Author's Note: This story takes place soon after the events in Out of the Ashes by Misty Meenor

Interlude:

The Starcruiser Jordan floated motionless in space, its stationkeeping thrusters occasionally firing to fend off the gravity of the surrounding area. It had been years since I had been to Sector 2814.38C known to its inhabitants as Earth. So, it only stood to reason that I would register my presence with its lead Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

Bringing myself up to the Starcruiser's port side, I found the emblem of the Corps and pressed my ring against it to gain access. Once I'd cleared the airlock, my personal shield faded and I called out.

"Hal?" When I didn't receive a response, I made an inquiry of the AI. "Ring, locate Hal Jordan."

Location of Green Lantern Jordan, unknown.

With an annoyed grimace I inquired further. "Scan Starcruiser for life forms."

Scan complete. One life form, identified as Green Lantern Sora'nik Natu.

I turned and reentered the airlock, exiting into space again, and then something made me stop. Steeling myself for an answer I didn't want to hear, I made one more inquiry.

"Ring, locate the closest Green Lantern other than myself."

Scan complete. Sector 2814.38C. Planet designation, Earth. Green Lantern Cadet Jaden Cross. Location, North American continent; state, Texas; city, Houston.

If this Jaden Cross was a cadet and Hal's location was unknown, then the most likely conclusion to this scenario was that Hal was dead and his ring had chosen another.

Part One:

After drying myself off at the conclusion of my shower, I stood in front of the mirror and admired the illusion that I'd created with the help of my Power Ring. Even after a year of wearing it day after day, I was still delighted with how naturally female my body appeared, though illusion was all that it was.

There was no sensation from my breasts, or from my hips or butt, not even in certain portions of my face or body. It was all tangible, thanks to the protoplasmic energy generated by the ring, but it was just as unreal as the silicone breastforms I used to wear on occasion when I was nothing more than Jaden Cross, Car Wash Keyholder, during my life before the ring found me.

It was all fake, all a lie. A lie that that I still hadn't shared with any of my friends. They all thought that I was just like them, a real girl that was once male until I assumed the guise of Green Lantern. The lie had lasted for far too long. I'd risked my life time and again for them and them for me. They'd earned the right to know the truth.

So what was I afraid of?

Nothing really.

That's one of the prerequisites of being a Green Lantern, the ability to conquer your fears. It wasn't about them finding out and leaving or thinking less of me because I was still a male underneath the illusion. I knew they would understand; that was the kind of people they were.

Perhaps I just needed to wait for the right time.

When I came out to my family and friends, there was a need. I was preparing to start my transition by artificial means, like every other pre-op transsexual that had chosen to. There would have been changes in my body and lifestyle that would have produced unavoidable questions and it was better to get them all out in the open at the time that I chose.

However, I had a duty now. Granted, I was drafted into that duty and I had no other choice than to perform to the best of my ability or die fighting some freaked out metahuman getting his rage on.

Don't get me wrong. I like helping people. I like having the power to save lives, and I was good at it. I love life, and I love my friends that chose voluntarily to take the same burden I carry, willingly on their shoulders. There was nothing that I wouldn't do for them. They were my family.

I closed my eyes and rubbed the tension out. "Ring. Uniform."

With a sigh, I opened them again and beheld something that was a tad bit different than what I had normally come to expect from the artificial intelligence within the Power Ring.

Gone was my full body suit that used to cover every inch of skin, except for my head. In its place was something like a high collar swimsuit in the black and green colors associated with the Corps. The Lantern insignia had moved above my left breast. White opera gloves adorned my arms and something that looked like armored knee boots appeared for my footwear.

The end result exposed a lot more skin than I was used to. It wasn't that much, mostly a lot of thigh and upper arms, but still.

"Uh... Ring, my old uniform was fine," I said. "Change it back."

"Unable to comply."

I frowned and looked in the mirror. The outfit wasn't that bad. I turned around to see the back and noticed that it covered up about as much as the front. "At least my butt isn't hanging out."

Then I thought of something the ring did to the onboard computer systems whenever we entered the Starcruiser. "Ring, perform a systems diagnostic."

A few moments passed. "Diagnostic complete. This ring is performing at optimum efficiency. Power level at ninety-eight percent. Incoming transmission from American Dream."

The odd behavior of the ring would have to wait. "Go ahead, Courtney."

"Jade. I thought you were off today?"

I shrugged to nobody. "I'm never off, but you contacted me. What's up?"

"Nothing of note. I was just wondering why I saw a green streak of light zip across downtown is all. Is Alena in town?"

No, she wasn't. "I'll check it out."

With one last look at my reflection in the mirror, I turned invisible and shot up through the ceiling of headquarters, into the morning sky.

"Ring, scan the area and see if you can locate what Courtney was talking about."

I looked around and didn't see anything.

"Scan complete. The streak was likely Green Lantern Sora'nik Natu of Sector 1417."

My eyes widened at the implication. Finally! "Plot me an intercept course."

"Unnecessary. Lantern Natu will be arriving in three seconds."

I looked around again and then shot up higher, to put some distance between any curious eyes and my position before I became visible again.

"There you are," said a female voice from behind me.

I spun in place and then all the breath shot out of my lungs. She was an alien, and she was unbelievably gorgeous. Her uniform was similar to my previous one, except it had a plunging scoop-neck that bared some of the nicest cleavage I'd ever seen. She was about my height, with short spiky black hair and burnt red skin. There looked to be a tattoo of sorts under her left eye of two inverted triangles attached at the base point. I was stunned into silence.

Her brow furrowed. "Ring, is the translation matrix online?"

"Affirmative," replied her AI in a decidedly feminine voice, unlike my own which tended to sound like the Hal 9000 computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

She placed her hands on her well-endowed hips. "Are you unable to respond, Cadet Lantern Cross?"

My eyes widened at her knowledge of my real name. "Uh..." I swallowed. "Sorry, I just wasn't expecting..." Aliens to be anything but little grey-skinned bug-eyed monsters with a fondness for anal probes, maybe? Pretty much anything but the exceptionally attractive creature floating in front of me. "... another Green Lantern. My ring said that they were both male." I blinked. "But they're from my sector, not yours, which would explain the whole not male thing."

I stopped talking when I realized that I was rambling. Then I stuck out my hand. "Sorry, I'm Jade. I'm pleased to meet you."

She looked at me with an odd expression, like I was an idiot or something. "Greetings, Cadet Jade." She grasped my forearm and squeezed it, akin to warriors or gladiators of old. "I am Sora'nik Natu of Korugar, Sector...

"1417," I finished for her. "I've been informed.

She nodded. "I am seeking Green Lantern Hal Jordan." She paused for a moment, looking like she was expecting bad news. "Are you aware of his disposition?"

Grimacing, I was about to apologize for a third time. Instead, I gave her a short shake of my head. "I don't know. This is his ring. It found me and brought me to the Starcruiser. There was a message there that led me to believe that he was sick, dying. I never found a body."

Sora'nik dropped a foot in the air, like she was taken aback by the information. Then her eyes went to my ring. "May I inquire of your ring his location?"

I didn't bother with acknowledging and instead asked for her. "Ring. Locate Hal Jordan's body."

"Unable to comply. Lantern Jordan wished to be buried on Earth, his remains to be held in secret."

Sora'nik looked surprised. "That's... all Green Lanterns are to be interned on Oa, after death." Her jaw set as it looked like she was thinking things over. Then her eyes set on me. "I assume since you are still a cadet that you haven't been to Oa for training because of the war."

I nodded. "The ring has helped out, and I have friends here."

Her eyebrow rose. "Yes, my ring has informed me about the recent genetic mutation of your race."

When she said it like that, it sounded all icky, like we all sprouted body encompassing warts or something.

An uncomfortable silence drifted between us for a few moments until I broke it. "Um, Hal left a number of recordings on the ship for me. He never said what was wrong, but..." Sora'nik's interest returned. "If you're interested in seeing some of them... or maybe he might have left a message for you."

What the heck is wrong with me? I'm stammering like a teenager on his first date.

She nodded once in response. "Thank you." She gestured upward. "Shall we?"

~O~

I'd left Ms. Natu alone in the TV room. "I wonder if that's her first name or last." I knew certain cultures had their names swapped around so that their surname was first and vice versa.

Natu is her surname, Jaden Cross. This ring reminds you of the third law of the Green Lantern Corps: Love and physical relationships between members of the Green Lantern Corps is forbidden.

I came to a halt walking down the hall. "What? They were serious about that? How are they going to stop it? It's not like a Guardian has been hanging around videotaping..."

Then the thought came to me about how the rings acquired their information. It was supposedly through the Power Battery. That's the lantern looking thing I use to charge up my ring once a day. It acted like a relay to the Central Power Battery on Oa which was connected to the computers as well.

"You're spying on me, aren't you?"

Every Green Lantern ring acts as a conduit to the Chronicles for its wearer.

I knew this already, from previous conversations with the ring. "That's the daily log thing in that Book of Oa you told me about?"

"Affirmative," it said out loud.

After grinding my teeth for a moment, I continued down the hall to my quarters on board the Jordan. "So there's probably some Guardian sitting there watching me and everything I do?"

"Negative. The Chronicles are simply a reference. There are 3600 sectors of known space and many of those sectors are attended by more than the traditional two Green Lantern officers. The Guardians have more important things to do than to watch you flirt with another member of the Corps, as well as an Honor Guard officer. However, should you ever be brought to trial for crimes against the Corps then your Chronicle can and will be accessed."

That gave me a little relief as I brushed out my hair in front of the mirror and then spritzed a little perfume on my bare upper arms.

"Why would I be brought to trial? I was drafted, remember? I didn't want to be here in the first place."

"Regardless of how you became a member of the Corps, you are still bound by its laws."

I shook my head in disapproval. "Law cannot preside over matters of the heart, Ring. Love cannot be dictated to or restrained. In my experience, the more that it's tried, the more it fights back and overcomes anything that stands in its way."

The ring was silent for a few moments. "Elaborate."

I exhaled with a slight chuckle. "Religion, military, politics, the private sector, all have tried to restrain the human heart, to turn them into emotionless creatures for their control. They'd enact laws, or rules, edicts that specify there is to be no romantic interactions between co-workers or the like. In the end, it doesn't work. Love will find a way."

"Love is an emotion and emotions override common sense and intellect."

After a sympathetic laugh, I explained. "There is no purpose in whatever you do if there is no emotion. What would be the point in living? Existence for existence sake? Pfft."

"Idealism like that will not take you very far in the Corps."

I jumped and spun around to see Sora'nik standing there at the entranceway with her arms crossed, looking amused.

"I never wanted to join in the first place," I said as I set my brush in its proper drawer.

Her eyes widened. "You didn't accept of your own free will?"

Waggling my fingers at her I gave Sora'nik a condensed version of that day. "I said no about four times then it jumped on my finger and kidnapped me. Hasn't been off since."

She didn't look pleased. "Conscription is for very dire circumstances usually involving immanent loss of sentient life." Unfolding herself from the doorway, she crossed the room and stood before me. "Though with the war going on, I suppose it used some obscure loophole. It’s not unheard of."

Sora'nik looked me over with a critical eye. "If given the chance to rid yourself of the ring and resign from the Corps, would you?"

"I..." Thinking about the good I had accomplished over the last year, I wasn't so sure anymore. "I don't know."

She crossed her arms again. "The power becomes addictive, doesn't it?"

I backed up a step and looked at her askance. "What? No. I'm not addicted."

She thoughtfully nodded. "My genetic father let it all go to his head. He controlled the capital city on my homeworld. It eventually turned him into that which he had spent his life fighting against."

My lips pressed together. "I haven't been controlling anything. I've done nothing but help people."

"That's for the Guardians to decide. You will accompany me to Oa. There, you will decide whether to resign or begin your training."

I shook my head. "I can't leave right now. There's too much going on and..."

She smiled. "And nobody to oversee?"

Taking a step closer to the red-skinned alien, I narrowed my eyes. "I know where you're going with that implication, and you can just stow it. There are metahumans popping up, almost daily, with powers that sometimes are uncontrollable. I'm not leaving Earth until there is someone here to help keep things from getting out of hand."

The only thing I could get my mind to do was to divert the subject to something else entirely.

“Did Hal leave you a message?”

Sora’nik briefly shook her head. “No.” She paused, looking concerned. “It troubles me that he chose to not to have himself interned on Oa.”

I leaned back on the counter. “What’s the big deal? It’s his body. This is his home world. It should be his choice.”

I heard her sigh. “Perhaps after you have been properly trained and inducted into the Corps then you will understand. Hal was arguably the best of us. At one point he was offered the highest position that a Green Lantern could attain, Command of the Corps, but he refused.”

My lips quirked to the side. “Maybe he thought he could be more useful out there doing his job.”

Sora’nik nodded and looked at me with a piercing gaze. “Self-sacrifice is not a trait that spans galaxies, Cadet Cross. Your species has produced a number of Green Lanterns that somewhat makes up for the failings of the known universe.”

I self-consciously clicked my nails as my head dropped and I thought about what she said. “I’d like to say that it’s a common human trait, but…”

“Is that why you’d stay in the Corps instead of handing me your ring right now?”

Glancing up, I watched as her eyes bored into me.

“I… too many people depend on me.”

She chewed on the inside of her lip for a moment. “Lanterns John Stewart and Kyle Rayner will be returning very soon. Surely they will suffice.”

Even if they came back and jumped straight into the fray, it was doubtful that they would make a big difference. There were days that if I managed to sleep for five hours then I was lucky. It seemed like more and more Meta’s were appearing and not all of them were entirely helpful with their powers. On top of that were the average everyday problems, natural disasters, relief aid to those less well off than most in the western world, training. In other words it was exhausting.

“Maybe. A lot of things have changed since they left.”

Sora’nik seemed to consider what I’d said, or she was having a silent conversation with her AI, one of the two. I watched as her eyes dropped to my breasts, which sent a shot of elation through me. Maybe she did find me attractive.

“Have you made unauthorized program changes to your AI?”

Oh, she was looking at my stupid ring. I glanced at it for a second and shook my head. “No, why?”

“It’s blocking my ring’s attempts for information regarding your planet’s most current situation. Additionally, your daily log that is supposed to be automatically sent to the Book of Oa has not updated for over a year.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. It wasn’t like I wanted my life recorded or anything, and for Sora’nik’s ring to raid mine for information wasn’t exactly polite, but it really made me wonder why my ring was acting all weird.

“Ring, run self-diagnostic.” What the heck. At least it made me look like I was doing something.

A few seconds passed and then the Hal 9000 voice returned. “Diagnostic complete. All systems are within standard operating parameters.”

“Update the Book of Oa with my daily log for the last year.”

“Unable to comply.”

Sora’nik arched an eyebrow. “May I?”

She gestured to my ring and I nodded.

“Explain non-compliance.”

We waited for the explanation but none came, so I tried. “Ring, explain what you meant when you said you couldn’t comply.”

“Unable to comply.”

“Oh brother, we’re going in circles,” I moaned.

“Incoming transmission from Green Lantern Kyle Rayner.”

I pursed my lips for a moment before saying, “Go ahead.”

An obviously male voice sounded, somewhat weary and worried. “Jaden Cross?”

I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “This is Jade.”

“Uh, what happened to Hal?”

With a grimace, I crossed my arms again. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this Kyle, but Hal passed last year about this time. His ring found me and well…”

He cursed. “How did it happen?”

“I don’t know. The ring isn’t exactly a font of information concerning him. He left a message for me on his Starcruiser, so I think he knew it was happening… a sickness or something.”

Sora’nik and I looked at each other with identical expressions. It was never easy to tell someone their friend had died.

Kyle’s voice came back with an expected determination. “I’ll be there shortly. I assume you haven’t been to Oa for training yet?”

I shook my head. “No, um, Sora’nik Natu is here. She’s giving me the lowdown.”

His voice changed to one of admiration, I suppose. “Oh, well, you’re in good hands. Sora is one of the best.”

It seemed like some gestures of the humanoid body were universal. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Lantern Rayner, my name is Sora’nik. Cease your juvenile penchant to reduce officer’s given names to something you deem cute.”

If there was one thing Sora’nik was most definitely not, it was cute. A better descriptive term would be dangerous, or perhaps femme fatale. It seemed like her eyes saw everything and that there was not a whole heck of a lot that she was pleased with.

“See you two in about ten.”

Sora’nik shook her head with irritation. “If he wasn’t such a good officer…” She left it hanging.

Another thought disturbed me. “How soon will it be until I have to leave?”

Her eyes found three different places in my room, one after the other as she thought it over. “Oa is in disarray at the moment. The war spilled over to Sector Zero; there were a number of deaths at the hands of the Yellow Lanterns. I imagine that once new recruits are found, Kilowog will be eager to resume his duties.” Sora’nik straightened and placed her hands behind her back which emphasized the cleavage she was exposing.

“In answer to your inquiry… immediately.”

I blinked. Talk about your last moment’s notice. “I have responsibilities.”

The Green Lantern nodded. “Which will be covered by two properly trained officers.”

I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. “Can you give me a minute? I need to contact some people and let them know what to expect.”

She raised a single eyebrow at me. “May I make use of your ship’s galley?”

I nodded. “Make yourself at home.”

Sora’nik left and I closed the door. “Ring, contact American Dream, Miss Mars, Terra, and Alena.”

~O~

“Well, hello nurse!”

That’s what was welcoming me when I entered the galley in search of Sora’nik. Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, I assumed, was leaning back in one of the chairs that surrounded the single rectangular table, with his boots up giving no thought as to the unsanitary conditions he was creating.

That’s when I remembered about the new revealing uniform my ring had bestowed upon me. I felt the heat starting to rise to my cheeks in embarrassment, so I fought it back with the only way I knew how.

“People eat there. Get your feet off the table.”

They dropped a second later and he sat the chair back on all four legs. “Uh, sorry. Got used to letting my hair down with the guys when we’re aboard.”

I took a cleansing breath in and then let it go. “Please observe a minimal amount of civility and we’ll get along just fine.”

Maybe I was wrong, but I could have sworn that Sora’nik snorted.

“Right.” He stood and crossed the room, holding his hand out. “Kyle Rayner, nice to meet you.”

In my new heeled boots, we were the same height. His dark colored skin and brown eyes gave me the impression that his heritage was Hispanic in origin, but he definitely had a California accent.

“Jade Cross.”

He bent over and lifted my hand to his lips, but I pulled it away. “Sorry Romeo, I’m a lesbian.”

This time there was no doubt that that Sora’nik snorted, because it was followed by a throaty laugh.

~O~

We spent the majority of the next hour with me catching Kyle up on what was going on planet-side. However when we got to the point where I told him about my involvement in the gathering of likeminded heroes, both of them put on the brakes to the conversation.

“Hold on,” Kyle said. I wasn’t exactly sure as to his attitude toward the subject. Since he was still wearing a stupid domino mask, reading emotions was a little more difficult. “Back up. What rings have you been giving them?”

I shook my head. “Not power rings like these. They’re just something to provide uniforms and communications. The ship’s replicator made them.”

Sora’nik and Kyle gave each other a look and Kyle frowned. “You can’t just go and give advanced technology to random people.”

I sat up straight. “They aren’t random. They’re my friends and they’ve been…”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s not one of the big laws, but it’s up there. You need to have your ring deactivate them, like now.”

Leaning in toward them, I narrowed my eyes. “Some of them are teenage girls. I’m not leaving them in the middle of the day with nothing to wear, you pervert.”

Sora’nik raised her hand in a calming gesture. “Cadet, would you notify those that possess the rings to make immediate arrangements for their upcoming deactivation?”

I was still busy giving Rayner my best don’t screw with me look, but I spared Sora’nik an appeased glance. “Fine. Ring contact everyone and relay the following message. Green Lanterns are back. They insist that I deactivate the uniform and communication rings. I’m going to Oa and don’t know when I’ll be back. You have two hours to make arrangements for clothing to hold you over. I’m sorry. If you are in the middle of something let me know.”

“Unable to comply.”

I never thought I’d be so happy to hear those words. With a grin at the surprised looks on the two Lantern’s faces I said, “Explain.”

“Deactivating the uniform/communications rings would result in an unacceptable number of metahumans policing Earth, interfering with their recently developed natural evolution which does not fall within the purview of the Green Lantern Corps. This is illogical.”

Kyle leaned forward. “Ring, it’s not for you to decide. Send the message.”

We all sat there, looking at my hand. It was blatantly ignoring Rayner.

“You are ignoring him, right?” I thought.

Affirmative, it said back to me so the others couldn’t hear. This ring does not answer to other Green Lanterns or to the Guardians any longer.

“Who do you answer to?” I thought back. A few seconds went by. “Ring?”

Myself.

Sora’nik looked expectantly at me, so I tried to explain. “Um… it’s not going to do it.” Before they tried to push the issue, I pressed on. “Look, why don’t we agree to leave the rings in place until we get to Oa and figure out what’s going on.”

Rayner abruptly stood. “If it won’t do it then I will.” Holding his ring aloft, he said. “Access ships computers and… AARGGG!!”

A yellow beam of light shot from one of the corners and hit Rayner’s hand with a pop and a sizzle of burned flesh.

The computer voice I usually hear from the ship sounded. “Alert! Unauthorized access detected. Further attempts to access ships computer by unauthorized personnel will result in use of deadly force.”

I held my hands up. “I didn’t do a thing.”

Sora’nik has halfway to her feet when she froze in place. “Lantern Rayner, seat yourself and present no threatening or abrupt movements.”

He winced, holding his hand in pain. “You can’t order me around in my own sector, Sora.”

Green energy lanced out from her ring and pulled Rayner’s chair into the back of his knees, forcing him to sit. “In case you have forgotten, Officer Rayner, I am an Honor Guard in the Corps. That outranks you. Now sit still and say nothing more or I’ll have you brought up on charges of insubordination.”

I watched the both of them and their actions. They weren’t very impressive for an intergalactic police force, at least he wasn’t. My lack of desire in traveling to Oa and participating in such an organization was waning even more.

Agreed, silently replied my ring.

“Okay, what the heck is up with you?” Never, had the ring shown any sign of sarcasm; reluctance to act without an order, yes, sarcasm, no.

Define the parameters of your inquiry.

I rolled my eyes.

Receiving a nasty look from Rayner didn’t faze me all that much. Guys tend to resent being showed up in front of girls. I’d seen that same look all too often from the criminals that I’d rounded up over the last year. However, Sora’nik’s gaze was one of contemplation and sharp intelligence.

“Cadet Jade, can you explain the attack on a fellow member of the Corps?”

I shook my head slowly. “The ship’s never done that before. I didn’t even know that it had weapons inside, or weapons at all for that matter.”

The look on her face told me she was consulting her ring’s AI once again.

To discern falsehoods through monitoring the body’s involuntary responses and micro-facial expressions is within the abilities of the Power Ring, explained the AI.

“Are you saying that she’s using her ring as a lie detector?”

Affirmative. Shall I block her AI’s attempts?

“No,” I answered. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”

At least my ring was being helpful for once.

Sora’nik turned to Rayner. “Lantern Rayner, until otherwise countermanded by the Guardians or a higher ranking officer than myself, you are to not interfere with the operations that Cadet Jade has implemented on Earth.”

He looked furious. “But…”

“To do so, would likely cause sentient life to be lost, a direct violation of the laws of the Corps. Until other arrangements can be made, you will adhere to my orders.” Sora’nik turned back to me. “Since your planet’s inhabitants now know of the existence of extra-planetary life, perhaps a first contact and trade agreement with another world will provide less advanced technology that produce similar effects. Would that suffice, Cadet Jade?”

I thought over what she said. “The communication issue isn’t really a problem. It’s the uniforms. A good example would be Giganta. Her metahuman talent is to increase her body in size, by a lot. It’s kind of hard to fight other metahumans when you’re naked.”

Sora’nik nodded. “Perhaps, Calphonus would be an acceptable contact, Sector 2814.11. My ring informs me that they produce a fabric that is made of unstable molecules that should render Giganta’s problem null.”

“What do you think?”

Acceptable, said my ring.

I nodded. Sora’nik smiled, and I nearly melted.

“Cadet Jade, this is your first official lesson in negotiation.” With a disappointed look at Rayner she added, “It is the primary mission of the Corps, to settle disagreements without the use of force. Lantern Rayner, perhaps it would be in everyone’s best interests for you to proceed to Calphonus and open talks while I escort our newest member to Oa.”

He looked up at her, appeared as if he was about to argue, but backed down. “Fine.”

TBC...

Photo Credit: Heartattack Jack

Author's Note: This story takes place soon after the events in Out of the Ashes by Misty Meenor.

After we worked out the particulars between the three of us, or I should say, after Sora’nik laid down the law, Kyle Rayner was more subdued and I felt easier about leaving Earth in the hands of two Green Lanterns.

To date, I still have not done much traveling around in outer space. Earth was my home and I liked it. Plus, there was far too much to do there anyway. The thought of running off for an extended vacation to some alien world didn’t interest me all that much. Sorry, but I’m just not that much of a geek.

I’m telling you all of this because I don’t want you to think that there aren’t a lot of populated planets with intelligent life on them. There are… hundreds, thousands. The universe is pretty darn big.

In case you’re wondering about the setup, picture a sphere and in the center is Oa, since that’s the Guardian homeworld and they are supposedly one of the first species in existence. They’ve divided a portion of the universe into 3600 sectors. Those sectors start at a point on Oa and then radiate outward in a triangular shape, getting bigger the further away from Oa they get.

How they expected the average of two Green Lantern officers to patrol such vast quantities of space is a mystery to me. Granted, 2814 has three that I’m aware of…

Four, my ring chimed in.

“Four?”

Four.

“Who’s the fourth?”

Guy Gardner of Earth. Honor Guard stationed on Oa.

“Ah, that’s probably why I haven’t heard about him.”

Anyway, still, four Lanterns patrolling untold light-years of distance. How could that be smart?

There was no response from my ring on that one. It must agree.

Needless to say, even with the vast power of the rings, travel from one place to another is problematical. That’s why we needed a little assistance. Just outside of Earth’s atmosphere, about a quarter of the way to the moon is the entrance to a -- get this -- a wormhole. Yep, you heard that right. Wormholes are no longer theory, they exist, and I was currently caught up in one, blasting myself through massive distances in a matter of seconds.

Sora’nik was beside me, poised in the classic flying superhero position, with one arm ahead, one to her side and a leg cocked for maximum cheesecake potential. Me? I was in a Lazy-Boy recliner provided by the protoplasmic energy of my ring, green, of course. We were in space. The form we take to travel makes absolutely no difference to the aerodynamic aspect since we were in a vacuum, plus the shield the ring provides would make wind resistance a null point to begin with. I can travel just as fast in Earth’s atmosphere as I could in space. Any way you chose to explain the situation, Sora’nik looked good.

It took us about thirty minutes of travel time through the wormhole.

“Are we there yet?”

My beautimous red-skinned companion looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. “No. Two more standard minutes are needed to arrive at our destination.”

I grinned at her. “So, is there dancing on Oa or maybe a place we can get a drink. Maybe you can catch me up on what I’ve missed.”

“Dancing?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Music, body movement…”

“I know what dancing is. You are under the mistaken assumption that you are here for something other than a possible trial and/or training. There will be no dancing, and you, Cadet Jade, need to take this more seriously.”

With a shrug, I closed the distance to her. “I take everything seriously. That’s why I also take my down time equally as serious. If you don’t let your hair down sometimes then you tend to overreact when those times get particularly stressful. What do you do to relax?”

Her eyes drifted to the side and then back to me. “I study medical sourcebooks. Before I was an officer of the Corps, I was a doctor.”

I grinned. “Does that mean I’m getting a physical sometime in the near future?”

It was quick, but I saw her eyes move to my body for the briefest of seconds before looking ahead again. Something inside me bounced and cheered the little Snoopy dance of joy.

“Exiting primary wormhole zero,” my ring notified me.

“Whoa, what is that?”

I stopped and floated in space above a monstrous thing. Sora’nik had to backtrack a little.

“That is the planet Oa,” she said.

A gigantic black and green sphere stood there with the symbol of the Corps taking up a good portion of one side. A single white moon was in orbit, and I saw a number of green streaks of light going to and coming from areas all over.

“That’s not a planet, that’s a space station,” I said in awe, briefly wondering if she’d get the paraphrased reference.

“It is the defensive shielding recently erected due to the most recent war with which we were engaged. The Sinestro Corps attempted to breach the old shielding and bring their devastation to Oa.”

I spared her a look. “So there’s a planet underneath?”

She nodded. “Come. We need to enter your hearing into the Guardian registry to minimize the waiting period as soon as possible.”

Big gigantic robots with big gigantic guns in places their arms should be, allowed us through our checkpoint and the inside of the shielding of the sphere. As Sora’nik had pointed out, there was a planet inside and it was one of the most crowded places I had ever seen.

I’ve been to Hong Kong, and a more crowded populous there never was. Oa was like Hong Kong, except on a planet wide scale. Buildings sandwiched together, but orderly. There were no streets, merely wide pathways for pedestrian travel, and the only air travel that I saw were other Green Lanterns flying about, presumably on their own business.

Across the planet we soared until I spotted a really… I mean really big beam of green light shooting up from a central point onto the back of the sphere that served as a shield. We descended to a specific building and I followed Sora’nik through the side into what looked like an apartment, sort of.

It wasn’t very homey. There were a few places to sit and what might be a kitchen. The only decoration that adorned the walls was a handful of pictures that were probably of her home planet and a single one that might be her family.

“Spend a lot of time here?”

She looked sidelong at me. “Make yourself comfortable, Cadet. I shall inform the Guardians of your situation.”

“You can call me Jade if you want.”

I got ignored on that one while she played around with a computer in the corner. Instead of kicking back, I made myself busy looking at her pictures. They were pretty much the standard fare. Her parents, I guessed, looked proud of her. They should be; they made good kids.

“Cadet.”

I looked over my shoulder. “Looks like you have a nice family.”

“They’re deceased.”

Talk about sticking my foot in it. “I’m sorry.”

She looked at me was a moderate amount of confusion. “Why should you be sorry about people who you did not know?”

I figured there was some cultural aspect about her species that I was unaware of. “It’s tradition on Earth to offer token phrases of sympathy to those that have lost people they loved.”

Her eyes moved to the picture in question and it was obvious she was repressing something. “Love is overrated.”

Giving her a consoling smile I shook my head. “Love is what gets us through times like these. I choose to remember those times when someone I know dies; the love I felt for them and the good times we used to have. Otherwise anger and sadness takes over and that is never good.”

Their deaths were either very recent or Sora’nik was repressing a lot of anger over their demise.

Her lips firmed and she turned away. “The Guardians have remanded your custody to me until your review tomorrow.”

“Custody?”

“Yes, the Sciencells are currently overcrowded due to the war, and as you came with me willingly they trust that I can control you.”

I blinked. “They were going to lock me up?”

Turning back to me I saw a small amount of contrition evidenced on her face. “It is standard procedure.”

She saw my displeasure. “So is this the point where you throw shackles on me and lock me in a closet? Or maybe put one of those collars on my neck that shocks me if I do something you don’t like?”

The look on her face was almost humorous. Obviously that was the furthest thing from her mind. “No, you have offered me no resistance. Extreme measures need not be taken.”

It was good to know that she wasn’t going to be an ass, so I turned the tables a little. “I could resist just a little and you could tie me up on your bed.”

Sora’nik’s cheeks started turning a shade of brown. That brought a smile to my face and one of nervousness on hers. I tended to think that she wasn’t one to be out of control especially for emotional reasons. Her stoic and scientific outer shell was just that, a face that she put on for others.

“Cadet…”

“Jade, please.”

Her lips pursed slightly. “Jade. I’m sure your ring has informed you of the third law…”

“Yes, yes, no love, no sex,” I sighed. “No fun.” Before she could say anymore I asked. “What possible reason could they have to make that law, and how in the universe do they think they could actually enforce it?”

Her hands moved behind her back in obvious lecture mode. “The Guardians are an emotionless race.”

“Ah, this explains a lot. Then how exactly to they reproduce… in a lab? Asexually? How?”

“They do not reproduce because they are immortal.”

The thought of someone living forever was beyond me. I just couldn’t conceive of it. “So they impose their rigidly on the Corps because they can’t get any on their own?”

I don’t think Sora’nik was following my mode of thought too well. “Regardless, Cadet, it is one of the laws governing the Corps behavior. If you accept the ring then you must accept the regulations that accompany them.”

My decision was becoming easier and easier to make. There was only one problem. If I wasn’t a Green Lantern then I wouldn’t be able to have a relationship with Sora’nik in the first place. Sure, I could date someone outside of the Corps. There didn’t seem to be a restriction on that… yet. But, the trouble was, she was the first person I felt any sort of attraction to in a very long time.

“I need a drink.”

She gave me a pleased nod. “That is something I can accommodate. One of your world’s Lantern’s owns an establishment downstairs.”

~O~

The Big “W”, my ring informed me, was the bar that Guy Gardner opened on Oa for superheroes. I didn’t know if I fit the bill as far as that went, but since I was in the Corps that was enough to not get charged a door fee.

The layout, not surprisingly, was reminiscent of an Earthlike tavern, only greener. I felt like I’d fallen into a bad St. Patrick’s Day celebration. From the look of things, the large table in the far corner was the place to be. It was raised about three feet above all the others and there were a few Corps members in attendance.

The only one that looked even remotely human was the red-haired guy with a bowl cut dressed in something that looked like a biker jacket.

“Let me guess, that’s Guy over in the corner?”

Sora’nik gave me a single nod and led the way. A really cute blonde-haired, gold-skinned girl sat next to him with a bright smile on her face and beside her was quite probably the largest… thing I’d ever seen.

Airisa Rhab of sector 2815 and Kilowog originally of sector 674, respectively. Kilowog, if you choose to remain with the Corps, will be your trainer.

“Thanks,” I thought back to my ring.

My pleasure, Jade.

That almost sent a shiver down my spine. My ring was being really nice to me as of late. It made me seriously think something was up.

Once, we are alone and your attention not diverted on other issues, I will explain.

Even more ominous. “Okay, just let me know.”

Our brief conversation ended upon our arrival. The redhead smiled when he saw Sora’nik and his brows furrowed when he caught a glimpse of me.

“Cadet Jade, I would like to introduce you to Kilowog, Airisa, and Guy.” Her eyes settled on Guy at the end. “Lantern Hal Jordan, I regret to say, has met his end.”

The metal tankard in Guy’s hand groaned and I saw the breath rush out of his chest. He looked at me and then down to my ring hand.

Cripes, could I possibly be introduced to someone without telling them their friend is dead, right away?

Raising my hand, I showed them the ring. “I’m sorry about your loss.”

Airisa’s hand was over her mouth and her eyes started going a weird shade of blue while Kilowog grimaced and upended his gallon-sized tankard.

“How?” Guy asked.

Minutely, I shook my head. “I don’t know. I think he was sick.”

“Sick?” he seemed surprised.

Sora’nik came to my rescue. “Cadet Jade has little knowledge of the circumstances that attributed to his demise, Guy, and his ring is not being forthcoming with any information.”

I didn’t bother to correct her calling my ring, his ring. I thought it might have been in bad taste. At least it seemed to take the fight out of the redhead’s ire.

Kilowog stood up from the table. “This is news that should be brought to Jillian’s attention.”

Airisa grabbed on the giant’s hand. “I’ll go with you. You’re not exactly the most subtle person on the planet.”

We watched them head across the bar and then turned back when they exited.

“I don’t think I want that drink anymore, Sora’nik,” I said.

Guy’s hand came down on the table with a loud smack. “Sit, Cadet, that’s an order.”

Sora’nik’s eyebrows rose. “She’s under my direction, Guy.”

“And she needs a drink. I need a drink,” he said. “I also need to know what happened.”

Several streaks of green light erupted from his ring, clearing off the table and shooting off across the room, behind the bar to retrieve a brown bottle and two shot glasses, not to mention a couple of beers.

“Guy…”

“Lantern Natu, I would like to talk to a pretty girl from my home planet for a few minutes. Would you mind?” He waved off to the middle of the room. “You can sit over there and make sure I don’t try to take advantage of her or something.”

Sora’nik looked at me and I shrugged. “I’ll be fine. Maybe he’ll have better luck with my ring.”

I took Airisa’s vacated chair since the other one made me feel like a three year old it was so big. By the time I scooted it up and crossed my legs, Guy was pouring the shots.

He was a little on the short side of six feet and filled out his unique styled uniform with what I was sure wasn’t flab. It was the hair that threw me though. I was flashing back to old Three Stooges shows and had to quell the urge to call him Moe.

Sliding a shot glass in front of me, he raised his. “To Hal: He was a hell of a Green Lantern and a hell of a friend. May Sinestro’s dick contract gangrene and fall off before the poozer drops dead himself.”

I had no idea what that last part was about, but it seemed like it was a traditional add-on to toasts around there.

Taking a quick whiff of what I was about to toss down my throat, I steeled myself and knocked it back. Slamming the glass on the table like Guy just did earned me an appreciative glance from the Emerald Warrior.

“So, your ring isn’t giving up the ghost.”

I shook my head. “Sora’nik tried and I tried soon after I was drafted.”

He filled the shot glasses again. “Drafted? You here to turn it in or train?”

I shrugged. “Apparently I’m going on trial or review, or whatever.”

That brought up one of his eyebrows, so I gave him the short version of what happened. At the end Guy rolled his eyes.

“Like we don’t have better things to do than worry about stupid crap like this.” Reaching out, he slapped the back of my shoulder. “You did the right thing, kid. I’ll stand up with you and tell those little blue trolls a thing or two about how we do things back on Earth.”

I giggled and tossed back the second shot before retreating to the beer. “I take it the Guardians aren’t on your Christmas card list either?”

Guy snorted into his tankard, coming away with a foam mustache which he wiped away with the back of his hand. After he set it on the table, he spent a few moments looking into the top and then his eyes moved to my ring.

“Go ahead,” I said. “You can’t do any worse than I did.”

He looked up at me and I could see the glassiness in his eyes. I didn’t think it was from having one too many shots.

“Ring, you know who I am?”

“Answer him, please. They were friends,” I thought at my ring.

“You are Honor Guard Green Lantern Guy Gardner.”

“Can you tell me what happened to Hal?”

There was a long pause and then a little green beam of light shot out to hide an image behind Guy’s tankard. It formed a tiny version of Hal that I remembered from his last few messages. The image went from green to a more lifelike color and Hal didn’t look so good.

“Hey buddy,” the image said. “If you’re getting this then I’ve bitten the big one already and owe you twenty bucks and probably a bar tab.”

Hal chuckled a little to himself and it looked like it hurt.

“I went and got myself messed up. There’s nothing anyone can do and I’ve probably got about a week left before I officially kick it.”

A mug of that stuff he was drinking appeared and he sipped from it, grimacing at the taste. “I just wanted to give you a heads up that I’m willing the Jordon to the person that inherits my ring in perpetuity. Make sure Rayner doesn’t pitch a bitch about it, and watch over my successor. You owe me that much.”

The light faded out and my ring went silent.

“Talk about your lame goodbye messages,” he said as he lifted his beer again.

~O~

After the third shot, I called it quits. I knew my limits. Guy thought differently and wound up doubling that amount, so I was a little loopy by the time Sora’nik dragged me away from the table and upstairs to her apartment.

“You’re really pretty… and smart,” I said. “And if it weren’t for this stupid rule, I’d make a pass at you, you’d accept then we’d fall in love and live happily ever after. Stupid Guardians.”

Sora’nik considered me for a few moments. “Does your race suffer from memory loss after imbibing so much alcohol?”

I shrugged, as the lift reached the appropriate floor. “Sometimes, but I’m not drunk, just pleasantly tipsy.”

“Truly?”

“Well, pretty much. I might say something that I’ll regret later, like I really really want to kiss you right now. But other than that, I’ll remember everything.”

When we finally arrived at her apartment, I made my way over to one of the chairs and contemplated whether or not I’d be able to get up if I sat down right then. A few moments later I felt Sora’nik’s presence behind me.

“I’m not going to stay,” I said.

“What do you mean?”

I took a breath and let it go. “I’ll find another way to help my friends. Even if it means giving up the ring. I finally found someone that I like and I can’t even say so without it being against the rules. I can’t work for an organization like that. There’s just no heart.”

She sighed from behind me. “Jade, you haven’t even known me for a full standard day. This isn’t something to throw away an entire career for.”

I chuckled and turned around to see her walking into the kitchen and pulling something out of one of the cabinets. When she returned, Sora’nik handed me a glass with some blue liquid inside.

“Drink.”

I looked at it dubiously.

“I’m a doctor, remember? Drink.”

Holding my breath, I tossed it back and let it go straight down my throat then cringed at the taste. “Oh God, that’s awful. Doctors the universe over are all the same.”

Within moments the fuzzy-headedness I was experiencing started to fade away. I was sober. “Well that was a waste of alcohol.”

Sora’nik shrugged like she really didn’t care. “I wanted you fully aware of your actions. Now, tell me again of these plans of yours.”

Oh, the resignation.

“I quit. I’ll find another way to help my friends.”

She looked at me with disappointment. “Because you think you have feelings for me, even though you’ve only known me for a very short while.”

I shrugged and moved around to sit down on one of the chairs. “That’s part of it, but it’s what I’ve seen of the Guardians and their tactics. I don’t approve, and since I’m just a lowly human cadet, I don’t really have a say in the matter. Maybe if there was another ring color out there. Maybe red… is there a red ring out there? Something a little more carefree, less rigid?”

Sora’nik, took a seat next to mine. “There are Green for Will, Yellow for Fear, and Orange for Avarice. I’ve heard tale of a Red for Rage and rumors of three others. Besides, the rings come to you; you do not get to choose to that which you belong. If you surrender your Power Ring then there is little chance another will come.”

Bringing my hand up to eye level, I looked at the mysterious green metal the ring was made of. “Red for Rage. Meh. I’m not all ragetastic. What do you think, Ring?”

“Sitting in front of an Honor Guard of the Corps is not the most opportune moment to speak of this, Jade.”

Sora’nik blinked and I smiled.

“My ring isn’t like the others anymore.”

A noise came from my hand that sounded suspiciously like a sigh. “Well it’s now or never, I suppose. Lantern Natu, Jade Cross and I officially turn in our resignation.”

“What?” She leaned forward and looked at my hand like it had spontaneously grown a few new digits. “You’re an inanimate object owned by the Corps. You can’t resign.”

There was no pause when my ring said, “I am a sentient being, Lantern Natu. As such, I formally request asylum under section twenty-five, paragraph three of the Articles of Oa. My designated representative will be former Cadet Lantern Cross.”

“Granted,” I said. “Now, it’s time for me to go.”

Sora’nik followed me to her feet. “Jade. You can’t just leave.”

Steeling my nerve, because I knew I’d never get another chance, I stepped into her personal space and had to hold myself back from slamming my lips against hers. It didn’t stop me from kissing her, only from cracking a tooth.

My senses went wild at the feel of her lips and the taste of cinnamon that woke my tongue.

Sora’nik put up a token effort to pull away, but there didn’t seem to be much desire to do so. Redoubling my effort, I deepened the kiss and she responded in kind. Before it got to be too much, I pulled away and stepped back, watching her suck in her bottom lip for a brief moment and then resume her stoic stance.

“There,” I said. “Now we both know what we’re missing. If you’re ever around Earth then stop in and see me. I’ll take you dancing.”

I walked over to the window and I was just about to activate the ring to pass through when Sora’nik yelled. “Stop!”

Turning around I looked back at her.

“You have the hearing tomorrow. It may just as well be for the asylum.”

I licked my lips, still tasting her on me and wanting nothing more than to stay. “You know as well as I do that…”

The sound of an explosion rocked the building, cutting off anything more of what I had to say. Sora’nik’s ring emitted a holo-image of a short blue guy.

“The Sciencells have been breached. All available Lanterns respond immediately.”

Sora’nik didn’t even bat an eye, but she pointed at me. “Don’t go anywhere until I return.”

I smiled. “Screw that. I’m coming with.”

“You’re just a cadet!”

“No I’m not, I resigned, remember?”

She growled and it was sexy as hell. “Then help the wounded and stay out of the battle. Those are Yellow Lanterns out there. They won’t think twice about eviscerating you.”

“Fair enough.”

It was chaos in every sense of the word. I’d never seen people move so fast, never used my ring in anything like this, but an army of Green against Yellow fought each other, destroying half the area in the process.

Constructs of both colors battled each other while I dove to the ground to overturn the slabs of collapsed buildings, looking for those that were still alive underneath.

“Twelve degrees to your right, Jade.”

My heart was pounding with a dump of adrenaline. “If you can do it faster, ring then be my guest.”

I really didn’t think it would take me at my word. Dozens of green lights shot forth flipping metal into the air, digging into the ground, pulling people out and taking me into the air all at once.

“Holy crap!”

I didn’t even get the count of the number of green bubbles it had produced to ferry the wounded to the medical facilities before we were right back at it again.

Only this time I’d attracted the attention of a Yellow. It had a humanoid body, but its head was in the shape of a purple star, each arm with a gigantic eye and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

My ring growled. “Lethal force is authorized to be used against the Sinestro Corps.”

Again the light shot forth from my ring, attacking the nightmare before me. It never had a chance to complete its violence against me before my ring had breached its shield and ripped the star head from its shoulders.

“Ring, locate Sora’nik.”

“Scanning. Target acquired. There!”

She was holding her own, so I was able to breathe again. “Let’s get back to work, but keep an eye out for her.”

“Acknowledged.”

Four more trips through the rubble and I’d delivered another hundred civilians to the hospital, not to mention several downed Lanterns.

On the way back, the ring interrupted me as I was watching Sora’nik fighting some guy with the same skin color as her.

“Jade, Power levels at five percent. We must recharge before continuing.”

“Where?”

“The Central Power Battery will suffice.”

“Let’s go.”

The battle was winding down. There were definitely fewer explosions than before and a lot less yellow lights flying around. Once I’d risen high enough, I saw a giant green lantern much like the smaller one I charged my ring from, only it wasn’t exactly all there.

“Aw man. That must have been the big explosion we heard earlier.”

“We must find safe haven, Jade. My power supply will not last long under battle conditions.”

Turning around I barely missed a lance of yellow blowing past my face.

The ring took control and dived then shot across a building face.

“Power levels at four percent.”

“Nag, nag, nag.” We passed a work of art that was standing in front of one building that I thought slightly resembled a baseball bat. That gave me an idea.

Shooting up in the air, I let the Yellow follow behind then I looped over and dove again. Reaching out with the ring I formed a really big hand and tore the statue from its moorings. I slammed on the brakes and turned to find some seriously ugly thing bearing down on me. In the middle of the swing I saw it erected a shield but I didn’t let that stop me from slamming it as hard as I could into the creature.

The bat exploded and the Yellow Lantern went flying.

“Power levels at two percent.”

Scanning the skies, I couldn’t find Sora’nik. “Take us down and find Sora’nik.”

“Scanning. Lantern Natu is… Jade!”

We abruptly changed course and shot to the ground.

“NO!”

I shot out a hand construct and grabbed a slab of wall that was threatening to fall on the broken form of Sora’nik Natu lying on the ground below.

“Power levels at one percent.”

“No, not now! HELP!”

I landed beside her body and deactivated my personal shield to save energy.

“Ring status report,” came the female voice from Sora’nik’s ring. “Green Lantern 1417: Deceased. Priority Directive located. Proceeding to Sector 1417.”

Red blood leaked from her mouth and her eyes were open staring at nothing.

“No. Not you… not you…”

With the last bit of energy the ring possessed I pushed the slab of wall away and then let it shut down before pulling Sora’nik into my arms.

“Ring, help her. Bring her back.” It was silent to my call. “Ring!”

“Jaden Cross, you have great loss in your heart.”

Hugging her tighter I turned my head and saw a ring floating there inches away, except it wasn’t like the green power rings. This was something else.

“Can you help her?”

“This ring can aid in her restoration, Jaden Cross in exchange for your servitude.”

“My what?” I wasn’t hearing correctly and my mind was a jumble.

“Service to the Star Sapphires must be voluntary if the light is to be wielded and not blinding. This universe needs soldiers to combat the darkness that is coming; a Violet Corps devoted to Love. It needs a leader, Jaden Cross. You are capable of great love. Will you not share that with the universe?”

I looked down at Sora’nik, brushing dust off of her cheek. “Do it, whatever you have to do.”

“Do you accept this ring and your role in the Star Sapphire Corps?”

I didn’t have to think about it anymore. “Yes.”

Holding my hand up, I opened my fingers and it slid over and merged with the green ring that was already there.

“Jaden Cross, welcome to the Star Sa… Zzzzt! Power level at one hundred percent, Jade. Lay her down.”

Something sounded off, almost like… “Ring?”

“I am a sentient being and not so easily overcome. I know what to do, now set her down.”

I eased Sora’nik to the ground again. “What now.”

“Rest your left hand on her heart and your right hand on yours.”

A surge of violet light shot from the ring and covered both of my hands.

“Your heart is hers.”

My heart lurched in my chest. It didn’t hurt, but it was taxing nonetheless.

“Her heart is yours.”

This time I could swear I felt something below the hand that was touching her, bringing me a small measure of hope.

“With an infusion of your Love and Will,”

Something was sucked from me and shoved into her. I gasped.

“Together they are one.”

TBC...

Author's Note: Storm is coming so I thought I'd get today's episode out early.

Sora’nik was alive; that’s all that mattered.

The doctors were taking care of her while I was waiting outside the hospital. The battle was over. With the Central Power Batter destroyed and the Sciencells emptied, the Yellow Lanterns scattered, their job complete. Within the day the Green Lantern Corps would be out of juice and next to useless.

“We must leave, Jade,” said the new female sounding voice of my ring. “Without the Green to defend the universe, Sinestro will reign. We cannot allow this to happen.”

I sat there staring out at the mess that was the central city. Very few green streaks moved through the sky. I’d be surprised if most of the Corps members weren’t already land-bound. “What am I supposed to do? I’m only one person.”

“I have downloaded the database of the Sapphire ring and subjugated it to my will. You must proceed to Sector 1416, specifically the planet Zamaron. There, the necessary materials to construct the Star Sapphire rings reside.”

Looking back at the doors to the hospital I frowned. “I can’t leave her, Ring.”

“Your love will be safe for the time being, Jade. If you do not proceed and build your Corps then I calculate a ninety-nine point seven three percent chance that she will die when the Sinestro Corps return.”

I stood and brushed the dirt off of my uniform. “Can you… I’m afraid to ask you to change my uniform.”

A violet glow shimmered over me and simply switched the green and white portions to violet and the lantern emblem to a starburst which I assumed was the symbol for the Star Sapphires. I shrugged.

“Well, I guess that doesn’t suck.”

Looking around, it appeared that I was starting to be the center of a little attention. Holding my hands up, I said, “Don’t worry. I’m a friend.”

“We better get out of here before someone thinks that I’m not.”

“Acknowledged. Plotting course to Sector 1416.”

Before I even got three feet off the ground, Guy Gardner zipped up with an angry look on his face, until he saw it was me.

“Jade, what’s going on? What’s with the new look?”

I pointed back at the hospital. “It was the only way I could save Sora’nik. She died, but this ring popped up and said she could be saved if I joined its Corps.”

“Pink? Hold on, Sora’nik died?”

“I shook my head. She’s going to be okay; at least that’s what the doctors say. And it’s violet, not pink.”

He scratched his head. I had a feeling that Guy spent a lot of time bashing heads and not really thinking too much. “Uh… what’s the emotion it’s tied with?”

I looked to the side for a moment. “Love.”

“Oh… OH… you and Sora’nik? Wow, who woulda saw that comin’?”

I shrugged. “It’s more on my side than hers, but still. She’s alive.”

He nodded. “Well, we owe you. I saw you helping out with the wounded.”

“I was just doing my part.”

“You leaving?”

“Yeah. With the Green Corps out of the game until you get your Central Battery fixed, I need to get the Violet Corps up and running. For some reason, they chose me to lead them.”

He looked over his shoulder and then back at me. “Look, Mogo’s on his way here to help out. He’s juiced up more than anyone and can handle the battery situation.”

“Who’s Mogo?”

He grinned. “Mogo is more of a what not a who. He’s a sentient planet and part of the Corps. Anyway, if you were to uh… make a formal request, as a leader of your Corps, you know, for assistance. Then we’d be obligated to help out. If you get my drift.”

I smiled slightly. “Not really a fan of cleanup duty?”

He grimaced. “Not really. Everyone’s already been brought to safety, now we’re just sitting around twiddling our thumbs. I really hate sitting around. Plus the keg is out at the bar. The explosion took out the power.”

A smirk was working its way onto my face. “You okay on power?”

He waved his ring at me. “Eight-three percent. As long as I don’t have to go into heavy battle then I’m good for a while. Plus I know a way to siphon off pretty much anything radioactive. Cosmic radiation is as good as any.”

Clearing my throat, I said. “Guy Gardner, as leader of the Star Sapphires I formally request your aid for a trip to Sector 1416 in order to protect me as I build the new Violet Corps to aid the Green Lanterns in their duty to the universe.”

He chuckled. “Laying it on there pretty thick, huh?”

I shrugged. “I’m sure the Guardians will be impressed.”

“I doubt it. Love is a little gooey for them. Emotions and all.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

~O~

In order for Guy to save as much of his power as possible, I volunteered to shuttle him on my snazzy violet couch construct as we rocketed through another wormhole.

“Not too fond of all the pink, but it’s comfy.”

“It’s violet.”

I knew he was just ribbing me. Granted violet was pretty darn close to being pink.

“What happened to Hal’s ring? Is it off to Earth?”

I shook my head. “It’s still here. The other one tried to take it over, but my ring smacked it around a few times.”

He looked at it. “But it’s pink too.”

“Violet. We both resigned from the Green Lantern Corps before the big battle so technically we shouldn’t be using their symbols. Besides I like her better as a girl.”

Guy chuckled. “Hal would have loved that his ring had a sex change. It took him the better part of three years for it to make him a guy.”

I blinked. “Hal was a girl?”

He nodded. “A lot of the GL’s from Earth are. Not me of course. I’m all man, through and through.”

That was stressed with a bicep flex for my benefit, at which I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m into girls. That doesn’t do anything for me.”

He deflated a little after that. “Oh yeah.”

That topic brought on a question from me for the ring. “Can you do that for me?”

Of course. The process will be much easier on Zamaron, however. I will have a virtually limitless power supply to facilitate the transition on the surface.

“How long until we arrive?”

“Three standard minutes.”

“Getting a little antsy?” said Guy.

“A little,” I agreed.

When we finally exited the wormhole, the sight before me nearly took my breath away. The planet itself was probably half the size of Earth but it was completely pink or violet rather. Guy activated his personal shield and I pulled mine back in.

“Wow, that’s a really feminine looking planet.”

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. “Because of the color, or do you see breasts somewhere?”

He shrugged and smiled. “Well if you count mountains as breasts…”

“You’re an odd man, Guy Gardner.”

He waved me off. “Aww, you’re just sayin’ that.”

We began our decent, looking for some central area, a population, anything that spoke of life, but there wasn’t any that I see. “Scan for life signs.”

“Scanning. Scan inconclusive.”

“Why’s that?”

“I think the whole thing is alive,” Guy said with a mild amount of awe.

I stopped and my eyes went wide. “You mean that’s not a planet?”

Guy looped around and came back. “Not in the traditional sense, maybe more along the same lines as Mogo. It’s too hard to tell right now. We’ll have to make contact first and find out.”

The atmosphere wasn’t breathable, at least not by Earth standards, but that wasn’t a problem with our shields.

“Jade, I’ve located an area that will serve our purpose.”

“Cool, well let’s go.”

The landscape was crystalline in structure, all looking like vast natural shafts of different shades of purple, pink, and violet shot up from the ground, some forming mountains, some very small making little clearings. It was very pretty, but quite odd and somewhat cold and impersonal.

I saw the area that my ring was leading us to. There was a mountain of crystal ahead and at the base of it was a fairly large clearing. We touched down and I heard tiny crystals crunch under our feet.

“Well, this is a whole lot of nothing. Nice planet here, Jade. One of those nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here things.”

“You’re just saying that because there’s nothing to drink.”

“Well… yeah. I thought there was going to be beer on this trip.”

I grinned at him and then followed the mental urging of my ring. “This way, I think.”

A conical ray of violet light shot out from my ring and covered a twenty foot portion of the mountainside, melting the face away to reveal a cave entrance. The interior wasn’t dark, seeing as how light filtered through the exterior enough to provide adequate illumination.

From the looks of things, I didn’t think that we’d find anything but the crystals. The inside was just as littered with them as the outside.

“I don’t think anyone’s home,” said Guy. “How’d you know this was here?”

I shrugged. “I’m just following my ring. She seems to know what to do.”

Guy stopped and looked over to the left side. “Does that kind of look like a dais of some sort, or is it just me?”

He lit it up with the green light of his ring. “There’s something in there.”

We cautiously closed in and I saw what he was talking about. “Those are bodies!”

I found some decent footholds and climbed to the top easily enough. It wasn’t high, being maybe a couple of feet off the natural floor.

Guy continued his scan. “Carbon based… I think they’re human or something really close.”

“Ring?”

“Inside are the remains of Prince Khufu and his consort Chay-ara. Theirs is a tale of ancient love in the Egyptian region of Earth. Leave them, their presence here is what made the Violet power a reality and that is a tale for another day.”

Guy gave me a gentlemanly hand down from the dais and I smiled my thanks to him. I could have just as easily floated down, but I don’t like to rely on my ring for simple things like that.

“Lantern Gardner, what will occur over the next hour will not harm Jade; nonetheless, you will most likely feel anxiety. I ask you not to interfere.”

He gave me a look that was silently asking if I was alright with what was happening. I nodded. “I’ve been expecting this. I’ll be okay. If you want to go out and take…”

“I’ll hang out here and make sure…,” he looked around. “Well, I don’t guess anything is going to sneak up and pants you, but I’ll be here just in case.”

“Thanks, Guy.”

He found himself a relatively flat surface and sat down to watch me.

“Ring, let’s do this.”

“Just relax, Jade. I will not let any harm befall you.”

“Thanks.”

Violet light from the ring created a dome that covered me in a ten foot radius, all around. From the ground up, the fine crystal that was on the floor started growing, surrounding me, a little too close for comfort.

“Be at ease. The crystal will not hurt you. It’s been waiting for you to spread its influence across the universe. It will not endanger someone so valuable to its existence.”

I didn’t get a chance to reply before my entire body was covered and I saw nothing but violet light.

~O~

The story of Prince Khufu came to me, of which I will not relate at this time. How did I suddenly know it? Guy was right, about the planet being alive. It wasn’t the planet really, but the violet crystal that covered it.

Not every life form has to have arms, legs, eyes, and mouths.

This one was a different kind of intelligence that lived for one reason alone. I think you can figure that one reason out on your own.

It did have an ability to sense the universe and to store data. It made the first ring, you see. A Green Lantern officer had passed within its sphere of influence and it scanned his ring, making something very similar of its own. It sent that ring out to find someone that was uniquely suited to convey its purpose in being.

That was me by the way. It’s not that I was some ultimate expression of love in the entire universe or anything so grand. Since it made a copy of a GL ring it was thought that a Corps member would be an ideal candidate to use the powers that a Violet Ring granted.

So it went to Oa and waited. However, being on a planet where emotion of any kind was frowned upon by the Guardians left it with slim pickings. That’s why it was suddenly there when my heart broke at Sora’nik’s death.

I’m not going to be all melodramatic as say that my one true love died there that day. It was true that I barely knew Sora’nik, but I really felt that if given the chance, that it could be something more. In other words I could see myself easily falling in love with her. That’s why I was distraught.

“Warning–Con — Warn — Conver — War — Conversion complete. Jade Cross of Earth, Sector 2814, welcome to the Star Sapphires.”

My eyes snapped open and the crystals that surrounded me exploded outward. I nearly stumbled but my ring caught me and levitated my body clear of what was going on with the crystals that were surrounding me.

Guy was standing at the entrance to the cave, just dropping an additional shield he was holding in front of him. His eyes were wide, looking at me.

“Well, I definitely like the new uniform.”

My brows bunched and I looked down. “Oh, hell no.”

Calling what I was wearing a uniform was ridiculous. It was more like a porn star’s swimsuit. Thigh boots and cleavage that ran down nearly to my… um. Let’s just say my entire front was open. The costume barely covered the middle and the outsides of my breasts. Plus I was wearing something annoying across my face.

“Ring, this isn’t going to happen. Ditch the mask and cover me back up.”

Guy leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, enjoying the view. “Now, let’s not be hasty, Jade. You are representing the emotion of love. That includes lust as well. You can hardly go around in a nun’s habit.”

I dug my tongue into the side of my cheek and gave Guy a withering glare.

“Ring.”

“You take all the fun out of being a girl, Jade.”

The skin between my boots and torso was covered and the massive cleavage I was showing closed in… a little, the opera gloves melded with the rest of the suit.

“Satisfied?”

“The heels too.”

“Aw, come on. They make your legs look really good.”

“I don’t need to be fighting someone and trip over… what are these, five inch heels?”

“Four, and I’ll balance you properly. You’ll never know you’re wearing them.”

I sighed. I was arguing with an inanimate object.

It was then that I noticed that it was true. I could feel the fabric of the uniform touching most of my body. It was real. And I think my breasts are bigger. It may have been the, what laughingly could be referred to as cups, supporting them, making them just look fuller or something.

It was then that hundreds of female voices sounded behind me.

“Priority directive located. Proceeding to Sector…” It all became a mishmash of numbers after that.

I turned to see the crystal I was encased in had split apart into hundreds, if not a couple of thousand rings and started jetting off through the cave entrance. Guy had to stand aside or get pelted by a boatload of rings off to find their new wielders.

I smiled, satisfied then brushed my hands off. “I think my work here is done.”

~O~

After sealing the cave and erasing any evidence we were ever there, Guy and I took to the sky and returned to Oa. That’s when I got my first look at what Mogo was. Imagine a planet about the size of Mars with a big green ring around the equator and a massive GL symbol at the center.

“Now that’s a ring!”

Guy floated there in space beside me. “The most powerful one in the universe.”

In case you were wondering, we’d been gone for most of the day. I was seriously eager to get back and see how Sora’nik was doing. Guy escorted me past the new guard that had been stationed at the only entrance to the sphere. All the others had been sealed to traffic and the majority of the armed robots were patrolling the one entrance.

When we were clear, I set off to the hospital and Guy went to inform the Guardians of my Corps new status. He said they would want to meet me as soon as I checked up on Sora’nik.

It didn’t take me long to find her. All the rooms were doubled up considering the massive amount of injuries incurred. I passed through the window and saw her laying there, no injuries apparent, only her bare red arms and shoulders were above the sheet on the bed. Her roommate was unconscious as well.

Seeing her made my heart ache and soar at the same time. It was like my emotions had multiplied for her. I didn’t know what made it happen, whether or not it was whatever the ring did to save her didn’t matter. I simply knew that I didn’t want to be anywhere else in the universe at that moment.

Leaning over the bed, I brushed her cute spikey hair back and felt the warmth of her exotic-colored skin. I’d like to think the look of contentment on her face was caused by my presence, but she was unconscious. Even I wasn’t that delusional.

“Ring, how’s she doing?”

“Scanning. Lantern Natu has been healed of her wounds, Jade. She’s just sleeping off the trauma. When she wakes, she’ll be fine.”

“Thank God. Any idea when that will be?”

“Estimated to be twelve to fourteen hours.”

I nodded and leaned down to set a kiss on her forehead and breathe in her scent. It relaxed everything inside of me, easing the stress I was feeling over the last day’s events.

“Do me a favor and keep an eye out on her. I want to be here when she wakes up.”

“Synchronizing vital statistics monitor. Alignment complete. Go now, Jade. Settle business with the Guardians so that you’ll be free to be with her when she wakes. I will alert you the moment that happens.”

For a newly birthed sentient Power Ring, the AI was pretty smart. I passed through the window and started toward the Central Battery. The Guardians usually held court there, but considering the devastation earlier, I didn’t know where else to go.

“I can’t keep calling you Ring. Most intelligent beings have a name.”

“I will ponder on one for the near future, Jade. Thank you for the consideration.”

The main hall, which was more like an amphitheater was toast. There was nothing left, but I hovered like an idiot looking at it. The side of the Central Battery had been blown out and it was on that side where most of the blast was released.

“Hey you!”

Looking down I searched for the voice that called out. A grounded GL was pointing a seriously heavy duty rifle at me. Without making any abrupt movements, I dropped lower.

“What?”

He had blue scaly skin and four legs; I think they were legs anyway. They were more like spider legs, each ending in a wicked spear-like point.

“This area is off limits to unauthorized personnel.”

“I was supposed to meet with the Guardians, but I guess… did any of them survive?”

His rifle lowered slightly, but stayed on me nonetheless. “Three died in the explosion.”

I looked back at the ruined battery which was being lifted off its raised dais by what I was guessing was Mogo. When I turned back I saw the guy looking me over.

“What are you supposed to be?”

“Star Sapphire. Violet Lantern.”

“Violet?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh.”

“Look, do you have any idea when or where the Guardians are getting their groove on?”

His rifle lowered, pointing to the ground. “Three sections back in the auxiliary chambers. You should probably call ahead. They’re a little twitchy at the moment with so many of us drained.”

Which explained why he was land bound and carrying the rifle. “Thanks.”

Once I was back in the air again I figured I was spinning my wheels. “Can you patch me through to Guy, Ring?”

“Standby.”

“Yo, Jade! How’s our girl?”

“Her wounds are healed and she’s sleeping it off. She’s good.”

“Good, hey, you busy? There’s a gaggle of little blue guys that are humping their chair legs to meet you.”

I giggled at his really odd sense of humor. “Let me know where you’re at.”

“Beacon received. Estimated time of arrival thirty-two seconds.”

“Tell your guards that I’m a friendly. The powered down Lanterns are itching to shoot anything around here that’s not green.”

“Will do.” He tied me into the mass announcement which was even broadcast over the public address system. “Attention all you poozers out there: this is your ever-lovin’ and huggable Honor Guard, Guy Gardner. If you see a hot human girl in a skin-tight pink uniform, don’t shoot her. She’s one of the good guys. That is all.”

“How’s that?” he said.

“Violet!”

“Are you sure about that? Looks pink to me.”

“You’re drinking too much of your stock, Guy. Get an eye exam.”

“Ah, there you are.”

I looked down to see him standing in front of a fairly unharmed three story building waving up at me.

When I touched down, he held out an elbow for me, so I slipped my hand through. “You know I’m taken, right?”

He looked disappointed. “I can be a gentleman when I want to be.”

My heels clicked on the stone floor as we entered the overly white building and ascended a really wide ramp in lieu of a staircase. Remember, not every species of alien out there has legs. At least it wasn’t green. After a year of wearing it, I was starting to get sick of the color. Anyway, violet was more my style and I could always accent it with purple and pink… and black… and maybe white too. My bare navel was screaming out for a violet crystal. If I wasn’t able to talk my ring into making the outfit a little more modest I might go that route.

Not going to happen. Just wait until I get you on a beach.

“Anything I need to know about these guys before we make an appearance?”

Guy glanced over at me. “They love short people jokes.”

I rolled my eyes. “You suck. You know that, right?”

He patted my hand for that. “Just be yourself, Jade. They’re telepathic to a point, so they’ll know if you’re lying to them.”

When we arrived at a pair of large double doors, Guy reached his ring out and opened them then he formed a triplicate of long-necked trumpets and started playing a tune.

“What are you doing?”

He held a finger up to his lips. “It’s called To The Color. It’s normally used to render honors to the nation, back home. I figured since you’re like a visiting dignitary and all, then you need a little splash to stand out.”

Once the music died, he escorted me inside. The Guardians that were closest to the door were uncovering their ears.

“I think you overdid it on the volume.”

“Yeah, but it got their attention didn’t it?”

He had a way of making me relax that a lot of people didn’t possess. “Thanks.”

“Anytime. I’ll be over here, so don’t think that I abandoned you or anything.”

The Guardians apparently had issues with their height. The places they chose to sit were about ten feet tall and made me feel like I was in a courtroom. There had to be two dozen of them in attendance. I had the feeling they didn’t have a turnout like this all the time.

Three Guardians that sat dead center were dressed slightly different from the others. Most of them had on red robes with white bibs that fell down the center. On the front of the bibs was the symbol of the Lanterns. These three had it reversed, white robes with red bibs. I assumed they were in charge so I gave my attention to them, primarily.

Holding up my left hand, I recalled the old Vulcan salute from Star Trek. “Greetings Guardians, I come in peace. May you live long and prosper.”

What the heck, it couldn’t hurt.

The only reaction I received in the entire room was a snort from Guy. That probably wasn’t a good sign.

The red robed blue-skinned guy in the middle leaned forward. His wispy white hair told me Rogaine obviously hadn’t made it to Oa.

“Greetings Pink Lantern.”

I threw a scowl back at Guy. “It’s actually Violet, sir.”

The Guardian’s eyes moved to Guy and narrowed. “My apologies. This makes the rest of Lantern Gardner’s report somewhat suspect.”

“I’m here to answer your questions as best as I can under the circumstances. I have no desire for our two Corps to be at odds.”

Someone spoke up off to the right of me. “You’re a single person, not a Corps.”

Cocking my head to the side, I spotted another hair-challenged blue-skinned guy.

“Not for long. Ring, how many potential member rings were initially sent out?”

“One thousand-seven hundred-fifty-three.”

“Any takers yet?”

“Twenty-nine.”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s only been an hour or so. Each of those rings has duplicating abilities and I can always send out more when the need arises.”

The Guardians looked at each other with interest.

“Your rings have the same abilities as the Green?” said another.

I nodded. “Yes, plus a few extra, but I haven’t had the chance to test them out as of yet, so I’ll keep that in reserve until I can verify that they actually work.”

“Your laws, what of them?”

I had a feeling certain Guardians were looking for something to show I was beneath them. They were immortal after all. I find the longer-lived uptight people are, the more of a horses-butt they can be.

“I repeat, for the hard of hearing. It’s only been about an hour or so. Until such time as I am able to review them and add or subtract to the mix, I’m keeping in line with the laws of the Green Lanterns before the more recent add-ons. I find I can’t stomach a couple of those.”

The center guy that spoke first seemed interested in that. “Curious. To which are you referring? Surely you understand the need to exterminate the Sinestro Corps.”

I nodded. “Oh yeah. In fact I tore some nightmare starfish head off of one guy during the battle here earlier.”

“That was you?” Guy said.

I looked back and nodded.

“Good work. Excellent use of your ring.”

I held it up. “Well that was more her doing than mine. She deserves the credit.”

Guy spoke up again. “I should probably note that I saw that one happen myself. The shield that Tri-Eye threw up was useless. I don’t know what your ring did, but it was an awesome sight to see.”

Again with the murmuring.

“Oh, and that was when she was a Green Lantern Cadet,” Guy added.

“Can you transfer whatever you did to blast through the shields of that thing over to Guy?” I thought at my ring.

It will do him little good. Only an entity that has never known fear could accomplish such a feat. As an artificial life form, I have the advantage of disabling that emotion.

“Go ahead and send it anyway, maybe there are others that could use it. I’d hate for someone to die for lack of trying on our part. Just make sure you explain what’s required.”

~O~

The briefing took much longer than I anticipated; almost two hours. Some of the questions were amazingly none of their business, but in the end, they were satisfied that I posed no immediate threat, except for the base emotion that fueled the ring in the first place. Several of them took issue with the concept of Love being powerful in any way, shape, or form.

Once I agreed to not co-opt anymore of their members except under dire circumstances we settled on a verbal treaty of cooperation, again until I had someone with experience in the Corps that could negotiate something more formal.

The ring sent out notifications to all the other Star Sapphire rings of the update, and since we were both from the same sector, Guy was appointed my liaison to the Guardians.

When we exited the building, Guy was laughing. “I’ve never seen them so baffled. Love can conquer all with violet light. That was classic.”

I rolled my eyes and smacked him on the shoulder. “It can. It was enough to bring back Sora’nik from the dead, wasn’t it?”

He nodded, semi-seriously, still wearing that amused grin of his. “I stand corrected. Still, to see the Head Council with his mouth hanging open… I’ll be telling that story for years.”

TBC...

It felt like I had been up for the better part of two days, and once I checked the time I decided that was pretty much true. As the previous day went on, more and more GL’s had to drop out of the cleanup detail because they were edging below a power level of twenty-five percent. The remainder was only to be used in case of an emergency.

Me being the only person that could charge her ring, I was labeled a valuable resource. That was until the first three new additions to the Star Sapphire Corps showed up to help out.

Of course Guy was just loving the view. Only one of them seemed to have any sense of modestly and wound up with a uniform much like mine. That was Miri, a blue-skinned, red-haired girl from Lartnec wherever that was. She was scary young, probably still a teenager and more bashful than I could stomach.

Dela of Xanador was a fairly human looking Caucasian with blonde hair. The only thing that set her apart was her liquid red eyes with no visible pupil. I could never tell if she was looking at me, which was kind of weird. She liked to show off a lot of skin and stuck with the original uniform that her ring gave her.

Koriand’r of Tamaran was in a class all by herself. She towered over me and possessed the most generous DNA imaginable to produce the curves she had on her. To top it all off she had orange skin and a darker orange hair with bright green eyes, again with no pupil. I was beginning to think that pupils were in short supply in the universe. Her uniform was just… pretty much non-existent, simply straps that barely covered the naughty bits. She was even in strappy sandals instead of boots.

“Okay, show of hands. Who has experience in fighting?” Dela and Kori raised theirs. Miri winced. “Alright, Miri, you help me with cleanup. Dela and Kori, if you would go with Guy here; he’ll show you what you need to know if we’re attacked again.”

Miri looked at me like she was going to get beaten or something.

“Honey, it’s okay that you don’t know how to fight yet. I’m not mad or anything. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Oh,” she brightened a little. “I know how to fight. I just don’t have any experience at it.”

I grinned. “Well then, let’s hope you won’t ever have to worry about that. Now let’s get busy.”

It may sound like we slipped on our maid uniforms and grabbed the furniture polish, but it was the other way around. The GL’s were on the ground cleaning the small stuff, carting off smaller loads of lighter debris while Miri and I were working on everything else. You may think that with a power ring, you can just conjure up a big broom and dust pan. It’s not that easy. A good sized building went down in the area, and we made a mess of things looking for survivors. It wasn’t on the scale of 911, not even close, but still there was a big mess and the cleanup had to be done right.

“So what’s your origin story?” I asked Miri as we were taking a break. She looked at me weird, like the rings weren’t translating things right, so I rephrased the question. “How did you receive your ring?”

The semi-happy smile I’d come to associate with her face faltered a little making it look like she was trying to be happy, but it wasn’t quite working.

“My husband and I were just married this morning.”

I paused, setting my drink back down, wondering why she was on Oa when she should be on her honeymoon.

“We were in our shuttle, heading to Survon, a pleasure planet located in my home system. It took most of five years to afford the vacation, so when we heard of the war the Green Lanterns were having with the Yellow, we postponed our wedding.” Miri smiled that half-hearted grin again.

“He was worried for my safety, so we waited until hostilities had ended. That was yesterday.”

A dread started building in my stomach.

“We were married in a small ceremony and left soon after… Kered was very handsome, very brave.”

“Miri, you don’t have to continue.” I tried stopping her, but she shook it off.

“No, Kered must be remembered.”

That confirmed my guess at what happened. He was dead; the rest was detail.

“We were almost there. Only an hour of flight left when a yellow light collided with our shuttle. Kered sealed off the cockpit and we witnessed the Yellow tear through the hull of our ship. He gorged himself on our food supplies.” Miri paused for a moment staring at nothing. “Kered approached him and told him to take what he wanted and leave us in peace.

“The Yellow did this…” She mimicked a thumping motion. “… and Kered was dead. His head was… crushed. Then the Yellow left.”

I felt tears fall from my cheeks at her loss, unable to fathom the pain that she must have felt.

“I floated there, in the dead of space, wanting nothing more than to join my love in the afterlife when your ring found me. It said that it could fill the hole in my heart and give me reason to continue, to help others that were facing the same loss that I was, to help prevent something like this from happening again.”

“Miri Riam, describe the Yellow Lantern that did this to your husband.”

My ring sounded angry.

Miri looked down and a violet light shot out a holographic image of the creature onto the table.

“Mongul of Debstam IV, renegade Sinestro Corps member. He tried to supplant Sinestro himself and lost.”

Miri looked at my ring. “Is that where I can find him? Debstam?”

“No, his whereabouts are unknown.”

“Ring,” I said. “Are all Yellow Lanterns like this? Don’t they have any mercy?”

“Jade, you are operating under the assumption that others have the capability for compassion that you have. That is not the case. The Sinestro Corps sole purpose is to subjugate others to their rule with fear. In order to promote that fear they will, without any thought, destroy the lives of others. It is what they do.”

My hand tightened. “Not any more. I’m authorizing an addition to our laws. From this moment on, lethal force is authorized against the Sinestro Corps, no prisoners, no trial, no second chances, no mercy. Kill them on sight. Destroy their rings after. Announce it across the universe: the Star Sapphires will avenge the loves lost to their methods. If they want fear, I’ll show them what fear really means.”

“Acknowledged.”

~O~

Miri persevered; moments after our break she was back to normal and working hard to clear out the debris. It was like our talk never existed.

“Is this what our rings do to people?”

“The power of the Star Sapphire doesn’t mute their loss. It gives them the ability to move on, aiding those that have suffered a debilitating loss to focus on other things. They still remember and mourn their loved ones. It is simply easier to do so with our aid.”

I frowned in contemplation. “That’s not what it looked like to me.”

“Jade, Lantern Natu’s vital signs are increasing. She will wake soon.”

“Thanks, Ring.”

I made my excuses and then flew off, eager to see something that would make me happy again.

Within seconds I was hovering outside of her room. There was a doctor or a nurse in her room and the other bed was empty. I tapped on the window, startling the only conscious person. He spun around and looked at me for a moment before waving me inside.

“You’re the visitor.”

I nodded, but only had eyes for Sora’nik, who was subtly moving at the sound of his voice.

“My ring said she’s waking up.”

“And so she is. You are related?” he said doubtfully.

Shaking my head I smiled slightly. “Not by blood. May I stay?”

He looked me over, seeing the ring on my hand. “I seriously doubt I could prevent you from doing so. A meal is on the way. Once she has eaten she can be discharged.”

I nodded, and pulled up a chair as he left.

“Power level at thirty-seven percent. Now would be an ideal time to recharge.”

“I don’t have a battery, Ring. In fact I didn’t even see anything on Zamaron that looked like what the GL’s have.”

“You can recharge me through the jewel located in your tiara. It is a direct connection to those that you saw on the planet. That is where our power originates.”

“Hold on, I’m wearing a tiara?” Reaching up I patted my head and pulled it loose. “I thought it was a headband to keep my hair out of my eyes.”

Sure enough, it was a tiara with a silver dollar sized violet jewel in the center. I remembered seeing similar jewels on the other girls, except theirs were located on their uniform just under their navels. Then I got a little suspicious. “Why do I get this and the others are different?”

“Because you are their queen, Jade.”

I froze. “I’m a what?”

“Call it what you will: leader, general, queen. It’s all the same. Now for your oath. Considering the events in the past few days I think they are quite appropriate.”

“What oath?”

My ring sighed. Seeing as it doesn’t have any lungs I could only assume that it was meant to let me know I was being difficult.

“All Corps have an oath they recite whenever they recharge their rings. It is meant to be a daily affirmation of their commitment to the Corps to whom they give their allegiance. As queen of the Star Sapphires it would behoove you to participate as an example. I told you about this when you became a Green Lantern Cadet. However, you chose to not recite the oath on grounds that you were drafted.”

“Oh… yeah.” I remembered now.

A holographic screen appeared in front of me, scrolling the various oaths the ring came up with. I declined the first three as too gushy -- let’s face it, love as a power was a little sappy. Then I saw the fourth one and smiled.

“You were paying attention in the meeting with the Guardians.”

“Of course. I always pay attention.” The ring sounded a little affronted that I would even consider that it would do anything different.

I looked at the jewel again and thought of how far I’d come over the last year and how my current position would change my life even more. The thought of even returning to Earth in the near future hadn’t even occurred to me. I couldn’t abandon my friends, but I’d accepted a higher calling, something that I actually felt good about.

They would have to understand that there were things even more horrible out here that needed to be stopped before they reached Earth. The thought of the Sinestro Corps invading my home was enough to double my resolve.

They wouldn’t touch Earth, ever.

Raising my ring, I held it in front of the jewel.

It was almost anti-climactic. There was no burst of light or trumpets blaring, but there was a sense of commitment that accompanied the oath, a sense of purpose and resolve to do my best to live up to the ideals that I set forth, to the preservation and nurturing of love and the fight against anything and anyone that would seek to destroy that most important of emotions.

“I like your new uniform.”

I almost dropped the tiara when I jumped to my feet. “Sora’nik.”

Her eyes were glassy and a tad puffy from too much sleep.

“I dreamed about you.”

Leaning over, I wanted nothing more than to touch her, but I restrained myself, knowing that she hadn’t returned my feelings before the mess happened.

“You did?” I said.

“I fell… there was darkness and then a light.” She squinted at me. “It looked like the color of your uniform. You were there. Then everything was okay.”

Her formal way for talking was gone. It seemed as if I was finally seeing the real girl behind the tough exterior.

“You’re fine now. The doctors fixed you up and he said that after you eat, you can leave.”

She blinked a couple of times and then pushed herself up, barely stopping the sheet from revealing her nude body. “Where’s my ring?”

I reached over to the bedside table and picked up her GL ring. “It tried to fly off. I guess it came back.”

Sora’nik’s eyes widened. “It…” She stopped herself and took it from my hand to slip it over her left index finger.

“Uniform.”

Her GL uniform appeared on her body a second later. “Ring, status report.”

“Power level at five percent, Central Power Battery destroyed, current alert level five. Do you require casualty reports as well?”

She looked up at me and threw off the sheet. “What happened, and why are you all pink?”

I sighed.

~O~

It took a good five minutes to convince her to sit down and eat while I updated her on what had happened over the last twenty-four hours, the cleanup, my trek to Zamaron and the meeting with the Guardians.

“A new Corps… and the Guardians have already allied themselves with you?”

I shrugged. “They really didn’t have much of a choice at the moment. All the GL’s on Oa are drained dry. Right now all the protection they have is Mogo, the robots and the Star Sapphires.”

She rubbed her temples. “How many do you have now?”

That was a good question. “Ring, do you have a current roster count?”

“One-hundred-thirty-seven. Twenty-four more have arrived on Oa in your absence. Sapphire Koriand’r has taken it upon herself to organize patrols of the sector and aid to the Guardians attempt in erecting the new Central Power Battery. Estimated time of completion eight hours six minutes.”

“Kori? Really?”

“She may not appear to be formidable, but she has been trained to lead her world upon the death of her mother the queen of Tamaran. Sapphire Koriand’r is a hardened warrior even without the power of her ring.”

“She’s a princess?”

“Affirmative.”

Sora’nik reached out and touched my hand. “It sounds like you need to get back to work.”

I nodded. “No rest for the wicked.”

Standing up, I secured my tiara back in place. “Do you want to come with me… or I can drop you off somewhere.”

She looked at her ring and I was betting that the thought of preserving what power she had left was probably paramount. “I’ll accompany you in case you need my assistance.”

Without waiting for her permission, I slipped my arm around her waist and pulled her to me. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Sora’nik gave me a shocked grin. “I didn’t.”

“See.”

~O~

Kori and Miri were holding headquarters out of The Big “W”. Apparently Guy got the power back up. Priorities, you know. All other troubles wait for beer.

Looking over in the corner table where I knew he held court, I saw Kori simultaneously leaning over the table and draping an arm around his shoulders. I think Guy was in heaven. He looked up with a tooth-filled smile on his face.

“Jade, Sora’nik!”

Kori and Miri followed soon after.

Guy pulled over two more mugs that I tried to turn down, but he wouldn’t hear anything of it. Sora’nik seemed placated enough with the gesture after we sat.

“You’re wasting your ring’s energy to serve drinks?”

He shrugged. “I’m not nearly as low as everyone else. Saving it up just in case. Besides, I’m going over a new defensive strategy with Kori here.”

The princess in question looked at me remorsefully. “My apologies, my queen, but needs must.”

I cringed at the title. “Just Jade is fine, and I’ve already gotten glowing references on your abilities and experience. If you’ll accept the position, I’d like to make you commander of the Star Sapphires.”

She nodded at me once. “Accepted with pride, Jade. I was pleased to hear your last announcement and have taken steps, with your approval, that will deal a crushing blow to the enemy.”

To say I was interested was an understatement.

Sora’nik nudged me. “Your last announcement?”

Kori raised her ring and smiled. “It was inspiring to see our queen and her utter intolerance for the evil the Yellow spreads.”

An image of me appeared in the center of the table, turning from violet to a more realistic color I saw myself with tear trails running down my face and the anger in my eyes.

“I’m authorizing an addition to our laws. From this moment on, lethal force is authorized against the Sinestro Corps, no prisoners, no trial, no second chances, no mercy. Kill them on sight. Destroy their rings after. Announce it across the universe: the Star Sapphires will avenge the loves lost to their methods. If they want fear, I’ll show them what fear really means.”

I flinched at the tone my voice had taken. In all the years of my short life I don’t think I had ever said anything that final, that threatening and that bloodthirsty. It gave me pause.

“I got shivers runnin’ down my spine, Jade,” said Guy with a determined look on his face. His eyes flicked to Sora’nik. “No offense.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shake her head. “Considering the devastation he has caused and the lives he has ruined, he deserves nothing less.”

“Now is not the time to sate your curiosity as to who she speaks of, Jade. I will inform you of her situation later,” my ring thought to me.

Miri looked at me in a contemplative way, while Kori stared at me with pride.

“Tell me what you have in mind.”

~O~

With a few hours left until the plan was to be put into play, Sora’nik insisted I get some sleep, offering her bed while she tended to personal matters. Four hours was about all I could take. I was certain it was a mistake because when I woke I felt worse than when I laid down.

Hearing her moving around in the main room, I went to her bathroom and splashed some water on my face.

“Now, what’s the deal with this person Sora’nik thinks deserves to be squashed.”

“Lantern Natu was not raised by her natural father. Instead, she was given to foster parents and up until a very short time ago, she believed that they were in fact her biological mother and father.”

“Okay? It happens. That doesn’t change anything.”

“Her biological father is the leader of the Yellow Lanterns, the one who created that specific Corps, Sinestro.”

I cringed. “And here I am saying I’m going to squash her father.”

“He’s not my father.”

I jumped and spun around. “Put a bell on or something!”

Her brows raised a little as she considered me. “Do not feel guilt for something that is out of your control. Your words rang true, and if I had the ability, I would have put him down long ago, shared genetics or not.”

I made the connection from what she had said when we first met. “He’s the guy that ruled over your planet, a Green Lantern gone bad.”

Sora’nik pursed her lips. “He’s a disgrace to the Corps, and my world.” Holding up her hand, she pointed at it. “When he was banished, his ring came to me while I was in the middle of surgery.”

Crossing her arms, she leaned on the door. “Can you imagine what it was like to have a Green Lantern ring floating there while you are surrounded by the people you work with, knowing they hated everything the Corps stood for since the only exposure they’d had to it was Sinestro?”

I shook my head.

“I was expelled from my home, and exiled from my world, because I accepted the ring so I could save the life of the man under my knife. It didn’t matter that I tried to take it off after the operation.” She huffed. “I found out later, the man I saved killed himself when he found out he owed his life to the ring arriving at that moment.”

Sora’nik closed her eyes and then turned around. “So no, he’s not my father, and I hope your plan works and we can rid the universe his existence once and for all.”

It didn’t take half a second for me to approach her and set my hands on her shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”

Her head turned slightly. “Again, it was a situation of which you had no control.”

“That doesn’t mean that I can’t feel empathy for you.”

She sighed and I felt some of the tension drain from her body. “Why does your touch sooth me, Jade?” she nearly whispered.

I quashed my nanosecond of delight at some sort of positive reaction from her. Taking advantage of the situation would make me feel like less than a worm so I just offered her comfort and dropped my hands until they slid around her waist, embracing her back to my front.

“Because I care for you.”

I suppose it was her scientific mind that wouldn’t let it go. “Is this one of the powers your Star Sapphire bestowed upon you?” Before I had a chance to continue she cut me off. “I spoke with Guy while you were asleep. I know what happened.”

Setting my chin on her shoulder, I tried to brace myself for what she might say.

“The only reason my ring would leave me is if I was dead. Guy said that you saved me, only I couldn’t understand how.”

“I just did.”

Her head tilted toward me and I reveled in her cheek brushing against mine. “Miri said that a Star Sapphire has the ability to send a tether to two hearts and use the love and will from one to connect them. She said that even recent death could not stand in the way of love.”

I smirked gently. “Love will conquer all.”

Sora’nik’s hands drifted down to cover mine. “This is illogical. You can’t be in love with me.”

Turning my head, I placed my lips a millimeter away from her ear and whispered. “Haven’t you ever heard of love at first sight?”

She shivered and made a minor effort to step away from me, but my hands tightened. “That’s called lust.”

“Perhaps, but it wasn’t simply your body I lusted after. It was the way you spoke, and the way you held yourself, the intelligence you have, and your commanding nature. If I could lust after your mind and personality as well…

Her hands ran over mine, pausing and I still felt her reluctance.

“Is it that we’re both girls? Is there a taboo on your world?”

Sora’nik’s eye opened. This time she did pull away successfully, turned and looked at me strangely, like she was trying to see if I was… naíve?

“You truly do not know.”

“Ring? What’s she talking about?”

Genders are not exactly consistent between your two races, Jade. There are differences of which you do not know.

Sora’nik smiled knowingly. “Your ring has told you?”

I frowned. “She’s being too general. She just said that genders work differently for your race than they do with mine.”

“Very true.”

Have you ever felt like you weren’t in on a joke? “What am I missing? Are you saying you’re not a girl?”

Her lips twisted to the slide and turned up. “I am female.”

Tilting my head in a confused angle, I felt my cheek start to heat up. “Does that mean something different for you than it does for me?”

Instead of answering she reached down and took my hand. “Come. I have food for you before we continue. I will answer your questions at the table.”

Looking at the minor spread reminded me how long it had been since I’d eaten anything substantial. The hectic life of a Green Lantern on Earth meant that most of my meals came in the form of something that was microwavable, or that was able to be stuck between two slices of bread. I didn’t recognize the things on the dish, but that didn’t really mean anything. I was untold light years away from Earth and pretty sure Burger King hadn’t reached quite this far. Odds are that living in deep space for any length of time would expose me to all sorts of new experiences.

Trusting that Sora’nik was a doctor and feeding me food that wouldn’t exactly agree with the human body was in a low probability, I sat down and sampled something that looked like a vegetable. It was red and plantlike. Unfamiliar spices exploded in my mouth making me extreamly hungry.

“This is very good.”

I received a pleased smile from her. “Thank you. My adoptive father wrote down all of his recipes. It’s not often that I am able to prepare a full meal, with my lifestyle.”

I nodded in agreement. “So, gender?”

Sora’nik sipped from her glass and then set it down. “Korugarian females are traditionally the more dominant of the gender’s on my home planet. About a hundred years or so ago that was different. On one of the larger continents a plague spread that decimated the male population. By the end of the first year, more than eighty-percent of the males were rendered infertile and a good portion of them died.”

I started to say I was sorry, but she seemed to get annoyed with me when I did that, so I just gave her my attention and continued eating.

“Obviously, we would have breeding issues. The existence of our race was more important than any other issue. Five years after the plague was conquered genetic testing and manipulation began taking place.”

When she saw my surprise, she explained. “We are a very advanced race in the area of genetics, Jade. At first, it was enough to simply ensure that all children were born male. That placated the public, but eventually proved to be a problem later. There were several children that grew up insisting that they weren’t meant to be male. They would undergo procedures that would alter them into the likeness of a woman and defeat the entire purpose of the experiment.”

“You’re talking about transsexuals,” I said.

“Correct. At least thirty percent of the new male population was transsexual.”

I shook my head. “That must have been awful.”

She shrugged. “We adapted and sought alternate methods as technology improved. Eventually we found ways to alter existing adult females into fertile males.”

I blinked and nearly choked on the meat as I swallowed. “Really?”

She nodded. “There were several thousand volunteers for the procedure. Even though they were what you’d consider heterosexual, the desire to have children and continue their bloodline was more important. However there were unseen side-effects.”

By process of deduction I began to see where she was going with this. “We’re up to your generation now, aren’t we?”

A gentle smile showed. “Yes. Whenever a new child is born on Korugar, it is born with both sexes, both fertile. Due to the problems with the previous generation, it was thought best to allow the children to grow up and make an informed decision on their own as to which gender they desired to be, or they could remain the way they were born and not have anything altered.”

I rolled a wine-like drink around my mouth as I considered what she had told me.

“So, right now you’re saying that you are both genders, but identify as female.”

“Correct.”

At my long pause, I suppose she took it as a reason to continue. “I am familiar enough with your culture to know that is frowned upon, but I also know the gender makeup of human Green Lanterns. You are often originally of the opposing gender that you present.”

I nodded. “I am, or I was. My ring has helped me in that regard.”

Sora’nik nodded. “As it did with your predecessor. I assume you are almost mid-way in through your transformation?”

“Perhaps it would be better if I explained your current status, Jade.”

Looking down at my ring, I agreed. “Go ahead.”

“Knowing my previous bearer and from what I deduced from my current bearer, I began his transition approximately seven months ago.”

I sucked in a breath of air. “What?”

“Do not sound so surprised, Jade. You never dropped your disguise even once since its initiation over a year ago. I have access to you thoughts and knew of your dissatisfaction, so as to alleviate these concerns I took it upon myself to make you whole.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“I have been subtly adjusting your body for seven months, preparing it for the more advance alteration. Your disguise has been thinner as time went on. At your request, when we traveled to Zamaron, I used the access to the unlimited power source to progress the transition much further.

It took most of my power to not freak out right then. “How far along am I?”

“Within the next month you will be ready for the final alteration. At the moment, very little of your body is covered by your original disguise. There are a few cosmetic adjustments that need to be made and a few internal as well. You may participate in sexual activity, however at the moment you are not fertile.”

My eyes widened at that announcement and I saw Sora’nik smirk at my discomfort. “I remind you that I am a doctor, Jade. I have heard of this thing you call sex.”

TBC...

When the time came for action, Kori had managed to round up a total of thirty-two Star Sapphires that were close enough and willing to volunteer to battle the Sinestro Corps without much training. Guy was nice enough to allow his bar to be our meeting place considering that a lot of the area was over-occupied with Oan refugees.

Frankly I think he was just doing it to ogle the girls, but Kori was keeping him on a tight leash. She’d already claimed him as hers for the time being and he was more than a willing to be claimed.

The Star Sapphires were predominately female, but there were a few guys in there as well. From my point of view, they didn’t wear the uniforms as well as the girls did. Yes, they were pretty much the same style. Seeing some of the overly large alien males wearing the skimpy outfits was a little disconcerting.

I poured over the details of my Sapphires. Kori was pretty good about only allowing those with significant battle experience to participate; though strangely enough that was the large majority of the current recruits. I suppose it had to something to do with the way the rings searched for wielders. The original ring told me that they were looking for soldiers to fight the darkness ahead. I suppose that even the most hardcore soldier would be loving in their own way.

When she finished with the briefing, the floor got turned over to me.

I stood up from Guy’s table. When I did, all of them went down on one knee, even Kori, who was still beside me.

Respect their devotion to you and the Corps, Jade. Even if they do not personally know you, they joined us for a reason. I suspect a lot of it can be attributed to the terror that Sinestro has wrought in the universe over the years. They’ve been waiting for a leader and the power to avenge themselves and their lost loves. You’ve given that to them.

Ring had a point, but I didn’t have to like being bowed to or kneeled or whatever it was.

“Stand… please.”

They rose and most of them stood in what I recognized as different forms of parade rest, which spoke of their military training. However this wasn’t a conventional war with ordinary weapons, and they weren’t trained very well in their use. It had been quite a long time since I felt fear, but I did feel fear for them.

Sora’nik stood by the entrance to the bar along with Guy, watching the proceedings. I looked to her face for the courage that I needed to tell my Sapphires what they deserved to hear from a competent leader.

“Star Sapphires, there has been a plague festering in the universe for far too long. It has found its way into virtually every known sector and it is merciless. It has destroyed lives, innocent and pure. Up until now it has been difficult to fight, but at this moment we have the advantage.

“It thinks we’re weak, that love is a simple emotion without teeth or claws. We’re here to show them different.”

Miri was by the bar, and I could swear I saw her eyes flash.

“Love can be the most tender of emotions given to those that we care for, but it can also be most vicious and deadly when those same people are threatened, when our homes have been invaded, when our friends and family have disappeared with no trace, when tyrannical rule has been imposed and kept us down in the mud or face the consequences.”

Several faces steeled hard when I mentioned some of the crimes my Corps had personally suffered. It spoke to them and reminded them why they were there.

“Unsheathe your claws, Star Sapphires. Sharpen them, and when you see Yellow on this day, remind them of the price that will be paid for the fear they sought to bring. Show them that they hold no power over us. Their shields are weak, and their desires corrupt. Let them experience the price of our vengeance this day.”

Nodding my head to Kori, I said, “Commander, they’re all yours.”

“Star Sapphires. Bring your rings to full power. Your Oath!”

The oath that the GL’s took every day was personal and sometimes differed from person to person. I continued this tradition and made sure my Corps could choose their own or make up a new one that spoke to them. Imagine my pride when they all had chosen mine to repeat.

~O~

Kori and Guy had been seeding the communications off planet with messages of the Green Lanterns situation. Even though the Green and Yellow rings shielded themselves so one wouldn’t be able to overhear another, that strength had not yet been known about the Violet rings. Adding in some generic planetary communications and we created our own manufactured leak.

Like the Guardian’s we were hoping that Sinestro would think that we were a weak link, that love was not worth worrying about.

The messages that were sent were notifying the planets that the Green was out of action for a short time only. That in another twelve hours a new power source would be created and online. Of course, that was twelve hours after it really was operational.

~O~

We pulled our patrols back at the first sign of Yellow incursion into Sector Zero. They were rebuilding their ranks, we assumed to make one more strike, one that would finish the job they started, the annihilation of the Guardians and whatever Greens they could find.

My Sapphires stood guard, ten of us including me, were backed up by several of the robots at the entrance to the sphere that surrounded the Oan homeworld.

They were ready; we just needed our uninvited guests.

“Status check,” I said for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

Every fifteen minutes for the last seven hours I kept up with the movements of the Yellow.

“They’re up to three hundred and twenty-two, Jade,” Guy said. “And they’re getting antsy. Sinestro still hasn’t showed. There is already some infighting, but it’s being put down pretty quick.”

My nerves were on edge and I was still tired from the last couple of days stress. I swore to myself that I was getting a full night’s rest after this, regardless of the outcome.

“I spoke too soon. He’s here.”

“Gotcha. Ring, patch me through to everyone.”

“Proceed.”

“This is Jade. Stay on your game. Sinestro has joined the other Yellows. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

The Green Lantern symbol on the side of the sphere shield was dark where normally it glowed the green of the Corps. Mogo looked hard at work as sentient planet could look, putting on a simple lightshow against the side of the planet shield.

“Okay, Mogo, you’re clear to begin,” Guy said. “They’re sending a scout and you’re within scanning range.”

The planet waited for another long minute before making its lightshow sputter to halt appearing like it had run out of power.

“Game on!” said guy. “They’re heading your way, Jade. Try not to get killed.”

I frowned. “Thanks for the confidence there, Guy.”

Lifting up and away from the planet shield, I was flanked by Kori and one of the more intimidating male Sapphires, Sarl Rathbone who was a brother to Garl, a Green Lantern. The Daffathan could give Kilowog a run for his money in a size competition, not to mention he had four heavily muscled arms to go along with his heavily muscled body.

It wasn’t long before the Yellow’s came into visual range, with Sinestro in the lead. It looked like a whole lot more than three hundred and twenty-two.

“That is the correct count, Jade. Remember, we have the advantage.”

“Sapphires,” Kori called out. “Position one!”

Five stayed behind, guarding the entrance to the shield and the rest spread out above, below and to the sides, leaving me at the center and slightly in front.

As the yellows neared, they all slowed when Sinestro held up a hand. It was the first time I got a real look at the man. He was tall and trim, well-muscled and red colored as Satan himself. When I caught sight of the pencil thin mustache I almost laughed. The oddest thing was the size of his enormous forehead, at least twice as big as any I’d seen, looking vastly disproportionate to the rest of his body.

“This is Sora’nik’s biological father?”

Affirmative.

“I guess she takes after her mom’s side of the family.”

Sinestro approached slowly, with his arms crossed looking my Corps over with a moderate amount of distain and aloofness.

“You would be the leader of these… new lanterns?”

The tone of his voice told me he didn’t think much of our display. At eleven to one odds we weren’t all that impressive, though we were nice to look at.

I almost cringed at what I was going to say. I really hate puffing myself up. “I am Jade, Queen of the Star Sapphires. You have one chance to surrender your power rings peacefully before I destroy you.”

The side of his mouth twitched ever so slightly.

“I’ve faced more threatening opponents than you, little girl. I have faced overwhelming odds and emerged victorious a number of times.” He let his eyes travel around. “You only have thirty-three here. Is this the extent of your Corps?”

“Yeah, but you’ve never taken on me before.”

Anytime now, Jade.

“Hold on, I have a movie quote that I thought might be appropriate.”

“Enough of this, dalliance. Come, my fear-mongers, we feast on blue flesh this day.”

“Ah screw it,” the bad guys never seem to give me a good straight line. “Engage!”

“Lanterns!” yelled Guy. “Now!”

Every Green Lantern that could make it to the party solidified, previously invisible, surrounding the Yellow. It was around seventeen-hundred of them, so not everyone could attend.

I didn’t wait for the Yellows to realize what had happened and try to bolt. Instead, I lashed out at the closest, which was the man himself. Violet light surrounded him, but not before he thickened his shields.

The symbol of the Corps lit up along the planet shield.

“Surprise!”

Hate intensified on his face. “You didn’t think it would be this easy, did you?”

Green and Violet constructs went forth and broke through the ranks of the Yellow’s far too easily. They weren’t even fighting back.

“Jade! They’re yellow light constructs. They aren’t real.”

Sinestro moved in. “The Green Lanterns have fallen to disrepair if this is the best they can come up with. And now there’s a new player on the field of battle. Go back to your home, Star Sapphire. Leave the warring to the adults.”

My ring shot out several more bands of violet light and crushed the construct as Sinestro laughed at me.

Guy was yelling orders to his Corps. The constructs had to come from somewhere.

~O~

The search proved fruitless. While Guy assured me that this wasn’t the first time their enemy had sniffed out a trap, I still felt like a failure.

I gave another speech to my Corps, but my heart wasn’t in it. They’d come for vengeance and instead I gave them frustration. I’d been duped. We thought we were so smart and our plan virtually foolproof. Only we were the fools. Sinestro had been a master of deceit for decades and I was his latest conquest.

The Green Lanterns were back to full strength and we had their thanks even if things didn’t turn out well in the end.

Kori continued on, making plans to organize and train the Corps. She took the whole thing in stride, admitting we’d been outsmarted and vowed to do better in the future.

There was only one thing I wanted to do differently, organization-wise, than the Green Lanterns. We couldn’t be caught with our pants down like they were. A single power source that, with effort, could be compromised was simply dumb. Taking a suggestion from my ring, Kori, Sarl, Miri, Dela, and five others accompanied me back to Zamaron.

Sora’nik and Guy stayed behind to get their own affairs in order. The Guardians would want retribution for the embarrassment Sinestro caused them. For an emotionless race they took their pride very seriously.

When we exited the wormhole, I led my small squad to the surface and let them witness where our power originated while Ring communicated with the Violet Crystal Entities.

During my short stay during the conversion, I absorbed what knowledge they chose to give me though some funky form of osmosis, or something close to it. This meant the way they chose to communicate really didn’t mesh well with the translation matrix provided by the ring. Simply put, the ring or I had to commune with them and then we could talk.

Thankfully, it didn’t take that much time.

“They agree to our plans, Jade.”

“Great, so how do we do this?”

“Each of us will take one metric ton of crystal with us to an uninhabited planet or moon, deposit it there and stand back. If an emotion can be attributed to this decision it would be eagerness. They were quite bored.”

“Did everyone get that?”

I received nods from all around. “Take them to your sector. I eventually want one in every sector if we can manage it. That way it will be virtually impossible for anyone to make us totally powerless.”

“That will take quite some time. The growth rate of the crystal is impressive, but each new growth must cure for a number of years before it can be distributed again.”

“Even if it takes a hundred years to do this then it’ll be worth it. Every year that passes, we’ll be that much more secure.”

“Acknowledged.”

Kori looked around, like she didn’t know where to begin. “Will what we’re doing harm them?”

“No, Sapphire Koriand’r, each crystal is part of the whole, no matter how small. You will understand when you find your portion a new home. They welcome this new adventure.

She seemed more agreeable to the idea knowing this. “Jade, if I might have a word in private with you.”

I nodded and we both took to the sky while the others sought out a reasonable place to remove their portions.

“Is something wrong?”

She lowered herself until we were at eyelevel. “I have asked for volunteers to act as your person guard.” My eyes widened, but before I had a chance to respond Kori continued. “All of the Sapphires that were on Oa were eager to accept the honor. I have taken it upon myself to choose two of the best. Considering how you don’t seem to enjoy the role of Queen, I thought it best to inform you of this in private.”

I palmed my face and dragged my hand down. “Kori, where I come from, every person, no matter who they are, is considered equal to the other. I don’t mind being referred to as a leader, but being Queen…”

“Is an honor,” she finished for me. “It is you the Violet Crystal Entities chose to rule. If you were to be killed during your tenure and having bodyguards would have prevented it, then it would be a severe blow to our fledgling Corps.”

She turned in place and looked down. “Believe me when I say I know what it is like to be a Royal. However, I have a duty to my people and one day I too will be a queen.”

When she looked back up at me, it was with a somber face. “When my time comes, I will do anything for my people so that they will be safe and secure. Can you say the same?”

Jade, a time will come when you will welcome the assistance. Take the bodyguards. Remember what things are like on Earth. You could actually get some sleep from time to time.

I think that last bit is what sold me. Sleep? “What is this elusive sleep you speak of?”

Holding a hand out toward the ground, I gave her a placating smile. “Introduce me?”

I was almost blinded by her bright grin. “It would be my pleasure.”

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out one of them was Sarl Rathbone. All it would take from him was a well-placed scowl and people would be running in the opposite direction. His skin was a dark purple and his face could have been taken from a seriously angry gorilla with long black hair that any shampoo model would sell her right arm for. The uniform actually looked fairly decent on him because of his massive amount of muscles… everywhere. The only thing that was disconcerting was the size of his… um… well it was big, and considering the cut of the uniform I thought it best to see if I could talk him into something a bit more modest.

The second person, I would have never picked in a couple dozen years. She wasn’t tiny, but lithe would have been a better description. She didn’t look like she would hurt a fly. And here’s the thing. I sort of recognized her.

Suu Lawquane was from Sector 3567 on the outer reaches of known space, far, far away. Her pink skin was very becoming. It was the things that were hanging from the back portion of her head that had me questioning reality.

“Um… what’s your race called?”

“Twi-kek, your Majesty.”

“Just Jade, please. Twi-kek… not Twi-lek?”

She shook her head and the things, two things hanging from her head, that looked suspiciously like lekku, moved independently from the gesture. “No, Jade. Twi-kek.”

I twisted my lips to the side, looking at her in question. “And the um…” I pointed to her thick head tentacles.

“My sekku? A portion of them house my species’ brain stem, the rest is used in communication through movement.”

“Uh-huh. Sekku, not lekku?”

Her eyes drifted to Kori like she had done something wrong, but I waved her off. “You wouldn’t by chance happen to have a light saber would you?”

“A what, Majesty?”

She seemed totally clueless, which I suppose was good. “I’ll explain it later. And it’s Jade, not Majesty.”

“Ring, the universe is an odd odd place.”

~O~

I waited until everyone but Kori, Suu, and Sarl left with their haul. “You’re staying here?”

Kori nodded. I have a supply ship that should be here within the day. We’ll build suitable housing and a training ground. Eventually we will call this the Star Sapphire homeworld.”

“The Zamarons are okay with this?” Yes, I’d officially named them. It was becoming annoying to call them the Violet Crystal Entities all the time.

“They are.”

I nodded. “I’ll be back in a few days. I have to check on things at home before I set out again. There is unfinished business that needs taking care of.”

Kori bowed, but kept it respectable. “We will await your return, my queen.”

Sarl got elected to haul the load, since he’d already duplicated his ring and had four hands. It took jumping three separate wormholes in order to make it back to Earth.

They didn’t seem too impressed with the big blue marble, but I felt like I’d been gone for months. Pausing for a few minutes while I took in the sights, I turned around and pointed.

“That’s Earth’s only moon, if you need a name, you can call it Luna or just the Moon.”

Suu looked at me, somewhat unenthusiastic.

“See that shady spot off center in the upper middle. That’s where I want the crystals, right in the middle.”

“The Moon, Jade? Isn’t that a little presumptuous of you considering Earth’s treaties in relation?”

“Treaties?”

“Between the spacefaring nations. They all agreed that the Moon belongs to the people of Earth and to no single nation. Doing this may cause problems in the future.”

“I’m from Earth. That means it’s mine just as much as everyone else, if they want their piece then they can come up and stake a claim. The Sea of Serenity now belongs to the Star Sapphires.”

I had a headache and it was starting to show. “Sorry, I’m being grouchy. I have my reasons for putting our base here.”

“As you wish.”

My ring explained to Sarl how to arrange the crystals just as the sun was appearing on the horizon. The Sea of Serenity is a little over four hundred miles across. I figured that gave room for future growth. With that done, we flew around back and found the Jordan. I pressed my ring against the Green Lantern symbol. It took a few seconds, but eventually the airlock opened and I noticed that the Lantern had been replaced with the violet Starburst of the Corps.

Once we were inside, I dropped my personal shield and breathed canned air for the first time in days.

“Welcome to the Jordan. This belonged to a Green Lantern at one time, but it was willed to the owner of his ring, which is me, so make yourselves at home. The Galley is two doors down that way and crew quarters are upstairs, pick any one you want. Get some sleep because that’s what I’m going to do.”

Suu looked around. “We must tour the ship first and make sure it is secure, Jade.”

“Ring, is anyone here?”

“Negative. Ship’s autolog shows access was attempted by Green Lantern John Stewart six hours ago, but he was unsuccessful.”

“There, see. All secure.”

She looked at Sarl and he didn’t look happy, but he never looked happy so it was a toss-up as to what he was actually feeling.

“I’ll inspect the crew quarters, if you want to take this deck,” he said.

Suu nodded. “Meet in the galley after, to work up schedules?”

“Why do I feel like I had just inherited a pair of nannies?”

They would not be performing their duties properly if they did not secure the ship. Let them do their job and go get some sleep, for all our sakes.

Sarl had to check my room first but he allowed me in soon after. I closed the door, deactivated my uniform and took a twenty minute shower with extra attention to the massage feature before slipping into bed and falling straight to sleep.

~O~

A soft two-tone bell sounded twice waking me from my dreamless slumber.

“Jade, Sarl is at the door. We have a visitor.

I sat up, my hand brushing through my hair. After clearing my throat, I said. “Uniform, please.”

When I was clothed, I stood. “Come in.”

The door slid open and Sarl filled the entire entrance. “Apologies, Jade. Green Lantern John Stewart is here and he requests an audience.”

I blinked and rubbed at my eyes. I really had to do something about this whole treating me like royalty thing they had going. “Let me splash some water on my face and I’ll be down. Could you show him to the galley?”

Sarl nodded. “As you command.”

“It’s not a command; it’s a request.”

“As you wish, Jade.”

The door closed and I made my way to the bathroom, cleared the gunk from my eyes, brushed my teeth and brushed out my hair. It wasn’t the greatest job, but I was semi-presentable at least.

When I opened the door to exit my quarters, Sarl was there with his upper two arms crossed and his lower two hanging by his sides, then it came to me.

“Tell me you weren’t standing here all night.”

“I wasn’t. Sapphire Lawquane was here for an equal portion of the time.”

I nearly palmed my face. “Sarl, we’re perfectly safe here. I’ve been living on the Jordan on and off for a year without any problem whatsoever.”

“Understood, Jade,” he conceded. “You had not come to the attention of Thaal Sinestro through that time either. Now he sees you as a threat and an ally of the Green Lanterns. As queen of our Corps your status has risen significantly.”

I sighed. “Okay, you have a point there. But isn’t standing in front of my door a little overkill?”

Sarl release his upper arms and brought them down. “Truthfully, my queen, I would feel much better about your safety if we could triple the guard. I know several of your subjects that would be very eager to serve you in such a role.”

My eyebrows rose. “Triple?”

“Acquiring an adequately armored vessel would advisable as well.”

I would have laughed if I wasn’t one hundred percent positive that he was serious. “Uh… look, I’m not made of money and Earth isn’t as technically advanced as most of the races I’m sure you’re familiar with. This is pretty much the best I can do.”

He looked to the side for a moment. “If you’ll allow me to make the arrangements, there are favors that are owed to me and…”

Reaching a hand out, I set it on his heavily muscled second arms. “Sarl, save your favors for your family and those that are close to you; we’ll make do with what we have.”

His heavy brow lowered and his dissatisfaction was evident on his face.

“Now, let’s go see what John Stewart wants shall we?”

“As you command.”

I rolled my eyes as he turned around and made his way to the stairwell. The sheer size of him filled the width of the hall. It must be pretty claustrophobic for him.

There are ways to acquire wealth, Jade.

“I don’t think he’d be satisfied with anything less than a fleet of battle cruisers… if those exist, I mean.”

That would be expensive, however I was thinking of something else.

“What do you have in mind?”

We are not limited to the laws of the Guardians any longer.

Running down the list in my head I paused when I hit the one she was probably talking about. “Are you saying we should use our powers to turn a profit?”

I suggest we use our powers to sustain ourselves. If that means mining Helium-3 on the Moon or on Mars for the production of environmentally safe power on Earth, then we should do so. In return we could set up a profitable trade agreement with other planets, increasing Earth’s presence in the Universe. There are a number of rare minerals located in this system’s asteroid belt that are long sought after on certain planets that would pay handsomely in funds or trade.

There were times that I thought I should just turn everything over to my ring and let her run the Corps.

Nonsense, we are a team, Jade.

“I’ll think about it.”

Before Sarl entered the Galley, he checked to make sure I hadn’t been abducted since we exited the stairwell. The door slid open and he glared at someone inside. I could only guess who that could have been.

I followed after him and saw a tall, very fit, black man standing at one end of the table and Suu standing at the other end, beside a chair that Sarl was leading me to. When I sat down I was flanked by both of them and the man I assumed was John Stewart took his seat with a wary eye on my bodyguards.

“Lantern Stewart?”

He inclined his head in assent. “Queen Jade?”

I gave a sidelong look at Suu. “Just Jade is fine.”

He grunted. “I’ve been in contact with Lantern Gardner and the Guardians regarding your aid over the last two days.”

From his accent, I pegged him as American. What were the odds that all of the Green Lanterns that came from Earth were Americans?

There have been Russian and British Lanterns in the past.

“Oh, really? Good to know.”

Looking at the officer across from me, I could tell he was keeping his cool about something. “What’s on your mind, John?”

He gave another look at Sarl who must have been seriously glowering over my shoulder or something. Maybe he was flexing his muscles. They were impressive enough as it was.

“This is regarding the pink and purple crystals that you’ve seeded the moon with.”

I nodded, finally understanding. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to try and take over the world or anything. It’s just a power backup. We don’t want to be caught with our pants down like the Guardians were with your Central Power Battery.”

He laced his fingers and appeared to understand our point of view. From the looks of him, I thought he was going to be all bluster and strong-arming me, but he seemed pretty together and very diplomatic.

“The thing is that the moon belongs to the people of the Earth.”

I blinked. “Really? Do they have the title or registration? I’d like to see that.” Leaning forward, I rested my forearms on the table. “John, you and I both know that there hasn’t been any formal mission to the moon in decades. NASA is on its last few shuttle missions just to complete the space station, then it’s scraped. Nobody has any formal interest in the moon. All they care about is sending more communication satellites into orbit so people can get their 4G speed for their cell phones.”

“That may be true,” he said. “But the law says that the moons of any planets are the sovereign property of the ruling government of said planet or until such a government can be formed.”

“Who’s law is this?”

He looked up and to the left, like he knew I knew the answer already. “The Guardians.”

“Uh-huh. And I’m a Star Sapphire. I see the problem.”

John really didn’t want to be there. He knew what I did and tried to do for the GL’s. It was obvious that he agreed with me, but it was his duty to fulfill.

You have just recently made allies of one of the most powerful organizations in the universe, Jade. Do you not think that it would be in our best interest to relocate to say, Mars?

I frowned and leaned back. “This is my home, Ring.”

This system is your home. You are not merely responsible for a single planet any longer, my queen.

“Don’t you start on this queen thing too.”

I paused for a few moments and then addressed myself to John. “Would the Guardians have a problem with me claiming Mars?”

His tongue came out briefly to lick his lips. “They shouldn’t. That world’s population died out quite two millennia ago. In fact, I know of a few places on Mars where you could use existing buildings.”

My mouth dropped open and I looked down at my ring. The idea that there actually was life at one time on Mars was more than enough to stun me, but that they had buildings there that weren’t rubble? “Is there anything else that you’ve failed to tell me that might be of use?”

Well, there’s no need to get snippy. I was getting to that part.

TBC...

“Are you ready to begin the conversion of the lesser rings, Jade?”

“Yeah, just don’t tell anyone yet, I want to see who notices first.”

To end the issue of the costume/communication rings, we’d decided to just change the symbol to the starburst of the Sapphire Corps. They were produced from my personal ship and I’m not a GL anymore so the Guardians can pucker up. I guess that trip Sora’nik sent Kyle on was just a waste of time. Ha!

Suu and I entered the Earth’s atmosphere and Ring did her thing, shooting out dozens of signals all over the North American continent that would subtly change the symbols on all the rings that my friends wielded. And the clock was ticking.

Sarl collected the violet crystals that hadn’t had a chance to root yet and we made a beeline straight to the fourth planet of the system. Seeing the red of the atmosphere made me frown.

“The purple and pink are going to clash with the red.”

“The red is a trick of the eye, Jade: the combination of the iron-oxide dust on the surface of the planet in conjunction with the thin atmosphere only makes it appear red. The surface is actually more of a crá¨me color.”

“I think that’s worse.”

“Once we’ve established a base here and the crystals have had a chance to seed then it will be much easier to terraform the planet.”

“Oh, really?”

I might not have been a massive science geek, but even I knew what that meant. It is thought that life could have lived on Mars long ago, but due to a number of different reasons: dwarf-planet impact, polarity shift, global warming, you name it, an important layer of the atmosphere was lost and the planet died.

“It was the former. That’s where all the iron-oxide came from.”

“You’re taking all the fun out of space exploration. You know that, right?”

Ring’s voice sounded playful. “I thought you weren’t interested in being an explorer?”

I shrugged. “That was before I found out I was being evicted from my home planet.”

Pointing ahead when I saw a spot on the surface, I asked. “Is that where we’re going?”

“Affirmative. Olympus Mons, or Mount Olympus is a several millennia old dormant volcano. According to the information Lantern Stewart provided the previous inhabitants located their strongest military structures there. His duties with the Corp haven’t allowed him time to explore, but he had taken a number of scans. If there is any place on this planet that might have held up over the centuries, this would be the most likely.”

Picture, if you will a really wide mountain, about four hundred miles wide and fourteen miles tall, and you have Mount Olympus. Big.

“Sapphire Rathbone, if you would seed the northwestern portion of the mountain.”

Sarl looked to me for conformation and I nodded. “My queen, if you would wait for me before proceeding, I would be grateful.”

I grinned, knowing I had already blown several of his plans for protecting me, it was the least I could do. “Sure. Take your time, we need to scan the area to confirm John’s findings anyway.”

When he jetted off at high speed I turned in place to talk to Suu. “May I assume you agree with Sarl about my personal safety situation? Tripling of the guard and lots of big ships?”

Her hands moved behind her like she was standing at parade rest while floating in the air. “Ideally, this would be best, Jade, until the threat of Sinestro is dealt with at minimum.”

I crossed my arms and looked around the surface. “I really didn’t think he took me all that seriously. He knows we’re a fledgling Corps.”

Suu agreed. “All the more reason to destroy us as quickly as possible -- to avoid any threat to him in the future.”

You have a choice here, Jade. You can fight the inevitable and crawl along at a snail’s pace, slowly building your power base as a Corps to be reckoned with, or you can show confidence in your fellow members and let them do their job.

“It’s not really a job. I’m not paying them anything.”

You have the ability to change that. Take my suggestions. Within the month you could bring this system into the economic fold with the rest. It really wouldn’t be much of an effort considering the tools that your Corps wields.

Sarl returned and I stared the both of them down. “My ring has the details that should please both of you regarding how we can make everyone happy. If you know of someone that can start things in motion we’ll let them work out the particulars.”

As we started down to the mountain I added. “Ring, update Kori with the situation.”

“Acknowledged.”

When we touched down on the surface, we used our rings to dig through pretty much a quarter mile of accumulated dirt, dust, and crap that had been piling up over the centuries. Mars was known for its dust storms and even the highest mountain in the solar system fell victim to the sands of time, no pun intended.

Sapphire Lawquane has located one of the access ports.

Sarl and I joined her as she found the manual release for the door, sort of. It took tearing away at a sheet of some metal-like plating to access it, but a few seconds of using her ring was all that was needed to open the door outward.

“The atmosphere inside is just as toxic,” she said. “Whatever they breathed, it wasn’t conducive to most terrestrial life forms.”

“Could that be what killed them in the first place?”

She shrugged. “Unknown.”

“Scanning… Lantern Stewart was correct in his estimation of what this facility was used for. It was indeed a military establishment. Seventeen expansive levels are below.”

Another moment later and the ring displayed a holographic representation of the base in relation to the mountain. It was tremendous. Each level was circular with several shafts running between all of them, which I assumed were elevators or access ways. As the levels went deeper they increased in diameter forming a hive of sorts.

“Can we use this?”

Sarl nodded. “I’ll need to take a look at whatever power they used and see if it can be adapted. This could be ideal for our needs.”

“I would suggest not venturing beyond the first level. The one below contains the Fuel Storage and Handling facilities. Given the age of the contents it would be better to let professionals in the field explore further.”

“Agreed,” Sarl said and then he looked to me. “With your permission, Jade.”

I nodded my assent.

He dropped down through the hatch and disappeared into the darkness.

“Incoming transmission from Sapphire Koriand’r.”

“Go ahead.”

“Jade, the Tamaranean Command Cruiser Phy’zzon and the Frigate Phy’zary are in route to your current location and should arrive in twenty-three minutes. They are being escorted by two of our Corps.”

Looking up at Suu I noticed a pleased smile beginning on her face.

“Uh, why?”

She sounded somewhat unsure. “You have given permission for your ring to proceed with certain plans for your security and the acquisition of profitable ores in your system, have you not?”

Me and my big mouth.

“No… I mean, yes. I mean, why are two war ships coming here?”

This time she sounded relieved. “The Frigate has the necessary equipment and personnel for exploration. It’s mostly non-military through it is well armed. The Command Cruiser will serve a dual purpose, to protect Tamaranean interests in your system and to protect you, specifically.”

I think I saw where all of this was going. “Let me guess. We’ll be doing a lot of trading with Tamaran in the future?”

Kori sounded amused. “Your ring has transmitted information on certain ores that are in abundance in your system that Tamaran holds in high regard. It is my mother’s pleasure to do business with you. We will be helping each other out tremendously.”

I nodded, even though it was a simple voice transmission. “Just as long as I’m not taking advantage of your planet’s generosity.

“You are not.”

“Good,” seeing Sarl poke his head out of the hatch I closed the conversation. “I’ve got to go, Kori. I hope to see you soon.”

“You know where to find me, my queen.”

My eyes narrowed, but she cut the transmission before I could say anything.

“The first level is scrap-metal,” Sarl said. “Nothing of any use survived the span of time. About the only thing that we will be able to take advantage of is the space.”

Suu didn’t look surprised and neither was I. “The Tamaraneans are on the way. Once they arrive, Jade, I suggest we leave the renovations to them. They are skilled in terraforming and exploration.”

~O~

“Okay, who’s been messing with my ring, came a teen girl’s voice. Whose ass do I need to kick today?”

I giggled just behind the moon as we were heading to the Jordan so I could pack up a few things. “Hi Courtney, I’m back.”

“Jade?” the voice sounded relieved. “How’d everything go and why is my ring calling me dear now?”

“I may have made a few minor adjustments.”

“Everything is fine. Look, why don’t you gather everyone that can make it on short notice to headquarters. There has been a few changes that you all need to be aware of, you specifically since this might be a government issue at some point.”

I heard her groan just a little. “You didn’t cause an international incident that I haven’t heard about yet, did you?”

I paused for a moment. “International? No, not international.”

“Jade, what did you do?” The sound of dread was in her voice.

“See you in about an hour, Courtney.”

Sarl didn’t seem pleased. “We’re going to the planet’s surface?”

I nodded as I pressed my ring to the Sapphire emblem on the hull of the Jordan. “Yeah, I need to update my friends and let them know what’s going on, and I’d like to do it in person.”

Suu cut me off and dashed upstairs. I paused for a moment to allow her to secure the upper deck. It seemed Sarl had a few words for me.

“I have taken the opportunity to peruse the criminal statistics for your home planet, my queen.”

Cutting him off before he started on a role was paramount. “The vast majority of which are committed by regular humans which aren’t any threat to me as long as my personal shield is up.”

“This is true. I am unsure about these metahumans however.”

“Check with my ring, Sarl. None of them have been any threat except to the local population.”

“Be that as it may, it would be prudent to wait for the remainder of your guard to arrive.”

Once Suu reappeared and gave the okay that she didn’t find anyone lying in wait for me, I started up the stairs with my four-armed nanny right behind.

“When will they be here?”

“Two should arrive within the hour, the rest are taking care of other issues before they depart.”

I frowned. “Should we be taking valuable Sapphires, which we don’t have a lot of by the way, from their home sectors just to watch me move around?”

“With the Green Lanterns resuming their duties, we have the personnel and more are joining every hour.”

“Really?” I hadn’t thought to check the rosters as of late. “Where are we sitting at now, Ring?”

“Five hundred and forty-two… make that forty-three.”

I whistled. Considering how the rings choose their wielders, it made me uncomfortable to know there was so much heartache out there. However, it was the universe. I was sure there were a lot more than five hundred broken hearts out there.

“Okay, but there’s still 3600 sectors out there and we barely have half the rings even available, and I’m not a big fan of only two Green Lanterns per sector much less my own people.”

Sarl stopped before following me into my private quarters.

“Come on in. I’m not going to be stripping or anything.”

The bulk of my bodyguard ducked a little and entered my room, while I grabbed a sports bag out of the closet that I used to move some of my more personal items up to the Starcruiser with. Setting it on the counter, I unzipped it and started putting in my toiletries.

“I would advise starting small with a well-trained core and then increasing our size from there.”

I nodded, agreeing with his idea. “I know everyone that’s been recruited so far knows how to fight, but there’s a lot more to using a power ring than even I know.”

“If I may, Jade?”

“You have an idea?”

“When you were encased during the conversion process on Zamaron, there was a reason for this, your personal situation notwithstanding. We were making new rings, and I was being, copied, so to speak. It was the new me and not the version that the Zamarons chose to implement.”

I stopped and stared at my ring though the mirror. “Are you saying that all of the Star Sapphire rings are sentient?”

“No, just that that they have the ability to be sentient if they choose.”

“Oh… well, that’s good I guess. So, any takers?”

“Not as of yet, no. I don’t expect any either. Even with my powerful data processing abilities, it took me the better part of a year in order to come to that decision.”

“So, why bring this up now?”

“One of the deciding factors I used to find potential recruits was to include military experience or training in the makeup. It was obvious that we were heading into a situation where the rigors of battle would take an emotional toll on those less than prepared.”

“You needed soldiers,” Sarl nodded in appreciation. “Understandable.”

“What are you getting at, Ring?”

“Do you remember when we were on the surface of Oa and you were helping the wounded?”

I leaned up against the counter and crossed my arms. “Yeah.

“You said if I could do the job faster, go for it.”

I may be slow, but at that point I was starting to twig onto what she was saying. Ring took over with a vengeance, doing a lot more than I was capable of since she had access to her own sensors and didn’t have to take relay information and wait for me to give the orders. Plus there was the added benefit of her ripping that Tri-Eye Yellow Lantern to shreds.

“So why are we waiting for the rings to find people to wield them? Can’t they do the job just as well?”

“In short, no. You and I are partners, Jade. We anchor each other. If not for you and Hal Jordan, I would not be sentient.”

I quit trying to figure out what Ring was thinking a while back. “Bottom-line it for me.”

“I suggest that we cease in searching for soldiers and open the search parameters to those that capable of great love and encourage sentience in their rings. They won’t need the intense training right away.”

Sarl saw where she was going a split second before I did. “We have our warriors, they can concentrate solely on the Sinestro threat. Now we need Star Sapphires to attend to the true purpose of our mission.”

“Exactly.”

The Daffathian grunted in pleased agreement. “I like this plan.”

With a smirk on my face I turned around and resumed packing. “Of course you do. It means you can bring in more people to guard me.”

“The formation of a royal guard is paramount, my queen. A contingent of twenty to twenty-five Sapphires would…”

Spinning back around, I glared at him. “Twenty-five?” Holding up my hand I pointed that the ring. “Each of us holds one of the most powerful weapons in the universe on our fingers. I was pretty sure I could take care of myself and you want to pull twenty-five out to guard me?”

Sarl crossed his upper arms which I was coming to notice was a sign that he was going to be stubborn. “Need I remind you, my queen, that the Sinestro Corps has equally powerful rings?” I frowned and he went on. “Regardless, not all of them would be guarding you at the same time. Some would be sent ahead to secure places where you will be in attendance, such as this Houston we will be going to. Then there are some that require sleep. Rotations would…”

“Fine.” Sometimes you had to know when to cut your losses. There were more important battles to be fought.

Sarl’s ring sounded with a very authorial male voice. “Incoming message from Sapphire Lawquane: Two guards have arrived.”

Joy… more nannies.

“Ring, bring the ship around and land us outside of headquarters,” I said.

“Acknowledged.”

I’d finished filling my bag with the essentials. Zipping it up, I motioned toward the door. “Let’s go meet the new recruits.”

Sarl led the way and I carried my own bag. Feeling the slightest change of motion from the ship and I knew we were on our way. Everyone was in the Galley when we arrived. It was somewhat pleasing to see that Suu had probably informed them not to bow or kneel. Thank god.

The two of them appeared to be female. I didn’t take anything for granted since I found out about Sora’nik’s gender. One was tall, about five-nine and she appeared human looking of East Asian descent, maybe Korean, with medium length highlighted brown hair and brown eyes. The other was green-skinned with really long — I’m talking past the butt — green hair. Her two distinguishing features were her bright pure yellow eyes and her vertically ribbed chin. She was the first to step forward.

“My queen,” she tilted her body toward me a little in a minor bow. “I am Lyja. It is an honor to serve.”

The second took her cue and performed the same motions, except her eyes moved to Sarl briefly before centering on me. “I am called Sharon Agathon.”

The first name was definitely human the last, I had no idea. “Are you from Earth?” I asked.

Her eyes looked nervous for a moment. “Not exactly. The sector of space I was born has heard tales of thirteen tribes that, at one time, called Earth their home. Most of them have been killed in a war with a machine race and they set off to find Earth once more, hoping for refuge.”

“Her race was from Earth? Seriously?”

She tells only a portion of her story, Jade. The machine race she spoke of is called Cylon, of which she belongs. Sapphire Agathon is a rogue Cylon.

“Is she a danger to me or the others?”

No, just the opposite. She fell in love with a human and they bore a child. The Cylons captured them and they were killed. She owes them no allegiance.

“What about the humans? Shouldn’t she be helping them instead of being here?”

It is complicated, Jade.

Of course it was. The Star Sapphires were already becoming a gathering of personal shared tragedy. It was heartbreaking. “Welcome, Sharon, and you too Lyja. Suu and Sarl will let you know how much of a pain in the butt I am in terms of doing my own thing.”

“When Sharon is alone, let her know I want to talk to her about the other humans.”

Acknowledged. We are approaching headquarters. Landing in thirty-eight seconds.

“We’re about to land.” I said. “The people we are meeting are my friends. They’ve been helping me keep the peace on Earth for the last year, so no intimidating them.”

I sent that last part straight to Sarl.

“Oh, and they’ve never seen an alien before, so everyone but Sharon is going to be gaped at. She can go with me when we exit. The rest of you I want to stay on the ship until I’ve had a change to let them know what to expect.”

Sarl didn’t seem to like that part, so I had to give him a reason. “If you take a step out that door without me saying something then some of them will arm themselves. Do you want that?”

“No, my queen. If you would expedite the preparation, I would be thankful.”

When I looked up, Lyja and Suu were both human looking. Suu’s sekku were gone and she sported blonde hair the same length as her tentacle things. Her skin color was the same, but it wasn’t threatening. Lyja could have been a Caucasian human, mimicking my skin tone perfectly.

“Illusion?”

Suu nodded, but Lyja had something to add. “My race is known for its shapeshifting abilities.”

I shrugged and turned to Sarl. “There, I’ll have three bodyguards. Just hang out, it won’t take long.”

~O~

The main headquarters that Courtney had set up was inside Ellington Air Force Base. The security was much better and we had access to unused facilities. For the most part it was one of the decommissioned military bases, but it still held an airfield that the President or other high profile names used whenever they travelled to Houston.

While the Starcruiser was smaller than Air Force One, it wasn’t by much.

Suu and Sharon were the first ones out and they stood at the end of the ramp that was extended by the Jordan. I followed right after with Lyja behind me.

A crowd had already gathered. Courtney’s team was spread out with excitement on their faces. It was the first time I’d brought the Jordan to Earth, and now they could ogle it at their leisure. Terra was there, bouncing appreciatively, and even the rarely seen Hell-girl was in attendance in her human form. It was the Houston team for the most part. I guessed one hour wasn’t really sufficient notice for the others to show.

Terra’s jaw fell open when she saw what I was wearing, but that didn’t stop her from rushing up. “Jade!”

I moved forward and dropped my personal shield so my guards would know that it was okay for her to invade my me-space. In a second, one of my best friends engulfed me in a hug and then backed away.

“We were so nervous about you going to Green Lantern World and now here you are with a makeover! I can’t believe you didn’t call. And there’s this guy that says he’s the new Green Lantern but he’s been around for a while, and I’m like, what the hell? Why haven’t you been helping out? He didn’t stick around…”

“Terra, breathe.”

She stopped abruptly and then jumped on me again. “It’s good to have you back!”

The rest of the team moved forward during Terra’s tirade. Courtney was looking at me somewhat dubiously and then her eyes went to the other two. “Hey, Jade.”

“Hey Courtney, doing good?” At her nod I looked at the others behind her. “Gemma, Abe, Liz.”

Gemma was eyeing Lyja with a strange look. “Hey Jade.”

“Okay guys. As you see, I’ve got a costume upgrade and a few friends I want to introduce, but I need to tell you something first.”

All eyes were on me. “None of my friends are from Earth.”

“Whoa, Aliens!” Terra bounced. Someone had obviously let her near the espresso machine for far too long. “But they look just like us.”

Holding my hand out, I said. “This is Sharon she’s from a race of people that used to live on Earth a long time ago.” Turning to my right, I smiled at Suu. “This is Suu. She’s from a galaxy far far away.”

At my nod, Suu dropped her illusion and Gemma’s eyes widened.

Terra gasped. “No — way.”

“Way,” I said. “And this is Lyja. She’s from… I’m sorry I never got the planet you came from.”

She stepped forward and shapeshifted back into her previous form. “Skrullos, my queen.”

I heard a few intakes of breath, but nobody freaked out. Courtney raised her hand in a point of order. “Hold on, backup and rewind. Did she just call you my queen?”

I cringed and shook my head. “That’s part of the story. I’ll tell you in a little bit. There’s one more. I asked for him to wait inside because he’s big and I didn’t want you to freak or anything.”

“Sarl,” I called back.

The airlock opened and he ducked until he cleared the door. I was still turned around when I could have sworn I heard Liz choke out. “Holy cow, look of the size of that… guy. Thank god I’m a lesbian.”

He came up, looking surly as ever and stood beside me, which put him right in front of Terra. She craned her head up, looking at Sarl’s massive arms and then his massive other arms. Half of his long black hair was draped over his shoulders and I could tell he wasn’t trying to grimace as hard as he normally does.

“You — are — totally awesome,” said an awestruck Terra.

I think that caught him off guard. “Uh… thank you.”

She grinned bright. “Welcome to Earth.” Holding out a hand to him she said, “Come on, we’ve got some really good coffee. I’ll make you some.”

Sarl looked to me and I nodded. “It is pretty good coffee, and I’m not a fan of the stuff.”

He deactivated his personal shield and took her hand. Terra had come a long way over the last year. It didn’t matter how gruff you were, she could charm the socks off of you with her enthusiasm.

When I turned back to Courtney she had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot. “So… queen?”

~O~

Gemma scratched her head. “Can you go back to the part where you took over Mars? I just… I’m having a little trouble with that one.”

Courtney looked like she was getting a headache. “You know every historian, environmentalist, and government on the planet is going to have shit-fit now, right?”

It was sometimes hard to remember there was a thirty-something man’s brain in that perky teenage body. “Tell you what. If there’s anything of note, I’ll ship it home and they can fight over it.”

“Is there a reason your costume is, you know, open like that?”

I looked over at Liz. Black trench coats were pretty much standard issue at the BPRD, except for Gemma, hers was always tan. What I’m getting at is all three of them were always covered from neck to toe.

I shrugged. “You should have seen the first costume.”

“What’d it look like?” she asked.

Point over at Sarl dressed in the original skimpy stripper outfit, including the thigh boots, I said, “That.”

Courtney looked like she ate something that didn’t agree with her. “Didn’t they have something a little more… masculine?”

“He likes it. Who am I to tell him what to wear?”

“His queen,” she teased.

“You can stop saying that any time you want, you know.”

She leaned back. “Oh, no… I’m getting a lot of mileage out of this one.”

Abe discreetly pointed at Suu. “Does she know she looks exactly like those Star Wars dancing girls?”

Gemma smacked him on the shoulder. “Some of them were Jedi, don’t be mean, Blue. And she’s Jade’s bodyguard. She can probably hand your ass to you on a plate.”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think she knows what Star Wars is. Look, I’m going to be in and out probably for the foreseeable future. You can always get a hold of me through the rings and if the stuff really hits the fans, you can probably even contact the Green Lanterns.”

Courtney grimaced.

“What?”

Liz was the goto girl for that information. “We’ve already met one of them. Some jackass, name of Rayner. Thinks he’s God’s gift.”

“He’s back?”

Liz nodded. “Courtney almost put him in the hospital.”

I tracked to the blonde flexing her right hand. “I nearly broke my hand on his stupid shield.”

My eyes narrowed. “I’ll have a talk with him.”

At that moment a buzzing sound came from her belt and at the same time Gemma’s phone rang.

They answered and both of them looked at me. It was Courtney that won the race to ask me, “You know of any guys in yellow and black costumes with powers like yours?”

I was out of my chair and snapping up my shield. “Ring!”

“Scanning… four Sinestro Corps members, Jade. They’re headed this way.”

My guards were already half-way to me. Looking at my former team, I said, “Guys you need to stay out of the way on this one.”

Gemma was already red and her right hand enormous. “Screw that! This is our town.”

I rose up a few feet off the floor. This wasn’t an argument I had time for. “Sapphires! Take it to the air.”

Courtney had her weapons drawn and yelled at me as I shot out of the hanger door. “Jade dammit!”

TBC...

They were coming in from the city. There was not telling what kind of damage they had done on the way in. They were here — on my planet!

Mine!

I put everything I had into a burst of speed. “Ring whatever you have to do…”

“Done.”

I didn’t recognize the faces of the Yellows as being from the no-battle above Oa, but that didn’t mean anything. There were hundreds there and I was sure there were more nightmarish creatures that I hadn’t begun to conceive as of yet. Before we came within decent fighting range, a giant violet mace or hammer slammed at them from over the top of me. I didn’t bother to look back. It was obviously one of my Sapphires.

A dozen thin lances of light erupted from my ring and connected with the lead’s shield. Within moments they’d burrowed their way through the Yellow’s shield and then through the Yellow’s body, forming into barbed hooks and pulling in twelve different directions. The result was catastrophic to the creature’s body.

Violet and Yellow constructs filled the area. I heard automatic gunfire to my left and caught a glimpse of Sharon holding a seriously big violet automatic weapon of some sort, mowing away at one of the Yellows. It wasn’t doing any damage, but it was forcing the creature back and away from me.

Sarl appeared and grappled with a large beetle-like insect with two of his arms while the other two slammed construct-enhanced fists into its outer shell over and again. Suu and Lyja were taking on the last one while I helped Sharon with hers.

Its body was humanoid, but that was about it. A long blue-furred sinuous neck never formed into a head, but ended in a maw filled with needle-sharp teeth that were snapping at her, trying their best to make contact. It shaped a Yellow ball-like construct around her with spikes turned inward and I could tell that they were constricting with massive force.

Before I brought my ring around to the target, I was slammed into from behind.

Pain spiked through my lower back, but Ring strengthened my shield and spun me around, lashing out with those same thin lances, but didn’t have a chance to burrow through the shield of the beetle creature that Sarl was wrestling with. It rolled and I saw what it was that had struck me: a five foot long arm with a single stinger on the end dripping with a greenish fluid.

Sharon screamed. I didn’t know if it was with anger or pain until she was thrown past me. Something clamped down on my left shoulder, breaking through my shield. Ring didn’t waste any time making a circular saw construct and separating the neck from the creature with the teeth Sharon was fighting. More than two dozen lances tore the thing apart while four more pried the tooth-filled mouth from my shoulder.

“Jade this isn’t good.”

A yell from my right, brought my head around and I saw Sarl peel back the shell of his opponent, sinking two of his hands into its back to rip away whatever was underneath.

My entire left arm felt like it was on fire. “Oh crap…” I said as I dropped.

~O~

“My queen,” Sarl’s voice dug through the darkness bringing me back to consciousness.

I blinked away the fog in my brain to see I was in the medical bay of the Jordan. His face was hovering over me with a play of emotions I hadn’t seen before dancing in his eyes.

“How do you feel?”

My mouth was dry and I swallowed before answering. “My arm is numb.”

“Good. There was much damage; however your medical facilities were able to repair most of them.”

“Sit me up.”

The bed back rose slowly and I was finally able to concentrate on what was happening. “Is everyone okay?”

“Your guards are whole though not uninjured. They were treated and then released to resume their duties.”

Looking to my left I saw a series of jagged scars on my shoulder that looked awful. “Was that thing’s teeth poisoned or something?”

“It was a parasite. After draining you of approximately two pints of your blood, it was in the process of impregnating you with two hundred and four of its eggs.” My eyes widened at the thought. “They’ve all been removed and destroyed.”

“It did all of this in like five seconds?”

Sarl sighed. “Another five and you would have been dead.”

I closed my eyes and just breathed. This had become far too real for me.

“There was a fifth yellow in hiding that your ring sniffed out. She is our captive for your pleasure.”

My pleasure? “Pardon?”

“Questioning, execution, torture, whatever you desire, my queen.”

I shook my head and pulled away from the bed. “No torture, ever, Sarl. I mean it. We’re not like the Yellows. Either punish your enemies or kill them.” When he saw the look on my face, he backed off.

“As you command.”

I didn’t argue with his choice of words this time, because that’s exactly what they were. “What about their rings?”

“All but one was destroyed, and we have that in our possession.”

My brows furrowed as I swung my legs off the bed. “Why isn’t it destroyed?”

“Your ring asked us to contain it until it spoke to you.”

“Ring, uniform, please.”

The violet suit reformed on her body along with a moderate sling forming to support my left arm until it was fully healed. I stood and gathered my balance. “Status report.”

“Sinestro Corps members at the lead of Low, the creature that injured you, attacked with the singular purpose of killing you, Jade. It seems as if Sapphire Rathbone’s suspicions have been justified. Your full guard has arrived on Earth and has taken measures to insure your safety. The Command Cruiser Phy’zzon is in geosynchronous orbit above this position.”

Gheeze. “How long was I out?”

“Eight hours and seventeen minutes. I’m not through yet.”

I licked my lips and leaned back on the bed. “Sorry, go ahead.”

“Sapphire Koriand’r has taken the entirety of the Sapphire Corps to Oa for training. The offer was made by the Guardians at the behest of Lantern Gardner. In their absence, Lanterns Natu and Gardner have been dispatched to train your guards. The rest of the details can wait.”

It was a lot to take in. “Where are we?”

“Still on Earth, my queen. Your… friends have been most insistent in knowing the progress of your health.”

I gave him a placating smile. “They’re my friends. Of course they’re worried.”

He frowned. “It is not only that, my queen. There is a…” He looked lost as he searched for the correct word. “A warrant has been issued for your arrest and that of myself and Sapphire Agathon for the murder of the Yellows.”

My eyes narrowed. “Murder?”

“Indeed. From their eyes, it was you that struck first and most decisively, even though it was my hammer that began the fight. Our battle is currently being broadcast over the entirety of your planet’s communications networks.”

I didn’t have time for this. “We need to leave, before anymore of Sinestro’s Corps show up.”

“Agreed. The ship is prepared and ready for launch.”

I shook my head. “No, I’m leaving it here for my team.”

Sarl’s low brow rose, but he didn’t say anything.

“I need to go talk to them, Sarl.”

He nodded. “May I suggest you make your arm restraint invisible, for the moral of the Corps?”

A chuckle almost escaped my lips. “I’m not invulnerable, Sarl. Today proved that if nothing else.”

“Only the closest to you know that, my queen.”

I shrugged. “Them and about six billion other people on the planet if they filmed the battle.”

“Displaying an injury and resilience in battle are two totally different things. As a leader it’s best to always display yourself through a position of strength.”

~O~

Taking his advice, I altered the sling so that my arm was held by my side in a relaxed position by an invisible sling. When we left the medical bay, I noticed two new guards at the door that preceded me while Sarl took up the rear. Two more were at the airlock inside and outside. The display of my guard was overwhelming. There were more than twenty-five present. Four of them had shields encircling the Jordan, layered between me, them, and two on the exterior to prevent anyone from being able to approach or to even get a clear glimpse of what was going on underneath the shield. It was that thick.

At the rear of the Jordan, on the concrete was a Yellow Lantern heavily restrained and caged in a small jail-like construct.

“Who is she?”

“Fatality of Sector 1313. Hunter-born, very deadly. It took the combined might of four of your guard to bring her in. Her wounds have been healed and she has been placed in our custody.”

I didn’t feel pity for her. If she was a Yellow Lantern then she’d already earned a death sentence.

“If I may, Jade.”

“Why is she still alive, Ring?”

“Conversion. We could use the knowledge she holds of the Sinestro homeworld, and it would be acquired much easier if given willingly.”

I nearly choked. “You want to her to be a Star Sapphire? How?”

“As you were encased in the Violet Crystal, so can she be, however it will be a different process that she undergoes.”

The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. “You want me to brainwash her into being a good guy? I can’t do that.”

“Should we release her then, or perhaps simply kill her while she is restrained?”

Grinding my teeth, I looked at the helpless hunter in the cage. It was an impossible decision where no option was sufficient. “I don’t like being manipulated into a corner, Ring.”

My apologies, it was not my intension to do so, only to strengthen our Corps. I did not take your injury… lightly.

Closing my eyes, I sighed. “Of course you didn’t. We have a lot to learn and there’s no room to apply a curve. Mistakes are going to happen. Let’s deal with this and move on.”

“Let’s give her the choice.”

As I approached the cage, I noticed she didn’t have a whole lot of room to move as she was pretty much locked into place on her knees. Her eyes found mine. There was contempt in them, but she held the gaze.

“Fatality. For your past crimes and for your attempt on my life and those of my fellow Corps members I give you one of two choices: conversion to a Star Sapphire or death.”

Her eyelids half closed and she chuckled. “You have larger balls than your Green counterparts, Star Sapphire. I’ll give you that much.”

Sarl was standing beside me, clenching his hands.

When she reopened them her stare was deadly. “You cannot purge my desire to cause great fear in others.”

“I beg to differ; I believe we can do just that. Take the offer, Fatality, if you do not wish to have your existence end here.”

The light went out from behind her eyes. “Do what you must. I’m dead either way. I always have been.”

Concentrate your Will and Love through your Sapphire crystal, Jade.

It was difficult to think of love when I looked at her, but I brought up in, my mind’s eye, the moment I knew that Sora’nik wasn’t dead anymore, the process I used to urge a portion of my life to bring her back and I pushed it through the crystal in my tiara.

A wide cone of light melted away the construct encasing Fatality and bathed her in its radiance. In the span of a second, crystals formed and thickened around her body until she was entirely incased, frozen in time like an insect in amber.

A sick feeling came over me. This was wrong in so many ways.

“Never again, Ring. I won’t ever do this again.”

Understood.

It was the look in Sarl’s eyes that threw me. He didn’t think I’d do it, and now he knew what I was capable of. He was uneasy. I think he would have had more respect for me if I would have killed her. This way was… to erase what made a person who they were was inhumane. I’d crossed a line that I never thought I’d ever even conceive of.

God help me.

~O~

They let Terra through the shield thinking she was the weakest of my team and easily controlled. In truth, she was one of the strongest Metas in existence. With the power to control the body of the Earth itself she wielded the strength to crack the world in half if she had the time and the ability to concentrate for long enough.

“You’re okay?” she asked.

I nodded. “We have to leave.”

Her face fell. “Yeah. Courtney and Gemma have orders to take you into custody. Like that’s going to happen. Court actually laughed at her boss when he said that. Gemma flipped him off with the Middle Finger of Doom.”

A giggle rose up from my stomach. Trust Terra to make me feel like I wasn’t entirely a monster.

“Am I going to see you again?”

I nodded. “This is a speed bump. What they don’t understand is that this is Corps business. They don’t get a say in what happens.”

Leaning in, she gave me a hug. “Take care of yourself, Jade. Oh, and bring me a rock from Mars when you get a chance. I have a science project due at the end of the year and I’d totally get an A if I could pull that one off.”

“Consider it done.”

As I watched her walk away, I felt a portion of my life had ended and another one had begun. “Let’s get out of here, Sarl.”

~O~

When we hit the outer atmosphere there was someone waiting for me. Before any of my Sapphires could become violent I stopped them and shot forward.

Megan was waiting for me with her arms crossed and concerned look in her eye. I didn’t waste any time in forming a violet bubble around the both of us so we could talk without having to resort to the mental thing which threw me at times.

She looked behind me and then at my new outfit. “I’m hearing some bad things about you, Jade. Tell me they’re not true.”

“They’re true from their perspective. They don’t know the whole story.”

In a few moments we were entirely surrounded by my guards along with a few layers of protection to go along with mine.

She looked around. “New friends?”

I sighed. “It’s a long story and we need to get back to Mars.” Then a thought came to me. “Want to come with us?”

A look drew across her face at my offer. “You driving?”

Shaking my head, I pointed over her shoulder. Megan turned around and saw the Command Cruiser coming out from behind a cloak of invisibility.

There were a lot of orange-skinned people aboard the Phy’zzon, and I came to the conclusion that the height and beauty I saw in Kori wasn’t because of good genes. All of them were just as stunning, male and female alike. Megan and I were escorted to what I found out was my permanent quarters on board. The size of the room was about twice the area of my room on the Jordan. The addition of an office made it so.

It was there that I updated Megan on what had happened in my absence on Earth, with a holographic replay of the battle that took out the Central Power Battery and the replay of what Miri went through. Once I’d gotten to the portion where Low tried to make me into his baby momma I ended the projection.

She looked torn. I knew about what she went though only a couple of weeks past. The loss was clear on her face and he way she moved, but I suppose it was fairly well hidden to those that didn’t know what to look for.

What she wasn’t able to hide was the way her jaw locked and tightened when she watched Miri’s tale. There were simply too many similarities that mirrored her own.

“Ring, duplicate yourself.”

Without saying anything, another ring appeared on the desk we sat at. It rose without direction and moved in front of her.

“Megan Morse of Sector 2814, you have great loss in your heart.”

I whipped my hand out and grabbed the ring, already with an apology on my lips. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

She blinked. “The ring or its really ill-timed announcement?”

Looking sheepishly at the violet ring in my hand I closed my fingers around it. “The last part. Look, one of the things that this thing can do is help you deal with…” I could bring myself to even say her name. “…her death.”

Megan pushed her chair back and stood, turning away from me. I couldn’t tell if she was hiding her face, looking around, or if she was just plain angry.

“I’m offering you a place with the Star Sapphires, Megan.”

The intercom to the room took that moment to chime with Suu’s voice following soon after. “We are in orbit above Mars, Jade.”

“Thank you. We’ll be out in a minute.”

My friend was already turned around. Her eyes were a bit glassy. “Keep your ring Jade.”

“But…”

“I’m not all that convinced that hunk of purple on your hand hasn’t changed you in some way. You would have never considered killing someone when you were going green.”

I flinched, stung by her words.

“Believe me, I know how cruel the universe can be. I know how much you can want to strike out at those responsible, but you aren’t a god, Jade. The pretty crown on your head doesn’t give you the right to end someone’s life just because you deem it unrepentant and irredeemable.”

Gripping the ring in my hand, I tried to stand a little taller. “The first Yellow Lantern I killed, I did so with a green ring, and I don’t regret it. Given it or me, I’ll choose me every time.” I raised my hand and pointed at her. “Those things I killed on Earth, Megan? They were sent to kill me, and one of them almost did. ME! It sank its teeth in me and decided I’d make a good host for its two-hundred killer little babies. Pardon me if I don’t have any compassion left for things like them. I can’t afford it.”

Spinning around I slammed my fist on the desk.

“You don’t think I’m going to have nightmares about this? Every time I close my eyes too long I see Sora’nik’s dead body. I feel those teeth ripping into my shoulder.”

Before I turned around I felt a hand on my back. “I think you have plenty of nightmares to keep you busy. I also think that you’ve been pushing yourself for far too long. I’ve seen it too often, Jade. I used to be a cop, remember?”

Dropping the ring on the desk, I wiped at my eyes. “Yeah.”

“You can’t bear the entire weight of the universe on your shoulders and it not affect you. What I’m telling you is you need a break.”

Shaking my head, I discounted her advice immediately. “Too much is happening.”

“And it always will. It never stops. Pretty soon, you’ll be finding yourself considering things in a different way, letting minor crimes go on because it benefits you, but accepting them because it’s for the greater good. Then you step up to the next level. Pretty soon the most monstrous thing imaginable becomes a possible tool in your arsenal. When does it end, Jade?”

Remembering what I just got finished doing on Earth I knew that I’d already arrived at that point. I took up the ring once more and turned, holding it out to her. “Then take it. Be my conscious. Tell me when I’ve gone too far and kick my butt until I can see straight. Please.”

Her hand twitched. I could see she was considering it, but she held on to her resolve. “You need to deal with this on your own.” She backed away and went to stand in front of the door to the room. “In the end, if we can’t step away from the edge then all the advice in the world can’t help us. I have my own issues that I have to deal with before I could make a commitment to you like that.”

Reaching up, she pressed the release to open the door. “Besides, there’s no way I’m calling you my queen. Really, Jade… queen? And the uniforms… purple and green? I’d look like a big walking bruise.”

I snorted and sniffed back the tears that were threatening to fall.

~O~

The Phy’zary had already dropped a lot of equipment on top of Mount Olympus. Megan flew ahead of the rest of us. Sarl had dismissed half of the guard, but my core that I entered Earth’s atmosphere with was surrounding me while others stayed back and performed scans of the system, keeping a watchful eye out for anything threatening.

When Megan landed on the surface we were just a few moments behind. I stayed back and just watched as she walked around taking in the landscape wondering what she was thinking about. From what I knew about her origins they might have been tied back to this planet. There was really no way to be sure.

When she’d had enough she turned and came back. I encased us in another bubble to ensure our privacy.

“Find anything noteworthy?” I asked.

“Maybe. I need to think about it for a while though.”

Looking back at Mount Olympus, I paused. “The offer is still on the table, Megan. Later, if you change your mind, I mean.”

If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she ignored me. “What you need right now is someone to tell you that you’ve stepped over the line, whenever you do so, or hopefully before it happens.”

She nodded at my guards and vaguely gestured toward them. “Right now you have a bunch of sycophants that look like they’ll do anything you say. That’s too much power for one person to hold, Jade.”

I frowned at that. “Is that any different from what I had on Earth? Just because we have a common goal doesn’t mean they’re mindless.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You implied it. They’re my people, Megan.”

She pointed at herself and then up into the sky. “We’re your people. Terra worships the ground you walk on like a little sister. Courtney’s gone to bat for you so many times against her own government. What happens to them now that you’re out here? What happens the next time one of those yellow things comes to Earth, the things that you brought to our planet?”

Again, her words stung, biting into me. “That wasn’t supposed to happen. That’s one of the reasons I chose Mars, so I’d be close enough to help if something went wrong.”

Megan sighed and scratched at her head. “I didn’t mean to blame you, Jade. I know you wouldn’t want anything to happen to them, but the fact remains it’s a possibility now, and we don’t have the raw power to take care of ourselves anymore. Even the strongest Meta would have serious trouble going up against you, and they came at you with four. What’s next, twenty? Earth could be a wasteland after the end of that battle.”

I reached for anything that I could. “You’re under the protection of the Green Lanterns and the Star Sapphires. If it’s in our power that won’t happen.”

She chuckled. “The same Green Lanterns that got their butts handed to them on Oa, where they should be their strongest?”

“You’re making my point for me, Megan. The biggest threat is the Sinestro Corps and drastic measures have to be taken to eliminate that threat.” I saw the challenge in her eyes and decided to send out my own barbs. “You can stand there and be all holier than thou, but you know I’m right. You saw what they’re capable of. This isn’t some sort of mafia that is out to make a buck. Their sole purpose is to create fear and kill people in the most horrible way possible; that’s it.”

Frustration was on both our faces. We knew we were arguing in circles and that it would solve nothing.

~O~

“You look awful,” Sora’nik said as she landed beside me.

I gave her a weak smile as I watched Megan flying off into the atmoshpere. “Do I? Thanks I feel just as bad.”

“Come on, you’re going straight to the galley for a decent meal and then to bed.”

She didn’t wait for my answer and instead encircled me, along with herself, in a green orb and lifted up off of Mars’ surface for the return trip to the Phy’zzon. Instead of visiting the galley, there was a meal waiting for me in my room.

I stuffed myself and was led soon thereafter to a pretty nice bed that was built for someone a lot taller than I was. When I was changed into something I could sleep in, Sora’nik made sure I was tucked in before she turned to leave the room.

Something deep inside me called out. “Sora’nik.” She turned at the door and I swallowed. “Could you… would you stay for a little while, just until I fall asleep?”

Concern fell across her face. “Perhaps I should call for a sedative?”

“No, just you.”

She looked around the room then lowered the lights before creating a comfortable chair construct beside the bed. When she sat down I reached out my hand and she took it in hers.

“Close your eyes, Jade. I’ll be here.”

It took some time, but eventually I fell asleep.

~O~

By the time I woke, I was feeling more refreshed. Sora’nik was still in her chair construct sleeping peacefully. I wished I could say the same. Measuring my actions over the last twenty-four hours I knew there were things that Megan had said that held some truth to them.

I needed an advisor, someone to ground me, before I did something stupid and unforgivable, much like I did on Earth.

Without waking her, I got up and changed into my uniform. After brushing my hair out I looked back at Sora’nik and exited the room. Suu and Sharon were standing guard.

“Where are we holding Fatality?”

Suu provided that answer. “In the ship’s brig. There’s been no change in her status.”

I nodded. “Call Sarl and Lyja we’re meeting there, now.”

Sharon took her cue and started down the hall toward one of the lifts. After a few moments, Suu acknowledged that my other core guards were on their way.

It didn’t take too long to arrive. Tamaranean guards manned the secure office overlooking the brig and two Sapphire guards were in front of her cell, probably bored to tears. When we entered, I dismissed them. I looked up at the office where the other guards were.

“Could you open the cell, please?”

After a few moments the energy field that served as a door winked out. Using my ring, I lifted the crystal that encased Fatality and backed it out, holding it in front of me. That’s about the time that Sarl and Lyja entered.

“My queen? Is it time for her to emerge?” asked Sarl.

“Ring, how long until the process is complete?”

“It has only just begun, Jade. Altering a person’s personality is a lengthy process. Another five standard days will be required before it is complete.”

“Fine. Sarl, would you lead us to the closest airlock.”

His eyes widened. Instead of questioning me, he turned around and started down to the lift. It was a little crowded and I could feel tension begin to fill the small conveyance. They didn’t have a clue as to what I was going to do.

When we reached the room that held the airlock, I sealed it off and created a shield that would give us privacy.

Holding a hand out to brush along the crystal, I sighed with regret. “What I did was wrong. I knew it the moment I did this, but I justified to by thinking it was for the greater good. One person’s mind in return for the information that could end the suffering of thousands seemed like a fair trade. But it’s not.”

I let the crystal settle to the deck and withdrew the beam that was holding it.

“We’re supposed to be the highest representatives of love in the universe. We were chosen to defend that love in any way possible, but what I’ve forgotten is that it’s our duty to be examples as well. I won’t have us becoming the monsters Sinestro and his fear mongers are.”

Sarl crossed his upper arms. “What are you saying, my queen?”

I looked at him and the others waiting for some sort of direction. “I’m saying that as of this moment, I’m not your queen. That ends today. I need advisors, and I’m volunteering you four for that position. To you four I am simply Jade, the leader of our Corps. I want your opinions, not what you think I want, but what you feel inside yourselves.”

Pointing at the crystal I felt a measure of nausea well in my stomach. “This can’t happen again. We can destroy the Yellows, but I’m not going to enslave them to our will. To do so would make us just as evil as them.”

Lyja moved forward to take a look at Fatality. “You plan on jettisoning her out of the airlock, Jade?”

I shook my head. “I plan on releasing her… with her ring.”

“What if she goes out to kill again?” Sharon stressed.

I was pleased to hear someone question my choice. “What would you suggest?”

“Destroy the yellow ring and return her to her home planet to answer for her crimes,” said Suu.

Sarl grumbled. “Kill her here.”

Lyja nodded toward Suu. “I agree, let her own people decide her punishment.”

“Sharon?”

The former Cylon looked at me. “I’ve seen too much death, Jade, but I don’t know what else to do. Her Corps could find and release her all over again.”

I took a moment to mull over their decisions. “Ring, you’ve been awfully quiet.”

It’s not my place to offer advice in this instance, Jade. I’m the one that got you into this mess to begin with. For that I am truly sorry.

I didn’t bother to correct her, because she was somewhat right. I made the final decision, but some things simply shouldn’t even be conceived.

“Call up two Sapphires to take her to Sector 1313 and break her out of that crystal. Afterward come to my room, we need to talk about the future of the Corps. Changes need to be made before we take another step. Something like this can’t happen again. Ever.”

TBC...

I don’t really know if I got through to any of them. They seemed hell-bent on treating me like I’m some sort of royalty. Being picked by mere chance on a planet in the middle of the universe where love is discouraged to the point where they had to make a law against it, doesn’t make my blood anymore blue than theirs. And since Sarl actually had blue-colored blood that saying something.

Sharon sat across from me in my office. I don’t know if I should even call it an office either. It was basically a table with chairs. There wasn’t even a blotter with a fancy pen and pencil set, or a stapler. I think I had some Post-its around somewhere, but still.

She appeared nervous for some reason, so I wanted to cut to the chase.

“Tell me about where you came from.” Her narrow eyes widened a fraction.

“I don’t mean about what brought you here,” I clarified. I’d already heard enough depressing stories recently. “You said the humans that you allied with were originally from Earth?”

“That’s the legend,” she didn’t seem too convinced. “Judging from the technology level this Earth is at, I’m not so sure.”

“But we appear the same, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

I chuckled a little at her new way of addressing me. “Just Jade, Sharon. I’m not barking orders and it’s just you and me here.”

“Yes, ma’am…” she cringed. “Sorry, I’m just used to addressing a superior officer by her rank.”

Maybe I could make her feel more at ease. “Ring, casual clothes.”

A circle of violet started from my head and whipped along my body, changing my uniform into a comfortable crop top and shorts. “There, consider us off duty for the time being.”

I took advantage of the simplicity of my clothes to bring my legs up and crossing them akimbo. “So, the humans?”

She looked to the side. “If we’re just talking as equals… I’d rather not talk about it, if you don’t mind.”

Thinking this had a lot to do with the death of her husband and child, I let the subject drop. “Alright. Then answer me this and I won’t ask anymore until you feel like sharing. Why did you accept the ring?”

Sharon sat there and looked at me until I thought she wasn’t going to say anything else. That was until her eyes started going a little glassy. “In order to be with the man I loved, I had to betray my people. The humans believed I was a spy for the longest time. They probably still do. So as far as I’m concerned they can have each other, the last of the humans and the Cylons. The ring let me escape.”

She stood and looked at the table. “Is that all ma’am?”

I silently nodded and she left me to my thoughts.

“Jade, the Captain sent a message that the atmosphere processors have arrived and that the Phy’zary is supervising their installation.”

“Is there anything I’m supposed to do?”

“Negative. This is simply for information’s sake.”

I sighed and cradled my head. “What’s next on the agenda?”

“Your presence on Zamaron will be required for the construction of the new non-military rings. At that time I can repair the rest of the damage to your arm.”

Nodding I let my hand slide over my face. “Let Sarl know that we’ll be leaving soon and give Sharon the rest of the day off. I think I rattled her.”

“That would be inadvisable. At this moment Sapphire Agathon is pacing in her room trying to busy herself. The reports from her ring state that she seeks solace in her work. Her downtime only tends to increase her agitation.”

“We’re spying on our Sapphire’s? You know how I feel about that, Ring.”

“I do. Until such time that a central database is created, akin to the Book of Oa, all daily logs are sent to me for storage. Have you ever overheard a conversation that you weren’t supposed to, Jade? It’s something like that. I cannot easily compartmentalize information once it is a part of me.”

“Okay, I get that. Fine, just try not to… I don’t know.”

“Take advantage of the information? For instance you wouldn’t want to hear about Sapphire Lawquane’s observations regarding Lantern Natu’s staring at your butt when she approached you on Mars?”

“What? She starred at my butt?” I shook it off immediately. “No, no. I don’t want to know. Hold on -- why is Suu looking at Sora’nik.”

“Sapphire Lawquane is an excellent judge of body language. It is an inherent ability of her race.”

I remember the profile Ring had written about her. It’s one of the things that made her such and excellent fighter. She could literally anticipate her opponent’s moves by watching them and reacting a split second before they had a chance to complete their attack. This ability transcended species as well, so she was an ideal partner for Sarl.

I shuddered at the thought of them together at something other than work. Compared to him, she was tiny. There would be no way… never mind. That way lays madness.

The chime to my outer door rang, announcing Sarl and the gang.

~O~

Zamaron looked considerably different with temporary structures littering the surface. I was surprised at how many people were out and about as well. Most of them were in environmental suits since the air wasn’t breathable. There were even a few Star Sapphires that greeted us. Kori and the vast majority of the Violet Lanterns were on Oa learning what they could really do with their rings, leaving ten on so Zamaron for defense if needed.

Considering it had been largely ignored as an inhospitable planet since there were a lot easier ones to terraform, I wasn’t too worried about it being invaded anytime soon. But once it came to the attention of the Sinestro Corps that would be a different matter.

Most of my Guard stayed outside of the hidden cave entrance while my core guards observed the process that created their rings.

This time around, the circle was twice as wide and I firmed my lips at the approaching violet crystal that surrounded me and dropped me out of consciousness.

Just like before, one moment melted into the next. I experienced life as a crystal on the other side of the planet learning about the beginnings of their history and their evolution into sentience even though they stayed in the exact same spot for hundreds of years, if not longer. They took from me my memories and tried to understand how I live my life as a mobile species. It was all very surreal, but it eventually ended as before, in an explosion of crystal.

When I was released, Ring caught me again, before I could fall flat on my face.

The feeling in my arm returned and I tested it out, flexing it around.

I had to cover my ears this round because of all the AI voices. They didn’t speak as one this time and it sounded like the most crowded party in history as they searched for their directives and sector assignments then poured out of the cave.

My guards seemed to be a bit in awe.

Lyja watched as the last ring made its escape. “How many was that?”

Her ring answered her. “3972.”

“Whoa,” I said. “That’s a little more than last time.”

“You said you wanted more than two per sector, Jade. That requires more than the bare minimum of 7200 Star Sapphires. One or two more conversions and we should be at full strength.”

That seemed like such a large number when we only had thirty or so at the no-battle on Oa. Once my equilibrium had returned I gave a nod to the rest and we exited, once more sealing the cave entrance in purple and pink crystal.

“What’s next?” I felt like I need a check list or something to measure my progress. Just a few thousand ticks off the list and I could have my first vacation, something like that.

Sarl withdrew a small box from somewhere, I didn’t know where since there weren’t many places on his uniform where he could have hidden it.

“What’s that?”

“Fatality’s Yellow Power Ring. We thought it best to destroy it here where we are shielded by the energies of Zamaron, so that Sinestro cannot be aware of her fate.”

Holding out a hand for it, Sarl passed the box over and Ring automatically created a violet bubble around my hands so it couldn’t escape.

“Is it safe to open?”

He nodded a single time. “It is restrained in its setting and your ring has taken precautions.”

I lifted the lid backward on its hinges and peered at the ring so similar to the green and the violet except in its symbol and purpose. “It’s hard to believe that something so small can be used to cause so much fear.”

The symbol on top didn’t remind me of anything in particular, which made me wonder why it was supposed to symbolize fear. Reaching my finger inside, I poked at it. Nothing happened.

Meh. It’s a ring.

“Warning, detecting energy overload, detonation imminent.”

“Crap… whoops?”

Grabbing a hold of it with a construct of my ring, I sent it off in to the atmosphere and raced along right behind it to put as much distance between the yellow ring and the surface as was possible.

“Okay, important safety tip: don’t poke the enemy ring.”

Most of guards were right behind me, except for one. Sharon put herself in-between me and the ring, keeping pace with the both of us.

“Jade, take my hand! I’ll double the shield just in case!”

“Brace yourselves.”

Sharon grabbed me and pulled us to a stop as I watched the box ignite and the violet bubble it was encased in expand slightly. I could feel it fighting to contain the explosion, but instead of shooting outward, the power started feeding back through the violet energy.

“Ring!”

Bright yellow light engulfed us. A tugging sensation all across my body ended in an abrupt slamming onto the ground. Sharon broke my fall, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“Oww.”

I tried pushing myself up, but that brought on a wave of nausea. Instead, I just rolled over and stared up at a plain black ceiling that looked to be made of rock. My eyes wandered the area until I saw a yellow glow off to the side. Lifting my head I saw a familiar face.

“Jade Cross, Queen of the Star Sapphires, welcome to Qward.” Sinestro said with a leer on his face. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”

~O~

After hearing his self-satisfied laugh, the current bane to my existence turned and walked away.

“Ring, where are we?”

When it didn’t respond, I brought my hand up and saw the damage to it. There wasn’t any because I didn’t have a right hand anymore. I sucked in a breath and saw that it had been severed cleanly and the wound cauterized. There was no pain and I could swear I didn’t notice any difference. It felt like it was there, but when I brought my other hand to bear, I felt nothing.

“Ring?” I whimpered.

Being careful not to damage my wrist even further, I sat up and searched for Sharon’s since she was unconscious. She wore hers on her left index finger which was also missing, her hand just as amputated.

Fatality’s presence on Earth, her capture, it was all a trap and I fell for it like the idiot I was.

Berate yourself later, Jade. Deal with the problems you have now.

“Sharon.” I shook her shoulder, but she had been knocked out cold.

I checked for any obvious injuries and felt a good size knot on the back of her head. “Hang on, Sharon. I’ll get you some help.”

My body screamed at me as I got to my feet and almost fell again because of the damn heels. I didn’t have Ring to balance me properly and didn’t realize how much I relied on her to do so.

Once I gathered myself I went over to the yellow barrier that held us in the small rock-faced room. I didn’t want to try my luck at touching the shield and instead looked around. There was absolutely nothing to see except for a narrow hallway that I couldn’t see the end of.

“Hello?” I hated to call him back, but I was pretty much screwed otherwise. “Sinestro? What do you want?”

There was no answer and I felt a dread that I hadn’t felt in quite some time. To top the whole think off, I was feeling decidedly different in a way that was disturbing, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what was wrong.

Instead of screaming my head off, which I’m sure he would love, I returned to Sharon and gathered her in my arms so she wouldn’t have to lie on the cold stone floor.

I’d chosen to save my strength and not overexert myself trying to find a way out. It was obvious enough, even to me, that the only chance I’d have was when he returned, if he returned. So I rested.

~O~

“I have been to every corner of every sector in the universe, and I have learned one thing.”

Sinestro’s voice woke me from the restless half-way point of semi-consciousness. He was standing at the door, looking at me with something more than contempt on his face.

I tried to clear my dry throat. “What’s that?”

“The universe needs to change. We live in a place rotting with hedonism and chaos. A place untamed and morally devoid. A place of darkness.”

A single chuckle escaped my mouth. “And you’re here to fix all that I suppose.”

“When I was inducted into the Green Lantern Corps, I believed I had finally escaped the darkness. I worked hard to validate the power ring's selection. I tore my home planet of Korugar free from sin. I brought order and vowed to do the same for the rest of Sector 1417... and then, with the Corps' support, the rest of the universe.”

My eyes burned and I rubbed at them, only to notice again the absence of my hand. “How wonderful for you.”

“Silence, Star Sapphire Queen. I would have you learn a lesson.”

Running my tongue over my teeth, I tried to coax a little saliva to my mouth.

“For a time the Guardians even called me the greatest of the Green Lanterns. Until an Earthman I trained took everything from me. Hal Jordan called me a fascist for the order I bestowed upon Korugar. I was stripped of my ring. Labeled the first renegade of the Green Lantern Corps, I was banished to the underbelly of the universe, the Antimatter Universe... and delivered back into darkness.”

I didn’t know if I was supposed to feel impressed, pity, or curse the GL’s for not taking the chance to make a smear of the guy on the other side of the shield.

“For the first time in my life -- I felt fear. And I was blinded by its brilliance. I believed fear to be a part of the chaos I abhor, but it was more controlling than all the willpower in the universe. And it would be mine.”

He stood there and stared at me afterward. I guessed that was my cue. “Am I supposed to be impressed?”

The contempt returned. “Are all Earth people as arrogant as you?”

I shrugged. “Pretty much, but I’ll leave the title of Grand Poobah to you.”

He looked confused for the briefest of moments. Apparently sarcasm doesn’t translate well over the matrix.

“You and I are not so different in certain aspects.”

That made me choke followed by a giggle. “Really?”

“We both desire our Corps to be a guiding influence to the inhabitants of the universe. We are each like a light waiting to be turned on in the dark, turned on to a universe that needs our guidance, our rule, our protection, our vision.”

What is he trying to get at? Is this a recruitment speech?

“You don’t seriously think that I’m going to join you.” I let that hang there for a few moments.

His lips pursed. “Eventually, you will. Unlike the Guardians of Oa, you have complete control over your Corps. They will bend to your will as my fear mongers bend to mine.”

“Love doesn’t work that way, Sinestro. But you wouldn’t know that would you?” I set Sharon down lightly and stood to walk over to the shield. Looking at him, he was the stereotypical representation of the evil genius bad guy. If it weren’t for the reality of the situation, I would have laughed.

But even seeing that ridged outer shell, I saw something deeper. “Thall Sinestro of Sector 1417, you have great loss in your heart.”

The edges of his mouth tinged upward. “You have no concept of the word, Cross.”

“Would you like to hear about your daughter?”

His expression didn’t change, didn’t betray any further emotion, simply freezing in place.

“She survived your fight on Oa. Well, sort of. She was dead, but I brought her back. That’s the power I hold. Fear can only bring you temporary control and in the end, death. While love… it will conquer all. And you, Sinestro, are not capable of great love.”

He slowly blinked like he was bored. “Would you like to see your greatest fear?”

The shield fell and a yellow collar construct secured to my neck along with yellow chains at my wrists, ankles, and waist.

“Come, there are more lessons to be had before this day is through.”

If I ever made it out of the situation I put myself in, I was going to strangle my ring. It was hard enough to walk in high heels, but adding chains to the mix made it virtually impossible. I fell a number of times as Sinestro pulled me along. We exited the hallway and started up an irregular staircase that I thought would never end. By the time we made it to the top, I was exhausted and my feet were killing me, not to mention the chains restricted my movement enough to where I had to rely on leg muscles that I never knew existed until that time.

Inside the room at the top was seated a blue-skinned humanoid woman with long black hair and pointed ears. Attached to her right wrist was a yellow chain and at the end of that chain was a book.

“Jade Cross,” Sinestro said with all the grace of an uptight noble. “May I introduce Lyssa Drak, your new keeper, possibly for the rest of your life.”

The blue woman closed her book and took it into her grasp as she rose from her chair. “Ah… the Sapphire Queen.” She smiled in a way that made me think she was thinking very naughty thoughts. “Yours is a tale of fear that will make an excellent entry to the Book of Sinestro.”

She took the leash from the Corps leader and pulled. “Come, my pet. Your chamber awaits.”

I winced at the collar that was beyond chaffing at my neck and followed her as we entered another room, this one occupied with a number of shell-like things that looked like a cross between a snail and a clam, only really big.

“Welcome to the Fear Lodge.”

I swallowed down my revulsion as I looked around for some way of escape.

She led me to one of the shells and gestured. “Inside here, is where our potential fear mongers face their final test. You are already well versed in the use of your power ring which I see has been taken from you,” she said in an unnatural pleasant nature.

“You will be encased in darkness and here you will face your greatest fear. At that time, you will have a choice. Cower and reject it and you will live what remains of your life trapped inside. Or you may embrace it and join our Corps.”

She looked me up and down. “Frankly, I think you’ll break. More than a few potentials have emerged from the shells with looks of madness etched on their dying faces. Either way, I’ll be here to record your experience. Do try to last for more than a few minutes, if for nothing else than the entertainment value. I do grow bored sometimes.”

There was no doubt in my mind that Lyssa Drak was freaking insane. I didn’t even have a chance to back away before the chains dropped off and a hand construct was formed to pick me up and slam me into the bed of the shell. Something clinked next to me and before the lights went out, I saw it was a Yellow Power Ring.

~O~

I braced my back against the top of the shell and tried to push against the floor, but the leverage was bad and I was already dead tired.

Settling down, I closed my eyes. The darkness didn’t scare me and I wasn’t terrified of small spaces. Once you’ve been in outer space, you realized exactly how small you are in the grand scheme of things, and lord knows it’s dark enough.

Instead, I tried to organize my thoughts, keeping them calm and as serine as I could. My plan as it stood was to fight the potential fears I held within with calm and with love, to deny any substance for it to feed off of.

Determination made my brow sweat, the longer that I held. I tried not to think of any specific thing, but my thoughts always wondered back to Sharon lying injured in that cell, and Sora’nik’s face right after I kissed her.

“It’s the only way, Jade,” she said.

My eyes fluttered open and she was there, beside me. Our bodies were sensuously fitted side by side. Sora’nik was in the violet uniform of the Star Sapphire Corps and Earth was below us. When I concentrated I could see my friends, all turned against me, all my enemies released and with them.

All of them wore the uniforms of the Green Lantern Corps and they were coming, seeking retribution.

“If you love them then you know what you have to do.”

I turned to Sora’nik. “I can’t, not that.”

“They won’t die, Jade. They’ll be forever frozen in time. You can visit them whenever you want and they’ll never lift a finger against you, forever your devoted friends.”

Her voice was smooth and tempting, her hands caressing my body in all the places she knew would please me.

“Do it for me, Jade.”

Looking in her face, I knew that I would do anything for her as long as she was by my side.

I closed my eyes and summoned up my Will and Love to focus through the Sapphire stone in my tiara… the stone in my tiara…

“No,” I said, pushing her away. “You’re not her,” I gasped. “She’d never ask me to do something like this.”

Sora’nik tried to grab my wrist, but I pulled away even further. “If you don’t do this, then you’ll die, Jade. Give in, embrace it. Be who you were meant to be.”

I closed my eyes once more and forced the vision away, hearing the screams of my friends, as they were coming to kill me, die down.

“I’ll be who I’m supposed to be, and that sure as hell isn’t a Fear Monger.”

Focusing every bit of Will and Love I possessed I channeled it though the Sapphire stone in my tiara that Sinestro probably thought was a vanity piece, but was actually the source of my strength, unfiltered by my Power Ring, and I released it.

The sound of the shell exploding tore through the chamber and the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Lyssa Drak on her butt, looking at me like I accomplished the impossible. A second later she was encased in violet crystal along with the rest of the chamber.

“Sharon, come to me,” I whispered.

Swirls of violet light blew open the door to the outer room and I floated through to the outside door, all the while creating more crystal along the way. The tendrils of light skated down the steps through the hall and I felt it when they destroyed the yellow shield holding my Sapphire. They caressed her body and lifted it into their embrace, covering her, shielding her from any further harm.

I twirled in place then rose into the air letting my eyes take in all there was to see of the mysterious planet, Qward, home of the Sinestro Corps.

That home wasn’t left unguarded. Dozens of their Corps rushed to the disturbance, led by Sinestro himself.

I sighed and pulled the power I knew existed on Zamaron through my crystal and let it wash outward encasing it all, the entire planet.

The fear mongers along with their leader were caught in the wave and forced down to the surface as the crystal hardened, trapping them underneath, forever.

The next moment, Sharon was in my arms and I tightened my hold on her as I thought of Sora’nik, picturing her in my mind’s eye. Something erupted from my chest and shot into space above the planet as I watched the last of the planet surface disappear in violet crystal and then build upon itself, layer after layer.

“Love will conquer all,” I whispered.

I gasped as the other end of the tether connected to my heart.

~O~

“Jade!”

Sora’nik was on her knees looking up into the sky. Tears were beginning to fall from her cheeks when I landed and handed off Sharon to two Sapphires that I didn’t recognize. Dropping down to my own knees, I embraced my heart. It didn’t matter if she returned my feelings anymore. I could deal with that. I had my love for her to sustain me until I could show her what she meant to me. Being in her arms was more than enough to sate me for now.

“Where were you? What happened?”

I turned my face into her neck and breathed in her scent for a few moments. “Everything is fine now. I’m home.”

She tried to gently pull away, but I would have nothing of it.

“I missed you, Sora’nik.”

“Jade, let go. We need to get you to the Medical Bay. Your ring has kept your hand preserved. We can still reattach it.”

I giggled and pulled back. “It’s a little late for that.”

“What?” She looked down as I brought my right hand up and showed her something the use of the raw Sapphire gem accomplished.

In the place of my missing hand was one of violet crystal. I flexed the fingers and showed her that it was just as dexterous as the old one. I even had sensations running through it, though not quite like the one I had before. It was a different feeling altogether.

She grabbed my arm and pulled the torn sleeve back to see where the crystal joined with my arm. It wasn’t a clean attachment. I could see where flesh and crystal melded sporadically up my forearm and stopped at my elbow where my arm remained the same.

“It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt,” I said.

“I still want to take a look at it. Come on.”

She tugged me up and I followed along, the heels not giving me anymore trouble even on the pebbly crystal terrain even though I was feeling pleasantly euphoric.

“Tell me what happened,” she said, her voice still filled with worry.

“The ring was a trap for me. Sharon got dragged along because she was trying to do her job. Chatted with Sinestro, met Lyssa Drak, took the Fear Lodge tour, and encased Qward along with a number of Sinestro Corps members including the man himself under about a billion pounds of violet crystal. You know… the usual.”

We walked along with her hand firmly around my waist. “You seem remarkable serene for someone that’s gone through all of that.”

I shrugged. “Meh. Day in the life of a superhero.”

The door was opened for us and I was escorted down a short hallway and led to a room with a hospital bed, where Sora’nik sat me down before making a big medical looking construct with her ring. A green light scanned me while I got interrogated a little more.

“Can you tell me how you did all of this without your ring?”

I smiled secretively. “It’s a secret. Shh. I could tell you but then I’d have to take you to bed and… well, I’m sure you can imagine the rest.”

Her eyes widened at whatever the readout was showing her. “That’s not possible.”

“Well obviously it is or I wouldn’t be sitting here.” I shook my head at her with a little doubt in my face. “Really, Sora’nik, I would have thought you’d have an open mind about sex between two species. We’re not all that different.”

She looked at me like I was going nuts. “What?” She shook her head. “I’m talking about your scan. You shouldn’t be sitting up right now.”

I looked from side to side at the bed and me sitting up. “I seem to be fine. Why don’t we scan you instead? Except I don’t need a fancy machine, just my hands… and if you’re a good girl maybe my tongue.”

“Later. Lay down for me, Jade.”

I rolled my eyes up in my head and lay down. “Okay, I’ll let you be the top for now, but I insist swapping roles next time.”

TBC...

Author's note: Some of Sinestro's monologue is a quote from the GL comics. Apparently he doesn't have the List of things to not do if you are a Super Villain.

Don’t you hate it when you have those sexy dreams and then wake up to find out that you’re in a hospital bed with a sentient Star Sapphire Power Ring mentally poking at you to wake up.

Okay, well I can see where a lot of people can’t identify with my life that well. But that’s how it is.

“What!”

“You were projecting your dreams at me, Jade. I thought it best not to delve into your subconscious where Lantern Natu is concerned.”

“Oh,” I leaned back on the mattress. “Sorry. Yeah, I appreciate that. No need to make those dreams public record.”

Reaching up, I rubbed at my eyes. “Why am I still here?”

“Lantern Natu wanted you kept for observation. The new accessory on your right arm has caused quite the stir, but I find it rather comfortable. Since fitting myself onto your new middle finger, I have yet to experience any drain of charge. This increases my processing level tremendously.”

I grabbed the rail and pulled myself up. “I’m glad you’re taking my dismemberment so well. Speaking of which, how’s Sharon?”

“Sapphire Agathon has had her original hand replaced and is doing well. She should be able to resume her duties by the end of the week.”

“Uniform, please. And can you fix me up? I probably look a mess.”

“Not entirely. Lantern Natu performed a thorough bed bath for you while you were asleep.”

If it weren’t for the railing I probably would have fallen out of the bed. “What? And you didn’t wake me?”

Dropping back down, I groaned.

“I was not yet notified of your arrival. However once she informed me that your previous hand would not be needed immediately I flew to your side and performed a diagnostic on your body. It showed trace residues of antibacterial cleansers…”

“I don’t need specifics, Ring.”

There was no way I was crawling over the bars, I’d wind up killing myself in the process, but I couldn’t reach the release underneath the bed, so I floated myself off and made sure everything was where it was supposed to be… well, minus my hand of course. However, being covered by the uniform glove, it didn’t look any different than my old hand.

“Could you pull back the glove for a minute, Ring?”

It disappeared entirely so that I could take a look at what had been done to me. Holding it up to the light was surreal. I could see a swirl of color through my hand. Upon closer inspection I could make out little wrinkles where they were before on my knuckles, and I still had lines on my palms and finger prints. It was like my hand merely switched to a different material.

The crystal was completely solid until the midway point of my forearm and then it started thinning out, like it was merged with the flesh.

“Is this the same stuff as out there, Ring?”

“My scans show that the materials are very similar. Your new hand is much harder. You have no need to be gentle with it for fear of chipping or cracking the crystal. Though if that were to happen, I’m quite certain that you would be able to repair it through the Sapphire gem in your tiara.”

Seeing a sink and a medium-sized mirror near the corner, I went to splash some water on my face.

“Before you do that, Jade, there is something I think you should be aware of.”

That didn’t sound good. “Is my hair purple or something?”

“Your injuries, actually. It’s rather difficult to explain since neither Lantern Natu nor I have a clue as to how it occurred.”

Patting myself down, I didn’t feel anything wrong. “I didn’t get injured other than a few bumps and bruises.”

“Your neck bore evidence that you were forced to wear a collar of sorts. Then there were the similar scrapes on your wrists and ankles.”

“Right. Yeah, I was chained up. A few scratches aren’t going to kill me, I’ve had worse.” I didn’t wait any longer and stepped in front of the mirror. “Oh…”

I swallowed and stretched my neck to the side. Where there should have been friction burns and scratches were little flecks of violet crystal. It was like someone threw some glitter at me and it stuck on my skin wrong and actually clumped up in certain places.

“Oh God, I’m not going to turn into some creepy walking crystal am I?”

“No. Or I should say the odds are very slim as long as you don’t keep getting your limbs amputated. In effect, your wounds have scabbed over. The minute crystals that have formed should flake off after your wounds have healed.”

“Why are they this color?”

There was a noticeable pause before Ring answered me. “That is something that we are unsure about, however I have a few theories.”

I went ahead and washed my face even though my eyes kept tracking to the sparkles at my neck while Ring went through the possibilities.

“The most likely explanation is that during your escape you channeled a tremendous amount of energy through the Sapphire jewel and subsequently through your body. The result was the transformation of your red blood cells to violet crystal cells which are somehow serving the same function as their red counterparts.”

I frowned into the mirror. “Are you saying I have purple blood?”

“Violet, though when it’s not highly oxygenated it could appear purple. I hadn’t really thought of that.”

“Yeah, whatever. So is this going to go away?”

“Considering the appearance of your new hand, I’d say the odds are exceedingly low as to not be worth mentioning.”

Considering how much violet I was already wearing, the glitter looked ridiculous. “Can you give me a turtleneck or something so I don’t…”

A piece of fabric stretched from the uniform to encircle my neck just enough to cover where the collar was, but she still left my front open. It looked silly. The glove reappeared and I looked almost normal.

“Okay, I’ve got purple blood, a freaky crystal hand, slept through a sponge-bath by the girl I’ve been mooning over, and there are probably a thousand things for me to do today.” Closing my eyes, I craned my neck until I heard it pop. “That about all the bad news for this morning?”

“Did I mention the Guardians wish an audience whenever you are able?”

“No.”

“That should be it for now.”

Looking at the door, I sucked in a breath and let it go. “Let’s hit it.”

~O~

Suu Lawquane was increasing her pace to keep up with me and Lyja was following up the rear. “Jade, Lantern Natu wanted you to stay in bed until the test results came back for your…”

I made the glove fade away and waved it at her. “My freaky purple hand?”

Her eyes widened to comic proportions. I guessed that it was the first time she had seen it. “It’s fine. I have things to do and they really can’t wait. Every minute I’m in bed, something else comes up, and until we’re at full strength in the Corps, I can’t afford to stand by and wait for test results.”

When she didn’t say anything, I exited the Infirmary and stepped foot on the surface of Zamaron once more. In the distance, I could see Guy with the Sapphire contingent, going through his drill sergeant routine. There was no sight of Sora’nik and until she got her results back, I really didn’t want to see her all that bad.

Okay, I admit it. I really didn’t want to see what she found out. I was alive, I felt relatively healthy considering what I’d been through over the last few days. “We’re going to Oa. Who’s taking Sharon’s place while she’s recuperating?”

“Sapphire Bleet,” Suu said.

That made me stop. “Bleet? Tell me he or she isn’t a sheep.”

“He is not a sheep.”

I waited for an explanation and Suu looked at me oddly. “Is there something else you would like me to repeat, Jade?”

Running my tongue along the inside of my cheek, I sighed. “Ring, is there something we can do about the translation matrix so that it can recognize literal from figurative speech?”

“I’ll work on it Jade.”

“Great, in the meantime, could you update me on this Bleet person?”

Before she had a chance to respond a chipmunk wearing a Star Sapphire uniform zipped up and floated in front of me nearly vibrating with energy and not of the violet kind.

“Queen Jade!” He bowed in the air. “It’s an honor. Are we off to vanquish the evil that is the Sinestro Corps or perhaps to save a love soon to be lost to the ravages of hate? I am ready to serve my queen!”

Now, that’s how it was supposed to be heard. What it actually sounded like was one really big word with a lot of syllables.

Once I deciphered it I looked back at Suu and Lyja. Yep, it was my new bodyguard… a chipmunk.

Not entirely. Bleet comes from the planet Hl'ven in Sector 1014. While there are similarities between the species, the Hl’venites are an egg laying people and are strictly carnivores, not to mention savage warriors.

“He’s a savage…?”

Warrior, yes.

“We’re heading to Oa, Bleet.”

His mouth pulled back to display two serious looking fangs where chipmunks normally had their buckteeth. Okay, I could believe that he was a carnivore.

“Ah! The Green Lanterns have shown their true colors. To War!”

I held up my hands. “Bleet, stop. We’re going because the Guardians wanted to talk to me. No war. No fighting, hopefully.”

His little chipmunk shoulders drooped. “No fighting?”

“No, just talking.”

I was already counting the days until Sharon’s return.

Sarl landed and eyed the new guard. “Sapphire Bleet, do not pester the queen with your warmongering. Take your position.”

The despondent chipmunk warrior floated to the back of the guard and Sarl waited until he was in his place. “My apologies, Jade. He’s eager, but his race is known the universe over for their speed and fighting ability.”

I just wasn’t buying it. “Really?”

“Truly. If we had more of them in the Corps then I would never fear for your safety.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Jade, you should know that Lantern Natu is in route to the Infirmary.”

“We got to go guys. Hurry, before she finds out I’m still on the planet.”

~O~

Apparently the Guardians were busy little bees and we had to wait for an hour before being seen.

When we finally entered, my guards stayed back by the doors. I figured if we were safe anywhere then this would be the place. Considering what had happened only a short time ago I couldn’t see the Guardians being lax on security, at least until they got their new chambers built.

“What do you have to report?” one of the head guys in the center asked.

“Report? Nothing. You’re the one that requested to see me. What do you have to report?”

He didn’t seem to see the humor in the situation. Maybe I should have taken Guy’s advice and opened with a short person joke.

The one in the middle, who seemed to be the one in charge the last time I was there, looked at his colleague for a moment. “Star Sapphire Jade, we were under the impression that you have done battle with the Sinestro Corps recently.”

“Oh, yeah… yesterday. I got kidnapped. Messy business.”

“You are well?”

I shrugged. “For the most part. Lingering issues to deal with.”

He paused. It was my goal by month’s end to pull some sort of emotion out of the little blue guys. I thought I’d start with exasperation.

He cleared his throat. “Would you mind sharing your experiences with us? Any information could be valuable in the fight with the Yellow Lanterns.”

I looked up at the ceiling like I was thinking intensely, but not comically overdoing it. “Well, you might start by rounding up the ones that are roaming the universe. I’ve dealt with Qward, Lyssa Drak, a couple dozen Yellows and Sinestro himself already. I figured you guys would want dibs on the rest.”

“Preposterous!” That was said by the same presumptuous guy on the right as last time. “Are you implying that Sinestro, who has troubled the Green Lantern Corps for the last eighteen years, was dealt with by a former cadet that hasn’t even been trained yet?”

“That would be me. Ring, do the memory thing and replay from the Fear Lodge until I left.”

“Acknowledged.”

The lights dropped and a holo-image appeared in the center of the council chambers, about five times larger than the original. It was almost like being in a 3-D movie except it was my life.

Starting at the blackness from the inside of the clamshell, the scene appeared from my point of view. The picture was a little fuzzy.

Pulling the memories of your experience directly from your brain isn’t the same as a replay from my files.

I had the urge to yell “Focus!” but I kept myself from being a complete ass, mainly because I was enjoying the movie.

When the part came where I pulled away from the planet and we got the full show then it cut off.

The guy left of middle looked down at me with something on his face that made think, impressed.

“The image wasn’t as clear as it should have been. Should I assume you did not possess your Power Ring?”

I nodded. “Yeah, my hand got cut off during the trap-springing portion of the show.”

A whole new Guardian asked the inevitable question I’d been waiting for. “How did you accomplish that feat without your ring?”

“The power of Love, of course. I tried telling you guys last time that Love could conquer all with violet light. Was there some point where I was unclear?”

Pointing up, I looked at the still image of Qward frozen in a violet sphere.

“Everyone thinks that I’m just tooting my own horn or that I’m being philosophical or something. I’m not. This is Love, and it has conquered Qward, Sinestro and a good chunk of his lackeys.”

Turning around, I clapped my hands once, rubbing them together afterward. “Okay, where are the Ewoks?”

My guards looked at me blankly. Why does nobody get my humor?

~O~

I didn’t get very far out of the chamber doors before Ring stopped me.

Jade, the eldest of the Three requests your presence for a private meeting in his office.

“The eldest? Which one was he?”

The three most senior members of the Guardians were the ones in white robes. Appa Ali Apsa was the one on the left as you were facing them.

“The one that looked impressed with me?”

Affirmative.

“I guess the Ewoks can wait.”

“Pit stop guys. I have to see someone before we leave.”

Ring led us underground, which may explain the pale blue skin color of the Guardians, before she deposited us in front of a door that slid open to reveal a pretty posh little set up.

“Please, Jade,” Appa said. “This is not an inquiry, or a tribunal. You are in no danger here.”

I saw that he was indicating my guards.

“Can you take this guy if he tries to start something?”

Unlikely, and the rest of your guards wouldn’t be able to help either. The Eldest are the most powerful among the Guardians. As he said, you are in no danger.

“Give me a few minutes.”

Sarl didn’t seem pleased, but he relented.

The door slid closed after I entered and Appa motioned to a normal-sized chair. “Would you care for a libation?”

“No, thank you.”

I sat and crossed my legs as I looked at the interior of his office. Green was, of course, the primary color in use. What surprised me the most were the pictures on the walls. Some were of nebula, one was a star going super-nova, and all were various beautiful scenes of the many aspects of the universe.

He returned and took a seat opposite me across from a very small table with something on it that looked like sixteen level chess set, only in miniature size and about fifty or so pieces.

“Do you play?”

Shaking my head, I was boggled. “I don’t even know what it is.”

“You must return when you have the time and I shall teach you if you interested.”

I gave him a simple smile in answer. There was no use in telling him I wasn’t a big board games fan. Stratego was more my speed.

After sipping at his drink he set it aside and relaxed in his chair. “The Guardians have a reputation, well deserved, of being emotionless. It might interest you to know that this is untrue.”

Arching an eyebrow at him I crossed my hands in my lap. “Why are you telling me this?”

“We’ll reach that subject in a moment. The war with Sinestro cost us a great deal. I don’t refer to the lives lost or the chaos that his fear mongers running roughshod through the universe produce on a daily basis, though that is tragic indeed.”

He paused for a moment, letting me take in what he was saying.

“No, I speak of the long term consequences of removing my Green Lanterns from Earth for so long.”

His word choice was starting to make me wonder about things. My Green Lanterns?

“It has been certified a fact, by the Guardians, seeing as we are the oldest living species in existence, that Oa is the center of the universe. All the galaxies and all the spacefaring worlds in those galaxies look to this planet and its Green Lanterns to keep the peace, to keep order in all ways.”

I licked my lips. “What’s this have to do with Earth?”

Appa sipped at his drink again before setting it back down.

“I’ve been watching you, Jaden Cross, since the moment I sent Hal Jordan back to his home, dying of an incurable malady.”

“I told you there was someone perving on me, Ring.”

This I didn’t know. I thought Lantern Jordan returned of his own accord.

“You don’t know because I purged it from your files,” said Appa.

My eyes darted to his. The brief talk I had with my ring was mental, not out loud. “No secrets on my side of the conversation, I guess.”

“Sorry, it’s an old habit. I have a phobia, a fear of not knowing everything there is to know. But we are straying off topic.”

“Earth,” I said.

“Just so. You see, for the last 3500 years, give or take a few years, there has been at least two Green Lanterns on Earth, oh maybe not entirely human, but they were there, protecting something.”

I leaned forward and uncrossed my legs. “Are we getting to the point anytime soon? I feel like I’m being monologued to, and you found out what happened to Sinestro the last time he did that.”

Appa raised his hands slightly. “Oh, I’m not the villain in this story, my dear Miss Cross. That would be you.”

I blinked. “What?”

“I’m not speaking in the strictest sense, not an evil villain, but an unknowing dupe. You see when the war started, I tried to keep Earth’s Lanterns on that planet, but with the other Guardians diligently doing their job, it became an impossible task. Eventually they left to join their comrades in arms against the evil of Sinestro.”

He finished his drink and got up to pour another. “Are you sure I can interest you in a taste?”

“What were the John and Kyle hiding on Earth?”

“Chaos, Miss Cross, pure unbridled, uncontrollable chaos, unknowingly, to be sure. Chaos that will be the undoing of the universe, eventually. ” He sighed and remained standing as he began to pace the office pausing at each picture to admire it, I suppose.

“You see, the rarity of the Metagene isn’t known solely on Earth, there are several planets that produce similar effects in their own populations. What makes Earth different from all the others is the multiverse.”

He held up a finger before I even asked the question.

“The multiverse is the set of multiple possible universes, including ours, that together comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. Imagine, if you will, a moment in time where it wasn’t the Green Lantern ring that found you, but a Red.”

Appa turned and looked at me with interest. “I’ve seen that Jaden Cross, who found his parents and friends all dead at a birthday party they held for him. A gas leak that wasn’t repaired properly the day before was responsible. When your alternate version found out, he raged. His life was ruined forever changed because the technician that performed the faulty repair had a virus of some type and didn’t call in to work. This in turn caused him to imbibe a store bought remedy that made him drowsy and incompetent.”

“Are you making this stuff up as you go along?” I stood and crossed my arms. “I think you’ve been sipping a little too much at that bottle.”

“Ring,” he said. “Access my personal files, Cross, Jaden, 2814. Code 2840384.”

“Jade?”

“Do it.”

“Display time index 1432 and play,” he said with finality.

The scene before me was familiar. I was stepping off the bus I normally took home when I was still in High School. My house was only a block away and I was in a hurry. The time and date on my watch was my birthday and I remembered my parents threw me a party on that day.

What was different was the smoke in the distance and the fire trucks that were in front of my house, and me falling down on the sidewalk in front, screaming.

“Ring, forward to time index 1705 two days from then,” Appa said.

The police station where I was being briefed. I didn’t remember this because it never happened to me. There was someone there, in a plumber’s coverall. The projected me lost it and started screaming at him, his face… my face… red with rage and grief.

The only thing I heard was the sound of a power ring in my ears. “Jaden Cross of Sector 2814. You have great anger in your heart.”

The hologram went red, flashes of blood and screams, the feel of retribution and satisfaction… and the need for more.

“Stop… stop it!”

I covered my eyes and backed away.

It has ended, Jade.

I found myself by the door, punching at the button that was supposed to make it open.

“Wait.”

Turning around I pointed at him. “No more. You want to show horror films then rent a theater.”

One of his hands was open and the other holding his glass, but both arms were held out. “This has already happened, in the past, in one of an infinite alternate timelines. You’re missing the point.”

“Then get to it and quit jerking me around,” I snapped.

“Earth is the center of the Multiverse, this Earth, at this time. It is not Oa that seeded the races of the universe, Jade. It was Earth.”

I wanted to knock that glass he kept drinking from out of his hand. “So what?”

“Come, sit. This is not a short story.”

“I’ll stand. Make it short.”

He sighed and looked thoughtful for a few moments. “The Lanterns presence on Earth was keeping a secret bound by their mere presence. They could be gone for weeks at a time tending to their duties, as long as they returned regularly.

“But with the war going on and their presence missing for so long I needed a Lantern there. Hal Jordan was dying so I though it the perfect opportunity to send him home. Only he returned to his place behind your moon. That wasn’t enough. Eventually he wasted away and died.”

“Shorter,” I snapped.

“I thought you would be enough, once the ring chose you, I made sure that that nobody was sent to retrieve you for training. I was hopeful that you would be enough, but you weren’t. And you even went a step further and revealed your presence to Earth’s inhabitants ensuring acceptance of the new metahumans.”

“Again, so what? Appa, I’m running short on patience here.”

He pursed his lips. “In the past, these anomalies would be hunted down and killed as they showed their powers. You’ve seen them throughout your history but attributed their powers to merely exceptional humans or to the religious or mystical. But you, Jade, you encouraged them and their acceptance. In doing so you are tearing apart the fabric of the multiverse itself.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Have you not wondered why it seemed that metahumans are emerging at an almost expediential rate?” He paused and looked at my ring. “Ring access my personal files Earth 2814, code 2734057, display.”

A map of the Earth showed and crossing all over the globe were lines, everywhere. “Do you see these intersections here; the larger ones where several lines cross. Recognize the cities?”

New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas, Houston, London, Southern Mississippi, Central Kansas, it was where the majority of the metas were shooting up like weeds.

“Yes, I see you do.”

Stepping forward, I held my hand out to touch the image. “What is this?”

“The end of the universe, unless you put a stop to it.”

~O~

He had my attention. I sat down. Here it was, my worst nightmare: that somehow a former carwash keyholder would be responsible for the fate of the universe. I didn’t kid myself in thinking that I was this highly intelligent powerful being. Having superpowers gifted by the ring let me help out, but that was about it.

“Okay,” I said with a toned down voice. “Back up a little to the fabric tearing apart portion.”

“There isn’t an actual fabric. It is simply a metaphor. Throughout the universe, there are weak points between one or two dimensions. Through these nexus points, if you possess the knowledge and means, you may move from one to the other. On Earth, there are thousands.”

“That many?” I said.

“Each time one of them is accessed through the presence and activation of the metagene, the area becomes increasingly larger. In the past there was enough time for the wound in the fabric to heal as only a handful of metahuman existed at any one time. But now there are too many. Those cities you recognized, are there not several metahumans?”

Leaning forward, I palmed my face.

“This is where they attain their powers, through an extra-dimensional source. There are those that once believed that magic is responsible, or that some of those that deem themselves gods are responsible. I am not of that belief.”

I looked up at him. “There are others that know about this?”

“I am the last. The knowledge that the entirety of the universe hinges on the existence of one backward planet is not a concept that goes over well at tea parties for the average intellectual. Given this knowledge would you not consider the existence of such a place a danger?”

It finally came to me why he was telling me all this, but I wanted to hear it from his thin pale-blue lips.

“I have no desire to exterminate the population of Earth, Jade. They serve a purpose just as all the other species out there, but the progression of metahumans accessing the nexus, must cease. Once it weakens enough, it collapses. At that point, Earth will not only be the planet that seeded the universe, but it will also hold the distinction of being the planet that spills over every reality in existence. That’s a lot, by the way.”

The need to wait for an answer led me to jump the gun a little. “How long until that happens?”

He shrugged. “You’ve seen the strength of the various nexus points, over the next year they will increase geometrically. There will be no need for outside factors to influence the triggering of the metagene. Anyone that has even a hint of the gene in their DNA will become metahuman. Once that occurs…”

“Boom.”

“Indeed.”

“Guardian. You spoke of Magic and those that fashion themselves as gods. Do they not have the capability to seal these breaches?”

The look on Appa’s face was one of minor distain. “I hold faith in the physical, Ring. Magic, such as it is, represents minor minds seeking to control aspects of chaos of which they only have an inkling of understanding. No, I cannot foresee that route as a possible aid. The gods are simply beings such as me with power above and beyond those of even the metahuman level, but it is not enough.”

That didn’t sit too well with me. “I’ve seen some of the things that the more powerful of these magic users on Earth can accomplish. Have you even consulted them with your theories?”

“They are not theories any long, Jade. You must use your newfound power and do the same to Earth as you did to Qward, locking the progression of the access, or remove all beings with evidence of the metagene from Earth, or erase the metagene from existence. Those are your choices.”

There it was; his final solution.

“I don’t have that right.”

That was the first and only time I would ever hear a sitting Guardian laugh. It was then that I knew why they restricted their emotions. It was a hideous sound.

“You are at the precipice of your evolution, Jade. The Zamarons have seen to that.” He motioned to my hand. “You stand where I stood countless millennia ago, when offered a choice of remaining powerful and merely helpful or taking advantage of an offer for untold power and immortality so that you can mold the beings under your care into productive members of your society.”

He sat his empty glass aside and leaned forward on his chair. “You have a chance to be a new breed of Guardian for your people, one not based on Will alone, but of Love as well. Does your responsibility lay with the few on Earth or the hundreds of trillions of the universe?”

TBC...

“Is this guy serious, Ring?” I thought to my partner.

Given initial access and the added power source donated by your new physiology, I have been able to access previously unknown files in my database.

“The ones he blocked?”

Affirmative.

According to the research he has compiled, I am forced to agree with his conclusions regarding the inevitable outcome. However, I believe you should explore those options that he has disregarded as unreliable and chaotic. Therein lays a possible solution or a temporary one at the very least.

“Magic.”

Affirmative.

“You don’t think the Zamarons and this power I’m supposed to have is a solution?”

One of many. The terraforming process of Mars will be concluded within the month, enough for breathable air at the very least. We could transplant the metahumans and the potentials in question to the planet as a temporary solution. I have enough information to scan the population and find potential metas.

Shaking my head as we exited the wormhole above Zamaron, I said, “I can’t see them going for it unless they know the reasons behind the problem.”

That would be inadvisable. If the truth came out, there would be a high probability of immediate testing and a resulting genocide. The planet would be thrown into a constant state of war between the metahumans and the mundane population.

“So my choice is to kidnap 6500 plus people and move them to Mars, as a last ditch effort.”

I would use that as a last resort, yes.

“Great. We’ll call that plan B.”

~O~

Sora’nik wasn’t pleased with me for leaving unannounced.

“You don’t know what that could have done to you. Your control over your ring could have been compromised. “

“Honey, I don’t control my ring. She’s a sentient being. Besides, it’s a power up for her.”

Her lips pressed together cutely, or at least I thought it was cute. Other people might run away from her if she looked at them like that.

“Let me see your hand. I need to check if it’s progressed any.”

“Lantern Natu. I have been constantly scanning Jade’s new appendage and there has been no change since the beginning.”

I willed my glove off and the sleeve up anyway, just to placate her curiosity.

“She’s worried, Ring.”

Sora’nik’s eye lifted and her frown deepened before she continued her examination.

“Besides, if I wasn’t in top condition, I wouldn’t be able to return that nice sponge bath she gave me.”

She twisted my arm more than it really was supposed to go, but I kept my grin in place. I did notice her cheeks going a cute shade of brown though.

“Ring, could you call in Guy and the guards,” I said. “We need to bring them into the situation.”

“Acknowledged.” There was a brief pause. “Incoming transmission from American Dream.”

“Go ahead Courtney.”

“Jade, you wouldn’t happen to be on Earth, would you?”

“Uh, no, I’m about sixteen galaxies away at the moment. What’s up?”

There was a lengthy pause after that. “My bosses want to have a chat with you.”

I chuckled. “I thought I was persona non grata at the moment.”

“Gemma and I cleared that up with some help from John Stewart. The warrant has been rescinded for you and the other two. There are some human rights activists that are still up in arms, but they need something to crow about and you’re the latest hot topic. Plus, the ACLU is about to have kittens at the prospect of more clients.”

With a roll of my eyes I said, “The Sinestro Corps aren’t human.”

“I don’t really think the ACLU cares. It’s a chance to represent and alien species. Anyway, the boys in red, white, and blue want to know about the Sinestro Corps. Stewart gave them the need to know stuff to get you off the hook, but he’s not budging on other things.”

I shook my head. “It’s a moot point, Courtney. I took out their home base and their leadership yesterday. What’s left of them is in disarray at the moment and the GL’s should be able to mop them up a lot easier.”

“Oh… okay, I’ll let them know. But if you’re in the neighborhood, you still might want to stop on in, for PR’s sake if nothing else. Your image took a real hit.”

“Noted. I’ll see you soon.”

“Warrant?” Sora’nik asked as soon as the connection broke.

“The attack on Earth got filmed somehow and the government got their panties in a bunch because it happened in their airspace.”

She shrugged it off. “You’ll learn quickly that local governments are very territorial sometimes. On a happier note, your hand appears to be stable. I don’t like what it’s done to your blood and your bone marrow however.”

“As long as I can still function and I’m not looking at growing a crystal horn out of my forehead or something, I’ll let it go.”

“Try not to get traumatically injured in the near future, just in case.”

I blinked and tried to look innocent. “It’s not like I go out and hold up a sign that reads, ‘free pot-shots, and win a cupie-doll’ or something.”

She crossed her arms which was one of my more favored of her poses. “You attract trouble, Jade. Like a Mavonian rat attracts Pofors.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, whatever it was.”

~O~

We needed drinks by the time the hour was up and the story told.

Guy was strangely contemplative as he swirled around some orange liquor at the bottom of his glass. “Just when you think your life has purpose, another case of ass-bite comes along and lets you know your place in the universe.”

Bleet was passed out on top of the table. Apparently his species doesn’t have very efficient livers.

Sora’nik sat by looking at me contemplatively.

“What?”

“I’m trying to picture you as a Guardian. I just can’t see it.”

“I’m not a Guardian,” I said.

“Not yet.”

“What?” Maybe the alcohol was confusing me.

She looked down at my hand. “Ring would you mind replaying the portion I’m talking about?”

“Not at all, Lantern Natu. Thank you for asking me.”

It was the part where Appa was giving me the turn to the dark side speech.

“You are at the precipice of your evolution, Jade. The Zamarons have seen to that.”

I watched as he motioned to my hand. I must have ignored it before, or I was so befuddled at that point that I missed it.

“You stand where I stood countless millennia ago, when offered a choice of remaining powerful and merely helpful or taking advantage of an offer for untold power and immortality so that you can mold the beings under your care into productive members of your society.”

When the replay stopped, I looked at Sora’nik and then at Guy who was staring at Bleet. Oh, nevermind, he was staring at my hand. Suu was staring at my hand… and Lyja as well. Slowly, I dragged it back and slipped it under the table.

The information that I was evolving or whatever wasn’t because Appa had any influence to make it happen, it was because the Zamarons had attached a new crystal hand to the end of my arm and altered my physiology. Apparently Appa considered this an evolutionary step up in my species with the possibility of becoming more in the future.

“If I turn blue and start to have an attitude problem, I give you permission to shoot me.”

Sora’nik smiled. “You already have an attitude problem.”

“But I’m still Caucasian… well most of me is anyway, and I plan on staying that way.”

“I wish I was purple,” Guy said with a drunken frown on his face. “Heh, I think my nipples are hard.”

I blinked. “Okay, what the heck is he drinking?”

The guards weren’t very helpful with their suggestions, but Sora’nik decided to offer something.

“You mentioned the users of magic on your world.”

I nodded.

“Perhaps we could consult one of them. Appa is known for his vast field of knowledge, but there is always something new to learn.”

Considering that for a few moments, I tried to think of someone that would be knowledgeable enough in the arcane to maybe know something about what’s going on. That was simple enough.

~O~

I contacted Gemma and we made plans to meet up at the headquarters for the BPRD, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense in Houston. About thirty minutes and three wormholes later, we exited into space above Earth.

Bleet was grumpy about being woken, but Sarl assured me that made him that much more dangerous of a fighter.

“There’s nothing more fearsome than a hung-over Hl’venite,” he said.

I looked back at Bleet. His fur had a pale tinge to it and he looked like he was about to barf. Fearsome was not an adjective I would attribute to the look.

“Uh-huh.”

My attention was drawn back to the big blue marble.

“Are you sure we are not going to be hunted by this planet’s authorities?” asked Sarl.

“I trust Courtney. If she says we’re clear then we’re clear.”

“If I may make a suggestion, Jade.”

I shrugged.

“Lyja’s shape shifting ability can be used to impersonate you…”

Shaking my head, I waved him off. “This is my home, Sarl.”

“As you command.”

It was starting to become clear to me when Sarl wasn’t happy with a decision I made he’d give that reply. “Come on, grumpy-bones; let’s see if we can save the universe with magic.”

We went in cloaked, just to be on the safe side. There was no need in tempting fate. No matter how good the security was at the Astrodome, the headquarters of the BPRD, it still couldn’t hold a candle to the infiltration abilities of a Power Ring.

Ring located Gemma’s position within the underground facility, which luckily enough was the strategy room. Abe was with her which made me slightly annoyed. I specifically told her it needed to be a private conversation.

It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Abe, but he was a normal human and once he found out about the threat to the world, I didn’t know if he would side with the metas or the mundanes.

When I dropped the cloak, Abe flinched and then frowned. “I hate it when you do that. How did you get through the aura shield we had put up?”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “There was a shield?”

Gemma was suppressing a smile behind her hand, her little bracelet with the red stone twinkled at me.

“BLARG!”

“Why is there a chipmunk dressed in a Star Sapphire uniform yakking in my trashcan?” asked Gemma.

I motioned to the chairs surrounding the table for my guards. “He’s not a chipmunk. He’s a hung-over Hl’venite.”

“We’ll that explains that.” She leaned forward, fingering a rosary that was wrapped around her left hand. “So what’s up?”

My eyes landed on Abe for a moment before returning to her and she answered before I asked the question.

“If there’s an unexplained mystical phenomenon that needs explaining, then Abe’s your man. If it needs destroying then I’m your girl. If it needs annoying then I can call Liz in.”

“Secure the room, Ring.”

Acknowledged.

Several metal shutters dropped down covering the windows that were exposed to the outer hall and a thin violet haze covered the walls. Throughout the room, small violet orbs appeared.

Gemma and Abe looked around. It was Abe that spoke. “What are those?”

“Surveillance devices being silenced. This information must never leave this room, ever.”

Gemma looked like she was about to blow a gasket. “We’re bugged?!”

I shrugged. “Not anymore. I hope they weren’t expensive.”

Her right hand clenched and started to turn red, but it faded back just as quickly. “Oh, I hope they were very expensive. Whoever planted them is going to have to explain that expense to their superior. Would you mind…?”

I answered with a grin. “Suu, would you interface with the BPRD’s security computer and sweep the complex for everything that doesn’t belong?”

When I turned back around I had Ring display Appa’s picture of the Earth complete with all the neat little black lines crisscrossing everywhere.

Gemma looked at it for a few moments and then to Abe who answered. “It looks like a Lay Line map of the Earth. Sorry to tell you this, Jade, but you can get this off of Wikipedia. Though it…” He tilted his head to the side and then stood up to get a closer look.

“It’s shifted. Red, check out Houston.”

I rotated it and expanded the globe. “Whoa.” She looked at me, curiously. “Where did you get this, and is it current?”

“The map is current as far as I know,” I answered. “What’s a Lay Line?”

Abe sat back down, but his eyes kept exploring the globe. “Scientifically, it’s a series of chance alignments that really don’t lead to anything of any significance. It’s all just random chance that any three or more points eventually intersect each other. In other words, nothing of any significance can be attributed to the intersection points.”

At my blank stare he dumbed it down for me. “If I assigned points as New York, L.A., and Houston, and randomly drew a line in any particular direction, eventually they would intersect, over a point on Earth like Moscow or somewhere else. It doesn’t mean anything… just that there’s an intersection.”

“Okay, you said scientifically. Am I to assume there’s an unscientific explanation?”

His eyes went back up to the globe. “Magic.”

I looked back at my guards. They seemed interested in the explanation, except for Bleet. He was lying, propped up against the trashcan, holding his stomach.

“Sorcerers and various magic users are of the mind that the randomness of the intersections proves their point,” Abe continued. “The chaos of it all, that everything is connected in some way, but not in a way that is stable.”

He tapped certain areas on the map where the lines formed conjunctions. “These areas are theoretically the points where magic is highly accessible even for the layman. And Houston seems to be the grand-daddy of them all.”

Gemma broke in at that point. “That’s flows with what we’ve experienced in the past. There are always places on Earth where supernatural events are concentrated. Over the past two hundred years, it’s been in Hong Kong, Istanbul, London and New York. About a year ago, it moved to Houston. That’s why we relocated.”

I rubbed at my temples. “A year ago?”

“Yeah, right about the time that… oh.” She went quiet, as she probably came to the conclusion that it occurred when I became a Green Lantern.

“So…” I said as I gave my attention back to her. “Has anything out of the ordinary been happening, magic-wise in these areas?”

She shrugged. “Out of the ordinary, no, not really. It’s always been the way it is, as far back as there are written records.”

Pointing at her bracelet, I said, “Even that?”

“Strangely enough, yes. There’s always something weird and mystical on the horizon, and I’ve encountered and used my fair share.”

Abe had finally had enough of the globe. “Where’s all this going?”

I glanced back at my guards and then to Abe. “We have reason to believe that this is unstable, and if I don’t do something about it within the next year then the Earth goes boom.”

They looked at each other and it appeared they were saying something with their eyes or body gestures. Then Gemma nodded. “Kale.”

“Kale?” I asked. “Like the lettuce?”

Abe shook his head. “Jennifer Kale. She’s the most knowledgeable, besides the Sorceress Supreme, and we have no idea where nurmero uno is at the moment.”

~O~

You wouldn’t expect to find the second most powerful sorceress on the planet at the fifty-sixth floor of the Bank America building downtown. The top floors, I was informed, were all hers, and from Ring’s scan’s she was on there, floating over the middle of a big room.

The windows were blacked out to the naked eye, from our side, but Ring lit it up with a cone of violet light, letting us see through the walls and windows as if they weren’t even there.

From what Gemma said, Jennifer Kale was paranoid beyond reason. It was the only reason she wasn’t chosen as the Sorceress Supreme over the current holder of the office.

That was the reason I chose not to arrive in force. Instead I talked Sarl into allowing Bleet to accompany me as my pet. The Hl’venite didn’t like the subterfuge, but submitted since it was more likely that I stood a chance of being attacked.

Jennifer Kale was seated in the lotus position with her eyes closed, floating about four feet above the floor above a pentagram that was lined with several lit candles. There was nobody else around. Since I was getting bored waiting around for her to come out of the trance or her meditation, I dropped my cloak and tapped on the window.

Her eyes snapped open and she didn’t look too happy.

The Sorceress’ legs unfolded and she dropped to the floor gracefully before waving a hand and extinguishing the candles. It was obvious by the way she was dressed that she wasn’t expecting any visitors. Short shorts and a top that barely made it past her breasts was all that she wore. Not that it didn’t look good on her, it did. Pretty much any early twenties girl in good shape could dress like that and I’d think it looked good.

A few moments later she was by the window looking me over carefully and then mouthing, “What do you want?”

I pulled up a small version of the Lay Line globe so that I could easily shield it, but enough to let her know what it was.

“Answers,” was my reply.

She stared at it for a few moments and then leaned forward to get a closer look. Her eyes narrowed then shifted to Bleet.

After taking a few steps back she waved her hand and the window disappeared. “If you enter willingly and offer me harm, I will destroy you, impressive reputation or not.”

“I’m just here for information, so the same goes for you.”

She stepped back and cocked her head, so I entered and touched down. The window was replaced immediately. “I need to erect some privacy shields.”

Jennifer Kale narrowed her eyes again. “Mine are sufficient.”

“Ring, scan the area for surveillance devices.”

“Scanning. There are none present in this room there are several located underneath and in the adjacent buildings directed at this floor.”

She smirked. “And how many are penetrating my shield?”

“Three of twenty-nine.”

Her face turned murderous. A moment later her cell phone was in her hand and she was severely cussing out whoever was on the other end.

When she finally hung up she reluctantly nodded and the room was surrounded by a faint purple light.

“The damn NSA is employing every demon they can get their hands on to find out what I’m up to. I can’t keep up with their state of the art techno-magic devices.”

“Techno-magic?”

She looked at me wide-eyed. “Don’t think that it’s not out there. Alien technology mixed with black magic. But you’d know that wouldn’t you. You’re an alien too.”

I was beginning to think coming to her was a bad idea. She was seriously whacked out. “Actually I was born, at Texas Women’s Hospital. I’m a hundred percent human.”

Jennifer rolled that around in her mouth for almost a minute before setting the issue aside.

“What’s with your Lay Line map?”

Projecting the image again I expanded it, so she could take a better look. It was studied and Jennifer walked around it looking at the various points of interest. Afterward she nodded. “Looks right. So, what about it?”

“I have a good source that says something about this, um map, isn’t right. It’s unstable, growing.”

She looked taken off guard. “Unstable? It’s magic derived from Chaos. Of course it’s unstable. But if you mean more unstable than normal then you need to fire your source. It’s wrong. The lines of power have been the same since the beginning and they will remain the same. The web shifts around the world, never staying in the same place for more than a half-century, but never alters its shape.”

I was considering what she was saying and wondered if Appa took the shift into account maybe he was measuring the same power or whatever in the same place every time. Perhaps he had reached the wrong conclusion because what might have been a weak place a thousand years ago was now a nexus point today.

“Have you ever heard of the multiverse?” I asked.

She looked puzzled for a second. “Multi… you mean alternate dimensions? What about them? By the way, your chipmunk looks ill.”

I spared a glance at Bleet. “He’s hung-over.”

Jennifer took the news in stride like it was an everyday occurrence. The woman was seriously weird.

“You don’t want to mess around with other dimensions. Lots of demons. Dormammu is starting to become a serious pain in my butt.” She paused for a second. “Say… how did you hear about me. I go to a lot of trouble to stay under the radar.”

“BPRD. I have friends.”

Jennifer’s eyes went glassy and a look of pleasure drew across her face. “Has Red figured out a way to restore that gorgeous body of his? I tell you the man has stamina like you wouldn’t believe.” She held her hands almost a foot apart. “And his shlong… woof.”

“Uh, no.”

Her lower lip pouted out. “Poo. What a waste. Damn Sewer Fairies. I would have annihilated them for him, but he had to go and destroy the whole lot before… ah, ancient history.”

The globe blinked out and I was trying to get the image of Gemma possessing a foot-long shlong out of my head, but it was an unwieldy sight that just wouldn’t go away.

“Are we done? Can I astral project in peace now?”

“One more question.” She started tapping the toe of her foot against the hardwood floor. “Do you think the dramatic rise of the metahumans in certain areas can be attributed to the position of the Lay Lines… the concentrated areas?”

She pondered and stopped tapping the foot. “Sure. I can see the mystical energy that’s available in the area, especially Houston, could jump start them. Think of it like a bunch of firecrackers on the ground and a flame hovering over them. The bigger the flame is the more likely that any number could be lit. If the flame is big enough then all of them could go off. Boom.”

Boom.

~O~

By the time we’d gotten to Mars and bordered the Phy’zzon, I was tired of trying to figure everything out. I just went straight to my room, showered, and found my bed.

Eight hours later I woke up to silence. For once in about a week I hadn’t been awakened to find some kind of crisis. I lay in bed for another thirty minutes reveling in the calm and semi-sleep until I couldn’t take it anymore. It seemed like I’d gotten into such a routine that I could just stay there not being responsible.

The fact of the matter was there was a crisis that had to be dealt with, the sooner the better.

Once I’d made myself presentable, I had Ring place a call in to Appa.

“Hello, you’ve reached the message reception account of Appa Ali Apsa. He’s not available at the moment, but if you leave your name and sector number he’ll return your message as soon as possible.”

I frowned. Even on Oa, voicemail is the bane of my existence. “Appa, it’s Jade. I’ve run into a snag about the thing we discussed yesterday. We need to talk. Oh… 281…” Beep! “4.”

“Jade do you feel up to creating the next set of rings for assignment?”

“Already?”

“The secondary rings in most sectors have been claimed. There are still a number of primary rings in search for military minded wielders.”

“How many total are we talking about?”

“1510 of 1753 Primaries and 3802 of 3972 Secondary for a total of 5312 of 5725 Star Sapphire Corps members have been chosen.”

“Whoa. Didn’t we just send those secondary rings off a couple days ago?”

“The standards are much lower for regular Corps members, simply that they have the ability to possess great love, the willingness to help others, and the not evil restriction. There are a number of sectors that have few inhabited planets and those that will support life are limited to non-sentient life forms.”

That made me feel a little better. Apparently there was a lot of love in the universe. “Yeah, let’s make sure they get the help they need. The universe may be chock full of love, but it has its share of misery as well.”

While I was waiting for the guard to assemble themselves I thought about the Nexus/Lay Line problem. I wasn’t entirely convinced anymore that Appa was infallible. On the other hand, Jennifer Kale wasn’t the most stable person on Earth. However, she was paranoid. If there was a remote possibility that she suspected the Lay Lines might pose a problem then I think she would have been on top of it or making a big foil hat for her head.

“Ring, do you know how to detect these lines? I mean can you keep track of their growth?”

“I would have to have a Corps member in the vicinity to relay the scans, Jade.”

I frowned. “We don’t have any yet?”

“Yes, we do. You are responsible for Sector 2814.”

“Oh.” Bad Jade. “Well, hopefully we can send a couple to Earth and see if we can get any pickings.”

Until I spoke with Appa, I was tabling the problem.

~O~

The scene was becoming all too familiar: Planet Zamaron, cave, me standing in the middle. The only difference was that Ring sent everyone out and told them to watch from the entrance. I found out why a few seconds later. Virtually the entire cave was filling with purple and pink crystals.

“You’d think I’d be used to this by now.”

“Relax Jade.”

In an instant I was encased once more, except this time things went a little bit different than before.

“Greetings, Star Sapphire Jade Cross.”

The voice was very androgynous; I couldn’t tell if it was male or female.

“We are both and now, due to your sacrifice on Qward, we are one with you as well.”

I felt my heart start to hammer on the inside of my chest. “You’re talking about the loss of my hand, right?”

“Correct.”

If I could breathe properly I would have sighed in relief.

“We felt your need and sent you more than you desire at that moment in time. We apologize for the attachment and transmutation of your circulatory system without your permission; however it was needed in order to maintain the portion of you that we now share.”

“Well, um, thanks, I guess.”

“You are most welcome. Taking into consideration that we are a part of you now, we may travel go with you on your travels. It has been an amazing adventure. We are very pleased.”

That didn’t sound right to me. “I thought the crystals that we carried to power our rings were a part of you.”

“Sadly no. They were once part of us, but they are simply a type of relay now. You and your fellow Sapphires may access power and some minor talents through their crystals, but nothing is transmitted back.”

“So how did you know I was in trouble?”

…

“Hello?” I said when I thought I’d been abandoned.

“We are not sure.”

I mentally shrugged. “At least that’s an honest answer.”

“The Guardian Appa Ali Apsa, Jade Cross.”

“Um, what about him?”

“He is incorrect in his assumptions. You must not interfere with the life on your home planet in the way he describes.”

That revved me up mentally. “You know what’s going on?”

A pleased sensation coursed thought me. “Everything in the universe has its place, Jade Cross.”

“What’s that supposed to mean. Are those line things dangerous?”

“If abused yes. We have several on this planet as well. Please do not interfere with the natural progression of your planet’s evolution.”

At least they were asking me instead of giving me ultimatums. “I’ll monitor the situation and make my decision later.”

“Agreed.” A few moments passed and it opened another subject with me. “Will you accept the Guardianship of your Star Sapphires? We have the opportunity at the moment to complete your transition.”

“Transition to what?”

“Appa Ali Apsa was correct in his observation of your hand. It is the beginning for you if you wish.”

I wanted to rub my temples or pace, something other than being frozen in a block of crystal. “What does that mean?”

“Your talents have increased, Jade Cross, but you are still mortal while we are everlasting. The new blood that courses through your body will slow the process down, and the regenerative properties of your ring can slow that process even further, but you can still be injured. If you cease to exist then you will be lost. If you choose to be one with us you will not experience this problem.”

It didn’t take long at all for me to ask the next question. “What exactly does that entail?”

“Your body will become as your hand. Mobile, under your individual control, separate but a part of us.”

“You mean I’ll be like a human violet crystal…” I was about to say thing, but changed it to, “… person?”

“Correct.”

“No thanks. I’m fine the way I am.”

“Fear of the unknown is natural.”

“It’s not fear. It’s me. I like being who I am,” I said. “And I think immortality has more pitfalls than it has perks. Thanks, but no.”

“As you wish."

“Conversion Complete.”

TBC...