Waterfalls tumbled from distant cliffs. Towering antennas and observation stations stood atop the rock faces, reaching straight toward the clear sky and the snow-covered mountains beyond. The viewing platform behind the royal palace faced Snake Valley, where the traces of the civil war had been erased in a remarkably short time, as though war had never existed in this world. Yet an armed squad still guarded the entrances to Snake Valley. King T'Challa of Wakanda strolled through the palace's long corridor. Murals depicting the ancient gods of the grasslands covered the sheer cliff face beyond the railing. "Wakanda joined the deep-space exploration program to fight the Dark Order," T'Challa said. "I will not dismiss your warning like a fool, because I believe in your capability and foresight. But you never told me that you had captured so many aliens."
"There were reasons for that. No one could bear the suspicion that Skrulls might be lurking among them, and I do not know how many hidden Skrulls are still influencing this world. But I assure you, the Skrulls are no longer a problem. We have identified the vast majority of them."
"All right, that is reasonable. Then what information did you obtain from the aliens?" T'Challa did not press the matter further, because he knew the explanation made sense. The Emperor was not wearing armor. Like T'Challa, he wore a tailored suit. The latter's attire had long drawn criticism from the domestic nobility, with many claiming that T'Challa had been assimilated by the outside world and become excessively weak and foolish. "For instance, how far away is the Dark Order? Do you have information like that?"
"No, my friend. These aliens had heard of the Dark Order, but they knew nothing of that fleet's current whereabouts. My hunt for Skrulls was