13970/What Lies In Hearts of Men and Elves

What Lies In Hearts of Men and Elves
Date of Scene:	26 January 2023
Location:	Operations: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Spinning out ideas of how to figure out where a great horrible dreadnought went!
Cast of Characters:	Jane Foster, Jemma Simmons, Natasha Romanoff

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Jane Foster has posed:
<I don't like this pattern. I really don't.>

Warnings from Jane Foster to one Jemma Simmons, broadcast the usual way. Messenger methods that SHIELD tolerates, which probably looks like ancient ICQ or some futuristic version of... ICQ? AOL? Whatever insta-chat was hot when Fury was a young man scowling into his lunchbox?

Eith4er way, the location is an Ops room, rather than R&D. She has the misfortune of comparing at least 120 victims or bystanders, to say nothing about witnesses of various sorts. "Maybe we can just throw a dart at a board and /hope/ it leads us in the right direction? I've had about as much luck scouring space."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
"I see you are a believer in quantum string theory, then, Jane." The slight grin that threatens to become a full-blown smile is prevalent upon the brunette's features. "Maybe that dart will tug on the singular string that is connected to the outcome we want. It is about as reliable as hoping and more scientific than faith."

Because that is always a plus in Jemma's book.

"Otherwise, we can input all of the variables into the algorithm and see if a pattern emerges that is better. It...might take some processing time, though."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would be there and folding her hands and watching over. "If we need extra processors, I can have some modules over from Avengers Mansion put into it to make it quicker. They have too much unused computing power as it is. I'd rather not Tony end up making a new Ultron if he gets bored and can't figure out what ot do with it."

Jane Foster has posed:
"I've proposed the effects of quantum string theory to resolve several issues of relative importance, but none seem to have taken me up on it. I did manage to obtain a liquefied form of a planetary atmosphere and kept it stable on some of the principles, though." The things she gets up to when not hunting distant planets for Thor, or possibly terrorizing the neighbourhood, are considerable. But worry gravely marks the corners of Jane's eyes.

Burning the midnight oil? "I'm still not finding clear connections between Tahiti and Newfoundland, beyond the spurious. Islands, parks, stone formations of local or regional importance."

She taps the screen at Jemma, shaking her head. "I'll take some of your suggestions, Agnet Romanoff. But at this point, two divergent problems. No sign of Thor... and now, we've got a dark elf or his allies on the run. Including an ancient monster, released from the Pacific."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
A shake of the head. That slight grin dissipating into a flat line of concern. Yes, Jemma has noticed that Jane is worried...and quite possibly tired. "You should rest, you know." Yes, Jemma is only mildly chastising her friend....not that it may do much good. It just shows that Jemma is concerned and cares.

Still, the problems that Jane speaks of catches Jemma's attention. "Well...I knew of Thor still missing. But...I wasn't aware of a dark elf. Certainly not friendly like Legolas, I would imagine." Oh...an attempt of a joke. "And...wait. A monster?"

The scientist glances sharply towards Jane. "Just...what sort of monster are we talking about?" Is that concern or curiosity? Perhaps a little of excitement? An ancient monster to study doesn't happen every day.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would glance over at Jane, "Well, we need to figure out how to kill them and how to track them. IF you can give us some general weaknesses on them as we're not going to have someone of Asgardian caliber with us every fight, excellent." Watching over. "I'll defer to you as to how to track them. And if you can find something effective against them that's conventinoal or we can appropriate in large amounts.." They couldn't exactly equip everyone with magic swords, no matter SHIELD's inventory.

On the 'ancient monster from the Pacific', Natasha would shrug. "One thing at a time. We can always hope that the Atlanteans get annoyed with it and Namor takes offense to it's existence. And there's far, far, far worse things in the sea. If you're curious sometime read the Japanese SElf Defense Force's archives on the Gargantuan profile."

Jane Foster has posed:
"I can tell you some, though not enough." As much as she might like to, Jane cannot share the many hundreds or thousands of times she perished as a svartalf. Brutish and nasty ways to go with overall creativity, that's often how it goes. Memories she might not rather recall from the myriad experiences of how life ends.

"Svartalfjar -- dark elves -- are fast, cunning, and hardy. More than your average human. The whole idea of elves being lithe and weak is entirely a mistake of fiction. Think more like Tolkien's orcs and elves, you're in the right direction. They don't have a congenital weakness to sunlight, though intense light hurts them more as a rule given their lands are murky most of the time. They bleed as well as anyone. Fighting through pain is considered a virtue, so it's just better to key up the ICERs to stun them so they cannot act," she speaks aloud, giving a thoughtful survey. "Tracking svartalfjar is harder than that entity buried in Tahiti, released from its prison. That thing might have a magical residue, but it's not easy for me to see unless I'm near it. Something we might have Fitz calibrate for. Possibly The Vision?" Her head tilts a fraction. "He was very helpful, if that's who...." Lean on Nat, you know?

She sighs, glancing back to her tablet and the incomplete AAR. "Help me out here, how do we describe a possible entity imprisoned under the ocean?"

Jemma Simmons has posed:
From one literary reference to another. An entity imprisoned under the ocean. "A kraken?" Shades of Perseus and Andromeda. Jemma, to no one's surprise at all, must have read a lot when she was younger. Or...still. "Or a titan, if one wants to get technical." Still doesn't answer what the monster is, exactly, but it seems that it is something that Jemma is willing to let go.

For now.

"A magical residue? I am not sure if it is something that we can track relatively easily. I mean, I do suppose that any energy signature is trackable. After all, we were able to identify the energy output of a certain Asgardian hammer easily enough. Though, wouldn't WAND have a resident wizard or something to be able to do that sort of tracking, as well?" There is almost a scoff in that statement. It is no secret that Jemma's view of magic is quite simply that magic is just unexplained science.

A sentiment she has kept, despite the amount of unexplained situations Jemma has seen. Because....Jemma will simply find the answer.

It's what she does.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would give a nod over at Jane, "USeful. Perhpas plasma grenades or napalm. White phosphorous.." Those are hardly in standard issue eqiupment and they require specialized training for personnel. And inflict major collateral damage. All of them possibilities, but as with everything they have flaws. She would nod over at Jane and consider.

"Speak to him on it or I can. You should be able to get access to some of the computer systems from the Mansion for number crunching. If anyone asks I authorized it or if they won't take that then Bucky will." Bucky, whom is just as enthusiastic as the rest of them are with Loki being in charge of Asgard. "I can't speak for Vision, but I presume he will be up for aiding."

Considering Jemam's words. "Possible. The issue is also turnaround. Doing continuous planetary sweeps is difficult. If they're teleporting in stealthily they'll be hidden from overt scrything. Or can delay detection long enough to complete their mission, or get a head start on it."

Jane Foster has posed:
Imagine how thrilled they all are with Loki. Jane hasn't even had the pleasure of slapping him in this role, especially given how grumpy the Asgardian regent was with her for failing to fall all over herself in mad respect. Yes, well. Mjolnir has opinions about that, and concern about her picking up random snakes.

"From what I could glean, a major ritual freed a monster from under the Pacific in Fiji. A specific island known as the centre of mana for the Fijian people, anyway. The song I could translate, from runes and its sound, suggested that an ally of the Svartalfjar that they called a 'horror' fought and was imprisoned there. Now it's free," Jane explains slowly. "I have to go over my notes to be sure that's the essence of it, but I expect Malekith or someone else ended up with a significant increase in firepower. For /that/ sort of thing, expect what you would need to take out a whale or a very angry megalodon. I do not have a clear path as to its nature enough to be sure yet,. As for you, Jemma, WAND /has/ resident wizards and even ways to enhance sight, but they do not work for everyone or it requires a constant use of resources. Spread that out around the globe and suddenly we're in an uncomfortable position. I'm not one to go to Mr. Stark and suggest he rig up a network of magic-detecting satellites, because I do not personally believe such a thing is ethical /or/ would help."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
"Oh. In the Pacific. This sounds rather like a Japanese monster movie. Perhaps we should call this creature Godzilla?"

Oh, Jemma is full of jokes this particular evening. Or, rather she is just trying to make a tense situation a little lighter. Still...the idea that SHIELD has wizards on the payroll does seem to amuse the scientist. "I would imagine that having a undocumented methodology that is wildly different from one practitioner to the next would be rather difficult to coordinate." Is that a slight dig on the unreliability of magic as a useful medium? Maybe. It could also be just simple observation. "And, to be truthful, it is not ethical in the least. The only way to be able to truly be able to detect that sort of concept is to constantly survey and document absolutely anything that does not fit in normal established scientific norms. A complete and utter invasion of global privacy, to say the least."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would shake her head over at Jemma, taking a few notes of her. "Oh, no, that's a completely separate classification. I thought you of all people would have read the files if only for indulgence. They don't have that high a classification level." She would glance over at Jane, nodding over on the resource bits while pondering slightly. Tapping over at her side and letting out a soft tch.

"We can't send a small squad to engage them without massive luck involved and being able to essentially stall them until heavier firepower arrives. Most of what we have in our conventional arsenal is useless."

Jane Foster has posed:
"If it's Godzilla then the Aesir Office of Records and Sagas has copyright infringement to pursue for the past seventy years out of Japan. I'd rather not consider that an option, Jems. Where do we find a giant moth?"

Do not answer that question, Jemma, do not. Natasha better not either. She glances over the files, scrolling through them as the screen stubbornly skitters all over the place. A hazard of being her, where skin is only an actual construct instead of real. Alas, them's the breaks of not being really alive. "I've looked into the Atlantean behemoths, the project run by the South Africans in 1967, the byproducts of the French nuclear program and none of them coincide to this. Wrong schematics and evidence. No, I'm fairly certain this is a situation where we're left on our back foot unless we can break the pattern. Who they go after, why. I feel like I'm scooping up handfuls of sand in hopes of finding a diamond, and that's a large beach."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
"Well..."

No. Jemma is not going to answer that. No need for Mothra to show up.

The skittering of the screens is noted. The cause of which is also known to Jemma. And yes, Jane is still a construct...though not for a lack of trying on Jemma's part. Yet another reason for Jemma's general less-than-positive view of magic. If it was a reliable methodology, then Jane would be flesh and bones, rather than a metaphysical construct.

Still....that is an issue for another time. Now...is attempting to identify the genus of the creature in question. "No precedence at all? What an exasperating, yet exciting situation."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would tap at her shoulders, "We need some solid evidence on it. And quickly. If we don't we'll take heavy casualties in the field and whatever those.. Svartlefs are up to will go on with minimal impediment." She would lgance over at Jane, "And I take it that the Asgardians might not necessarily have much more to offer than we already have? Or are they pursuing thier own efforts?"

Always the question, how much to coordinate without tripping over one another's feet and how sycnrhonized to be to avoid replicating investigation efforts. Natasha's thinking on the matter as Jemma theorizes.

Jane Foster has posed:
If magic was a reliable commodity, Jane would arguably not be separated from her body in the first place, or she'd be well and truly dead the way nature intended. If nature wanted death, and given nature sits happily tending the eternal garden of life, jury's out on that one.

"Not much of a precedence in our lifetimes, which isn't saying much where the dark elves or even Aesir are concerned. It's not particularly difficult for one of them to live several thousand years. You aren't even considered a teenager until around five hundred to a thousand." Imagine the torments of tweens. Decades, if not centuries! Reasons not to entertain immortality, per one who is effectively immortal. Amortal. "What's curious to me was the last set of people killed on Fogo Island seemed like they were upstanding, but then Agent Croft discovered they all had either criminal convictions, outstanding investigations or accusations of unlawful activity. I wonder if the ship was merely caught in the crossfire, but it might be worth seeing whether anyone aboard had similar problematic backgrounds -- or virtuous, for that matter. There seems a sick symmetry in all of this. Beyond dragons and slaughter."

The faintest shake of her head answers. "I had not approached the Prince-Regent or Lady Sif. She's more accessible than he, though we might inquire if she's had any headway examining the library. Her position typically exceeds my reach on that. Then again, with Mjolnir, I might be able to find more. But that means turning my eyes away from the search for Thor."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
A moment of silence is observed by Jemma. It is, for those who know her, a common thing. She is listening, certainly, but she is also thinking. And the situation that Jemma is contemplating? How to deal with a sea monster while looking for a wayward god at the same time. And...perhaps Jemma has an idea.

"Well, you, Jane, have a more intimate connection to Thor than others." And no, she is not referring to any past relationships, but more to the fact that Jane has Mjolnir...a fact Jemma is well aware of. "What seems to me is that we need to divide and conquer. And I do believe your efforts would be best spent searching for the Asgardian."

So...what about the cryptid? "That would mean that I would be willing to research our mystery monster. And, perhaps in finding our creature, we will be able to also lock onto the...dark elf, you said? And, if not, then perhaps we need to talk to a wizard. Maybe someone knows what the creature could be."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod, "Just tell the Lady Sif that any help she can provide will take us more quickly towards findin the things andkilling them in glorious battle. And that you know that she loathes those things which hide in the darkness and that she is a creature of war. So to give you whatever resources she has on hand so she needn't waste her time beyond putting her blade through one of them and to let you handle how to best tell where they are. And that it will no doubt annoy the Pricne Regent greatly in the process. I'm sure that combination of things will make her quite cooperative."

What things that couldn't be done officially could always be gathered by manipulation.

Jane Foster has posed:
"Ah. Here." A tap of her fingers runs down the skid of data, and stops to tap the file. "We haven't spoken with the two Aesir we saw there, have we? The blond ones?" she asks Natasha, since it's not like Jemma came along for that adventure. "They supposedly could produce a facsimile of the Gray Horror in question. I would certainly like to know where my head has been." Jane pushes the tablet away with a note for her to deal with. "That's follow-up I have not performed, so there you are, Jemma, if you're up for it. We can direct you to the right people. Might want to bring along an Avenger or two; Clea is the obvious one, perhaps Vision as well. He was attentive to the details."

Her fingers flex and crack, trying to ease out the stiffness that's barely there but expected to be. "Searching for Thor isn't turning up much, though every suggestion I get is... a lot of searching in haystacks. There are enough space outposts for me to build a comprehensive and impressive list that would earn a lot of questions of how I know this. And it will end. I have to remember that, and not get too dazzled by the stars."

Always a danger, at least.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
"Bring along an Avenger, hmm?" Sure. Like Jemma has a ready supply of those. Let's see. She knows Natasha, of course. And Clint. And Captain Rogers and Sam. She knows of Bucky...but really...the man does tend to be a little scary. And...that's it. Clea? That's a name Jemma doesn't know. And Vision? Well...as long as Fitz isn't around. Otherwise nothing will get done.

"Well...I suppose we can start there. Also perhaps attempt to map the movement of our cryptid. See if we can discern a pattern from there." Already that ten-yard stare is apparent. Jemma is contemplating.

Yes...this is going to take research. Lots of research. Which suits the good doctor just fine.