So, what exactly is Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.?
In short, it's a new type of aerospace initiative developed by the United States after winning the Cold War. The project's goal was to enable humanity to achieve light-speed travel, and it was widely known as one of NASA's major methods for scoring hefty budgets.
It wasn't until last year, when Thor landed in New Mexico and Earth first confirmed the existence of other life forms in the cosmos, that Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. was re-prioritized and redefined. It became the Weaponized Light-Speed Technology Project. Its objective: to develop a fleet of light-speed capable interstellar warships to defend against the next alien invasion.
"This is Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S."
Carol Danvers smiled proudly on the bus, explaining the history and significance of the project to the students. She radiated confidence, seemingly having great faith in the plan. Peter, however, was highly skeptical. For starters, the Earth had been invaded by aliens twice this year alone, and both times in New York. This P.E.G.A.S.U.S. project seemed to have made precisely zero progress.
Furthermore, to research light-speed technology, you'd need the actual technology. What, did the US government capture an alien spacecraft besides the symbiotes and start reverse-engineering it?
While not impossible, considering the two alien invasions that had occurred this year, it all felt quite ironic.
In truth, many students were disgruntled when the military's true motive for hosting this competition for future scientists—the "work now, pay later" approach—was revealed. Who are we? they thought. We are the future elite, the scientists! And who are you? Just a bunch of dirty politicians and ignorant soldiers! You actually expect us to do your work? Why should we?
"I bet the Pentagon's hiding some secret gimmick to scare us," Peter whispered, "Show off some of their impossibly advanced technology and trick these bookworms into signing up."
Gwen and Cindy both gave him a perplexed look. Weren't you just insulting yourself?
Actually, no. What kind of bookworm is constantly running around fighting crime?
"Now, welcome everyone to Puerto Rico! And welcome to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S.!"
Despite the momentous welcome, the students were taken to a hotel.
The official line was unified management—everyone had to stay in a contactable location, no wandering off, with unified accommodation arrangements, and so on. Somewhat surprisingly, each student was assigned a separate room.
"Meaning... there's plenty of monitoring and listening equipment. Ha, they're just high school kids, after all."
Peter easily located the surveillance devices in his room. He then began to hack the equipment to cover his tracks. Though this trip might turn out to be completely safe, it didn't stop him from finding the military's actions annoying, even distasteful.
"So, what exactly are they planning to show us..." Peter muttered. Suddenly, he felt a sharp tingling between his eyebrows. He looked up at the sky. For some reason, his Spider-Sense was buzzing. Peter sighed, letting Venom emerge to cover his body's surface. It looked like Spider-Man truly couldn't find a moment of rest anywhere.
"Almost all of the Phase Two results? That's rather bold."
Back at the Arecibo Observatory, Carol Danvers was astonished by the open-access plan described by the Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. director. It was more than bold; it was practically reckless. "You know a lot of those projects are still, well, classified, Michael."
"Actually, they're in the unreleased phase, but they don't fall under official secrecy regulations."
Michael Rossi, the chief scientist for Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., offered a shy smile and nodded toward a "research finding." It was an impossibly ancient spaceship that the US military had excavated from an underground ruin. Also recovered were architectural relics whose style was clearly non-human. Undoubtedly, these were evidence of an alien civilization's visit to Earth in antiquity.
From that alien spacecraft, which could be hundreds or thousands of years old, the US government had found what it was seeking: an ancient faster-than-light engine. While ancient and obsolete to the civilization that abandoned it on Earth, it was still incredibly advanced to Earthlings.
Carol leaned on the railing, staring at the old spacecraft in a daze.
"You're always looking at that ship, Carol. Want to try it out?"
"I don't think any pilot would refuse the experience of FTL travel. I've talked to you so many times about how happy I was the first time I flew a supersonic jet into the sky."
Carol shrugged. If she had the choice, she wouldn't want to be stuck at this observatory, responsible only for security for a research base. She was a pilot; soaring through the skies was her true home.
"Maybe one day you'll be flying your plane and witness the crash of an alien spacecraft," Michael said with a smile, then frowned slightly. The telescope readings showed something strange. While looking at the computer, he continued, "And then you'll meet a dying alien..."
"Is he wearing a green ring and saying he wants to give it to me? I've seen Green Lantern." Carol smiled wryly, then noticed Michael's stern expression. "What is it?"
"The energy readings had a momentary spike. It's normal now. Just a sensor error, probably."
Michael relaxed his brow and looked at Carol. "Where were we? Oh, right, Green Lantern. Aren't you looking forward to that?"
"Does our universe really have a cosmic police force? If so, why were there two invasions of New York, and they were nowhere in sight?"
Actually, there is, Michael thought to himself, but the Nova Corps of Xandar is busy, too.
As the two were speaking, the energy readings spiked again. This time, it wasn't a fleeting anomaly. Satellite images clearly captured a small, red spacecraft appearing through a warp jump just outside Earth's atmosphere. It then broke through the atmosphere and hurtled toward the planet.
"Alright, another unidentified flying object incursion. Let's see where it's going to land..."
Noticing Michael's stiff expression, Carol felt a sense of dread. "Don't tell me it's New York again."
"The good news is, this spacecraft isn't flying toward New York," Michael said with a sigh. "The bad news is, it's flying toward us."
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