robots and hard light constructs that the AI generated. His hair was sweaty and he felt the burn in his muscles as he pushed himself to complete each level of the AI generated training program.

Nasir N'Cube walked into the dojo and gave a respectful bow before stepping onto the large mat.

"Hey, Titan, so glad you could make it. Hope you don't mind me asking for your help with this." Gord shouted out as he dodged a combat droid's attempt to slap him down.

Before the fight sequence could go any further Gord said "Computer end combat session please," pulled off his blindfold and walked over to his fellow Legionnaire. The tall telepath and the stocky precognitive stood together at the side of the mat.

As Gord explained his idea to Nasir they both began to smile - it was outrageous but also surprisingly simple. The new Legionnaire called the Spoiler wanted his telepathic colleague to psychically carry his consciousness out of his body and then run a series of tests. Gord had a hypothesis that his precognition could be used to give Titan the warnings of imminent threats instead of just himself. If they could get it to work, then perhaps, they could also telepathically transfer Gord's precognitive essence to other Legionnaires in serious combat conditions.

It took two hours, and both had serious headaches afterwards, but they eventually came to the conclusion that while it was great as an idea it just simply didn't work. The Naltorian's consciousness was scattered across divergent probabilities and possibilities making it incredibly difficult if not actually impossible for the Titanian to fully capture it.

Nasir knew that he never wanted to try anything like that again as the strain of trying to gently but thoroughly collect multiple versions of reality expressed through someone else's sensory perception without losing the nuances necessary to make precognition effective had beaten him. Meanwhile, Gord felt as if his mind had encountered a psychic deep-sea trawler that had dredged up every thought imaginable and churned them all together and left disorder in its wake. It was all rather disorientating and unpleasant.

Eventually, Titan had to ask to stop. Gord was surprised when he opened his eyes as the tall telepath looked totally exhausted! Neither wanted to train anymore after that so they retired to a near-by refectory.

"So, you enjoying being here Gord? You always seem really positive but I couldn't help sense ...unhappiness, I guess that's the word, like an unfulfilled longing perhaps, when I was in your thoughts. Sorry if this is intrusive by the way, I didn't intentionally peak..." Nasir N'Cube held both hands up, palms out, in the universal sign of surrender as he finished talking.

"That's alright, really." Gord Eno smiled, "It's... well, the mission I went on with Reep was.... umm.... really boring to be honest." He chuckled and gave a shrug. "So, I thought once I became a full Legionnaire it would get more exciting but it hasn't, not really. There are so many of us that there's often not much to do on missions. Don't get me wrong I'm very grateful for being here but it's not what I expected. Guess I'm just getting my head around the difference between my expectations and the reality."

"That's true. I was with the Science Police before joining just like you were a Pre-Commando, and I don't know about you, but we definitely dealt with more... well, just more! It took me a while to realise, but it's the scale of the problems we deal with now that are so much larger ...so the way I see it is we should appreciate this time to train and prepare. We're no longer having to separate drunken brawlers or chase down graffiti artists, we're in the big league now. When things go down, they tend to have much more serious consequences so we gotta be at the top of our game."

"That's true, I hadn't thought of it like that... yeah, you're right Nasir." Gord smiled thankfully to his telepathic colleague.

"Anytime you want to talk, you know I'm here for you... anytime at all."

"I'll take you up on that, thank you."

"Well... yeah, guess you'd know." Nasir chuckled at his attempt at a joke.

They clinked their glasses of matcha tea together in cheers.

Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon, catalyzes chemical reactions

Hadru Jamik was not happy.

He had been benched by the team's Shrink and the rest of the team seemed to be avoiding him.

He had gone to the gym that morning at 0600 as usual in the hope of having a training session with SPO Jusool but the Talokean was away on a mission. Intellectually, Hadru knew this was just the way circumstances would work, but emotionally he was bitterly disappointed even upset by this turn of events. Even Grava hadn't replied to his last call. He had heard she was a bit out of sorts after Talok viii but how much would it take for her to just hit the reply function on the holo? Hadru was not impressed.

Like all full Legionnaires the Chemical Kid was obliged to give a full day a month to the Academy as a guest tutor. As he checked his personal log, he noticed that these days had been struck through in his calendar with a note from Dr Falkner telling him that he was to take it easy... so, he thought, he wasn't even seen fit to play with the newbies on Home Base?

Hadru knew he needed to do something, or he would likely end up burning down his apartment.

With a swipe of his hand, he called up the student rota on the Academy to see what was on Polar Boy's schedule for that day... Legal studies with an hour's obligatory gymnasium and a team building exercise in the evening. It all sounded rather bleh to Hadru and he was certain that Brek would agree.

Well, the young Phlonite thought, perhaps Brek wouldn't mind skipping things for the day and join his old buddy on a mini adventure. They hadn't really spoken since Brek had been muscled off the team but Hadru was totally sure that they could reconnect in no time!

Anything would be better than spending another day going slightly mad on First Base.

First Base

Shadow Lass - Tasmia Mallor of Talok viii, summon and manipulate the Darkfield
Lady Memory - Kahnya Nahtahnie of Talok viii, access to, and manipulation of the memories of those around her


Shadow Lass and Lady Memory had never considered themselves as natural allies while their planet existed.

Currently the two Talokean Champions sat opposite each other in the staff refectory on Home Base. When they had arrived Kinetix had rushed up to them with small bowls of guacamole and a plate of small crackers. After pushing the bowls into their hands Kinetix gave the biggest smile.

"It's my favourite holiday on Aleph today, Avocado Day, so... Happy avocados to happy people!" She said, "Hope you enjoy!" She blushed slightly at the stern expressions on the two Talokean's faces before rushing out of the refectory to find other colleagues to share her holiday cheer with. Both Shadow Lass and Lady Memory gave small smiles as the telekinetic Legionnaire left, though their faces returned to a more neutral expression as they sat down and faced each other.

Kahnya had travelled here from Senfrathras Minor 6 to give Tasmia some of Grev's personal belongings that she had managed to save from Talok viii before that world had disappeared from this reality. Initially Tasmia had been hesitant to see her old nemesis. The Desert People and the City Folk had historically been opposed to each other and several thousand years of savage cultural bias had been passed onto both of these women as they had grown up. They had fought and argued and despised each other until Grev had proposed marriage to the leader of the Memory Clan two years before.

Kahnya and Grev had met several times before his proposal and, surprisingly, they had actually gotten along reasonably well - far more to do with Grev's open and forgiving nature, she was sure. He had sold the proposition of their marriage as a way to heal the unhealthy divide between the two peoples and Kahnya knew that he was unlikely to lie to or try to manipulate her... his nature was far too trusting and honourable for such deceit. It was also, she hated to admit, a good idea.

Tasmia had absolutely despised the idea of her cousin having any sort of relationship with one of the Memory Clan. In fact, when she found out the Legionnaire had publicly assaulted him as she had seen the engagement as an affront to their people's history. After Grev had pointed out that the engagement had done more to ease the tensions between the two Peoples and improve living conditions for many thousands of innocent Talokeans than a thousand years of useless conflict, Tasmia had known he was right.

Tasmia was a proud woman and it would have taken months for her to forgive him had the Emeral Empress not had the shadow casting Legionnaires memories stripped from her mind and so Tasmia had been forced to re-learn her place in the galaxy. Tasmia knew now, of course, Grev had been right. He always had an annoying habit of being right.

As she said this to Kahnya both women started to smile. To start with, Kahnya replied with a small laugh, why couldn't he have at least been a little bit smug about it so we could have at least hated him for that, but no... Grev had to have that frustrating kindness about him. Tasmia agreed and started to tell a story about a misadventure they had endured as teenagers. The two women paused and looked at each other, both aware that despite their cultural biases they shared a strong love for the same man who was no longer with them. Kahnya was smiling though had tears beginning to pool in her eyes so Tasmia made an excuse to refill their drinks from the food replicator and left the table for a few moments to allow the other woman time to collect herself.

By the time Tasmia returned they had both regained their composure and continued to talk in more formal tones for another ten minutes or so.

They knew though that simple conversation about a man that had been an important part of both their lives had very probably put an end to the animosity that they had felt. By extension, it was likely that the Peoples that looked to them for leadership and guidance would notice and so relations between two tribes of Talok viii that had been in an unofficial war for a couple of millennia would only improve.

Grev's legacy would be bigger than either of them.

"Do you plan to stay here Tasmia?" Lady Memory asked.

"I will split my time between here and our people's new home." She replied, "The students helped our people in so many ways so it seems churlish to forget about that and not give them something back in return. And, if I'm here we can access their support easily if we need it again." Tasmia smiled before adding, "There could be a place here for you as well if you want it?"

Kahnya shook her head and gave a small smile of gratitude for the offer. It was far more than she had ever expected. "Grev was so proud of you. He looked up to you, you know that? He thought you were the very best our world had to offer the galaxy." Kahnya said quietly.

"He was so annoying being right all the time, wasn't he?" Tasmia replied with a warm and very teasing smile. Kahnya gave a snorted laugh.

"I need to return, thank you for being a gracious host Tasmia. I have ...enjoyed being here with you." Lady Memory stood up and bowed her head towards the Legionnaire.

"Thank you Kahnya," Shadow Lass said as she stood up, bowing in response. "Please know that you're always welcome here."

The two women nodded formally to each other before Tasmia called for a warp from Henry to return Kahnya to her People.

Shadow Lass had begun to turn around when a voice behind her said hello.

Science Police Senior Training Officer Jaxi Delgrado-Hynd approached with a warm smile on his face. They had met two days before at a meet-and-greet that Yera and Gim had set up for her. She had found the athletic tutor to be quite intense, and also interesting...

"Tasmia! Just the person I was hoping to see. How do you fancy re-configuring the combat training module so those blinkin' Daxamites don't always win?"

She grinned in reply.

Senfrathras Minor 6

Tesseract - Sar Jerash Mor Toark of Mars, access to intra-dimensional space
Poltergeist -Jaun Vineo of Titan, alpha-level telekinesis

Element Lad - Senior Team member, Jan Arrah of Trom, elemental transmutation
Dr Richard Kent Shakespeare -Impulse ? Chief medical officer - enhanced strength, speed, durability, stamina

The two interns were on a Hope Squad mission helping the Talokean refugees where they had been given team leader roles over two teams of students from Home Base and sent them off with a list of tasks that needed completing. Both interns had finished their lists within a few hours and returned to ask for more.

While the students had been working, Element Lad had led a small team of Legionnaires and support staff to help finish building a huge aqueduct system that ran over thousands of klicks across a quarter of the continent supplying fresh water from the mountains to several dozen newly built towns and villages that spread across the plains. Both Poltergeist and Tesseract had helped out with the final installation of the pump for this village and were currently taking a break, sat in the shade of a tree. They watched as Element Lad discussed the workings of the new irrigation pump to a group of village elders.

Jaun Vineo wanted the Legionnaire to notice how useful his telekinesis had been, in part to boost his chances of becoming a full Legionnaire himself one day. There was another reason though... Sar Jerash was not renowned for her tact and unfortunately for Jaun, she was also very observant so had quickly spotted who her fellow intern had been watching. And had figured out why.

"He already has a boyfriend. The muscley doctor that he hangs around with... you know that don't you?"

"Hey, mind your own business..." Jaun snapped, before adding in a much more resigned tone, "...and even if he wasn't with the Doc, I doubt he'd even notice me anyway."

"Yeah, well, he is at least five inches taller and ten years older than you, and a respected Legionnaire of long-standing with a very nice body... so you're most likely right." Tesseract responded with her usual bluntness.

"Yeah, thanks for that... so who do you like then? Is there a Legionnaire that sets your heart a-fluttering?"

There was an awkward silence between them for several long seconds before Jaun Vineo turned to Sar Jerash Mor Toark and gave a quick laugh.

"You like him too, don't you?" He half whispered, obviously delighted.

"I totally get that I have no chance, so didn't plan on giving it another thought." Her response didn't sound entirely authentic.

"True. Very true." Poltergeist's reply sounded as genuine as her's had, before he continued with a grin, "Oh well... guess I should be grateful at least I'm not the only member of the Never-Ever-Gonna-Get-Him Club." He started to laugh and after a second she agreed and joined in with a chuckle.

"Hey you two!"

Kent Shakespeare called out to the interns from across the courtyard. Element Lad had joined the doctor and they both now stood beside the control valves for the pipes they had put in place that morning. The Trommite Legionnaire's arm was casual slung around the big doctor's waist. Dr Shakespeare mimed turning on the pump that would start the auto-irrigation feed, letting the interns know what was away to happen. He smiled broadly as he continued to shout to them.

"...Do you wanna come watch as Jan and me make the magic happen here?"

Sar Jaresh and Jaun exchanged a quick glance and tried somewhat unsuccessfully not to laugh inappropriately as they got up to join the Legionnaire from Trom that they both had an unrequited crush on, and his excessively handsome and muscular partner, as they turned on a pump that would bring life-giving water to this new community.

Mon El - Senior Team member, Lar Gand of Daxam, incredible strength, speed, stamina, senses, laser vision, space flight, invulnerability
Lexikon - Princess Daheenisha of Tamaran iv, enhanced speed, strength, durability, flight, omni-linguist
Otaki - Bina Nawoti of Earth, mindsense
Karate Kid iii - Mithindrivithis Ngandraffa of Lythyl, strength, reflexes, mimetic motor learning giving incredible combat skills
Green Lantern - Dkyun Mu of Xudar, wearer of a Green Lantern power ring
Southern Lights of Starhaven - spaceflight, magic user

Intern: Strobe - Denal Lort of Dryad - assume electro-magnetic energy form


The short hairs on her neck suddenly standing up alerted Karate Kid to the spatial warp opening behind her before it was even fully formed.

She had been monitoring the Green Lantern so knew what had happened and, as she turned to see the dark warp open on the flight deck, the young martial artist also knew what she had to do.

The Dominator strode through expecting to find the Legion cruise on auto-pilot. They had been monitoring the team for years and had noticed that the Legionnaires had taken to travelling in groups of six. It did not realise that while this was mostly true, the interns were extra numerary to standard Legion mission protocols. Its colleagues had alerted it to five of the team on the Citadel and with the Green Lantern in space the Dominator assumed that the cruiser would be empty.

It was met with a fast-moving foot to its face!

As it stumbled, the Legionnaire slid between its legs and struck out with her elbow spikes at the back of its knees. The Dominator yelled in pain as it started to fall. Karate Kid had flipped onto her feet and caught the Dominator as it tumbled backwards. She quickly grabbed it by a hip and shoulder before flinging it as hard as she could face-first onto the deck. Then with practiced efficiency the Legionnaire wrapped incapacity cuffs around the arm she was holding painfully up its back. The Dominator intruder fell unconscious.

<Dkyun, I have your opponent here>

<It can create spatial warps so be careful>

<I did not give it the opportunity. It now has incapacity cuffs on so is unconscious>

<Thank you> The Xudarian's chittering laugh came through the telepathic message <I believe Strobe has immobilised their cruiser as well so Mon El should have peace to resolve the diplomatic matter at hand>

In the Helix Citadel things were not going quite as successfully for the Legionnaires.

Southern Lights had released his truth spell into the room. Mon El then asked the room what they most wanted from the meeting and almost immediately the Gedun and Dreggraran ambassadors had announced how much they wanted to kill their opposite numbers while the small secretarial and security parties each had brought to the conference room began reacting with further threats of violence. Otaki and Southern Lights had positioned themselves between the two warring sides.

The Dominators had both stiffened and appeared to be suddenly feeling awkward. Meanwhile, Lexikon laughed.

<They are obviously very uncomfortable being honest> the Tamaranean sent before erupting in further laughter.

<Pull yourself together please, we need to stop the ambassadors from killing each other before the Dominators show their true colours> Mon El replied sternly.

"Legionnairesss... you betray usss," the shorter Dominator pointed at Mon El, "We have jussst heard that your p-pet G-Green Lantern hasss attacked our sship."

"My colleague defended herself. You fired first. Why are you here? What do you hope to gain?" Mon El said, trying to control his reply. He knew that Strobe had disabled the craft while Karate Kid had immobilised the intruder on the Legion's cruiser but didn't want the Dominators to hear about either of these from him. Instead, he hoped to goad the two beings before him to open up about their true intentions.

"The Dominion will get the foolisssh animals to fight each other for our entertainment then we shall s-sstrip their petty little worldsss of their mineral wealth and make the nativesss our s-sslavesss and foods-s-sstuff..." The shorter Dominator hissed proudly.

The tall Dominator hissed at the Legionnaires as it pointing across the room to the two ambassadorial parties, "Once we have your g-genomesss we will have you asss our foods-s-sstuff. You will not enjoy thisss experience... you are worthless-s primitivess-s."

The two Dominators stopped suddenly and looked at each other, aware that they had said far too much. The room went quiet as both the Gedun and the Dreggraran realised what the 'traders' who they hoped to buy weapons from had just announced.

"A trick... the Legionnairesss have trick-k-ked usss. We will make you pay! You will all sssuffer before you die. You will not ssave thessse worldss with your trick-kss-s..." The one that had just spoken said.

The other Dominator held a hand up and spoke towards a mic in a slender bracelet on its wrist, "Warpmassster, we need to leave thiss c-cradle of filthy."

"I believe you won't be going through any warps today. We arrested an intruder on our craft, and they won't be coming for you anytime soon. We do have diplomatic status here by the way so they are answerable to UP law now. We'll be taking them with us and questioning them... thoroughly... about their trespass." Mon El felt rather smug saying this.

"Then we take our reveng-g-ge now!" As it said this the Dominator reached under its robe and pulled out a small gun.

Before it could fire the weapon Lexikon was upon it. The Tamaranean had clearly understood its body language so knew before it had spoken that it would pull some desperate act. She forcefully held it down, face first on the cold floor. The other Dominator stepped back, hissing in alarm.

"We will deal with these monsters. They will face our law. We may be 'petty little worlds' but we know how to deal with treacherous animals like these. " The Gedun ambassador stepped towards the two Dominators.

"Agreed, the Dreggraran will also ensure they face justice." The other ambassador stepped towards his Gedun counterpart. They both looked at each other and realised that for the first time in many centuries they shared a common cause that did not involve the destruction of each other.

"You can work together. You don't have to like each other but at least take this opportunity to bring an end to your violence. It really is pointless to continue killing yourselves when there are bigger threats out there. You must start thinking ahead..." Otaki surprised herself as she spoke though realised the truth spell was making her say exactly what she felt.

The ambassadors looked at her then each other before shuffling apart. Their security personnel had surrounded the Dominators and were pushing the two out of the conference room. Both ambassadors thanked the Legionnaires and promised to work towards finding an armistice, if not actual peace, before following their staff out.

"Good job everyone, I'm proud of you all." Mon El said, smiling to his team before calling on Henry to warp them across to their cruiser.

"Do you think they'll stop fighting each other?" Otaki asked.

"A common enemy is often a good starting point for an alliance." Lexikon said.

"Hmmm... let's hope so." Mon El mused as he stepped into the honey and violet warp that spun in the air before them.

I've got about another 20 or so fully written out posts but rather than overwhelm you with them I'll leave it there for this week.

Next up:We learn what our mysterious villain has set in motion as Avocado Day celebrations goes awry, Laurel learns never to blindly trust Brin's choices, Tinya has bad news and Hadru and Brek make a really poor choice...

Hope you are enjoying this. Please feel free to let me know.

C

Hi Harbi, sorry I haven't commented for a while - I have spent most of the last three weeks partying way too much lol...happy new year anyway, and it didn't occur to me to start taking notes till I was like halfway through these so I have probably missed a lot but here's some scattered thoughts/reactions!

Southern Lights' dealio with his new cohabitant - I like this subplot and it says a lot about his strength of character that he's working past his fear and revulsion to try and make the relationship work (also, as someone who has trouble giving up my independence in any way, VERY RELATABLE!)

Mon-El has exactly the senior matured hero vibe that I would expect when it comes to dealing with the Dominators, and they are always fun to see! I thought the truth spell was gonna cause things to go much much worse, but Mon handled it really well! I liked Otaki surprising herself too

Dr Falkner and Captain Heavyweight - their relationship is really believable and that exchange made him a lot more likeable....I also continue to like that the Legion's experience with the Blight has had real and lasting consequences and they're not all over it just in time for the next story arc.

This is one of those things that has literally never occurred to me but now that I've read it, it's like...embarassingly obvious (he says as he files it away for a particular character some time) Clever thinking!

Titan and Spoiler - this is another clever bit, we usually only see superhero training as being wildly effective so it's good to show the other side of the coin. I also liked their chat about the different scale of problems the Legion deal with compared to conventional law enforcement.

Hadru and Brek's little side adventure is going to go so pear-shaped, I can tell already...I think I'm scared!

I like that Lady Memory actually genuinely loved Grev and that it wasn't purely a political marriage. I think the way she and Shady interacted rings true as well, just enough distance mixed with genuine feeling.

Oh, and before I forget - Jan's new fan club is super cute and the fact that there's an Avocado Day and that Zoe obviously gets so excited about it cracked me up

I think Chemical Kid and Polar Boy are probably the two I'm most looking forward to reading about next because I can almost feel how awfully they're gonna screw up lol

Science Police Officer Droo Vri of Daxam regretted not accepting the Legion internship he had been offered while a student at Home Base.

He had only been back on Daxam for ten standard days and already the young soldier was totally bored. The new Daxam Meta-Response Unit - the reason he had turned down the Legion internship - were not a success. Daxamites were too reserved, too stuffy, too stuck in the same routine as countless generations had been before, too flippin' boring to appreciate having their very own meta-team. The Daxam Meta-Response Unit... four members of the militia that had undergone six gruelling months of testing and experiments before being given the serum that allowed their bodies to store and metabolize yellow sun light which meant they could access incredible abilities.

And no one cared.

Not on Daxam, not in the wider United Planets, not even within his own family... Droo Vri realised that there were already three Daxamites from the Science Police program he had been involved in as part of the wider Legion organisation as liaisons for the SP Meta-teams. And of course, the legendary hero Lar Gand was there as well.

Droo now realised he really should have guessed that the idea of even more Daxamites all powered up and being heroic was never going to capture the general populations attention. Especially when these four more powered-up Daxamites were only zipping through the sky on their way to do exciting things like rescue pets from trees for the feel-good stories that their handlers wanted the public to see.

As far as the young officer could tell, this whole experience was all just a failed PR crock-pot!

He had only been a student at the Legion Academy Home Base for three months but he had seen more excitement and action there than he expected to see in his probable lifetime here on dreary Daxam. Droo Vri felt sick at the thought of spending his career here, of getting more and more bored. He sat in his apartment and stared at the holo-pit wondering if Phantom Girl would take his call? Was there a chance she would accept his apology and offer him the internship again? Would he get permission to leave the Unit if the Legion said they wanted him back?

Well, Droo Vri knew nothing would change unless he initiated it so it was time to make the call...

"Hello Officer Vri, how may I help you?" A holo of someone he remembered from the academy appeared before him.

"Theena? Wow! You're looking really good there. How you doing?" He asked to cover his confusion. She had been a student when he left Home Base not even two weeks before. They had danced together on a night out and he had assumed it was going to go further and while their night had pleasant enough it had ended with them sleeping in their own, separate quarters.

"I'm doing really well, and all the better for seeing you. I'm the new Communications Officer here ...cool, eh?" she gave a warm smile, "What can we do for you? I trust there's nothing too serious on Daxam you want our help with?" Her expression suddenly serious as she realised the holo-call may have been urgent.

"Oh... no, no at all, not unless there's been another child got stuck in a grating or... well, no. I was wondering if it was too late to accept the internship I was offered? Could you ask Phantom Girl for me, please? I... I realise it was a mistake coming back here. If the Legion would have me, and if she could square it with my government, I'd really, really like to return and take the post Tinya kindly offered me."

"Of course. I'll let her know Droo... and will keep my fingers crossed for you too." Again, Theena smiled at the Daxamite. This time he smiled warmly back at her.

"Thank you Theena. And ...it is really good to see you. Hopefully we'll catch up properly soon."

"I'd like that as well Droo. We'll speak again." And with that the holo transmission was cut and the young Daxamite let out his breath and sat down.

The conversation had left him more exhausted than all the so-called missions he had been on since he had returned to Daxam put together.

Lunar London, Earth's Moon, Sol system

Kinetix - Zoe Saugin of Aleph, telekinetic animation
M?Windaji - Gahaji of Kiringyaga, super tracker, carries the Ruby of Life allowing tactile transformative magic


Zoe and Gahaji had been on a date when the attack happened.

The two Legionnaires were strolling through a relatively quiet section of historic Old Lunar London on their way to one of Zoe's favourite restaurants. They had spent the last couple of hours at a local children?s hospital meeting patients and congratulating staff. It was the sort of high-profile feel-good publicity story that the First Base team were encouraged to participate in.

Afterwards, Zoe had insisted they eat at a particular restaurant as this evening was one of her home world Aleph's favourite holidays and the chef, also from that distant planet, would understand how important it would be to celebrate it properly.

"It's a celebration of the first harvest grown on Aleph after the colonists had finished the terraforming... it's always a total treat! We'll eat avocado with each course then exchange heartfelt gifts." The red head had said brightly as a response to her partners question about what they were celebrating.

"Ah, gifts... you didn't say... I mean, look I didn't know Zoe... I'm so sorry I don't have ...ah.. anything for you!" Gahaji spluttered his reply.

She stared at him intently for several seconds before cracking up laughing, "hah! Can't believe I got you with that one... nah, you're okay there Gahaji, we just eat avocado and get drunk, it'll be fun."

At this point the cobbled street directly in front of them erupted in a flash of electricity. The pair were thrown off their feet and landed awkwardly. Gahaji had taken the brunt of the blast and was dazed. Kinetix got up quickly and looked around. As she did the molecules of her stylised green and gold summer dress changed into her Legion uniform. As Zoe looked up, she saw who was responsible and immediately willed the alarm function on her flight ring.

Four or five figures were running towards them from out of the darkness. Telekinetically animating the broken stones around them, Kinetix flung as many missiles as she could at their attackers. Blasts of energy and sparks of electricity shattered the stones before they could impact.

"Wha's goin' on?" Gahaji muttered as he tried to stand. Zoe put an arm under his and pulled him up as she concentrated on using the stone from the buildings all around them the create a solid dome around them and over their heads to protect them from the electric blasts that were raining down. She used the material from the pebbled road underfoot to reinforce it.

<We're being attacked, help! Gahaji is hurt...> Zoe shouted across the telepathic grid. She knew that her alarm would have been caught already but she wanted the team to know how urgent it was.

There was a loud crash and a slab of a hand tore through the stone shield Zoe had erected above them.

"Ah'm gonna get yous..." As their incredibly strong attacker put his face towards the hole to peer at the Legionnaire's, M'Windaji reached out to touch his cheek.

"Sleep." The Legionnaire said, channelling the power of the Ruby of Life, the magical artifact he wore on a chain around his neck. There was a thump as the attacker immediately collapsed.

With the knowledge that their colleagues would be there soon Zoe stopped focusing on reinforcing the protective barrier she had created and turned to Gahaji. He looked awful. There were cuts across his face and upper torso and it was obvious that one of his arms had been broken. Their flight rings would have pumped an anaesthetic into his system already to help neutralise the pain and alerted the medical bays on their bases to expect him. The tracker smiled at his telekinetic partner and pulled her towards him for a kiss.

"You're not getting your blood on this outfit mister." She said with a smile before giving him a peck on the cheek. "Come on, we've got to get out of here and deal with this. But later... we'll do that later." And with that she disassembled his vest top to create a sling for his arm, psychically closed the cuts on his face and body, and then turned her focus towards dismantling the protective dome layer by layer with a thought.

"Let's show them that attacking Legionnaires was a big mistake." Gahaji said.

"Yeah, no-one tries to ruin Avocado Day and gets away with it!" Zoe replied.

Reep Daggle had presented his findings to the majority of the Senior Team earlier that day.

They had agreed with him that a list of those named in the data as recipients of Sa Lok's unregistered gene-mod chop shops should be shared with the Science Police and UP Security Council. The Durlan had made sure to send this information to multiple sources within a hour after the Senior Team agreeing.

They had also discussed a potential Espionage Squad mission to investigate these establishments. Chameleon Boy had declined. Reep wanted a team to visit each facility and shut them down, but without full legal recourse this action would more likely cause problems than solve anything. The more Reep thought about it the more he knew they needed laws to change. Busting the mod-shops and knocking down a few of the clients would only drive it further underground. Perhaps a leaked media story or two showing the down-side of these operations might help as well...

Two hours after the meeting had ended Reep had a message informing him that the Science Police were now setting up monitoring of the majority of the gene-mod customers. Reep hoped the SP's would keep any potential situation contained until legislation would allow them to act directly upon this growing problem.

There were several Senators of the United Planets Security Council that the Legion had access to, and it certainly helped that Chameleon Boy had full access to his father's finances as that could also open doors to politicians' offices... Perhaps, with a little help from these friends in high places, the Durlan might be able to stop, or at least substantially slow down Sa Lok's gene-mod activity.

Chameleon Boy knew that if he wanted the UP council to take an immediate draconian approach to unregistered gene-modifications he needed to go on a charm offensive... Reep planned on visiting some friends to get assistance. The ambassadorial team on Weber's World were perfectly placed to help.

His plans had to wait though as an urgent alarm came in alerting the Legion that two of their teammates were under attack on the Moon. Reep rushed to Henry's warp control room for the rescue mission.

Home Base. Sol system

Chemical Kid - Hadru Jamik of Phlon - catalyses chemical reactions

Students:
Polar Boy - Brek Bannin of Tharr - cryokinesis
Haze - Science Police Cadet Tkemwa Autmi-Hu from Ungara - strong, durable, transmits confusion


Hadru had warped onto Home Base and as arranged, Brek was waiting.

By his side was a muscular young man with bright pink skin - Hadru recognised him as the Science Police Cadet from Ungara that they called Haze. The Legionnaire was unsure why the student was there but didn't think about it. The student wasn't important here, only grabbing Brek and going out...

"Brek, hey there buddy!" He said cheerily.

" Hadru, hey... have you met my roomie? Did you hear? All students have to share an apartment, they say it'll help build bonds... or something like that." Brek's disappointment was fully evident in his tone.

"Roomie? Seriously? Wow... yeah, hi there." Chemical Kid didn't look at the student as he spoke, clearly not interested, "...so, Brek, we going out or what?"

Tkemwa Autmi-Hu knew that neither Legionnaire particularly wanted him there but he wanted to keep an eye on Brek. He had promised Luornu he would report any untoward actions when she placed him in the same apartment as the Tharrite. The young Ungaran didn't really enjoy the prospect of reporting back to his tutors but he assumed everyone was given the same talk... so long as they didn't do anything too outrageous surely it would be fine.

And, Tkemwa had heard last week that his secondment to Home Base was being extended by eight weeks so the idea of an evening off to celebrate really did appeal to him. Since joining the Academy he had only left twice for socialising; once to visit his parents and once for a trip to Ventura with a couple of students for a night out at a casino - where he had lost almost two weeks' worth of his budget... though as it sounded like Brek and Hadru wanted to go to a club rather than a casino the young student from Ungara was happy to join them. People watching the humans was always entertaining as they were such a diverse and endlessly colourful race, and he didn't like alcohol so wouldn't need to spend much money. It actually sounded like a good plan to Tkemwa, so long as they weren't too long, an hour or two at most.

"We need to keep this on the quiet." Brek said quietly, "I don't wanna give Tinya-Our-Lord-and-Master more excuses to bust me up."

"No worries, we'll get a quiet nook and catch up and have a laugh for the night. I'm just planning to chill man. And of course I'll neutralize the worst of the alcohol and can give your metabolism a boost before we get back in the morn. How's that sound?"

"Ah... we can't be that long Brek, we have a test tomorrow that'll go towards our final..." Haze was interrupted before he could finish by a hand in front of his face.

"Cool your jets there kiddo, this is a mission for Legionnaires only. Studentoes deffo not included." Hadru snapped his fingers an inch from the student's face as he finished speaking.

"Well, off you go then Legionnaire. In case you didn't know both Brek and I are both 'studentoes' so you'll be flying solo tonight." Tkemwa said abruptly, his demeanour was suddenly serious as he stared at the Phlonite. Hadru lowered his eye-screens and gave the Ungaran a filthy look before turning his attention back to Polar Boy.

"C'mon Brek, let's get going. Party time awaits." Chemical Kid said, holding his hands behind his back and puffing out his chest, a wicked smile on his face.

"Brek, don't do this, you know the tutors are monitoring our actions... we can go for an hour, two max. You know that don't you? What's.... what .... ahh..." Tkemwa stumbled and grabbed onto the edge of a table to steady himself.

"Your body's glucose receptors are shutting down; you'll likely be unconscious for a while." Hadru gave a chuckle. With a smirk he called on Henry to open a warp to the Intrepid Satellite in Mars orbit.

"No." The word was quiet but as Haze spoke, he pushed his own ability towards the Legionnaire. Tkemwa hoped Hadru would be unable to use his abilities if he was too confused to remember which way was up, let alone the mechanics of bio-catalysation.

The Legionnaire started moaning and sunk to his knees. Strangely, his expression was one of near bliss. The student felt his strength return as Hadru's catalysation stopped while the Legionnaire struggled under the psychic assault. Tkemwa took a step towards the now drooling Hadru when Brek acted.

Polar Boy had been watching the scene before him in a growing state of horror! He really did want to go out with Hadru and knew that, despite this, Tkemwa was right - the Tharrite had hoped that the Ungaran student would either join in with them or leave them alone and keep his mouth shut.... Instead Hadru had to show off and use his freaky powers on him. As soon as the Tharrite saw that happen, he knew his days at the Legion were over, probably Hadru's too. As Tkemwa had struck back against Hadru, Brek knew it was time to take action.

The Science Police Cadet that had been his roommate was reputed to be really tough; strong and durable, which was probably just as well as Brek could only think of one way to end this horrible situation: Without a second thought he used his abilities to encase Tkemwa in a block of solid ice before dragging Hadru through the spinning warp away from Home Base.

Hi Harbinger,

So sorry it's taken me so long to get in a review. Holidays and just general life has gotten away from me. But now I'm here and ready to ready!
I'll be commenting as I'm reading as always. lol.

Southern Lights Post -
- This was a nice quiet post that gave so much information and I really liked it. I'm sure you won't say, but has this "outsider" consciousness ever been seen in the comics? The idea of an urging force has been brought up recently with Perpetua, the creator of the DC multiverse being released from the Source wall revealing she had been behind some of the biggest upsets in DC history, like urging Hal Jorden to embrace Pharrolax(sp?). Could this reality be related to her somehow or maybe another super-celestial, but maybe a super young one who doesn't know what they are yet?
- the idea of a living reality that doesn't understand self or individuality is possibly the most sci-fi concept you've come up with yet and I'm here for it.
- I'm glad this turned out more communal instead of outright possession. I like that they were able to communicate. So do they share a consciousness now or is it inside his body floating around like a specter kind of deal?
- So now that the "outsider" is gone from the Voligaxxian System, will the feral ones start to age again? maybe even rapidly? Will they be able to have kids again? Will they start to fight on a primal level all the time without its guidance? There are just so many implications for what happens to Voligaxxians.

Tyroc and Monica Slade post -
- A lot of personality in a short post. I'm with Monica on punching those drones. But now I kind of hope we get a mission where a reporter has to come along and she's on the mission.
- Love seeing Theena/Network again!
- Tyroc's reaction is great. I like seeing that this is just another facet of the Legionnaire lifestyle. Even just ready to give a statement because he knows how the media can be and that none of its a big deal. Especially after the last volume of Legion Worlds, it's good to see things like this that are still having an effect on them.

Science Police alert: increase in skirmishes between Gedunian and Dreggraranian fleets at the outskirts of the B'laxor system posts -
- I'm Excited off the bat for a possible space battle!
- Love a good history lesson!!
- The description for the Gedun and Dreggrarans wars sounds all too familiar. I wonder if that is the path our world will take one day.
- I'm a bit worried about this buffer zone with the Dominion on the other side.
- Mon-el is so commanding. But and it could be just me, but when I read the way you write him sometimes, he comes off as borderline bored with what he's doing. If that's not the intent, please know that's not a slight against how you are writing him. I thought it might be leading to a bigger story with him. But I guess after 1000 years watching the world as a phantom, one would have seen a lot.
- The Gedunian speaking with their own language was well done. I like how Lexikon altered Mon-el to this but wasn't worried in the slightest, kind of like Mon-el who does make an excellent point that this small team really could take down their ship with ease.
- I laughed a little at Otkia using the eco-protect to scrub the smell of the ship from her senses. It really wouldn't be good negotiation tactics to vomit on the floor. lol.
- Oh snap! Things are about to go down with the Dominators on the base and both parties are guilty?
- That Hexagon Dominator sounds creepy. "<Legionnaire Lantern, ssstep aside. We are here to trade with these sssavagesss> The Dominator's telepathy felt rough, as if it had scratched its words into her thoughts." gave me some chills.
- The teamwork here is really well done. Otkia is proving to be very useful.
- Green Lantern is certainly powerful. that was cute with the Legion symbol.
- the plan begins to form and it all works well. Mon-el is such an old hat at this directing them all so easily
- a truth spell? uhmm this could be very interesting.
- I like how you revealed that Dkyun was an engineer. It helps to know these small tidbits with Lanterns as it usually plays in how they use their power ring.
- But looks like that Dominator isn't staying put. Is he teleporting through his own power or has the Dominion created a personalized warp technology?
-ooo ok, so they got a hold of warp/teleporting genes? what else do they have access to?
-Go Karate Kid! she took him down no problem.
- Lexikon laughing, I really liked it because she's usually so cool and collected, and clearing the spell released her from that a little bit. Then Mon-el telling her to stop. I can only imagine how this could have gone.
- The Dominator's reactions were great!
-wait...they eat humanoids? I did not know this! the creepy factor has just been raised even higher!
-Common enemy does it every time! I hope they really are able to work it out and come together to keep the Dominion in check.
- Go Lexikon!

Falkner and Cap. Heavyweight post -
- Wow that's a lot of work for the good Doc. But I'm glad that those three Legionnaires that were most affected took the time off as she requested. But couldn't she have had then taken off if they were really that bad?
-very cute moment with the pair and Cap. Heavyweight is surprisingly cute.
- is he hinting at children?

Spoiler and Titan -
- this was a nice side moment and I liked seeing a new friendship forming among the two. Gord's idea about combining powers did sound interesting. But I loved your reason for why it could work with the many probabilities and sensory information Titan would have to try and grasp.
- reality vs expectation. It's understandable that Gord feels this way, especially with his first mission. But I like Titan's explanation for why even though it's different and kind of boring the problems and consequences are so much bigger. But I think with the hit squad missions Gord might being to think differently. But he does make a good point that there are a lot of them on missions. Could a minimum and maximum team number be instituted?

Chemical Kid -
- He's such an arrogant snot. it's hard not to hate him and I don't feel sorry for him. Idk why. But I just don't.
- I hope Brek doesn't go with him. Brek needs to get his own act together.
- I'm starting to wonder just how much longer Chemical Kid will be on the team...

Shadow Lass and Lady Memory -
- Avacado day? haha I'm sorry, I couldn't help but laugh at this. just the thought of it as a holiday tickles me.
- This was a beautiful moment for the two of them. Especially considering where your story started with the of them. This was almost like a coming full circle moment to LW vol. 1.
- The sadness between them was so strong. But I'm glad they are moving forward together and that they are inspired by Grev's memory to do so. It would be interesting to see Lady Memory join the team on an adventure someday.

Tesseract and Poltergeist -
this small moment was cute and that both of them are crushing on Jan is kind of funny. but I guess I get it. He's a sweet soul when he hasn't been totally tortured. Or maybe its the wounded bird thing they like...
Tesseract is growing on me. her bluntness here was much funnier than I was expecting it to be.
I busted out laughing at the end of this one. their reaction to being asked to watch was perfect.

Officer Droo Vir-
So each world is looking to start to have their own Meta-human teams? Lallor has one, Earth has the subs, now Daxam. are there any others?
It must have been a hard decision. But I'm not surprised that he would miss life with the legion. Although, I wonder if he'd feel the same if he experienced it the way Gord has.
Theena and him were cute.

Kinetix and M'Windaji -
- avocado day sounds a lot like St. Patrick's day. lol
-cute trick Zoe. Ghanji seemed so worried for a second. I love that your Zoe is still playful.
- is this more from the secret meta-human army?

Cham-
- I'm glad the senior team was able to agree quickly and I hope they can do something about the underground gene-mod shops. But I really wish that it didn't still take the "greasing of the palms" to get things done in Government.
- Back to webers world? It's been so long since we've seen them. Looking forward to their return.

Hardu/Berk/Haze-
Are you kidding me? Brek WTF! you worked hard to get back in and this is what you do?
Haze, good for you for standing up for yourself. take Hardu down!!!
Yeah, I agree i think the two of them are gonna be gone soon.

Can't wait for more!

oof I knew Hadru and Brek were gonna get into trouble, but I was not expecting them to lash out at one of their own - they are gonna go down hard!

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback.

Omni, you've nailed it regarding Mon El as the way I see it he's pretty much weary of the whole thing after having lived for a 1,000 years just watching the universe go by so he's probably seen it all happen several times before.

I wouldn't say Brek worked particularly hard at getting back in though, he kind of used the press to force Tinya to accept him back after he had stropped out because he was told off quite justifiably for pretty poor behaviour.

And, yes there wil be repercussions for Brek and Hadru very soon. I've re-written one post about four times now so am looking forward to your reactions.

My thanks again,

C