Incident At Nagbor - A Lantern's Tale

INCIDENT AT NAGBOR - A LANTERN'S TALE by BillA1

Disclaimer: The characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash and their respective secret identities are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. Notes: Spoilers up to "Secret Origins." Inspired by an email exchange with crhblack. A huge shout out of thanks to Merlin Missy for her beta on this story.

Incident at Nagbor - A Lantern's Tale

A Justice League Unlimited Story

Rating: (PG-13)

Synopsis: "Sleeping with a Green Lantern causes nothing but problems in your life." - A John Stewart Story

"I don't have anything to teach a daughter...."

"Why would it be any different from what you would teach a son?"

(Neelix and Tuvok - Star Trek: Voyager - "Elogium")

Three years before Astronaut J. Allen Carter landed in the Mariner Valley on Mars

(A hostel on Volan III)

John Stewart woke up expecting to find her lying next to him. Instead she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her back toward him. She was leaning forward and it looked to him like she had her head in her hands. He reached across the bed and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

She didn't flinch which meant he hadn't startled her, not that he expected her to be rattled by anything. She turned, looked over her shoulder, flashed a shallow smile at him and then frowned. "You know," she said, "sleeping with a Green Lantern causes nothing but problems in your life."

Stewart flashed a quick grin. "You would know." She didn't return the smile, but instead looked away and sighed.

"I do know," she said softly. Then she stood, walked to the bathroom, stopped in the doorway and turned back to face him. "That's why I'm telling you, don't do it. It only leads to complications later."

She closed the door before he could respond. A few moments later he could hear the pulsating hum of a sonic shower. A noisy sonic shower.

Stewart reflected upon what she'd said, then walked to the bathroom door. He knocked once and entered. "Is that what I am to you?" he asked. "A complication?"

"No," she answered over the din of the shower. She said nothing else as she turned the device off. Stewart handed her one of the large moisturizing bath towels designed for humanoids. She wrapped it around herself as she stepped out into the bedroom.

Stewart followed her out and sat on the edge of the bed. She stood in front of him, dropped her towel to the floor and acknowledged his appreciative smile, then she ringed a uniform on herself.

Katma sat down on the opposite side of the bed and patted the space next to her, encouraging Stewart to move closer. He did. Katma pursed her lips together and looked Stewart in the eyes.

"I lied," she said. "You are a complication, John Stewart. I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I did."

Stewart stood. "So loving me is a mistake?"

Katma stood. "Is it always typical of your species to confuse love with sex? No one is talking about love here. Having sex with your student complicates the relationship. It makes you hold on to the trainee too long or makes you let them go too soon." She rubbed Stewart's face with her ring hand.

"I'm not sleeping with Droxelle if that's what you're getting at." Stewart would later recall when he replayed this response in his mind that he did sound a little too defensive. He had been Droxelle's trainer for two years. His relationship with her was platonic and professional and he had worked hard to keep it that way. Katma had no reason to suggest there had been anything else.

Katma glared at him. "That's exactly what I'm getting at, John Stewart. She should have been ready months ago. Why isn't she ready? Why haven't you scheduled her final test?"

Stewart matched Katma's frown with one of his own as he folded his arms across his chest. "Because she's not ready." He moved to the other side of the bed and picked up Katma's towel off the floor, tossing it on the bed.

Katma shook her head and walked to the door. "We both know that's not true. I've seen her in action. You did a good job with her. You're a good teacher. Now schedule the test!" She opened the door and turned around to face Stewart. "You want to sleep with her? Sleep with her after she's completed training. Then no one will care."

Stewart walked up to Katma and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed the top of her head. "You know, Kat, if I didn't know you better, I'd think you were jealous."

Katma stepped back out of his embrace and slapped him. "You say that," she snapped, "because I slept with you when you were my student. Now you can't tell the difference between personal and professional."

She opened the door, stepped out of the room on to the street, leaped in the air and hovered in front of Stewart. "Schedule the test," she said flatly. Then she shot skyward and quickly disappeared in the crowd of ships peppering the morning sky.

Stewart rubbed the side of his face for a moment where Katma had slapped him and then re-entered the room, closing the door behind him.

She was late and Stewart was starting to get angry. He had many pet peeves and time management was one of them. There was nothing more important than being able to manage one's time properly. He stood on the rooftop of the hostel and started to pace.

Deciding he would wait no longer, he was about to take off and find her when he felt a tap from behind on his shoulder.

"Miss me?" He recognized Droxelle's voice.

Stewart turned around and looked the blue-skinned woman in the eyes. "You're late!" Stewart said flatly. "How many times have we talked about being where you need to be when you need to be there?"

Droxelle moved her blonde hair off her face and faked a pout. "Is this the part where you say: how can you manage the time of others if you can't manage your own time?" She frowned. "Because if it is, I had a good excuse."

"And that excuse would be?"

"I had to rescue a dog that fell out of a building."

Stewart frowned.

"It was a big dog," she offered. She looked down as she put her hands behind her back.

"You think this is a joke, don't you?" Stewart bellowed as he folded his arms across his chest. "This is dead serious stuff, Lantern. People will die because of the things you do or fail to do. I don't know why the Guardians thought they could trust you with a ring?"

Droxelle's eyes narrowed. "Probably for the same reason they gave you a ring," she snapped back. Her eyes widened and she quickly added, "No disrespect was intended, Lantern Stewart. I'm sorry. What I was trying to say was that the Guardians thought I could do the right thing and bring honor to the Corps."

Stewart was silent for moment before he said, "Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness."

Droxelle flashed a quick smile. "Captain Nathan Brittles, right?"

Stewart nodded and inwardly smiled that she had picked up on his reference to a John Wayne movie, even through he was sure after two years she still had no idea who John Wayne really was.

He frowned. "How come you haven't asked when you can take the final test?" She stepped back and looked surprised. "I know when I was in training, I couldn't wait. You don't seem to be in a hurry to get a sector of your own at all."

"I do want a sector more than anything," she said softly. Her sigh was loud and long.

"Then why haven't you pressed me to schedule a test for you?"

She was silent and looked away.

He dropped his arms by his side. "Are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid of anything!" she bristled.

Stewart arched an eyebrow. "Good to hear even if you're lying."

Droxelle's jaw dropped. "We're all afraid of something," he continued. "You've been trained to recognize your fear and use it to your advantage. When we get back, I'm scheduling the test for you."

Droxelle shook her head and then suddenly stared intently at Stewart. "Get back?" she asked. "Get back from where?"

"You're escorting a prisoner named Galpin from Tangal II to Nagbor," Stewart answered.

"Are you coming with me?"

Stewart smirked. "You're going to take the test soon. Do you need me to help you with a prisoner escort?"

"No," she said sharply, "I don't." Her tone softened. "But I'd like your company if you're not busy."

Stewart smiled. "I'm not busy, but I'm not going with you either. It's your prisoner. You have to get him to Nagbor and turn him over to the authorities. The Administrator's Office on Tangal II will give you a ship similar to a class B scout ship. Any questions?"

Droxelle held up her ring hand. "I don't need a ship. I have a ring."

Stewart nodded. "The ship's not for you. It's for your prisoner. He requires special accommodations. He's a nitrogen breather and you're going to take him from Tangal II, a planet of ammonia breathers, back to his homeworld of Nagbor. The ship will make it easier for you. This way you won't have to worry about trying to maintain two separate environments while traveling in space."

"Oh," Droxelle said weakly. "One other question then: why is a Green Lantern escorting a prisoner anywhere? We're not guards." She held up her ring again.

Stewart frowned. "That's twice you've held up the ring to me as a reason not to do something. That ring is a means for you to do what needs to be done. It's never an excuse not to act. Remember that. Now stop acting like a rookie. This is a special request and you're going to fulfill it. Any other questions?"

Droxelle lowered her head and sighed, not as loudly as before. "No questions, Lantern Stewart."

"Good," Stewart answered and then paused, leaped in the air and hovered in front of her. "I'll meet you on Nagbor. Good luck."

As he took off he could hear her call out after him, "See you on Nagbor."

(Twenty hours later)

It was a small vessel even by scout ship standards. But it made good time and Droxelle figured she'd arrive on Nagbor in another ten hours. When she got to Tangal II, she had little difficulty in picking up her prisoner or familiarizing herself with her ship.

On her home world of Chelor, she'd flown spacecraft commercially for five years. Then one day, a Green Lantern died on her planet and the ring found her. It was that simple. In rapid succession, the Guardians contacted her, assigned John Stewart to be her trainer and she never returned to Chelor.

She loved the Corps, but found it strange. Everyone in the Green Lantern Corps was an alien to her, but she'd never met an alien like Stewart before.

Never.

There was something about Stewart that she found fascinating. He was gruff, ill-tempered, formal and focused on getting the job done. She didn't have a school girl crush on him, but after working with Stewart for two years, if he had asked anything of her, she knew she would have said 'yes.'

But he never asked anything personal of her and that made the human all the more intriguing in her mind. He insisted that she address him as 'Lantern Stewart' and never call him by his first name. There was no such restriction placed on her by the other Lanterns, only Stewart.

But Lantern Stewart was right. She was afraid of the final test. She wasn't afraid of failing it. She feared she'd pass it and her special relationship with Stewart would be over. And she wasn't ready for it to be over.

Not yet.

She set the spacecraft on automatic pilot and walked back to the cargo area where her prisoner was housed. Galpin was a short, squat humanoid. His gray skin seemed to glisten in the Plexiglas room he was confined in. The environmental suit he'd worn on Tangal II was neatly folded in the far corner of the enclosure. There was a microphone in the glass wall that allowed for two way communication. Galpin had been seated on the only piece of furniture in the nitrogen pressurized room, a chair.

He stood when she walked up to his cell. Engaging her ring's auto translator she asked, "So what did you do to get this special attention from the Green Lanterns?"

Galpin sat back down in his chair and looked up at Droxelle. "Ever heard of an ugly brute named Thotan?" he asked her sadly.

Droxelle shook her head and Galpin rolled his eyes at her. "You're a Chelorian, aren't you?" She nodded. "Figures," he spat as if he had a bad taste in his mouth from speaking the name of her homeworld.

Droxelle resisted the urge to cut a hole in the Plexiglas wall. "Thotan was some sort of national hero on Nagbor," Galpin continued. "Well, they say I killed him and now the people of Nagbor want to hold an execution party - just for me. You're supposed to make sure I'm not late."

Droxelle shrugged her shoulders. "So, why the Lanterns?"

Galpin stood and put his hand on the Plexiglass. "I asked for the protection of the Lanterns 'cause I didn't do this. I've been framed, but nobody's going to listen to me. They found someone to lie and say I did it. They'll kill me as soon as I step off this ship."

"No, they won't," she said, shaking her head and folding her arms across her chest. "Nothing is going to happen to you on my watch. I'll get you delivered to the proper authorities. I promise."

Galpin laughed. It was a nasally chuckle that Droxelle found annoying. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Green Lantern. As soon as you step away, I'm dead. There won't be a trial. I'll be killed trying to 'escape' ten minutes after you leave." He paused. "That's why I wanted an escort... a Green Lantern for protection. I need your help."

Droxelle's expression remained flat. "Help you how?"

Galpin whispered as if he wasn't sure their conversation wasn't being recorded. "Set me free before we get to Nagbor. Don't let them kill me!"

"Do I look stupid to you? Or maybe you don't think much of Chelorians," Droxelle growled. "I can't set you free. You should be quiet now."

Galpin stepped back, then he pounded on the transparent wall with his fist. Droxelle flinched, holding her ring at the ready. She didn't recall there being specific instructions on whether or not Galpin had to arrive on Nagbor dead or alive. She mused that at that moment dead would work for her just as well as alive.

"But you're a Green Lantern! You can do anything you want with your ring. You can make them set me free. I'm telling you now, when they kill me, my blood will be on your hands. You can prevent my death."

Droxelle said nothing. Then she turned and walked back to the front of the ship. She sat down in the pilot's seat and looked out the front of the craft as it hurled through space.

She contemplated that Galpin might be telling the truth. Maybe he was framed, but all she was required to do was deliver a prisoner. Green Lanterns didn't get involved in local politics or the judicial system. After the Sinestro incident, all the Lanterns knew that was taboo. And the fact that she really didn't like Galpin didn't make her anxious to help him, either.

She quietly shook her head. There was no reason for her to investigate the charges. After all, there must have been sufficient evidence against him for the authorities on Tangal II to turn him over to Nagbor.

And then there was Lantern Stewart. If there had been any doubt in his mind, he would have come along, wouldn't he? Lantern Stewart didn't have any doubts. Why should she?

But now she did.

Suddenly, she recalled Lantern Stewart's earlier words to her. That ring is a means for you to do what needs to be done. It's never an excuse not to act.

Droxelle nodded her head at her inner voice. She knew what she had to do. She could compel the Nagborites to show her the evidence against the prisoner before she turned him over, to satisfy herself that he was guilty. No, not guilty --- only that he should stand trial.

She took a deep breath and walked back to the cargo area. Galpin stood up as she approached. He was grinning and Droxelle didn't like his expression at all. She pressed her lips into a tight line. She had to do what was right. And the right thing to do was to make sure the right thing was being done.

Her expression was flat as she said, "I will not set you free, but I will satisfy myself that you are not being framed, as you put it."

Galpin frowned. His tone was sharp. "Listen, Green Lantern, they will lie to you. They will get others to lie to you. You hold my life in your hands. Don't kill me, don't let them kill me. Please let me go."

Droxelle glared at Galpin. She said firmly, "I've told you what I will do. I also told you to be quiet. I will tell you neither one again."

As she turned and walked back to the front of the ship, Galpin yelled, "You have murdered me!"

She didn't go back to the cargo hold area again or say anything else to Galpin for the remainder of the trip.

But he would continue to call out to her as loud as he could for the next ten hours, "Murderer!"

(Ten hours later - Office of the Chief Administrator of Nagbor)

Stewart put the pen down and examined the document he'd just signed. The green glow of his ring-generated life support system, which kept him alive in Nagbor's nitrogen atmosphere, cast small shadows on the paper. Satisfied as to its completeness, he handed the paper back to the Administrator.

"If you don't need anything else from me," Stewart said as he stood, "I'll depart when the other Green Lantern arrives with the prisoner."

The Administrator took Stewart's signed document and slipped it in a folder. He placed the folder in the center of his desk. "Thank you for your help. It's good to know that we can depend on ...."

The phone rang and the Administrator picked up the instrument, but held up a finger signaling Stewart should wait. Stewart sat down in the visitor's chair, but didn't have time to look around the room before the Administrator hung up the phone. He frowned at Stewart and said, "We've got a problem. Seems your friend is at the space terminal, but she won't turn the prisoner over."

Stewart stood. His frown matched the Administrator's. "Stay here," he said. He opened the Administrator's office window and flew out.

Stewart made a beeline for the space terminal. It wasn't hard to spot Droxelle's ship once he got there. It was the one with a green protective bubble surrounding it and being shot at by the police. He hovered between the ship and the police for a split second before ringing a bubble around the police so that they could no longer shoot at Droxelle.

He yelled down to the police, "Stop firing," and shortly afterwards, someone inside the bubble hollered a cease fire order. Stewart kept his bubble in place and looked at Droxelle, who dropped hers. "Can't make this easy, can you?" he said as he landed.

Droxelle, whose own life support system radiated green around her, flashed him a quick smile. "Not my fault. I told them I wanted to see the evidence against Galpin before I handed him over. Then the big one over there told me to deliver him or else." She smiled again broadly. "You know, I hate it when someone says to me 'or else.'"

Stewart shook his head. His voice was firm, but quiet. "Lantern, turn your prisoner over. Now."

The smile faded from Droxelle's face. "No," she answered as she ringed a bubble over the ship again. "He says he was framed. You said to use the ring to do what's right and never as an excuse for not doing something. I don't want an innocent man's blood on my hands. I just want to see what evidence they have against him."

Stewart's eyes narrowed. "No innocent blood will be spilled if you turn him over now." His expression softened. "I'm not ordering you to do this as your trainer. I'm asking you to trust your fellow Lantern, to trust me on this and do this for me."

Droxelle was quiet before finally replying, pointing at the police, "I don't trust them, but for you...." She dropped her bubble, then hovered in the air between the ship and the police. John dropped the bubble he had around the police and joined her.

They watched from above as the authorities rushed on board the spacecraft to remove the criminal. As they led the prisoner down the gangplank, he looked up and spotted the Lanterns hovering above him. He shook his handcuffed fists at them and yelled, "Murderer!" Stewart noticed Droxelle's flinch.

"What's that about?"

She sighed. "I guess we bonded during the trip. It's his new pet name for me."

"I see," Stewart said. "Follow me." He turned and headed back to the Administrator's office. Droxelle followed in silence.

The two entered through the open office window. The Administrator, who was seated at his desk, acknowledged them as he hung up the phone.

Stewart turned to Droxelle and said, "I want to show you the evidence." He turned to the Administrator and said, "Show me Galpin's file with my statement in it."

"Your statement?" Droxelle said in surprise as the Administrator handed the folder to Stewart.

Stewart nodded. "I personally witnessed him kill Thotan on Tangal II. It's all in my statement and the statement of a dozen other witnesses, including Kilowog. I didn't escort him because I'm a witness against him. Just read the statements."

"I didn't know," Droxelle answered softly as she leafed through the papers.

The Administrator stood. "Well, as it turns out we don't need your statements," he said. "Galpin tried to escape and unfortunately was killed."

"What happened?" Stewart roared as he leaned across the desk and into the Administrator's face. Even Droxelle stepped back in surprise. "He was alive five minutes ago!"

The Administrator stepped back from Stewart. "Shortly after you left the terminal he tried to escape. All the weapons were supposed to be set on stun, but one young officer had his weapon set to kill." The Administrator glared at Stewart. "It was a regrettable accident."

Droxelle flung the folder at the Administrator. "Yeah. Accident."

They stood on the rooftop across the street from the Administrator's building. Stewart doubted Galpin's death was an accident, but there was no doubt he was a murderer. Stewart had learned a long time ago that justice in the universe was dispensed in many forms. It wasn't necessary for him to agree with the way it happened; he just had to recognize it when he saw it. That was a lesson Droxelle had just learned today.

She stared at the Administrator's open window and said, "It was exactly what Galpin said would happen. There was no trial, just an execution."

The lack of emotion in her voice concerned him. He placed his hands on her shoulders, merging their protective fields, and turned her to face him. "Look, Droxelle. Maybe Galpin played mind games with you during your trip, but he was guilty. I saw him. Kilowog saw him. And there are other witnesses who saw him commit a murder."

She looked Stewart in the eyes and then turned away.

"He trusted me and I trusted you," she said. She moved from under Stewart's grasp. There was anger in her voice. "How soon can I take the final test?"

Stewart sighed. "In two days on Rigel Nine. Is that soon enough for you?"

Droxelle nodded and turned her back to Stewart. "I'll meet you there in two days. I need some time alone."

Stewart didn't move. "You take your time," he answered, "but remember this. You did exactly what I expected you to do, what needed to be done. You completed your mission and nothing is more important than that. Galpin's death was not your failure. He was the murderer - not you. He would have killed you and taken that ship if he had a chance and you didn't give him one, despite his verbal abuse of you. He didn't trust you. He was trying to use you."

He paused and looked for a reaction from her. There was none.

His shoulders sagged as he continued. "Droxelle, your ring is one of the greatest weapons in the universe." He looked down at his own ring hand and then looked up to discover that she had turned around and was now facing him. He kept his expression flat as he straightened up. "It allows you to make things right. But it can't undo a damn thing. If Galpin's death still bothers you in light of all that you know, don't show up for the final test because you won't pass. I've said all I can say to you. I've taught you all I can teach you. Telling you that you did right thing isn't the same as you knowing that you did right. I'm leaving for Rigel Nine now."

Using his ring, Stewart floated in front of her for a moment. He was saddened that she didn't say anything. He sighed and headed skyward. Suddenly a green hand appeared in front of him and he stopped. He turned as Droxelle flew toward him. The green hand in front of him disappeared when she was abreast of him.

She looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Would you like some company to Rigel Nine, Lantern Stewart?"

He flashed a quick smile. "Sure. And it's John. You can call me John."

END