14321/Discordants: No Going Back

Discordants: No Going Back
Date of Scene:	17 March 2023
Location:	Third Carrier Air Wing Briefing Room
Synopsis:	The heroes and the Eisenhower battle group put together their heads and come up with a plan on how to deal with the attack on the Starport.
Cast of Characters:	Thor, Nick Fury, Jane Foster, Alura In-Ze, Mary Jane Watson, Monica Chang, Zatanna Zatara

---

Thor has posed:
    01:47 PM 37 miles NNE of the Falkland Islands.
    Roughly ten hours after the battle of Port Stanley Airport.

    The fleet steamed ahead through the Atlantic ocean. The fires had been contained on the damaged vessels, though some of the damaged ships trailed behind as the Carrier Battle Group made its way toward the distant Starport. Combat Air Patorl was heavy as three flights of F-35s maintained security above the carrier and its charges.
    In the depths of the USS Eisenhower the briefing and ready room for the Third Carrier Air Wing has been appropriated for use by Captain Higgins who stands at the front of the room, podium in place. The old wooden table at the front of the room has been appropriated as well with a stack of satellite shots thrown onto it, a few manila folders, and a projector that is set to feed into a holo display that looks as if it was hodge-podged into existence with gum and tape.
    The grizzled Navy veteran with the captain's bars leans on the podium, his uniform has a sear mark on the collar and he has a bandage on his left hand. The room consists of rows of six seats each. All of those seats in the room proper are very large and very comfortable, with elaborate arms for fold out tables and a data display. Part of the room is closed off with a glass wall for observers and the like. But for now, the whole room is full with officers, SHIELD agents, heroes, and intelligence operatives. Standing room only and that might be pushing it.
    "Alright ladies and gentlemen, we have a lot to get through, and not a lot of time to do it." His voice is a little rough, though enhanced partially by the microphone in the podium. The lights dim slightly. Some of the other captains in the fleet are in the observation room. The holographic display hums into life, flashing imagery toward the ceiling between the man and those there for the intelligence.
    "Approximately 13:00 hours ship's time, the Triumvarate's Planetary Starport was attacked by a Dark Elf force of unknown size. Communication has been lost, satellite feeds have been blocked. We have only a handful of images and intel is breaking them down as we speak." He looks around the room, "We know our guests may be antsy to move, but we're here to coordinate this action as we've seen what they can do."

Nick Fury has posed:
The Director of SHIELD is obtrusive in his unobtrusiveness. He's standing in the back corner, dark fatigues with that classic black leather jacket that hangs to his knees. He's got top level clearance to have full run of the ship, that is, he could be //anywhere//, but where is he? In this stupid-ass, mufkr meeting because the outer space elves had the cajones to attack Earth directly.

Nick is silent and still, arms crossed in front of him, the seemingly perpetual frown in place.

Jane Foster has posed:
Giving the standing room only situation, the blonde woman sharing a vague similarity to a SHIELD deputy commander might hold serious regrets about not adopting her slimmer alter ego. However, the war footing for the battle group halts her from taking such liberties unless absolutely demanded. Besides, someone needs to file the AARs that keep the rest of SHIELD informed of ongoing developments, even if "And Wonder Woman blasted away while Stargazer takes notes" could be a very awkward flash for anyone of Rank 6 or higher.

Observations made while Captain Higgins talks would be significantly easier if Jane's tablet wanted to cooperate. After some rough treatment and habitual matters ill-explained even by experts in SecOps -- in part swept under a rug -- it's lucky to survive at all. Her fingers flick across a keyboard, manipulating various data points and tagging them at a speed so natural, it's obvious she was an astrophysicist wonk before Agent anything or currently in cahoots with Mjolnir. Who is, predictably, sharing the seat with her. Because space is at a premium, and the hammer can sit double. Antsy isn't even the half of it, but there is work to do.

And one of her three bosses is watching.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
This isn't the first time Alura has stood in defense of a people, of a planet. Her track record isn't great though, one for three. She really aims to correct the balance because she's not sure her heart can take much more loss. She's glad though that Kara and Kal were spared knowing the people of Argo City before it too fell to darkness.

Of the people here, she knows none of them. Zatanna she has read a file on that Kal write about her. Magic. She's been reading a lot about magic lately trying to understand how it can possibly exist and how it has coloured her understanding of physics. But Zatanna Zatara is a trusted ally of Kal's.

The only thing distinguishing her in this room is that S upon her chest. That and the various news reports about her. The media quickly named her 'Superwoman' and it's stuck. She doesn't mind it even if it's a weird concept for her.

When the alert came in at the Fortress of Solitude she wasn't quick enough to respond and help this fleet - but she's here now and an invading force, she hopes isn't entirely based on magic, will have to contend with Earth's final line of defense.

"What is it they can do?" Alura speaks up mirroring the Captain's last words, her arms folded across her chest; people aren't crowding her and that's no surprise really. "Please catch those of us up who missed the initial attack."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
In the midst of the clustering, lower ranked SHIELD personnel is Mary Jane. Long sword sheathed over her back, wearing combat fatigues. One brought in as reinforcements or just to be thrown into the meatgrinder if there's another attack. She's staying completely silent. Battles of this scale are above her ken.

The Sonja part of her consciuosness has thoughts and ideas.. But not the knowledge base of modern warfare to offer much on it. Mary Jane just stands in position with some of the other agents brought in to just watch and assess.

Monica Chang has posed:
They really were big comfy seats. Monica was smaller in stature thus the seat seemed a bit oversized for her. While her feet weren't off the floor, she certainly had the sensation of it. So she finally just tucked up one leg, folding it up under the opposite. And she had a tablet out, evaluating what was left of the drones her squad had brought onboard. There was H.A.L. still, the biggest and most advanced. He'd not been damaged. Many little ones gone. She was working on tweaking some data but only in between details.

Right now the drones were busy scanning the ships for damage that might not be readily visible to the humans aboard.

But mostly her eyes were on the Captain and she frowned a bit. "Do we have anything at all visually, or otherwise, that we can see? Was it a force about the size we fought or..." She didn't finish that sentence.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Rocking slightly from heel to toe, Zatanna hums quietly under her breath at his last words, purposely not looking at the others near her. The captain leading the intelligence briefing seems to have a knack for understatement. Antsy does not begin to cover her sense of urgency, but she hardly counts herself alone.

The room thrums with urgency, and she now actively searches for Jane, who shines in her Asgardian armor and blonde tresses. They are night and day, the sorcerer dressed in black tactical gear under a black cloak. Once their regards cross, Zatanna lifts her chin and begins to excuse herself through the crowded ranks to stand closer to her.

Thor has posed:
    When Alura speaks the captain looks her way. He takes a deep breath. "Current OpFor profile is that they're an advanced tech space-going imperial naval force with alternative technological development along the Heinlein advanced model." The man looks to the others around him, smirks a little. "They're point-eared magical elves with pointy sticks, nasty spells, and took their swing at my ship. We're afloat because of the people here." He looks around the room. "They have stealth technology we've never seen, they blow up good though. Conventional responses are semi-effective. Though..." A look is given to Zatanna, "Mainly when augmented with our own hocus pocus."
    The holo display comes up, "We have three images."
    The captain gestures with an old billiards cue as he steps out from behind the podium, motioning to the flickering image. The first display is a simple 2-D image that is clearly taken from a high altitude satellite though a wide range shot. It shows the entirety of the starport in its clover-like shape, the surface of it pristine and some small vessels in the lower right hand corner that seem to be lifting off. But it's from the Western side of the image that one can see a series of streaks slicing into frame, dark black dagger-like shapes that those who have faed them before will be familiar with.
    "We have an Intel break down on this, that there are 117 unique images of intruders..." He looks down at one of the folders on the table and slides it open, "65 of the smaller vessels, 32 of the cruisers we saw, 20 of a new class of larger vessel."
    He looks up, "However, we've been informed this was only a portion of the OpFor's deployment."

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would shrug over while watching, "Their air support needs to be neutralized." That's Sonja speaking over from it. She still knows what the enemy having hordes of flying dragons does - much less dragons the size of castles. "Whatever's the best way to take htem at long range." Asgardians smashing them, orbital strikes, cruise missiles.. All she can tell is that they hvae to go down in large numbers or any sort of fight is going to be very, very brutal and meter for meter under bombardment and enemy reinforcements coming continuously.

Even Amazons and Asgardians might wilt before attrition.

Nick Fury has posed:
Should this captain ever retire, Nick will be at his door for recruitment. Good man, good head on his shoulders. He's silent through the initial questions, however; he knows most of the information, and he'll only ask if something is egregiously... stupid. Beyond dumb.

The frown creases a little more deeply at the information of 117 unique images; those of course being the ones //not// cloaked. Nick nods slowly and almost imperceptibly at the suggest that it's only a portion.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
When the Captain mentions spells, Alura glances over to Zatanna. Her eyes then drift around the room taking in the people who saved the ship. They have a broad ranging calibre to them. A varied force is a superior force, she always has believed.

"Do we have any idea what their motive for this attack is?" Alura wonders if these people can't be reasoned with. She hopes they're not the kind that only think to retreat once they've been severely beaten. Or worse, the kind of people who don't know when to quit.

"And what's your protocol for the prisoners we'll be taking." Because it sure seems like there'll be a lot of them. She's not sure how these people feel about their attackers so far but if she can nudge the tone toward prisoners instead of corpses, she's going to try.

The only question running through her head is just how powerful are their weapons and shields. It's not like she's properly tested her abilities against this kind of enemy before. "Clearly there's a lot of unknowns here. If we can't defeat their cloaks then we'll have to draw their fire so they reveal themselves."

Monica Chang has posed:
Seeing the images, recognizing those sharp-shapes as the ships they really were, Monica was frowning again. At mention of how many of them there were, her eyes widened. She gave a brief swallow as she quickly scanned the image on her tablet, looking down at it as she highlighted and enlarged areas to look at the ships themselves.

"We probably need to presume that only some of those are visible. Which means best guess on how many total. Unless they just have opted to stop playing games and are going in full force now since we interrupted their last ritual."

A glance toward Zatanna then around the room. "Have we figured out their endgame yet? What they are trying to do with all these rituals they've performed? I know that our source mentioned using the energy of the sacrificed people for some something. But what?"

Jane Foster has posed:
Nodding politely as Zatanna comes closer, Jane stands up to allow the magician her seat. The gesture is an easy one, and she has little trouble managing or manipulating the misbehaving tablet with relative skill. She will tuck herself as close as possible to avoid taking up more space than she needs, lightly maneuvering Mjolnir out of the way where the hammer won't be an issue.

She provides a murmur of approval to Alura's questions, nodding respectfully in the woman's direction. Known by reputation if not personally, she maintains that quiet observation of questions and events.

"My suspicion is that they intend to isolate the planet from everywhere else. In effect, the magic would cut us off from the other realms and inhibit them from reaching us," she says.

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
The sorceress nods slightly at the captain when he alludes to the fleet's magical punch. She hides her dismay when he reports the numbers they will be facing, taking a short quick breath when he proposes there may be more of the enemy in reserve. If they are to overcome the enemy and drive them from the earth, she must face the dilemma she has tried to avoid. After a long night of soul searching, covering old ground, she realized that she must change her tactics and not only defend the fleet's position but move to the offensive.

Why should she not pay the price that those around her are willing to pay? Jane knows something of her crisis. Scarring her soul is a paltry price for not losing the world to the Dark Elves. Every death she is directly responsible for will leave its mark.

"How is the fleet going to be deployed? As in our last action, I will shield as many ships as possible, but I also intend to throw their ordinance back at them if I can. If they are smart, they will be armed with countermeasures." Grimly, she adds, "Captain, I propose you treat me as a weapon of destruction during this coming action. Please think of me as a small tactical nuke that can be redeployed within limits. In that light, where can I serve the fleet best?"

Thor has posed:
    "Their motive, seems to be... malice." The Captain says as he looks toward Jane, quirking an eyebrow as if to make sure he's not misstating.
    "War with Asgard. War with us apparently. I'm told this has been ongoing for a good number of years. As for prisoners, we got two hundred and some of them we're still figurin' out what we're gonna do with them." His voice strays toward a hint of a Southern accent then he draws up a little. "We've got some tools for dealing with their cloaks thanks to Agent Chang's and Agent Foster's efforts."
    "Force composition is going to be a big question mark because of the new types we've seen. There's also this." The second image flicks into being as the holographic display allows people from any angle to view it clearly. It's a shot from what is likely another naval vessel off shore from the Starport. It floats low on the surface, perhaps a submersible of some kind. But what it shows is a sliver shot of a handful of those smaller vessels, less than are seen in the satellite shot. But that is mainly because a much larger vessel completely dominates the airspace over the Starport. Though this ship is not as sharp or jagged as the other ships, more robust in shape like a large spearhead and with a gleam of gold along the surface which some of the proper knowledge-base might well realize are runes, ancient symbols that glow enough to distort the camera imaging around them.
    "This ship, designation Mannaz, has been declared about a hundred and ten times the mass of their last known largest vessel. Big brains tell me to be wary of stating that as fact, so it is what it is." He sets the billiard cue down, haft first on the ground with a faint click.
    "The last image..." The display flicks over and shows the rise of a heavy mist that seems to be off shore and encroaching the surface of the Starport. "Before we lost comms we were getting biological and chemical warning signs. So we're going to need closed suits if we go in hard."
    He looks around the room, "My orders are to get the fleet there under best speed. Currently, we're runnin' slow, 22 knots. We'll be in strike range roughly in twelve hours. I've been given the secondary order of aiding you to get there as fast as possible. We've got three of your Quinjets, and if needs be..."
    He rests his hands on his hips. "I'll send our air wing with you, mid-air refuel is on hand. Current word is that forces have already engaged."
    He looks around the room, and nods toward Zatanna, "Much obliged, Miss Zatara. But think the fleet might have to sit this one out unless you got a few extra magical Evinrudes we can slap onto the back of our boats."
    Which gets a few polite chuckles from the military folks in the room.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would lean back thoughtfully, and go to let Sonja muse, "Controlled air bursts if you detonate them. Their ships are armored and cloaked. But likely they are on lower power while cloaked. Large detonations of high end explosives will be disruptive." OF course, for ships on that large a scale she's likely talking about things slightly under nuke range when it comes to it.
    aking on that many ships will be impossible for them on any scale. As really will be any sort of facing off with that many troops they could have and deploy.
    "Presume their ships operate with approximately the same crew to space ratio and they do not have significant differences in automation. Presuming roughly a three to two carrying capacity of troopers to crew. Scale up from known ships to larger ones. The larger ones will likely have a higher ratio of heavy units." Simple, brutal arithmetic.

Nick Fury has posed:
The Director of SHIELD has remained silent for the briefing, but when Zatanna offers her services, there is a quiet but clear secondary acknowledgment of her words. "So noted." He'll not be dismissing the offer, not at all. "We'll find a spot, I'm sure." The words lead to chuckles in the audience, but perhaps a little more nervous than amused. Not a lot of people have looked back to check attendance; and why should they? Director Nick Fury isn't well known outside the circles of 'have to know'.

It's what makes him and his Agency so successful. And his agents are well disciplined to be able to do simple things like 'save the world'. Again, though with help.

Beyond those comments, however, man and the eyepatch fall silent once more, listening. Considering his options, both those that come in from the Fleet, from suggestions of those in attendance, and those, undoubtedly when (not if) he finds out what is actually happening on the ground at the Starport. Plans are fluid.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura looks to Jane as she explains the stakes. Cut the whole planet off? That suggests they see Earth as a threat. Her eyes move back to the hologram of the even bigger ship. "I know most of you don't know me. You're probably making a lot of assumptions right now based purely on the symbol on my chest."

"I'm a scientist above all, but I am also trained for combat. I'll tell you right now I won't stop or give up in the defense of this planet. Everyone here likely has more experience working together - and you may have worked with my n... with Superman in the past. Which means you have a good idea of what I can do."

"So - if you can protect me from their magic I will be that flying ...shield... you need to draw in their fire power. I will endure it as long as it needs enduring and any of their forces who get to close will feel my heat vision, amongst other weapons at my disposal."

"This might give the rest of you the time and space you need to stop their rituals, sabotage their ships, figure out a way to send them back where they came from." She shakes her head, "Every attacking force has a flaw. Count me in to buy you the time to find it."

Monica Chang has posed:
Monica might've laughed at the comment about the engines getting slapped on the back of the ship by magical means if she wasn't too busy staring at that image of the giant ship. A few words escape her in a mix of Russian and Chinese. Those with all-speak and that speak those languages will learn in that moment that Monica knows alllll the bad words. Certainly she knows good ones too but in this moment, it's the bad ones that are loosed.

Then it was back to the tablet, calculating space in comparison to the likely amount of area needed for the energy source for a vessel that large with a bit of mathematics based on their own large vessels and how much manpower they can carry.

Those are not good numbers for potential Dark Elves on that craft. "Runes again," she muttered.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
Mary Jane Watson would look at the number of ships, get a rough estimate ofs ize an dmass, and then go to speak over an dsomewhat calmly, glancing up at teh very big one and closing her eyes for a moment to do some math, "Three thousand, minimum. Easily up to five if their ships are all filled with assault troopers. Also I would presume that the crew of ships are capable of combat and will have no issues at being landed and used in waves. The small ships can likely carry nine to fifteen troops without issue. The larger ones significantly scaled up."

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
Zatanna nods several times to Jane, whispering, "Likely, that is their intention. They are playing to win, cost be damned. I don't need to tell you they don't count lives lost."

Fury's chuckle earns a faint wry smile from her and a glance to the other side of the room. She returns her focus to the captain and his comment about Evinruides. "I will set wards on you, Superwoman before we leave the fleet."

"Captain, you've given me an idea. We might have something for you along those lines."

Thor has posed:
    Captain Higgins' gaze is given across the way to Alura and he smiles a little for some odd reason, but at the end of her words he gives a single nod as if accepting her at her sentiment. Clearly glad to have the woman in their corner.
    He then swings the billiard cue up onto his shoulders, and rests his hands on it as he looks from face to face to face. "So we need to figure out our course of action. How can I best help you folks? Since let's be honest, you've been doin' the heavy liftin' since we hit Stanley. Our best hopes lie with you."
    He steps around the holo display and turns it off, giving a nod to one of his officers who then clicks a few keys on the keyboards. Copies of that image are sent to those in the room on the network for their own inspection and investigation. Then the Captain of the Eisenhower looks around. "Time is of the essence. Whoever gets there fastest with the mostest." He sets the cue aside, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes straying to Zatanna. "So what do we got?"

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"I am no military strategist or expert captain," Zatanna says quietly into the lull following his last question. She touches Jane on the arm for inspiration and inhales deeply.

"If you had your pick of ships what would you like to see most arrive at the Starport first, before the rest of the fleet? Say a carrier, maybe?" A smiles flickers at the edges of her mouth at the audacity of the notion. "Shielded to the best of my ability. I will shield every combatant going into battle at least once and depending on the tides of the battle, several times. As much as I hate to say it, I have my limits."

Nick Fury has posed:
"17,671." The number is enunciated clearly, each given their own weight. It's as if Nick is pulling something from within the recesses of his mind. In a way, he is. He's been watching the data trails, been reading the cold data reports, the written reports, and all those little fires that spring up that have to be put out. The man is exactly where he needs to be.. both in the forefront and behind, supporting HIS people. Right now, however, everyone in this room, and those without that'll be helping with this, hopefully, final showdown ARE his people.

"That was the data point of individual communications from all around the world. If we're lookin' at a convergence, we're not looking at 300, 600 per ship." Nick drops his hands and is looking out over the room. "It's time, however, to make that number drop to zero." The last word is stressed; he's not talking 'prisoners of war' here. Ever. Not this time. He'd already got to interrogate his one dark elf.

"And Captain? I think hospital ships'll be the way to go for a good portion of the fleet. There's gonna be a lot of collateral damage by the time all this is done." But, the specifics they'll handle later.

Mary Jane Watson has posed:
There's a pause of a moment over from Mary Jane as she turns her attention over to the Director. She's been in the same area as him, but this is the closest she's ever been in person. Even to Sonja, there's an aura about him on a level with the Cimmerian Barbarian whom would be King. A light inclination of her head given.

"Yes, Sir."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
"I'm the fastest here, likely the strongest, probably the one who can take the most hits. So I'll fly in hard and fast and draw all their attention to me. That, I hope, will give a team time enough to board those ships and disable them. Better yet, get in to the star port and shut down their rituals."

"They got here somehow, they can be sent back the way they came. Whether it's technological or magical, if we can show them that we can send them away they will learn quickly there's no point coming here in force."

She looks around at the people gathered, "I don't know what your specialties are but I hope someone here has enough knowledge to reverse their transportation systems. If we can end their invasion the way it started we can avoid as much loss of life, and thus future animosity, as possible."

"Of course, I will appreciate anyone and everything that can back me up in that distraction job. If you've got big ships of your own they will make handy targets. Ships can be rebuilt, worlds... cannot."

Thor has posed:
    Captain Higgins is about to answer Zatanna when Fury speaks up and gives that intel. He listens to what the Director of SHIELD says then nods. Meanwhile his intelligence analysts start to add this to the brief, making note of the information and the source, keying it into their projections.
    The Captain takes a deep breath, exhales a small whistle, then says. "We got 200 prisoners or so, a similar number KIA during the battle. So that number can be skewed down."
    He looks to Zatanna and says, "One ship with the best hope of projectin' force is the Ike, Miss Zatarra. But you take a carrier out of its battlegroup and it's vulnerable. But if that's what we need for this battle, then we'll do it."
    He takes a quick look around the room and the expressions around it are myriad. The commander of the 3rd Carrier Air Wing has his eyes wide a little as he nods, holding his helmet under one arm. While some of the other captains of the support vessels and cruisers... they do not look pleased at letting the Eisenhower out of their sight.
    "Or one of the marine amphibs carrying you and the specialists. Might be best in this case not to draw as much notice as the Eisenhower might." Higgins takes a deep breath, his brow furrowed. He looks to the side, catching the glower that is being sent his way by his first officer. To whom he holds up a hand, "Later, Malcolm."
    Which seems to mollify the man for now, or at least get him to settle back in line.
    Attention turns to Alura as the Captain nods, "We'll try to get you that cover best we can. Throw everything we can at them." Which includes a fair number of options.

Jane Foster has posed:
She has been quiet for some time, taking notes and drinking in the details. A wider field of vision. Jane finally breaches her silence, rounding off the number from Director Fury in her head as part of the wider calculations ongoing in place. "The previous indications from these sorties indicate they will flee or withdraw when losing their superiority. We have lost prime targets when they found the odds against them. I do not suspect this would entirely be the case, given the capital ship there. Therefore, the strategy may best revolve around cutting off the head of the enterprise. He possesses his own plethora of advantages, albeit we may expect to neutralize some if we can acquire similar assistance from the doctor. And the Prince-Regent, if he can spare it." She gestures at the vicinity of the screen, tablet balanced on her forearm.

Calculations, points, and factors. They all divide to one entry in the end. "Svartalfjar society does not prize cooperation; they are formidably aligned when in a hive mind, but also opportunists and survivors. That may work to our advantage using a show of force to convince some to peel away or find gain elsewhere." Those intensely blue eyes aren't a human shade, not entirely, as they sweep away from landing on any one person. "It may be possible to scale up the delivery of spatial-warping devices delivered via SHIELD. Strategic placement would be necessary, though they can be operated with a short uptraining period. In short, we can make micro-black holes for disruptive purposes."

This very well might be cause for concern unless anyone wants to think that she can produce them on a /larger/ scale. Which is also true, and which is also probably a very bad thing.

"My own contributions are best fighting them and keeping others alive," she says quietly, but simple enough.

Nick Fury has posed:
The fact that the Director of SHIELD is here, along with some of his agents should give the Captain, and the Exec, the idea that they're there should lend to the belief that the carrier group is not alone in this. They're not the vanguard.

The hearkening to the Prince Regent gains a nod from Nick; they'd made their tenuous peace over this very thing, and as a result, it's time for that show of 'good will' on his part. That'll come.

As for the magic offered, the power and the science to fight, the Director has heard enough for the moment. The triad of the three, well, if it doesn't do the job, then there is absolutely no hope for Earth. His hands drop to his side, and the man finds his way out of the room. With each step he takes from the briefing room, he's talking softly on his coms to //somebody//. Somebodies?

Zatanna Zatara has posed:
"As I said, you are the military expert, in this case, I'm just the muscle. I could take more than one amphib, sir or a destroyer if that works. I understand," Zatanna glances briefly around her at the officers, assessing their reaction to her notion of transporting the Ike, "how important it is for the fleet to remain intact. Perhaps Norfolk can provide air support." With a bemused glance at Jane, "I'll leave the black holes to SHIELD."

"Dr. Foster has a handle on their psychology. Dr. Foster, so I understand correctly, are you suggesting we concentrate on the biggest ship or its support?"

Monica Chang has posed:
"For my part, all I can offer is support. First we have about half of our drones left from my current supply. The smaller can offer information on the fighting and enemy crafts, but they have no offensive capabilities. Except H.A.L., the bigger one that is repurposed. He has some weapons systems and can help in the fighting but he's only armored to a finite level. Likely a strong blow from a Svartalf will destroy him but can try to keep him up out of range but below that for their fighter craft."

Not that said drone was currently visible but he had been with her during the fighting earlier. Monica continued. "I can help if there is fighting on the ship but might be of better use at the Starport itself if there is ground-fighting." She shrugged. "Sadly, that's the best I can offer."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
"Spatial warping devices? I'll take one of those if you can brief me over comms as we engage them. Depending on how it works I might be able to give it some unorthodox uses." She looks to Jane who has yet more surprises. But Alura is a scientist and now her mind is starting to race with the potential.

"What will matter the most is timing. How long will it take the rest of you to get there?" She walks over to Zatanna and offers her hand, "Hi. We've not had the chance to meet yet. I know you by Superman's notes, by reputation. Please keep an eye on their engagement with me - if you need to top up the magic don't hesitate."

She looks back to the assemblage of people and says, "Just remember. They are not fighting for their home. They are not fighting to save the people that own their hearts. We are and we will not fail."

Thor has posed:
    Captain Higgins gives a nod and takes a deep breath. He looks at his Number One, then back toward the sorceress, sparing a glance for the others nearby, then finally Alura. "Then I'm thinking the Eisenhower will give us the best hope we have at victory. And, well, like the young lady said." He gestures with one hand toward the room generally, "If it comes down to it, might be good to have something suitably distracting during the conflict once we get our birds in the air."
    He crosses his arms and then looks towards the other captains and the officers of his ship. "Alright get moving, we need to be mission ready in thirty, get the alert one down and refueled, rearmed." A glance given toward his first officer, "Malcolm, I'm gonna need you to prep the engagement plan. Get section heads advised."
    That said he looks to the others, "Let's move people, like we got a purpose."
    The crew starts to file out of the briefing room quickly. No low rumble of conversation, just the shuffle and scrape of boots.