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There's a clear bit of shore where the waves roll up and wash away with the ebbing tide, leaving a wide strip of damp packed sand before the lighter band and then the grassy edge beyond. Somewhere along that more dry strip of sand there has been set up several blankets, some coolers, and clam bake. Hot coals steam up from beneath layers of seaweed and then a layer of clams and mussels in their shells, corn on the cob, and other deliciously steamed bits. It's a gathering, for those who know one another, those recently met, to come together, and talk, and enjoy the warmth of the waning summer before fall begins to approach.
Triton was marching out of the water with a bucket bringing more shellfish up. Seriously, no one tell Namor he's doing this. He will never hear the end of it. His gear was left in a pile on a towel to be reassembled hence, but here he was, temporarily speaking, with a face. One pair of eyelids blinked just before the other adjusting to the air again, gills flaring for a moment before tightening back down against his neck. He sighed and said much less modulated, "Man, clams are stupid. I'm sorry to Namor and all but clams are dumb as rocks. This hopefully will be good for a bit."
Settled near to the gathering, Nexus Oculai sits cross-legged, with shorts and a button up short-sleeve shirt that he hasn't bothered to button up. Local fashion. For the moment, his eyes are closed and his mind is distant. The circuits laid into his skin glow with a silver-white light, though not brightly: only enough that they stand out. His eyes open when Triton speaks, and he looks at the man for a long moment. In his eyes the circuits are most pronounced, glowing silver even when the rest settle to dark silver lines after he releases his hold on the far away machines. "I'm not familiar with this Namor fellow, but he would object to…shellfish? My understanding is they are… simple things." T
Chloe walks along the shore in her sunny summer dress, barefoot. Her long hair stirs in the breeze. On her arm is a tiny merlin falcon. Seriously, it's only about the size of a pigeon, but it's got a fierceness about it. It looks around, glaring at all it surveys. She murmurs to it, and it responds in a series of cries that sounds like the priming of a rusty pump. Chloe laughs and raises his wrist. The merlin takes wing, divebombing a seagull before rising into the air. Chloe alters her course to approach the others.
"I doubt anyone is terribly concerned about clams," Crystal smiles ruefully to Triton. "I met him once. He wasn't terribly upset about the tentacled thing we dismantled in the subway. I imagine it's quite all right." She sits near the fire, idly keeping tabs on the heat and making adjustments here and there when hot spots crop up. In light blue pedal pushers with a cropped white top and a wide-brimmed straw hat, she looks every part the late summer beachgoer, knees pulled up toward her chest.
Cook? Scarlett is competent at that, particularly upon the finer points of proper late summer and early autumn cuisine. Berry pie, apple tarts, bottled cider in a slush of ice. Add medallions of fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, and basil for those so inclined for an Italian appetizer, and they're hidden under a dish. The daydreamy hours of waning summer beckon for sun-worshipper, but her broad-brimmed hat and diaphanous dress are more covered up than any other reveler might be given to. Blame it on the flaming braids streaked with snow, the fair skin, rather than being a bit more of a living weapon. In arms, a basket of strawberries, the last of the season, are probably meant to go with whatever gifts of the deep are provided. "Namor?" Her expression changes marginally, a flicker of amusement showing there. "Does he not object to everything? He has few issues expressing himself, to be certain."
Nick came early to help Triton set up the clam bake and drag out the coolers. He helped get the stones heated up, layer on the seaweed, and cover the whole thing over with the wet potato sacks to keep the steam in. Now he crouches by the food, lifting up a corner to help Triton pile in the last of what he'd most recently gathered. "Here," he says, "Those can go in this end right here." His sandals are left over by one of the blankets and so he goes barefoot with a pair of plain beige swim trunks with a bit of white edging on them. He glances over at Chloe as she approaches with her bird and studies the bird for a few moments curiously. Straightening up agian, he says, "Shouldn't be too much longer before everything's ready."
Triton widened a grin to Crystal with a distinctly amused expression, "Oh I never said I was worried. And yes, he does. I'm used to," He paused for a patient, and most judicious moment with a hint of a grin, "People with strong personalities." Understatement of the year #43. Few by few the clams got tossed in. "Nick, I do appreciate the help on set up." Though Nick's attention turned elsewhere and ah, a large webby hand waved to Chloe in greeting. "That, my friends, is Chloe. Prodigal. Good fortune of ours to have her return to us a couple days ago." People were comfy and no one was being fired upon and for a moment it was jut good to be back with his own people. "Nexus you get the pylon fixed back up yet? I saw what you did to it. Very impressive, friend."
Nexus inclines his head to Chloe, "I am Nexus Oculai; welcome home." Not that they're quite home at the moment, so he might just mean it figuratively. He inclines his head to Triton, the circuits on his skin lighting up again as he tilts his head and reaches out to the Core. "The pylon is currently repaired and operating to specification. Otherwise I'd likely be there working on it." He's amused a moment, "I used to write matricies and now I'm a glorified repair man." He's more then that, but still.
Chloe smiles at Triton, and she lowers her gaze modestly as she says, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Nexus Oculai, and all of you." The merlin flies overhead, turning and wheeling on the currents of the air. Eventually, it comes to land on a pylon, chest puffed up as it surveys the beach. Such fierceness in such a tiny package. Chloe comes to sit on one of the blankets spread out, her skirt fanning around her. "My memory is still coming back to me, but it's good to be home."
"I found him perfectly agreeable," Crystal waves a hand to Scarlett. Then again, Crystal isn't the most critical judge of character, given the various people she's chosen to spend her time with. She's willing to put up with Magneto, after all. At Triton's comment, she twitches a finger, sending a squirt of water from the shore down his back with a smirk. "Welcome, Chloe," she adds warmly to the new arrival.
Scarlett tips her head back, the shadow withdrawing up her face in a veil of twilight. Features smoothed out under a sunny expression carry a smile well. Offering nods in the direction of Triton, Chloe, and Nick, as the primary strangers to her, she stoops to place the basket of strawberries upon a heaped mound of sand. There, let them bask in the sun, ruby jewels ready to be plucked by every sandpiper and dry pair of fingers about. Hard not to suppress a sympathetic nod and the vaguest of shadows darkening her eyes at the talk of memory coming back. "Well met. Chloe or Prodigal, which do you prefer? And you too." That, to Nick. As she straightens, her hands slip to parallel her tailbone, easing whatever minor tensions afflict the muscles there. "I'm Scarlett. Friend of the family." Given a pause, she adds, "Blackagar is my better half." That altogether cements what they probably need to know, for the most part. She conceals a laugh behind her hand. "Namor I would take for friend, the sort who keeps life interesting in the Chinese sense."
"Welcome," Nick says to Chloe and then says, "I'm Nick, nice to meet.. well, most of you." Since Triton is the only one present who he has met before, and it's unlikely that any of them knew who he was in Attilan. He was an artist and an architect of some skill, but not necessarily well known. He grins over to Triton and says, "No problem. Was my pleasure. I'm not much of a cook but heating rocks, that I can manage." He then heads over to one of the coolers and asks those recently arrived, "Something to drink?"
Triton cracked a wider grin at Crystal's defense of cranky people the world over. Still, he seemed to have zero ill feelings against his friend and general travel companion. To Rogue he had an apologetic look, "I meant prodigal as in lost and found, not nomenclature. "Interesting's one word for our trips anyways. Your'e not wrong." He paused and Aaah'd knowingly, "You have been mentioned. Pleasure to finally meet you." He paused and had so many questions for Crystal and Scarlett right now, but opted to keep discussion of his cousin's well-being unasked about. The curiosity was there. The last of the clams went in and noted to Chloe with some entertainment to himself, "See I told you I had a face. Also those large energy things you saw? His project. And, Nexus look at it this way, if you didn't build them so well to last you'd still be building and not just repairing. You're just too good at what you do." He was not without humor, or at least the will to try to fix a frustration.
Nexus regards Nick for a moment, tilting his head; he is not familiar with the man so he closes his mind and touches that part of him that will always be joined with the Attilan Core. It's a quick scan of the database, nothing deep. But he opens his eyes then and nods to Nick, "Do you prefer Nick over Nickandros?" he wonders, "I wonder, can you make complex machines— technology?" He seems genuinely curious. Perhaps for obvious reasons: since that he is a technopath is known. He grins at Triton a long moment, "Oh, I can't take credit for *making* anything, not really, Triton. I… control. I make things work better. I…" He pauses, frowning, "The Core is receiving a broadcast— one of the ancient Kree relays has gone online. In, I believe, Guatemala." He frowns, "It is receiving a response from space to previous message. From whatever it is XORRAR is." His tone? Defines grave.
Crystal tilts her head faintly to Triton's curious look, a tacit promise of later. Though she has her own questions, and her own complicated place in things, given the situation. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Nick," she dips her chin with an easy smile. "I'm Crystal." No 'Princess' from her. Any further introductions, though, may have to wait. She straightens up at Nexus' notice, brows furrowing. "Nothing good, I'm certain, if it's headed here."
Chloe nods to Triton, then tells Scarlett, "I go by Chloe here. In the hell dimension, I went by Wylde. I'm not sure what my given name is." She offers an apologetic smile. On the pylon, the merlin continues to perch. Perch and survey. "And that is Morganna," she says, pointing to the bird. "She's my friend. I'm sorry, but she's not very social." She looks around at those gathered, each in turn. "Nexus Oculai, Crystal, Nick, Scarlett, and I know Triton. All right, got it."
Good times on a sandy beach. Scarlett doesn't help herself to anything to eat immediately, although she dips her chin in a nod to Nick. "Whatever happens to be cold would be lovely." The merlyn's perch she takes note of, the hawkish stares it delivers warranting a smile. "Making and fixing machines are two separate skill sets, aren't they?" She flicks one of her braids off her shoulder, the weight snatching up the complex array that weaves down her back. "Another of those interruptions? They were ghastly the other day, every corner of Greenwich Village practically shrilling from the televisions and radios. I hope we aren't being bombarded again." Gaze traveling away from the group, she instinctively turns back towards the land. And if she happens to be on her tiptoes, think nothing of it.
"Nick is the name I use here, and it's always been a nickname, so it's easy enough to remember," Nick says to Nexus when asked about his name. "Provided that I have the material to do so, I can take component parts or materials and combine or alter them to meld them into a new form, including machines," he confirms to Nexus. He grins over at Chloe and asks "Does she like seafood?" Then Nexus mentions the transmission and he falls silent, frowning slightly. That doesn't sound like good news. He does, however, reach into the cooler and grab a couple of drinks. One for himself, one for Rogue, and one for whoever else seemed to indicate that they were interested, handing them out.
Triton conceeded, "Yes, but someone has to configure them. Look it is the best I have to work with here." There was a laugh and while the clams baked he wandered back into the water to dip under for a moment. He was happy to be without his gear if he could, but didn't seem to go very long without return trips. When he popped his head back above water Triton swiveled all of his attention to Nexus. His skin shifted from a jade green to a light olive for a moment and then mottled between the two. His general expression of good nature looked grim for a moment. "Nexus, can you get message back? That's not Guatamala. That's where I just returned from. I can relay you coordinates if they are needed. Tell them check Hainan Island, South West side. Just off North Vietnam. 19.5664* N, 109.9497* E." His jaw set and he took a deep breath. "My sister… Gorgon… they will need this information too. There's a strange project there. Trying to follow a prophecy." He paused and said offhandedly, "Because that always goes over well, right?"
"That could be useful." murmurs the technopath to Nick, but this transmission has him… well, Nexus' expression darkens even more, lifting a hand up to touch his temple, as the lines of circuitry on his skin becomes more pronounced, "Someone, from space, is interfacing with Kree equipment on this planet." He looks pained, "And they are arriving in 'four solar cycles'. I do believe the Kree are intending to land in Toliman, Guatemala. I believe the facility there, if I am interpreting this correctly, is one of the facilities where they experimented on…us. Created us." This is said more to Chloe, as she was not raised with Attilan's education. "It is reporting biological containment systems online, and it is scanning for lifeforms around the facility."
Crystal gives the clams on the fire a long, longing look. So close. And yet so far. "That is not good news for any of us, I'm afraid," she says quietly to Nexus, brushing her hands off. "And allies with the ability to resist a space invasion here are…very slim. Obviously the planet isn't prepared, given their response to Asgard, even. I can reach out to former members of ACT-F, but if the Kree are truly returning, we are going to have a serious problem."
|ROLL| Rogue +rolls 1d20 for: 9
|ROLL| Nick +rolls 1d20 for: 4
Chloe regards Triton for a moment, then decides, belatedly, "It's a nice face. I like it." Her levity dims though as she listens to Nexus. "That sounds almost familiar. But this isn't good, is it." She glances around at the others, gauging their reactions. Mention of Asgard draws a blank from her, but she takes the information in good faith. It surely means something.
"Thank you." This, for Nick's kindness, may be accompanied by a clink of a bottle caught in cold fingers. The redhead is careful not to touch him, only the glass neck manipulated with such care. "Your companion is lovely too. Does she hunt well so close to the city? I assume raptors do now and then, though they aren't common," says Scarlett. It's levity in the place of serious regard, and those darkening emerald eyes hold all the weight of consideration. Dog-earing the situation mentally, she lapses silent in the interchange between Nexus and Crystal, peppered by comments from the other Inhumans. No hint of surprise shows on the bohemienne's face. "Is it an invasion, though? Their last brush was hostile. Given I was at ground zero for part of it. But suppose they can be reasoned with?" A pause. "Or we deal with them outside of Earth. There was that ship. Pity we don't still have that nice young man with one. Noh'Varr. Or the other one."
Nick gives a nod to Rogue when she takes the bottle and then he heads back over toward the food, listening to the conersation going on around him with interest as he starts to pull things out of the pit and into buckets from which they can be shoveled onto plates. "There's a ship?" he asks. This isn't something he knows much about. So while he listens, he works on setting the buckets of food out as well as buckets for shells and things to get dumped into when they are finished.
Triton looked to Nexus and he was…patient. Nexus might still be downloading data recall. "Nexus. Tell them they are wrong on Guatamala. I know where they're headed, I know where it is. It's not Guatamala. It's 19.5664* N, 109.9497* E. South China Sea. Nexus," He paused and waited to see if he was tuned back, "can you relay intel back?" A webbed hand rubbed his scaled face which paused to spare Chloe a smile for the compliment. "Nexus, I'm telling you, it's not Guatamala. This was the souting mission I was away on. Guatamala is a ruse. If they are finding lifeforms this has potential to be… eh bad. We're gonna just start with bad and adjust from there."
Nexus looks to Triton, nodding, "I've included the location you're indicating on a side-channel; as it is I'm simply receiving what is being transmitted." He frowns. "It may or may not be an invasion, but Kree involvement in old sites they experimented on us… is not a good situation no matter what."
Chloe tell Scarlett, "Her prey of choice is pigeons. She does quite well in the city." The falcon is barely bigger than a pigeon, itself. In fact, there are probably pigeons bigger. Morganna don't care. Morganna does what she wants. On her perch, she fluffs her feathers, preens, then goes back to her vigil. Some of the smaller sea birds are eyed with interest. Meanwhile, Chloe purses her lips, then says, "Whatever must be done, I'd like to help. I can fight." Says the Disney princess in the pretty yellow sundress.
"And Toliman is Alpha Centauri," Crystal adds to Triton's explanation. "Although I suppose it could also be a place in Guatemala. People are not the best at making names exclusive here." She scrubs a hand over her face, pushing up from the sand to pace a few steps. "I'm not sure Noh-Varr would have been helpful. He was Kree, after all. I wouldn't be surprised if Maximus had a few projects in development based on the Kree ships Black Bolt destroyed years ago, though. Still, convincing them that they needed to meet with us would be the difficult part. Why meet with the king of your lab rats?"
"He was Kree, though he had a certain dislike. And his ship was rather friendly," Scarlett murmurs, thoughts still clouding over her features and turning bolts and cogs. "Should Maximus have something, then he may be able to prepare it. Assuming time is available. Everything seems to hinge upon preparations in a compressed period." Her tone fades out and then returns anew. "Convincing them something they left behind so long ago isn't exactly on par with lab rats might not hurt. Though again, these are wide-reaching decisions. You still have a tattered veil of anonymity and surrendering it for one has repercussions for everyone." Not so much herself. Her mouth presses together into a circle. "You are right, however. Kree coming to old sites probably bodes ill. It's not as though they forgot twenty centuries ago they left a crystal under the floorboards they really need now."
Well, Karnak can speak to the contrary but Karnak isn't here to do so.
Working with the food, Nick manages to get things set out and says, "Make sure to get some food," reminding everyone that there is stuff to eat as they talk. He grabs some, himself, making a plate of shellfish and potatoes and corn and then finding himself a corner of a blanket to sit on as they continue to discuss. "So, we really don't want them coming back at all, let alone in any kind of numbers. Any way we can find out what they're looking for and try to dissuade them?" He's shooting in the dark. "I'll do what I can to help."
A familiar sardonic voice answers Scarlett's comment, "Considering that the crystal in question enabled teleportation from one location to another one halfway across the world, I think this bodes very ill indeed." And there is Karnak, her voice unmistakable as she glances around. "My apologies for being late, I had to attend to some matters." What they are, she doesn't say, as she looks around at those assembled, nodding slightly.
Triton dipped his head in gratitude to Nexus. There seemed to be a genuine appreciation in the expression knowing receiving and transmitting signals while having a conversation cannot be a simple task. He crouched in the sand and looked up at he Merlin circling after the seagulls. Hmmm. He took the plate of clams and handed them out to those still sitting with Nick because why get up? He paused looking to Crystal, "I'm not a rat, I'm a fish." He double blinked with a wry grin. His awareness went from Crystal to Scarlett and back.
He added for Chloe and Nick's benefit, "I was sent away to explore a lead that we had about a place called Bach Long Vi, 'White Dragon's Tail'. Technically a part of Vietnam, which you can imagine right now is quickly becoming a hot zone. The legend says very long ago the gods put the dragon there to protect them against what has been presumed to be China. Really it makes for a good break wall for Chinese ships to navigate around and protect Vietnam from naval attack by direct path. Now on there the city of Ha Long, or 'Descending Dragon'. This is where the mother dragon reportedly, to legend, said she curled up to wait for her children to come home. The kicker to this story is we have been able to identify some nature of human activity going back to 16,000 BC. The children waiting to return? I have every feeling are indicating either us and the Kree home station there to be 'mother' as projects are born there or, it's a metaphor and the dragon children, the Kree leaving off world to return at a time hence forth."
Triton blinked both sets of eyelids to the too familiar sardonic tone of his sister's voice. "Karnak, I missed you. How did you know?" At least he was honest and didn't seem to expect a real answer n that. Instead he passed the plate of clams to her in welcome. "Karnak, This is Chloe, and Nick." Turning back to Chloe and nick he introduced, "My sister, Karnak." He thought much on teh story and thought about this in more detail. Quietly he offered, "There are many moving elements in that part of the world right now. If this is not handled properly, the investigations could set fire to another Human war."
Chloe takes the offered clams from Triton with a murmured, "Thank you." She takes a few extra, then waves one of them at the merlin. Who spots it and turns midflight to beeline for Chloe's shoulder. She cracks the clam shells and feeds the clammeats to the merlin, who gobbles them down greedily, casting a gimlet eye on the others gathered round. At the introduction, Chloe inclines her head to Karnak and says, Hello. Your brother has been quite kind to me, getting me situated after being away." She offers the bird another clam, which is eagerly accepted.
"Well. We could hope that being present there at their arrival would at least slow them down," Crystal grimaces. "Not my favorite solution, but if they think they've found us, then perhaps they won't look quite so hard for others. It's a final sacrifice of a play though, not something I'd necessarily wish to start with." She paces around the fire, the flames briefly flaring with her worry. "Numbers. How many can they bring to bear? At what cost will we no longer be worth the expense?"
Scarlett has yet to make much of her drink. That will change at the emergence of the absent Inhuman, heretofore lost in the background. A flash of a smile broadens in profile, and the bottle placed to her lips conceals the rest. Short-lived as that may be, the kindled warmth vanishes into a sobered state with revelation's cold water thrown over her proverbially. She settles onto the sand in a meditative pose, easily adopting a lotus position, feet tucked against her thighs and back straight. For someone used to performing yoga asanas on a daily basis, this is quite straightforward. "The air force bombed around there. A 'retaliatory strike' as they call it. Bombs are bombs." No interest in the clams as such, she won't turn them down if offered directly, but her attention clearly lies elsewhere. "How many Kree come, how badly do they loathe you? Are the old enmities so strong they are willing to pay a heavy price for it? I don't reckon anyone wants to go to Hala to sue for peace."
Karnak glances over at Scarlett, "Old memories die hard, particularly among the Kree. I doubt that, if their intent is to come after us, they will send no less than what they feel is necessary to finish the job." Karnak is such a happy person, really, though she looks mildly bemused as she regards Chloe and Triton, "Indeed, my brother is known for such. And how did I know?" She gives Triton a look, her expression looking rather amused, or at least as much as she ever gets as she says, simply, "I am Karnak."
Triton went to speak but there was the discussion of war, pending war, a Hail Mary sacrifice play, and such lovely things being said. Triton closed his mouth again and went to speak and, well he was not doing very well at not looking fish-like in all other regards of expression. But there was Karnak who got that look of amusement and he couldn't help but deadpan, webbed hand over his chest, "Sister, you have really taken everything I have ever taught you about humility and embraced it. My goodness I'm good at this." So the fishman did satire.
Still he was thoughtful. "It's dangerous right now but we could try to go back. I know Nick has some skills that could help us get past some of the stonework and natural defenses. Chloe could be invaluable on recon. The jungle is teaming with spies in her favor. It's a thought." He looked to Karnak though and relayed what she would want to know. "Kree come in four solar cycles. Presently probing for life. Broadcasts are being recorded by Nexus and in Attilan. I'll assume you are or will be aware. I found the location Ha Log. 20.843451* N, 107.0794164 *E which is the actual touchdown point. Also, nice coat." Scout report officially administered.
Chloe inclines her head to Karnak. "It's good to meet you," she says. She feeds the merlin another clam. Where the tiny creature is putting all the meat is a good question. After three, though, Chloe switches to feeding herself. She nods then to Triton agreeably. There's no hesitation; she's ready to do this. Her expression is grim, serious, despite the fact the merlin is now trying to preen her hair.
"We've hardly had contact with them in millennia," Crystal shakes her head. "Maximus aside." She winces, pressing a hand to her brow. "It sounds more and more like Maximus is the only one who might have more information to help us with this. That should be an…interesting conversation."
"There is so much at stake. Many directions that we could take all have uncertain outcomes. We can expect some hard decisions and hard days ahead; you'll come through nonetheless. Your people escaped their yoke before, under far worse circumstances. You stand with friends, too. Though hopefully it will not come to violence, deciding the right course won't be easy. I appreciate how difficult that is." Easy for a girl with whole personality constellations locked in to her skull to say, especially over a drink. The liquid spilled over her palate on the next sip offers what limited consolation the freshness and cool temperature can. Shutting her eyes blocks off the world long enough to listen, hearing the variations in Triton's voice from Karnak's and Chloe's, the melodies strung under words like connective tissue to imply feelings and impressions.
"If you're going off the coast, likely fewer spies. Unfortunately, solid maps for that area will be hard to come by. China and North Vietnam are hostile to us," murmurs the bohemienne, pointing her toes and flexing her heels periodically to keep them from falling asleep. "Is it possible to set up caches or supplies ahead of time? That gives you something to fall back on at the very least. Miss Chloe, are you much for boating, or not?"
Karnak glances over at Crystal, "Are there any other allies that you might know that would have additional contact with the Kree? Surely there might be more information we could gather from them?" She looks thoughtful, then adds, "Just because there are Kree incoming, doesn't necessarily mean they are coming for us. However, it is best to be cautious and presume such until we know for certain."
"I can help with some defenses," Nick agrees with Triton easily enough when his name is mentioned. He's been quiet, though, just listening to the others talk as he eats, paying close attention but also working through his food at the same time. He helped cook it all, he's sure not giong to let it go to waste. There's also a nod to Karnak when he is introduced. He looks over to Crystal then and says, "Perhaps we should talk to Maximus then, and see at least what he might know and be able to offer? I spoke with him not too long ago."
Triton tilted his head and weighed Crystal's summary with great judicious patience. "In the End Maximus has always been on the side of the people." He paused and got even more judicious adding, "How tends to vary." He did love his cousin, deeply. He just wanted to slap sense into him sometimes. Turns out as a diplomat one can't just do that. Alas. "Still, he could give us insight better on what this 'mother dragon' is doing or built TO do, and possible insight on what the Kree have in interest with it." He looked from his family to Nick and Chloe and back. "I can go on ahead and keep the path cleared." He tilted his head to Nick as he went back for round two on the clams. "Nick you good with swimming, hiking, and big big bugs?" A glance back to Rogue he nodded, "I have every faith she'll be an asset to you."
Chloe preens the merlin in return with her fingers, then murmurs to her, and the bird launches itself into the air again, not without a glower at everyone else, and she circles before divebombing a sea gull who complains loudly. Chloe watches the bird fondly. "I've nothing against boats," she says, "nor will I run from a fight if it comes to that." She perks up at the mention of big big bugs. Still eating, she goes through the clams with brisk, poiseless efficiency. Food, it goes in the mouth.
"I've any number of contacts," Crystal answers Karnak. "ACT-F, the Avengers, the X-Men, Asgard. I believe I still have SHIELD's number, but if I don't there are those among the Avengers who do. Whether or not any of them would have contact with or knowledge of the Kree, I'm less certain," she muses. "Throughout ACT-F, I was the main source of information on the Kree and the Skrulls, but there could simply be people who were…too close to the alien situation to wish to be involved in that organization."
The slightest of smiles tips Scarlett's lips for a moment, though she's particularly taken with a miserable gull getting what it deserves from an apex predator. "We all have varied lines in and out. I know a few people among the mystical set who might also further have information, though they are loathe as not to reveal their hands. In the end, though, we'll pull through."
Karnak frowns slightly, which does seem to be her default state, in all honesty, "I know a few with mystical connections, as well. Though I'm not certain what their utility would be in regards to the Kree. Still, it could be worth exploring all possibilities."
Nick nods to Triton and says, "I'm fine with swimming, hiking and large insects, I suppose. Sure." He doesn't seem to be balking at the idea, anyway. "How big is big?" This seems to be a necessary qualifier. "I also have nothing against boats. I don't really have any contacts though. I've only recently arrived in New York and aside from Maximus, all of our people outside of Attilan are those gathered here."
Triton waded back to the water for a bit a little ways out. Sometimes it was nice to have impeccable hearing for life's little inconveniences. He sat chin deep in the water for a while with a thoughtful expression. Finally he said, "The… Atlanteans are not the only submerged city, just the largest and most well known. There are other communities in the west Pacific I can see about reaching out to. They may or may not help us, but I think it could be presented to be in their interest for aid." He paused and held his fingers 2-3 inches apart as if answering nick's question. "By any remote chance did he ask you if you had family on the Genetic Council?" This seemed more a question of idle amusement than a tactical one. He shucked another clam from it's shell and held up the meaty bid for the Merlin. Finally he gave it a toss upwards from where he was in the water. If the birdie didn't get it he would. "I can brush up on my Kree and talk to Maximus. We might need to fall back on strategic negotiation. All respect to you, Crystal, I too like saving those sacrifice plays for last. They're so hard an act to follow." Also requires still standing.
The merlin, ever watchful for a tidbit, comes sweeping down to snatch the clam out of the air, then heads for a perch up high, away from scavenging gulls, where she could lay out the clam and dispatch it neatly. Chloe watches and her serious features soften into a grin. "When would we be undertaking this?" she asks. "Not that it matters too much; my time belongs to the mission."
"This is the majority of Attilan outside of the city itself," Crystal smiles ruefully back to Nick. "The Council is still withholding a ruling on whether or not we ought to come out to the world at large. Though if the Kree show up and make a mess, that may become a moot point very quickly. I'll see if Thor will still speak with me. He'd previously promised aid, but…this is rather larger than retaking our city. And I'll speak with the Avengers. Our racial issues aside, the world will be quite perturbed if a Kree fleet shows up. Best to warn people so that no one starts shooting without knowing what they're getting into."
"Find me a Kree…" It's not the most elegant way of going about it, but Scarlett flashes one of those rare, quicksilver smiles that might conceal an edge. None aimed at them at any rate. The point lies inward. Easier to be the carefree bird turning on the wing, a beautiful remembrance of nature's savagery and grace in the same feathered package. How lovely, too, to see the happiness for others. "I have a feeling Thor shall aid you. He came for the space sharks. Do you not believe he would delight in the chance? Besides, there is something to be said for that corner's favour. I will add my voice, nonetheless. And make sure that Blackagar knows."
Karnak nods slightly, "Well, yes, the Kree are not going to be subtle, as the Skrulls are. This will be nigh-impossible for others to hide, and I suspect we shall not be hidden for long once they arrive in any case."
Nick raises a brow and nods to Triton, "He did, but I do not." He's not sure what the purpose to the question was but he answers it none-the-less. "Just let me know what I can do to help and I will." Strategy, however, doesn't seem to be his strong suit. He nods toward Crystal, though, when she speaks to him.
Rogue goes home.