Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with Steven Universe or any other cartoon shows.
Same Night: Lemurian Star Ship
Inside: Monitor Room
During Steven/Captain Universe and Pacifica/Black Shadow's 'discussion', Hector woke up from his unconscious state, and the two heard footsteps. They saw Hector throw a grenade at them before running out of the room and escaping.
Steven/Captain Universe lets go of Pacifica/Black Shadow's arm as he holds it. He turns and deflects the bomb with his shield, hitting it away from them. Steven/Captain Universe turns around, runs, and grabs Pacifica/Black Shadow by the waist as she wraps her left arm around his shoulder and takes out her gun from her holster.
Steven/Captain Universe quickly jumps up to the computer desk where Pacifica was previously, then jumps to the next desk as Pacifica/Black Shadow shoots the back office window.
(Slow Motion) Steven/Captain Universe holding Pacifica/Black Shadow jumps through the shot window, breaking it more as the grenade explodes, pushing them more into the room and landing hard on the floor.
Inside: Office Room
Pacifica/Black Shadow and Steven/Captain Universe groan in pain from the hard landing as they sit up and lean back against the wall; under the broken window(s), they come through. Steven looks over the window as he pants, seeing that Hector had escaped, before dropping back against the wall and closing his eyes.
Pacifica/Black Shadow admits a little sheepishly as she nods acceptingly, "Okay. That one's on me."
Steven/Captain Universe agrees angrily with his eyes still closed, "You damn right." Steven/Captain Universe then opens his eyes as he gets up and leaves angrily. Pacifica/Black Shadow, looking after him sadly and guiltily, looks away, sighing, and leans her head back against the wall in defeat.
Morning: The Triskelion
S.H.I.E.L.D. HEADQUARTERS
Lat: 38N 53 33 78 Long: 775.3 38 91
Inside: Entrance
Many SHIELD agents and workers walk in/out and around the building, some walking in and around towards their headed destination: office, cubicles, monitors room, etc. As people walk in, the large SHIELD symbol is shown on a big full display.
Hallway
Steven is still in his suit, walking fast and determined as he's headed to the Director of SHIELD's office.
Now, in her regular clothes, Mabel sees Steven/Captain Universe walking down the hall. She calls him out, "Steven!" Steven/Captain Universe purposely ignores her and keeps walking. Mabel calls out as she runs to catch up to him, "Cap! Please." A few bystanders look at Mabel as she runs before finally catching up to Steven/Captain Universe and standing in front of him, making him stop walking. Steven/Captain Universe is basically glaring down at her as she catches her breath. Mabel tells him honestly, talking about Pacifica, "Steven, I had no idea about her side mission. I thought the mission was about getting the hostages out." Steven/Captain Universe doesn't look convinced, and Mabel notices, feeling taken aback, "You don't believe me." She nods, offended, but says normally, "Wow, I should be surprised, but I'm not."
Steven/Captain Universe starts, "Ms. Pines-"
Mabel interrupts Steven/Captain Universe, now upset, "Ms. Pines? How many times do I have to say, you can call me Mabel?" Steven/Captain Universe goes to say something, but she cuts him off, feeling mad and offended by his behavior and assumption, "You know what? Never mind, because clearly you don't believe me, nor does it look like you trust me anymore." Steven/Captain Universe opens his mouth to say something again, but Mabel is already walking back to where she ran from, "I have to go. I gotta FaceTime my nephew." Mabel gestures to her phone in her hand and walks away, hurt and in tears.
Steven/Captain Universe sighs, frustrated, before walking to the Director's office.
Inside: Rick's Office
Steven/Captain Universe walks into Rick Sanchez's office, mad, "You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" Steven/Captain Universe walks right up to Rick's desk by the window.
Rick Sanchez, Director of SHIELD, tells Steven/Captain Universe while he sits in his chair with his back towards Steven, "I didn't lie. Agent Northwest had a different mission than yours."
Steven/Captain Universe says as he stops in front of Rick's desk, "Which you didn't feel obliged to share."
Rick responds, "I'm not obliged to do anything."
Steven/Captain Universe tells Rick, a little more calmly, "Those hostages could've died, Rick."
Rick sits up in his chair and turns to face Steven/Captain Universe, "I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen." He leans on his forearms on his desk.
Steven/Captain Universe tells Rick, with authority in his voice, "Soldiers trust each other. That's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns."
Rick stands up and leans forward on his desk, looking at Steven/Captain Universe in the eyes, "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." Steven says nothing. Rick continues, calmer but still stern, "Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Northwest and Agent Wu is comfortable with everything."
Steven/Captain Universe places his left hand on his hip, pointing down as he talks, "I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own."
Rick tells Steven/Captain Universe, clearly not backing down from the argument, "It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all."
Steven/Captain Universe smiles a bit with bitterness as he points at Rick, "Except you."
Rick pushes his hands off his desk, standing right, and takes a moment as he looks down before looking at Steven/Captain Universe, his voice normal, "You're wrong about me. I do share." He tilts his head slightly, "I'm nice like that."
Steven/Captain Universe asks Rick in a lighter tone, "Did Ms. Pines know?" He's asking about Mabel.
Rick tells Steven/Captain Universe honestly, "Mrs. Pines had no connection to Pacifica's mission." He assures Steven, "She's in the clear." Steven/Captain Universe sighs quietly, looking away as he's feeling guilty about giving Mabel the cold shoulder.
Moments Later: Elevator
The elevator doors open, and Rick steps in with Steven/Captain Universe following behind him. Rick voice-commands the floor he wants to the SHIELD computer, "Insight bay." The SHIELD computer scans them both; access is granted to Rick, but denied to Steven.
The SHIELD computer voice tells Rick, "Captain Universe does not have clearance for Project Insight."
Rick leaning his hands against the railing behind the window, "Director override. Sanchez, Rick D.
The SHIELD computer closes the elevator doors, "Confirmed."
The elevator moves down, and Steven/Captain Universe leans against the railing on another window on Rick's right. They stand in silence for a moment or two.
Steven/Captain Universe looks up, breaking the silence, "You know, they used to play music." He's talking about the elevator, as it's silent.
Rick agrees as he glances at Steven/Captain Universe, "Yeah." He lets out a humorous scoff, "My grandfather operated one of these things for 40 years." Steven/Captain Universe looks at Rick as he talks, "My granddad worked in a nice building. Got good tips. He'd walked home every night, a roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say 'Hi'. People would say 'Hi' back. Time went on, neighborhood got rougher. He'd say 'Hi'. They'd say, 'Keep on stepping.' Granddad got to gripping that lunch bag a little tighter."
Steven/Captain Universe asks Rick, "Did he ever get mugged?"
Rick lets out a chuckle, "Every week, some punk would say, 'What's in the bag?'"
Steven/Captain Universe asks curiously, "What would he do?"
Rick tells Steven/Captain Universe with a faint smirk, "He'd show them. Bunch of crumpled ones, and a loaded .22 Magnum." Steven/Captain Universe nods in realization, and understandably, they reach the floor. Rick smiles as he pushes off the railing, "Yeah, Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much." Rick walks over to where Steven's standing and stands next to him on his right, looking out the window. Steven/Captain Universe looks down before looking out the window and does a double-take. His mouth opens in surprise as he looks and turns towards the window. Rick chuckles at Steven's reaction, "Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a 0.22."
The two look out the elevator window as it's still bringing them down; the floor they're on is a very large room with three giant Helicarriers being built.
Floor Of Project Insight
Big guns are attached to the Helicarriers. They're craning up a Quinjet to one of them to go with the others as they position them in rows, bigger canons also attached to the carriers.
Rick shows Steven/Captain Universe around as they walk by the carriers, "This is Project Insight. Three next-generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites."
Steven/Captain Universe guesses, "Launched from the Lemurian Star."
Rick tells Steven/Captain Universe, "Once we get them in the air, they never need to come down. Continuous sub-orbital flight, courtesy of our new repulsor engines."
Steven/Captain Universe asks Rick, "The Pines?" He's talking about the Pines siblings.
Rick tells Steven/Captain Universe about Dipper, "He had a few suggestions once he got an up-close look at our old turbines." They walk under a turbine engine at one of the carriers. Rick looks at Steven/Captain Universe, "Her not involved." He's talking about Mabel. Steven nods, feeling relieved inside. They look up to a group of guns under the carrier, "These new long-range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute." They're now standing on a platform as it moves towards a Helicarrier beside them, "The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole." Steven/Captain Universe looks around as Rick continues, "We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen."
Steven/Captain Universe tells Rick as he looks at him, "Thought the punishment usually came after the crime."
Rick tells Steven/Captain Universe lowly, "We can't afford to wait that long."
Steven/Captain Universe immediately asks Rick, "Who's we?"
Rick explains, "After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surge in threat analysis." He looks up at one of the carriers, "For once, we're way ahead of the curve."
Steven/Captain Universe states the obvious truth about the whole thing, "By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection."
Rick looks at Steven/Captain Universe, "You know, I read those SSR files." He turns to Steven fully as he becomes defensive, "'Greatest generation'? You guys did some nasty stuff."
Steven/Captain Universe stood straighter, looking at Rick, nodding, "Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free." He points at the Helicarrier by him, giving Rick a look, "This isn't freedom. This is fear."
Rick steps closer to Steven/Captain Universe, "SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. And it's getting damn near pasttime for you to get with that program, Cap."
Steven/Captain Universe tells Rick, "Don't hold your breath." Steven/Captain Universe turns and walks off the now-stopped platform.