2"Why would Mar-Vell choose C-53 for her research, Commander?" Min-Erva asked Yon-Rogg. "Their technology is barely existent. Some parts of their planet seem to have no technology at all."
"Unfortunately, most of her file is redacted, but she is known to be an excellent Starforce Scientist working on a unique energy project that could help us win the war."
"Then why did she choose this planet. An energy project like this secret should be done on Hala. Otherwise, the Skrulls might get privy to that."
"I agree" he nodded seriously, "but the files indicate that the source she is working with might be too volatile to work with on Hala. But as Mar-Vell's updates have become too scarce of late, the Supreme Intelligence believes that she might have been compromised. If that is the case, then we are ordered to report back and wait for further instructions. Right now, we have to shadow Mar-Vell, find out how she interacts with the locals, what exactly she is working on, what and where her energy source is and if she has been compromised."
"Understood, commander." she nodded without hesitation.
"We'll take turns and you might need to take an inhibitor in order to hide your blue skin." He suggested and Minn-Erva frowned in annoyance, but she didn't visibly protest. She didn't need to, her eyes gave her away.
He hadn't told his favourite Starforce member that this mission could take months, but as he had wanted to escape his father's insistence to take part in the annual gathering of his family, he had volunteered to take this mission.
His father's insistence to finally decide on a bride was something that he couldn't hear anymore. He was the only pink-family member and his father resented him for it. As if it was his fault that he was born like this. The man had made his life far more difficult then it could have been, and he resented him for it. His siblings had been able to grow up in the family home while he had been cast out from it until he had started to prove himself and worked himself up from the lower levels of Hala. Only when his father had heard about his forgotten son's success had he allowed him back to the family home on occasion.
Now, thanks to the Supreme Intelligence's grace he was allowed to prove his worth and serve his people. There was no greater honour and his father might be a powerful Kree official, but he would never know the honour of serving the Kree. Yon-Rogg shook his head. He should prepare for his scouting mission. He had a feeling that this could be interesting.
Carol and Maria just entered their house together with wide grins. They were exhausted but in a good way. Today's test flights had been challenging, but also rewarding.
"You had a call, Auntie Carol!" Monica chirped when she came rushing down the stairs followed by her exasperated grandmother. Monica was an extremely active child.
"Really, Captain Trouble?" she asked waiting for her turn to be hugged by the little whirlwind.
"Mh." She hugged her. "He said his name was Joseph Danvers Jr." she whispered into her ear and Carol tensed.
"And he expects me to call back, right?"
Monica nodded and Carol nodded a thank you. "Well, he can wait until the cows get home. There is no chance of me calling back, but thanks, Monica."
"Perhaps just a short phone call." Maria's mother suggested. She loved mediating between quarrelling parties, but Carol shook her head. She was good at it.
"No, Martha. I know the outcome of that conversation already. He wants to invite me to some child's baptism where I'm confronted with the entire congregation which blames me for not conforming to my father's rules. That will continue with me being blamed for bringing unrest into my family and the extended family and the entire congregation. And I'm so sick of it all. They are not my family anymore."
"Well, you're right. He wanted you to invite you to his son's baptism." Martha told her patting her on the shoulder nodding in the direction of the kitchen from where the smell promising a delicious meal wafted from. Carol frowned thinking about yet another relative being born into that family.
"So, we are your new family, right aunty Carol?" Monica asked with a wide grin plastered on her face.
"That's right, Monica. You are my new family. You are bright, warm, intelligent and absolutely awesome."
"I always like to hear that we are awesome." Maria's father cut in when they entered the kitchen, because when I look around this room then I see love, friendship, talent, respect and resilience. You two proved that you can achieve anything once you set your minds to it. Now, tuck in."
"Well, l learned from the best, dad." Maria said tucking in.
Carol moaned in delight. The meal was indeed delicious. Maria really was blessed with her parents who had supported her all the way. They did treat each other as equals, which was still extremely rare but she never got tired of seeing them tease each other.
"You've outdone yourself again. Dad." Maria praised him. "That's wonderful."
"Well, I knew that he was a keeper when I found out that he could cook." Martha remarked. Carol grinned. She already knew the story. Maria's father had fallen in love with Martha and courted her and her family with his cooking skills.
"Mark my words, one day even other men will see as well that women should be equal in every way." Her father said optimistically. "I've seen it before, and we will see it again. Things are slowly changing for the better."
"I do like the sound of that." Carol nodded gulping back bad memories from her own family.
Her father a staunchly religious man had always cited the Bible first in order to justify his misogyny:
"This is the one true hierarchy that our god wants: Our god empowers, guides and instructs the husband, the patriarch of the family. He protects, provides for the family and keeps them in order. His Christian wife follows his lead and instructs and nurtures the children in the righteous way. She manages the household."
Her brothers had been allowed to do whatever they had wanted, and she had to help her mother in the household with hardly any free time. She had despised this injustice. She had always been forced to look presentable, never had been allowed to wear jeans or trousers as this would have been deemed inappropriate. When her father had found books in her room that he hadn't approved off she had received severe beatings and she had been forced to endure personal sessions with their elders where she had to confess her deepest, darkest sins. Well, she hadn't had any sins that the old wanker had insinuated or had been fixated on. And reading tons of books that her father, the members of the church hadn't approved of had widened her horizon significantly. Thanks to the intervention of her primary school teacher she had been allowed to go to the local high school where she had been exposed to more secular topics which had gradually helped her to get out of the fangs of her family.
Her two elder brothers had gone to Europe for their missions but had returned disfranchised when they hadn't been able to turn even one individual towards their church.
"Europeans, don't want to hear God's gospels." They had recounted countless times and she had bit her tongue to not enrage her father with a potentially blasphemous remark.
It had been expected of her as well to go, but while her brothers had spent their entire savings for their missions, she had used it to buy an old car and stored her documents there until the day of her high school graduation where she left her old life behind forever and never looked back since.
The day of her graduation she had officially left her church and driven off towards the US Air Force Flight school after having received the results from her entry test. She was her own person now and she couldn't go back to that horrid life she grew up her family had fought hard to force her to come home. Even as going so far as to file a missing people report which had caused a police detective to turn up at her flight school. That could have gotten her expelled. But she had been able to show him the copy of her letter that she had left behind at her families home.
"Earth to Carol? Are you in there?" she heard from her side and shook her head to clear it.
"She's in here alright." She answered. "Sorry, was a bit distracted."
"So, do you?" Monica asked impatiently.
"Do I what?" she blinked in confusion.
"Do you believe that there is life out there in the universe?" Monica inquired curiously. "Mum said that Dr. Lawson believes there might be."
"Well, I agree with Dr. Lawson." Carol stated with a lopsided grin. "The Universe is big and grows with each day. So, even though we might not know, or even get in contact with aliens, it is possible that they exist."
At least it is far more possible than the cruel fairy tale creature my old family believes in.
