Darkstars

“The Indigo Rally”

By Brent Lambert

Who You Need To Know

Chaser Bron A native of Baaltar IV, Chaser is one of the last of the Darkstars. He was present at the Battle of Rann that saw John Stewart badly injured and many of the Darkstars killed by hands of Grayven, Darksied’s third son. Chaser has joined with Ganthet in the hopes of returning the Darkstars to a role of prominence in the universe.

The Controllers They are the brother race to the Guardians of the Universe but, unlike their brethren, they are isolationists by nature. Their plan is to enforce order throughout the universe through any means necessary. This had led them to create an assortment of enforcers, among them the Darkstars, but they abandoned their creation for not being effective enough. It remains to be seen how they will feel about Ganthet picking up where they left off.

The Darkstars After the betrayal of the Manhunters and the failure of NEMO, the Controllers created the Darkstars. They were warriors for justice outfitted with exo-suits that afforded strength, speed and agility of superhuman proportions. These warriors were ultimately abandoned by their creators because they were not up to par, but Ganthet sees great potential in them.

Ferrin Colos A native of the planet Zamba, Ferrin joined the Darkstars after his planet was ravaged by the Qinoori. He gained a powerful reputation amongst the Darkstars and was one of its brightest. There is some resentment in his heart towards John Stewart for leaving the organization after the Battle of Rann and taking Merayn, a woman he has feelings for, with him.

Ganthet The last of the Guardians to exist after the madness of Parallax, he was left to be the sole protector of the Green Lantern power. With only three Green Lanterns left in existence, Ganthet has gathered the elite force known as the Darkstars under his banner to help fill in the gap. Being eons old, Ganthet is not so quick to relinquish his people’s role of universal protector.

Guy Gardner One of the last three Green Lanterns left in existence, Guy is known for his hothead and ‘anything I want to say I’ll say’ attitude. It often puts him at odds with those around him, but those who know him come to love him. Prior events have revealed to him that he is the last hybrid member of a once great warrior race known as the Vuldarians.

John Stewart One of the last three Green Lanterns left in existence, John has become the right hand of Ganthet and the Guardian has decided to bring the Darkstars under his wing. John himself was a former commander in the Darkstars so his experience there has proven invaluable in the transition. As of late, John’s Guardian powers have begun to resurface and he wonders just how powerful he will become.

Merayn Dethalis She was a Darkstar from Bavacqua Seven who is romantically linked to John Stewart. The two have had an on again, off again relationship that is currently back on. She senses the tension Ferrin has towards John but is busy trying to adjust to the growing role John is taking in universal matters.

Munchuk A native of the planet Urrigen and one of the last remaining members of the Darkstars. Despite his large size, the alien is a friendly soul and has grown quite close to all of his remaining Darkstars since the devastating Battle of Rann. He is trying to help Ferrin move past his feelings of resentment but to no avail.

Prince Uzoomba The third son of Lord Moreti VII of Palu and leader of the Ozais Hickar, his father’s elite army. Terrible civil war is gripping his planet and Uzoomba has asked for Ganthet’s help in resolving the problem. He knows that something is amiss with the opposition and wants to discover the source of their advanced weaponry.

Soranik Natu A highly skilled surgeon from the planet of Korugar and daughter of the hated Sinestro. She wonders why Ganthet has come to her for aid and taken her to the planet Mogo, but she is willing to hear the Guardian out. He is sending her out on a mission she doesn’t quite yet understand.

The Povesanu Nebula

Soranik navigated through the various gases making up the nebula, the place where stars and potentially planets would be born. These gases and other particles were the building blocks of solar systems and they stretched for light-years. Despite the splendor and sheer power of creation in this part of space, Soranik still wondered why Ganthet had sent her here. What was there to be found? And in all this emptiness, all she could think about was the one thing that had been on her mind since Ganthet had found her.

How could Thaal Sinestro be her father?

::COMMANDER. I AM PICKING UP A POWERFUL ENERGY SIGNAL TWO THOUSAND MILES BELOW US::

“Then take us down. This may be what Ganthet sent me out here for,” Soranik said, hoping that her mission to this empty celestial body was soon to be over. She wanted to return to Mogo where she would have other sentient beings around her, beings that could divert her feelings away from the foul thought that plagued her mind over and over. She yearned for distraction from her thoughts.

Her golden, spherical ship quickly descended and covered the two thousand mile distance. Soranik was in awe as the ship settled in front of the energy source. It was a powerful blue light that filled the entire bridge of the tiny vessel to the point that Soranik had to shield her eyes from the radiance. Honestly, the Korugar native had never seen or felt such a powerful light in her life. It was as if the light was filling her with something she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Hope.

Pulling back her hand from her eyes, Soranik squinted and saw the source of the light. Floating in the middle of the helium, hydrogen, and other mixed gases was a blue lantern. And in that moment, Soranik understood why Ganthet had sent her to this place. The blue light felt more right than anything in Soranik’s life besides her laser scalpel. This lantern was hers and Ganthet had meant for her to come to the Povesanu Nebula to realize that.

Words were reaching out to her mind. Words that she knew were ancient and powerful. The voice that spoke them was musical and soft like a wave lapping at your feet. Soranik’s mind went back to when her Uncle (at least she thought he was her Uncle) took her to Luiko Beach in the fall and let her play in the water. It had been as peaceful as these words were now:

In fearful day, in raging night,
With strong hearts full, our souls ignite,
When all seems lost in the War of Light,
Look to the stars -- For hope burns bright!

Palu
South Mobalica - The South Side of Mari-Starlin

Guy flew through the skyscrapers of the city’s business district wondering if the others really had any idea just how serious this conflict might be. His personality kept him from admitting to being nervous in front of them, but he was. Unlike the others, he personally knew just how dangerous Vuldarians could be. Their memories were in his mind and he had faced down a Vuldarian hybrid like himself before. The Vuldarians had not earned their reputation as some of the fiercest warriors in the universe for no reason. They were skilled in combat like few others were, and if they were supporting the Secessionists he wasn’t sure how much of a chance Prince Uzoomba and his people really stood.

Still, Guy wasn’t going to abandon them and he’d fight to his last breath to keep the White Book of Omri from being used to destructive ends. If there was anyone better suited to fighting Vuldarians then it was someone who had their blood flowing through his veins. Guy’s Vuldarian powers had since vanished but the DNA was still in him nonetheless, and he would fight as fiercely as any of them and protect this city. With all that was going on, Guy was beginning to wonder if the Vuldarians were really as noble as the memories had led him to believe. Perhaps their memories were tainted by mortal perspective and they had only seen themselves as noble when they were anything but. That saddened Gardner some as he had always enjoyed the fact that the blood of a noble race flowed through him, but now he had to call that into question.

There was one thing that wasn’t in question for the Green Lantern and that was his dedication to protecting this city. It was too beautiful for him to let go up in flames. The skyscrapers were a mixture of purple, red and blue glasses that stretched as high as any building on Earth, all of them were octagonal in shape and along all of their centers was beautiful stained glass depicting the faces of what he could only assume to be important Altah-Nemtu. At the top of most of the skyscrapers were giant stone statues of Mobal Leafs and Guy was again reminded of how uncomfortable they were to sit in. How the Altah-Nemtu ever thought such uncomfortable plants were an expression of love was beyond him! They might as well have given them a bed of needles to sit on.

A deep foreboding rumble was heard about a mile ahead and Guy knew that it was the signs of a battle. The Secessionists would stop at nothing to get the White Book of Omri and they would tear right through this city to get it. Rushing forward with a green forcefield around him, Guy flew tight and fast through the skyscrapers until he was at the edge of the city. The battle greeted him head on as a square blue projectile nearly struck him out of the sky. Angrily, Guy searched for the source of the attack and saw what looked like a truck-sized beige seahorse on two wheels. Where the seahorse’s mouth would have been, there was a long square shaped barrel covered in red spikes. There was a whole line of about forty of those vehicles trying to press their way into the city as they served as the front line of the Secessionist’s forces.

Behind the seahorse-looking attack vehicles were a line of a dozen machines that looked like giant Daddy Longlegs, only instead of a head there was a shimmering blue sphere with an Altah-Nemtu pilot planted firmly in it. On top of the sphere were two large cannons that were unleashing a fury of pink projectiles upon the forces protecting the city. Behind them were about sixty Altah-Nemtu riding black hover cycles and further back were around two hundred Altah-Nemtu on foot, each holding red energy staffs in each hand. It was who was at the very back of the lines that caught Guy’s attention: three Vuldarians were seated on what looked like three headed horses with white scales. They had overwhelming numbers and technology, leaving the Altah-Nemtu fighting to protect their city in desperate need of Guy’s aid.

“Time to rain some hell on these guys!” Guy said as he flew above the opposing forces and pointed his ring downward. Without much effort, car sized green asteroids began to pour out of his ring one after the other. They crashed down amongst the Vuldarian’s troops and the Altah-Nemtu began to scatter. One asteroid crashed right on top of one of the seahorse looking vehicles and a loud purple explosion followed behind the machine’s destruction.

The city’s defenders became more confident and began to rise up from their ramparts constructed from the wreckage of the city. They pointed their energy staffs at their would-be attackers and opened fire. Thin lines of red lasers cut across the landscape and began to cut into the Secessionist forces. Guy appreciated their courage, but knew it would get them killed. Even with his help, they were still outnumbered three to one. Stopping his asteroid barrage, he erected a large wall of green energy in front of the city defenders. Then, using the ring to create a giant microphone, he said, “You guys stay put and let me mop these clowns up!”

The three Vuldarians heard Guy’s boast and were angered by it. The middle Vuldarian looked to his brethren and said, “Kiluk-Sa and Gornig-Ba, I think we shall silence this Green Lantern. His boasts have already made me tired.”

“And I will not answer to the Masters as to why we could not penetrate the city,” Kiluk-Sa said.

“Then it is done. Lead the way, Turus-Al, and we will break this Green Lantern,” Gornig-Ba agreed. Green Lanterns had once been great warriors and it would be a pleasure for the Vuldarian to engage one in combat. He would have great bragging rights amongst his brood if the Lantern was destroyed.

Black, rubbery wings burst out of the sides of the three-headed horse creatures that the Vuldarians were riding and they took into the air towards Gardner. Guy saw them coming on approach and spoke into the giant microphone again. “Ok guys, I’m going to drop the shield. Hold your ground and don’t let these guys come anywhere near your city! This is your time so make it happen!”

Turus- Al came on a direct approach at Guy while Gornig-Ba was attempting to flank him on the right and Kiluk-Sa on the left. Guy quickly erected a shield around himself as Turus-Al’s riding animal spit out a spark of black energy from each of its mouths. The sparks struck Guy’s shield and caused it to fizz in and out of existence. Gornig-Ba took advantage of the effect by transforming his hand into a giant mallet and slamming Guy in the side with it. The Green Lantern went spinning through the air and struggled to hold on to consciousness.

“Get it together,” Guy shouted to himself as he righted his flight direction in mid-air.

Kiluk-Sa smiled at the Green Lantern with large razor sharp, white teeth as he approached Guy from the left side. His chompers looked like they could give a Great White some competition and because of Gornig-Ba’s blow, the Vuldarian was right on top of Guy. Having transformed both of his arms into large energy cannons, Kiluk-Sa unleashed a volley of blasts on the still slightly disoriented Guy. He avoided most of the blasts but two of the blue balls of force hit him dead in the chest. His shield was still fizzing in and out so some of the blasts hit him directly.

Kiluk-Sa continued to smile. “The vorselino is a creature capable of disrupting all forms of energy, Green Lantern.”

Guy wanted to punch that smile right off the Vuldarian’s face but was positive he’d rip his hand off in the process. Besides, he didn’t have time to let his temper get the best of him. The Vuldarians were quickly surrounding him and he needed to find a way out of it. Discovering what that way was wasn’t easy since he was so busy ducking and dodging energy blasts from all three Vuldarians, who had transformed their arms into large energy weapons, not to mention having to avoid the attacks of the vorselinos, which were the deadliest of all. Dipping low toward the ground, Guy waited until he was almost right on top of their forces and executed his attack. The shield that had been surrounding his body quickly expanded in size into a massive sphere.

The Secessionists were either crushed or scattered by Guy’s quick maneuver and very suddenly the forces of Governor Buvi had the advantage. Turus-Al and the other Vuldarians were forced to fly upwards to avoid the swiftly expanding green sphere. Gornig-Ba wasn’t able to rise fast enough and was knocked off of his vorselino. He went rolling down the frictionless sphere with great speed trying to concoct some way to survive the fall and keep from being crushed like the stupid Altah-Nemtu below. Depending on his brethren to save him would have been foolhardy and cowardly, as it was not the Vuldarian way. He would have to save himself, but that choice was taken from him as Guy came flying through the sphere, wrapping his hands around Gornig-Ba’s throat.

“You were once a brave and noble people! What the hell happened to you?” Guy demanded as he crushed the life out of the large, purple-skinned alien with hands enhanced by the power of his ring.

Gornig-Ba had immediate respect for the Green Lantern. To keep his concentration on expanding the sphere while attacking him had to be phenomenal. “You know nothing of our people, Green Lantern. Our nobility brought us our doom.”

“I know plenty, you son of a bitch! I’m part Vuldarian.”

The revelation stunned Gornig-Ba for a moment but then he knew how it could be possible. He gripped the wrists of Gardner and transformed his hands into vices that were growing ever tighter. “You are an abomination! The son of the cowards who ran away instead of embracing the power given to us.”

Guy began to spin around at mach speeds until the Vuldarian let go of his wrists but he still had a grip on his neck. His eyes narrowed at the tainted warrior as he said, “Coward this!”

He let go and the Vuldarian flew off into the Palu sky like a rocket. When he stopped spinning, Turus-Al and Kiluk-Sa were staring at him. Turus-Al was the only one to speak. “You have won this day, Green Lantern, but know that you will lose. You and your precious Ganthet.”

As he finished, the two Vuldarians and their vorselinos dissipated into molecules and were teleported to parts unknown. Guy nodded at the empty space. “We’ll see each other again. Put money on it.”

Tapping his radio ear piece Guy said, “The south of the city is secured.”

The Naatu Hilak
Above the East Side of Mari-Starlin

“Read you loud and clear, Guy. Good work,” John said as he entered in the navigation flight plan that would take him right over the Secessionist forces.

He was about to rain holy hell down on all of them.

The idea of that kind of death and destruction wasn’t what John wanted but it had to be done. If these dark gods were freed there was no telling what would happen to the people of Palu. John had already seen one world destroyed on his watch; he wasn’t going to watch another burn down in flames as well.

“Computer, on my mark I want you to target all forward and auxiliary batteries on coordinate blocks 45, 46 and 47. Also, have the ion disruptor cannons targeted on coordinate block 48.”

Each weapon system focused on their target with deadly accuracy. The forward batteries consisted of five gunnery weapons and the auxiliary were eight other laser cannons spread across the ship. The two large ion cannons were on the middle and top of the Naatu Hilak. They were the most powerful of the cruiser’s weapons and that was why they were trained on the cluster of vehicles that looked like giant daddy long legs. Prince Uzoomba had called the vehicles Tu Yu Liks and, despite their thin appearance, they packed devastating power.

Stewart held his breath for a moment as the cruiser moved over the Secessionist forces. He knew that this was the deep breath before the plunge. Concentrating, he surrounded the cruiser in a green shield allowing openings for all the weapons. “Computer, open fire.”

Carnage rained down on the Secessionists as they were battered by the weapons of the Naatu Hilak. The ion cannons tore into the Tu Yu Liks like they were toilet tissue and the Altah-Nemtu piloting the vehicles quickly ejected out of the war machines. They ran away from the city in fear of their lives. Those that were able to avoid the attacks of the ion cannons, directed their purple particle beams at the cruiser. The ship buckled from the ten beams that struck its underbelly, but John’s shield was holding. He had to close his eyes to keep his concentration and to re-strengthen the shield where it was weakened. The seahorse looking vehicles that were about the size of trucks were being slaughtered by the other weapons on the cruiser.

“Computer, pull up a visual of Governor Buvi’s forces,” Stewart commanded as the window of the bridge was replaced with a holographic interface showing Buvi’s forces in blue dots and the Secessionists in red dots. The blue dots were now largely outnumbering the red ones. Tapping his ear piece, Stewart said, “The Naatu Hilak has successfully completed its mission. All that remains to be secured is the north.”

There were still a lot of things about this situation that didn’t add up for Stewart at all. What did the Vuldarians need with dark gods? What did they gain by setting them free from their prison? He didn’t imagine that the broken warrior race would be able to control the deities and, even if they could, where did the technology come from? Even from the beginning of this mission Stewart felt like Ganthet was withholding information from them. There were just too many things that didn’t add up, but he already knew there wasn’t much point to trying to question Ganthet. He had over a billion years of practice in being evasive. Stewart wondered if he would one day become that way once his Guardian powers fully emerged. Would he be a cold, distant ancient being? Would he be immune to destruction like he was witnessing below? As orderly and methodical as John was, the thought of losing his humanity terrified him.

The visual image of the battle below was replaced with that of an Altah-Netmu wearing a silver tiara. He had the same thin, taut face that all members of his species had. Stewart knew from his studies of the Altah-Nemtu that only members of government were allowed to wear tiaras and silver ones symbolized members of city government. “Commander Stewart, it is a pleasure at last to meet you. I am Governor Buvi and my people cannot express enough our gratitude for your aid, but I am afraid things are much graver still. Have you spoken to Prince Uzoomba?”

“No I haven’t. He’s in the northern sector of the city. What’s wrong?”

“I have a friend who serves in the royal court and it appears a firefight is occurring in the capital. Lord Moreti has been assassinated and Jig Namm has assumed control of the throne.”

Stewart slammed his fist down on his arm rest and bit his bottom lip. He knew that things were going too smoothly. “Governor, if you can please keep this information from Prince Uzoomba for the moment. I don’t want him losing his concentration in the midst of your battle and your city must be secured.”

Buvi nodded. “As you wish, Commander Stewart, but we won’t be able to keep this from him for long. I am not the only one with friends in the capital and they will be sure to reach Prince Uzoomba soon.”

“Of course. I thank you for your discretion, Governor. My allies and myself will try to neutralize this situation as soon as possible.”

“I hope so, Commander Stewart, or my people might not live to see the end of it.”

The West Side of Mari-Starlin – Outside the Temple of Tuikross

Prince Uzoomba waved the two Ozais Hickar carrying the golden box forward. “Hurry! We need to get this box out of the city before the Secessionists are able to break through. We cannot count on the success of Commander Stewart and the others.”

Uzoomba didn’t want to think like that because in a short amount of time those aliens had become his friends, but he was a commander and he had to act like it for the good of his troops.

One of the Ozais Hickar carrying the box asked, “Where are we taking the book, my Prince?”

It was a question that the Prince knew was coming. The Temple of Tuikross was considered one of the most sacred places on the planet and to imagine it under siege had to be a hard pill for any Altah-Nemtu to swallow, even one who were as well trained as his Ozais Hickar.

“We are going to take the White Book of Omri to my father’s palace. If there is one place on Palu it should be safe then it is there,” Uzoomba answered.

“I’m afraid that is just not going to be possible,” a powerful voice said from a direction none of them could discern.

The source of the voice was soon found as a Vuldarian leading a group of fifty of his comrades came running up a nearby hill. Uzoomba grabbed an energy sword off his belt with each one of his hands and brought them to life with a simple mental command. He pointed his weapons at the incoming Vuldarians. “Welan arride tonut biglory tunoght.”

The Ozais Hickar rushed forward to confront the charging Vuldarians.

The Edge of the Expanse

Ganthet floated in his tiny vessel facing down dozens of cruisers from the planet of Apokolips and they were being commanded by Darkseid’s third son, Grayven. The Guardian could sense the smug bastard sitting in his flagship thinking that he had Ganthet trapped like some lokirs worm unable to get out of its hole. The children of Darkseid were always full of arrogance and foolishness. Ganthet wasn’t foolish enough to think he was going to walk away from this battle unscathed or even alive, but he was going to destroy as many of these cruisers as he could before he went down. Grayven would go back to his father empty handed and the thought of Darkseid’s discipline was enough to make him smile. The ageless despot was capable of concocting the most creative punishments, especially for those in his family.

A large hologram of Grayven appeared in the blackness of space. He had the same stony, gray face and those unmistakable red eyes as his father. “Surrender now, Ganthet, and I might make your death quick. Resist and I shall see to it you suffer for ages to come.”

Ganthet pressed a blue square button in front of him so his voice would be heard by all the ships whose communication lines were open. “So I see you’ve stopped being the illegitimate child and finally decided to lick at your father’s boot.”

The hologram of Grayven gave a half-smile. “My father is useful to me as I am to him. You would know nothing of it. But you have exhausted your one chance at mercy. Prepare to die.”

As we said, you are inconsequential, Ganthet, and you shall be destroyed this day.

The last Guardian ignored the dark taunt and thought about how he could survive this conflict. It was obvious that Grayven and his ships had a tag on ship so running into hyperspace would do him no good. Eventually the son of Darkseid would catch up to him and that would be that. He was too far away from any civilization to issue a distress signal so it seemed his only option was to stand and fight. It was a non-option because the weapons on his ship were minimal and, while Ganthet’s own personal powers were great, he was going to have to use the majority of them to defend himself from the attacks of Grayven’s fleet. He seemed to be utterly trapped in a corner with no way out but there had to be a way. Ganthet refused for his end to come at the hands of a whelp of Darkseid.

Smugly, the hologram of Grayven looked down on the spherical ship of Ganthet. “I shall make your bones into a necklace so all will know who killed the last of the Guardians.”

As he said this, a flash of bright indigo light appeared in the distance. It was bright enough for Ganthet to have to cover his eyes and he imagined that Grayven’s crews had to do the same. When he was unable to move his hands away from his eyes, he saw something that looked like an indigo boom tube but it was different because of its shape. Instead of a swirling circle, this portal was a spinning diamond and out of it came seven individuals surrounded in indigo energy shields. In their hands were wooden staffs with indigo jewels embedded at the top of them.

Ganthet knew who these beings were and he could only hope it was a reason to rejoice.

At the head of the group of seven was a young woman with short, jet-black hair and eyes of a warrior. Her skin was a soft brown but the scowl on her face was anything but soft. She was garbed in a strapless midriff, a thigh hugging pair of shorts and ankle high boots. They were all the color indigo and accented by a pair of fingerless gloves. At her side hung an emerald sword with a distinct streak of blue down the middle. The weapon shone bright even in the darkness of space. As she grew closer, Ganthet felt relief because he knew this woman and what she represented. She was going to be his ticket out of this fight in one piece. Reaching out past the Expanse, Ganthet sent a loud telepathic smile to the people who had intended to kill him. He hoped it stuck in the craw of their minds for days to come.

The seven streaks came to a halt in front of the hologram of Grayven and the young woman spoke. “By our compassionate hand, Ganthet of Oa is under the protection of the Lost. I suggest you depart, you pathetic excuse for a conqueror, or be made to see what our staffs can do.”

Gravyen’s hologram threw back its head in a guffaw. “I tire of these nuisances and their insults. I shall see all of you turned to ash!”

The black cruisers began to hum and vibrate as their weapons powered up and began to fire on Ganthet and his would-be protectors. Roaring blasts of energy cut across the landscape and made their way toward them. The seven individuals all garbed in a variety of indigo colored clothing lifted up their staffs and created a large wall of energy to reduce the attacks to being harmless nothings.

Ganthet reached out with his mind to the woman leading the seven. It pleases me to see you again after these many millennia, Indigo-2, but why here? Why now?

Before Ganthet knew it, Indigo-2 had teleported on board of the Guardian’s small ship. “You know well, Ganthet, that our compassion has pulled us across Hypertime throughout the ages. We sensed your distress and we came to your aid.”

Ganthet nodded. He knew there was more to it but this was not the time to press it. “Then let us be done with Grayven.”

The West Side of Mari-Starlin – Outside The Temple of Tuikross

Guy flew towards the Temple of Tuikross hard and fast after securing his part of the city. He wanted to be sure that the White Book of Omri had been successfully moved out of the city. If it had then they would have their victory and the Vuldarians would have lost. What he saw robbed him of that hope as he grew within sight distance of the blocky white and gray stone temple.

The temple was wrecked, burning, and chunks of it were scattered across the park it was centered on. Uzoomba’s Ozais Hickar were flung around the space, some trapped under the rubble and others impaled by it. Guy frantically searched for Prince Uzoomba, using his ring to create a dozen ghost-like wraiths to help him search the ruins for the royal. Eventually one of the energy constructs called out to Guy and he flew to its location with incredible speed.

Buried under a large white pillar was a barely breathing Uzoomba. The Altah-Nemtu looked so fragile on a normal day that he was sure Uzoomba had to be injured by the crushing weight, but John had told him not to be deceived by their appearance and that all Altah-Nemtu were far more durable than they looked. So without wasting another second, Guy commanded a lasso around the pillar and pulled it off of the royal.

Guy cradled the alien’s head in his hands. “You alright, Uzoomba? Give me some kind of sign here.”

With a small breath, Uzoomba wheezed for a moment and said, “We have failed. The Vuldarians ambushed us and took the book. My people are doomed.”

“Take it easy, man. We’re going to get that book back. Promise.”

Guy used the power of his ring to reach into Uzoomba’s mind and command him to sleep. The alien wasn’t going to be much good to him mumbling about his failure. Tapping his radio earpiece, Guy said, “We might have a bit of trouble here. The Vuldarians took the White Book of Omri.”

Stewart’s voice buzzed in Gardner’s ear. “We have another problem. There has been a coup in the capital and Lord Moreti has been assassinated. I’m moving the Naatu Hilak to the capital to assist the loyalists in retaking it.”

The news made Guy glad that he had put Uzoomba to sleep. “Do you need my help, man?”

“No, the Darkstars are on their way there now to assist. Help Governor Buvi flush out whatever enemies forces remain and help to make the city safe.”

Guy didn’t want to miss out on the action. “C’mon, John! You need me on this. The faster we can take back the capital, the faster we can find the book.”

“We need Mari-Starlin secure so they can spread to the word to those who are loyal to Uzoomba’s family. If we half-ass this then we could be setting up Mari-Starlin for another attack. I won’t let that happen and neither will you!”

Guy groaned. “Fine. Rip those guys a new one.”

“Always do. Stewart out.”

Omri Castle – Capital of Palu

Jig Namm heard the fires and energy blasts raging outside of the castle but was not worried about them. The Obsidian Throne was his and he had no intention of letting it go. There would be a new Namm Dynasty and he was confident that his alien friends would see to that. They had promised him power.

As he sat smugly on his throne a hologram of a Vuldarian appeared in front of him. Jig Namm found the thick, muscular aliens to be vastly unattractive and often imagined how they moved around with so much bulk. But he owed them much…he owed them his throne. “Hello, Gornig-Ba. I am pleased you have decided to visit me as Lord Namm instead of the useless Jig Namm.”

The Vuldarian smiled with razor-sharp teeth. “Yes, it is an achievement. One I hope that you will be able to maintain.”

“With your aid, I don’t see why that would ever be a problem.”

“We came to this world for two reasons: to destabilize it and to find the White Book of Omri. Both of those goals have been achieved, especially with your ascension to the throne. Our time here is done. You shall have to maintain your rule on your own.”

Jig Namm quickly jumped up from his chair, his hair flashing from black to green. “How–how dare you?! I have worked on your side tirelessly since this civil war began and now you would abandon me? You owe me!”

“We owe you nothing, alien. I was nearly killed by a Green Lantern today. You must stand on your own now. Did you really think my masters would ever waste anymore on this planet than necessary? You have what you wanted so we have kept our word. It is up to you to keep it,” Gornig-Ba said with wickedness tainting his every word.

The hologram disappeared and Jig Namm was overtaken with grief. His dream was crashing around him as fast it had began. There was no way the Altah-Nemtu loyal to him would be able to survive without the aid of the Vuldarians. All was lost.

That desperation was solidified as he saw the Darkstars’ cruiser outside of the throne room’s windows. He rose from his throne and walked down the steps to get a closer view. Anger bubbled up in him at the betrayal he had suffered. His dreams of a new Namm dynasty were puffing up in a smoke.

The voice of John Stewart blared into the throne room and across the entire capital. “Stand down Jig Namm and all those fighting for him. You are in violation of the law and I will not hesitate to use the full force available to me to stop you.”

Jig Namm backed away from the window and looked down at the dead body of Lord Moreti that he had kept on the floor as a trophy, a testament to his new power and the power his descendants would one day have. Would it have truly been such a burden to the Vuldarians to help him secure his power? Why had they so easily abandoned him and why did they want to destabilize his world? Feeling a true fool, Jig Namm crumbled to his knees. He would wait on them until those loyal to Moreti came for him.

The Edge of the Expanse

Each of the seven members of the Lost lifted up their wooden staffs and each created a monstrous construct by focusing their staffs upwards, the constructs were forming out of the indigo light their wooden sticks emitted Growing in size, the monsters born from the indigo light soon rivaled Grayven’s cruisers in size. Hundreds of monsters were soon set upon the cruisers that Gravyen had brought to the edge of the universe to kill Ganthet. Indigo creatures wrapped around, attacked and charged into the cruisers of Grayven with such speed that the vessels hardly had time to open fire.

Justice and retribution will be ours, Ganthet. Know that we held your life in our hands today and without these nomads there would be no more Guardians.

Looking out at the creatures attacking Grayven’s cruisers, Ganthet knew the words of his ancient enemy were true. It was hard to imagine that he was all that stood between his people and utter extinction. The burden of such a responsibility was almost too much to bear but he would bear it because he must. Tapping into that anguish, Ganthet reached out with his mind and telekinetically began to snap off the weapons from the various cruisers. It allowed the monster to attack and destroy Grayven’s vessels even faster.

The hologram of Grayven pointed an angry finger at Ganthet’s ship. “You have won today Guardian but know that I will not rest until you and all those under you are ash!”

Whatever vessels hadn’t been ripped apart by the dragons and spiny worms summoned by the Lost retreated into boom tubes. Ganthet guessed they would limp back to Apokolips and he could only imagine how Darkseid would react to his youngest son’s failure. That was the only worthwhile thing he had gained out of this entire affair.

Just as before, Indigo-2 teleported onto Ganthet’s ship. “You should be prepared, Guardian. There are dark times ahead of us all. Dark deeds will be done and you will be one of the only leaders against the tide of darkness.”

“What are you talking about? Do not be so cryptic with me, old friend,” Ganthet said, knowing it would be rude and futile to try and read the woman’s mind.

“You were right to send Soranik Natu to find the Blue Battery after all this time. For you will need hope and much more in the days ahead.”

Ganthet couldn’t ask her anything else as she and the rest of the Lost vanished into the cosmos. Before he could contemplate on her words, he felt something strong and powerful…something he shouldn’t have felt. He buried his face in his hands and tried to clear his mind, but it was still there. The feeling was too familiar to deny. Things had just taken a turn for the better.

There were Green Lantern rings to be found.

To Be Continued...

Next: In Green Lantern Corps #1: From the Darkstars shall arise a new title! This isn’t an end. It’s merely the beginning.

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