Making sure that Mushu is well hidden in the box she is packing together in her van, Skye looks around herself in a try to see if she has forgotten anything. Her eyes landing on the dancing hula girl Gwen had thought was a good addition to her van life. Smiling at the memory, she reaches for the doll and places it on top of everything else. Sure, that she has gotten everything this time around, Skye steps out of the van. Clint was going to kill her if he ever sees what happened to it. Turning around, her eyes land on a S.H.I.E.L.D agent stepping towards her van.
"Hey, no joy rides, okay? That's my house." She tells the agent, only to roll her eyes as she sees him place a small device on the front and her van starts up by itself. Shaking her head, she turns around as her van drives away.
"Where do they think of this stuff?" She asks, already having an idea of where and why. With a deep breath, she looks up and into the large plane. She has yet to hear anything from Maria and she worries that she is making a mistake by joining Coulson and May. But it was too late now so she started walking up the ramp.
Her eyes land on Lola and she smiles, Coulson had been right. The old car managed to get them to the airfield in ten minutes. How he had managed to keep silent about the fact that the car could fly all these years was beyond her.
"Oh, agent Coulson told us the news." She hears Simmons say right in front of her, making Skye come to a sudden stop seeing as she and Fitz are standing right in front of her.
"What a wonderful surprise. Isn't it, Fitz?"
"Yeah."
"No, it's wonderful."
"Yeah, a surprise."
"You must be very excited."
Skye blinks a few times as she looks at the two younger agents and how they keep talking over one another. She couldn't tell if they were happy to see her or not, and the way they acted, it reminded her a bit of a more timid and nerdy Natasha and Clint.
"Yep, first day of school." She replies, seeing how Fitz holds out his hands in a gesture to help her with her box, Skye takes a step back. She can see confusion in their eyes at her reaction and seeing how they look at one another, Skye rolls her eyes.
"Okay, so… just-" Simmons starts to say as she moves past Skye and up the spiral stairs.
"Sorry. Yeah." She adds as she starts walking up, Fitz following after her as Skye takes yet another step away from him. With a deep breath, she starts following them up to the second floor. Reaching the second floor, Skye's eyes travel towards the meeting room, and she can see Coulson, May and Ward in there talking.
"We have two kids on this bus who aren't cleared for combat. You're adding a third." She can hear May comment before she decides to block out the conversation. She might not be cleared for combat, but Skye gets the feeling she will be able to handle herself better than the two younger agents in front of her.
"Officially, it's an airborne mobile command station. But we call it the BUS. We find it best to use shorthand when in the field. But everything has to be just so, you know, because of the danger." She turns her attention back to Fitz, completely missing the first parts of his talk about the plane.
"Yeah, I've been up here before, but I didn't see much because of the bag that Agent Ward put over my head." She tells him, tempted to add that she had been in the meeting room with the two of them, Coulson and May before everything had gone downhill.
"Yes, sorry about that." Simmons says and Skye can see how she grabs hold of a water bottle.
"Water?" She asks and it's clear to Skye that the other girl doesn't know what to do or say at this very moment.
"Wheels up in two. Lock it or lose it." May's voice can be heard throughout the BUS and Skye lifts her head when she hears it.
"What's that mean?"
"No backing out now. Let's find a bunk for our guest." Simmons says happily and starts to head for the sleeping areas. Skye and Fitz follow her, Fitz looking far too happy about this for Skye's taste.
"Oh, oh, yeah, there's only one left, and it's right next to mine."
She hears him say and Skye had been right, she didn't like this. Seeing how Fitz pushes a door open to a small empty cubicle-type bedroom, Skye takes a step in and she puts down the box on the bed, quickly looking around herself.
"Sorry. You can…" He starts to say but as Skye turns her attention towards him, moving further into the room, Fitz and Simmons take the hint and disappear. Shaking her head at their behaviour, Skye turns around to look at her box when she hears someone else walking up to the door.
Turning around, her eyes land on Ward and she shrinks further back. She didn't want to be near this man if she could help it.
"Might want to read that. This isn't like other planes." Ward says, holding out a safety manual pamphlet. Eyeing the paper and Ward, Skye takes the pamphlet, making sure not to make any eye contact with him as she does. As the paper leaves his hand, Ward walks away and Skye looks after him. Turning her eyes to the pamphlet, she takes in a deep breath as she realises just how large the plane is.
"You can say that again." She mumbles to herself and takes in a deep breath, turning around to the bunk and throws the pamphlet.
"Say what again?" She jumps at the sound of Coulson's voice, and she turns around, eyes large in surprise. She had missed the fact that the older agent managed to sneak up behind her. With a deep breath, she calms herself down.
"Sweet ride." She tells him as she finally steps out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her. They step towards the common room and reach the bar.
"I earned a little goodwill from Director Fury when I got hit right before the battle of New York." Coulson starts to explain, and Skye looks at him. She had not expected him to tell her any of this, all she knows is the few things her siblings and Avengers have told her. And she knows fully well that they have kept the information to a minimum.
"You took a bullet?"
"Ish. An Asgardian stabbed me through the heart with a Chitauri sceptre. The effect was similar. Got a few weeks' RR and this plane. Had it completely refurbished. Studs up – spared no expense." Coulson explains, the part about the Chitauri sceptre was old news for her. That much had she been told, the RR was news, then again, she thought he had been dead until just recently.
"Yeah, Agent Ward told me they sent you to Tahiti."
"It's a magical place." Coulson answers and Skye looks at him. The reply was an automatic, if she can spot anything it's an automatic response and the one he just gave her is the biggest one she has heard in a long time.
"You mentioned that." She tells him, placing down the water bottle on the bar. Coulson's response was weird.
"Here." Coulson tells her, grabbing her bottle and placing a coaster under the bottle. "Use a coaster. Buckle up."
"I don't even know where we're going."
"Peru. That's where the 0-8-4 was reported."
"And an 0-8-4 is…?" She asked, beaconing him to continue to explain. She has heard Natasha, Clint and Maria talk about the combination, but learning what they never told her.
"An object of unknown origin. Kind of like you. Team goes in, determines if it's useful or if it poses a threat. Last one turned out to be pretty interesting." Coulson tells her and Skye turns her head around to hide a small smile. If he only knew more about her origin at the moment, it wouldn't be so unknown. Forcing herself to keep up the cover, she looks at him once more.
"And what was the last one?"
"A hammer." She can feel her eyes grow large at this information. She should have known that it was the hammer, she had heard stories of the mission from Clint, and she should have known Coulson would have been involved with the mission. Seeing his smile and rising, Skye turns her attention towards the window, seeing that they are already up in the air.
"It will be a while before we land, I suggest that you unpack." Coulson tells as he heads away. Shaking her head, Skye rises herself. Grabbing the water bottle, she heads for the bunk. Pulling the door open, she enters and makes sure to close it behind her. Eyes landing on the box, she takes out the most important things for now and hides the box away. Placing the few things away in their right places, her eyes land on the pamphlet. Shaking her head, she sits down on the bed and starts reading it. She's not sure why, but a voice in her head, sounding almost like Natasha, tells her that it's for the best to know everything about this place.

-X-X-X-X-

She wasn't all too happy to be out in the heat and she now wished they had asked if she could have stayed behind on the BUS, but that wasn't her luck. And neither was the ride to the archaeological site, she had been placed in the same car with Ward and Fitz, no Coulson or May. She was keeping close to the car door, having her head turned so she was looking outside.
Once the car finally comes to a stop, Skye quickly jumps out, turning around to see if she can spot where May and Coulson are. Even if they do not know who she is, she still feels safer around them.
"Tire tracks 40 metres back. I'll check them against the site's trucks – make sure we're alone." Ward says, looking around himself as he starts to work.
"Too much exposure here. I'm gonna find a place to park." May speaks and Skye turns her head to see her, seeing how Many heads back into the car once more and drives away. Seeing that Fitz and Simmons are starting to walk away from her, hearing Fitz mention monkeys, Skye's eyes finally land on Coulson, and she moves towards him.
"We should warn people who live around here if the 0-8-4 is dangerous. They're already dealing with anti-mining rebels and the shining path guerrillas. I could post something." She speaks, making sure she keeps some distance from him. Old habits die hard, even if she knew Coulson in another life.
"Remember the panic when that antimatter meteor splashed down just off the coast of Miami, nearly devouring the city?" Coulson asks her, making Skye come to a stop. They had started to follow after FitzSimmons and hearing what Coulson just told her, she tried to go through everything she had learned, only to come up empty.
"No."
"Precisely. Because we kept it quiet and contained."
"So, what am I doing?"
"Well, if it gets out, I might need you to create some kind of diversion, put the public on the wrong scent."
Coulson tells her with a smile, and she tries not to roll her eyes. Skye should have known this is why he wanted to have someone with her ability around. It made it easier to always have a good hacker with them.
"So, everything that I'm against." She points out and seeing how his smile grows, she shakes her head, turning her head towards the large pyramid they have reached. Seeing that FitzSimmons is already there, taking a picture, Coulson walks to the Professor.
"Good morning, Professor. I'm Agent Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D. I understand you've made an interesting discovery."
"I-I'm not sure how to explain it. This temple dates back at least 500 years. It's filled with pre-Incan artefacts. One of them is impossible and looks like it might be dangerous." Skye hears Coulson speak with the man, keeping away from the group but making sure to still be close enough.
"Well, that's why we're here." Coulson tells the man who turns around and starts leading them into the pyramid. Looking around herself, her eyes land on a modern looking metal/tech attached to the wall.
"Exactly as we found it."
"Who else knows about this?"
"Just the ministry. I believe they are the ones who contacted you."
Coulson nods his head, his head turning towards FitzSimmons and with a small nod of his head towards the side. Signalling that they should start working before he looks back at the Professor once more.
"Sir, I need you and your team to evacuate the site until we determine the risk associated with this object." He tells the man as a drone suddenly shoots up and hovers in front of him and he looks at it with large eyes.
"Leave the man alone." Simmons tells the drone and Skye can't help but to smile as she sees the drone hovering away from the professor. It's like a little dog.
"Now—for your own safety." Coulson tells the man with his award winning smile and Skye turns her attention towards her phone. Checking to see if she can find anything.
"Nothing about this anywhere. It's amazing. I searched every data stream. What have you got here, guys?" Skye says as she steps towards the wall, eyes on the metal, and reaches out a hand to touch it.
"Whoa, car—uh, careful." Fitz suddenly calls out, making Skye freeze up. "I-I – no, wouldn't do that." He adds and Skye moves backwards, keeping her eyes lowered as she does. Glancing around herself, she tries to locate Coulson.
"The object's placement in fossiliferous rock formations suggests it's been here for at least 1,500 years. That pre-dates this temple by a millennium. Ah! Maybe it's alien."
"Yeah, but the shape and craftsmanship—it's almost German." Looking up once more, Skye starts to grow worried about what they are dealing with.
"Sir?" Hearing Ward's voice coming from the walkie-talkie Coulson had with him, Skye turns her head towards him.
"Go."
"We have a situation."
She didn't like the sound of that.