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Phase 4: Changing world II
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Part 3
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The Triskelion
Theodore Roosevelt Island, US
Fury sat at the head of a horseshoe-shaped table and checked his note for the damn meeting. He was too busy trying to figure out which power block in his organization tried to fuck everyone by murdering Stark. Fury had other issues to deal with instead of today's political bullshit. However, he had no choice but to be here. One way or another, this meeting would change the world, not necessarily for the better.
In front of the table, dozens of people sat, chatting quietly. When they deigned to arrive, the table was reserved for the full SHIELD Oversight Council. The people already present were high-ranked government officials from NATO and US allies, alongside military advisors in the know.
The Council finally deigned to enter, bringing the conversations to a sudden stop. Fury sighed and stood up. He schooled his expression into a mask of indifference. At least one of the bastards calmly strutting towards the table had their fingers all over the Director's current troubles. He knew it for a fact. Tracking down which clique was responsible was proving fiendishly hard, and that was something Fury loathed.
Hawley and Rockwell walked beside each other, chatting like old friends. Pamela was unlikely to be the one who tried to off Stark. From what Fury could gather, her group approached Stark first. By all accounts, Stark quickly struck a good working relationship with them. Rockwell was probably the straightest arrow on the Council right now. On the face of it, that bunch had no reason to kill the former playboy.
Alexander and Malik came next. As far as Fury knew, they were gleeful at Stark's performance as of late, even before he changed in Afghanistan. The Jericho missiles were something SHIELD contracted for in large numbers. After Afghanistan, the only reason they would have Stark killed is if they believed him to be compromised. Neither man would tolerate such a high-profile threat to the US or the world at large. Sadly, this didn't exactly remove them from the suspect list. Fury harbored such worries, and if it came down to it, he would act on them if he had even a shred of proof.
Chao Yen and Ben Goldstein were next. As of late, Israel and China have pursued closer ties. Israel provided certain advanced technologies in exchange for better trade deals. Notably, the Chinese went out of the way to ensure everything going to Israel was of high quality. Then again, at least some of what one could see on the news about Chinese production defects and low-quality products was overblown. If anyone took it at face value, China's coasts would constantly be on fire due to incompetent idiots continuously fucking up in their industry.
The truth was simple – due to capitalism with Chinese characteristics in action, some of China's manufacturers happily cut corners to make more money and damn the consequences. They were far from unique on that front.
Israel was the only country in the region that could buy Stark weapons. Fury was pretty sure that China got some samples that way. From what he could gather, the Chinese were more than content to get Stark's weapons that way for the foreseeable future. Knowing that much of their saber-rattling was to help pad up the military budgets of rivals in response helped in that regard. That was especially true when those stunts directly increased SHIELD's funding. For now, at least, China was going for economic dominance. That was the only angle that might give them a motive to go after Stark. However, SI would have been the better and more logical target. Despite being the majority shareholder, Stark didn't run his own company. He had never done it.
On the face of it, Israel had no such motive.
This, of course, meant they were less likely to use their factions within SHIELD. And Fury knew that someone in SHIELD was involved because three of the commandos Romanoff and company took out were SHIELD Agents.
Fury's primary issue was that, as far as he knew, they were loyal and not part of any of the factions he was aware of. SHIELD was a vast organization, and besides national ties, most of its agents were loyal to its ideals.
Most but not all. Never all. Fury knew better than ever to think that was possible!
Jakuna Sign and Douglas Brand walked next, letting a bit of a gap between them and the previous two Councilors. That was a pointed reminder of the latest clash between China and India over that useless piece of the Himalayans they had as a border. It wasn't like anyone could sustain an invasion through that corridor.
As the representative of Australia and New Zealand, Brand did his best to at least in public distance himself from their Chinese colleague.
Neither country nor their factions had any reason to go after Stark.
Gabriel Monet from France and Aurora Stefano from Italy were the next couple. The reason there had nothing to do with politics. Monet has been trying to get into Stefano's pants for as long as those two were on the Council. Italy and France had a profitable relationship with SI and wanted more business with Stark. The only angle there was local companies aiming at SI through Stark to protect their market shares.
Sadly, people got killed over less. Because of that, if nothing else, Fury couldn't exclude those two from his list of suspects.
The last three Councilors entered together. Daphne von Holstein, the German representative, did her best to keep the peace between John Hei from South Korea and their Japanese colleague – Hinata Akira. One of Japan's ministers managed to put his foot in his mouth not a week ago. That once again mucked up the sore topic of the Imperial Japanese Army rampages in Korea.
Those two had to be seen at each other's throats for appearance's sake, if nothing else. Of course, solving that issue couldn't be as simple as the Japanese properly apologizing. Every such attempt so far practically required a member of the Japanese government to publicly fuck it up. That has been ongoing for decades now. If Fury didn't know better, he would be investigating a conspiracy.
The reason was simpler—good old-fashioned dumb pride and nationalism.
Both countries bought a lot of Stark weapons and wanted more, especially Korea.
Then there was Germany. The country was one of the largest weapon exporters in Europe, and some of its companies were in direct competition with Stark Industries. While unlikely, there was always the possibility someone had persuaded von Holstein to do something stupid. She was a new face on the Council. While she was extensively vetted, Fury wasn't sure about her character and the full extent of her connection with Germany's business circles.
The last Councilors sat down, and agents sealed the conference room. The lights subtly shifted, indicating that all available counter-measures were now in effect.
"Good, now we're all here." Fury leaned forward and put his hands on the table. "Most of you should have received at least an outline of the situation in the briefing that brought you here today. I will nevertheless summarize the important points to ensure we're all on the same page," The Director took charge of the meeting. "Little over four months ago, Anthony Stark got himself abducted by a Ten Ring's terrorist cell in Afghanistan. While in captivity, he encountered an alien artifact, and the US military later recovered. Stark claims the artifact contained a memory engram of an alien soldier and officer. Examination of the device confirms its alien origin. Our best scientists aren't sure about its purpose. However, the device does contain a crystal matrix, which might have been a crystal-based computer and data storage device. This gives credence to Stark's claims."
Fury struggled not to roll his eyes at the surprised, excited murmurs that engulfed the room.
"Investigations, interviews, and analysis conducted after Stark's escape from captivity offer a few plausible explanations. First, and currently deemed unlikely, exposure to the device sent Stark over the edge. That would be a simple explanation." Fury carefully smiled. "We are unlikely to be that lucky or unlucky as that might be the case. Option two is that the device overwrote Stark's mind. We're instead dealing with an alien entity that wears his body as a sock-puppet. While possible and something to keep in mind, our best psychologists and analysts agree that this is unlikely to be the case."
The murmurs increased in volume and got progressively louder. The odd exclamation by some witless bastards who likely didn't bother going through their briefings was particularly lould. It was fucking sloppy.
"We shouldn't necessarily apply human motivations to alien intelligence. However, actions and interactions with Stark point out that if he tries to be an alien infiltrator, he is terrible at the job. There were multiple incidents when not revealing anything about his changed status would have been the pragmatic thing to do. This leads us to the third option, which is in line with and closest to what Stark claims. The device imprinted the memories of an alien soldier and general into Stark's brain. Analysis of his interactions after escaping captivity suggests we're looking at a new personality for Stark. It is a melt between the alien entity and Stark's memories, shaped by both their experiences. Needless to say, if true, that's the best option for us. It's a game changer and too good to be true." Fury glowered. "I don't trust such good luck. However, various analytics made good points. Because of all available evidence and the best information we have, I recommend we proceed with cautious optimism." The Director bit off.
"For those who haven't had enough time to think through our situation and its implications, I'll state it bluntly and clearly." Alexander took over. "We know for a fact that advanced alien civilizations exist in our galaxy. We know they're aware of us and have hostile intentions. In the mid-nineties, SHIELD managed to prevent a subversion operation executed by the alien species known as the Skrull. They're reptilian shapeshifters, which makes them an extreme subversive threat. We know they're at war with imperial alien power, the Kree Empire. In nineteen eighty-nine, a Kree covert operation attempted to retrieve a critical asset on US soil, proving them hostile."
"Don't mince words, not now, Alexander." Fury scoffed. "Let me spell it to you all. Hostile aliens are real, and we're hilariously outgunned and outmatched. Until now, the most optimistic scenario in case of an invasion was grim. We would expend Earth's combined military forces in a desperate bid to earn conditional surrender if at all possible. The odds of doing so against an enemy holding the orbitals would be low and only if they felt nice enough not to conduct indiscriminate bombardment."
"I wouldn't put it in those precise words, but that was and is the case. SHIELD's primary purpose is to combat alien subversion attempts and covert operations. We lack the technology and industry to resist a dedicated invasion attempt." Pierce grimaced at the admission.
"Tony Stark, or whoever he really is now, just changed the paradigm," Hawley announced. "You can open your sealed folders. They briefly summarize what Stark claims he can offer Earth."
The commotion that followed ensured there would be a brief recess. Fury leaned back into his chair and spent the next few minutes examining the Councilors, wondering whose head he needed on a silver platter.
The noise level kept increasing as people began to get the implications of Stark's latest stunt. Fury gave them a few more minutes to get it out of their system and slammed his palms on the table.
"That's enough!" His exclamation earned him more than a few long-suffered looks from the Council and a knowing smirk from Alexander. "We have decisions to make. Do we accept what Stark offers us? If so, how do we go about…." Fury paused briefly, "uplifting Earth to better resist alien incursions. Please make no mistake, we are looking at a potential game-changer! If Stark can deliver, and if we can buy enough time, we're looking at the best shot we have at ensuring humanity's independence and future! Is this a good plan? No. It is still the only viable option we have." It pained Fury to admit that openly, but he did his God-damned job anyway.
The following discussion was heated. If they were to do this right, it would require fast-paced changes that would make the incredible advantaces of the past century and change pale in comparison. The world order as they knew it was also about to change irrevocably. No one with two brain cells to rub together had any illusions about the consequences. There would be upheavals. Countries might shatter in the process. Others might go to war while still having a theoretical chance to win. It was going to be a mess of unfathomable proportions.
There was a simple truth that was above all of that. SHIELD's very existence was proof of that.
The alternative was simply worse. Otherwise, no one would have allowed an organization with the reach and power of SHIELD to exist, even if it was an imperfect, divided compromise.
Slowly but surely, the discussion shifted from trusting Stark to live up to his lofty promises. Then it stalled on the question if pursuing an uplift strategy was worth it. Finally, people focused on figuring out how to better guide and implement such an effort.
Fury wasn't surprised that, beyond everything else, most people focused on the distribution and production of advanced military technology. They agreed that Stark was right in one regard, if nothing else. Access to plentiful cheap energy would be the vital foundation for everything else. The details would have to be ironed out over the coming months. At least in principle, there was no disagreement about backing the rapid-pace spread of commercial fusion the moment it became viable.
"Training cadres and quick reaction forces first!" Fury snapped at the bickering. Somehow, he kept a sneer from his face. "We won't have the industry to rearm our armies worldwide in short order with advanced weaponry. Focus on building training cadres to figure out how to best utilize the new equipment and train people with it first. Second, equip and train quick reaction forces to better deal with small-scale alien incursions and enhanced threats. Third, Special Forces. Then gradual distribution among regular combat forces. This goes for everything – from infantry-scale equipment to tanks, fighters, and bombers. We should focus first on global reach and have Stark and other scientists and engineers work on fast-armed transport aircraft. Such vehicles will allow us to deliver strike teams with the best equipment available to hotspots worldwide as fast as possible."
It was never as easy as giving a sensible option and people accepting it. An endless back and forth followed until everyone got a sullen agreement that SHIELD would get the best toys first. That way, SHIELD could protect all its supporting members better. Through SHIELD, everyone would get access to the new technologies, if not the ability to put them into production immediately.
Of course, no one said aloud what one of the bigger stumbling blocks would be – soon, all the people present would have to break the news to their governments and get them on board. Meanwhile, Fury would have to figure out a good way to keep an eye on Stark and get counter-measures in place if he ever turned hostile. Perhaps find a way to bind him to Earth better as well.