17322/Bad News From Far Away

Bad News From Far Away
Date of Scene:	02 March 2024
Location:	Observation Deck - Watchtower
Synopsis:	Diana and Hal discuss the recent revelations around the alien refugee crisis and even more disconcerting news from the depths of space.
Cast of Characters:	Hal Jordan, Diana Prince
Tinyplot:	Hunger

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Hal Jordan has posed:
Shortly after discovering the slain Green Lanterns, Hal had left Diana and the rest of the Justice League contingent to bring the news to the Guardians. For his own part, he'd departed for the planet Xaos which seemed to have been the source of all the trouble and brought rookie Lantern Kyle Rayner with him.

It had been quite some time, but the alert at the Watchtower had let his fellow members of the Justice League know he had returned. He'd immediately taken monitor duty, sealing himself up within the hub and only emerging now that his shift has ended.

He's out of costume. Instead, he's wearing a button down with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of jeans. He's got a five o'clock shadow and his hair is a bit of a mess. The only sign that he's anything more than a slightly haggard man is the green ring on his finger. At the moment, he holds a mug with the 'Ferris Aerospace' logo on it and sips coffee while staring out at the lunar landscape.

Diana Prince has posed:
There had been a number of space related incidents happening of late, and Diana felt a responsibility to be involved in all of them. She was the mastermind behind Earth's first ground-based starport, and had been pushing Earth's advancement in to space more and more every passing year. Even her people had formed a space force named the 'Starguard', and tonight Diana is dressed in a Starguard uniform.

Not that unlike her own armor in basic style, the Starguard uniform consists of reds, blues, and gold trim. A leather-like material jacket, and pants, that look slick and comfortable to her form.

She steps in through the open doorway, spotting Hal across the room. A small smile crosses her lips, and Diana moves toward him. Her hair tied back in a tight French braid, her tiara on her head glinting in the ambient light, she approaches and quietly clears her throat to garner his attention.

When he looks, her smile widens some for him. "Have a moment?" She asks.

Hal Jordan has posed:
"Huh?" Hal murmurs, as though shocked out of some deep thought by Diana's words. He glances sidelong at her, taking another sip of the coffee before setting it down on the inside ledge of the window. His hands lift to press the heels of his palms into his eyes, the sign of someone running on a lack of sleep.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

It's only then, really, that he takes notice of the uniform she's wearing and tilts his head to the side.

"Nice threads."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana sidles up next to him, and retains the warm smile. When he comments on her attire, she glances down at herself, and releases a soft laugh as she bounces her eyes back up to his own. "Yes, Themysciran Starguard. We went through a number of designs, but this one won the online vote on our social media page." She says in a happy way as she places her right hand on her stomach through the leathery material of the colorful apparel. "We are still working out the details of Themyscira pushing toward space, but it is coming along." She says with a little grin.

Diana's eyes gounce out toward the surface of the moon, before she looks toward him again. She purses her lips in thought for a second before she just speaks up. "Firstly, I wanted to see how you were doing? You seemed to be in a shadowy place, following the discovery of those fallen friends. Which, I certainly would be too. But, I wanted you to know that we are here to help you through such things, should you wish it."

Hal Jordan has posed:
"Easy to forget you're more than just a secret island playing harps and making clay pots now," Hal muses, "You've got all sorts of stuff to worry about. Including uniform designs."

The question causes him to stiffen slightly. Every bit the military man who isn't comfortable with wearing anything but cocksure bravado on the surface. He frowns, clicking his tongue against his teeth.

"It's not every day a Green Lantern dies. Of course, it happens. It has to. Immutable fact of the universe. But in those kinds of numbers? That quickly? That's something new. That's ... prophecy stuff ... "

He shakes his head, breathing out a heavy sigh and seeking to change the subject.

"We saw Xaos. Or what's left of it. There's nothing there. It's like someone took everything living about a planet and drained it entirely. Just brittle rock and ashes. I thought we had the wrong place but the ring confirmed it."

Diana Prince has posed:
A look of concern falls across the Princess' face when Hal speaks of this information regarding the world. "How many people populated it?" She asks, as her eyes glance again toward the viewport looking out on to the Moon. She turns toward it, and places her hands upon the edge of the wall. "When was it last confirmed to be in a stable, and normal, state of being?" She asks further, as she glances to her left toward him.

"I just spoke with Jean Grey," she informs. "She told me that an alien pod has landed near their school. It contained a ... sentient Duck, from a planet called Duckworld. I'd come here to ask you about it, but... I can see now that you have quite a lot more on your mind."

Hal Jordan has posed:
"Billions? At least according to the ring's estimates when it was alive last year. Some of them got away, it looks like. There's evidence of fleets moving out of the system. But ... there's no fleet that can hold that many people ... "

He doesn't mention the dessicated bones that littered the landscape, either. Though the look on his face perhaps means he doesn't need to. He's lost in that thought when she asks about the duck. His brow furrows.

"Duckworld? Seems a bit on the nose, don't you think? But I can ask ... Ring, tell me about Duckworld."

++ No records for 'Duckworld'. ++

The ring's robotic voice is clipped and purfunctory. Hal simply shrugs.

"There's your answer. Either your duck's lying or he's from somewhere else. In my experience, there isn't a world the Guardians don't know about."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana leans back from the window sil, turning to face him again after his ring makes that declaration with regard to Duckworld. "All planets within the Milky Way galaxy, or ... beyond?" She asks, clearly disbelieving of the reach of which he speaks including /all/ of the universe. She sighs softly, and dismissively shakes her head. "I will let Jean know." She quietly says, her mind focusing more on what he'd said of the barren world.

"Billions of people, wiped out in a year's time, leaving behind rock and ... dust?" She asks for no particular reason. "How could that even feasibly happen? An asteroid strike, would be much more active even a year later, I would think. To leave it broken down to the degree of, say, Mars... seems as though it would take a very long time."

She sighs softly. "That is just horrid..." She says in a ghostly tone of voice, as her eyes drift away to think about the lives lost over the course of a yearl, and she had no idea such horrors were even taking place.

Hal Jordan has posed:
"The universe, as far as the Guardians explain it, anyway. Never had the kind of problems that involve leaving the galaxy, but they don't call them the Guardians of the Universe if they're strictly local. You're the one who met with them. Take it up with them. I try to avoid meetings with the brass if I can help it."

Diana's question earns only a disbelieving shake of Hal's own head.

"Nothing I know of can do that kind of damage. Plenty of things out there that can wreck a planet, but they leave signs. Traces. This was just like someone had taken everything about Xaos that was alive and just ... removed it. But I saw the pictures from your Starport on the monitor. Some of those aliens are Xaosians. So they're not all gone."

He sighs again: "Whatever it is, the Guardians won't talk about it. The ring knows but isn't allowed to tell me. Which means they don't want me getting involved. Which means, obviously, that we're going to find whatever it is that destroyed that world and make damn sure it isn't a threat to anyone ever again."

Diana Prince has posed:
This news does not bode well within Diana's heart. It shows on her exterior too, as she folds one arm across her stomach, while the other props her elbow upon it, and her hand rises up to her chin, where she lightly pinches it in a bit of internal angst. "Such a power ... has to be learned of, and stopped from ever finding its way to another world." She tells him, not that he needs to hear it. "Do everything you can to push harder, and see if you can get anything about it out of your peers?" She asks him. "I will speak to the Xaosians at the Starport, and see if I can get anything out of them."

She draws in a light breath, and looks once more to the black of space beyond the Moon's horizon.

"If they know nothing, we will have to start looking for more survivors of their species. Someone... has to know something, and be willing to speak to us about it."

Hal Jordan has posed:
"They won't know," Hal answers bitterly, "Only one who might have was Tomar Re - he kept the library - and he was at the massacre. We're on our own in this, but what I do know is that there were strange energy readings at the massacre and a thousand times the amount present in the ambiet radiation at Xaos. Whatever it is leaves a trail, so what we need now is a way to search for that energy signature on a macro scale."

He rolls his shoulders in a frustrated shrug.

"I don't know. See if you know anyone with that kind of technology, or who might be able to get access to it. I'll keep looking on my end, too."

That said, he reaches out to pat her on the side of the arm. All stoicism and bravado as always. Whatever pain he's feeling, he is keeping it buried deep.

"I'll keep you posted."

Diana Prince has posed:
When he elaborates on the details of how they are alone in this, Diana folds both of her arms across her leather covered stomach whilst she just ponders the meaning of what he is saying, and all that comes with it. At his touch to her arm, she summons up a soft smile, and momentarily bites down on her bottom lip, before she just shoots him a meager smile.

"I will let you know what comes up from my meetings with the Xaosians." She tells him. "Should you discover a way to track that radiation... I would eagerly await to hear it. My... Lansinarian Disc might be able to, but that could be a long shot..."

She draws in a breath through her nose, and gives one last glance toward space. "I better go return Jean's call, let her know Duckworld is a mystery all and in itself." She states, showing a brief grin before she turns to head back the way she'd come, her braided ponytail sweeping around behind her shoulders as she goes.