OH HELL NO!  It is strange to hear CMZ speak so adamantly.  No.  A government, in its own self-interest, would try to find a way to weaponize it.  Someone qould touch it, become Shadarkos.  Then Shadarkos would work to take over the government of our nation, then, likely, the whole world.  That is a serious NOPE.

Bellissima turned to Winter Herald, "If it was some kind of technological weapon, I would agree completely.  They understand the dangers of nuclear, biological and technological weapons.  Unfortunately, most people don't understood and therefore don't respect magic." She was speaking tiredly but calmly, in an informative manner to the android. "No matter how much they are warned that no one can touch the gem, someone will not believe the warning and will end up touching the gem." Bellissima shook her head tiredly, "It is human nature.  Heck, if I hadn't read Matthew Harrison's thoughts, I would have trouble believing."

Justicar raised his visor and looked over to Bellissima, "...we are currently on a Hydrofoil traveling to the Florida coast somewhere in the straits of Florida north of Cuba.  The Marianas Trench is East of Japan... that's over 7,300 miles from here.  No.  I do not have a drone with that kind of range... your thinking an ICBM."

"But I think you are all thinking too obtusely, WE are the only one's who know anything about who or what we encountered... we do not have to tell LESP Everything. Or for that matter even mention Shakardos, if asked ~ he managed a 'magical escape'. I do not like deception but this insidious cursed ring is a special case...and YES.. I'm aware of the inherently slippery slope of Truth and Trust that puts us on.  But ponder the EVEN more distasteful alternatives? A white lie here may spare the suffering of untold innocents!"

His expression is clearly dissatisfied in the EXTREME with even suggesting this... Shame Etched into his young features!
This message was last edited by the player at 05:56, Tue 17 May 2022.

Bellissima looked surprised when Justicar shared where the Marianas Trench really was, "My apologies, for some reason I have always associated the Marianas Trench in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean."  She frowned as she reordered her memories so that she wouldn't make the mistake again. "Is there a deep trench in the Atlantic Ocean that is reachable, in that case?"

Bellissima pointed at all the people in the room, including the mercenaries, "There are too many people in here for a secret to be kept, someone will reveal the information, even if accidentally."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:11, Tue 17 May 2022.

Winter Herald actually took several seconds to consider these words as they were spoken, and his consensus was engaged in a heavy debate, although not quite over the subject. "Inform your government it is an alien biological WMD, and trust them to not abuse it or let it be stolen, as they have been trusted with the other WMDs they possess. I am to understand Broken Arrow scenarios are rare. FORCE seems the exception to many rules."

He paused as his consensus was forced to a conclusion due to time restraints. "That is the end of my recommendation and I have nothing further to add to it, but I do have a question. Is this unit a self-selected political power comparable to an aristocratic gathering? That is to say, are you willing to be a political entity operating with an agenda separate from the government, for a theoretical greater good? This will not affect my hopes of future affiliation with you. It will shift my views on your organization, the scale on which you operate, and the responsibility you are willing to accept."

As it stands, we are sanctioned enforcers of the law, not vigilantes.  We are given a great deal of latitude in which to operate, CMZ explains, but, we have a lot of restrictions as well.  Particularly ethical situations

The question, however, come down to this:  What are we willing to do to protect people from this thing?  Is it worth it to break the law, to tamper with evidence, if we believe it is for the absolute best for all people.

In reply to Chimp Man Z (msg # 405):

Justicar replies, "...That Chimp Man Z is Crusader's Entire point!  I ask you.. Do YOU trust the System to safely deal with this threat?  If No... then both your question and Winter Heralds must be answered the same way. Yes, sometimes WE must place our judgement over the Law to serve the better good ~ understanding the limits of the Authorities and those charged with enforcing the laws inability to deal with threats like this. That's Actually the whole point of our banding together as superheroes to deal with things the normal law enforcement and or military cannot deal with.  Were not needed to chase bank-robbers or purse snatchers.  This is what we are here for...to make the hard calls and deal with threats our powers and skills can handle that cannot be with conventional means."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:03, Tue 17 May 2022.

Listening to all this going down Lite Star nods.

"I can have private transport air bourn and ready for a pick up over the water within the hour.  Then could fly none stop to the area of the trench and insure it drops and is put away in a manner unrecorded.  My organization operates solely to counter those that work beyond the law, my being a part of LESP is to add some legal due process to my crime combatting activities.  Governments act to their own ends and sometimes due to the human element that is not always for the good of all.  Our goal as heroes is to protect people to our fullest ability and moral mind set.  This can put us at odds with the law and government, how far each of us will go depends on who we are, but we all are aiming to do the best we can to meet that goal.  So, shall I make the call and get transport arranged?

Justicar raises a hand and says, "Lite Star, I'd like to be the first to request membership and/or patronage of your Organization? And yes make the call..."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:56, Tue 17 May 2022.

"I have no influence within your unit, and I acknowledge my uncertain legal status at present. If there is a record, let it state I oppose this decision, for what that is worth." Herald looked to Goliat at this point, a strangely hopeful look on his face.

In reply to Winter Herald (msg # 409):

Justicar regarded Winter Herald with sad eyes, "Winter, I know you think of this Ring as just another WMD. But its not.  Its a mad AI super computer that wants to infect as many as possible with its destructive madness and it only takes a single touch to infect the mind of living beings to begin spreading its destruction! Discounting the many past times the US Government has not followed its own laws in fulfilling its expressed dedication to Truth, Liberty, and Justice... discounting the many times the US Government has broken treaties, supported mad dictators for political posturing and mere economic gain, discounting the many times the US government has broken its own laws to be expedient for the grab for power and financial gain at the expense of innocent lives.. Discounting all of that... Even if the US government was this time going to do exactly as it should ~ it is not a monolithic structure not all the people who work for the US government are trustworthy.  That is not to say its completely corrupt and evil nation... but such is the power of the ring it only takes one person who is greedy, curious or just plain incompetent to touch the ring and again it has control of someone who may or may not be wicked-hearted themselves but now in the structure of the legitimate US Government!  The Ring's power coupled with the government authority of such an individual could Wreak GREAT Disaster.  Add to that the ring's power cannot be detected by current technology... can you imagine what harm would be inflicted in the halls of power, justice system, or military if such a thing were to claim someone of actual power in the government and be completely untraceable?!?!  The Risk is just too great!  What if the Ring maneuvered its host to just get the President of the United States to touch the ring..something so seemingly innocuous?!? The President can launch a full scale Nuclear strike!"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:44, Tue 17 May 2022.

The problem is not doing something for the greater good.  It's the slippery slope you start to slide down.  When you compromise just a little bit, the next time it doesn't seem so bad to compromise just a little bit more the next time.  And a little more the next time.  Before you know it, you have completely compromised yourself and what you believe in.

"The ring is unimportant. That dark red gem is a small portion of the soul of an ancient evil. It is, after a fashion, alive. It is, after a fashion, aware. It will, after a fashion, corrupt and destroy whatever vessel it finds itself in, even if that vessel is a star."
"The best thing to do with these artifacts is bury them where no one will dig them up. Nobody ever does that, because somebody always wants the power with no regard to the price."

In reply to Goliat (msg # 412):

Justicar regards Goliat with a curious expression, "Golait, do you think consulting other practitioners of the Arcane here on Earth or space to research the history of the ring and gem might give some insight as to its origin and potential clues to how it was made and then perhaps some idea how to actually destroy it?  Have you ever made any contact with the Occult community here on Earth?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:08, Tue 17 May 2022.

"I have not. If you could keep that gem secured till you do so, I would assist you in guarding it."
"I'm convinced the masters of the art here will do one of two things. Either agree with my contention that the gem be hidden away, or try to take it from us for themselves."
This message was last updated by the GM at 15:25, Sun 24 July 2022.

In reply to SSOGM (msg # 414):

Justicar cocks his head in surprise, "So you would prefer we keep the thing and research it first before doing anything immediately?"

Bellissima nodded thoughtfully, "So, if I am understanding you correctly, Goliat. The gem will corrupt anything it is contained in.  The gem also isn't really physical, we are just seeing the physical representation of it.  And the problem with sending it to the sun is that the sun will destroy the container, becoming the new container and therefore opening it up to corruption.  Whereas burying it, the container is still around it, protecting the planet from its direct touch."  She looked at the alien mage to make sure she was understanding things correctly.

"And no research, the longer it is out and the more people are looking at it, the more chance someone is going to give into temptation.  We need to send it away as quickly as possible," Bellissima stated firmly. "If it is a metaphysical object, then probably the only way to destroy it, is to return it to its original dimension."

Nodding to Bellissima, Goliat says, "yes. That explanation is sufficiently close to the truth to be used as guidance."

"Question. What does corruption of a container mean? If we double contain the false gem, will they be capable of destroying the first layer, and then assaulting the next, like a strong corrosive? We will need to consider this, so that once we wrap this thing up and drop it off in..."

Winter Herald considered several isolated locations before choosing one. "Perhaps an unmarked burial site in the Rocky Mountains of northern Canada, ensuring there is no water table or known tectonic instabilities at said site, that the ring will stay there at least for several centuries, if not longer. This isn't the solution, though. Like radioactive waste, it simply turns it into another generation's danger, unless we research how to dispose of it and are then capable of acting on it. Unlike actual radioactive waste, firing it to a star is apparently not a valid solution."

Justicar nods in agreement," ... considering that Goliat has verified that the 'red gem' is not a mineral or even matter as we know it but a localized, dimensional shadow of a higher plane object/force... casting the 'Not a Ring' into any hostile environment here in our 3-dimensional space as we know it would be useless as it is in fact energy manifesting in our time/space that our senses can only perceive as something solid that looks like a gemstone ~ but is in fact not matter at all and would be unaffected. Casting it into our star would indeed be HIGHLY Ill-advised. We must seek a way to return it to its origin dimension!"

He ponders for a few moments Eyes going wide at something that occurs to him, "...And keeping the 'Not a Ring' FAR FAR AWAY form any dimensional nexus or ley lines as possible until we are ready to send it back to its home dimension... less it's presence at such nexus have... highly unfortunate side effects or attract decidedly unfriendly dimensional attention potential even unwelcome visitors!"

Turning to Bellissima,"It ..truly pains me to say this but I believe we need to keep the 'Not a Ring' until we have researched the proper way to send it back to its home dimension... to do otherwise is to just delay its eventual return...maybe not in our lifetime but not forever. And what we know of the rings threat  will certainly NOT be known by whoever finds it again. We have a responsibility to the future to deal with this properly now!"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:50, Wed 18 May 2022.

CMZ lets the others talk.  Right now, he is content to sit uncomfortably on the floor and eat the food that Bellisima had prepared from the ship's stores.  He still moutns the death of the archaeologist, but more pressing matter or mundane matter still need to be attended.
Normally sitting shiva lasts a week, but they do not have that kind of time.  And, were he a truly religious man, Jacob would be pretty sure YHWH would forgive the abbreviation, especially since they did not know the man.

Crusader sighed, "Perhaps we should just agree to table this, we are far afield of what we have to deal with, FORCE."

In reply to Crusader (msg # 421):

Justicar nodded towards, Crusader, "..I think that's a fine idea... let's say we allow for a week of research by Goliat and our collective efforts to research as much as we can on the Ring to see if we can find more intel on what to do with it or at least on its origins.  If then we have not found any new intel.. put it in a brick with a written message and a burned optical disc with the intel and history we do know with a detailed warning of the rings danger and drop it into the Mariana's trench with a homing device that triggers on motion of the brick."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Wed 18 May 2022.

"I concur with Crusader, although the two subjects might actually be related." Winter Herald becomes a bit more animated on the topic of FORCE. "The trail is currently hot, and the ones with the most information on where they could be found are the soldiers swarming the base now. They will likely have reliable internal memos on information about them within..."

A pause as he came up with a guess. "...twenty four hours. It is in our - which certainly means mine as well - interests to at least use governmental resources as they are almost certainly using you. I am so far outvoted on this topic, but I believe granting them an alien mimetic bioweapon WMD that enslaves those foolish enough to use it would go a long ways as an investment of trust, one you should reap the rewards from immediately to use their resources to help hunt FORCE down. Additionally, their resources for research certainly exceed any of yours, and if you voluntarily turn this..."

Another pause as consensus just shrugged at what to call the ring. "...ring over to them, you can likely bargain for a say regarding the specifics of the research and the security around it. Your leadership would be foolish beyond words to outright dismiss those who know the most about this 'ring.'"

"In short, give the USA government the ring, so they trust you more, and then ask them for a report on where they suspect FORCE went, and what we can learn. Then we can combine that with our own research, and perhaps detect my creator before he can fully regroup."

"And also, should this action also be decided against, I recommend against sending the ring to any location that might double as a landmark. The more isolated and out of the way, the better."

Justicar's only reaction is to close his visor and fold his arms akimbo at his chest.

He is unmoved, and unmoving.