Earth's Solar System - Yon-Rogg's spacecraftEverything had been going so well, sure getting interrupted by the humans had been annoying but he had managed to complete his objective. He had finished his reprogramming of the Kree Sentry, set it to overload to destroy the planet, managed to escape Captain Mar-vell's pursuit, dooming him to suffer the same fate as the rest of the planet once the nega-bomb went off. Colonel Yon-Rogg had been patiently waiting in orbit for the final moment of his most hated rival, but instead of the complete devastation of an insignificant world all he witnessed was a harmless space detonation that had burned green deep within his eyes.
"How the Kriffin did they managed to get the core out into space in time? There should have been no way for them to gain access to the core while the Kree Sentry was in battle mode!" The only possible explanation that made sense to the colonel, was that Sentry 459 was a few millennia old and perhaps all that time had somehow weakened the sentry's structural integrity. A lack of maintenance must have finally taken its toll on the ancient Kree probe which in turn allowed a weakness to show that the human's had somehow managed to exploit.
Yon-Rogg cursed and swore as his ship traveled past Mars, he was taking his sweet time at the moment while he figured out his next move. As soon as the core had been ripped out an automatic emergency message would have been broadcast to the Kree Empire, a simple enough message, someone had managed to take out a Kree Sentry, which was not something many could do. This would put Earth in the empires crosshairs and unfortunately the colonel's bungling would be quickly found out and he had no idea what the Supreme Intelligence would decide after everything was found out.
Yon-Rogg leaned back in his chair, linked his fingers together and brought them up to his chin in thought. "The most logical move would be to send someone else as quickly as possible to confirm the situation. Since this planet has been a Kree experiment since long ago that means someone high up in the chain will be sent, possibly even Ronan the Accuser. If he comes my Krafaf is cooked once he forces the entire story out of me, of course so will Captain Mar-vell and this worthless planet but I need to make sure I'm alive and well to enjoy it when it happens."
Suddenly an idea came to him, causing him to sit up straight and smile.
"I know just who I need to talk to..."
Planet Tripscord - Kree science expeditionThe Kree science expedition had been scouring the planet's surface for a good month now, there had been a few things of interest here and there: A natural deposit of some very rare minerals which would be labeled for mining later, some unique flora with some hallucinogen effects, and some unique specimens of note such as a large animal that could only be described as a moving hill. The planet had only a few different biomes, jungle, desert, and tundra being the majority of the surface. The species diversity was rather limited as a result, the ecology was stable and the planet seemed healthy overall.
"It really is a rather boring world." Doctor Minn-Erva complained as she finished her dissection of a small rabbit like animal that was near the bottom of the food chain. A Kree researcher nearby looked up from his own work with a strange look on her face, probably not sure what to make of her superior's words.
"Oh don't look like you don't understand what I'm talking about. This world is stable, complete, almost depressingly so. When there is no challenge, no variety then a population will become stagnant and cease to evolve. We've cataloged every species we could find and what have we found? A paltry seven thousand, the genetics had stopped being modified on this world millennia ago, there is nothing for me to learn here." Dr. Minn-Erva blew a lock of black hair out of her face and tossed the carcass away without a second thought. They were scheduled to research this heap for at least another week or two but she was itching to move on to the next world.
Off in the distance she could see a Kree guard from the ship running over to her location. He seemed to be in quite a hurry.
Minn-Erva raised an eyebrow as the Kree soldier stopped right in front of her and handed over a communication device. Curiosity overtook her as she grabbed the device and looked at the message title, <Urgent Message for Dr. Minn-Erva’s eyes only>, how very strange to receive such a thing. She waved the solider off who saluted and headed back to the ship. Minn-Erva took a few steps away from everyone else, making sure she was out of listening distance as well as sight. She tapped the screen and thoroughly examined the message before her.
<Salutations Dr. Minn-Erva,
I, Colonel Yon-Rogg of the Kree Navy, have some information I am sure you will be quite interested in. While stationed at Kree experimental site 235, which is currently inhabited by a species called humans. Fairly recently a large number of anomalies have been sighted among their populace, individuals of astounding ability and skills. In the latest incident the local populace engaged in combat with Sentry 459 and against all odds one of the Earthlings managed to destroy the Sentry. Below is a recording of that individual.>
Minn-Erva tapped the attachment and before her she could see the stunning figure of a female in some very familiar garments. Minn-Erva’s eyes popped open as far as they could go as all the implications of the video Yon-Rogg had acquired from the last moments of the Sentry’s life flashed before her eyes. Thoroughly intrigued now she continued reading.
<From the Sentry’s last log entries I can conclude this woman here is a prime example of a human-kree hybrid as it was her tampering which started the fight in the first place. Of course she is but one example of the strange things which have appeared on this planet in the last few years. I feel that a geneticist of your stature would be more than willing to bend the rules to observe firsthand the genetic wonders this planet has unlocked. Unfortunately much of my equipment has been damaged along with other loses so I implore you to offer your assistance as soon as possible.
I hope for a speedy reply.>
Minn-Erva laughed to herself as she finished reading. She knew Colonel Yon-Rogg only by reputation but from his words it was apparent that there was more going on then he wished to share. The only reason it had been sent to her was so that he could use her resources once she arrived, but frankly that was completely fine with her. The tantalizing specimen and the excitement of working on a world that could help the Kree unlock their own genetic code to ascend to new heights! The possibilities were endless and right on her screen was living proof that Kree DNA could in fact be enhanced.
Earth itself as a research subject had fascinated her when she was in training; a world experimented on to produce warriors that would bolster the Kree Empire one day. Not much had come from it but now perhaps, after so long those experiments had succeeded, making the planet ripe for the picking. Of course the high command on the planet Hala would soon receive word of the Sentry’s destruction and act accordingly, once any type of military force arrived it would make it harder for her to work, thankfully she was much closer to Earth due to her work. She would have to pack up immediately and head out to Earth right away, it was against protocol and she would be punished somehow, but the secrets of genetics was right there in front of her and there was no way in the cosmos she was going to allow someone else be the one to unlock their secrets first.
Dr. Minerva rushed out to gather her things and shouted to the other scientists. “Hurry up and gather your things, we have an important mission to accomplish.” This was of course a lie, but anything that hastened their progress to getting to Earth first would be worth it. Then she noticed one of her team was still missing.
“Where is Til-Vong? I am sure he was part of our group in this sector.”
“I’m not sure Dr. Minn-Erva; he went to investigate an unnatural cave along with one of the soldiers two days ago. Wait, actually there they are! I can see them coming! Son of a Schlag Til-Vong! Where the heck have you been all this time?” The fellow scientist rushed up to the young Til-Vong and his protector as they made their way over to them. They seemed a little exhausted but other than that perfect all right.
“Excuse us for being late in our return. The cave somehow interfered with our equipment and we were lost down there for a while. I am sad to say we did not find anything of interest to make it worth our trip.” The young researcher replied bashfully as the rest of the researchers were busy gathering everything up. “What is going on?”
“Dr. Minn-Erva said we’re leaving on a mission. My guess is to another planet the Supreme Intelligence wants us to take a close look at.”
“Oh well that’s just perfect, this rock was getting a little boring anyway.”
“What? I seem to remember you being all giddy about starting your first assignment?”
“Err well a lot can change when you’ve been trapped in a cave for two days, don’t really want to have that happen again? Anyway I guess we’re leaving rather soon?” Til-Vong asked as he started finding his own tools to put away.
“As soon as you slow pokes are ready to go along with the other groups, we’ll leave as soon as possible.” Dr. Minerva responded, having already packed up at this point and impatiently waiting for the rest.
“I see, well that suits me just fine.” Til-Vong gave a bit of a strange, almost pained smile, but Dr. Minerva didn’t notice, her mind already planning her first moves once she arrived on Earth.
Earth – Beverly Massachusetts“I look like complete crap on TV.” I couldn’t help thinking as I caught a glimpse of the very short interview I did before getting out of there as fast as a cruise missile. My hair was messed up, the mask made me look like a robber, and I had dirt smudging up my uniform. Still, I guess I didn’t look too bad considering I had just wrestled with a several story tall robot.
The interview had been quite brief, barely two minutes in all. The only things I could really say was a short cover story about the robot with little information given, so SWORD could fill in the details they wanted later, and my new codename, Ms Marvel. It was a strange feeling, seeing yourself on the screen, being regarded as a new ‘superhero’ and using a new identity to boot. I knew a lot of actors used stage names so maybe it was like that, though of course none of them were being seen as heroes who could knock down a giant robot and shoot lasers out of her hands.
Joe, Joseph, and I were currently watching TV in mostly silence, except for the occasional crunch of popcorn being passed in a bowl between the three of us. Everyone had been remarkably quiet once I had got back. Not sure what had got into them but I was not in a particularly happy mood as Mar-Vell had sneaked off after failing to capture Yon-Rogg.
I understood he was now a fugitive on the run from SWORD now that his identity was revealed, which was why he had disappeared, but I was left without closure once again. I stuffed my face full of buttered popcorn to try and take my mind off of wanting to strangle that man. The next time I met him he was going to wish he had never saved me in the first place.
A son I didn’t recognize started to play but halted as soon as my brother whipped out his cell phone. “Oh hey honey how’s it going? Sorry you couldn’t be with me but you’d probably be bored sitting around here anyway. Can’t say there’s much life to our party here-“ Joe stepped out of the living room so he could talk privately.
By now the news flash was gone and it was just me and my father. The silence and tension between us was tangible and oppressive. Then Joseph said something that took me completely by surprise.
“Nice work protecting the civilians.”
“Wait, what do you mean Joseph?”
“Oh don’t be dumb with me Carol; you think I don’t recognize my own daughter even if she’s dressed up as a half-assed stripper?”
My jaw dropped, I don’t know how he managed to figure it out from that short clip, maybe it was some sort of weird father-daughter connection? Course I couldn’t say our connection had been very strong ever. But I wasn’t sure what to say since it was suppose to be a high-level secret.
That stripper comment had been totally unnecessary.
“Don’t look that way my idiot daughter, you left here in a freaken super chopper, and looking at you being all military out on that desert there telling the bare facts for the masses, reminded me of myself on the field. Plus the way you talked and stood there reminded me of your mom, rest her soul. I don’t know what kind of shit you got yourself into now, but at least you’re not useless.”
That was probably the closest I was ever gonna get to a compliment from my ever loving father.
“I’m sure you understand all information relating to this is classified.”
“Of course, I’m an ex-military man like you, I know how the game works, course my games never included such outlandish gear. Seriously what are you dressed up as, Mrs. Claus? Got all that red and even a star on the front to remind the world of the Star of Bethlehem.”
“You’re just going to continue to make fun of me for this forever aren’t you?”
“Damn straight I am, you went through military hazing so it’s nothing you can’t handle.”
“Oh Lord on High give me patience with this man, and frankly all the men in my life right now.” I couldn’t help but silently pray. I wonder what a normal Christmas would look like? Doubt I would ever find out.
Weird to think I now shared an intimate secret with my father. Never thought in a million years that was going to happen. Maybe, just maybe it would be a start to patching up our relationship. A bit of a Christmas Miracle...maybe.
Lord Wraith