Yue

 I'm not a cannibal. And I fight for higher goals than personal survival. I like having people around me I can depend-" She glances down at her ring as it glows brighter. "-u-pon."

"You should spend more time with Lantern Ragnar. I think you'd get on." Hm. I'd rather deal with Diana's crazy aunt sooner rather than later, but… Fifty percent chance that if she's even in the area she's going to attack the Reach to try and recruit female Beetles… And that's a big 'if'. "File a report, but unless we see warships or Empress Astarte herself they're not an imminent concern. Oh, and well done for gaining insight into your own motivations."

She lifts her left hand a little, staring at the ring on her middle finger.

"That's… It? That's all there is to it?"

"How do you mean? You were a part of the Thanagarian military for years. It's hardly surprising that having been born and raised in a heavily militaristic environment you're used to that lifestyle and regard it as normal and appropriate. The Orange Lantern Corps has a cause not contradictory to your core mission or the good of the Empire in a way that some of your previous temporary affiliations might have been…"

"I want to fight for a c-." Her ring surges again.

I smile kindly at her. "Say it."

"I want to fight for a cause, surrounded by people as devoted to it as I am. I don't want to have to watch my own back every moment, I want to know that I can finally depend on the people around me."

"Don't hang around with people if you wouldn't want to die in their company."

"That's… It? I just think about that and now I'm suddenly a stronger Lantern?"

I hold out my left hand and create a trumpet. "Give it a try. Earn your ring."

Her hand's moving before the mace is even fully formed. "HhhhhhhhhAYAH!"

She swings, her mace destroying my construct as she swipes it through the intervening space.

I smile broadly. "Better. And did you feel the difference?"

She looks at her brightly glowing mace. "Yes." She clenches her right fist, construct armour forming around her body. "I did."

"Good show. Try to keep that frame of mind. Lantern Drusa, anything suspicious in the planet's data networks?"

She shrugs disinterestedly. "Dozens of covert monitoring programs. Nothing special. And no indication that anyone's planning anything. I've already sent Administrator Prigatz everything I found on their negotiating positions."

"Odd. Do you think the Reach might have decided to just let this happen?"

"It's… Possible. An attack here would force all of the states on the periphery to work together. The Reach usually prefers to conquer with economic or political manipulation. They can't undermine or infiltrate an organisation that doesn't exist yet."

I snort quietly, nodding as I do so. "You're right. I think I just got too used to Vega." Hm. "Everyone on the periphery is briefed on Reach biomodification and indoctrination techniques. If they've slipped something past our filters, then it's too subtle to change overt behaviour. Lantern R-K'rr, anyone acting outside of their usual manners?"

"Teacher, not to a noteworthy degree. Today has mostly involved Administrator Prigatz passing out information for the delegates' consideration. The true negotiations will begin tomorrow."

I close my eyes for a moment, then turn my head in the approximate direction of the Reach homeworld and look at the desires emanating from that direction. I don't get any detail, just a general sense of Reachiness. Not like anything I've felt flying around this city.

"Then perhaps we'll be fortunate. Any chance we'll have an agreement by the end of tomorrow?"

"Teacher, it is doubtful. Do you think that the odds of us being attacked will increase?"

"No, but there's a major festival on my homeworld the day after next and I'd like to be able to go back for it. And my girlfriend's doing her Darkstar entry assessment and I'll have to fly her back… Clarissi Dox finally called me in for something, I don't really want to disappear after a couple of days, but…"

Lantern Dul frowns for a moment, then shrugs. "I doubt you need to be here all the time. And your file says that you can teleport instantly from anywhere."

"True."

I step out

and back again just behind her to demonstrate. "But other members of the Corps can't. I think it would be unprofessional to treat myself as a special case. And while I can teleport anywhere from anywhere, Jade can't. If I got recalled during the return trip I'd have to dump her in interstellar space. And while she's usually fairly understanding I think that would put me in the dog house."

Lantern Dul twists her right wing tip slightly. "Why not ask Lantern Scott to escort her and join her once the festival begins?"

"Because he's a lot slower than me. I don't know how much long ranged ring flying you've been doing, but I've always found it kind of-."

For a moment there's a discordant note in the patterns of desire around us, as if a desperate need suddenly appeared and then vanished again. Too fast for me to characterise it or precisely locate it. That way, but…

"Did any of you feel that?"

Blank looks from Dul and R-K'rr. Drusa shakes her head, her eyes glowing orange as she accesses the planet's communications network. "No reports of anything significant. What did you feel?"

"An out of place desire." I rise in the air and head for the exit. "Follow me. We're investigating."