15010/Helicarrier Second Star to the Right and Straight On Til Morning

Helicarrier Second Star to the Right and Straight On Til Morning
Date of Scene:	26 May 2023
Location:	Bridge: Helicarrier
Synopsis:	Members of SHIELD discuss the situation in the Savage Lands with the Brood, while the helicarrier speeds towards Antarctica.
Cast of Characters:	Steve Rogers, James Barnes, Phil Coulson, Lara Croft, Daisy Johnson, Darcy Lewis, Natasha Romanoff

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Steve Rogers has posed:
Missions for SHIELD often involve hopping in a Quinjet for a few hours of flight time. While jets, named for their five engines they possess, are quite speedy, they aren't necessarily as comfortable a commercial flight in first class. If it weren't for the ability to get up and move around more freely, they might not be much more comfortable than flying coach.

Which makes it a bit of a treat for SHIELD agents when instead of piling into a smaller jet, the get to make the trip aboard the entire helicarrier. Granted, she's not traveling at supersonic speeds, but with workout rooms and beds it definitely makes for a more comfortable flight.

At the moment, the helicarrier is racing towards the southern pole, where the situation in the Savage Lands was decided to require a more powerful option was needed than just the small base SHIELD had established there.

Steve Rogers stands on the bridge, looking out at the Atlantic Ocean passing by beneath. Off to the east can be seen the South American coastline. Antarctica is still another half day away at current speeds. Steve is wearing a pair of jeans and a leather jacket over a charcol grey t-shirt that bears the US Army log on it. He has a coffee mug in hand and takes a sip. "So most of the nation we fly past don't even realize we're here?" he confirms with one of the agents flying the airborne aircraft carrier.

The agent nods. "We stay out in international waters if possible. Usually if flying over a nation we'll clear it with them," he says. Then adds another, "Usually."

James Barnes has posed:
    Lurking amongst characters in the background is one Bucky Barnes, who by deign of his all-black getup manages to somehow both blend into the shadows and stand out from the crowd of matching uniforms surrounding him, all at the same time. But he's sipping coffee out of a SHIELD-branded mug like the rest of them, casual as you please. Is he...

    Is he being friendly?

    No, no. False alarm. The group is doing their best to keep up their idle chatter without acknowledging his presence; at least two of them are sweating bullets, and another is stuttering so badly while glancing over and over in Bucky's direction that she's practically insensate. He's sort of like the boogeyman.

    The boogeyman who takes a pointed slurp of his coffee, which causes one of the SHIELD grunts to jump a little. It's only the twitch of his eyebrows that gives Bucky away: he's totally screwing around with them on purpose.

Phil Coulson has posed:
As relaxing as being aboard the Helicarrier may be, Phil Coulson does not subscribe to that newsletter. There are no 'days off' for the Commander. Usually, even when he's on mandatory R and R, he's keeping himself abreast of happenings via a handheld datapad feeding up-to-date information. In this particular instance it is regarding the Savage Lands. With a pensive expression, the aging agent makes his way onto the bridge with a brisk nod of greeting to some of the crew who greet him.

Seeing as Captain Rogers is among the individuals on said bridge, Phil makes his way towards where the First Avenger is standing. Wearing a buttond own shirt without his usual suit jacket, there's no tie present, but he still wears his dark slicks and shoes. "Captain." He greets Steve, lowering his datapad down to a console so he can cross his arms over his chest.

Usually, he'd be an annoying, but respectful, pest. Asking Captain America several questions, some of which he's asked over a dozen times already, but this whole bug business has him in an uncharacteristically cloisted mood.

Now, he's always serious, but he's very rarely intense.

Bio-engineered parasitic hive monsters has a way of putting things into perspective.

After a moment, he turns suddenly to Steve, "How's the coffee? Jerry, could you fetch me some coffee? Black, one sugar? Thanks." Back to the forward view, clearing his throat.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had been pulled from the Savage Lands for the first time in a month to go on a mission for Agent Lewis' strike on an airfield in Kazakhstan near the Caspian Sea. It'd had been a series of Quinjet rides to get there, and then a series to get back, and her return jet had just landed minutes ago. She wasn't a common sight onboard a Helicarrier, as she wasn't a standard fhield agent in SHIELD, no, Lara Croft was a 'acquisitions agent' within the WAND branch. A relic hunter, a gatherer of old things... a tomb... respector, if you will.

After dealing with post-flight procedures, Lara is making her way toward the bridge after being told that is where Captain Rogers was. Dressed in drab green hiking trousers, leather boots, and a fresh half-button shirt, Lara strides in to the bridge, pulling a dark Navy Blue SHIELD jacket on over her shirt, to help make her fit in amongst the crew. She smiles to a pair of crewmen leaving the bridge, then spies the silhouette. She appears out of no where on his right, and glances down at his drink. "Tea?" She asks him, then shows a smile up to the man.

She's noticeably sporting a cut above her left eyebrow too that looks rather fresh itself.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The Savage Lands. Dinosaurs. A land lost in time.

For all her years in SHIELD Daisy could still get amazed on what adventures she found herself in. And sure, she had heard about the missions taking place there. But to actually go there? Or to actually read the classified intel they had on the place? Now that was amazing.

"Actually live dinosaurs..." Uh-Oh. The way Daisy is looking at her datapad while reviewing all the info is telling. She may have found a new life objective to ride besides LOLA, Coulson's car. Because who doesn't want to ride a dinosaur?

Of course that she had been set as a support role so she most likely wouldn't even leave the Helicarrier, staying as Overwatch from above. One more unicorn to pursue.... Such is the attention she's got on her datapad while making her way in that she almost BUMPS into the serious slash intense Coulson.

"Ah, Commander." She says in way of greeting. She coughs and puts her datapad away.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers takes a sip of his coffee and glances over at Bucky. There's a brief flashback for Steve as the incongruity strikes him of Bucky not fitting in with others as easily as he. That was of course never the case growing up.

Before he makes any decision about going over to help ease things for Bucky socially, Agent Coulson is there. "Phil," Steve greets with a nod. "Got the pictures. Appreciate you sending them," he says politely. The new batch of pictures of the vintage trading cards looked like great care was taken to get the lighting on them just so.

"It's still pretty good by my standards. Tony's fancy machine hasn't spoiled me there yet, at least," he says, glancing down at the cup that is what he always expected in a cup of coffee. If maybe still worth a nickel in his head as opposed to what Starbucks or Star City Coffee charge.

The question about the tea in that English accent draws a smile from Steve before he's even turned to face Lara. His greeting is kept to the smile and a few words given their being on the bridge. "Lara, I wasn't sure if you were going to be landing here, or continuing on to the base," he says. Obviously looking pleased it was the former. His gaze goes to the cut on her brow, blue eyes showing concern, though he doesn't mention it apart from the concerned look he gives her.

Steve takes another sip of his coffee before looking over to Daisy Johnson. "They are more enjoyable watching them from a distance, than when they are chasing you down the road," he admits. "Well, unless you're Logan. I think he enjoyed riding the T-Rex," he comments to her. His eyes go back to Bucky then, and if they make eye contact he gives a little head movement as if inviting Bucky over to join them.

James Barnes has posed:
    To be honest, Bucky's enjoying himself in his own way. But he gives a chin-lift of acknowledgment towards Steve's glance, and he knows his time playing boogeyman for some SHIELD newbies is soon to come to a close.

    And there it is. The beckoning head motion gets the expected reaction, a silent stalking from point A to point B. Admittedly he's not trying to be particularly stealthy, that's just how he walks, but then he's there, lingering at the edge of a new crowd. That this one includes much more senior SHIELD agents only means they're less likely to sweat just because the Winter Soldier is hanging around.

    "Dinosaurs," is all he contributes to the conversation, giving a little shake of his head. Then he glances down into his mug.

    Whatever he thinks of it is a mystery, as he ingests it with the gravitas of someone who survived the Depression and what the U.S. Army considered edible rations at the time. To say nothing of what HYDRA made him eat. But he probably thinks it's still only worth a nickel, just like Steve. Nonetheless, he takes another sip.

Phil Coulson has posed:
There's a brief smile on Phil's face at the mention of the pictures he'd sent Steve of his, extensive, collection of memorabilia. "One day I'll show them to you in person. You too, Bucky. I have a couple of your cards as well. Rarer. Good condition though." Off handed, glancing around to Daisy when she very nearly bumps into him. In fact, it's his hand reaching out to her shoulder that likely prevents it. Having been drawn by her wonderment of the possibility of live Dinosaurs.

"They're alive, yes. All kinds of them from the surveylance we've been provided by agents on the ground." One of whom has basically just materializes next to Steve. His smile flicks again, nodding to Lara. "Lara is probably the most seasoned in regards to these Savage Lands." He is, of course, aware of the reports. Informed of the goings on, however, is not seeing it first hand.

Jerry returns quickly with his mug and Phil takes it for a sip. Strong, bitter. Acceptable.

A nod and he's looking forward. Trying his very best to appear casual, but failing at it miserably. "We keep calling them bugs, these creatures, but they actually have a lot more in common with arachnids." Casual conversation really isn't his strong suit either. "Excluding how they take over your body and turn you into a husk by planting eggs inside you." Another sip after blowing across the surface.

"I'm very excited to kill a bunch of them."

"With fire."

"Lots of fire."

"And probably tactical missiles."

He lifts his datapad to make sure they're cleared for aerial bombardment. "... Yeah, tactical missiles."

Lara Croft has posed:
Daisy's arrival has a warm smile appearing on Lara's visage. She waits for a moment to speak to her before she chimes up with a 'Daisy, it's good to see you again. It's been awhile. Have you been keeping busy?" She asks the fellow Agent that she's gone on a few missions with in the past, some more memorable than others, some even involving a very friendly big cat.

The British woman regards Steve there-after, and gives him that same happy expression. "Agent Lewis wanted to bring her mission results back to the carrier rather than the Outpost. She wanted to present the results in person, rather than over a Zoom call." she says softly before adding on. "The mission was a success, a strange success... but a success none the less. I brought back a few ... souvenirs. Some Shi'ar weaponry, and a personal shield deflector, and a handgun with a... well, I'll show you later." Lara trails off to Steve before she regards Phil with a small smile, and Bucky with a nod. "Dinosaurs. All manner of them. Some that never were supposed to co-exist on the planet together at the same time, which further shows that the Savage Lands was a continuously adjusted science experiment for an untold number of centuries. We have found evidence of Atlanteans, and more oddities dating the site back ... upwards of a hundred million years now."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers grins over at Bucky as he comes over to join the group with Steve. "I wonder if they have footage of the convoy," he wonders aloud but also towards Bucky. "Seeing Logan with those metal claws is still taking a bit of adjustment to get used to," he says of their old Howling Commandos squadmate.

A small wince is given at the mention of how the Brood reproduce. "All the more important we keep them from making it out to the rest of the world," he agrees. "From what I gather of them, they aren't really the sort we can just convince to leave?" he says, more question than statement perhaps. So far most of Steve's direct interaction is with the infected dinosaurs, not the Brood themselves.

Steve takes another sip of his coffee as he looks back to Lara, nodding along as she mentions the things she brought back. "Sounds like a success," he says warmly, though he can't help but have his eyes stray to that cut she took, though his expression just seeming to be glad she made it back ok. "Lara is... very interested in the history of the place," Steve says, picking his words in what could be called a TREMENDOUS understatement.

James Barnes has posed:
    The mention of cards only gets a puzzled look from Bucky at first, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed, but he puts two and two together swiftly enough. "Huh," he mutters, apparently uncertain how to take that, before he settles on a mildly unenthused "Sure," for Agent Coulson's benefit. But it's not a no, which for him is Important.

    He stands there with the kind of awkward posture of someone who knows he's on the outside of a crowd (whether it's just his own self putting him there or not) but all the same he's rapidly taking in the information being shared about the upcoming mission, having little to work on himself prior to briefing.

    At the end of Phil's comments about killing the Brood, he adds in a "Sounds like my kind of party." Sluuuuurp. Utterly deadpan, the whole way. But not so deadpan that he doesn't return Lara's acknowledging nod with one of his own.

    And then he falls silent, mulling on the mention of Logan and another one of their old cohort who's still around. Also mulling about his empty coffee cup.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Daisy being the tattletale that she is mouths over at Steve and Bucky. "He's got them all." cards, that is. Yes, she has seen the collection. And HEARD of it. Nonstop sometimes...

She grins as Coulson reveals Lara has been down there already and there's a oooh out of Daisy, "Okay, you need to tell me everything on what's going on down there. And yes, it has been a long time.." eyebrows then arching as Lara starts to tell them on what went down.

Shi'ar weaponry though? "What's their involvement in all this?" for all the data she had been analyzing she still didn't know a lot about all that was going on.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Phil sips at his coffee once more and sets the mug down beside his datapad on the nearby console. Arms then crossing his chest as he turns to lean against the edge. With one foot crossing the other ankle, he nods, "I've seen some vintage footage they used for recruitment videos. I'm not certain if they've got the exact convoy you're thinking, but they have a pretty good bit on most of the Commandos missions." Peering betwixt Steve and Bucky with a loose smile.

For as poorly as he succeeds at being casual, he goes out of his way to try. If for no other reason than Steve is, by and large, one of his heroes. A lot of people's, perhaps, but Phil will FIGHT them for the position of #1 fan.

He's probably, but uncomfirmed because of his button up shirt, wearing a Captain America t-shirt.

He is, ef why eye.

With a sigh and another clipped nod, "That is correct. Aside from the assistance we've gotten from one of their Queens, none of the others have seemed very forthcoming or capable of negotiation." With a glance at Daisy, "The kind of involvement that makes me uncomfortable when it happens in my backyard." Reaching up to give her temporary access to the information they DO have on the Shi'ar and their involvement with the Brood infestation.

Eyes cutting to the side towards Steve and Lara, "Her research has been invaluable. All of the agents have, of course, but an archaologists observations are tactically important to seeing where they were able to hide for so long.. and where we need to attack to shut it down."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara's eyes briefly go to the fore of the bridge to look out the large viewports, where she stares whilst listening to the others talk. Her eyes do drift down to the crew of the impressively designed vessel, before she looks back to those she's standing with, her hands going in to the side pockets of her navy blue light jacket. "If I'm the expert on what lies upon the surface of our planet, specifically on how long it has layed there, and who put it there, then Darcy Lewis is the reverse expert on..." she trails off, and her right hand comes out of her pocket to point upward, obviously not indicating the ceiling of the bridge, but far beyond it. "Ying and Yang, you might say." Lara adds with a slight smirk.

Her eyes go then to Bucky's cup, and she doesn't see any coffee inside it from her vantage point. She quickly looks to the others, before she asks Bucky specifically. "Need a refill?" She offers a hand out for him. "I could use a drink myself after all that flying around inside Quinjets..." She shows a little smile following that.

A glance is given to Steve because she knows who Bucky is, as Steve has talked about him quite a few times to her.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers shares with Daisy a private smile, understanding her amusement over the cards even if Steve always takes them as seriously with Coulson as the man's own passion for them might appreciate. "Lara definitely has had some encounters there," he agrees with Daisy.

His attention goes back to Phil then to give a little shake of his head. "This was a little more recent. Logan came down to help in the Savage Land. We had to pull out of the base we were in, with a T-Rex chasing us and giant bugs swooping down. We lost a couple of good men," he says, his voice growing sadder at the end.

After a suitable amount of time has passed since the last comment, he adds, "There were also... ah, gigantic birds," he says. Bucky for sure will note the sheepish tone and might suspect something happened regarding the birds to have injected it into Cap's voice.

"I'll feel better knowing the helicarrier is around in case we need it," he says, following Lara's look out the front of the flying military vessel. "Though I imagine Nick will be hesitant about exposing her directly until we know what kind of weaponry the aliens might have?"

James Barnes has posed:
    If Bucky were a different man, he'd probably quip something about Captain America sheets or some other niche bit of memorabilia. More to needle Steve about it than Phil, admittedly, but it's a moot point either way. All Bucky does now is shake his head a little at Daisy, still baffled by someone having cards of him.

    Then he's silent for a while, because there's more mission parameters to intake. Whether or not it'll be useful, he can't quite shake off the conditioning to snap to (metaphorical, in this case) attention and listen intently. It's as much Army instinct as anything. Though he's shaken out of it when Lara mentions his empty coffee cup. "No," he says at first, clipped, but then he winces and shakes his head. "I'm good, thanks. Let me go get you that tea, though," and then he's slinking off the Bridge, hazarding one last glance over his shoulder towards Steve that says he's definitely going to ask about those giant birds later.

    Give it a few minutes, and a terrified SHIELD newbie will show up with a piping hot cup of tea for Agent Croft.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
For all the fascinating talk about dinosaurs and it actually being a land with an history of maybe a million years a small frown crops up on Daisy's expression when Steve speaks of casualties. It's a reality of life of course, specially for those with SHIELD. Yet Daisy feels those losses personally. SHIELD has been her family after all. "We will make sure they pay soon enough."

No more talk about riding dinosaurs. (Or imagination either). Instead her focus goes to her datapad when Coulson gives her the clearance to know more.

Because she indeed would like to know more.

"I will be ready." she tells Commander Coulson.

Phil Coulson has posed:
Joke all you want, but there's a 95% chance that Phil does, in fact, have Captain America sheets. He'd never admit it, certainly never show anyone, but if there's a bigger collector of these odd pieces of merchandise in the galaxy? They need to get out and touch grass.

With Bucky leaving, Phil dips his head in fare-thee-well and turns back to the remaining company aboard the bridge. With his arms laid across his chest listening to Steve recount the incident with the convoy. Raising a brow at the tone shift, he doesn't pry.

"Then it's good you've both been deligent." Said to Lara about herself and Darcy's work in the Savage Lands. "I'd have been there myself, but ... I wasn't." No sense coming up with some reason, he doesn't have to. Nobody is going to judge him for something someone else did, right?

Imagine.

His smile flashes to Daisy, "I have no doubt. On either case." Her being ready or them all making the bugs pay for the losses to Steve's team.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
Darcy is onboard, of course, although she's mostly been down in the mobile lab. In fact, all the other advantages of the Helicarrier aside - logistics, fire support, etc - the ability to have a well-stocked flying science facility possibly one of the larger motivating factors in bringing it all the way down here. There's stuff you just can't build quickly with prefabs in a jungle while under threat from native tyranosaurids and alien bugs aside. Like, for instance, a sophisticated secure containment room.

Darcy has been down there working with their guest. Who she politely leaves down there before coming up to check in.

The woman has her labcoat on still, and her hair up in a very messy ponytail, the sort of thing you do when you don't have time to do it properly. She has coffee in one hand, and a tablet in the other. Multitasking.

"Figured I'd bring up my most recent reports by hand," she announces, rather abruptly, as she arrives. "And get a chance to see how we're doing. Anyone got an ETA?"

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara watches Bucky make his way out, and she silently curses for missing another chance to get to know Steve's oldest friend. "Thank you." She'd tell him on his way out since he says he's going to find that tea for her.

Her eyes go back then to Daisy, and then to Phil. "If neither of you have been to the Outpost down on the ground yet, you absolutely must. It's sitting atop a hillside, overlooking a grassland flat where the Brachiosaurus roam the countryside, grazing upon the trees and foliage. It is utterly breathtaking to observe them from a nice, safe, distance." She says with a sly grin.

Just then, Darcy strides in in her lab coat, along with the crewman carrying her cup of tea on a saucer loaded with every possible additive one could ask for. Lara takes a moment to thank the crewman before she smiles toward Darcy. "You look right and properly disheveled. I was just telling them about the mission in Kazakhstan, and I think there is some interest in how the Shi'ar connect to... all of this." Lara states as she steps over to a nearby table to put her tea together how she likes it, setting aside some of the little cups of condiments she's not in to.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers hopes Bucky isn't going to ask him about the giant birds later. Maybe whatever pulled him away will distract him enough that he forgets.

As Darcy joins them on the bridge, Steve gives her a nod of his head, and a soft, "Agent Lewis. I believe we're still a half day out. The southern part of South America's over there," he says, gesturing off to the right where the land can be seen on the western horizon.

Steve takes another sip of his coffee and then says in agreement with Lara. "Knowing more there would definitely help. As well as whether there's likely to be other places they've gotten to already," he offers.

Phil Coulson has posed:
"Never really understood the interest in dinosaurs, myself." Phil states quietly, in case this revelation leads to some scientific mutany. His arms remain laid across his chest, peering individually between the assembled group of Agents, "I've always followed the Ian Malcolm theory: They had their chance." Going around recreating extinct creatures is precisely what got them into this whole hubba-maroo in the first place.

With Darcy's arrival, he too nods to the Scientist with a quick, temporary smile. It fades rapidly into his stoic half grin, specifically at Lara's observations. "Indeed, there were questions what the Shi'ar's involvement was, specifically. Either in the Savage Lands or with these Brood... or both... Is it both?"

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff has been spending her time working over on a very large power harpoon. The type that's normally on a scale used for whaling. The type which really shouldn't be cabable of being held by a single person. Much less one with enhanced strength. She's currently fiddling over with the electronics on it, working a small degausser through the system of it,a nd working along deionizing it and then going to screw small plates over it.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
"Yeah. Haven't really slept," Darcy answers Lara, in a way that makes it seem like this is basically to be expected. Saving the world kind of work doesn't wait on anyone's beauty sleep. "Hmm? Oh, sure, well I mean, I can kind of lay that out..." She searches around bleerily and then settles her attention on the higher ups. "I'll try to stick to the short version?" As much as there is such a thing.

"So uh. The Neramanis, the Shi'ar royal family, are having a succession war. Couple years ago, the brother was in charge, he's the one that attacked the Watchtower. Younger sister took over and pledged to end hostilities and even offered to help get Earth some uh, interstellar political standing in exchange for some considerations. That's being hashed out at UNOOSA, supposedly they're signing the treaty any day now."

She sips from that coffee.

"Older sister - goes by 'Deathbird' has always been the bad egg, bird pun definitely intended. Never held the throne, but has led insurgencies against her siblings. She made a pact with the Brood maybe a decade ago, hoping she could trade them some juicy worlds in exchange for help against her siblings." Although Darcy is scrolling on her pad now, as she talks, it doesn't look like she's actually reading off the info she's offering, but skimming other notes. This Shi'ar stuff she has in her head by now. "It's very likely she was responsible for first Brood invasion of Earth, way back when. And she's definitely responsible for this one. However, with the Brood being, well, mostly all dead and with limited assets, her plot was a lot more covert and nonconventional, this time around."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara finishes prepping her tea how she likes it, and straightens up to turn and lean back against the long conference table here at the aft of the bridge. She takes a testing sip of the tea within the cup, before she blows gently upon it to cause the amber liquid to softly ripple from her breath. Her eyes go to the others then, seeing Daisy get pulled away, and seeing Natasha off by herself doing what Black Widows seem to do.

She focuses on Darcy's run-down on the Shi'ar though, and smiles faintly at it. "It sounds like that television show everyone talks about, the one where the royalty is always fighting one another. Except in space." She can make pop culture references too!

"In all seriousness though, am I the only one who finds it particularly alarming that Earth is now being used in inter-galactic political games from alien cultures that our own planet still barely even knows the name of, let alone that they exist, and are regularly visiting us now?"

She takes another sip of her tea then, and shakes her head. "It feels like we are on the verge of a lot more of these types of alien governments coming here, and potentially causing similar issues, if not far worse. But perhaps that is my pessimistic side taking over, as I'm a bit behind on my own sleep schedule..."

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers takes a sip of his coffee as Phil shares the Ian Malcolm quote. "I'm afraid I'm not to up to speed on researches of dinosaurs," he admits. And apparently completely missing that it was a movie reference. "Though it's difficult not to see them and feel a bit of a sense of wonder," he says, nodding over at Lara after her comment earlier about the view that can be had from the SHIELD outpost.

Though her later comments also draw a reaction. "You're not the only one. It's troubling that we've had as many issues come from space as we have, the last few years," he says. "I don't know what it is that has drawn their attention to us. Though in some ways, it's not that different than we we humans do, is it? There's always someone looking to knock over the little guy," Steve says. His voice has a tone of determination in it as he says, "We've not let those people succeed here on Earth. I don't think we're about to make an exception for little green, or blue men."

Phil Coulson has posed:
"Earth being used as inter-galactic political games is precisely why SHIELD was formed." Phil states matter of factly, pushing off the railing to reach out for his cooling mug of coffee. "Considering the amount of visitors we've got from beyond the stars; Superman and the invasion of Zod, Warworld, Doomsday... Thor and Loki's attack on New York." His brow furrows, peering down into his mug.

"We are the epicenter of countless invasions, games, and attacks because of our sheer inability to respond." Pointing out the forward viewports, not at the landscape, but the sky. "Out there. And it's going to keep happening because we are absurdly underpowered compared to them... until we stop bickering amongst ourselves, pull ourselves up by our boot straps, and punch them in the face hard enough that they realize we're not the smallest kid on the playground anymore."

With a finger through the loop on the side of his mug, he brings it up for a sip.

"Which is just going to make us a target for a whole different kind of political game." Is he alarmed? Yes. It's his job to be alarmed. But is he surprised? No, being surprised is for younger agents.

Phil nods to Steve, "But it's all reactionary... what scares me? What happens once these greater powers decide we're not the little guy? Stop fighting their proxy wars here and start fighting us." He motions with his mug, brow furrowing.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would turn her head over and listen to Phil, giving a nod for a few moments as she would pause with her tinkering thoughtfully. "For the large galactic powers, it's a matter of perspective and prestige. At some point as this planet has thrown off some varying levels of proxy conflicts, it increases awareness. A few victories bring about larger scale attention. Strategic awareness and escalation is inevitable, as was just eloquently stated." She would dip her head over to Phil.

"Over the next few decades by our timescale. It will increase like a boulder going downhill, picking up more momentum. We have no real way to retaliate effectively. A loss to take this system is merely the loss of whatever tactical assets put into assaulting here, perhaps some political prestige."

She's back to tinkering with her heavy weapon. "There is no consequence. No reason if one fails to not attack again. At some point or another, someone will win and annex here. By attrition if nothing else. So there needs to be something to make there be significant losses. There is a reason why the alliance umbrella has dominated strategic operations on our planet for millenia, particularly in the last three hundred years. Simplest is a permissive annexation or allegiance by a friendly galactic power." Friendly by Earth standards.

"Or the capability for widespread retaliation on a level that makes invasion infeasible. A blunt method and prone to catastrophe. but effective in short term. Paritcularly when there is little else." Continuing on with her fiddling. "Earth is a rounding error when a large pan-galactic empire that can afford to send tens of billions of soldiers to invade."

Darcy Lewis has posed:
"Yeah, like the show!" Darcy echoes Lara. "Its really good, by the way. Any of you watching? I'm a little behind, with the whole, y'know... Earth in peril."

When both Lara and Steve focus on Earth's strange 'fortune' in being at the center of so much of this, she looks like she may have a thought, but then the boss beats her to it. "Right. Us being at the center of a whole lot of nonsense isn't new, and it's probably never going to change. I've been neck deep since I answered Jane's damn ad!" She never misses an opportunity to blame everything on Foster.

"I've got a few theories to the 'why.' For one, right-" Another nod along with Coulson. "The small fish, big pond thing. From what Michael has told us, the ships they sent last time, that was a minor expedition. Empires like the Shi'ar and Kree act on galactic scales. But there's also..." And here she pauses, searaching for the right words.

"Without leaning into any weird religious exceptionalism, Earth, humanity, -is- special. Tech-wise we're primitive, barely out of the mud and into the stars. But people themselves. Explain it with science or magic at your preference, but there's a lot of humans that are 'more-than,' in a lot of ways. And according to the Shi'ar, that's rare. They recruit powerful aliens from worlds across their Empire for their vanguard, but most planets are... homogenous. We've met a Guardswoman who's a telepath, for instance. Apparently, her whole species is. But a range of different powers? That's rare. It's something we share with the Shi'ar."

Then she sets her coffee cup down and reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "It's also why Deathbird was able to sell us to the Brood the first time. The Brood don't have diversity of their own, they absorb it from host species. So we're a super appealing snack for them."

And then she nods at Natasha. "Which is why we're looking to establish peace with the legitimate Shi'ar government. I think that's another motivation for Deathbird's interference: to torpedo efforts by her sister to build out political alliances. And there's risks down that road, the Shi'ar basically work on the Roman model, but... well, Lilandra has proved a better partner than most. We actually have a 'friendly' Shi'ar vessel in-system with a standing offer of assistance, although I'd be remiss not to conjecture that it's also probably here to turn our planet into glass if the Brood aren't contained."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara ends up standing on Steve's left side now, holding her tea cup in her right palm, balanced by its handle held in her right. She sweeps her eyes between those speaking, giving Nat a lingering look as she goes back to tinkering with that weapon. It's a sort of hobby, if you will, that does appeal to Lara too as she's had to do quite a bit of that in her time within wild situations. She's become a bit of a gun nut because of it herself.

But she focuses, and looks once more between Phil, and Darcy. "Well, as we've confirmed with the Savage Lands themselves, aliens have been visiting Earth far longer than anyone would've admitted to twenty years ago. It can't possibly be dismissed, however, that the uptick in super powered people showing up... and becoming massive celebrities in our culture, has reached such eyes as the Shi'ar..." She motions toward Darcy. "Who clearly are interested in such things. Mmh, it only seems inevitable that in another twenty years we may be fully immersed in rather wild galactic political games. Hopefully our technology advances even more rapidly than it already has, because we need to get a fair bit further out of 'the mud' on these matters. Even if in the mud is where I'm personally more used to being." She finishes those thoughts with a little grin before glancing over to Steve.

She leans over to him and speaks softly. "I scared Bucky off, I'm sure of it." She says to him, since that was lingering on her mind too.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers's eyes have a tendency to look down at his coffee mug as the others talk. As if he's mulling over whatever thoughts are generated by their words. The occasional faint twitch of a muscle along his jaw or at the corner of his lips suggests as to the nature of his thoughts about the situation.

He looks up again though at the end after some of the comments about advancing rapidly. "I don't know," he says slowly, looking back down to his cup, expression troubled. "I think looking at our past, we've had quite a few times that maybe we advanced faster than we were truly ready for. I understand the desire to feel we're on the same footing as these potential threats," he says, slowing near the end. "I'm also not sure that might not lead to as negative of outcomes as not matching the alien races might," he says, eyes working around the group one by one.

After speaking, Steve takes a small sip of his coffee from the rapidly emptying cup. He gives Lara a soft smile back. "Too fierce for him," Steve confirms in a gentle, good-natured voice. "We'll have to ambush him sometime."

Phil Coulson has posed:
"I have reservations." Phil says of this friendly Shi'ar ship sitting out in space ready to help, or render them to glass, as needed. His arms remain laid across his chest, "But if I didn't have reservations, I'd be complacent, which would be very problematic." Nodding as well to Natasha, then again to Darcy, both of whom voice his internal thoughts efficiently.

"It's been a common theme in our history, and I can assume, all history since the dawn of war... As soon as a civilization achieves a higher form of warfare, they become the target of invasion. What point is there for an inter-galactic super powers to fight a bunch of mud people?" By their estimations, that's what Earth is... advanced, sure, but only by the most minor of standards.

When Steve speaks up, Phil actually agrees with him. Nodding and unfolding his arm to motion in Cap's direction, "I absolutely agree. We are /not/ ready for that kind of war-fare. Not by a long shot. We don't have the unification across nations to safely command that level of technology..." Another reason SHIELD exists, but he doesn't say it out loud. "We always assumed that once it was proven there was life beyond the stars, we'd come together.. like Star Trek... but we haven't. We've fractured even more, but now all those factions have people so powerful it defies logic or reason."

Motioning around, at their predicament, "With external threats. The alternative is to continue being a place people come to fight their wars. Or some prize in their games." With that same hand motioning to what Darcy has said. "I don't know what the right answer is, I just know, from a tactical standpoint, eventually we're not going to win. And given the sheer power these individuals are bringing? The weapons they're using? Including bugs.. that turn you into a bug?" He sighs and shrugs.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
There's some rumination by Natasha based upon what Darcy says, and she gives a nod. "Demographically that makes here fascinating." Always a legitimate reason to invade - to take apart a society, see what makes them tick.. "We're a resource on the galactic scale." Wasn't that why so many places over human history had been invaded? They had something useful for the invader.

IN the case of Earth, it was it's population and whatever made them stand out so much on an intergalactic scale.

"Best to have the bigger neighbor with the largest stick, Da." She would quip over at the others and nod at Darcy at the 'glass the planet'. "In their position given what a full Brood infestation is like, I would recommend the same." A few billion dead versus trillions was simple math.

Continuing with her fiddling, nodding to Lara, "Not even technologically. Culturally and sociologically. How well the planet can integrate itself with the local powers, affiliate iwth them, and make alliances and contacts. Technology can always be acquired. What will depend down the line in coming decades is how well our species can learn the political game. And remember we're still a small fish,a nd huge meta-being population, huge demographic potential.. That we're still a rounding error."

Nodding once more at Phil, "Power isn't going to ensure our survival. Not in the long term." All someone neesd to do is conquer the planet once, after all. "We're in a horrible situation politically. Even arranging a cross planetary spaceport is an act by a few nations instead of a planetary majority." SHIELD is an arm of the United Nations, but hardly a planetary military body. "Playing ourselves against one another will always be simple." Even if they have a dozen beings of Superman's tier on the planet.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
"Don't get me started on that stuff," Darcy tells Lara, giving a big old sigh. "There's a whole career's worth of mind-blowing realizations to go with the stuff Agent Romanoff saw in that underground lab. Assuming we clear the Brood out, we're gonna wanna go survey all that stuff really thoroughly." A plot for another day.

Exchanging the tablet she was working on for the coffee cup in its stationary position on the table so she can take another drink, she maintains a hand free to point back over, gesturing between Lara and Natasha. "To the Shi'ar, we're a... species with potential. A species that, on a different timeline, with a couple thousand years to grow, could end up ruling the Milky Way the way our neighbor species do M31 and M33, and the LMC." Uh oh she started using her professional astronomist powers! "They've been watching us since the seventies at least. Suspected incursion in '02. The Shi'ar Empire operates on a premise of cultural 'marriage' - you could say this is their long courtship, sizing us up. These treaty terms, they're like the first date. Friendly and casual. But eventually?"

And thus she nods back at Coulson's abundance of caution. "That's why the first thing SWORD did after they announced themselves was put me on improving our ability to track them through their cloaks. The Peak is keeping constant eyes on the B'ryntal. 'Course, if we all ged Brood'ed, it blowing up the planet is probably the last thing we'll be worried about." Which leads back to why she came up here in the first place.

Darcy finally seems to remember what she was doing, and again snatches up the tablet, walking closer to Phil as she thumbs through a few screens. "These are the reports on Dr. Anderssen's condition, as well as the sample from Kazakhstan. Most of it isn't my work, we've got Simmons on it... and the patient herself has been assisting. Also some from Dr. Lykos, who is evidently already back in the Savage Land helping on that front. Xenobiology really isn't my subject, but in summary, basically they agree that the retroviral mutagenic Brood are stabilizing and evolving toward the more intelligent 'standard' of their species." Bio-babble aside, that sounds like a bad thing.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara drops her left hand from under her teacup to just hold it by its handle. She tucks her free hand back in to her light jacket side pocket and just listens. another sip of her tea is had as she draws in a little breath through her nose, and softly she shakes her head to what is said. "The Brood are our number one concern, as far as I'm concerned. I've seen them up close and personal. While being pinned to the top of a speeding cargo truck, by a flying bug the size of a smart car... I decided around then that it was time that we put all our efforts in to stopping these things. Narrowly avoiding its stabbing spikes just further punctuated my belief in this."

She smirks, her left hand now coming up to brush some of her wayward tendrils of dark hair out of her eye-line.

"If they are evolving so rapidly that we are about to see their baseline intellect levels, that to me means we're about to see some serious shit."

She just quoted a movie, she's sure of it. She just doesn't know which one.

Steve Rogers has posed:
Steve Rogers walks over to where he can replenish the coffee in his cup. Not adding anything more for the moment. He tends to listen more than he talks in discussions, especially in discussions like this one. But sharing thoughts when he feels like they need to be shared.

He adds a little sugar and then returns, taking a seat at the table beside where Lara is at. Giving a small nod at the conversation going on.

Phil Coulson has posed:
"Love to hear it." Phil is listening to everything being said, leaning against the console where his coffee mug is set with his arms laid across his chest. But it's Darcy whom he says that last part to. He says this, but he does not mean this. He does not love hearing it. Because what she's just said sounds extrodinarily bad.

"That's why I'm making sure we're clear for aerial bombardment." Thumbing at his own datapad at his hip, beside his mug. "If we're not able to stop them in a straight confrontation, we're going to fire tactical missiles at the Savage Lands until I'm thoroughly satisfied that everything living and infested is good and properly dead." Which, if things go that sideways, will likely include them.

They all knew that was a distinct possibility though, right?

They got the waivers?

He makes a note to make sure everyone signed the waiver.

With that said, Phil reaches back to grab his datapad and cold mug of coffee. He has some paperwork to finish, acquisition forms to fill out, and waivers to check on. "Everyone make sure to get some rest before we arrive. It's going to be a hell of day tomorrow." Sipping cold coffee, he barely even registers the temperature as he makes his way towards the exit. Already getting back into work mode.

So much to do.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod over at Darcy, "Yes, we have to watch our minders after all." The discussion of Shi'Ar alliance protocols and associations by Darcy has her chuckling lightly. "So hopefully if humanity survives a few decades down the line or however extended their protocols are then we might be able to move on beyond our own solar system." It's a matter of cultural perogative. They have to play the game the way the Shi'Ar do if they're going to want to be under it's umbrella. Something for the first xeno-diplomats to have to fret over when it comes to diplomatic rituals. What shade of violet goes just right with the plumes of the minor royal functionary's feathers?

She would mm over at Darcy while listening to the 'anotehr reality' and 'conquered the galaxy'. To be in that world.. Then have themselves be the ones that all the smaller little settled planetoids had to desperately plea to for annexation, fear of conquest.. If the tables were flipped, and things had gone..
    Well, all one could wonder was What.. If.
    "First we sterilize the area. Then we go in and sweep it to ensure that the sterilization has stuck." SHe's all for glassing the area, but that might annoy the ancient alien supercomputers and.. Whatever else there was in the Savage Land that considers a Brood Infestation 'a minor abnormality' that didn't need self cleansing.
    Nodding over at Phil. "Yes. Get on it." She needed very little sleep. Bucky needed very little. Steve needed very little. The rest of them?
    Those that didn't have the same sort of Super Soldier Serum or offshoot going through their veins? They were the ones that needed to rest up.

Darcy Lewis has posed:
"As far as my understanding goes, we're clear to hit them with everything we've got now, sir," Darcy is very (almost too?) happy to report. "The X-Men have been working on the, well, million-year old alien computer thing Lara was talking about. Managed to reprogram them without destabilizing the Savage Land climate. It's hard to say if there's still any kind of fail-safe or not, but no reason not to throw everything we've got at them. And send in every big-gun meta you've got in your contact list."

She doesn't comment on the specifics of what kind of 'tactical missiles' he's talking about, because, well, they all must know this is a possibility. Be damned if humanity is going to let some aliens nuke Earth from orbit before we do it ourselves, right?

At this point, having given her report, and looking like half a zombie herself, Darcy gives a big ole and somewhat unprofessional yawn. "Yeah, I'm gonna go grab some rack time. Don't plan to be down there," she's the least badass person in the room by a significant margin, "but I'm gonna be working with Simmons and our guest to see if we can't leverage any additional help."

With that, she waves her tablet at them. "If I don't see you - good hunting."

Lara Croft has posed:
After Phil speaks, Lara lowers her cup of tea down from another sip. She softly shakes her head at what he'd said, even if she understands why he said it. "It would absolutely obliterate my ability to sleep, if I had to watch that entire place get destroyed by missils and bombs." She notes in a moment of glumness. "If the discovery of King Tut's tomb, untouched by looters and thieves, became one of the greatest discoveries of archaeological significance in the past century, then the discovery of the Savage Lands, and all the secrets it holds within its artificial borders is that... a thousand times over."

She just draws in a deep breath, and lets it slowly out through her nostrils. She goes to hide behind her tea again up to the point where Darcy is on her way out. Her cup is lowered then and she speaks up to the other woman. "I"ll let you know when we catch up on the murder medieval television program." She offers her before she's out of ear-shot.

Lara glances over to Steve then and smirks at him. "Want to grab some rack time?" She asks him with a smirk, then she laughs softly at herself. "That can't possibly be an actual expression, is it?"