Yue

 22nd January

21:21 GMT

Krandor Vat sat in his dimly-lit study. Ultra-secure briefing pads littered his side table and desk, the simple programs running on them designed to erase all data and then burn out if it even looked like an unauthorised person was looking at them. Most of the content was concerning, though he would admit to himself that little of what was there was actually surprising. As a youth, he had been exposed to magic when Hyathis purged the Equalisation Plague from his body and restored to him the ability to be an individual. Having seen the transformation Thanagarian society went through -with access to the somewhat more objective first hand accounts, rather than the 'cultivated' version he'd seen put into circulation- as a result of magic, combined by twenty years of intelligence reports as Imperial Intelligence fed everything they had on Hyathis's current capacities to him as head of the High Council…

No. It would be lying to say that he believed himself to be beyond being surprised. But he hadn't had a reason to personally review the reports coming from Katar Hol and Shayera Thal. He was but one man, and he knew better than to try to micromanage everything. But now that Earth's-.

Oh, that name. It was almost as if someone made it up as a demeaning insult, only for the locals to take it as a compliment. 'Our whole world is downside'. He felt his lips curl in amusement. But with that place's problems having an increasing impact on the Thanagarian Empire, it seemed prudent to conduct a brief review in order to be properly informed.

Earth was no laughing matter. A figure made of water nearly drowned half the planet, and life continued much as it had before. A demon stole all of their children, and the matter was resolved within a day. Demented geniuses made weapons in secret laboratories that even the Thanagarian Empire's greatest scientists couldn't match. And time travel! One of the reports stated that the Thanagarian Empire would eventually annex the place. Frankly, he wasn't certain that was a good idea.

There was a hum from across the room, and he tidied up the report pads slightly as the teleporter and teleport-filter matched wits and codes for a few moments. Anyone trying to teleport into his presence without exactly the right authorisation would -at best- swiftly find themselves deflected into the holding cells operated by the Ravens. Of course, no system could be perfect…

The area lights up for a moment, and then Andar Pul appears. The High Mor gives him a moment to regain his bearings -he remembers his own superiors being less accommodating once upon a time- before he begins getting answers.

"High Mor."

"Senior Analyst. What news?"

"The strike against the Thasaro cult was a success. Their Blessed One was killed, along with most of their paramilitary arm. I've given conventional law enforcement their orders to deal with the rest."

"Not too thoroughly."

"I felt it best to avoid even implying that. Much as I'd like to write them off as a bunch of deluded fools, they have been running a subversive organisation for thousands of years in the face of government opposition. I doubt we could catch them all even if we wanted to."

"And our inside man is.. in place?"

"Yes. And with Kartez dead, it's likely that the cultists' other leaders will begin to shift their position."

The High Mor bows his head slightly. Almost perversely, Kartez had wanted to use his cult's unusual powers to show their worth to Thanagarian society at large and earn acceptance. And Vat couldn't be certain that it wouldn't have worked. Some more excitable members of the High Council might have gone for it if a Blessed One could defeat a Lantern.

Idiots.

"He knew nothing about the transmutation process himself?"

"He believed that it involved ritual murder, but was unaware of the specifics."

"Pity. I've always thought that executions were wasteful. Are you certain that he told you everything?"

"Everything we could risk asking. The Illustres's technique…" His wings twitch slightly, an unusual nervous display from the normally controlled operative. "Kartez genuinely wanted to help us. It was unnerving."

"Can Lantern Dul perform the same technique?"

"She claims that she has far less control. I'm inclined to believe her, but if need be I can ensure that she gets practice."

"Do so, do so. And the Illustres himself? Is the.. report from the cruiser's commander accurate?"

"The cruiser's sensors are only slightly enhanced, farsight class four. They aren't precise enough to decipher gravitic phenomena with complete reliability, but… I'm inclined to believe it."

That.. was.. troubling. While getting hard figures on what Sector Lanterns could do merely required expending a small number of privateers, no one Imperial Intelligence had been able to contact knew what the limits of Lantern power were.

"At least I can avoid wasting resources trying to develop singularity weapons. The soldiers involved. They're reliable?"

"Yes." Meaning that they wouldn't talk about mission-specifics when they weren't supposed to. The High Mor believed that his people made excellent warriors, but not all were suited to discreet work. "But I wouldn't want to order them to fight a Lantern at any point in the near future. Not after a display like that."

"Is he working with Hyathis?"

"All of the junior analysts I had examining our footage agree that he was telling the truth. Which might be a problem, because if he needs anything else from her he might make a similar deal again."

"Mm. And if we need to do something to prevent that… How did he respond to Operative Bleez?"

"Outright seduction was always a long shot. Particularly given the fact that none of the attacks he endured were true threats to him. Nonetheless, he responded positively. I believe that it's worth arranging for them to remain in contact. His.. idea, about using this opportunity to reduce colonial autonomy..?"

"No. The current arrangement works well enough, and we need their cooperation more than their compliance. As the new colonies become more populous they'll cease to be so significant anyway." The High Mor thinks for a moment. "Are Hol and Thal still dependable?"

"No. We can rely on them for accurate intelligence, but they've gone native. Which should have been predicted. The element of Earth society they joined lionises heroic iconoclasm. They fit in well…"

"Quite. Too well. I fear we have to use them anyway, for another purpose."

"High Mor?"

"Earth has many gods. It's been playing on my mind that one of them might prove to be a better solution."

"I'm… That.. would.. mean that we'd wasted a great deal of-."

Vat silences him with a gesture. "Do not worry yourself about that. Your job, Andar Pul, is to make things happen. And you've risen far by being very good at it. Mine, is to decide whether or not those things are worthwhile." A gesture of obeisance from Pul's wings. "Were we able to get a sample of the… Ancient ship's hull?"

"No. Attempts were made, but none of the tools we could have used without it being immediately obvious made an impact." He pauses as he tries to decipher his superior's intent. "Such a material has applications-."

"The Illustres was open regarding concerns about Onimar Synn. With a first hand account of Ancient Thanagar's theocratic government in our hands, it would be… Convenient if we could learn the secrets of Nth metal transmutation from another source. One without the risks he feels exist."

"Should I put the operation on h-?"

"No. No. Proceed. There's no reason to limit ourselves to a single angle of attack. I think I will encourage Hol and Thal to reach out to our time-lost cousin. As a patriot, I rather like the notion that our forebears cast down our gods by brute force and tenacity. It rather puts our supply problems in perspective."

"Is it worth publicising?"

"Not yet. Perhaps.. when we get a little more detail. That aspect won't be your problem, and a hero we can't reliably kill could become an inconvenience."

"The.. book she was talking about?"

"The Illustres was right. Outright stopping it would be… Difficult. Openly celebrating it would be more sensible, though I'd rather like to influence her ahead of publication." The High Mor gestures to his desk and Pul puts his full written report down on it. A long night of reading ahead. He really was getting too old for this. One last crisis… "That will be all. Thanagar soars supreme."

"Thanagar soars supreme, High Mor."