Episode 55: Tamanarama
Takes place July 12-14.
Short version
Paul frees the planet Tamaran from Gordanian oppression and rescues the princesses Koriand'r and Komand'r (Starfire and Blackfire) from slavery.
Longer version
Paul makes contact with Tamaran, which is the only planet in Vega that he actually likes, but which is oppressed and brutalized by the gordanians. The king is skeptical of Paul's offer to help, but does very much want to rescue his daughters, who were taken into slavery when their brother joined the outlaw Omega Men. However, Paul doesn't know where they've been sent.
As a starting point, Paul contacts the gordanians and buys all the slaves currently held in-system, secretly taking them to a safe world outside Vega. One of them is able to give him the name of the planet where the princesses are held, and he uses that in conjunction with tracing the gordanian engine trails to track it down, finding a research facility that is on the brink of making a new generation of smart Citadelians. He again pretends to be interested in buying slaves, and gets custody of the princesses before deliberately getting Larfleeze's attention, provoking the construct-Lantern corps to annihilate the facility and the forces guarding it (including most of the gordanian clan that holds Tamaran).
He then builds an array of interdiction fields to keep threats away from Tamaran, and captures the gordanians in orbit, before marooning them on another world.
The Renegade, beginning to recover from his Anti-Life exposure, uses the Sword of the Fallen to destroy the construct-Lanterns of Sportsmaster and Bane, since that's the only way he has to free them from service, although he doesn't know what will actually happen to their souls. He also delivers fake bodies to their families along with enough money for funeral expenses.
The title is a play on "Tamaran" and the pop music group "Bananarama".
- Artifact of Doom: An orange construct-ring found its way to Tamaran before Paul's arrival, but it would have been extraordinarily dangerous for anyone to wear it, because Larfleeze would likely have become aware of them. Paul later gives it to a Citadelian in a deliberate ploy to have Larfleeze kill him.
- Beard of Evil: Lampshaded. Chief Minister Jediah Rikane has a full beard.Paul: [internally] Not a goatee though, so he's probably not evil.
- Callback: King Myand'r's desires were shown when Paul first visited the Honden of Avarice. Now Paul meets him in person.
- Catchphrase: Paul's reaction to the Citadelians' behavioral experiments.Paul: [internally] When I am confronted by the horrors of the universe I rejoice - for when I am done there will be one less.
- Creepy Souvenir: Subverted. The Gordanian clan chief considered collecting trophies from his enemies when he was younger, but rotting heads aren't hygienic, and skulls start to look samey. So instead he collects the weapons that he has worked to death.
- De-power: Princess Komand'r lost her sunlight-based powers (notably Flight) due to an illness, and since Paul rescued her from the Psions before their experiments were complete, her powers weren't restored.
- False Reassurance: When Admiral Drolyk delivers the princesses, as agreed, in exchange for the Ceebiss-ring, and Paul's ring confirms that they've been very violently raped.
- Operant Conditioning: The Citadelians have been experimenting with wires attached to positive and negative feedback centres in the Tamaranian brain.
- Orbital Bombardment: A good deal of Tamaran's infrastructure was destroyed this way. Paul notes that the nearby Gordanian space station has been modified to launch kinetic torpedoes, which are near-useless in space but devastating against unshielded ground targets.
- Power at a Price: Subverted. King Myand'r was suspicious of the orange ring that he inadvertently called, since it promised to solve all his problems, and so he didn't put it on. That was just as well, because he was so close to Okaara that Larfleeze would have felt his presence if he had.
- Shout-Out: Paul thinks of the iconic softer punch line from God, the Devil and Bob when thinking of Felicity's former owner.
- Sympathetic Slave Owner: Paul buys all the slaves being held on the Gordanian space station near Tamaran, in order to free them. Normally that would just boost demand and encourage more raiding, but he follows up by driving the slavers out.
- Tempting Fate: Admiral Drolyk quickly becomes Drunk with Power upon wearing an orange ring, even going so far as to declare, "I shall be unstoppable!" Naturally, he explodes a moment later.
- Trojan Horse: Both accidental and intentional.
- Paul sends a Construct-Lantern to investigate a Citadel facility, and the Citadel, thinking it's from Larfleeze, calls Paul in to remove it. Which lets him safely investigate in person.
- He then trades one of Larfleeze's rings for the princesses' freedom, and Larfleeze promptly senses the ring and wrecks the place.
