512/The King and the Queen

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The King and the Queen
Date of Scene: 20 May 2017
Location: Unknown
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Star Sapphire, Black Panther




Star Sapphire has posed:
    There are probably official ways to reach an audience with King T'challa of Wakanda, but unfortunately, every such method Star Sapphire can think of would risk tipping her hand and revealing herself as Carol Ferris, a move she's not willing to make just yet. That leaves her an unannouced visit; rude, but also possibly instructive about the man she means to visit. So it is that Star Sapphire descends from outer space in the center of a violet aura, floating slowly, elegantly toward Wakanda's capitol building, both hands up at eye level, palms out. She stops just outside the grounds proper, in full view of any guards, smiling.
    "People of Wakanda!" she greets, her voice mellifluous and strangely layered as her ring translates from English to Wakandan. "I am Queen Star Sapphire of Zamaron. I have come to express my compliments to King T'challa of Wakanda; long may he reign. I would consider it the greatest honor if you would convey a message to him, asking if he would be willing to meet with me, as part of a diplomatic proposal toward a mutually beneficial alliance. This meeting may take place at a time and circumstance of his choosing, of course!"

Black Panther has posed:
As the Star Sapphire descends, as soon as she breaches the fourty thousand feet mark her ring will likely start to warn her she is being targeted and scanned from the ground beneath her feet. The further she goes, she will get repeated warnings of weapons locking on to her, everything from ballistic missiles intended for anti-aircraft, to bleeding edge weaponry of other sorts. Railguns, anti missile cannons.. the works.

Wakanda takes it's sovereign air space very seriously.

But.. she is not fired upon despite the warnings from her ring and she is allowed to touch down. Waiting for her, are warriors armed to the teeth with weaponry from across the ages.

All of them dark skinned and fierce looking women. All with shaven heads, all lithe and highly trained.

Several hold rifles witch spit some kind of blue eletricity, others which look like high tech projectile rifles. Still others wield spears tipped in some kind of metal that her ring will warn her is a blend of vibranium and has metal rending properties along the edges.

Cutting edge futuristic and tribal ferocity blended in the best of ways.

They listen to the address and while Star stands there, the crowd parts, and a man dressed in a black bodysuit approaches.

This is T'challa.. King of Wakanda and it's greatest warrior. The man you came to see. "You risk much by flying in uninvited Queen of Zamaron. I do not know you.. and my advisors tell me you have done things that anyone of truly noble station would be abhorrent of. Why are you here?" He asks in that deep Afrikan accent of his, slightly muted by the feline helmet he wears.

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire endures the threat of the armed guards with the same pleasant smile, hands still up in that gesture of surrender for as long as it takes the Black Panther to emerge. When King T'challa appears, her eyes and smile both widen just a bit. "I did," she agrees. "My ring warned me of your targeting systems locking onto me from quite a ways up. I was a bit worried, to be honest!" She laughs a little at her own foolishness, hands still up in the air. "I'm grateful to you for your restraint in not firing them at me. I know of my past, and I won't ask you to listen to my justifications for it, but I do hope you can look past it to allow for a meeting at some time, when it's convenient for you, Your Majesty."

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa offers only a slight shrug at her words. "We are small.. but we are mighty. We have what the world desperately wants in the very ground beneath your feet. We must protect it and ourselves from.. everyone. He says and simply watches her for a long moment, his warriors never shifting their grip or their aim. Finally he nods. "Very well. We shall talk. " He tells her and raises a hand. His warriors tense as if to leap, ready to die at their kings word. Then lowers his hand, a motion ordering them to lower their weapons. " Wapiganaji kufukuzwa kazi." He barks in short clipped tones.

Your ring would translate this from a subsect of Swahili.. the ring identifies as simply.. Hausa. The ring tells her it means, "Warriors Dismissed."

"Come.. We can talk this way.." He says and turns, parting the sea of armed women and leading the way to a plain looking building not far off, the symbol of the panther painted painstakingly above the door.

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire nods back, pleasant smile still on her face. She strolls along with T'challa, at his side, neither trying to lead nor allowing herself to fall behind, high heels clicking on the courtyard stones, latex creaking slightly as she's finally allowed to move. "You're generous, Your Majesty," she compliments. "I'm sure you must have many matters to attend to. I hadn't imagined you'd permit me to treat with you today. I'd come expecting to be asked to come back at a more convenient time."

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa doesn't look back at Star, he knows exactly what she's doing and where she is. Enhances senses are a helluva gift. He leads his guest into a small room with four plain chairs around a wooden table. It looks more a dinner table than an official office of state. "We can talk here. We will not be disturbed." He tells her, and takes a seat on one chair, leaning back against the wall behind him. "Unlike the governments of the world, I see no reason to delay to deliberate and plan and plot and observe protocols that help noone. Two people in a room can do more in a room than a hundred. " He tells her. "Say what you will. You can speak freely here."

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire nods regally as she sits, one leg crossing over the other, latex-clad fingers lacing around the top knee. Her body language reads poised and comfortable, maybe less casual than your own lean but still perfectly relaxed as she explains, "To begin with, Your Majesty, I must first explain some things that you perhaps know a little bit about already. You already know about the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum, of course, and how this range filters into the visible colors. Someone with your resources might also know that the seven visible colors correspond to an emotional spectrum of psychic energy. The most famous on this planet, of course, is the green light of will, as harnessed by the Green Lanterns." Her voice is smooth, scholarly, and a tad detached; she sounds like someone for whom this is a chore, rather than the meat of the discussion. "I represent a small corps of immensely powerful beings who tap into a very similar power source. The Star Sapphires harness the violet light of love to achieve all the things a Green Lantern can. They are described as having the most powerful weapons in the universe; ours are a match for theirs.
    "But perhaps Your Majesty already sees the contradiction of a weapon fueled by love. For all that our rings CAN do anything a Lantern's can do, we don't have much reason to do it. Going out and punching people isn't really our forte. Willpower controls, but love seeks to nurture, and that's what brings me to you. You can perhaps tell I was born American, and in my country, poverty and crime are rampant, because our social order is dedicated to controlling them. Wakanda, though, is a paradise, because your methods are so much more compassionate...and because you have resources no one else does," she admits. "I'd like to discuss with you ways to change what it means to be a hero; to move beyond scrapping in battlegrounds and to move toward proactive, peaceful improvement of life's standards."

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa reaches up to his left wrist and touches the underside, a small panel lights up. He manipulates it and the helmet vanishes from around his head.

Your ring may be able to tell that this is simple localized refractive technology, his helmet is simply displaying his features in real time, he is still very much protected.

"Love.. is a flame. Creator and destroyer. I have seen and felt it's effects more than once. I know it's power. And I know of Green Lanterns power. If yours matches theirs, it is no small thing.

He tells you, and nods in acknowledgment of the compliment regarding Wakandan paradise. "We are the way are because every citizen no matter the circumstance of birth, is given every chance and opportunity. we have no crime because everyone works to better everyones lives. No one above another."

"Even I.. As King and Panther.. I will help to farm the crops or raise a barn if I am needed. No other government on Earth can claim it's members acting as such. " He says and shrugs. "So what is your plan to elevate our world? Given the current state of things.. it would have to be both groundbreaking and planetary in scale."

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire smiles. As the talk goes on, she keeps steady eye contact with King T'challa; it could be called assertive, aggressive, or flirty, depending on your society's view of eye contact. "I'd be happy to talk to you about the nature of love, but I think for now, the only relevant thing is this: love isn't just an emotion. It's a choice, and it's a behavior. Love that isn't acted upon isn't love, it's whimsy. I can't claim to love the people of this world if I don't try to help them," she explains earnestly.
    "And that brings me to the heart of it. I'm queen of a far-off planet, but the planet has almost no inhabitants, and the people who are there, Star Sapphires like myself, are independent, each one dedicated to expressing the light of love as she best understands it. We have power but very little infrastructure, and more, my travels have made me very aware of the fundamental arrogance that pervades the American culture I've lived my life in and how many psychological blindspots it can instill. I don't know how to proceed without help, and that's why I'm reaching out to you, Your Majesty. If you had access to the power of a Star Sapphire, how would you use it to change the world?"
    Is she offering?

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa raises an eyebrow. "What would I do with the power of Love? To wield it like the Lanterns wield their green light? I would have to pass on directly weilding it Queen of Zamaron. From what I am hearing it does not come without strings.. Chief among them is I would be one of YOUR subjects. A citizen of Zamaron. As King of Wakanda I cannot and will not simply leave my people. Secondly.. the power to shape light as the Lanterns do is... informal. Powerful.. but cold. An old tutor of mine once said 'In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think its impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them.'

I would perhaps aid a Sapphire. You or another.. but I would not want to wear the ring myself."

Star Sapphire has posed:
    "I think you took me wrong, Your Majesty. I don't give it up on the first date, even to a king," Star Sapphire explains wryly, with a coquettish quirk to her lips. "I'm asking you, pretend my power is one of your resources. How do you spend it? How do you direct it? What does a king of Wakanda think of that an American doesn't?"

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa smiles. Both at the sexual overtones of her suggestion and at his own mistake of conversation. "If you were one of my subjects, a resource to use.. Hmm.. such a question requires thought. Careful application of power in the right places. Likely.. I aid where aid is required.. Food for those who lack it. Basic things.. Water. The continent of Africa would be eternally grateful if we nuture the land back to a lush jungle.. all of it. Savannah and desert alike. Fly in workers and aid without the need for expensive fuel or upkeep on mechanical aircraft.

Raise the morale and the quality of life for those who have neither. As the Americans say.. a heart and mind campaign. Slowly... the world will follow suit. The mind is a hard thing to change.. but with work and perseverance.. it can be done.

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire's hands clap together briskly, but hollowly, muffled by her latex gloves. "Excellent!" she declares. "We have a place to start, then. I'm afraid my power can't create food or water directly, or change a continent's climate or growing conditions, but perhaps you have technologies that just need a bit of a power to fuel? I think I can arrange for that, at least," she offers, smiling, before her face turns solemn. "But I do foresee some problems. To begin with, it involves you sharing Wakandan techology with me, or at the very least exposing me to it, and I don't know how you feel about those kinds of secrets of state. For another thing, I'm American by birth, but queen of a sovereign alien world by appointment, and I can easily see my meddling being seen by the nations of the world as an act of alien gentrification or even hostility. Do you see any problems you think we should consider?"
    She's stopped calling you 'Your Majesty.' If you aren't going to address her that way, then she's not going to keep it up either.

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa shakes his head. "You misunderstand me I'm afraid. You need not create food.. or create water.. these things are in abundance elsewhere in the world. You simple need to get it here.. Carve out a resevoir with your power.. and transport a thousand or a million gallons of fresh drinkable water to the new resevoir after we have prepared it to hold the water without it leeching away."

"We can grow or buy food from all over the world and have it where it is needed within mere hours.. Essentially we remove the infrastructure that impedes these things from happening already." He says and offers a smile. "I am aware I am reducing your power to industrial equipment and freight transport.. but honestly.. that would serve the people far better than aid workers rushing around, paperwork and tracking things and ...red tape. Too much bureaucracy is a bad thing."

"As far as the Wakandan tech goes.. what did you have in mind? As queen of an alien world.. your tech likely exceeds our own. Your ring certainly does. " He says and motions at her hand. "And the worlds interest or lack of interest in what we do.. I will handle. They will not question Wakanda aiding the rest of Africa. And while we can start here.. show them the good works we do together.. then expand out. Reveal that it is you doing these good thing. Perhaps smoothing over your past?" He asks with an eyebrow raising.

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire could say something about the rest of the world having a vested interest in keeping Africa destitute, but best not to press a king on his word. "Well. I know I promised I wouldn't make you sit through justifications for my past actions, but between this and your mention of Zamaron's resources, I think we have to get into it," she says, perfectly calmly. "Without wishing to reveal too many sensitive details, Zamaron is a dead world. Its people are encased in an indefinite stasis. The violet light of love emanates from there, but the light was...I suppose you could say it was infected by a psychic predator that perverted Zamaron's understanding of love. 'Love for all, whether they want it or not,' is their credo. The source of the violet light has been cleansed of that taint, but the native Zamaronians have not been, yet. That's why I've placed them in stasis, until this...this psychic tumor can be safely expunged from them." She spreads her hands and smiles charmingly. "I'm afraid if you want Zamaron's help, you're looking at all she has to offer."

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa looks at Star. "Queen Sapphire.. you came to me. Descended on Wakandan soil. I am answering a thus far hypothetical question of what I would do with your power. And I have answered it. To save the world.. we fix it's most fundamental problems first. Food. Water. Basic things needed all over the world. I suggest Africa because she is my home.. and because as land goes it is massive. Many countries within it's borders. But we can.. I believe.. unite them all by fixing the basic things. Even advanced Wakandan technology cannot do that. It is a question of scale.. we do not have the manpower to do such a feat."

"Your army is on your hand." He sand and nods at your explanation. "I am sorry to hear about your people, but .. I'm not sure what you are asking. Are you offering aid in fixing this world? Or asking for aid in fixing yours?"

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire stands up from her chair and turns her back on King T'challa. The gesture might seem rude, until she presses both her palms into the small of her back and bends backward over them to stretch: that's not a pose she should take in that outfit while facing the king! When she turns around again, she's finished her groan of satisfaction and is straight-backed again. "I'm not asking for help fixing Zamaron yet. Work is being done there, and I think it's work a person needs direct access to the violet light to be able to conduct. I don't mean to belittle your people or your science, of course, but I'm not sure you have access to the materials you need to help Zamaron. But it's not a pressing issue in any event; in their stasis, the people don't suffer or age. They literally have all the time in the universe."
    Star Sapphire smiles at the Black Panther. "That said, I'm not at all opposed to expanding the reach of this alliance to a more cosmic scale. Earth isn't the only world that suffers...but I think it's worth fixing the problems in our own house before we try to mend anyone else's roof, don't you?"

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa nods. "Agreed.. But you are speaking of problems on a cosmic scale.. I can honestly say I've never left this world. I am King here.. not out there.. out there I am little more than a skilled fighter. What would you have me do? " He asks her, after watching her pop her back. The chairs aren't THAT bad.

Star Sapphire has posed:
    The chairs actually aren't that bad, but Star Sapphire is significantly softer than T'challa is, even before factoring in a vibranium suit that's no doubt posturepedic. She stands next to the chair that really isn't so bad, one hand resting lightly on the back of it, and suggests, "For now, let's perhaps focus our efforts on Earth. There are more than enough powerful forces to protect our world for now, forces that are better staffed and better trained. I think it would be worth our time to hone our craft here on our home world before we try peddling solutions we haven't yet tested to other planets; and if some emergency comes up that you and I are in a position to deal with, we'll do our best. Fair?"

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa offers a nod. "As you say.." He says. He's unsure of her now. But perhaps she is testing him. "I will focus my efforts here on Earth.. as I ever have. I look forward to possibly working with you in the future. "

Star Sapphire has posed:
    T'challa hides his uncertainty well--his regal bearing is lightyears ahead of Star Sapphire's, that's for sure--but she has a semi-telepathic ring, and that counts for something. The Zamaron queen walks around the table to take the next seat, the one nearest to T'challa. "I'm dedicated to this project, T'challa," she says, voice low and mellow, eyes locked on his: old tricks in the negotiator's playbook to make herself more appealing, more charismatic, more sincere; but they're old tricks because they usually work. She props her elbows on her knees and bends forward to be closer, be more intimate. "I can tell something I've said or done here today troubles you. Is it something I can put to rest?"

Black Panther has posed:
T'challa frowns at her, the voices of those came before him warning him of her tricks. A deft pair of fingers dance across the pad inside his wrist and his helmet reappears around him. As it does, he stands, pushing the chair away behind him. "You can start by respecting my position as King. As I respect yours as Queen. You came here to create an alliance. Combine our resources to create something greater. Then you play the snake.. seduce to acheive what you want. I will not have it." He says, steel in his voice. "If you value this project as you say.. then you can start by holding yourself with some dignity. Or watch it die before it is born."

Star Sapphire has posed:
    Star Sapphire frowns back, her eyes glinting violet. "I told you once, but you didn't hear me, so I'll say it again for the last time, bluntly, so maybe you'll hear me: I'm not here to sleep with you, T'challa. I am not a succubus and I won't be treated like one." Her back is straight now, head high, lips angry. "I didn't bring sexuality into this: you did, and why? Do you think I have such a low opinion of myself and what I have to offer that I'd try to trade your assistance for my body?" She looks away then, almost visibly biting off the rest of what she could say before she probably makes things worse.

Black Panther has posed:
The Black Panther inclines his head ever so slightly, right foot slides back just a couple of inches to brace him if he needs to. Nothing threatening.. perhaps just a favored standing position. But a trained warrior would know a readiness stance if they saw one. "I think perhaps this meeting is over your Majesty. We can revisit this topic when we can clear the air of misunderstandings and bias perceptions. If you are agreeable."

Star Sapphire has posed:
    "I think you're right. Thank you for your time, Your Majesty," Star Sapphire says, civilly but nothing else. Well, at least her voice isn't as cold as it could be. "If you'll excuse me, your window will work fine." She walks over to it, considering herself given leave--after all, you're the one who dismissed her--and she's off like a shot, trailing violet light behind her. About a mile up, there's a shock of thunder as she goes supersonic.
    'This is why the rings only choose women,' she grumbles to herself, but quickly cuts that off. Anger is a bad emotion to hold onto when you're leaving Earth's atmosphere via a ring powered by love!