Chapter 46 - The Talk - Part 2

Green Lantern Corp Headquarters - Planet Oa

At the same time, the council chambers of Planet Oa were abuzz as the leaders of the Green Lantern Corp, the Guardians, convened. Known universally for their immortality, the Guardians were solely focused on maintaining peace. They had preserved order for eons.

The Guardians discovered "the Glow," a potent energy source and created a Central Power Battery to contain this force, which represented a collective manifestation of universal willpower and formed the core of the Emotional Spectrum. By harnessing and shaping this willpower, the Guardians gained a powerful tool.

Currently, ten Guardians sat in the council chamber, radiating an aura of authority and wisdom. Yet, two vacant, partially destroyed chairs served as stark reminders of a big loss. Among them stood Sinestro, John Stewart, and Kilowog, each a formidable Green Lantern tasked with safeguarding their respective sectors. Their expressions were serious and solemn, their attention fixed on the recording from a ring that had selected a new Green Lantern following its previous master's demise.

Adara was brought from her home planet to Oa by the ring, making her a new Green Lantern, a role she had always dreamed of. However, she was saddened by the death of the previous Green Lantern. After she joined, the Guardians asked her to investigate the cause of this death, which was a major concern for them. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Adara agreed to review the battle records with Guardian Dennap's assistance.

In silence, the team watched Adara play the fallen Green Lantern's final moments.

Everyone saw an event that made Adara feel a mix of emotions she'd never experienced before. Her predecessor and another Green Lantern got caught up in the wars of their home planets when they went back. The two planets were destroyed in a terrible war. The Guardians felt upset and let down because the two Lanterns couldn't stop the war. The present veteran Green Lanterns were mad because the past Lanterns got involved in politics and forgot about their Green Lantern duties.

However, what shocked them the most was a colossal, highly advanced warship that appeared in the war zone. Everyone present wore grave expressions as they took in the might of this behemoth. They were astounded by the massive energy beam that decimated the battlefield and halted all parties involved in the conflict. They watched as the ship navigated its way to a small object on the battlefield, scanning it while ignoring all other presences. Their astonishment grew when they saw the warship emerge unscathed from the bombardment of the vessels of the two warring forces, thanks to its advanced energy shield technology.

Everyone was surprised when the warship didn't retaliate after being attacked by the other ships. However, when those ships attacked something the warship was observing, it quickly destroyed them. They witnessed the final moments of the two Green Lanterns who attacked the warship. As the warship prepared to depart, the Green Lanterns attacked. It was clear that the ship couldn't see the Green Lanterns' constructs. The final scenes were tragic and incited anger as the warship assaulted the two lanterns until they perished. The Guardians noticed that the ship had seized one of the rings, with only Adara's ring escaping.

"Two lanterns are dead!" Dennap announced sadly.

"That ship...its advanced technology is unlike anything we've seen before. How is it that we're unaware of such technologies? What is that ship?" another guardian queried.

"Its behavior suggests contempt for those two races. It merely ignored the bombardment from their vessels and only attacked when it was scanning an object," Scar, another Guardian, observed.

"But that's not true for the Green Lanterns. It retaliated directly," Senestro pointed out.

"True. However, the ship's reaction to that attack and its capture of one of the rings suggest that it couldn't detect the incoming construct and might not have encountered a Green Lantern before," Ganthet speculated.

"Also, what was that tiny thing? The ship's actions show that it went into that area just for that thing and protected it, which means it's important. Its reaction was obviously because of the ships' bold attack on the thing," another Guardian pointed out.

"Regardless, we can't ignore the fact that its power is immense, its inhabitants show little respect for life, and most importantly, they killed two of our Green Lanterns," Sinestro stated seriously.

Sinestro's words quieted the Guardians' chatter. All eyes turned to Sinestro and then to Ganthet, who responded, "Sinestro, we understand your concerns and agree that we need to address the warship due to its high threat level. However, we still lack information on its full capabilities. Let's monitor its path and interactions with other races. Sinestro, you and John should go undercover to gather information about the warship from the impacted planets and the merchants frequenting the sector. Meanwhile Kilowog prepare an elite team to face this ship if needed. Have them be on stand by. Once we learn more about the ship based off Sinestro and John's reports we'll make a decision on how to deal with it."

While Sinestro seemed somewhat displeased, he nodded in affirmation of his new mission. He firmly believed in the power of his green ring to overcome any threat, including this warship. John, with his Marine background, readily agreed to follow the order.

After receiving their assignments, they promptly set out. They decided to divide and conquer: one would consult with the involved races, while the other would network with the merchants for updates on the ship. Kilowog on the other hand went on a recruitment drive for his elite team.

Somewhere in the vast expanse of the universe

A warship, cut through the universe at lightspeed. It was trailing the path determined by the telemetry data from the last buoy it had intercepted amidst a war. Even with its advanced warp drive system, the warship was on a long journey because its path was filled with obstacles, including cosmic debris and remains of destroyed worlds.

The warship constantly recalibrated its trajectory, elegantly maneuvering around celestial debris while following its downloaded course.

At the core of the ship, the onboard AI, modeled after Orach's father, was meticulously scanning an intriguing object: a green ring. This wasn't an ordinary ring; it was firmly held by a mechanical arm, resisting with all its might.

At first, the ring fought back, unleashing a powerful force field in an attempt to protect itself. But against the superior technology of the higher realms, the force field was quickly neutralized. Once the AI had penetrated the protective field, it sent out mechanical tendrils to connect with the ring, hoping to gain access to the technology within.

But the AI encountered an unexpected hurdle. The systems of the ship were failing to find a way to access the ring's technology. The AI began to suspect that the ring might not be a product of technology, but rather a creation of magic.

Changing tactics, the AI instructed the tendrils to conduct a comprehensive scan of the ring. For a full five minutes, the tendrils meticulously scanned every bit of the ring.

"ALERT: Initial scan complete. Metallurgical composition analysis: inconclusive."

The AI exclaimed in astonishment, "What? How? What the hell is this metal?" It was taken aback by the unusual nature of the object. Its database was extensive, containing not just the alliance's databanks, but also knowledge from countless lower realms under its jurisdiction. "This universe baffles me. First, a power that we've never encountered before, and now an unknown metal? It's growing more intriguing by the minute," the AI mused.

Despite its advanced capabilities and vast knowledge, the AI was unable to unlock the power within the metal to study its power that gave rise to those constructs that. attacked the ship. From the brief skirmish with the alien species wielding these rings, it had deduced the power source appeared to be light-based. "Could it be Light law manipulation?" the AI pondered aloud. But that seemed unlikely, given the limited knowledge of the primordial laws among the lower realms.

"Hmmm...Once we join the young master, I must insist on exploring this universe further and studying the powers at play. Even though this power and this ring are ridiculously weak, the very fact that they are unknown to us and that our sensors can't detect the attacks from this power make it necessary to study it and devise ways to counter it," the AI determined its next priorities.

Pondering over the details, the AI continued, "Well, at least now we can make preliminary notes about its powers. So far, powers observed include power level enhancement, force field creation, energy construct creation, invisibility, light refraction, and flight."

As the AI processed the data and mulled over the possibilities, a spark of excitement ignited within its eyes. "...it might be a good idea to capture one of their kind alive for extensive experimentation. With a live user, I should be able to delve deeper into the mechanics of these constructs if I exert enough pressure on the captive. Also, these rings don't seem to be distributed randomly. There appears to be a set of directives programmed into them, suggesting that the users are chosen based on specific criteria...Now, I am even more inclined to capture one alive. Here's hoping they give me a reason to retaliate and capture," the AI concluded, eager about the potential experiment.

Suddenly, an inexplicable chill ran down the spines of all Green Lanterns throughout the universe. Their activities came to an abrupt halt as they vigilantly scanned their surroundings for any potential threat. However, they found nothing more than the usual, which only deepened their confusion and unease. The central command at Oa was soon flooded with inquiries from all Lanterns, all expressing concern about the strange chill they had all felt. This unprecedented event even drew the attention of the Guardians, leaving them feeling simultaneously vigilant and perplexed.

Unaware of the widespread unease it had inadvertently caused, the AI concentrated on planning its next steps. While the Saiyan warship journeyed to its next destination, the AI was already preparing for its upcoming experiments, oblivious to the ripple effects its plans were generating across the universe.