The dungeons of Eternal City had never been this crowded. To comply with the order to separate human and Skrull prisoners, even the Sisterhood's convent cells had been cleared out to accommodate some of the Skrulls. Compared to those unlucky captives, Nick Fury's treatment was far superior—at least his meals weren't just salty gruel, and he had a private bathroom. Stephanie was reluctant to spend too much funding on the prisoners; to satisfy Solomon's near-endless appetite for war, she had to cut costs where possible. As a result, cells originally built for two were crammed with five people, and she threw in some handmade blankets from Eastern European women who couldn't join the Sisterhood.
Solomon had allowed those women to trade labor for money, offering a buy rate several times higher than the market. The money would be given to them once they chose to return to secular society, enabling them to survive independently outside—something Stephanie found perplexing. To her, these women should be working wholeheartedly for Eternal City, for her lord had given them life, freedom, dignity, and even access to higher education. But Solomon refused to explain further, only saying that no one's value should be underestimated. Surprisingly, aside from a few who chose to return to the outside world, most of the rescued Eastern European women chose to stay and work in Eternal City.
When the Lord of Eternal City learned this, he was astonished. Yet soon after, he ordered Stephanie to select talents from among those women to join the Internal Affairs Ministry, expanding the administrative staff to match the city's growing power. The temporary school where those women studied was located next to the academy, part of the Ministry's affiliated buildings.
"That little bastard actually built a utopia. Those women used to be worth less than twenty pounds of beef, and now they're wearing suits and running multimillion-dollar corporations! He gave them respect, and they gave him everything in return—some haven't even seen him in person!" Nick Fury spoke with deep emotion. Even dressed in prison garb, he looked energetic. Speaking through the armored glass phone to Victoria Hand, he added, "The question is, can he scale this utopia to the entire world? I don't think so, V. All I see is iron and blood. You're closer to him—you should know how terrifying the war he's preparing for really is."
"Yes, I do know. But peace can only be won through war," Victoria Hand replied flatly. "In his view, all of humanity must unite to face a dark future. The world as it stands—controlled by oligarchs and power-hungry madmen—must be utterly liberated. Only then can humanity survive the horrors of the cosmos. He tells us humanity must not stop at Earth—we must venture outward, colonize other planets, and reconnect with lost human civilizations. To achieve that, blood must be shed. Eternal City was created for this very purpose."
"Even if it means shedding innocent blood?" Fury didn't question the mention of "lost human civilizations"—he knew Hand wouldn't disclose intel he wasn't cleared for.
"Are there not innocents bleeding right now? Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Somalia... death from war, hunger, honor killings... shall I keep going?" Hand replied. "Eternal City has already established order in several small African nations—but it's not enough. Not compared to his ideals." She added, "Let me be clear: if it weren't for our Lord's respect for human life and our agents' professional skills, Eternal City would've already launched missiles to destroy that space station."
"I admit, the world is far from perfect. But Solomon's ideals demand too much blood to realize."
"That's undeniably true. Not just the blood of our enemies—our own sacrifices will be required too," Hand nodded. "For unity and everlasting peace, these costs are justified. People say our Lord cloaks his ambition to rule all of humanity in the rhetoric of liberation, but I know what he truly desires. He'd rather be at home sipping tea—but some things must be done."
"I've given up trying to convince you, Hand. If you want to work for a dictator, go ahead," Fury shrugged. "Can I ask what he plans to do with my baby? That space station is the legacy I spent years building."
"Visitation time's over," Victoria Hand stood and adjusted her clothes. "If there's anything you need to know, I'll tell you."
Repairing a space station wasn't cheap, even for Eternal City with its advanced aerospace technology.
The Mars Foundry modified assault transports for orbital repair missions, creating the Mars-class transport. These stripped-down vessels had most of their weapons removed to reduce weight and were equipped with dual precision manipulator arms controlled via neural interfaces by the co-pilot. They also carried large numbers of maintenance drones. Additionally, the transports were equipped with electromagnetic shields to deflect the high-speed debris left over from the station's capture. Maintenance crews used plasma torches mounted on the manipulators—guided by neural-linked cameras—to cut away broken modules, replacing them with new parts delivered by other repair ships.
Internal electronics would be the next stage. According to the plan, the space station would be expanded into an armed platform, hangar, and supply hub. Based on Eternal City and Mars Foundry's current production capacity, it would take at least six months to bring the facility to basic combat readiness.
It was only now that Shuri realized why Eternal City had mobilized so suddenly. She and T'Challa were soon invited aboard the orbital station—and unlike Fury's vision of dictatorship, Solomon didn't mind letting allies take a stake in the venture. He needed Wakanda to help build parts of the station. Though this approach seemed to treat Wakanda as a mere tool, it was undeniable that the station also offered benefits to Wakanda.
After all, King T'Chaka was about to give a speech at the United Nations revealing parts of Wakanda's true nature. To deter other nations—especially to prevent a war aimed at plundering Vibranium—Wakanda needed a foothold in space. As the old saying goes: if America thinks you have weapons of mass destruction, you'd better actually have them. A powerful orbital station with deployment and firepower capabilities could force the Western powers, led by the U.S., to come to the table. It was a choice any wise leader would make.
Eternal City and Wakanda signed a joint exploration pact, based on the space station and the Wakandan royal bloodline. Wakanda would have usage rights to the station, provided it met the engineering, personnel, and supply requirements.
"You'll always be Wakanda's eternal ally, Solomon," said the young prince T'Challa, smiling as he shook the magus's hand. The pact was signed in the station's hangar. Queen Ramonda and other members of the royal family were present as witnesses. Only Shuri stood sulking in a corner, still bitter over Solomon's secrecy during the military operation.
"I've always supported win-win outcomes, T'Challa," the magus said coolly. "This is a time of rapid expansion. It's the perfect moment for mutual support. I need Wakanda—and I believe Wakanda needs me."
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