Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1328 Halo Star Fortress (Second Update)

The more Victoria Hand listened, the worse her expression became.

Steve Rogers and his two friends have now returned to the capital in a light transport plane, and their conversation inside the armored vehicle was recorded and sent back by agents of the Defense Intelligence Agency. The intelligence arrived in the capital even before they did. Victoria Hand was somewhat incredulous, because in her mind, Steve Rogers couldn't possibly be unaware that he was being monitored, couldn't possibly be unaware that his every word and action was being recorded, yet he still blatantly plotted to betray the Emperor in the vehicle.

This instinctively led her to believe that this was some kind of deliberately released false information, a tactic used to divert the intelligence agencies' attention, and that there must be a more sinister conspiracy that Steve Rogers was protecting. However, she stopped herself from thinking further, as intelligence work is most wary of preconceived notions; otherwise, any sign or evidence would be taken as proof. Nevertheless, she issued an order to begin surveillance and wiretapping of Black Widow Natasha Romanoff.

Victoria Hand knew that if anyone would lend Steve Rogers a hand, it would be Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff. Victoria Hand never trusted her, nor the Avengers, because she wasn't a Captain America fanatic like Phil Coulson. She knew that those Avengers had spent far less time in school than a single STEM student, yet they could influence the course of many real-world events—a highly irresponsible act. But she knew Natasha Romanoff was an exception. Besides possessing considerable scientific knowledge, she was also very rational and had excellent intelligence-gathering abilities. If Steve Rogers revealed any information, Black Widow would surely find out something.

The woman is currently on the Skysword Space Station, residing in the room the Emperor arranged for her. All communications on the station are being monitored, and it won't be too late to keep her under surveillance after she returns to Earth. For a fleeting moment, Victoria Hand thought the Emperor could extract some information from that viper-like woman, as their intimate relationship was not a secret to some. She had no objection to the Emperor's private life; in fact, one could say she hoped to see a human emperor rather than a cold, ruthless ruling machine on the battlefield.

She had witnessed the latter, the most terrifying thing in the world, and Victoria Hand was unwilling to face it again. She preferred to work with the former rather than the latter. However, she still chose to issue a warning through the Regent and the Guardian Order, raising Natasha Romanov's danger level, lest that woman plunge a dagger into the Emperor's neck when they were alone. Without Emperor Latvia, the greatest deterrent would be lost, and Europe and the United States would not sit idly by. The entire Balkans would once again descend into war, and proxy wars would rage on.

Minutes after she sent her suggestion via the Martian-made computer, she received an official communication from the Guardian Order. "Rejected. There's no need to waste resources and manpower on redundant actions." Victoria Hand glanced at the electronic document and the anti-counterfeiting signature code in the lower right corner: Constantine, Commander of the Guardian Order. Lightning, halberd, and golden eagle. Confirmed, this was indeed a document from the Guardian Order. She now knew she had done something unnecessary again. "However, I believe this matter needs further discussion. Please come to the Guardian Order meeting room during lunchtime."

"What kind of official letter did you send to get this kind of response, V?" Back when she was still at S.H.I.E.L.D., Victoria Hand had a good relationship with her deputy; otherwise, no one would dare joke with her. This relationship had now extended to the Latvian Defense Intelligence Department. After all, this deputy was one of those held accountable by Congress, and Victoria Hand personally oversaw an operation to bring him and his family to Latvian. "Could it be a date request? Everyone knows the Guardians are immortal genetically modified soldiers; they're not interested in humans."

"Lunch invitation? I was planning to talk to Constantine and try the protein paste from the Imperial Guard mess hall." Victoria Hand rolled her eyes, picked up her briefcase from the table, and said, "It's time, I should go."

This wasn't her first time meeting the Royal Guard; compared to others, Victoria Hand's superhuman phobia had long since subsided. "Ms. Hand," Constantine said, bowing slightly, behaving quite politely, "thank you very much for coming."

"I'm ready to taste the nutritional puree." Victoria Hand looked around. She wasn't the only one in the deepest part of the royal city's office. Representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the Regent's Office, and various provincial offices were coming and going in the castle. In comparison, the newly built pure white building of her intelligence department seemed much more deserted.

The commander of the Imperial Guard grinned. "It's quite humorous; ordinary people can't digest the metallic components in nutrient-rich puree," he said. "I've already had the chef prepare the dishes; I hope you'll enjoy the French cuisine."

"So what brings you here, Commander?"

"Please call me Constantine." The commander of the Royal Guard was clearly not yet comfortable chatting with someone outside the order. As he led Victoria Hand toward the Emperor's office, he gripped his crimson battle robe with his armored fingers. Only when they reached the small dining room and he sat down in a chair specially designed for superhumans did he speak, "My lord needs your help, Lady Hand."

“I can only fulfill my own responsibilities, Constantine.” Victoria Hand shook her head without hesitation. “He doesn’t need my help. I don’t think there’s anything he can’t do, can I?”

“My lord has always opposed this idea. He is a human being, powerful but not omniscient or omnipotent.” Constantine whispered a few words to his servant, and about twenty seconds later, all irrelevant personnel had left the emperor’s private dining room. “Don’t be nervous.” He took out a data panel, pulled up a photograph, and pushed it in front of Victoria Hand. “This is where my lord needs your help.”

"This is space."

"This is also a Koboi belt." Constantine nodded. "Remember the Quetzalcoatl incident not long ago? Your clearance level should allow you to know the details. If you've looked at the files, then you should be familiar with the Koboi belt."

"But I still don't know why a sky carrier could travel to the Kobo Belt in such a short time. It's at least forty astronomical units away from Earth. The sky carrier's engines definitely can't do that kind of travel. Even if they could, the people on board would have starved, died of thirst, or suffocated long ago."

"That's not the point. The point is what the Sky Carrier discovered during its observations in the Koboye Belt." Constantine clicked on the image and then zoomed in on one detail hundreds of times. The image remained clear, and Victoria Hand, following Constantine's finger, discovered the Guard Commander's true focus.

"A building?"

"Yes, an alien structure." The voice of the Royal Guard Commander turned serious and deep. "Built before the birth of human civilization, when we were still in the wilderness, this star fortress was already floating in the halo of this star system in the Kobo Belt."

"Who built it?" Victoria Hand asked, somewhat surprised, but not to the point of losing her composure. "Was it by aliens we know of?"

"That's right, it's the Kree. S.H.I.E.L.D. once seized a Kree corpse, and Hydra, the ancient religion of Hydra, is also a Kree bioweapon. There are still remnants of those bioweapon mutants on the moon." Constantine pressed play, pointing to a flashing dot on the star fortress. "What's worse, we've discovered traces of activity within this star fortress. In other words, there's still Kree activity in the Coboy Belt."

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(End of this chapter)