Going Native: Feeling of Anticipation (ch. 51) (Patreon)

If you knew anything about the Green Lanterns, it was impossible to not know Sinestro and his story. Of the Green Lanterns of this age, he was widely considered the greatest. He might not be the most powerful, or the most creative, but his skill with a power ring was unmatched. Because of that skill and his natural leadership capabilities, Sinestro was the one who best embodied what it meant to be a Green Lantern. He was who people thought of when people thought of Green Lanterns -- not the thousands of other Lanterns, or the Guardians. They thought of Sinestro.

Right up until he was expelled from the Corps, then imprisoned for taking over his home planet. Details were scarce, the kind of scarce that only happened when there was a cover-up. I knew less than I wanted to, but I knew that the timeline didn't match up.

I wanted to fight him.

That thought rang in my head like a bell as the doors opened to reveal Sinestro, wearing his black and yellow armor. A mockery of the Green Lantern Corps? Regardless, the yellow Power Ring was the real deal. My scouter offered a number that didn’t match my ki sense -- based on information gathered over the years, my scouter gave me a range rather than a simple number. 1 million to 1.5 million. Yet, my ki sense put him at around… thirty.

The Power Rings really were an equalizer. So much borrowed power.

“Prince Tarble, it’s a pleasure to finally met you. I’ve heard a great deal about your exploits over the course of the war,” Sinestro greeted me, adopting the same tone and words that everyone used when they met me for the first time. They were just being polite, but it got tiresome hearing the same words over and over again. However, his yellow eyes lingered upon the ring hanging off of my necklace.

“Sinestro,” I returned, uncertain if he had any kind of title or not. “It seems stories of your continued imprisonment have been greatly exaggerated.” I was fishing for information, something to connect the dots between being stripped of his ring and somehow leading a force of Yellow Lanterns for Lord Frieza.

Sinestro smiled thinly as he strode into the room, his gaze still lingering on the green ring on my necklace. “Quite a story. Shortly after my incarceration by the Guardians, I escaped. During my escape, I encountered Lord Frieza’s forces who were planning to break me out -- Our Lord wished to tweak the nose of the Guardian’s, as it were. After a brief absence, where I gained my ring, I came to Lord Frieza to establish the Sinestro Corps.” He answered shortly, having clearly expected the question.

My gaze lingered on the ring on his finger. “And I’m guessing that ring is different from normal Power Rings beyond aesthetics?” If it wasn’t, then Sinestro was better off sticking with a green Power Ring. Not only would his actions be misconstrued to reflect on the Green Lanterns. If he gathered his own forces as he has, then he could frame it as a Green Lantern civil war.

Sinestro nodded as he came to a stop in the center of the command deck. My crew worked all around us, trying to pretend that they weren’t paying attention but they didn’t do a good enough job of it. Dozens of them glanced up to stare for moments at a time before they returned to whatever they were doing -- not that it mattered too much. We were still parked in the asteroid field, so it was just a case of keeping our shields up.

He raised a hand to better show off the ring, "You would be correct. Unlike the ring that resides on your necklace, a yellow Power Ring does not utilize willpower. Instead, it utilizes fear," he said, quite proudly.

Huh. That explained why Lord Frieza was willing to back him. Something like a Power Ring that ran off of fear sounded right up his alley.

"Something far superior to willpower both in its effects and abundance," Sinestro continued. I had yet to see the former, but the latter made sense. In most races, willpower was remarkable because of how few truly possessed it. Fear, on the other hand, was something that everyone possessed.

Memories of my battle with Kaylark surfaced, how she fought, and how she had died. In all likelihood, Bardock and I had been saved by the Guardians of the Universe when they shut down Kaylark's ring. Even still, I couldn't bring myself to feel any gratitude towards them.

I nodded in acceptance of the answer before I turned my attention to the hologram projector. "Since you're here, I suppose we should jump right to it," I said, activating the projector so that it displayed two maps. In gist, it was the Thanagarian Empire's progress, contrasted with what their plans were. Information given to me by Vril. And, so far, it seemed that the information was reliable.

"The Thanagarian Empire has mobilized their vassal’s armies first with several prominent Thanagarian leaders at the helm." It was easy to see what the maneuver was. "The vanguard armies consist of the vassal nations that dragged their feet the most in marshalling. Dissenters suffer the initial losses, weakening them, while morale is heightened by early successes. Our enemy is fighting themselves as much as they'll be fighting us."

And that was a weird prospect. The Reach… everyone, every citizen, existed for the sole purpose of bettering the Reach Empire. They completely lacked free will, so there was no such thing as infighting. Now there were dissenters who had passed this information along. There were those dragging their feet. There were those planting rebellions or wanting to flip to the enemy side.

For my entire life, I've fought the Reach. Now it was like I was fighting the Frieza-force.

"Their targets are here, here, and here -- three highly defensible worlds-" I continued, highlighting the world's that the Thanagarian Empire were rushing.

"One of which is inside your personally controlled planets," Sinestro remarked. The planet they were aiming towards was a shield world. One of the latest ones I had picked up in recent months as a part of my strategy to expand defensibly. As far as launching grounds went, it wasn't a bad choice. Especially considering that the planets it was defending were in the process of being terraformed, so it would have a clear shot at my more developed planets.

I nodded, "Which is part of the reason why I'm being placed in charge of the Thanagarian front." They had some fat to get through to get to me, but I had little doubt that they would.

"Before we begin a discussion of tactics, perhaps we should go somewhere with fewer curious ears?" Sinestro offered, gesturing to the crew around us but his gaze was on my necklace.

However, I shook my head, "No. The Thanagarian’s won't hear anything I don't want them to. By the time we enact my plan, it'll be too late for them to do anything about it. More than that, I highly doubt that the Thanagarian Empire managed to plant a spy in my crew." I reassured, giving Sinestro a pointed glance. He met it for a moment before he offered a curt nod in acceptance.

"The plan is simple -- we have their battle plans, so we hit them head-on and break their assaults," I said, making Sinestro raise an eyebrow at the simple strategy, prompting me to continue. "The Thanagarian Empire is a coalition of armies. We kill their momentum early, and the foundation will fracture. Those that want to jump ship will take it as a sign to, those that were sitting on the fence will tip to do the same, and the loyalists will have to drag them back to their side kicking and screaming."

Glancing at the Thanagarian Empire -- I couldn't help but find it weak despite the considerable strength it possessed and how large it was. "It took them six years to muster the forces that they have. We break them now, then they won't be able to rally. By the time they can, the Empire will be done for."

"I see. Though, I suppose it's simply a question of what my Corps will be doing," Sinestro remarked before he offered a small bow. "We are at your disposal, Prince Tarble." He said, his tone completely neutral, but I could hear the unsaid 'for now.'

That was a good question. My invasion plans didn't exactly account for having a yellow Green Lanterns Corp at my disposal. But I had an answer prepared.

"It depends. What can you do?" I questioned, earning a polite chuckle and a sharp smile from Sinestro.

"Prince Tarble, if you wished for a spar, then you merely needed to ask," Sinestro said, his sharp smile growing a fraction.

Ah. He got me.

"Most non-Saiyans don't care for being so direct," I offered as an explanation. "But if all I have to do is ask -- then how about it?"

Now his smile was downright predatory, "It would be an honor, Prince Tarble. However, I found that true ability is often reserved only for when something is at stake. Perhaps, would you be interested in a wager?" He offered as he looked down at me. I cocked my head, a gesture for him to make his wager, "Command of the Thanagarian front. If I win, that is the prize that I wish."

That wasn't surprising. Sinestro struck me as a person that was used to being in charge.

"Fine," I agreed easily. The reason why Sinestro was used to being in charge was the fact that he was a good leader. Even if he did take this chance to somehow weaken me, I was confident in my ability to handle whatever situation he put me in. Both as a fighter and as a general. My gaze dipped down to the ring on his finger, "And if I win, I want your ring."

I couldn't tell if it was my easy acceptance or my reward of choice that surprised him, but his eyes narrowed a fraction. Sinestro looked down at the ring upon his finger for a moment. "You wish to take command of the Sinestro Corps?"

To that, I shook my head, "No. I just want your ring." Taking command of the Sinestro Corps would be reaching too far. Not only did I lack the authority to take command, but I also suspected that Sinestro lacked the authority to wager it.

"I see. I accept your terms," Sinestro offered as he reached down to shake on it.

We clasped hands and the wager was made.

…

The asteroid field was our battleground. A mask was sealed over my face, but instead of a tube to an air canister, the mask had two disks on it that recycled air. They produced their own, but only in meager amounts, but because they recycled oxygen to an extreme degree, I could breathe in space for up to twelve hours.

A lesson that I had learned with the Cooler-force. I had always ensured that my troops had quality equipment, but I had learned just how deadly poor equipment could be. So, Technician had been tasked with improving our basic equipment -- given how poisoning the atmosphere of a planet was the Reach's favorite tactic, improving our masks was a natural place to start.

"Are you ready to begin?" Sinestro questioned, his hands clasped behind his back as he hovered in space, a faint yellow glow surrounding him. The fleet was parked some distance away, but I knew that there would be cameras littering the area around us. Ada'la wouldn't allow an opportunity like this to go to waste.

"I was waiting for you," I returned confidently as I slipped into the Wrath State. The pain was there, and it always would be, but it was lessened. The Wrath State was trying to fit a gallon of water into a shot glass -- it always felt like you were on the verge of popping because there was just too much power to fit in the container. Now, after my first growth spurt, it felt like I was now a cup instead of a shot glass.

In response to my taunt, Sinestro raised a hand and his ring flowed with a flash of yellow. I was already moving, knowing that was the sign that the match had began. A beam of light raced by me, punching through an asteroid like a hammer striking a rock, blasting it apart and sending rubble in every direction.

Sinestro retreated, his expression calm as the chase began. Ki gathered in my hands before I launched it at Sinestro as we flew past a sizable asteroid, rounding it. Beams of light fired from the ring, diverting my attacks into the asteroid. The asteroid was blown apart, submerging us in a cloud of dust.

I flew up, deftly dodging flashes of yellow that tore through the cloud of dust. Sinestro had the same idea, our gaze meeting as a construct formed. A twisted yellow hand as large as his body -- it was highly detailed. The hand was made of sinew, the claws jagged and deadly, and the size was daunting. The fingers launched themselves at me, and I rushed to meet them head-on.

Dodging one, I twisted out of the way as I lashed out with a fist at another to deliver an uppercut to it. It felt like I was punched a solid wall, but there was enough force behind the blow to divert the construct. My knuckles throbbed, making my lips thin. An idea surfaced as another attempted to skewer me, the constructs working in together.

Willpower had a fatal weakness and that was fear. If fear had a weakness, then it would be… either willpower or hope.

Gritting my teeth, I imagined what would happen next as an overly large finger attempted to skewer me through the gut. I imagined myself punching it and the construct shattering into a million pieces. That image played inside of my mind a thousand times as it rushed towards me, and my hand curled into a fist. As the construct neared, I willed what I saw happen into reality and punched the construct with all of my strength.

The yellow construct shattered like glass upon contact, making a savage grin appear on my face.

“Hm. It seems we’re quite lucky that the Guardians are so reluctant to offer a ring to any member of the Trade Organization. You would have made an exemplary Green Lantern,” Sinestro praised, his tone even but it sounded like he meant the praise as he retreated, easily replacing the construct. “Though, from what I understand, you already rejected that offer.”

I scoffed as I listened to Sinestro through my scouter, pushing the attack. “Hard to trust a Power Ring after what was done to Kaylark,” I remarked, ki forming in my hands to clash against an energy blast meant to drive me away.

“Understandable. Kaylark was once my student,” he informed, and now there was ice in his tone. I hadn’t known that, I thought as I lashed out with a foot. I kicked the construct away this time, every bone in my leg rattling. But instead of being discouraged at the harder construct, I was nearly overjoyed.

“She was a worthy enemy,” I complimented. In response to that, the constructs seemed to multiply, not all just fingers, but other kinds as well. Twisting horrors, insignificant things you almost see out of the corner of your eye. He was trying to find out what I was afraid of.

Sinestro failed to answer for a moment as we fought, darting through the asteroid field at breakneck speeds. Asteroids as large as my flagship were blasted apart, reduced to chunks and dust, as we left devastation in our wake.

Though, he eventually did respond, “That’s reassuring, at least. I don’t hold you responsible for her death. Her blood is on the Guardian’s hands, though you have seemed to have taken the credit.”

“Unavoidable. Most people mistook the shield winking out as me destroying it, and Lord Frieza had already spread the word that I was the one to kill her. I couldn’t exactly contradict him,” I responded, forming twin Destructo Disks in my hands before I launched them at Sinestro. He dodged the spiraling disks with ease, moving out of the way with smooth grace(,) and the attacks slammed into an asteroid behind him.

They flashed for a moment and the mountain of an asteroid split apart. Yet, one attack didn’t fade. A Destructo Disk hovered behind the destroyed asteroid, lingering to be used later.

“Such is the nature of things,” Sinestro accepted. He opened his mouth to continue, only to be cut off when I sailed forward, rushing towards him as I cupped my hands to my side. Forming a Kamehameha, I launched it at him to see his reaction. I had figured that he would choose to divert the bright blue beam, but instead, he avoided it. He sailed to the side, allowing it to obliterate a line through the asteroid field. The moment he was back in the clear, he continued, "I suspect an offer to join the Sinestro Corps would be similarly rejected."

"I would be politer about it," I rejected the offer as I quickly cut off the attack. I flew after Sinestro, leading him to the Destructo Disk still hidden in the dust of an asteroid. "What happened with Kaylark showed me that no matter how powerful I could become with a Power Ring, it would never be my power. It would be the Guardians."

A power that they could take away at any time. They allowed Kaylark enough rope to attempt to take out some enemies, but the moment she was ready to use the ring to kill, the Guardians turned it off. Because of it, she died. They disavowed her then swept her under the rug.

"Hm. From what I have seen of you, Prince Tarble -- a Power Ring would be wasted on you," Sinestro said, his tone neutral. A construct of a snarling monster worm with a mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth lunged at me, only to be shattered as I punched it in my pursuit of Sinestro through the asteroid field. It was impossible to tell if he meant it as an insult or a compliment. Given who he was, it was probably an insult.

"Thanks," I said, taking it as a compliment before I yanked my hand to the side, taking control of the Destructo Disk and sending it forward. It raced towards Sinestro's back and his ring must have warned him or he sensed it because he turned around to look at it. I saw his eyes widen as I touched down on the asteroid we flew around and kicked off of it. It shattered underfoot like glass, but I shot towards Sinestro while he was distracted.

A bubble field formed around him, the Destructo Disk grinding away at it while I clenched a fist. Racing towards him, he looked around just in time to watch me punch his shield -- so much had changed since D'xe. Before, I couldn't even put a scratch on Kaylark's shield with my best attack. And now Sinestro's shield broke into pieces as my fist smashed through it.

Any triumph I might have felt was stolen away when his gaze was cold and calculated rather than shocked. He reacted well, letting the unbroken part of the shield divert my Destructo Disk, sending it flying overhead to bisect another asteroid in the distance. Then he did the surprising thing and lashed out with a fist.

His fist slammed into the side of my head, a solid blow, but Broly hit harder. In return, I shifted, bringing a foot up and planting it in his gut. Sinestro grunted as he flew backward, slamming into an asteroid behind him.

"You're still alive, right?" I asked, giving the impression that I couldn't feel his ki.

"I am. It will take more than this to kill me," Sinestro reassured as he flew out of the dust, assuming his previous pose with his hands behind his back. He looked fine, so I believed it. "But, I believe this is where we should call it. Given our foe, it would be a poor choice to continue to escalate the fight. I concede my defeat." Sinestro said with the air of a man who didn't believe that he had lost.

Which he hadn’t. Or, rather, in surrendering, he snatched a true victory over him from my grasp.

My blood was humming in my veins, but I saw his point. I would be fighting plenty of Green Lanterns shortly. As much as I wanted a good fight that would push me to my physical limits, but it wouldn't do to sabotage myself here for that fight.

"I accept your surrender," I said, flying forward as Sinestro held up a hand. The ring duplicated itself, forming a second yellow ring, which Sinestro put on before he sent the original to me. He kept himself calm, but there was pain in his eyes as I put the ring in my necklace, next to the green Power Ring. "And I have decided how to best use you. Your Corps -- how many are you?"

"At the moment, we number just over a thousand," he answered swiftly.

"Good. We're going to split up your forces by three, but two of them will carry the bulk of the forces. The third, the one that will comprise of you, your personal guard, and my Team, will handle a front on our own. We blast through it, then we continue on into Thanagarian territory where we raze the capital planets of as many of their vassals as possible. It'll break their trust in the Thanagarian Empire's ability to protect them."

Then I smiled a deadly smile that was lost behind my mask, "But that's top secret. We're keeping it hidden from the rank and file. I don't want to risk a leak."

With my plan the Thanagarian Empire could be brought to its knees in a month, much less a year.

Sinestro offered a thin smile, having heard mine in my voice. "Excellent. I look forward to it."

… 

>Probation Conditions have been lifted.< Hal Jordan's ring suddenly announced as a spoonful of Lucky Charms made its way to his mouth. He sat on a lounge chair in his dingy apartment, a far cry from the loft that he once lived in. But a lot had changed in the past six years. Stuff like losing his job as a test plane pilot, or numerous failed relationships, and on top of a steadily increasingly crazy list of baddies to fight.

Hal looked at his ring, thoughtfully chewing on his cereal of choice for a moment, before muttering, “What?” The word was slurred on account of his mouth being half full.

>Probation Conditions have been lifted. All prior functions have been reinstated.< The Ring announced in that synthetic voice it had, sounding far too casual. He had waited actual years to hear those two sentences, and all of a sudden he heard them now, out of the blue, in his pajamas as he watched baseball reruns and ate cereal.

“Huh,” Hal muttered, leaning back into his chair and nearly sloshing milk onto his shirt. He had pictured this moment for years, but now that it was here, he had no idea what to do with it. Should he look up how the War was progressing? Or was that some trap placed by the Guardians to see if they could trust him? They had already clipped his wings with their restrictions, the next time they might just take the ring entirely.

A lot had changed in six years. Before, Hal could have lost his ring and be content. Now? Now, if he lost the ring, Hal didn’t know what he would do. The layers had been peeled off until being a Green Lantern was who he was, rather than being a test pilot or a boyfriend.

>Urgent Message: Warp to Thanagar at your earliest convenience.< The Ring said, and Hal hesitated. Six years was a long time. So very long. He looked down at his cereal for a moment before he got up to dump it into the sink. Rolling his shoulders, he looked over his cramped apartment, wondering what had brought this about.

He could afford to leave the Earth for a bit. It was in good hands. Superman was a decent guy if overpowered as all hell, and in the past six years, plenty of others had crawled out of the woodwork. Hal didn’t interact with them much, but they crossed paths on occasion. He knew that he could trust them while he was away.

With a thought, Hal found himself in the only uniform he had worn in the last six months at least. Black and green with the Green Lantern emblem marked on his chest. He felt naked without it recently. And, thanks to having picked up a few tricks over years, it was a simple matter to find himself in space without anyone being the wiser. Inputting the coordinates to his ring, he warped towards the Thanagarian capital.

And he wasn’t the only one. For a long second, his vision was filled with green before a planet came into view. One that wasn’t earth. Given that he only had a handful of planets with sentience in his sector, it wasn’t often that he saw other planets. There was the occasional joint mission, or an SOS for backup that he responded to, but for the most part he was stuck on Earth.

Hundreds, thousands even, of green lights filled the night sky above the planet. Hal saw that the Thanagarian’s were prepared for war -- massive fleets, defense platforms, and the works. It made him uneasy. Call it American mentality, but he didn’t like the idea of anyone having a bigger gun than Earth.

“Hal,” A familiar voice greeted him, and Hal glanced over to see it was Kilowog. His mentor and friend looked as he ever did -- excessively large, pink, with beady black eyes.

“Kilowog,” Hal returned, eyeing him for a moment. Part of him resented the alien, but six years was a lot of time to cool off and think about things. Kilowog was likely on probation as well, so their call had been monitored. That was a ploy to get him put on probation as well to avoid him doing anything rash. Like ignoring orders and going to the nearest front to save as many people, and raise as much hell(,) as he could. “How ya’ been?”

Some tension eased out of Kilowog at the friendly greeting, “Better now. It’s time, Hal.”

Hal glanced over at the fleet that they raced by as they descended to the planet. There seemed to be some kind of gathering area because the bulk of the Green Lanterns flying down congregated in one place. Hal saw plenty of familiar faces and plenty of unfamiliar ones. The Guardians had done what they could to crush the rumors, but from Hal had heard, the probation terms had been enough to make more than a few quit.

Which is how he found himself singled out as he and Kilowog neared a palace. It was a grand building, the kind you could take one look at and know that it was important. It was completely made of Nth metal, a mineral that was extremely rare everywhere else in the universe. On Thanagar, however, it was about as common as water on Earth. Beyond the palace were armies. Armies upon armies upon armies. Total mobilization.

A Thanagarian, a human-like alien except for the feathered wings on his back. He wore robes and a beak-like face mask. Looking at him, Hal was reminded of Hawkwoman and Hawkman. Two heroes that hadn’t been seen in close to eight years or so. And how they were there in an attempt to uplift and vassalize Earth.

So, the entire thing was a little awkward.

“Hal Jordan and Kilowog, correct?” The Thanagarian asked as both of them touched down. On a platform that overlooked the armies were the other Green Lanterns. There were hundreds of them, with more coming down. There had to be around a thousand or more on the platform catching up.

“That’s us,” Hal confirmed with a cocky smirk and nod. The mask made it hard to tell what the Thanagarian was thinking, but he simply nodded.

“Please follow me,” He requested before turning around and started walking. Hal followed as he sent another look at the mass of Green Lanterns.

“Is the entire force mobilizing?” Hal asked as they entered the palace. It looked like a futuristic hall with the aesthetic of the medieval times. It was weird and kinda cool. Kilowog shook his head in response.

“No. From what I saw, they’re just mobilizing those put on probation,” Kilowog answered. So maybe it was a good thing that he had tried to push the envelope half a decade ago. “The others are holding everything else down." So the thirty-six hundred that safeguarded the universe, up to half of them would be pulling double duty.

"Hopefully something like this will convince them to recruit more Lanterns," Hal offered as they walked. The hallways were empty, though marked with preserved Thanagarian artifacts and the like. The Thanagarian guide led them towards a large door made of Nth metal at the end of a long hallway.

"Or we could end the war before the universe feels our absence," Kilowog returned as the door opened up. Behind it was a face that Hal knew well -- a member of the Honor Guard, Stel. A large imposingly built sentient robot that towered over everyone else in the room. There were about a dozen others standing around a long table that displayed a hologram of battle plans.

This was it, Hal realized. This was when the war started for him. He had served in the military since he was able to, but he never saw active combat on Earth. Then he became a Green Lantern, and while he saw plenty of combat, it was nothing that could be described as war.

"Hal, Kilowog. It's good to see you," Stel greeted, his polite demeanor not matching his build at all.

Hal offered a smile as his gaze lingered on the battle plans, "Back at you Stel. Is this the plan?" He asked, deciding to get right to the chase.

Stel nodded, "It is. The Thanagarian Empire has spearheaded three offenses into the Trade Organization controlled space," he offered while one important looking Thanagarian nodded. He was more finely dressed, so he was royalty, a general, or both.

"Our offensives have seen considerable success -- the Trade Organization has had its eyes on the Reach for too long and left their sides open to attack. Additionally, we've had a stroke of luck in the general placed in charge of the front. Though, I suppose that's a matter of perspective."

Hal shared a look with Kilowog, "And who would that be?" Kilowog asked, as out of the loop as he was. The information blackout about the war was effective. The only news he heard was rumors and hearsay.

"Prince Tarble," the Thanagarian leader muttered with a grimace. And that was a name Hal recognized.

"Uh," Hal started, frowning. He knew it had been six years, but he recalled what Prince Tarble looked like. A half-dead kid fighting for his life against a rogue Green Lantern before the Guardians… before the Guardians got her killed. "Isn’t he like a literal infant?"

Stel was the one who answered, "He's also a military genius responsible for nearly every single successful offensive against the Reach in the past ten years. The predictions are that if he were to become the Supreme Commander of the Trade Organization armed forces then the Reach-Trade Organization war will end in as little as four years. Against the current projection of two and a half centuries."

Oh. Well then.

"So, how is it a stroke of luck that the Prince Toddler is in charge of the counter forces?" Hal questioned, frowning. Like he recalled his appearance, Hal also recalled that Saiyans also had a human development period. So, Tarble was a twelve-year-old. A twelve-year-old that started a galactic spanning war when he was about three months old.

Hal had seen three months old babies before. They couldn't even lift their head up. Sure, the gestation tank happened but the fact remained… Hal felt bad for the kid. He quite literally had been at war his entire life.

"Because of Saiyan tendencies for taking trophies. On the planet D'xe, where Lantern Kaylark was slain, Prince Tarble took possession of her ring and wears it as a necklace," Stel informed, making Hal's lips thin while Kilowog grunted. That was like a cop killer wearing the badge of the cop he killed for everyone to see. "Some months later, Prince Tarble displayed the willpower necessary to qualify as a Green Lantern."

That got a reaction out of everyone in the room. The Thanagarians flinched like they had been struck while Hal felt like he had been kicked in the balls. Perhaps it shouldn't have meant as much as it did, but it did mean something. Hal could attest first hand just how willful and stubborn you had to be to qualify for a ring.

But it also offered some insight into the kind of person they were dealing with.

"He rejected becoming a Green Lantern, but since then, the ring has been monitoring him," Stel informed. Just like his ring had been monitoring Hal. "Because of this, we have the Prince's plans."

The hologram changed while Hal took that in. That was like the US finding out about the German offensive before they could launch it back in WWII. It displayed the Frieza-force plans to break through the offensives and hit the capital worlds with an elite force while the armies and fleets established a frontline.

"Thank God for idiots," Hal muttered. This was big. This was beyond big. They broke their counter and they were wide open.

"Our course has been decided," Stel continued. "The Thanagarian forces will engage the prong attacks, but the threat of Prince Tarble, his Team, and the thousand members of the Sinestro Corps must be dealt with. We crush them, and the front is headless. The Trade Organization loses its most promising asset, and we can remove the Sinestro Corps before they can establish themselves."

A point was highlighted where the ambush would happen. Where the Green Lanterns would bring their full force against the heavy hitters of the Frieza-force. Hal took in a slow breath and braced himself for the battle to come.

"Let's get it done, then."