Thresholding by CidGregor

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

This fic is dedicated to Post, for all that he has contributed to its existence. (Are you tyred of these yet?)
Chapter 9

The first thing Starfire saw upon returning to the battle, Navy pilot in tow, was the three remaining F-18 fighters breaking away from the Titans' ships and flying back down to earth, much to her relief. The second thing she saw was one ship – Robin's, she knew by heart – flying upward, on a direct course for the Tamaranian spacecraft.

She frowned. Why was Robin going up there alone? He would have a much easier time convincing the commander of their plight if she was there with him. She might have given up the crown, but she was still the rightful heir to it, so her voice had a lot of sway, and Robin knew that as well as anyone. So what was he doing?

Starfire fiddled with her headset with her free hand. "Robin? Robin, are you there? Please respond."

Nothing but static answered.

"Robin? Robin, why do you not answer?"

"Sknntt…Starfire, you all right, girl?"

Starfire couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment that is was Cyborg, not Robin, who answered her. "Yes, friend, I am undamaged…though my stomachs are rather unsettled."

If Cyborg noticed her plural use of 'stomach,' he didn't react to it. "Listen, Robin wants you to take that pilot down to the surface. There's an aircraft carrier there you can leave him at."

Now Starfire was truly confused. "Why does he not tell me this himself? Why does he speak through you?"

"Ah…well…to tell you the truth, Star, I have no idea…"

"Robin is being foolish!" Starfire exclaimed. "He knows perfectly well that my presence would be extremely beneficial to our mission of convincing the Tamaranian commander to ally with Earth. Why does he send me elsewhere?"

"Because Robin is being blinded by his emotions," Raven cut in. "I warned him about this…so of course he ignored me…"

Starfire stared off into nothingness, trying to process Raven's words. Tromand'r had said something nearly identical not two hours earlier; that Robin was allowing his feelings – feelings for her – to get in the way of his decision-making. Was Raven implying the same thing?

"Listen, Starfire, Robin might be blinding himself, but that doesn't mean we have to be blind along with him. I'll take the pilot back to the aircraft carrier. You get up to the Tamaranian ship and do what you need to do."

"The rest of us'll join you in a little while," Cyborg said."We just gotta meet up with Terra and make sure BB's okay."

"Understood. I will see you shortly, friends."

Raven's ship swept up and hovered in place beside Starfire. The cockpit opened, and Starfire deposited the pilot into the cramped passenger seat behind Raven. The alien girl made to fly off, but Raven caught her arm before she could.

Starfire looked back. "Yes, friend?"

Raven looked Starfire straight in the eye. "Convincing the commander is of course the most important thing here…but if you get a chance…knock some sense into the Boy Blunder there while you're at it. And give him a good smack from me."

Starfire nodded. "I shall do my best."

The cockpit sealed again, and Raven sped off back to the surface. With the pilot taken care of, Starfire, turned and shot upward, to greet her people at last.

Robin docked his craft within the Tamaranian ship in silence. None of the Tamaranians said a word to him – in their language or his – as he powered down the fighter and exited. They did nothing except lead him toward, he assumed, the bridge. None of them carried weapons, he noticed. He wondered about that momentarily before he realized that, with star-bolts, laser-eyes, and super-strength, weapons weren't all that necessary for them.

They approached a massive blast door, which Robin guessed was their destination, but at the entrance, a dark-haired Tamaranian held out a hand and stopped the Boy Wonder from entering.

"Va'atu dam'i," he murmured. Robin didn't understand the words themselves, but it was pretty clear from the gesture and tone that it meant 'wait here.' Robin stayed where he was while the handful of warriors entered the bridge, and the doors closed behind them, leaving Robin alone.

He stood for a handful of minutes in silence, wondering what exactly he was waiting for. He faced the door and frowned, tapping his foot impatiently. What was taking so long?

Someone suddenly tapped on his shoulder. Robin jerked, his head spinning a mile a minute. How had he not heard their footsteps? How could he have allowed himself to get so distracted? If they were hostile at all, they could have caused fatal damage to him ten times over before he could so much as react. How could he be so stupid?

He spun around in an instant, and realized that he hadn't heard footsteps because the person behind him was hovering slightly off the ground. It took Robin a moment to clear the adrenaline rush in his head long enough to realize who exactly was floating there.

Robin's eyes widened. "Starfi-"

SMACK!

Robin didn't even see Starfire's hand move before it slapped him across the face with such force his whole body was flung into the wall, bounced off, and crashed to the ground.

Robin picked himself off the ground, rubbing the fresh red welt on his face. "Starfire, what the hell was that for?.!"

If Starfire was bothered by Robin's curse toward her, she didn't show it. "Raven requested that I 'knock some sense into you,' and to 'give you a smack from her.' I hoped to do both at once."

Robin had a few choice words for Raven on his tongue, but he bit them back. "What are you doing here? I told you to take that pilot back to the aircraft carrier!"

"No, Robin, you did nothing of the sort."

"I- …what?"

Starfire glared at him. "You did not 'tell me' anything. Even when I attempted to speak with you, you refused to speak to me. You told Cyborg to tell me your request."

"It wasn't a request, it was an order!" Robin shot back.

"An order which Cyborg, Raven, and myself deemed to be in error. Any of us could have returned the pilot to where he belongs. My presence here is far more useful, so Raven offered to return the pilot so I could join you sooner."

Robin opened his mouth to counter, but Starfire continued over him.

"I wish to know why you insisted that I be the one to carry out that task while you came here alone, despite the fact that I would be of far more use here."

Robin glared, and started to snap back until he realized that he didn't really have a good reason. "I didn't believe it was necessary," he growled the first thing that came to mind, but even as the words tumbling from his lips he realized how completely ridiculous they sounded.

Starfire apparently thought the same. "That is a lie, Robin. My status in the Tamaranian royal family gives us a great advantage in swaying the commander to our side rather than Tromand'r's, and you know it. I do not like it when you lie to me, Robin. I would like the truth now, please."

Robin's fists were clenched so tightly they were shaking, but before he could say anything more, the massive blast doors opened again, and the cluster of Tamaranian warriors beckoned him forward. Robin strode inside, and Starfire began to follow after, but one warrior held out a hand and stopped her.

"Va'atu dam'i," he said.

Starfire narrowed her eyes at him. "Sol da'n Koriand'r, vidi'an du Tamaran," she countered. "Sol-"

Starfire didn't even need to finish her sentence; the warrior's eyes widened in recognition, and he hastily stepped aside, murmuring apologies. Starfire nodded to him and floated in after Robin, who merely scowled at the interruption. They ascended a short flight of stairs, and found themselves standing on the main floor of the bridge.

The front window was staring out into a sea of blue sky, the cloud line far below them. Beneath that was a semicircle of workstations, each with a Tamaranian warrior working the controls. The majority of them were men, but there were a fair number of women as well. The captain's chair was in the center of it all, on a raised platform, facing away from where Starfire and Robin stood.

Starfire frowned slightly. "Strange. I was expecting a fleet ship…but this bridge looks almost exactly like the bridge of the Isom'r…"

"As well it should, my dear Koriand'r," came a tough, familiar voice from the captain's chair.

Starfire gasped aloud, and Robin's expression set into a scowl.

The captain's chair spun around, revealing none other than Tromand'r, glaring at them from beneath his helmet. "This is the Isom'r's sister ship. Welcome, Koriand'r, to the scout ship Squir'l. The last surviving ship of the force I originally led to Earth."

"Tromand'r, what…what is the meaning of this?" Starfire murmured.

"When the Isom'r was critically damaged by the Gordanians' trap and plummeting to the Earth's surface, I ordered the Squir'l to return to the fleet and alert them of the enemy presence. The fleet ordered this ship to return ahead of the fleet to scout ahead and report back any further Gordanian activity. The fleet itself will arrive shortly."

"We didn't come here for a news update, Captain," Robin cut in. "We came here to talk to the ship's commander and stop him from carrying out your attack on General Graham."

Tromand'r laughed aloud – a sharp, booming laugh. Robin raised an eyebrow and turned to Starfire, hoping for some explanation, but she has turned deathly pale.

"No…it cannot…no…" she whispered.

"My boy," Tromand'r said, "the commander is back with the fleet. He does not waste his time and presence on a simple scout ship."

"Then who's in charge here?" Robin snarled, suddenly realizing the conclusion Starfire had reached far ahead of him.

Tromand'r sneered right back. "I am."

Robin clenched his fists. "So you have the ultimate authority here to set off whatever action you wish."

Tromand'r said nothing.

"Captain…you don't need to do this. General Graham…he's been incredibly foolish…but he doesn't speak for the entire human race, not by any stretch of the imagination. He will pay for his injustices, I swear it, but this…this attack on innocent lives…this isn't the way to do it. I'm asking you as a fellow leader to reconsider."

Tromand'r stood from his chair. He walked slowly forward until he was standing directly in front of the Boy Wonder, looming a head and shoulders over him. "You are a mockery of leadership, Robin," he hissed. "Hardly worthy of any level of kinship you seem to claim with me. Your decisions since my arrival have been muddied by emotions and feelings, something no true leader should allow. I will not reconsider."

Tromand'r turned to walk away, but Starfire floated quickly forward and took Tromand'r's hand in both of her own. "Please, Captain, do not do this. Your pride and honor are not worth-"

"Honor is worth any price, Koriand'r," he stopped her. "This human…this General Graham has spit upon the graves of my people with his actions, and I will not let such an insult pass without reprimand."

Tromand'r pulled his hand free and again made to return to the Captain's chair, but Starfire's next words – bold and stronger than he'd ever before heard – stopped him cold.

"If I cannot plead with you as a friend and fellow Tamaranian…then I order you, as Princess of Tamaran and rightful heir to the crown: do not attack these people!"

A heavy silence fell over the room. Every eye was transfixed upon the exchange between the two warriors, and not a sound was made beyond the routine beeps and drones of the machinery.

At last Tromand'r turned. He looked Starfire in the eye, his softened expression full of a newfound respect. "Your will is stronger than I gave you credit for, Koriand'r."

Starfire said nothing.

Tromand'r's gaze suddenly hardened again. "But you surrendered your authority as Princess of Tamaran when you gave the crown to Lord Galfore. I no longer take orders from you."

Tromand'r turned away again. "The attack will proceed as-"

BANG!

Something hot and green slammed into Tromand'r's retreating back, leaving a sharp heat in the back of his armor. He spun back around, eyes furious, to see Starfire staring him down with equal fury in her blazing emerald eyes and a green fire in her palms.

"I will not allow you to attack these people!" she shouted at him.

Tromand'r clenched his own fists, and they began to crackle with electric blue energy. "You would fight me – your own kind – to protect these humans?.!" he spat.

"They may not be perfect, Captain Tromand'r…but they are my chosen people. This planet has become a second home to me. I have made the dearest of friends here. I will not allow their lives to be ruined by the needless war you intend to start!"

Tromand'r stared her down, searching for any hint of a bluff in Starfire's expression. But he found none. Rock-hard determination was etched into every inch of her face.

The war hero almost smiled. "You truly are stronger than I imagined. Very well. A battle of honor it is."

"NO!" Robin shouted.

Starfire looked at him, surprised – as though she'd almost forgotten he was there. "Robin? What-"

"You're not doing this, Star! You can't!"

The alien girl's harsh gaze returned full force. "This is a matter of Tamaranian honor, Robin, and the challenge has been set! It cannot be abandoned now!"

"I don't care about honor, Starfire! I'm not going to stand here and watch you get hurt! What if you lose?.!"

"If you place so little faith in me, then perhaps you should not 'stand here and watch' at all!"

Robin recoiled. "Star, what are you-"

"You should return to our friends and inform them of what is happening," she said dismissively, no longer looking at him. She knew Robin was shaking with emotion – probably anger, Starfire thought – but she determinedly ignored him, focusing her attention on Tromand'r. She did not react when she heard her friend march heavy-footed from the room…nor when he slammed a fist into the wall in frustration…nor when the doors slid open to allow him to exit. But when they slid shut with a hiss behind him, she couldn't help but allow an emerald tear fall from one eye.

Tromand'r understood immediately. "So…it is not only he that cares for you. You care for him as well."

Under better circumstances Starfire might have been embarrassed…but she didn't care to fight it now. "Yes…I do."

"Even after all that he has done today?"

"We have endured worse."

Tromand'r was silent for a moment. Then, "We will fight hand-to hand only. No star-bolts or eye beams. I would rather not have a missed shot damage the equipment."

"Agreed," Starfire answered.

"And no armor," he added, undoing the clasps holding his armor in place. He shrugged it off and removed his helmet, allowing his long braid of red hair to hang down over his bare chest. Starfire complied as well. She removed the metallic crest around her neck and tossed it aside, leaving only the purple tank top.

Her shoulders exposed, Tromand'r saw for the first time the slash of burned skin across her right shoulder-blade. "You've seen more intense battle than I would have guessed, Princess."

"I have seen more intense battle than you could possibly guess, Captain," Starfire shot back.

"Somehow I doubt that…but nevertheless I admire your spirit." Tromand'r flexed a few muscles, stretching them, and then struck a fighting pose. "Well then…shall we get started?"

Starfire matched him. "The stakes are this: upon my victory, you will call off your attack, and attempt to make peace with Earth. Upon your victory, you are free to give orders as you see fit. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

And without another word, the two warriors shot toward each other, fists curled for the first strike.