บท 3629: Chapter 2758: Star Core Rescue (IX)
"Perhaps you could discuss it with your husband," Shiller finally steered the conversation back on track, adding, "Your family didn't tell you about the little problem at the Aux work Space Station out of concern for your protection... No, no, Lisa, stay calm!! He's safe now... Charles!"
Charles quickly gestured with his hand, and Lisa, who had started flailing like a live fish, collapsed onto the bed. Shiller breathed a sigh of relief as they moved her onto the bed, and observing her current mental state, he said, "It's going to be difficult to ask her to persuade Aux now, we can't trouble this couple anymore."
"What should we do? We still haven't found the culprit responsible for the Space Station issue; the key is what Aux did."
"Maybe I'll have to make a trip up there," Shiller said, "I can't judge Aux's condition over the phone, I must make contact with him in person."
Charles gave Shiller a look, his sharp instincts picking up on something, he remarked, "Is this a limitation of your talent?"
"Not entirely," responded Shiller, "If it were someone I had worked with over a long period, I could perform remote treatment. But I'm not well-acquainted with Aux, it's fair to say he's a complete stranger to me, so I'm not entirely confident."
Just as Charles was about to say something, he instead sighed, saying, "You've taught me a lot, Doctor, especially about the importance of precision and humility in our work."
"Then humbly hit the grammar correction button a few more times," Shiller said with a smile, "Even though you make fewer errors, it's still hard to believe an Englishman would confuse singular with plural."
"I'm not confused; I just missed an 's'!" emphasized Charles, "It's because I was typing too fast..."
"It's 'es', dear Charles, press it one more time."
When Nick received the call, he was frantically mediating a heated argument among international scientists. Just when he managed to catch a moment to sip some water and rest, Shiller's call came through.
"What did you say? You're going to the Space Station??? Didn't we agree? You were only to act in your capacity as a psychologist… What nonsense about duty requirements! Can't you just give him a call?"
Nick listened in silence for a while and then sighed, "I'll have to discuss this with various countries; after all, they're all thinking about retrieving people. Sending someone up might complicate things. Wait for my call."
After hanging up the phone, Nick returned to the conference room. A holographic projection was currently displaying the status of Neptune, and from this angle, one could see the Solar System's Star Port, although the ships docked at the back were out of view.
Humanity had captured several Kree Guard Ships quite some time ago and, after various scientists and magicians modified them, they could now be freely operated. Most of the time, they were maintained at the Solar System's Star Port and occasionally taken out for a spin around the Solar System.
Yet within the Nine Major Kingdoms, there really weren't any external enemies, so these battleships had never seen actual combat, with much of their voyage theory remaining solely theoretical.
Previously, the United Nations planned to wait until Asgard's position within the Intergalactic Alliance was more stable and relations with the Shi'ar Empire were better before notifying both Asgard and the Shi'ar, asking Asgard to send an escort to take them for a tour in the Shi'ar Empire's trade zone.
It wasn't that they were old-fashioned; too many civilizations had fallen on their first step into interstellar travel. A spaceship might be perfect at home, but once launched, it could reveal many inadequacies. The lucky ones might just manage to return, but the unlucky... they would disappear without a trace, leaving their homeworlds clueless and having to start over.
Humans had never intended to use their spaceships so soon; they knew they were far from ready for interstellar colonization. Going to any planet, an unknown virus could easily end all lives. It was better to manage the Solar System well first.
But now the situation was urgent, the Space Station had to be saved regardless of the lack of experience in near-Earth voyages; they would have to go ahead despite their reluctance.
So far, there were five Kree Guard Ships not in maintenance and ready to depart, each named after a planet in the Solar System: Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Uranus. The Uranus was the smallest and a g-class transport ship within the Kree Empire, making it the most suitable for the task at hand.
The international scientists had discussed for half a day and arrived at this conclusion, but were clueless about how to proceed, as these ships weren't meant to fly near Earth but rather for long interstellar journeys.
Gravity would be a major issue. If the gravitational balance was lost, the best-case scenario would see the ship flung outwards; the worst-case, Earth. No one could take this risk.
Yet no one had experience with manipulating gravity; it wasn't a problem that could be solved in a few hours, but the Space Station's crew couldn't wait that long.
Nick was beyond overwhelmed as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director; he had to take charge, especially in reassuring the Space Station's staff, doing everything he could think of.
But he completely understood their panic; if he were there, he'd be panicking too. Watching the oxygen gauge drop visibly was tantamount to a death sentence; not panicking would be strange.
If that section hadn't fallen off, they might have had a bit more time with oxygen, but now they were being pushed to the edge, and once total chaos set in, there would be no saving them.
He couldn't panic, absolutely couldn't panic, Nick told himself steadfastly, even though he knew better than anyone that the world was a giant mess. At this moment, everyone had to act professional and reliable, for if one person panicked, it would all be over.
If he ever found out who was behind this, Nick thought through clenched teeth, his previous fantasies of being a behind-the-scenes manipulator enjoying the show had completely backfired, and he was now caught in the whirlpool himself.
Given the circumstances, he wouldn't hesitate to use some special measures. He made up an excuse, left the conference room, called Hill, and said, "Activate Base A131, get out those two ships we got from Wakanda, I need to send someone up there."
Hill was immediately in motion after receiving the phone call. Possessing part of Nick's secret base privileges and aware of the urgency of the situation, she just needed to proceed as instructed.
After Nick had arranged a series of affairs, he felt it was almost done; he needed to go back and back up Howard. However, at that moment, he received a call that was unexpected yet made complete sense.
"Hello? Peter? What's wrong? Is something wrong with Gwen... Your uncle? What happened to him?"
"Uh, if he's calling someone a jerk, then that person is probably a super jerk, what? He called me that too? Well, I can't really argue with that."
"Don't say that; nobody could have expected that the assistant chief engineer was such a jerk. Your uncle was deceived by him... Are you serious? Peter? It's very dangerous up there!"
"No, it won't do, Peter. You need to participate in the water rescue later." Nick frowned and flatly refused, saying, "There aren't many people on Earth with superpowers, and even fewer that can be of use. Believe me; the space station here on Earth needs you more."
"Your uncle? Isn't he an ordinary man? Then it's even less suitable! He... Okay, you make a good point; we indeed need someone with credentials to stabilize the situation right now. But, Peter, I hope you understand me. I have my own reasons; if something happens to your uncle..."
Nick's expression grew complex, and after his gaze changed several times, he said, "Alright, I was planning to send someone up there, yes, Doctor Schiller. But we had a prior agreement; he can only go as a psychologist... Alright, he wouldn't ignore your uncle if he's in danger anyway, so it should be safe. Just wait at home a bit longer, my people will be there soon."
Almost simultaneously, Schiller and his three companions hurried back to the airport from Lisa's home. On the way, he contacted Clark again to confirm that the space station currently floating in the atmosphere was alright, and they discussed how the behind-the-scenes manipulator might have sabotaged the power core.
"It looks like he punched that engine." Clark said, "But I feel it's not that simple. Think about it, how could someone like us, I mean, people who are basically clueless about technology, precisely hit and damage the core with a punch?"
"It's like a primitive person who has never seen a car being able to throw a spear through the car's engine. I don't believe in such coincidences." Clark pondered before speaking, "But to say that someone understands this machine and wants to destroy it, there's no need for him to cause external damage. He could just damage a small part, unless he wants us to think it was done by an amateur who knows nothing about it."
"Absolutely perfect." Schiller commented, "Thank you for your super brain. You've nailed the crux of the matter, Clark. The key lies in why he wants to make it seem like the work of a brute."
"I can't quite figure it out." Clark said, scratching his head, "Could it be because he's totally not the brute type, and by doing so, he deflects suspicion from himself, trying to clear his own name?"
"That's possible, but I suspect this is just the first link in some plan." Schiller suggested, "In a case like this, evidence must link together in a chain. If he has the ability and the confidence to fabricate one link of evidence, he'll certainly try to create the second, the third..."
"Should I go up again and look around?" Clark appeared hesitant, "I'm just idle here, but if I go in, I might be discovered..."
"No rush." Schiller advised, "Creating evidence takes time. If you go now and run into him without catching him, his conspiracies will remain hidden forever. As long as the people in the space station are fine, we wait; after all, we're not the ones in a hurry."
"You're always wise, Professor." Clark chuckled, "If it were Batman, all I'd get is one sentence."
"Which one?"
"'Then just wait'."
At 10:00 PM, Wakanda's spaceship landed on time at the airport. As Schiller walked into the hangar and saw the brand-new spaceship, he couldn't help but express sincere admiration for Nick, who could get a hold of such a thing. Truly fit for the King of Special Agents.
It was clear that the ship had come straight from Wakanda's factory, still unopened, and it was a wonder how he had managed to get his hands on not just one, but two without Black Panther noticing.
Just as Schiller was about to board the ship, Natasha stopped him and said, "Hold on, we've got one more passenger."
Soon a teleportation portal opened, and Peter, along with Ben Parker, stepped out from it. Schiller immediately realized what Ben Parker intended to do, but he was somewhat disapproving.
"Mr. Parker, I'm afraid there's no room for you to work your technical magic on the space station anymore. If that's the case, why go up at all?"
"I know, but I'm the only one who can steady hearts." Ben Parker said with a solemn tone, "I'm well regarded by the staff on the space station; everyone knows they can count on me. By going up, at least I can prove to them that people on the ground haven't given up on them, that they will definitely be rescued."
"I have a responsibility in this too. I knew that Moira was unreliable, I shouldn't have handed over the work to him in the first place..."
Schiller was only worried that the prophecy of Spider-Man never having an uncle again might come true, but with Ben Parker stating this, it was hard for him to object further. Without Uncle Parker, there wouldn't be Peter Parker; that's just who he was, and it's not something that can be changed by outsiders.
"Alright, let's board the ship first." Schiller led the way onto the craft, with Ben Parker closely behind, and Natasha, as the pilot for this journey, was adept at flying any model of spaceship.
The spaceship took off like a shooting star, disappearing into the vast night sky.
At 10:30 PM Washington time, only two and a half hours remained before the space station ran out of oxygen.
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