18493/A Reunion of Light and Love

A Reunion of Light and Love
Date of Scene:	03 July 2024
Location:	Star Sapphire Citadel, Zamaron
Synopsis:	Star Sapphire is at the Crystal Palace on Zaramon when the world is expectedly set upon by marauder. To turn the tides and restore the full power of her love, she can think of only man to summon to fight by her side...
Cast of Characters:	Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan

---

Carol Ferris has posed:
Some days are harder than others.

Star Sapphire stands on the crystalline balcony of the Citadel, her violet eyes scanning the horizon of Zamaron. The planet's sky is a breathtaking canvas of twilight hues, stars twinkling like diamonds scattered across a velvet cloth. Beneath her, the bioluminescent flora of the fields glows softly, casting an ethereal light that makes the entire landscape seem otherworldly.

That serene beauty usually fills her with a sense of peace, but tonight, she can't pull her thoughts away from Hal Jordan.

AS she leans against the ornate railing, the cool crystal pressing against her palms, her mind wanders to the moments of quiet intimacy and the painful separations.

How long as it been since she's seen him? Touched him? Felt the reassuring presence of his love?

Too long.

The universe always seems to conspire to keep them apart, each with their own responsibilities, but she can't help feeling like it's time to reach out -- to bridge the gap that has grown between them... again.

Just as she resolves to send him a message, the tranquility of Zamaron is shattered by a deafening explosion. In the distance, plumes of smoke rise from the outskirts of the citadel. Intergalactic marauders, she realizes, recognizing the dark ships descending upon her home. They are after the power of the Star Sapphires -- a treasure they could never understand or truly wield even if they could pry it from the grip of the Star Sapphire Corps.

Carol's heart pounds as she leaps from the balcony, her ring propelling her forward with a surge of violet energy. She soars above the fields, her gaze locked on the intruders. These marauders are a mix of races and species, all driven by greed and the promise of power, and their heavy weapons and crude machinery tear through the delicate beauty of Zamaron without a second thought.

She lands amidst the chaos, her boots touching down with a resounding thud. The marauders turn, their faces twisted with malice and surprise. Carol's eyes narrow, and she thrusts her hand forward, sending a wave of violet energy to form a protective shield around her.

"You've made a big mistake," she calls out, her voice booming with authority and artificial amplification through the power of her ring. "Whatever you think is about to happen, I promise it will only end badly for you. This is not your place, and these are not your spoils."

Behind her, from the Citadel, other violet shapes are rising up into the air to join the fight, but the marauders are undeterred. Energy lances from their weapons and the ships that hover in the sky, devastating the crystalline structures around her.

Carol summons her power, creating intricate constructs of weapons and barriers as her mind races, each move precise and calculated. She slashes through the ranks of marauders, her constructs shifting from swords to shields to lances with fluid grace. But for every enemy she fells, two more seem to take their place.

Her sisters remain steadfast by her side, fighting as a coordinated barrier -- but there aren't enough of them. Their numbers are too small, spread too thin. Unlike the Green Lanterns, there were only a couple hundred Star Sapphire Rings in existence, and so many of those were spread around the galaxy, fighting for love.

Sweat beads on her forehead as she fights, the strain of the battle taking its toll. She knows she can't hold them off alone for much longer. The thought of Hal surfaces in her mind again, more powerful than ever. She needs him, and the universe needs them together.

Closing her eyes, she focuses all her love, desperation, and determination into a single telepathic message, sending it through her Star Sapphire ring. "Hal, I need you. Please come to me."

Far away, wherever he is in the universe, a pink portal shimmers into existence beside Hal Jordan. Through it, he can see the chaos unfolding on Zamaron, the violet light of Carol's ring blazing amidst the darkness. The call of the Star Sapphire is clear, urgent, and unmistakable.

Hal Jordan has posed:
A Green Lantern's job is never done.

There is a long standing tradition in the Green Lantern Corps that the individual Lanterns assigned to each of the thirty-six hundred sectors of space focus on dealing with the problems of their own sectors. Each one is certainly expansive enough to keep the paired 'space cops' busy afterall.

But occasionally there is a need to go beyond those mere borders on the galactic map. Whether by order of the Guardians or by request of fellow Lanterns. While they might wield arguably the most powerful weapon -- Hal prefers to think of it as a tool -- in the universe, some threats are too great for even individual Lanterns to face.

Certainly the recent chaos gripping the galaxy would qualify. Multiple Lanterns dead and worlds devestated. While their replacements might have already been chosen by the rings that give the members of the Green Lantern Corps their might, it will still take time to train them up, to make them as effective as they can possibly be. Suitable sentinels against whatever threat might present itself to their respective Sectors.

Which means for the interim, at least, Hal Jordan is very far from home indeed.

Being a member of the Corps is certainly a responsibility. One big enough that it has even managed to hammer a little of the importance of just that into the flyboy pilot over the past decade that he has served.

But it can also be a joy. Space is full of wonders beyond measures, sights that Hal could never have imagined. Could barely have conceived of.

It is just a little hard to fully enjoy them as he is streaking after a trail of destruction. That green glow envelops him, surrounding him in an aura of force that protects and shelters against the unforgiving void of space and Hal streaks through that void faster then even light can travel.

All thanks to a little glowing ring that encircles one finger. It is a remarkable gift. It is a truly terrifying responsibility.

His expression is a maks of determination, his ring giving a little chime as it detects the energy pattern that he has been tracking.

Before he can shift his course though, before he can start to race off along that path, can look to help put out this latest fire, that flare of violet energy manifests just up ahead and off to the side.

It is unexpected. And it is not.

Even with everything that has been going on as of late, Hal has found his thoughts returning to Earth, time and again. To days gone by. To an airfield and one particular woman in particular.

Carol. His Star Sapphire.

So while he wonders for just a moment whether this is a trick of his subconscious, his mind bringing his thoughts into existence like a mirage in the desert, any doubts that he might have are quickly banished by the scene playing out as that swirl of violet energy resolves, becomes clearer.

This is going to cost him time. Time to pick back up on that trail, time when others could be endangered.

But he doesn't even hesitate.

There isn't even really a conscious decision to be made, that trajectory through space simply altering ever so slightly, sending him soaring right into that flare of purplish power. One moment he is in deep, empty space...

...and the next he is on Zamaron. The next he is with her again. Though possibly not in the most ideal of circumstances.

Arm outstretched before him, the green glow that radiates from that ring finger intensifies powerfully, the power of his Will beginning to spill out. In this case, in the form of a barrelling green freight train that lurches forth, car after packed car slamming into the position of the attacking marauders, exploding through their lines as he floats down towards Carol.

"Pretty lady," he says in that casual way he has. "Long time no see. It looked like you could use a hand."

Just like they were back home instead of a thousand light years from the same. Offering to give a hand carrying some package, instead of fending off an alien invasion.

Typical.

Carol Ferris has posed:
A giant pink shield glowing in front her, Carol takes the brunt of the enemy line's might, shielding a few of her sister Sapphires while they propel shards of violet energy -- crystals that fly through the air with lethal accuracy, but not fast enough. Nowhere near fast enough.

Others are in the air, fighting the ships, pinkish wasps assaulting a bird of prey -- death by a thousand stings. It will work, but it will take time, and the enemy's calculus is obviously that they can withstand the assault.

An explosion rocks the front of Carol's shield and sends her reeling backwards. Violet light rockets out in all directions as Sapphires take flight, no longer afforded the protection of the shield.

It all feels hopeless.

And then that green freight train barrels through the enemy line, and in one glorious moment, everything changes. The marauders' relentless assault is stalled like a sudden punch in the face, and they're forced back a step as they re-evaluate their own position, their own tactics, in the face of a new threat -- in the face of a Green Lantern.

"Hal."

It's as much a breath of relief as it is a whispered reverence. Her eyes cast up to find him floating down.

That smile. That greeting. That _love_.

Her violet light flares with renewed vigor, and she launches into the air, a streak of pink energy meeting him in a collision of bodies that's too violent, too dangerous in the heat of the battle, but she can't help herself.

Strong enough to knock him back several yards, she bursts into his arms and spins with him through the air, arms around his neck, lips against his. There's no thought given to their separation, to their future, or even to their past. All that exists is _this_ moment. This feeling. This overwhelming surge of love.

And though it might, for just a moment, seem like the worst tactical decision possible, from within the renewed glow of Carol's affection, a violet construct surges into existence -- a massive, monstrous entity that's all claws and legs and gnashing teeth.

And even as Carol lingers just a few more seconds in that embrace, The Predator takes her place on the battlefield, and the enemy is pushed back yet another step... then two, the glowing and surging attacks of the other Sapphires taking full advantage of the turning of the tide to keep up the pressure.

Hal Jordan has posed:
Hopeless situations are kind of his stock in trade.

Chances are that the Star Sapphires would have rallied. That they would have driven off these invaders. They might not benefit from the sheer size of the Green Lantern Corps but it doesn't make them any less formidable on an individual level.

But why take that chance?

Not that Hal put any thought into it. He has learned the value of patience over the past ten years, has become much better at tactics. He's even managed to become something of a leader, more then just an individual operator.

But a part of him will always be 'Highball'. The pilot who thrives on instinct over calculation.

And when it comes to his instincts, well, nothing calls out to them more then she does.

Each Green Lantern tends to develop their own style, little trademarks that manifest in their ability to bring what they see to life through the power of their Will alone. For Hal, it's all casual precision. A contridiction made reality through his mind's eye.

So that emerald green freight train tears through the sky without any track, careening around a bend that only the Green Lantern can truly see to continue to smash into the enemy lines, the ridiculously oversized cow-catcher at the front of the construct deflecting all the blasts from the many and varied energy weapons sent it's way

And where those lines are broken? Where the invaders are seperated into solitary stands or small groups? The sometimes Ferris pilot is able to split both his Will and his attention with that practised ease, dozens of glowing green boxing gloves lashing out in a series of gabs and upper cuts, seeking to pummel the marauders into submission.

Throughout it all however, he never takes his eyes off of her, that little grin remaining curled on his expression. When she all but charges into the air, races towards him with that total lack of restraint there isn't even a second of doubt. Despite their sometimes... tempetuous relationship.

That sheer momentum might send them both another half-dozen or so feet into the air, the melding of green and violet energies sending a surge of emotional light outwards, the glow around them both brightening until it seems to echo across the sky around them, reflected in all those crystalline structures.

Then his arms are around hers just as hers are around his, hands settling at the small of her back to draw her in close to him. His lips find hers -- or hers find his, it doesn't really matter -- and it is like all that time since they last ran into one another just... fades away. No longer relevent. No longer important. As if they are the only two people out here even as that battle surges around him.

And despite that, despite the Predator being unleashed on the invaders, despite the new forward surge by her fellow Star Sapphires -- despite that really great kiss -- Hal's energy constructs continue to make their presence felt on that battlefield with barely so much as a flicker.

He's come a *long* way since he first got that ring.

And when their lips do finally break. "I'm going to guess that you're actually happy to see me then?"

Carol Ferris has posed:
"A little." Carol's violet eyes are still looking up into his, the warmth and affection and love inside them unmistakable for anything other than what it is. She wears it as clearly in the open as that violet costume. "I mean, I wouldn't want you to get too full of yourself..."

The sounds of battle continue to rage around them as their constructs, massive green and violet shapes, continue to batter the enemy back.

Whether or not the Star Sapphire Corps could have rallied will forever remain a point of uncertainty, but there are two facts of the situation that are abundantly clear.

One: They were woefully unprepared for a surprise attack, and that is something that Carol is already developing plans to fix, to shore up the Citadel's defenses. It's not enough merely to try to keep Zamaron's location a secret known to relatively few. They must be ready for anything.

Two: As their Champion, Carol's potency in combat was directly tied to her mood, and the incursion of that shadow of loneliness before the attack was as ill-timed as it could possibly have been. It was Hal's arrival that turned the tide of the battle in part due to his own power, but also by the way the intensity of Carol's violet glow seemed to multiply in his arms.

Even the ships have begun to pull back under the onslaught of violet energy, the Predator's rampaging, and Hal's constructs, but it isn't enough for Carol.

"Wait here," she urges, giving him another, quick kiss on the lips before pulling away and flying up in front of the enemy forces. Holding up her ring, waves of violet light radiate out over them, bathing them in pacifying energy that, at first, do relatively little...

"GO HOME," her voice rings out. "We want no further bloodshed. Go home to your loved ones, and do not come back here!"

One by one, the other slender, feminine shapes of the other Sapphires rise up beside her, forming a floating wall of violet pillars, all with their rings held aloft, all radiating that same energy.

And with each passing second, the fight grows quieter.

The enemy eventually ceases attacking.

Soldiers are flown back up into ships.

The ships are rotated.

And steadily, they rise towards the atmosphere.

There's a murmur of grateful appreciation around Carol that soon moves like a tide towards Hal, women of all sizes and shapes thankful for his timely arrival (even if perhaps not as thankful as Carol... though most look like they _could_ be, if given the opportunity).

Once the flood of congratulations are over, most turn towards repairing damage and tending to the wounded, but Carol floats back over to Hal, still looking drained but so, so happy to see him.

"So, is it _always_ going to take an invading army for me to get to see you?" she asks, floating right back up towards his chest, where she'd been before.

Hal Jordan has posed:
It is almost possible to recognize the moment that the tide well and truly turns. When the mingling of those emerald energy constructs fashioned from pure will join the united violet power of Love directed at the invaders and not only break their advance. But begin pushing back against it.

While Hal certainly might look distracted -- and certainly has some pretty good reasons to *be* distracted, he is tuned in enough to the battle to be aware of that. And even if he wasn't, he knows that Carol almost certainly is.

No matter how otherwise distracted she might be as well.

This is her place now. At least one of them. Just like Ferris Aircraft is hers. And no matter how what hers might struggle, she's not the sort to let go. Not without a fight. Hal doesn't need to be able to read her mind to know exactly what is playing through it at the moment, the things that she is weighing and measuring. The judgements she is making.

He has arrived in the middle of the act. He doesn't know the motivations of the players, doesn't know what the maruaders are after here or who they pierced the shroud of secrecy that the Zamarons tend to favor to maintain their home safe from outsiders.

But he knows damn well that she is already making plans to insure that it doesn't happen again anytime soon. And that when those defenses are, inevitably, breached again, they won't need help from anyone -- not even him -- to handle things on their own. Because no matter what they might mean to one another, in this he is still an outsider.

"What? Me? Get full of myself? You must be thinking about someone else. Maybe Gardner," Hal says with that customary disarming smile before his gaze flickers back out to the field beyond, one arm still loosely draped around her back -- not quite ready to surrender his hold on her now that they are back together.

That emerald freight train splits into two seperate trains, then four, running wild over the alien invaders, even his formidable will nearing it's limits. Though even then there is such a casual -- not quite ease -- but style to it all.

And when she finally leaves his side, when she soars out to bath the invaders in that violet love, he can't help but be both impressed and take note of the difference in their two approaches.

Under the light of that violet Love the invaders are coaxed into leaving, into not returning. He is very aware that had the attack been directed at Oa the end result would have been very different. It would have resulted in a thoroughly smashed armada, in the ring leaders being taken into custody, held in the security cells of Oa to serve out their well deserved prison terms.

Is one approach better then the other? Hal can't say. Though he can't help but admire her particular approach. Can't help but admire her.

He gives a nod to the various Sapphires that cluster around the pair as she floats back towards him before both that gaze and grin is for her and her alone. "I mean, it's not *strictly* necessary," he offers up in reply.

"But it's a pretty good way to guarantee I'll drop by," he says with a wink. "It's good to see you again Carol. I've missed you."

Carol Ferris has posed:
There were, for better or worse, different approaches even within the Star Sapphire Corps, as Hal and Carol were both unfortunately too aware. When the Star Sapphire gem chose Carol and she refused to leave Earth -- refused to leave Hal -- they brainwashed her into thinking that Hal was her enemy.

That unfortunate time of their lives had lasted years, and Carol still remembered every minute of it. She remembered every time she tried to make the man she loves pay for crimes he'd never committed against her. She remembered every time he disarmed her and took the crystal out of her, only to have it return. Over and over.

She also remembers how frustrating that was for her at the time, but looking back at everything Hal endured, it's hard to imagine a more patient, understanding, kind-hearted man. He understood, of course, once everything was said and done. The Zamarons had admitted what they'd done to Carol. But he'd put up with most of it with no evidence other than his blind faith in her and still refused to hurt her.

Their lives were made so much more difficult by the Zamarons. Not all of them had the same value on life and sacrifice as Carol. But Carol had been chosen as Champion and the new leader of the Star Sapphire Corps, and she would neither allow them to remain vulnerable nor sacrifice her belief in the power of love -- the true meaning of love -- like those who came before her.

    Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud
    or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it
    keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice
    but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never
    loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every
    circumstance.

Rarely has she ever turned to biblical quotes for anything else, but this one has always been close to her heart. Every once in a while she finds a nugget of wisdom in the places she least expects.

One thing she doesn't love -- that she's never loved -- is the way her heart feels when they're not together. But love is not jealous. Sacrifices may be made, but love never gives up or loses faith, either. Love endures through every circumstance.

"I've missed you, too. Thank you for coming when I called... for _always_ being there when I need you."

The little smile on her lips is so sincere, and there's no apology made for the way she showed how much she missed him, before -- no regret in the power that his mere presence helped her remember she still had within her.

The others are keeping a wary eye on the retreating 'army.' The Predator, prowling just a bit longer to ensure that all of the threats are in fact gone, eventually dissipates, absorbed back into that violet energy.

"I've been worried about you," she admits after a moment. "Before all this, I was thinking about you... again." Her eyes dip coyly, then look back up through her lashes, her grin sly and playful. "Still."

But then her expression sobers.

"Do you have time to talk? For just a few minutes?"

She'd pulled him away from something. She didn't summon him like that often, but each time, she pulled him away from something urgent. Of course, neither of them spent a lot of time sitting in front of the TV, burning daylight until it was time to sleep. All she could do was be grateful that he trusted her not to call unless it was important.

Now that the threat was handled, she was at the mercy of whatever his latest calling was. In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape his sight... She just hoped the evil could wait. Just a bit longer.