There was complete silence.
Outer space around Hala was deathly silent, and inside Hala's Kree council chamber, the atmosphere was equally quiet, with no one speaking. Those who knew the truth were filled with fear and unease, while those who didn't were utterly confused.
"Wait... who are they?"
At last, someone in the council chamber couldn't hold back any longer, while Ronan remained silent, his expression grim as he sat in his chair.
The Supreme Intelligence explained, "Two humans from Planet C-53."
"So that's where Ronan's last mission failed?"
Everyone's eyes turned toward Ronan.
"What are you looking at me for?" Ronan snapped, his face dark.
"Care to explain?" someone asked.
"I have nothing to say."
After saying that, Ronan closed his eyes and fell silent, already thinking about how he could withdraw while preserving his own strength if Hala failed to withstand the coming assault.
This might not be such a bad thing, Ronan thought to himself. The Empire has grown stagnant and complacent, so it needs an external threat to wake it up.
The Kree Empire's power had stagnated for many years, and the Supreme Intelligence had changed. It no longer pursued more resources or superior technology, instead becoming obsessed with creating overwhelmingly powerful individuals.
It wanted to create gods.
The Kree Empire had dominated the universe through technology, but the genetic evolution of the Kree themselves had long since stopped, and compared to other civilizations, they relied entirely on their massive fleets to crush everything before them.
The Supreme Intelligence had become increasingly abnormal and more extreme. After all, it wasn't a living being, so it didn't truly understand the value of life.
To accomplish its goals, it might willingly sacrifice billions, even tens of billions, of Kree to realize its vision. Perhaps its intentions were really to help the Kree evolve, but Ronan could never accept its methods.
The glowing woman floating outside in space, Ronan knew her very well.
An accident had allowed her to absorb the energy of the Light Speed Engine, granting her extraordinary powers, an unimaginably vast amount of energy.
When that woman first arrived on Hala, she had been studied countless times, and the Supreme Intelligence believed she represented the key to the Kree's next stage of evolution.
Ronan knew all about it, as the Supreme Intelligence had discussed it with him personally. But in the end, it failed, as they couldn't determine how her powers had come into existence, nor could they reproduce them.
The technology to create the Light Speed Engine had already been lost, and the research had reached a dead end, yet the Supreme Intelligence still refused to give up.
It had even considered using living Kree as experimental subjects. Ronan didn't know whether those experiments had actually taken place, but he did know one thing, the Supreme Intelligence had changed.
Ronan might be ruthless and merciless, but that was only toward outsiders and other civilizations. Towards the Kree Empire... he loved it with all his heart.
If one day the Empire stood on the brink of destruction, he believed he would be the one to save it, and Ronan had absolute confidence in himself.
...
The council members exchanged uneasy glances, and at that moment, the Supreme Intelligence projected the recording of Daniel and Carol annihilating Ronan's Accuser Fleet.
The two figures on the screen left everyone speechless, it filled them with complete fear and terror. As veterans of countless wars, they simply couldn't imagine what kind of weapon could stop those two.
"Does the Empire even possess a weapon capable of resisting them?"
The same thought surfaced in everyone's mind.
When an individual could move at the speed of light, what kind of weapon could possibly restrain them?
Most methods of attack couldn't even hit them, and even if, by sheer luck, they did, there was no guarantee they would inflict any damage, because anyone capable of reaching light speed couldn't possibly have weak defenses.
"We absolutely cannot allow them to enter Hala," someone declared.
"We must destroy them in outer space. The Empire has the capability to do it."
They were trying to convince themselves, because once Daniel and Carol entered Hala, the consequences would be unimaginable.
This was the Kree homeworld, the capital of the vast Kree Empire. If Hala were damaged, countless Kree lives would be at risk. But that wasn't the main issue, as compared to the Empire, individual lives meant nothing.
The Empire came first, so Hala could not be breached.
If it were, the Kree Empire would suffer a devastating blow, and the Empire had no shortage of enemies waiting to take advantage of such weakness.
"I propose that we let them in," the Supreme Intelligence suddenly said.
Everyone present stared at its projection in disbelief, only Ronan looked completely unsurprised.
"Allow them to enter. Use every means available to capture or kill them. Their bodies contain the secret of evolution."
Its voice sounded colder than ever.
"But that would result in enormous casualties among our people," someone protested.
"Such sacrifices are necessary. The Empire will honor those who give their lives in its service. Every Kree should be prepared to make that sacrifice when called upon. Surely you are no exception?"
The Supreme Intelligence's question echoed through the chamber.
"But..."
"What if Hala is destroyed and we still fail to capture them?" Ronan asked.
"The probability is low. The most likely outcome is Hala's destruction. I will preserve their corpses and use them to evolve the surviving Kree."
The Supreme Intelligence continued, "I intend to deactivate Hala's planetary shield and allow their ship to land. The instant it reaches the surface, the shield will be restored.
As long as we can hold them for one minute, countless missiles will rain down upon them, and no matter how fast they are, as long as they remain on Hala, they won't be able to escape."
"A lot of people will die."
Ronan narrowed his eyes.
"They are necessary sacrifices."
"You're not human. You're an artificial intelligence, so of course you don't care about the lives of the people outside."
"I exist for the Empire. You created me, and my sole purpose is to make the Empire stronger."
The Supreme Intelligence attempted to persuade everyone present, but these people were the Empire's highest-ranking officials, and unlike ordinary Kree, they didn't obey it blindly.
The chamber fell silent once more. Since the day the Supreme Intelligence had been created, this was the first time it had openly clashed with the Empire's ruling class.
The only sound left in the room was the quiet rhythm of breathing.
...
Out in space, Daniel and Carol had grown bored of waiting.
"Hey, why do you think they still haven't started bombing us?" Daniel asked through the communicator.
He deliberately wasn't using his super vision or super hearing, because if he did, he'd immediately know every one of the Kree's plans, ruining all the anticipation.
Life was more fun when there was still a little mystery.
"Maybe their weapons system broke down?" Carol replied with a laugh.
Two more minutes passed.
"Nope, we can't just keep waiting out here like idiots."
"Let's break in."
Daniel said.
Carol nodded, and the two of them flew towards Hala before stopping just few meters from the planet's atmosphere.
"There's a shield," Carol observed.
Daniel reached out and touched it.
"I wonder how sturdy it is."
"It should be much tougher than Wakanda's."
Wakanda's barrier had been far too fragile, and a few years ago, just a handful of Daniel's punches had nearly brought it down, but this was different
The moment he arrived at Hala, Daniel looked over the massive planetary shield with curiosity. This was the Kree homeworld, so surely their greatest defense would be worth testing.
He raised his fist and threw a simple, casual light punch.
Boom!
The entire barrier shook violently. Waves of energy spread across its surface, and the shockwave rippled through space itself.
For a moment, it looked as if the shield might collapse on the spot... but it held.
Daniel's eyes lit up with interest.
"Not bad."
He had barely used any strength, yet the Kree's ultimate defense had already shown signs of instability.
"So, this is the Kree's shield?" Daniel smiled. "At least it's a little more interesting than Earth."
He pulled his fist back again, this time, he added a little more force, still nowhere near his true power.
Boom!
The second punch was completely different.
Cracks instantly spread across the barrier like a shattered mirror, and the entire planetary defense system began to collapse under the impact.
A moment later, a sound like breaking glass echoed through space. The Kree's strongest shield shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the void.
Daniel stared at the remains, slightly disappointed.
"That's it?"
He shook his head. "I was hoping it would last a little longer."
After that Daniel and Carol, both flew straight into Hala's atmosphere.
"So, this is Hala, huh? Well... hello, everyone," Daniel said with a smile as they entered Hala's atmosphere.