"Barack, you've always been the richest in experience and most far-sighted among us. If you disagree with Major Gana's plan, what do you intend to do?", Shiller asked, looking into Captain America's eyes.
Capitan America shook his head, saying, "I'm not sure. I just don't want his madness to lead all the Skrulls towards annihilation. The Skrull Empire should be revived, but not here, not on Earth, not within the Nine Major Kingdoms. We should have our own homeland."
"More importantly, doctor, do you really think he can control the entire human race?" Captain America furrowed his brow, adding, "At this moment, the question is not whether we want to wage war against humans, but whether we can actually win."
"These past few days, I have experienced the full extent of human cunning and cruelty. During all the years that the Skrull fleet has traveled the cosmos, I have never seen a race so skilled at persecuting their own."
"Our ideal of integration with humans suggests that as long as we share their appearance and abilities, we will be warmly accepted by them. We hope to use our experiences and abilities to reach the pinnacle of power."
"However, when we truly integrated, we realized that they have subdivided their species into more refined categories and are combative towards each other. We chose a side, only to find that within that side, there were countless further divisions."
"We did not join a big family, rather, we joined a series of trivial and absurd wars."
"Captain America and Hydra are both human, but they're enemies. The Captain and the military-congressional complex are components of America's political system, but they are not teammates. Captain America and Iron Man both belong to The Avengers, but they're not exactly allies either..."
"So what did we actually assimilate into? Nothing. In the end, we were still fragmented into the smallest factions, each struggling on our own in human society, with no one gaining a significant advantage."
"Within such a strange society, is it really possible for us to rule the entirety of humankind, with a plan like this?"
Shiller shook his head, admitting, "Actually, I don't fully agree with Major Gana's plan either, but…"
Shiller lowered his voice to say, "The Polaris flagship is in his hands. When we first landed on Earth, he was the only one taking up arms. All of us had to hand over our technological defenses. We just don't have a way…"
Capitan America paused for a moment, looking at the shattered fragments of a cup on the floor. He said, "Not necessarily, we still have natural allies."
"Who?"
"Humans."
Shiller furrowed his eyebrow, and Captain America sighed and said, "I don't harbor any extra fondness for humans, it's a wild and chaotic race, and its development has been driven solely by its evilness."
"However, it is precisely this evilness and brutality that has prevented many other races from risking confrontation with them. You should know, there are vampires on Earth. They have always aimed to control the entire planet, yet no one dares to wage an open war against humans."
"They are fully aware that once they do so, pushing the entire human race into a corner, this bunch of crazed beasts wouldn't hesitate to drag their nemesis, the entire planet, or even the entire system down to Hell with them.
"The only advantage we Skrulls have is our shape-shifting ability. Humans presently don't have a way to completely see through our disguises. So, as soon as we approach them, revealing the potential threat that Gana imposes, they will have to rely on us to counter this clandestine invasion."
The Captain sighed, "We have to stop Gana. Otherwise, as resistance to his plan mounts, he will grow ever more desperate."
"Once he falls into the vortex of hatred and aims to obliterate humanity, neither the Supreme Magician nor the Father of all Gods will allow him to do so. He will drag us all down with him."
"Working with humans... might be a solution." Shiller took a sip of water before slowly adding, "The enemy's enemy is a friend. Since we're all unhappy with Gana's actions, collaborating with humans isn't out of the question."
"But we must choose our allies carefully; humans have their own internal power struggles. If we ally ourselves with one side, we could end up enemies with several others. Moreover, many factions might not risk collaborating with aliens."
Shiller thoughtfully said, "First, they would have to be willing to work with us. Second, they would need the means and basis to cooperate with us. They must have the ability to deal with Gana, his weapons, and his spaceship."
Stopping here, Shiller paused as if an idea had just occurred to him. Captain America asked, "Who are you thinking of?"
"Mutants," Shiller answered.
"Non-mutant humans would have no trust in us because we are aliens, aliens capable of disguising ourselves to look like them."
"Humans' suspicion arises from their weakness. They know they don't have many ways to deal with us, hence they bluff, trying to intimidate us into retreat. If we were to reveal our identity, they would definitely try to put us in our place."
"But mutants are inherently powerful. Even if we can disguise ourselves to look like them, they still have confidence that they can subdue us at any moment. Both Professor X and Magneto possess that ability."
"When we are on an equal playing field in terms of power, collaboration becomes a lot easier."
"Ordinary people can help us deal with Major Gana for their own safety, but if the mutants cooperate with us, they can get more."
"Like what?" Captain America asked, squinting.
"Aren't mutants ostracized by ordinary society? Aren't they unable to step into the cosmos because they lack an industrial foundation? We can provide that foundation,"
"Don't forget, we've taken the entire industrial system of the Skrull Empire. Even if we can't set up production lines on our spaceships, we still have blueprints. Arengel, who is impersonating Tony Stark, is a top scientist from the Skrull Empire."
"What are the Skrulls best at? Isn't it helping a civilization move from savagery to interstellar? We've successfully implemented our plan in countless civilizations. This is our biggest bargaining chip in negotiations with the mutants...."
After thinking about it, Captain America said, "Indeed, if we use this approach with ordinary people, they might not understand the value of what we're offering."
"Although I've always felt that humans are crazy, I have to admit that they are highly creative and talented. They are a young race, but they have managed to step into cosmos at an unimaginable pace without relying on others."
"But mutants are in an awkward position. Ordinary society doesn't really accept them, and they don't wish to mingle with ordinary people. Yet, if they don't take advantage of human civilization, with their population and development speed, securing a position in interstellar society won't be easy."
"If they can't hitch a ride with ordinary people, then the Skrulls will provide them a special train. The price is only helping us reclaim what should be ours — the weapons and fleet in Gana's hands. It's a big threat to ordinary people, but for someone like Magneto, it's inconsequential."
Captain America began to see the feasibility of the idea. He immediately turned to Shiller and said, "Doctor, can you contact Professor X? I mean, as Doctor Shiller...."
"I can," Shiller frowned, "But I don't think we should. I can't guarantee that Professor X, a terrible psychic, wouldn't notice the flaws. If I contact him with a disguised identity and he senses something is off, he might think we're insincere and even hostile towards us...."
"Then...."
"I think we should contact the real Doctor Shiller first. According to my recollection of him, he should be willing to assist."
Captain America's hand, which was gripping the rail, tightened. "Are you sure? If we anger him, the consequences could be severe. Our duplicated abilities are considerably less powerful than the original ones, especially psychic abilities...."
"What I understood from his memory is that humans had a faction with a theory similar to that of the ancient Skrulls. They called it Internationalism, and the Skrulls could call it Interstellarism."
"The goal of this theory was to liberate all of humanity, aligning with the Skrulls' hope for a prosperous and civilized cosmos."
"Regardless, we are just a group of aliens wandering to Earth with no grudge against them. Despite us replacing the superheroes, we didn't kill anyone."
"What's more, we've been doing our duty diligently during this period, fulfilling the superheroes' mission to protect humanity."
"Even considering that we've completed unfinished tasks on behalf of his old friends, he should want to help."
Captain America hesitated for a moment. Just when he was about to reply, Shiller's phone rang. Picking up the phone, he said to the other end, "Hello? Director?... You want me to go to Stark Building?"
"What about Arengel? He.. make him a bit more obedient? But...I..." Shiller was silent for a long time, then hung up. He looked at Captain America and said, "Gana's gone nuts; he wants to deal with Arengel!"
Captain America immediately tightened his grip on the handrail. "He wouldn't be trying to get you to brainwash Arengel, would he? He's gone crazy!!!"
"Arengel is a top researcher at the Skrull Research Institute! There are hardly more than 20 scientists like him in the entire empire! That's the essence of our civilization!"
"If I had to choose between Arengel and the main ship, the Polaris, I'd definitely choose the former. We could build another spaceship, but if we lost a top scientist, it would be a disaster for our entire civilization!"
As if having reached a decision, Shiller stood from his chair. "We probably don't have time. I must get to Stark Building immediately to deal with mad Gana."
After speaking, he wrote down an address in silver ink. "The Director sent Doctor Shiller to New Mexico to deal with a warehouse theft case along with Natasha and Barton. This is how he got rid of the doctor."
"Here's the base address. Locate him. Convince him. This is our last chance."
Captain America took the note and took a deep breath. Watching Shiller's retreating figure, he closed his eyes and lay still, envisioning the past glory of the Skrull Empire.
About ten seconds later, he sprang from the bed, clutched the note, and unhesitatingly walked towards the upper-level office of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base. There, he found Agent Sharon Carter.
"Agent Carter, there's something I have to entrust to you. Find a way to get me to the address on this note. Don't ask why. I'll explain everything to you one day."