"Actually, I also agree that we shouldn't cause a big stir. I'm perfectly clear on that. Once things get chaotic, we may fall apart before even being attacked by others."
"If the cost is that high, then I'd rather not do it," Nick thought for a moment. He's usually more cautious, since he's the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Even though Nick is ruthless, he's rather responsible when it comes to the safety of the human race. Or one could say that even villains want to live on Earth, so their interests align in this respect.
Shiller drummed on the table, drawing everyone's attention. He said, "Don't you all find it a bit strange? Their fleet has lost many escort ships, but they still don't leave. Why?"
"True," Loki thought about it and said. "If I'm not mistaken, their Temple spaceship should have a sophisticated trans-galactic jump system. If they wanted to leave, they should be able to do it quickly."
At this moment, they heard Peter's voice through Stark's phone on the table: "We just saw the large spaceship's trailing smoke. Blue Spirit thinks their engine might be overheating."
"Engine overheating doesn't usually cause smoke," Loki asserted confidently.
"It could be that their engine broke," Stark suggested. Picking up his phone, he asked Peter, "How many escort ships should a full fleet have as you mentioned earlier?"
"Blue Spirit said there were 72. Why?"
"And how many are left now?"
Hiding behind the asteroid belt, Peter looked at the large spaceships and asked the person next to him: "Help me count how many escort ships they have left."
After everyone counted and cross-checked the numbers, Peter said, "There are 23 left..."
"Seems like what I thought." Stark stood up, grabbed a few pens from the pen holder, placed the longest one in the middle, and said, "This represents their main ship, also known as the Temple."
"These pens are like escort ships. How do you think the escort ships should be arranged to protect the spaceship to the greatest extent?"
Running his hand over his chin, Nick said, "If it were me, I'd focus on protecting the crucial areas ... oh, I get it. Their heavy losses of escort ships could be because their engine was attacked."
"Their escort ships protected the most important part, the engine. However, most of them didn't escape when the strike began, leading to their heavy losses. It wouldn't have lost more than half if they spread out evenly."
"Exactly. Combined with the engine smoke they mentioned just now, I suspect the escort ships didn't fully protect the engine. Their engine might be damaged and temporarily unable to initiate a jump."
Shaking his head, Nick said, "We lack intelligence. This is all just speculation. Without evidence..."
Peter's voice came through the phone, "We just discussed, and we plan to go check the spaceships ourselves."
"That's too risky." Stark immediately stopped him.
"You're not adults, and you want to sneak into an alien spaceship? No, you retreat first. We'll make a detailed plan. If anyone's going, it should be us..."
At this point, Blue Spirit took the phone from Peter and said, "Hello, I'm the cosmic agent symbiote, Blue Spirit. Although our hosts are underage in human society, we symbiotes are experienced cosmic travellers."
"Many of my past hosts were the Spirit of Totem in the Andromeda Union civilization. As a result, I inherited some magic power from them. I can generate an invisible field, ensuring we can sneak into most cosmic ships."
"As symbiotes can't move freely without a host, and anything could lead to the death of our hosts in space. During those times, we would use this ability to sneak into other races' starships for a ride. We're very skilled at it."
"But this is different. You're planning to infiltrate an enemy spaceship. Once caught, the consequences are unthinkable..."
Blue Spirit hesitated for a moment, but then Venom impatiently said, "Listen to me, I have a plan."
"This isn't something a plan can fix..."
"I have 12 backup plans."
Continuing, Venom said, "You overlooked one thing. There must be Kree people on this ship. It has to be the Kree controlling these ships."
"So what?"
"As long as there's sentient life, there will be management loopholes. Just like on a human cruise ship, not every employee in every department knows each other. The bigger the ship and the more departments and staff it has, the easier it is to blend in."
"Just now, I saw an escort ship at the end of the fleet fly underneath the large spaceship. It disappeared for a while and then reappeared."
"I suspect there's an entryway there for resupplying the escort ships. We'll try to make contact with these small escort ships first, and see if we can follow them into the large spaceship."
Listening to this plan, Stark was still very worried, but then Loki said, "Actually, the cosmic special agents are really strong, especially the oldest among them. He's a symbiote created by Nal himself, a second-generation lifeform in the cosmos, and highly advanced."
After hesitating for a long while, Stark said, "Alright, but you have to promise me not to confront the Kree. We just want to get some intelligence. Make sure you prioritize your own safety if there's any trouble..."
"Received, wait for our good news!" Upon saying that, Peter hung up the call.
At the same time, Shiller's phone rang. He looked at the few people in the room, then turned and left the laboratory. Behind him, the others squinted, showing suspicious expressions.
After a while, Shiller returned, put down his phone, and before anyone else could ask, he said, "All right, let's discuss how we're going to take over these ships if things really are as we suspect."
"The Kree's civilization is quite advanced, and their leader is an intelligent being, nearing omniscience and omnipotence in the realm of intelligence. So don't count on seizing control rights or anything like that..."
Loki hesitated for a moment, seemingly unsure how to express herself. She said, "I advise you not to target the Temple Series spaceship. Firstly, because it's extremely dangerous. Secondly, even if you guys get it, you probably won't be able to crack it."
Loki reacted to Stark's gaze and continued to say, "I don't mean to say you guys aren't clever enough, but that the gap in industrial base is too large. Even with all the advanced equipment in your lab, you might not be able to pry open a single screw on their ship."
"What's more, there are no screws at all on their ships. The casting technology used by the Kree is unique. The construction and weaponry are integrated fully, not requiring any assembly. The entire ship is a complete model with no seams. You guys won't be able to disassemble it."
"How do you know so much?" Strange looked at her, puzzled.
Loki sighed and said, "So far, the Kree have three Temple Series spaceships, the Temple 2, Temple 3, and Temple 4..."
"What about the No.1?"
"The No. 1 was the earliest created in the Temple Series. Their technology was not as sophisticated at the time, but being able to complete such a huge ship boosted the morale of their entire race. So they paraded around with their big ship until they encountered the Father of All Gods…"
"At the time, we were not at war with the Kree, but when a fleet suddenly appeared near the battlefield, anyone would be on alert. The Father of All Gods reacted very quickly - he, straightaway, brought thunder, and the Kree's Temple No. 1 retreated at the speed of light."
"The Father of All Gods totally damaged their ship, but I had never seen such a large ship before, so I left the team, flew to the wreckage of the ship to take a look. That's why I know so much."
"So, Kree isn't as strong as you Asgardians?"
"It's hard to compare like that. Asgard is a classical military nation, our leader is simply too powerful. But what makes the Kree powerful is the form of their civilization and the number of their armies. After all, even the Father of All Gods would have to exert some effort to damage all of their ships."
"Even if we can't disassemble it, isn't it fine as long as we can use it?" Nick proposed.
Loki shook her head again and said, "Leaving aside the fact that Supreme Wisdom won't let you seize control, if cornered, he will order the ship to self-destruct. More importantly, where will you get the energy to drive such a huge ship?"
Seeing they might not understand, she snapped her fingers and said, "Can you guys move your mother planet, Earth right now?"
"If not, then you can't drive a planet warship either. A so-called planet warship is essentially a planet, and the energy needed to drive it is the same as that used to move a planet."
Nick clicked his tongue. A huge pie was laid in front of him, but he couldn't eat it, which made him very frustrated.
But Stark seemed to accept this fact more easily. Because he knew better, being more professional, that the development of civilization is not achieved overnight. It takes comprehensive improvement to build up. It's impossible to get rich all at once.
"However, those escort ships should be of use to you." Loki said while thinking, "From what I know, because they have been too focused on the construction of planet warships, their escort ships have not been upgraded. Apart from the leading advanced escort ships, the other ordinary escort ships are essentially what you humans call spaceships. Their engines and hull structures are quite good."
Then Shiller, who had been silent for a long time, spoke, "We need the escort ships, but we cannot leave their planet warships intact."
Shiller, who knew the plot, understood more clearly than the others. The Kree have always wanted to invade Earth. He didn't believe that the Kree were merely affected because they happened to fly nearby.
These blue-skinned aliens must have been lurking near the Milky Way for a long time. How could it be so coincidental that the aftermath of the Demon God's fight damaged their engines? It must be because they were too close.
"The defense power of the Temple Series spaceship is very high and hard to destroy. Back then, the Father of All Gods was at his peak, holding Gungnir, and Temple No. 1 wasn't as robust as the later Temple Series spaceships. That's why it was damaged in one go."
"Do you know what humans are best at?" Shiller asked, looking at Loki.
"What?"
"Explosions."
"You mean nuclear bombs?"
Loki shook her head and said, "The civilization of the Kree developed slowly. Their control over radio materials and nuclear fission is not inferior to humans. They had a deep understanding of this power thousands of years ago. Human nuclear bombs may not be enough to destroy their ships."
"Humans' mastery of explosions is not limited to nuclear bombs. More importantly, we have always held onto one belief."
"What?"
"Quantity is the root solution to all problems. If it doesn't solve the problem, then the quantity is not enough."