Chosen

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four: Beginning Plans.

"You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one. I don't believe in little plans. I believe in plans big enough to meet a situation which we can't possibly foresee now." -Harry S. Truman.

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 I am all alone in the technology room. I pull up my data and emit a sigh of relief as I see I still have a connection with the Black Order's spacecraft. The team meeting has been put on hold until I can analyze my data. Apparently you can have a more efficient meeting with updated information.

 I search through all the information to find what is the most important. The database I have access to is limited to what statistics I can extract. I cannot see all of the dirty little details of the Black Order, but what I can get a hold on is more than enough to get us a jump on our foe. I gather the exact location of the ship, its future movements, and its connections to other ships under their operation. I jot down the facts on a piece of notebook paper.

 "Mon, are you ready? AC/DC is getting impatient," Tony pokes his head into the room.

 "Yeah, I got everything," I scan over my notebook.

 "Do you need the wheelchair?" He questions.

 "No, they gave me the good medicine," I respond with a sly grin on my face. Thanks to the medication it feels as if I never had a concussion. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s drug supply would make any hospital look like a grocery store's over-the-counter medicine selection. A part of me believes if I look deep enough I would find the cure for cancer somewhere in their vaults.

 I walk behind Tony into the main room of the bunker. Everyone is gathered around the large conference table. A few people reside in seats, but most stand. Director Coulson stands at the head of the table, leaning against it with his arms extended forward. His face is etched with concern. My mom offers me her seat, but I decline as I feel able to stand. The room is full of nervous chatter. Alex's face is patched up in a few bandages. Honestly, the thought of just absolutely socking my boyfriend in the face would appear comical to be only if I did not do so with the intentions of killing him. The idea of murdering the person I love dampens any situation.

 The talking almost instantly ceases when Director Coulson stands upright. He clears his throat before speaking, "I think you all know the subject of this meeting. We are facing a severely dangerous threat from outside of Earth again. This group makes Loki's actions look only like a rebellious teenager's.

 "By now you have all heard or read about our previous encounters with the Black Order. They only have one thing in mind: destroy our planet. The bombings have been confirmed to have originated from their ship in outer space. They have been targeting and bombarding their own weapons along with our organization. We do not know how long it will be until they begin to target cities and countries.

 "We have already paid devastating losses due to the attacks and the Black Order in general. Family members have been lost, employees have been killed, and valuable teammates have been stolen of their lives. We have to form a plan of attack and act fast. We cannot afford to lose anyone else. As I said, it is only a matter of time before they start freely bombing civilians. I fear that time will come soon than we hope.

 "I have a plan; it is a rough plan, but the idea is there. We cannot waste the time and resources to keep fighting branches of the Black Order. We have to attack the heart of the enemy. Without the heart pumping the means to keep the operations running, they will fall permanently.

 "Yes, I do understand their base in outer-space. It is far outside our comfort zone and it is a huge risk, yet it is our best- no, only option. Either we take the fight to them or millions will suffer at our choice. Our team has done everything in their power to best equip you for this battle. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been working on a prototype of a skin-tight suit that will allow space travel; Stark and Banner know about this. For an agent to perform to the best of their abilities the typical NASA space suit would hinder them greatly. The suit has not been proved, however. It is only in its final stages of testing. I think within a few days we can know for sure if it will work in space.