Going Native: Desire for Compassion (ch. 68) (Patreon)

The galaxy was on the defensive six months later. So much could change in so little time, I reflected as I leaned back into my chair while I examined the war fronts -- my empire had been the buffer between most of the galaxy and the Trade Organization, but that wasn't to say that we hadn't lost ground on other fronts. We had. But, with the pressure of the Reach gone, resources could be relocated and redistributed. I had begun my first punch back after a year of weathering blows.

In every nation and empire, my ascension to Supreme Commander was a sign of the end of times. I did what I could to prove them right.

Ground that had been lost was regained. My team, the Ginyu Squad, and other special forces that were now under my control were doing an excellent job of making deep strikes into enemy territory. Targets that would break their will to fight were assigned high priority, followed by locations that would impact their ability to wage war. Each deep strike was coordinated with a push by my armies and fleets. And, without fail, each time the enemy was pushed back.

The scale of war was daunting at first. Every mistake felt like a personal failing. Every time that the enemy managed to achieve any kind of victory, whether it be strategic or moral, it had the same bitter taste as all of my personal defeats. I accepted that taste all the same though. I had to. There was no war without defeat, and sometimes even a defeat can bring victory.

That much was proven to me as the map updated to show that an enemy force that had slipped behind our lines and ambushed us repeatedly had been crushed. The counter offensive was lead by an admiral that I was keeping my eye on. A Khund that was proving very adept at chasing down enemies that avoided notice, and reducing them to nothing. A promotion could be in order.

After all, I did end up killing the bulk of those that had previously held ranks such as High Commander or High Admiral. Those positions still needed to be filled with quality leaders. More than a few that had already proven themselves and had earned my trust for their abilities had been elevated. Avery was one. Bardock was another. Narra had received an offer, but it had been refused. Komand'r had received a tentative promotion, though of a lower rank, and it was centered around leading her own people. Gilguk had also proven herself to be worthy.

Sinestro had expanded his Corps, their numbers swelling to nearly ten thousand in total. Time proved that he hadn't lost his capacity for leadership, because the Sinestro Corps was one of my greatest weapons.

Atrocitus was another matter. His Corps had joined our ranks, but it was a tense relationship. He cared nothing for our enemies, and just as many Red Lanterns fought against us as they did beside us. It also didn't help that half of those that fought at our sides were insane with rage. Still, he wanted his shot at the Guardians of the Universe, and he was gettomg it. The Red Lanterns were used as a shield to protect my armies from Green Lantern interference.

"The war is going well," I muttered to myself, interlocking my fingers and bringing them up to my face as I absorbed the rapidly shifting information. The map that I wished to see was slowly taking shape, one system at a time. All the while, the Vega system was being developed into the battleground I needed it to become.

The war was going well. It was almost hard to believe at times, but between Vegeta and the Khundian empire? I had the resources that were needed to make victory possible.

Vegeta was another that had ascended to a higher rank. And it was shameful to admit, but his desire to prove himself was incredibly useful. Because no matter what anyone might say about him -- Vegeta was a genius when it came to conflict. Combined with his absolute ruthlessness and an acute lack of traditional morals… well, more than a few were hurling accusations of him being a butcher.

I wasn't sure why. Vegeta was just doing what he had always been doing. The only reason that he stood out now was the fact that I had killed most of the other generals and commanders for treason and incompetence. He had gone back to ignoring my calls, but at least he was responding to orders, so I would take what I could get.

The war was going well. I would go as far as to say that we were currently winning, because most of the galaxy was still reeling from being on the defensive all of a sudden. So, why did I feel the need to stare at holograms for hours on end, waiting for that other shoe to reveal itself? Because I could sense it out there, somewhere and there was a hint of it in the piles of constantly updating information. I barely paid any mind to the capital that was being bombarded by the Warworld as I tried to find the source of my unease.

I could sense it. Years of being a Commander, a leader, honed my instincts to a razor edge. And right now they were screaming at me that something had escaped my notice, and if I didn't find out what soon, then it would reveal itself when it would be most inconvenient. It felt like there was a trap lurking just outside of my field of vision. I couldn't see it, I couldn't feel it, but I knew there was one there simply because… because it's where I would put a trap if the shoe was on the other foot. Because I had placed traps there before.

It's how I got rid of the Thanagarian Empire.

So, where was it?

>Emergency transmission from Sinestro.< The words echoed in my mind rather than my ears. In the months that I was actually using the Warworld rather than letting it run on autopilot, I was really starting to discover tricks on how to best use it.

I accepted the call with a deep frown on my face. Was I too late already? "Sinestro," I greeted, not liking the fact that it was an emergency transmission in the slightest.

"Supreme Commander," Sinestro greeted, his voice not at all distressed. Without the emergency notification, I would not have assumed anything was wrong. "I have something that requires your… personal touch. Something I dare not speak aloud," Sinestro informed, making my eyes narrow and my mind race with possibilities.

I knew Sinestro. If he was being this cautious, then there was a good reason for it. With a thought, I sent an order to a stationed army to advance with the orders to mop up and dig in.

"I have your coordinates. I'll be there momentarily," I responded, ending the call while the Warworld locked onto his position and slipped into slipspace. The holograms stopped updating every nanosecond, snatching away my one distraction. I continued to stare hard at them for a moment longer, my mind mulling over what Sinestro had found.

It had to be important. He knew better than to contact me like this if it wasn’t. Still, I had some time. With the Warworld’s precise time dilation, it really would only take a few moments real time to arrive at his location. In slipspace time, I gave myself a few days to arrive.

Unfolding my hands, I looked to the palm of my hand, clenching and unclenching it for a few seconds. Leaving my palm open, I summoned a ki ball. It floated above my hand, glowing a steady blue before the color began to shift into a purple. In response, pins and needles began to prick at my skin as if they were digging into every pore. Instantly, I let the technique fade into nothing.

A sigh escaped me as my head thunked against the back of my chair. Nearly four years later, and I still couldn’t perform a technique that I had created and perfected a decade ago. If I could afford it, I would give myself more time in slipspace, but as the Supreme Commander, all I could do was spare myself a few days here and there. It wasn’t enough, not really, but it was still something.

My ki control was both better and worse than what it had been prior to breaking the Wrath State. Before, my ki had been light, easily malleable, almost like clay in that regard. If before my ki was like clay, then now it was like stone. Still malleable, only instead of being molded, pieces of it had to be chipped away to reveal the figure inside. For some techniques, like a Kamehameha, or a Destructo Disk? Simple in theory, simple in execution.

A Medicine Ball? It was delicate. It needed precision to work as intended, to produce the kind of purple light needed to heal injuries. If it was just a little off then it was possible to warp your DNA, and in that case, you either became some kind of monster or you flat out died. I’ve managed to avoid both fates for now, but if I didn’t start improving my delicate control soon, then that could change.

It was frustrating. Maddening, even. Yet, I’ve grown used to it at this point. Even if the progress was a far cry from what I desired, so long as I was still making progress, then I could let myself hope that I would regain all my former abilities in full.

Another ball formed in my palm, starting as a simple orb. Only for it to shift and change, first becoming a square, then a rectangle, then a triangle. Slowly, the ki construct became more elaborate. First becoming a ship, my former capital ship the Devastator. Then it condensed and became a person -- Elery. A second person grew out of her -- Mom, the two joined at the hands and tails. More joined them. Vegeta. Me. And even King Vegeta.

In my search for precision, I had found a form of it that just wasn’t what I needed. Shaping ki was easier than it ever had been before. I could do things with it that I never had been able to before. I suppose that was ironic all things considered. If I could just master the last aspect that eluded me… Well, I would be stronger for my mistake in every way.

The family of light faded away with a wave of my hand. I didn’t have time to be sentimental. As the Supreme Commander, every second of my time was immensely valuable, and I couldn’t afford to waste a moment.

With that thought in mind, a ki ball formed in my hand, and I was bathed in light.

…

For me, it was days later when I arrived at the coordinates that Sinestro had sent me. For him, it had been minutes at most. The Warworld warped into existence, slipping through a massive pitch black tear in space and time, inside of a star system located near the edge of the galactic interior. Not too far off from the Vega system, all things considered.

There were no signs of battle, I found as the Warworld hit the system with a broad scan, intent on finding Sinestro and the reason why I was brought here. Instead, I found a handful of planets, some of which were capable of supporting life -- just no Sinestro.

“Hm… I wonder if this is where he betrays me?” I mused as I got out of my chair. My tail coiled around my waist as I cracked my neck and spread out my ki awareness, searching for him myself. I had known that the day was going to come sooner or later. I had just wished that his timing would be a little better. I anticipated that betrayal coming when the war was closer to being won outright rather than as soon as we started winning.

It would be a loss to kill him, as well as his Corps… but with Atrocitus joining our ranks, if I had to purge the Sinestro Corps and start from scratch… I had the breathing room. So, maybe it was lucky that he was choosing now to betray me. Better now rather than when I was forced to rely on him.

I cocked my head, bringing up at a hologram of the planet. Now that I wasn’t in slipspace, I took a moment to sort through some data -- I had confirmations that the vast majority of Sinestro’s Corps was where they were supposed to be. The numbers he could slip underneath the table wouldn’t be more than a few dozen.

“Hm,” I hummed in thought, giving the Warworld the order to approach the planet. Tactfully. Most of the planet was made of solid landmass, but nothing messed up gravitational pull quite like having a planet like the Warworld in orbit. Briefly, I considered demanding that he come to me… but if he hadn’t betrayed me, that would tip my hand, wouldn’t it?

In the end, Sinestro… he was competent and capable. Extremely so. If this was an attempt at betrayal and assassination… then he could do better. And because he could do better, he would do better.

Turning and walking away from the command center, I stood on a teleporter that would take me to the exit without having to go through the convoluted guts of the Warworld. The harshness of space washed over me, and even years later, I always panicked for a split second when I thought I had forgotten my oxygen tank. However, with the Nth metal that was woven into my suit and my necklace providing breathable air, I took in a deep breath before I flew down to the relevant coordinates.

The planet was overwhelmingly purple, I saw on my way down. A vast amount of foliage covered its surface. However, beneath the twisting roots and thick canopy of leaves and vines, I saw what looked like a structure that spanned across the entirety of the planet’s surface. Metal and stone that was covered by a thick layer of nature, likely over the course of millions… possibly billions of years. Though, that did beg the question of who had been advanced enough to build what amounted to a Shield World a billion years ago.

I drifted down to the coordinates, but I felt no presences near me as I touched down on light blue moss that served as grass. Even when I stretched my awareness out to its limits, I felt nothing. Not so much as an animal… which was odd considering that the planet could clearly support life. Was it a trap after all?

Looking around slowly, I crossed my arms. "If we're going to do this Sinestro, then don't keep me waiting," I spoke to the empty air. To hammer the point home, I flexed my power and the wind stirred. A force of wind swept up the stray leaves and moss fibers, made the trees shift and groan -- a fraction of my power, but a stark reminder that I was far more powerful than the last time we fought. More than that, though -- it revealed those that were hidden around me.

The dust and debris in the air ran over them despite the fact they were invisible to the naked eye.

"A dozen?" I questioned, picking out one of the figures that matched Sinestro's build. "I'm dangerously close to being insulted, Sinestro."

"My apologies, Supreme Commander," Sinestro's voice rang out before the invisibility that cloaked him slowly dropped as he took a step forward. Something was wrong with him, that much was obvious -- a symbol was marked on his forehead and his yellow eyes glowed purple instead. The same could be said for his armor -- whereas it had once been yellow, it was now purple with the same symbol as the one on his forehead on his chest. "It wasn't my intention to be rude."

Huh. "Another costume change, is it?" I remarked lightly, my eyes sweeping over him. His posture was all wrong. So very lax. At ease. I never saw Sinestro anything less than tense and rigid. "Willpower, fear… what does indigo represent, I wonder?"

The others dropped their invisibility as well. A tall saiyanoid species -- fairly tall, with various shades of pink skin pigmentation and dark hair. Solid black eyes too, with no scalea. There were others, I noticed -- a collection of species. I recognized one or two of them, I think.

"Compassion," the seemingly appointed leader of the tribe announced, taking a step forward. She wore indigo-colored garments, covering her breasts and hips, though her thighs were left exposed. A painted symbol for… the Indigo Corp covered most of one of her thighs, the same symbol that was painted onto her forehead.

I nodded, "Will, fear, rage… hope, and now compassion. All that's missing now is greed and love." I remarked lightly, my eyes roaming over her before they shifted to Sinestro. "The further you get from the middle of the spectrum, the more powerful the emotion." Yellow and Blue Lanterns seemed able to control themselves. Though, Red Lanterns seemed to struggle with that task. "With Sinestro's new… disposition, I'm guessing he's under some sort of mental influence… forced to feel compassion."

I shook my head to myself, "What a bad joke. And one in poor taste."

"Sinestro," the tribe leader said, "has much to answer for. For the tyranny he has inflicted, for the lives that he has taken… he has told us about the war that has been waged across the stars. He has told us of his role… and of yours."

So it was a trap. Just not the kind I expected. "If you're looking for compassion in war, you'd have better luck bleeding a rock." My eyes drifted to her hands -- no ring. She had a staff, though. Magic?

"With compassion, there would be no war in the first place," The woman remarked, standing tall. She looked down at me… in more ways than one.

I offered a shrug, "Maybe." If Frieza had a drop of compassion in him, then maybe this war would have never started in the first place. The same for the Reach. "But there is a war, and compassion isn’t enough to end it." Things were too far gone at this point. The idea that over a decade of bloodshed could be ended with hugs and well wishes was absurd. Almost to the point of it being hilarious.

No, it was insulting. To everyone that had died up to this point. To everything that had been sacrificed. Victory… victory was the only thing that could vindicate such suffering. The soldiers of the TO had everything taken from them. I was giving back what I could… but for the trillions that had died, the only thing I could give them was the knowledge that their death built a foundation to achieve victory. That those that were left behind… would have a better future.

It was hollow and a poor exchange for their lives, but it was all I had.

"That," the woman began, "is where I have to disagree. Sinestro will answer for what he has done. The suffering that he has inflicted. As will you… as will Frieza. As will every other criminal that has decided that the suffering of others is a fair exchange for greed."

Despite her words, a small smile tugged at my lips. Her eyes narrowed, asking an unspoken question. I didn't answer her. Broly… had pretty much said the same exact thing. So had Wrath.

"A criminal?" I questioned, cocking my head. "I assure you, I'm something much worse than a mere criminal." My power hummed where I stood, chunks of the ground ripping free as my power began to leak out. There were grim expressions all around as they realized that this would become a fight. They looked genuinely disheartened by that fact. "I'm the Supreme Commander of the Trade Organization Military Forces. I'm about as evil as you can be."

That was something that I had to accept. I had to. I had my evidence when the beam of destruction that Wrath had hit me with hurt me. I've known it for a long time, but in moments like these, it really drove it home. When I was fighting against someone who I could objectively say was… good. Who was empowered by literal compassion… and they declared me their enemy.

I was evil.

"You have my pity, Tarble… for soon, you shall understand what you have done," The leader of the indigo tribe decided, her staff in her hands flashing. That was the signal for the others to begin. Of the dozen, they all wielded staffs, but I saw Sinestro raise his fist to aim his ring at me.

Twin ki spears appeared in my hands, one shorter than the other by a foot. I had lied to Fasha by accident -- the ki spears had become a favorite of mine. Sinestro fired a blast of purple energy from his ring, an indigo ring from the looks of it. A ki spear in one hand spun between my fingers, batting away the energy blast before I launched the spear towards an alien with four arms. I had aimed for the leader of the tribe, but she dodged.

The four-armed alien tried to make a hasty shield, but my spear tore right through him. As did it to everything else that had been standing behind him. As the corpse dropped to the ground, a cry of anguish rang amongst the tribe as the dozen or so members rushed at me. With their invisibility dropped, I could sense their presences.

Some were a lot stronger than others. Others were weaker than the plant life. My eyes darted to an alien with a fun mohawk, another with three eyes, one that seemed to be a Khund… and lastly the leader of the tribe. Mohawk, Tri-eye, Khund, and… Indigo respectively. They were the strongest amongst the tribe physically, though power rings, or staffs, in this case, cared little about base power. It was determined by how compassionate they felt.

Compassion and pacifism weren't the same thing, I learned when Indigo darted towards me, her face twisted into a grimace as she lashed out at me with her staff. It clashed against my spear, her dark eyes glaring into my blazing yellow. In a contest of strength, she was no match, but she didn't have to be. Mohawk and Sinestro pressed the attack, the latter sending a simple construct at me -- a large purple hand to grasp at me.

Blasts from the others raced towards me, the attacks pouring in. I deflected a blast, spinning my singular spear while forming a Destructo Disk above my free hand. I flicked it toward the others. At the same moment, I raised a leg and brought it down upon the ground, and the planet quaked as a result.

The ground sunk around my foot, but the ripple effect was felt all around. At fifteen million pl, the world itself was mine to shape. The ground surged upward, the stone and metal bending under the force of my blow. When I widened the Destructo Disk, the earth that had surged upward when I stamped on the ground was cut in half and the sudden shift in terrain allowed me to cut another Lantern in half.

It would have been more, but Indigo and Sinestro acted, completely abandoning the attack to save the others that hadn't to been able to react in time. That, I decided, was a mistake. The best way to protect your comrades was to make sure that the enemy couldn't take another shot at them.

A bead of ki formed at the top of my pointer finger, and in a blur, I shot six blasts at the various Indigo Lanterns, targeting the weakest that I could sense. Indigo formed a shield, placing herself in front of one blast, trying to protect a few. All the while, I launched myself up towards Tri-Eye and the one that he was protecting. His three eyes widened, and I saw the glowing tip of my spear in the reflection of his eyes.

The tip slammed into his shield and for a fraction of a second it held. Then it tore underneath the weight of my spear -- the ki was incredibly dense and heavy. I had tossed one at Bardock once, trying to see if I could make weapons for others… I nearly ended up tearing his arms off when he caught it. With my own strength, and gravity working in my favor, it was a simple task to skewer the two aliens. Yanking my spear out to the side, the two began to drop, their staffs falling from their hands.

Sinestro let out a pain-filled cry that caught me off guard. It was so unlike him that I could only marvel at the difference in personality. He raised his ring at me, launching a tidal wave of energy. In response to that, I reached out to the ki spear that I had thrown -- it was half-buried some distance away, but because it was so dense, it took time to fade. Pulling it back, it flew in the direction that I wanted.

As I rose up into the air, narrowly avoiding blasts, Sinestro's cry of heartache became one of pain as my second spear took off the offending arm, blood coating its surface as it spun up to me.

"Do you enjoy the suffering that you bring?" Indigo snarled at me, racing up to clash against me. Catching my second spear, I formed an X, catching her staff at the center, blue and purple sparks flashing as our two weapons clashed. She pushed me up into the air, intent on driving me away from the others.

"Does it matter?" I questioned, lashing out with a foot to catch her in the stomach. She managed to react in time to block the blow, catching my foot with her staff. It managed to remain in place even if she shot to the ground. The Khund that I spotted raced upward while Mohawk caught Indigo. The remaining tribe members followed the Khund, their faces masks of grim determination.

I let myself fall to meet them halfway. Blasts of purple energy raced by me as I twisted out of the way. It felt like I had all the time in the world too. A trait of my species -- the stronger we grew, the sharper our senses became to make the most of our strength. I twisted in the air as I fell, narrowly avoiding the shots aimed my way before I spun my spears and launched them at the ground.

They broke the sound barrier as they rushed down, punching through another two Indigo Lanterns, and the others faltered ever so slightly when two more of their comrades were vaporized next to them. The two spears slammed into the ground like a meteor, an explosion of ki blasting out. To my surprise, I caught a glimpse of Indigo lashing out with her staff before a bubble of purple energy enveloped the explosion.

The remaining Indigo Lanterns had reached me by then, so my attention was snatched away by them. The Khund had tears in her eyes as she lashed out at me, a construct sword in one hand while she wielded the staff in the other. "You heartless monster!" She screamed at me, attempting to take my head off with a swing of her sword. I spun out of the way of it while I slammed a foot in her stomach, folding her around my boot. She slammed her staff into my leg while I focused on the others, ki flowing to my hand…

Only to hesitate for the briefest of seconds. The others went to envelop me, forcing me to dismiss the momentary hesitation in favor of reacting.

A wall of blasts races towards me, forcing me to put up a twin ki shield of Destructo Disks. I thrust them forward slamming the flat of the shield into theirs and…

No, that wasn't right.

A ki spear formed in my hand as I twisted away from the Khund, the spear spinning until the edge caught her in her neck. Her protective aura protected her some, as did her natural durability. Just not enough. Her head flew free while her body dropped. The ki spear condensed into a ball that I held in my palm, matching my other. Raising my hands to my side, the ki compressed, more power flowing into the attacks before I unleashed them. Ki slammed into the ki shields that I had used to disable and distract the enemy, then over the enemy Lanterns behind them.

I had overcharged the attacks, I realized, but even still, all that was left of them were the staffs that they had wielded. They fell to the ground as I lowered my hands, turning to face the last of the enemy Lanterns.

Mohawk and Indigo had managed to contain the explosion. They had even managed to save Sinestro's life, I noticed, spotting him floating near the two. I suppose getting rid of the ring wasn't enough to break the mind control that they had on him.

"Do you truly feel nothing?" Indigo questioned, heartbreak lacing her tone, but there was a core of strength there. She wouldn't let the death of her allies stop her. I felt my respect for her go up a notch for that. Bringing it to notch one. It might not sound like a lot, but very few ever reached that level of respect. "No remorse in your heart? Is Sinestro not your ally?"

"I know Sinestro. The real one. He'd rather die than live with what you've done with him," I actually wasn't completely sure about that. I've never seen Sinestro as anything other than composed. People revealed who they truly were when they died. Perhaps Sinestro was the type to beg for his life. I had no clue. Wasn't like it really mattered at the moment. "Undo what you did to him, and I'll spare your lives."

Indigo frowned at me while Mohawk openly glared. Sinestro shook his head, "No, I refuse," he decided. "Supreme Commander Tarble… we are evil men. We have left a wake of carnage and desolation across the galaxy with this war. I don't know if we can ever atone for our role in this war… but we must try." He sounded like he meant it. Every word was dripping with genuine remorse, there were even tears in his eyes. But that was the brainwashing talking. The real Sinestro wouldn't feel an ounce of remorse for anything we've done so far.

"I have no interest in atonement or redemption," I answered flatly, killing the idea before he could plead his case. "Do you refuse my offer?"

Sinestro drifted forward, one arm and one stump held out wide, acting as a shield to those behind him. "You are not heartless, Tarble. Kaylark… my student that the Guardians killed… did you not once weep for the Guardian's inaction? For the death that had been brought to the galaxy?" His gaze was soft and kind, a solitary tear dripping from one of his eyes. "Did you not once weep for your own role in it?"

"That…" I started, my voice cold as I met his compassionate gaze unflinchingly, "was a long time ago."

I raised my hand and took aim, ruthlessly crushing whatever stirred in my chest. It would be a shame to lose Sinestro like this, but we would recover. However, as ki flowed to my hand, I felt something tap me in my chest. My eyes darted down and ever so slowly, I saw the top of a staff pressed against me there, revealing Indigo who held it. Her eyes looked into mine and rather than hate in her eyes, I saw a never-ending well of pity.

Purple light washed over my chest and I…

I felt everything.

...

Feels a little weird going back to my other stories again after taking a week off from them. Let me know if that shows in the chapter in any way.