| Synopsis
| - A member of the creatures known as the Untitled - once-humans who bathed in the well of sins and became beings of pure evil - has just used a device called the Life Hammer against Essence. Essence is the last daughter of the Untitled, sworn to kill all of the other remaining Untitled, and make good. Now, she may be dead.
Her opponent is pleased with the hammer's effectiveness. It was designed by the All-Caste with intent to destroy the Untitled, and now he has used it against one of their own acolytes. He is distracted by one of his accomplices in the theft, who hopes to get away unscathed. Naturally, the Untitled uses the weapon on him as well.
Unexpectedly, Essence returns, complaining that the Untitled must be stopped because of their disregard for human life. The Untitled is more interested in knowing how she survived the Life Hammer. Essence explains that his touch corrupted it, and rendered it ineffective against her. She, on the other hand, is a vessel for pure life. She overloads the hammer, and it destroys its wearer. Essence tries to collect it afterwards, but her touch also corrupts it.
Within a short time, Essence is surrounded by black marketeers hoping to get a hold of the device. She disappears in shadows, with other things to do. She returns to the local Ranger outpost, returning the body of the woman the Untitled killed to her mourning husband.
- Roy Harper has been captured by the Blight. The aliens have been attempting to conquer Tamaran, and now, they want to know where Koriand'r is, and why she has come back. Roy decides to start the story at the beginning.
He and Jason Todd had decided to accompany Koriand'r home when she discovered that the Blight had attacked. They had reunited with the crew of her old ship the Starfire and engaged the Blight fleet. Kori commanded the ship while Roy did his best to do defend the ship as he could, and Jason was busy dealing with his date Isabel, who was accidentally transported into space with them.
Kori had commanded her ship so well that one Tamaran warship had caused much of the Blight fleet to retreat. Kori wouldn't let her crew celebrate it as a win, though, as there was still much work to do on the planet's surface. Surprising her crew, Kori passed the bridge command on to Depalo and conferred with Roy and Jason in private. Kori needed advice - not strategic advice, but advice as to whether to become involved at all. Honor and duty notwithstanding, she had no interest in fighting on Tamaran's behalf.
She explained that she is the second daughter of Tamaran; her sister Komand'r is first. Komand'r had always cared for her younger sister, even in the early days of the war. But when the fate of her people was threatened, Komand'r surrendered, and traded Koriand'r's freedom for peace. Over the years of suffering, her tortures never hurt as much as knowing that her sister had given her up into that fate. This grew into a need for retribution, which was nurtured by every injury she suffered. She worked her way closer to the ones who had taken over her world, and when she met with Depalo, Orn, and K'tten, it was only a matter of time before they took revenge.
Kori returned to Tamaran, welcomed by her estranged sister. She found it hard not to hate the one who had sent her to slavery. When Komand'r held her in her arms and cried, things changed - but not enough. The sisters never managed to repair their relationship. Eventually, Kori took control of the Starfire and made her way to Earth. The truth was, there were more than a billion people living on Tamaran, and not one had moved to rescue her. Now that she had returned, Kori didn't feel obligated to help a people who failed to help her.
Jason explained that Kori was not wrong to feel as unmoved by the Tamaraneans' plight as she did. Part of him was still mad that Batman failed to do anything against the Joker after he was killed. Roy interrupted, explaining that while he didn't know what kind of person Kori was before they met, he had since seen what kind of person she was always meant to be. He'd caught glimpses of it in her every move. As far as he was concerned, she was a good person, and if she were to help Tamaran, it would be because she was doing it from a place of strength, not because of what they did or didn't do.
Just then, Isabel wandered in and Jason fumbled to offer her an apology. She explained that he had no obligation to her. They had one very boring date until aliens started falling from the skies. The Blight is less interested in this part of Roy's story. A voice from nearby claims that Roy is stalling, hoping that Kori will save him. Komand'r has grown weary of his games, and she grabs him by the neck threatening death if he doesn't let her speak to Koriand'r. Smirking, Roy claims that his captor won't enjoy that experience as much as he will.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)