Chapter 189 — The Mission
The strike cruiser The Oath of Rectitude continued its journey through the Warp.
Normally, Warp travel did not last very long. Even across great distances, a ship would usually emerge from the Warp within a few days if the journey remained within the same sector. Sometimes it took longer, depending on Warp storms, navigation conditions, and the distance to the destination.
Gaius expected the voyage to take only a few days, at most, in a few weeks.
A week passed.
Then more weeks followed.
Soon, those weeks turned into a month.
Yet the ship had still not exited the Warp.
Inside the vessel, life continued as usual. Thousands of personnel moved through the corridors, maintaining equipment, managing supplies, and operating the massive systems that kept the cruiser functioning. The Ultramarines under Gaius' command continued their drills and training. Servitors and serfs performed their assigned duties without complaint.
The ship itself showed no signs of trouble.
Its engines were stable.
The Gellar field protecting the vessel from the horrors of the Warp remained strong.
Navigation systems functioned perfectly.
Yet despite all that, they remained inside the Warp far longer than expected.
Gaius stood quietly on the bridge.
Before him, the viewing screens displayed the shifting colors of the Warp. It looked like a violent ocean of light and shadow, twisting and flowing in unnatural patterns.
Normally, this sight meant they were on their way somewhere.
But now it simply meant they were still waiting.
Gaius had expected the ship to leave the Warp several days ago. When the delay first happened, he did not worry. Warp travel could be unpredictable.
But now weeks had passed.
That was not normal.
Still, Gaius did not panic.
Instead, he thought.
His mind moved through possibilities with calm focus.
Perhaps the Emperor was waiting.
That was his first thought.
The Emperor of Mankind guided humanity from the Golden Throne on Terra. His will shaped events across the Imperium, even in ways that ordinary people could not see.
If the ship had not exited the Warp yet, maybe it was because the Emperor did not want it to.
Another possibility came to mind.
Perhaps the Emperor was busy.
Gaius knew that the Emperor was constantly fighting unseen battles. The Chaos Gods in the Warp were always searching for ways to harm humanity. The Emperor might be resisting them, pushing back against forces that no mortal could fully understand.
If the Emperor was occupied with such struggles, maybe he could not guide the ship out of the Warp yet.
Or perhaps something else was happening.
Maybe their destination was not ready.
Maybe an event somewhere in the galaxy needed to happen first.
Gaius considered each possibility carefully.
But none of them gave him a clear answer.
After thinking for some time, Gaius raised his armored hand.
His massive power fist rested briefly against the chest plate of his armor.
Behind the ceramite and auramite, he could feel something familiar.
The presence of the Emperor.
It was not a voice.
It was not a sound.
But Gaius could feel it clearly.
A quiet warmth.
Because of that presence, Gaius was certain of one thing.
The Emperor knew exactly what was happening.
If The Oath of Rectitude had not left the Warp yet, it was not an accident.
It was intentional.
Still, Gaius could not understand the reason.
He remained silent for a moment, staring at the swirling Warp outside the viewing screens.
Finally, he decided to ask directly.
Gaius left the bridge and walked through the corridors of the ship.
The crew stepped aside respectfully as he passed.
Eventually he reached his private chamber.
The room was simple compared to the vast halls of the Imperial Palace. A desk stood near one wall, along with a few chairs and several storage containers for equipment and documents.
It was quiet here.
Perfect for thinking.
Gaius sat down and closed his eyes for a moment.
Then he spoke softly.
Not aloud to the room, but inwardly.
He directed the thought toward the presence he could feel within himself.
"Emperor," he said silently.
"Why have we not left the Warp?"
For several seconds, there was nothing.
Then the answer came.
It was not loud.
It was not dramatic.
But the message was clear.
"You will be needed elsewhere. Before that, you will not leave."
Gaius slowly opened his eyes.
The answer was simple.
But it raised more questions.
"You will be needed elsewhere."
Gaius repeated the sentence in his mind.
Elsewhere?
Where?
His first thought was Terra.
Perhaps something had happened on the Throne World.
But that idea didn't make sense. He had just left Terra, if he had been needed there, the Emperor would have informed him before his departure.
He was currently inside the Warp aboard his strike cruiser. Even if Terra required his presence, he could not simply leave while the ship was traveling through the Warp.
So it had to be somewhere else.Gaius leaned back slightly in his chair as he continued thinking.
Then another idea slowly appeared in his mind.
The Multiversal Chat.
The system that connected him to people from other worlds.
Tony Stark.
Naruto.
Diana.
Saeko.
Mindy.
Tanya.
They all came from different universes.
And sometimes, the system issued missions that required members to help each other.
Gaius's eyes narrowed slightly.
Could it be…
"A mission?"
He had barely finished the thought when something appeared in front of him.
A familiar glowing panel appeared.
Words formed across its surface, visible only to him.
Mission Available
Mission: Help Iron Man
Objective 1: Protect New York
Objective 2: Kill Chitauri /?
Participants: 0 / 2 Accepted
Gaius stared at the panel for a moment.
Then he nodded slowly.
So that was it.
The Emperor had not delayed the ship without reason.
He had waited until this moment.
Until the mission appeared.
That meant one thing.
The Emperor already knew this mission would happen.
The Warp journey had been delayed intentionally.
So that Gaius would be ready when the mission appeared.
Gaius stood up from his chair.
"So this is where I am needed."
...
Far away in another universe, events were already unfolding.
Nick Fury stood inside a command room at a S.H.I.E.L.D facility.
His expression was serious.
Several agents stood nearby, waiting for orders.
The situation was bad.
Very bad.
An alien had appeared on Earth.
The alien called himself Loki.
And he claimed to be the Son of Odin.
During his arrival, Loki had attacked a S.H.I.E.L.D base.
Several agents had been killed.
Others had been taken under his control.
Two important people had been captured.
Dr. Erik Selvig.
And Clint Barton.
Hawkeye.
Fury clenched his fist slightly as he thought about the situation.
But the kidnappings were not the worst part.
The real problem was something else.
The Tesseract.
It had been stolen.
The Tesseract was not just an ordinary device.
It was a cube containing enormous power.
Possibly infinite energy.
Years ago, Howard Stark had studied it while working with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Now it was gone.
And Loki had taken it.
Fury stared at the information displayed on the screens.
"It seems," he muttered quietly,
"The Avengers Initiative will be initiated."
The Avengers Initiative had been Fury's idea for years.
It was a defense program.
Its purpose was simple.
Gather extraordinary individuals.
People with unique abilities.
People who could face threats that normal armies could not handle.
It had first been considered after the 1995 Kree–Skrull conflict and was inspired by Carol Danvers' callsign. The goal was to protect the world when normal military forces were not enough.
Then after Tony Stark revealed himself to the world as Iron Man the idea resurfaced.
That moment proved something important.
One person with advanced technology could change the balance of power.
Fury realized that if several people like that worked together, they could protect Earth from dangers that no military could stop alone.
So he began watching certain individuals.
Possible candidates.
Steve Rogers — Captain America.
Thor — Prince of Asgard.
Bruce Banner — the Hulk.
Natasha Romanoff — Black Widow.
Clint Barton — Hawkeye.
At first, the Avengers Initiative was just a plan.
Something Fury hoped he would never need.
But now…
Now the situation had changed.
Earth was facing an alien threat.
And the Tesseract had been stolen.
The plan could not remain just a plan anymore.
Agent Phil Coulson arrived at Stark Manor later that incident.
As his vehicle approached the property, he immediately noticed something strange.
The area around the mansion had changed.
A lot.
Tony Stark had purchased the surrounding land.
The perimeter was much larger now.
And scattered around the property were several large metallic structures.
One in particular caught Coulson's attention.
A massive square metal block.
Its surface was smooth and solid.
But there was no way to see what was inside it.
Coulson frowned slightly.
He had been monitoring Stark's activities for some time.
But even S.H.I.E.L.D did not know exactly what Tony had been building here.
As his car entered the perimeter, a small drone suddenly flew overhead.
It scanned him carefully.
After a moment, the drone moved away.
Coulson was recognized.
He was allowed to continue.
Still, the level of security surprised him.
"Tony's been busy," Coulson murmured.
Coulson stepped inside the mansion.
The interior looked mostly the same as before.
Before he could look around further, a familiar voice greeted him.
"Hey Coulson."
Tony Stark walked into the room casually.
"How have you been?" Tony said. "Why did you visit me? Did Fury do something?"
Coulson coughed lightly.
Tony's casual attitude toward Fury never changed.
"Tony," Coulson said seriously, "there is an emergency."
Tony walked over to the couch and sat down.
Coulson followed.
"What kind of emergency?" Tony asked.
Coulson answered immediately.
"An alien came to Earth."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"An alien?"
"He calls himself Loki," Coulson said. "Son of Odin."
Tony leaned back slightly, surprised. Thor's brother? After all, Thor was also a son of Odin.
"And?"
"He mind controlled several agents," Coulson continued. "Dr. Selvig… and Hawkeye."
Tony frowned.
But then he shook his head.
"If it was just kidnappings," he said calmly, "Fury wouldn't ask for help. He'd deal with it himself."
Coulson nodded.
"You're right."
Then he said the real problem.
"They took the Tesseract."
Tony's expression changed immediately.
He knew this, after all, he had previously ordered J.A.R.V.I.S. to quietly hack into S.H.I.E.L.D., gathering plenty of information about it.
"The cube?"
"Yes."
Coulson continued explaining, noticing that Tony had already mentioned the word "cube," revealing he knew of its existence. But Coulson didn't comment on it, after all, they needed Tony's help, and that problem would be left for Fury to handle.
"It contains enormous energy. Your father studied it years ago."
"And Loki used it to open a portal to come to Earth," Coulson said.
Tony's mind immediately connected the pieces.
"If he can open a portal…"
"He could bring something through it."
Coulson nodded.
"That's what we fear."
An alien invasion.
Tony sat silently for a moment.
Then he thought about something else.
The Multiversal Chat.
Usually when something big happened, the system issued a mission.
But nothing had appeared yet.
Was this crisis not serious enough?
Or maybe the invasion would not happen?
Just as he thought that, something appeared in front of him.
A glowing panel.
Only he could see it.
Mission Available
Mission: Help Iron Man
Objective 1: Protect New York
Objective 2: Kill Chitauri /?
Participants: 0 / 2 Accepted
Tony stared at the panel.
Then he smiled slightly.
So that was it.
Across from him, Coulson was watching quietly.
Tony had been silent for a long moment.
Coulson was beginning to worry.
Was Tony refusing to help?
Suddenly Tony stood up.
"Well," Tony said casually.
"Then let us depart immediately."
Coulson blinked.
"Wait… you're joining?"
Tony grinned.
"Looks like we've got work to do."
End of Chapter 189
~~~
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