"You don't need to say anything more," Kirk said with a wave of his hand and a smile. "Just tell me whose approval is needed to get America's war machine moving!"
"First, my report to NASA's leadership needs to be taken seriously," Dr. Connors said. She didn't believe Kirk and Wang Han could persuade America, but with destruction looming, she had no choice but to try. "Then the Secretary of State or Deputy Secretary of State has to submit it to the President. The President needs to consult with the leaders of both parties in the House and Senate and get their agreement before signing an emergency war order. Expanding the scope of the war would require authorization from Congress."
Kirk felt his head start to spin. He couldn't make head or tail of it.
"I see. So the people deciding whether to mobilize America's military are the head of NASA, the Secretary of State, the President, and the leaders of both parties. Five people, right?" Wang Han was good at getting to the heart of the matter.
"Simply put, yes!" Dr. Connors shrugged. "But you only have three hours, and you have no actual evidence that they'll destroy Earth and humanity. How are you going to persuade them?"
"Fortunately," Wang Han said with a smile, "I happen to be pretty good at persuading people."
As she spoke, the Tesseract scepter in her hand flashed, and she vanished from the spot.
Dr. Connors stared in shock as the papers fell from her hands. "Is she a magician? Is she?"
Kirk shrugged. "Maybe. But I have things to take care of, too. Listen, if I were you, I wouldn't go blabbing to people about meeting us."
Dr. Connors laughed. "Even if I were a gossip, I wouldn't have time for it