Just as everyone had started to relax after realizing that the aliens were not invincible, Lena's declaration about a massive secret on Mars shocked the entire room. The revelation that the secret was significant enough for William to risk his life to pursue, and for the aliens to risk exposing their presence on Earth just to stop him, left everyone speechless.
As for Lena's mention of sharing the secret, it was clear to everyone present what she truly meant. If nothing had gone wrong, William likely intended to go to Mars alone and claim the secret for himself. But now, with his life in danger, there was a real chance he might strike a deal with the aliens or trade the secret for his survival.
Suddenly, the rhythmic sound of boots echoed as a squad of soldiers, wearing armbands marked with "Military Police," marched into the command center in perfect formation.
General Marco, a four-star officer, calmly addressed Lena. "Mrs. Devonshire, I must remind you that your earlier words were gravely unethical and suggest you were inciting William Devonshire to defect.
"Therefore, I must warn you that any statement you've made, if found to be true, could lead to charges of treason against you. Lastly, rest assured, William is England's pride and hope for the future. We would never, and will never, abandon him.
"From now on, the construction of the spacecraft is a matter of national priority, involving every citizen of England. Anyone who directly or indirectly hinders its construction will face legal consequences."
Seeing that her primary goal had been achieved, Lena decided not to say more to avoid jeopardizing the spacecraft project. She smirked and said curtly, "During the spacecraft's construction, the Devonshire family will regard anyone delaying or obstructing progress as mortal enemies. From now on, I'll personally monitor these individuals and their families."
With that, Lena left the command center with Abigail and her group in tow, leaving the officials stunned by her brazen remarks.
Once Lena was gone, Prime Minister Richard finally spoke. "What exactly have you discovered on Mars?"
William paused for a moment before replying, "If the photos I have are accurate, there are currently two alien creature corpses on Mars, known as Xenomorphs.
"These creatures have previously appeared on Earth and can survive for thousands of years, even in frozen conditions."
"Good God, alien life forms capable of surviving for millennia? That's..."
Immortality was still a distant dream, but extending one's lifespan wasn't so far-fetched. Anyone in their right mind would be intrigued by such a possibility.
"You're lying, William," Richard countered. "Two corpses aren't enough to deal with the alien fighter pursuing you."
"That brings us to the second point," William said with a smirk. "I guarantee that as long as we retrieve these corpses, there's a significant chance we'll be able to counter the alien fighter—or rather, the Cybertronians."
"Cybertronians? What do you mean?" Richard shot to his feet, staring intently at William on the screen. "How do you know they're Cybertronians?"
"Why?" William sneered. "Because in the past few hours, not only have I improved the ship's capabilities, but I've also instructed people on Earth to search for evidence of these aliens' existence."
A beeping sound interrupted the conversation. William pretended to click on the incoming footage from Sunday, though he already knew what it contained. He smiled slyly at General Marco.
"General Marco, do you remember the mysterious person who called you earlier?"
Marco nodded numbly.
"Well," William said mockingly, "it turns out I owe a debt of gratitude to America's arrogance. If it weren't for that call, I wouldn't have discovered that over a hundred years ago, the Americans found a fully metallic Cybertronian."
Pausing for effect, William continued, "The best way to deal with moving metal objects, besides dismantling them, is corrosion.
"Based on a recent supernatural incident in America involving creatures strikingly similar to the ones on Mars, those creatures caused significant corrosion wherever they appeared before being electrocuted.
"If England mastered the formula for this corrosive agent and developed it into nanomissiles, wouldn't our enemies' metal weapons turn into scrap?"
Richard and his colleagues hesitated briefly before ordering an investigation into the incident William had described. It didn't take long—within two hours, they confirmed the truth of his claims and even obtained photographic evidence.
Reconnecting with William, Richard received images of the Xenomorphs on Mars. Comparing them to the Earth creatures, they quickly concluded that the two were highly likely to be the same species.
With this revelation, the search for Xenomorphs on Mars now held threefold significance: longevity, military applications, and a way to counter the aliens. Supporting William's expedition became an undeniable priority, and the Cabinet swiftly reached a consensus.
"All efforts will be directed toward building the second spacecraft. We must bring William and the Xenomorph specimens back."
England's sudden, massive mobilization of resources to construct a spacecraft sent shockwaves across the globe, leaving other nations in a state of uncertainty and unease.
Meanwhile, William instructed Sunday to secretly construct a spacecraft of his own. He didn't trust England's ability to maintain secrecy, and everything he had told Richard and the others had also been aimed at Hydra's Alexander Pierce and the Decepticons.
Pierce, desperate for longevity and the technology William hinted at, was ironically someone William could trust more than Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D., who might very well want him dead.
If Pierce wanted to ensure William's survival on Mars, he'd need to send a spacecraft as quickly as possible. Since William had publicly stated that nuclear power could only utilize a fraction of his ship's engine capabilities, the use of the Tesseract as a higher-grade energy source would be the natural solution.
To seal the deal, William chuckled darkly. Why not throw in a live Decepticon for good measure?
Looking back at Starscream trailing him, William realized he already had the perfect bargaining chip. The past five hours had likely been enough for the Decepticons and Hydra to intercept his conversations with London and Richard.
William had openly mentioned knowing that Megatron was in American custody and even hinted at Mars holding the secret to anti-metal weapons.
At this point, Starscream had no choice but to keep pursuing him.
Bringing Starscream to Mars served two purposes. First, it gave William a legitimate reason to head there. Second, capturing Starscream alive would provide the ideal subject for research.
As a flying Decepticon, Starscream was far more appealing for study than Autobots designed for civilian purposes. Moreover, both Starscream and Megatron had been built as weapons from the start.
And if William could also obtain the AllSpark and discover a way to control newly created Cybertronians, who was to say he couldn't claim a star system for himself someday?
(End of Chapter)
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