Secret War: Phase One · D-Day
Mobilizing strategic materials takes time—especially for heavy armored vehicles like self-propelled siege cannons, armored personnel carriers, and tanks, which require powerful aerial transport platforms. After the Battle of Fimbulwinter, Solomon became determined to sever Eternal City's dependence on Kamar-Taj for mobility and strategic deployment. After all, portals—even those cast with Sling Rings—could not be guaranteed completely safe.
Reducing reliance on magic was his true goal. The Sorcerer Supreme understood Solomon's intent.
Kamar-Taj's mission was to willingly let itself be rendered obsolete, and Solomon was walking that very path.
Thus, the concept of suborbital transport and transport ships was introduced. Combined with the newly completed docking gates of the S.W.O.R.D. orbital station, suborbital transport ships could now be used for large-scale personnel deployment. Previously, this had only been achievable via sky-carriers—and only if their hangars were emptied of all assault shuttles. However, as a firepower fortress and staging hub in suborbit, the S.W.O.R.D. station lacked the capability to transfer heavy armored vehicles, which meant future starships would have to be able to dock with transport shuttles—or even with one another—to increase load capacity.
As long as Solomon had the vision, it was Malcador's job to make it reality. That was the purpose of the Mars Foundry.
Thanks to his external cognitive processors and cloned brain, the Fifth Pillar of Magic narrowly avoided working himself to death. Still, without the Sorcerer Supreme bending the rules with the Time Stone, it would have been impossible for Malcador and the Mars Foundry to accomplish such a feat in mere months. Without the massively cybernetically augmented factory workers, the massive influx of nutrient and energy reserves, and the alien tech and knowledge Solomon and Malcador had procured from off-world, the ship would never have achieved suborbital-to-surface transport capability.
Unlike Earth's current spacecraft, this transport ship resembled a massive flying brick. Its massive engines at the base were each powered by their own dedicated reactor.
One of the assembly lines originally used for war machines was repurposed to build the lightweight transport vessel. By the time Solomon gave the order, the ship had just completed final testing and diagnostics. It could carry six Gustav-class anti-gravity self-propelled siege cannons or Void Missile Carriers. Alternatively, it could haul twenty Fimbul-class armored personnel carriers—each loaded with twenty soldiers, full ammunition, and fuel reserves. Its carrying capacity far exceeded that of any sky-carrier.
However, the ship had minimal onboard firepower and wasn't particularly fast, making it unsuitable for deployment as a combat unit. But that didn't matter. As a massive flying fortress capable of landing directly onto the surface, it was more than enough to serve as a mobile war bunker—more than adequate for this battle.
Meanwhile, the Black-Armored Inquisitors were still working tirelessly to extract firepower intelligence on the Skrull gathering site.
Although recon satellites had already begun their scans before the operation commenced, it remained unclear whether the Skrulls had placed all their armaments on the surface. There were many ways to fool satellite detection—especially under Eternal City's large-scale crackdown, it was inevitable that some uncaptured Skrulls would have sensed danger and fled to the settlement to help prepare for war.
Eternal City's information superiority had already allowed remote sensing images to complete site mapping. But to obtain more intel—and prisoners—the Gustav cannons and Void Missile Carriers were to be used only as a last resort.
Constantine intended to deploy armored swarm tactics to surround and annihilate the resisting Skrulls.
The Sisterhood would join the battle as well. For the girls who had survived the Battle of Fimbulwinter, this mission no longer qualified as "dangerous." Those who had lived were now seasoned veterans. For them, this mission would be another mark of honor engraved into their armor. During the operational meeting, Tita described it more as an intense training exercise than a war.
Solomon dearly wanted to take part in this operation—but he had more troublesome matters to handle.
The Draum brothers had been waiting for a long time. Solomon hadn't contacted them even once in the interim. For those constantly living under the shadow of a curse, such silence must have been torture. Just as the transport ship descended toward Eternal City's offshore platform, Solomon summoned the Guardian of the New York Sanctum to his office. Nicknamed "Old Man," Daniel Draum arrived through the Ministry of Internal Affairs' portal chamber.
Daniel Draum had an extraordinarily long lifespan—longer than any known Sanctum Guardian. Not even Master Hamir knew his exact age. Many suspected he was far too old for his mind to still be sound—Solomon agreed.
"Two people sharing one soul. A very rare condition," Solomon said. "It's a genetic disease. Didn't the Ancient One ever explain that to you?"
"She did," the old man narrowed his eyes, "but I still want to find a solution. I want to hear your conclusion."
"All Draum twins are monozygotic," Solomon explained, "but unlike normal identical twins, the cell division doesn't occur during the early development of the zygote. It happens during embryonic stem cell differentiation. Honestly, it's a miracle you didn't turn out conjoined. Sharing one soul between two bodies is completely natural in this context."
"If you want to know more, I've prepared a report. It outlines the Draum family's hereditary genetic defects and how they result in this condition. That's what your curse really is—a genetic inheritance flaw."
"Is there anything we can do?"
"No. That flaw is also the source of the Draum family's magical aptitude. Because of their physical similarity, the twin bloodlines concentrate generational spiritual power into a single soul. Anyone with that kind of spiritual strength can become a caster. Unless you want to extinguish the Draum family's talent entirely, the defect must remain."
"But that doesn't explain why one twin always dies."
"Are you sure it's an accident?" Solomon's question sent a chill down Daniel's spine. But Solomon didn't look up. He simply handed over the lab report from the Bio-Genetic Lab.
"That's all I can give you. That's what the Draum family's limited cooperation has earned—a stack of paper and a scientific answer. I'm busy, and so are you. If possible, please return to your post."
Daniel Draum stood, but didn't immediately leave. Coming here had already meant abandoning the Sanctum. Yet he didn't seem eager to return.
"If… I'm just saying if," he said slowly, "the Draum family were to offer more?"
"Such as?"
"Such as the lives of all the Draums."
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