Tarsus IV
A Shantar craft called for assistance from a no man’s land between Shantar and Kayzik space. The Green Lantern of Earth and the Star Sapphire took the distress call.
They landed at the coordinates. The lifeless craft lay broken in pieces in front of them.
Hallie called her father.
“Dad, something is wrong. Nothing could have lived long enough to send that signal. A Shantar craft won’t send an SOS if no one is left alive. We’ve been suckered!”
They felt the Kayzik mind control overwhelm them.
“Hallie!” Hal Jordan screamed to the Star Sapphire. “We’ve got to get out of here! The mind control is too much!”
“Dad! Get out of here! I’m not going to make it! I ….” Her eyes glazed.
Terrified, the Green Lantern of Earth watched his daughter’s struggle. He struggled to maintain his own mind. He watched in horror as the Kayzik necromancer stole her life force. His invincible will force struggled against the mind control. His mind, the weakest link, snapped.
Hyperspace
Hallie is dead! Killed on some obscure battlefield on Tarsus IV. But I can bring her back. All I have to do is to take power from the Guardians! Even they won’t stop me! They’re so wrapped up in their own little world, they wouldn’t notice if the world came to an end!
The Kayzik mind control infected him. His daughter’s death drove down the final barriers of his conscience. He tore through Hyperspace.
Sentinel’s Lair
“Elise, tell Linda I gots to get back.” Kilowog looked down to the Shantar assassin. “Sumptin bad happened. Hal Jordan’s gone nuts. De Kayzik got ‘em and he tinks he’s going to raise Hallie from da dead. He tinks he can take da power from our Central Power Battery. I gotta go.”
Kilowog waved sadly. He called the power of the ring. It carried him into Hyperspace.
Hyperspace
“Hal, Give it up! Let us help you!” Boodikka floated before her friend. “We can’t bring her back, but we can help you make it.” (Elf note: her story - http://www.glcorps.org/boodikka.html).
“Not interested!” He blasted her and took her ring. He left her floating in space.
Tomar-Re ambushed him. (Elf note: his story - http://www.glcorps.org/tomar-re.html).
“Hal Jordan! Surrender we can and will help you! This is not your fault!”
Hal Jordan did not listen. He easily plowed Tomar-Re into the next asteroid and took his ring.
Arisia of Glaxos IV was the next to try to stop him. He took hers, too. (Elf note: Her story - http://www.glcorps.org/arisia.html).
New Oa
Kilowog pleaded with the Guardians.
“Youse gotta help ‘em! Dey is your servants. He’s gone nuts. He’s got so many rings he can’t be stopped!”
The Guardian stared down at him.
“Surely you know it’s against our rules to interfere. We must let what happens happen. It is your role to stop him.”
“But he ain’t human no more! He’ll take your power if you don’t stop ‘em. Den where de rest of us gonna be?”
“That’s not our problem.”
Outside the Oan Compound
“Hal, stop this. It’s not too late!” Katma Tui floated in front of him. “We can help you deal with your tragedy.” (Elf note: her story: http://www.glcorps.org/katma.html).
“Ha! The Guardians don’t care about my tragedy! Their neglect caused the Kayzik to take my home world. It let the Kayzik kill Carol. Now, it’s let the Kayzik kill my daughter. I want power and I will have it!”
Hal Jordan spotted a yellow club with a white grip. Katma Tui never felt it hit her from behind. He took her ring.
Inside the gates
“Hal Jordan! Ya gots ta stop!” Kilowog pleaded with him. “Remember all da innocents out dere. All da people we protect!”
“I don’t care. I only want Hallie!” He marched towards the battery, twenty rings on his hands. “Go away!” He slammed Kilowog against a wall. He marched towards the battery.
The Guardians bickered among themselves.
“We are done. All our defenders are down.”
“Not all.”
At the battery
He walked to the battery. Only one small silent form stood in front of it. The green form seemed to merge with the green of the battery.
“You? You’re all they could send to stop me? I’m insulted!” He howled with laughter. “Step aside and I’ll let you live!”
She looked up at the much larger man. She glared.
“I’m taking it back.”
“Silly little girl!” He laughed.
“I’m taking it all back!” Jade raged. “You hurt those people using my symbol and my name. You hurt them using my ring. I will have it back.”
The Oan’s first Green Lantern of Earth glared up at the second.
Hal Jordan’s madness reigned. He howled with laughter.
“This ends now!” She commanded.
He fired at her. Her eyes flashed red. She reappeared in the air above him and fired back. He shot at her. He used his ring to find the club he’d used on Katma Tui.
She dove in front of him.
“You screwed up, Jordan.” She slapped him with her hand. “You’re not as good as you think you are!”
“I’m better.” He fired ring energy back at her. The yellow club sped towards her from behind. It hit her at full speed.
She fell to the ground. He raised himself to enter the battery. He reached out to grab the energy.
He found himself blocked.
Puzzled, he turned around. She floated in front of him, arms crossed.
“Jordan, you’ve only got two problems. You’re insane and you didn’t do your homework.” Her power slammed him against the side of the battery.
She growled.
“I’m sorry about Hallie, but I am responsible for all of the others that still live. This fight is over!” Mystic flame slammed him into the ground. He lost consciousness. She pulled the rings off of his hands.
Jade used her power to pick up the unconscious man and carry him over to the Guardians.
“This is your fault!” She raged. “He was your agent and your responsibility. It’s your fault he went over the edge! You didn’t lift a finger to stop him!”
One of the Guardians spoke.
“That is the responsibilities of our proxies. That is why we created the Green Lantern Corps.”
She snarled.
“You almost surrendered the full power of the battery to him. Where is your responsibility to all of creation?”
“Do not judge us, Linda Danvers!”
“Someone needs to! If you’re going to be the Guardians of the Universe, then Guard the Universe! Do your damned job!”
She gestured to the unconscious Hal Jordan.
“Help your proxy. If you can’t do that, then put him out of his misery before he hurts anyone else! That’s my ring! I’ll kill him before he hurts another innocent with it. Do you understand?”
She handed them the rings.
“If you won’t lift a finger to help the Corps, I will!” She rocketed towards the fallen warriors in Hyperspace.
Two hours later
Kilowog opened his eyes. She smiled down at him. He tried to smile back.
“Dis is unusual. Me, looking up at Jade!”
She giggled.
He looked up to see a room full of injured and unconscious Green Lanterns.
“Dey gonna be okay?
She nodded.
“Sumptin stopped Jordan?”
She grimaced.
“Sumptin.” She kissed his head and walked out of the room.
It took him a moment to realize that every eye in the room was focused on him.
“Whot I do?”
K’ryssma rose from her bed and walked over to him. She patted his shoulder.
“I was there when she first put on the ring. I opposed it. It was the Sentinel’s decision. She really is something, isn’t she?”
“I gotta be da first to admit dat, K’ryssma. I don’t always understand my little friend, but she’s really sumptin.”
K’ryssma smiled.
“And a very good friend to the Corps. After she defeated Hal Jordan, she retrieved all of us from where we had fallen.”
“Whot!”
“She hasn’t stopped fussing at the Guardians since she’s been back. It’s been entertaining to watch!”
Arisia of Glaxos IV sat up in the next bed.
“K’ryssma has been trying to explain Guardian Angels to me. I think that’s what the Guardians will see the next time she finds out they’ve sent us on a fool’s errand.”
Kilowog started to laugh.
“Ooh, dat hurts!”
One month later
Hal Jordan read the book of Oa. So much history here. It helps me to think straight. Don’t know why the Guardians have let me stay here. They’ve said they can’t give me that ring back. How could I deserve to wear that special ring again?
I still miss Carol, Hallie, and all the rest, but that part of my life is over. I’ve got to move on. Maybe there is something I can do. He smiled. At this point, I’d scrub toilets if I thought I had any skill for it.
He realized he was not alone. Kilowog towered over him. He seemed to shelter the diminutive Jade. Her arms were folded across her chest.
He smiled at them. Odd pair. He’s so huge and intimidating. She is less than a sixth of his size. To look at them, you’d never realize she’s one of the most powerful creatures who has ever lived. It was an honor to wear her ring.
“I am honored to see you again. After the dishonor I brought to your ring, I wasn’t sure you would speak to me.”
“Gotta admit, it ain’t my choice, Jordan.” Kilowog answered. “But I gotta make sure she don’t trip and hurt herself.” He put his giant hand on her shoulder.
“What are you going to do now, Hal Jordan?” She asked.
“Do? I have no idea. The Guardians have told me that I can’t earn back the ring. I want to find some way to serve. I know that what I did was not entirely my fault, but I’m not blameless. I want to find a way to redeem myself.”
She smiled.
“Did they tell you why they can’t give you the ring?”
“No.”
Kilowog answered.
“Hal, it’s an Order of Oa ring. It can only be given to a new wearer if she says so. Dey can’t award it ta just anybody.”
She nodded.
“I found someone worthy. Someone who has a track record like mine. He’s going to help me put flowers on a dear friend’s grave this afternoon.”
Hal Jordan nodded.
“I understand. I hope that whoever he is understands the honor that comes with that ring. I’m just glad to have a second chance. I understand you insisted that the Guardians take responsibility for me. You didn’t have to.”
He seemed lost in thought.
“That’s a very special ring. I never understood the honor that came with it until I lost the right to wear it. I hope you find a wearer who has as exemplary a track record as you do. I’m sorry for your friend. Where is the grave?”
She smiled.
“Tarsus IV. And you should do your research. I have the worst track record in the Green Lantern Corps. I was expelled. I don’t listen very well and I fuss at the Guardians.” She chuckled. “I’m so bad they sent another Green Lantern just to make sure I don’t hurt myself!” She patted Kilowog’s huge hand.
In her other hand, she held up the ring she had once worn. “I believe in second chances, but they have to be earned. Serve the Corps well. Remember, this ring is our shared legacy. Thousands of years from now, the ring will still be recorded in that book. It’s all that history will remember of either of us. Restore its honor!”
She looked at it with longing. She handed Hal Jordan the ring and left the room. They watched her leave.
Kilowog looked down at him.
“Before today, I don’t tink I ever understood how much dey hurt her when dey took de ring from her. Dey had no right.”
“Kilowog, sometimes I wonder. When all is said and done, will they remember the Green Lantern Corps, or will they remember her?”
Kilowog smiled. “My bets on her. Dat squirt’s da best da Corps coulda had.”
Hal smiled.
“Does have.”
“Whot?”
“She’s wrong about her service record, too. Not as blemished as mine and improving every day.”
“Whuddya mean?”
Hal smiled again.
“I’m not the lousy researcher you think. I wanted to do something for her. The only thing I could think to do was research the Order of Oa. So I did. I’ve already provided a copy of my research to the Guardians.”
Hal looked up to Kilowog.
“Do you know why Linda and I have different service numbers?”
Kilowog stammered.
“Whot? Don’t dat go wit’ da ring?”
“Nope. The service number always terminates with the death of the Order of Oa recipient. A new number starts with the next recipient of the ring. There’s a very good reason for that. An Order of Oa recipient can only be in one of two statuses. Active or deceased. Period. End of discussion. Even the Guardians didn’t realize that. What’s more, it’s in the part of their charter that requires twenty-two Guardians to change. She’s also entitled to an honor guard. Here, let me show you.”
Order of Oa Recipients, special rules regarding.
We do anticipate that it will be an exceedingly rare case when an Order of Oa recipient will survive to receive the award. However, it is the act of courage that we will review, not the survival of the Corps member.
We choose to make the following allowances for an Order of Oa recipient.
1. Expulsion - Rules Regarding Expulsion do not apply. There is no circumstance that can justify the expulsion of an Order of Oa recipient. We will not accept the resignation of an Order of Oa recipient.
2. Status - Service status for a living Order of Oa recipient is always active. It is the recipient’s choice whether to render service, not ours to command it. An Order of Oa recipient may not be disciplined, except to prevent extreme harm to itself or others.
3. Ring - An Order of Oa recipient has an absolute right to wear the ring, even if the cited ring has been given to another. A ring will be found, and the service recorded with the recipient’s original ring. The recipient may choose to approve successive wearers of the cited ring.
4. Honor Guard - An Order of Oa recipient is entitled to an Honor Guard. We will offer active protection to the recipient for the duration of that person’s life. A Corps member makes enemies through service – an Order of Oa recipient can be expected to make many.
5. Respect – an Order of Oa recipient has the right to an opinion. We will listen to that council, whether we would otherwise choose to or not.
This allowance we make by unanimous consent.
“Kilowog, they all signed it. They have to reject their entire charter to even touch this section. Her life will be recorded in the Book of Oa, for as long as she lives. And they can’t withdraw the award. They can make nasty notations, but they can’t withdraw it. They couldn’t expel her. They didn’t have the authority.”
“So da Guardians screwed up?”
“Big time. Here, big fellow!” He handed Kilowog a reproduction of the text. “My gift to you is that you get to tell her.”
“Hey, Linda! You gotta see dis!” He charged out of the room.
Hal Jordan smiled. He put the ring back on his finger. I didn’t think something that big could move that fast. Well, I can fix that doorframe. He commanded the doorframe to reassemble. I’m so glad I could do something that mattered.
An Order of Oa recipient: truly once a Green Lantern, always a Green Lantern. Always. Good for you, little girl! You earned it!
He waited until he no
longer heard Kilowog’s heavy footfalls.
He turned back to his research.