"Skrulls actually came to us." Ebony Maw gave a cold smile, his eyes full of mockery.
"Commander, should we detour?" the officer asked, a trace of tension in his voice.
"Our fleet has suffered severe damage. If we encounter battle again..."
"This is not another encounter with battle." Ebony Maw interrupted him. "This is the start of one."
Everyone on the bridge froze.
Proxima Midnight lifted her chin from her spear, her blue eyes fixed on Ebony Maw as her pupils narrowed slightly.
Cull Obsidian raised his head from between his fingers, a glint flickering in his dark red eyes.
It was not fear, but anticipation.
"Ebony Maw!" Proxima Midnight spoke, her voice cold and hard.
"Our fleet has less than thirty percent of its combat power remaining.
"The Skrull mothership appears completely undamaged. Their weapons systems are still operational, and their shields are still active.
"We may win, but there will be losses."
Ebony Maw turned and looked at her.
His black eyes had no pupils, like two obsidian stones.
Under the dim lighting, they gave off a faint, nearly imperceptible glow.
"Losses?" Ebony Maw repeated the word.
"We have already lost our master. What loss could be greater than that?"
Proxima Midnight pressed her lips together.
She lowered her spear and straightened up.
"What are you going to do?"
"Take their mothership," Ebony Maw said, as calmly as though discussing an everyday matter.
"The Skrulls are a race accustomed to shapeshifting. They excel at disguise, infiltration, and deception.
"But before absolute power, shapeshifting has no meaning.
"We do not need to talk to them, trade with them, or cooperate with them.
"We only need to conquer."
He turned toward the main screen, looking at the silver-gray mothership slowly rotating there.
"Attention, entire fleet." His voice traveled through the