Ajak was the leader of the Eternals.
She stood on the bridge of their ship, her dark eyes fixed on the seismic data and satellite images on a holographic screen.
Her long hair was tied in a low ponytail, with a few gray strands hanging beside her ears.
They were the mark of her leadership, traces left by thousands of years spent communicating with the Celestial Embryo.
Her expression was calm, but beneath it lay a deeply buried urgency that only she could feel.
"The Celestial Embryo is awakening." Ajak's voice was quiet, but every Eternal heard her clearly.
"Millions of years earlier than expected. We don't know why, but it is awakening.
When the embryo in Earth's core fully awakens, it will break free, consume the planet, and turn it into nourishment."
She turned to face her people.
"Our mission is to protect the embryo until it hatches. That is the command the Celestials gave us.
That is why we were created millions of years ago. We cannot let anyone interfere with its awakening."
A man's voice came from a corner of the bridge, low and languid. "Then we'd better move fast."
He was Kingo, one of the Eternals' warriors, and he specialized in energy weapons.
He looked to be in his thirties, with dark skin and curly black hair.
He toyed with a short sword formed from energy, spinning it between his fingers as it hummed.
"The Avengers are already on their way," a woman said. She was Sersi, the Eternal closest to humanity.
She had long brown hair and amber eyes, and wore modern human clothes: a white T-shirt and jeans.
She had lived on Earth for centuries, posing as a university professor, an artist, and an archaeologist, adopting different identities in different eras.
She cared deeply