Disclaimer: The Characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash 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.
A/N: An enormous shout out of thanks to one of the best of the best, Merlin Missy, for her beta on this story. Every email exchange was a literary education for me and I am sincerely grateful.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
CRYSTAL CLARITY
Rating: (PG-13 for language)
Synopsis: Hawkgirl agrees to help the Green Lantern with a security assignment in the Omega quadrant and meets an old friend. This story occurs after "Hearts and Minds" and before "Wild Cards."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
How the faces of love have changed turning
the pages
And I have changed oh, but you...you remain
ageless
I turned around
And the water was closing all around
Like a glove;
Like the love that had finally, finally found me.
Then I knew
In the crystalline knowledge of you – Stevie Nicks (Crystal)
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter One – "Scissors Cut Paper"
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yesterday seven years ago on Valada Prime(Two years before Shayera Hol started her Earth mission)
"Damn it, damn it all, give me that radio NOW," Lieutenant Shayera Hol screamed at her wounded radio operator.
Lying on the ground next to her, the radio operator was mortally wounded; his blood and life force leaving his body rapidly.
The nighttime was supposed to give them cover and hide their movements. But she and her squad of ten intelligence operatives had been discovered and were now trapped just at the edge of the woods just outside of a clearing. Their military mission had gone well until this point, but extraction was always the most uneasy part of any mission of this type. Every agent knew that no mission was ever considered complete until you were back in friendly territory; and intel agents made their living in hostile lands.
Screams of "I'm hit!!" and "Get down" broke out among the men who now scattered and hugged the forest floor.
There was chaos. There were men screaming. There were dying men calling for their mothers. This was a classic ambush.
The air was charged with the feel and sting of static electricity as laser fire blazed from the opposite side of the clearing. Multiple positions had opened fire on the group of ten.
Her squad had made it to the pick up point but they were now pinned down by hostile Gordanian fire coming from across the clearing. The incoming fire was accurate and deadly. Three of her squad already lay wounded and two were dead.
The evacuation vehicle was late. She knew that the evacuation vehicle would not land until the landing zone was secure and right now it was anything but.
Her unit was lightly armed as was typical for reconnaissance units and was no match for the reinforced Gordanian infantry platoon throwing death in her direction from the other side of the clearing.
She also knew she was racing against the clock because her position had been compromised. This meant she had to get fatal fire on the enemy position before the enemy commander brought fatal fire to her.
Keeping down to avoid the incoming rounds, her sergeant crawled along the forest floor and made his way to her position.
"Open up on them! Don't let them flank us! Don't let them flank us!!!" the sergeant hollered out to the remaining soldiers in the squad as he made his way to Hol's position.
When he reached her, Sergeant Matuia Ta pushed her head and shoulders down in the dirt with his tentacles and screamed at her.
"Damn it, Lieutenant, keep your head and butt down. They'll take my stripes if you lose your rear end out here." Sergeant Ta was a Jennian, not a Thanagarian, and at the top rank someone without wings could hope to attain.
Lieutenant Hol looked at him angrily and then softened seeing the obvious concern in his eyes.
"Sergeant, how do you think they knew we were here?"
He shot back, "Damn it, Lieutenant, you can figure that part out later. This is bad...real bad. Deep down, you know what you've got to do - now damn it – DO IT, and get us the freak out of here."
He suddenly smiled at her, slapped her on her butt and whispered, "Come on, Shayera. Do what you got to do."
She smiled back and whispered so no one else could hear, "Got it, Matuia. Tend to the wounded scribe back there. And thanks...for everything."
Under political pressure, the Thanagarian Military Authority allowed scribes or writers to accompany Thanagarian soldiers on certain missions. The scribes recorded what they saw, then reported appropriate war stories to their news media for public consumption. The scribe attached to Hol's unit, Raib Tufb, had been shot. Sergeant Ta made his way to Tufb's position.
Grabbing the radio from her wounded operator, Lieutenant Hol keyed the handset and spoke.
"Nest two, Nest two, this is red wing, over."
A voice on the radio answered, "Red wing, this is nest two, send your traffic."
"Nest two, where is my ride, over."
"Red wing, your ride is delayed, the ground is too warm. Over."
"Nest two, transmission for Fire Control Center, over."
Hol thought to herself, If you think the ground is warm now, you just wait three minutes.
"Red wing, we're standing by for transmission, over."
"Affirm. Nest two... My position 760726, Grid to suppress 761726, thirty enemy near clearing in the forest, my position danger close, I say again, danger close. Fire for effect. Over. "
As she waited for a radio response, Hol could overhear the wounded scribe ask Sergeant Ta, "Sarge, what in the blazes is she doing?"
She smiled to herself as she heard the sergeant's gruff answer, "Son, she's either going to save your butt or fry it! She calling fire on their position but we're going to catch it, too."
"Affirm, red wing... thirty enemy in the open, grid to suppress 761726, five rounds, danger close, fire for effect. Time on target eleven fifty-eight. My mark eleven fifty-six, over."
"Affirm, Tee Oh Tee eleven fifty-eight. Your mark eleven fifty-six, over."
"Affirm, five...four...three...two...mark. Over."
"Affirm, mark, out."
She put the handset down and looked at her wounded men. Every eye in the squad was looking to her for confidence in this now desperate situation. They all knew what was about to happen and none took comfort in the prospect of being killed by friendly fire.
Lieutenant Hol stared at the eight survivors and said, "Men, we're going to get out of here ok... I promise you that. Everybody still with me?"
From her wounded squad, penned down from relentless incoming laser fire, came a chorus of either "Yes, ma'am." or "You bet, Lieutenant."
The radio crackled back to life, "Red wing, Nest two, shot suppression, over."
Hol picked up the handset and said "Affirm, shot suppression, out."
She got on all fours and turned around to face her squad and smiled broadly. She shouted and didn't care if those on the other side of the clearing heard her.
"Gentlemen, I couldn't have had a better bunch of goof-offs than you. Thanks for taking this young warrior under your wing and showing her what real soldiers do. Now, brace yourself, protect your wings and keep your back to the clearing. See you at the evac vehicle or at death's door."
Suddenly the ground shook with an incredible series of loud explosions and a sear of massive heat and debris flew in the direction of her squad. Hol had knelt over her wounded radio man trying to protect him with her body. The blast shockwaves picked them both up and threw them five meters. Hol screamed. Her scream was among many others at that moment.
When the explosions had subsided, Hol tried to get to her feet. Her right thigh hurt. She stood but unsteadily. Sergeant Ta was yelling something at her but she couldn't hear him. She was bleeding from her right ear. He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around so that she was facing the clearing again. She let out an audible gasp when she saw what had once been the edge of the forest on the other side of the clearing.
There was nothing there except a massive crater. The remaining trees that stood on the far side of the forest were on fire. The air was thick with black smoke and ash. She turned around to look at her sergeant who now was looking at her with horror in his eyes. He was looking at her leg – her right leg.
She looked down at her leg for the first time. Sticking out of her right thigh was a splintered branch with blood gushing around the wound. Five inches of the branch stuck out of the back of her leg and three inches out of the front.
The darkness overwhelmed her as she collapsed into Sergeant Ta's tentacles.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
"Lieutenant, Lieutenant, can you hear me?"
It was Sergeant Ta's voice.
Hol was groggy. It was easier to keep her eyes closed than it was to open them. She said softly, "I hear you...I hear you. Is this the evac ship?"
"No Lieutenant. It's the hospital ship. You made it! We made it!"
"Oh...good... I thought... I thought I was at death's door for a minute and you were there to greet me." Her mouth was dry and she had difficulty swallowing. She opened her eyes and looked into the smiling purple face of Sergeant Ta.
She creased her lips into a small smile. She was very pleased to see him. Her relationship with Ta was more than that of an officer and a senior enlisted advisor. He had been like a father to her during her time with the unit offering her counsel. He had been like a brother to her listening to her ideas as a sounding board. And he had become her lover prior to the start of her Valada Prime mission.
She groaned and whispered, "Matuia, my leg hurts."
"I know it does, Shayera, but they told me they were able to save it."
"Save it?" She paused, closed her eyes again and let that thought sink in. She had never considered that she might lose it.
She opened her eyes and look at Sergeant Ta who was now seated in a chair by her bed.
"How many did we lose?" Her tone was somber.
"Ma'am, we lost four." Her face looked grim. The loss of personnel was just as painful to her as her leg.
He continued, now trying to cheer her up. "Ma'am, you did good. You did real good out there. Shayera, there's talk that Commander Talak will personally give you a medal."
Hol managed a small smile. After all, not many got to meet the commander personally. She was looking forward to this first meeting if the rumor of the medal was true.
She stopped smiling and turned back toward the sergeant.
"Matuia, help me understand something. How did they know where we were? That was a perfect ambush yet they didn't execute it right."
"I know." Ta answered. He hesitated as if he was about to say something he didn't want to say.
"They knew exactly where we were going to be before we got there. They were waiting on us."
He stood up and leaned over her and said softly, "Think about this for a minute. You have a tactical advantage, why waste it? Why shoot at us with small arms? In other words, why didn't they call fire on us first and just blow us away?"
Hol had to admit she had pondered that same question when she was calling in her fire mission.
"Because they didn't want to kill us?" she ventured.
Ta sat back down in the chair and rubbed his left tentacle down his long purple face. "No, my young Lieutenant, they wanted to kill us alright – they just didn't want to kill ALL of us."
She pondered that thought for a moment and then said, "They wanted a captive, didn't they?"
Ta leaned back in the chair and said, "Or their informant back! And I think I know who..."
At that moment the doctor walked in and Ta stopped talking. The doctor grabbed Hol's medical chart from the foot of her bed and without looking up at her said, "How are we doing today, Lieutenant?"
Hol turned to look at Sergeant Ta and smiled weakly and then turned back to look at the doctor who was now watching her.
"Well doc, 'our' leg hurts like blazes and 'we' are thirsty. Other than that 'we' have had a good day."
The doctor smiled back and said, "I want to wait another hour before you have anything to drink. As far as 'our' leg goes, you are a very lucky woman. We were able to save it because that wood fragment missed bone but I'm afraid that 'our' pretty little leg is going to have a real large ugly scar and you will probably have a limp."
Hol smiled at him and said, "It's okay, Doc. Only the people I really care about will ever see the scar anyway and as far as the limp goes, I'm sure someone someday will think that my limping walk is sexy."
And with that she grabbed Sergeant Ta's right tentacle and smiled.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Three Days Ago)
As outdoor noontime rallies went, the crowd was a small one. For the last six months, candidates, both for and against secession, had tried to rally the small population of the second moon of Galtos, known as Jennia, to support their position in the upcoming referendum.
There had been violence on both sides. Galtos had declared martial law as the violence increased and all residents had to be off the streets by midnight. This curfew had a crushing effect on the chief drivers of the economy of this small dirt and cobblestone planetoid: legalized gambling and prostitution. Revenues were down and wages of the supporting industries were depressed as the tourist trade declined. The financial impact of the curfew was one of the chief rallying points for proponents of secession.
Loria Mond was a native born Jennian and was one of leading voices for taking back the direction of Jennia's financial future. Flanked by her security guards, Mond slowly climbed the three steps of the stage and strode to the speaker's podium, waving her tentacles enthusiastically at the cheering crowd. Smiling, she pointed to her husband in the crowd, Pulgas, who held a small baby, and blew him a kiss. She turned and waved to the three Jennians seated on the stage behind her and then touched tentacles with the Jennian who had just introduced her to the crowd. She stepped back and said something to her aide, Subia Oxios. Oxios set the briefcase he had been carrying down next to the podium and left the stage and made his way through the crowd to stand next to Mond's husband.
She put her tentacles up signaling the crowd for silence so that she could speak. The crowd ignored her request and continued to cheer. Mond mouthed the words "thank you" several times and put her tentacles up again and again requesting silence. Reluctantly, the crowd complied with her request.
Smiling and gesturing with her tentacles, Mond spoke.
"My fellow Jennians, thank you for coming out today," she yelled at the crowd. "The referendum is only seven days away and every vote counts. I can feel the momentum shifting to our side. Can you feel it?"
The crowd cheered. "Can you feel it," she asked again louder. She pounded the podium as she continued. "We're going to win. The days of Galtos crushing our economy are near an end because help is on the way. The days of high unemployment are near an end because help is on the way. The days of high crime are near an end because help is on the way. The end is near for the brutal suppressive hand of Galtos because we are the help that is on the way and WE ARE GOING TO WIN!!!"
The crowd cheered loud and long. Smiling, she put up her tentacles to quiet the crowd again and continued. "We're going to win, but the question is – Will Galtos honor the results of the vote? And what will we do if they don't?"
The crowd booed.
"No, my friends," Mond continued pointing into the crowd. "We Jennians value honor, family honor, above all. While we must be ready for Galtos to be dishonorable, let's approach them in an honorable manner first. We must be prepared to set up a government whether or not Galtos honors the election results and I offer myself as a candidate to help lead the new government."
The crowd cheered again and started chanting "Mond! Mond! Mond!"
Mond waved to the crowd and blew another kiss to her clapping husband in the crowd. He smiled and blew a kiss back to Mond at the same moment that the entire stage disappeared in an explosion of enormous orange heat, flames and noise. Spectators in the front rows near the stage were killed instantly and many of those deep in the crowd were seriously injured. The rising black smoke and flames had signaled that another voice for secession had been silenced.
xxxxxxxxxx
(Today)
John Stewart, the Green Lantern of sector 2814, walked around the Watchtower searching for her, but really hoping not to find her too soon. He knew if he really wanted to, he could have located her quickly using the commlink locator. Not using the locator was indicative of his hesitation about asking for her help. Finally, he sighed and walked to the dining room and there she was.
He stood in the doorway and observed her for moment. She was seated at a table near the plexiglass window. There was a glass of water on the table. She looked out the window toward the stars and took a drink from the glass. She suddenly put down the glass, groaned loudly and grabbed her right thigh and bent over as if she was in severe pain. She pounded the table twice with her fist, then massaged her thigh the way someone with a leg cramp would. She looked back into the plexiglass window and then suddenly stopped rubbing her thigh and sat back. She cleared her throat.
"Are you coming in or staying out," she snapped, apparently catching Stewart's reflection in the glass. She did not turn toward the door but continued to look straight ahead. She balled her hand into a fist and tapped the table once slowly with her fist, exhaling sharply. She then took a deep breath and took another sip of water.
"Hmmm," he said from the doorway and smiled. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she growled, exhaling sharply again as she turned around to face him. "What do you want?"
He walked to her table and stood across from her.
"Look," he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. "I've just been given an assignment on the second moon of Galtos to provide security for about three days for an election and J'onn is unable to go. So would you like to go?"
She stood up knocking her chair over. "Oh, so I'm your second choice, huh? What? Is Superman busy?"
"Actually he is," the Lantern said almost apologetically as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Oh," she said softly.
The Lantern thought for a moment that her feelings might be hurt, but her feathered helmet made it impossible for him to be sure.
"So I was your third choice?" she shrugged. Then suddenly she huffed, "Or maybe I was your fourth." She turned and walked away.
The Lantern walked up behind her quickly and placed his hand on her shoulder. He heard her growl and he quickly removed his hand.
"Look, I know that came out wrong," he said as she continued walking away. "I was looking for someone to watch my back and I know that you and I don't always see eye to eye on everything related to Green Lantern missions and I thought you wouldn't want to go."
She stopped and turned around to face him.
"But I thought," he continued, "we've worked well together recently, all things considered."
She folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to her left leg. "All things considered, huh? And when no one else would go with you, you come to me?"
She shook her head, sighed and threw her arms up in exasperation. "You know, maybe it isn't a good idea. My attitude might get you in hot water on your mission. The Guardians might not like my approach to problem solving."
He smiled at her. "Actually, you were my first choice because of your attitude. I just didn't want to ask you because if you said no, I would have to ask the Flash and he might say yes."
She smiled. He almost thought she was going to laugh.
"Don't you Lanterns have sectors or something?" she asked. "Can't the Lantern assigned to that sector help you? Wait – Katma Tui isn't that sector's Lantern, is she?"
He thought he detected a hint of jealousy in her voice. He lowered his head. "No. It's not Katma. The Lantern assigned to that sector was killed last month. His replacement has just started training and is not ready yet. The Lantern temporarily assigned to that sector is currently on another mission and I'm the closest available."
His tone sharpened and his eyes glowed. "Look - if you're busy, just say so. I was working solo before I joined the League and have no problems doing it again."
"I'll be ready in thirty minutes," she said as she turned and walked toward the doorway. She stopped, turned around and said with a small smile, "So I was your first choice, huh?"
"Yeah. Who would have thunk it?"
As he watched her walk away he suddenly thought to himself that he had never noticed how sexy her walk was before.
xxxxxxxxx