Marvel: Empire of Power-Chapter 113 - 112: Skrull Shadows, Kree Fury, and Earth’s Gambit

The aftermath of "Operation Starfall Gambit" was a period of agonizing, high-stakes waiting for Elias Thorne. The Nightfall, having made its daring FTL micro-jump, was now lurking in the Kuiper Belt, its advanced cloaking systems (a hybrid of O'Malley's ingenuity, salvaged Kree tech, and Finch's subtle necrotic energy dampening) pushed to their limits, observing Kree fleet movements and awaiting any sign of a Skrull response. Logan, Miller, Nox, and Elena Scythe were on high alert, the confines of the scout ship amplifying their already potent, coiled energies.

On Earth, the Kree energy net remained a shimmering, oppressive cage. Global communications were still heavily disrupted, though Elias's own System-shielded, quantum-entangled network remained operational, allowing him to coordinate his terrestrial assets. Thomas MacIntyre and his Adamantium Guard Legionnaires (both True and Alpha Legion Hybrid squads) maintained a vigilant defense of key Blackwood facilities and Elias's Montreal Sanctum. Anya Petrova and Bucky "Wraith" Barnes monitored S.H.I.E.L.D.'s increasingly frantic attempts to understand and counter the Kree blockade, subtly feeding them misleading information or "leaking" outdated Kree technical specs (provided by Elias) to send them down unproductive research paths, thus ensuring Elias remained several steps ahead in understanding the true Kree threat.

Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel, was a force of contained fury at Project Pegasus. S.H.I.E.L.D. (primarily Peggy Carter and Nick Fury) were trying to convince her to be their primary offensive weapon against the Kree ships in orbit, but Danvers, now deeply suspicious of their motives and fueled by the fragments of truth about her Kree past that Anya had provided, resisted being an unthinking weapon. She was demanding answers, autonomy, a true understanding of who and what she was before unleashing her full cosmic power. This internal S.H.I.E.L.D. standoff was a small but useful delay for Elias.

Namor, his Atlantean forces on high alert, patrolled the deep oceans, a silent, formidable guardian against any submerged Kree probes or landing attempts. His hydro-acoustic senses provided Elias with invaluable early warnings of Kree activity near Earth's continental shelves. Their alliance, forged in shared existential threat, was proving to be Earth's most effective (and unseen) naval defense.

Then, after seven agonizing days of silence, O'Malley's long-range sensors aboard the Nightfall detected a subtle distortion in spacetime, not of Kree origin. Several cloaked, irregularly shaped vessels, their energy signatures utterly alien, emerged from FTL just beyond Mars' orbit, heading towards Earth on an intercept course with the Kree vanguard fleet.

[SKRULL RESPONSE DETECTED! MULTIPLE CLOAKED WARSHIPS (ESTIMATED 3 HEAVY CRUISERS, 7 ASSAULT FRIGATES – SHAPESHIFTING HULL CONFIGURATIONS) ON APPROACH. PRIMARY TARGET: KREE BLOCKADE FLEET. INTENT: HOSTILE (TO KREE). POTENTIAL INTENT TOWARDS EARTH: UNKNOWN/OPPORTUNISTIC.]

Elias's audacious gambit had paid off. The Skrulls had taken the bait.

The ensuing battle in high Earth orbit was a spectacle of alien warfare that would have shattered the sanity of any unprepared terrestrial observer. The Kree cruisers, alerted to the Skrull approach by their own sensor net (which the Skrulls, with their superior cloaking and infiltration tech, had managed to partially bypass), met the attackers head-on. Lances of Kree plasma fire crisscrossed with streaks of emerald Skrull disruptor energy. Smaller Kree Birds-of-Prey engaged agile Skrull fighters that seemed to shimmer and change shape even amidst the void of space. Explosions blossomed silently, showering Earth's upper atmosphere with incandescent debris.

Elias, Nox (whose symbiotic senses provided a terrifyingly intimate view of the battle), Logan, Miller, Elena, and O'Malley watched from the Nightfall, cloaked and positioned at a "safe" observation distance, just outside the main engagement sphere. This was exactly what Elias had hoped for: two galactic empires tearing each other apart in Earth's backyard.

"Damn lizards are slipperier than greased snot," Logan grunted, his claws itching, as a Skrull frigate seemingly phased through a Kree plasma volley.

Nox added, his voice a calm telepathic resonance, "Their energy shielding is adaptive, Creator. It morphs its resonant frequency in response to Kree weaponry. Crude, but effective in prolonging engagement. Their primary advantage is surprise and unconventional tactics. The Kree rely on overwhelming firepower and rigid formations."

"This is our opportunity," Elias said, his mind racing. "While they're engaged, their attention is divided. O'Malley, can you get us closer to one of those disabled Kree frigates? Or perhaps a Skrull vessel that takes heavy damage? We need more salvage, more prisoners, more Shards."

The [Prime Essence Shard Reserve] was his constant obsession. He had [2.8] from the Martian gambit and some minor global harvests. The battle raging above Earth was a potential goldmine.

As if on cue, a Kree Bird-of-Prey, its engines crippled by a coordinated Skrull fighter attack, began a desperate, uncontrolled descent towards Earth's atmosphere, trailing smoke and alien debris. It was heading for a sparsely populated region of the Siberian wilderness. Simultaneously, a Skrull assault frigate, caught in the crossfire between two Kree cruisers, exploded spectacularly, but not before jettisoning several escape pods, also heading towards Siberia.

"Targets of opportunity," Elias declared. "O'Malley, plot an intercept course for those escape pods and the Kree frigate's projected impact zone. Logan, Miller, Elena, prepare for terrestrial recovery. Nox, you remain with the Nightfall, provide orbital fire support if necessary, and continue to analyze Kree/Skrull combat tactics. This is a harvest."

The Nightfall, using its superior speed and cloaking, easily outmaneuvered the chaotic orbital battle and positioned itself for a high-speed atmospheric descent into Siberia. Meanwhile, Elias remotely activated another asset: Bucky "Wraith" Barnes. Barnes, his "Project White Wolf" reintegration nearing completion, was stationed at a Blackwood "meteorological research" outpost in remote Alaska, a facility specifically chosen for its proximity to potential Arctic/Siberian conflict zones. His mission: make his way to the Skrull escape pod locations, secure any survivors or technology, and avoid detection by both Kree and Soviet forces (who would undoubtedly be scrambling to investigate the celestial fireworks). This would be Wraith's first solo field test as Elias's operative.

[WRAITH (BARNES, J.B.) – DEPLOYED (SIBERIA – SKRULL ASSET RECOVERY). OBJECTIVE: SECURE/NEUTRALIZE SKRULL SURVIVORS, ACQUIRE TECHNOLOGY. AVOID SOVIET/KREE DETECTION.]

The battle for Earth's orbit raged for another twelve hours. The Kree, with their superior numbers and heavier firepower in this initial vanguard, eventually began to gain the upper hand. Two Skrull heavy cruisers were crippled, their cloaking devices failing, and were forced to make emergency FTL jumps, heavily damaged. The remaining Skrull forces, having inflicted significant casualties on the Kree frigates and proven Earth was not an undefended prize, executed a coordinated, phased withdrawal, vanishing back into the void as silently as they had arrived.

The Kree vanguard fleet was battered but victorious. Their energy net around Earth was still largely intact, though weakened in several sectors. One of their light cruisers, the "Vengeful Sun" (which Elias's orbital platforms had previously damaged), was showing signs of critical system failures. The Kree had won the first round in space, but at a cost. And they now knew Earth was not only inhabited by primitives, but also courted by their ancient enemies, the Skrulls, and defended by unknown, potent forces.

Admiral Varr-Gohl, the grim Kree commander of the vanguard fleet, aboard his flagship Blue Retribution, reportedly transmitted a single, encrypted message back to Hala, the Kree homeworld: "Target designation 'Terra.' Primitive but exhibiting unexpected resistance and attracting Skrull attention. Recommend planetary quarantine upgrade to 'Priority Subjugation Protocol Alpha.' Awaiting Accuser Corps reinforcement."

Elias Thorne received this intercepted (and partially decoded by Finch/System) Kree communique with cold satisfaction. He had broken their initial containment strategy, forced their hand, and drawn their galactic rivals into Earth's sphere. The game had escalated precisely as he had intended.

Now, his ground teams in Siberia were closing in on downed alien technology and potential prisoners. Logan, Miller, Elena, and Wraith were about to become Earth's first, secret "alien salvage and recovery" specialists. The Shard harvest was about to begin in earnest. And the Kree Empire, now alerted and enraged, would undoubtedly be sending a far more formidable force. Earth's shadow war was about to become a true interstellar conflict, and Elias Thorne, armed with the spoils of this first cosmic battle, was preparing to meet it. The price of admission to the galactic stage was high, but for Elias, the rewards were just beginning.

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