Chapter Text
Tony and Rhodey were both genius rocket scientists so it did not take long for them to make their armors space-worthy. Once that was done, they proposed using their armors and drone armors designated the Iron Legion to put together planetary defenses in space. The Iron Legion all had very limited capabilities, in fact they were primarily geared towards humanitarian aid work, especially tasks that involved heavy lifting. The Legion was heavily automated but had a secondary piloting interface for jobs that required a bit of finesse. They were actually perfect for a space mission as the primary reason Tony made them was to handle work that was too dangerous for humans, like evacuating potential invasion sites. The drones were marketed for humanitarian aid to the public but they were actually intended to replace humans in the evacuation, search and rescue, and initial reconstruction of invasion sites.
Tony and Rhodey had to reiterate and emphasize the latter's engineering degree to get their proposal even heard properly but once the people they were pitching to stopped questioning James Rhodes' credentials, they actually liked the plan. A modified satellite would be launched to give them something to tether to when they flew additional components. The politicians admitted to their own shortcomings in the engineering department after both MIT alumni corrected a few misconceptions. However, it was clear the politicians were going to look into using the Legionnaires they already had or had ordered for more involved tasks. Tony made a point of letting them know that the Legion would need to be piloted for this task, subtly informing them that they would need technicians to use the Legion for anything beyond the basics they were marketed for.
The satellites came together beautifully, with very few speed bumps. Apparently, space agencies were very interested in the potential for robot astronauts and quickly adapted their work-in-progress plans for the new mission parameters. Being able to use scientists who did not have to pass the physical tests to be an astronaut for space missions was huge to the businessmen in charge of such agencies. Tony and Rhodey had the lead on the missions as the only humans on-site so-to-speak and the technicians on Earth had to do as they asked or risk Tony disabling all of the Iron Legionnaires in their country's fleet, a threat only issued to the higher ups who determined how many Legionnaires were assigned to each satellite. The plan was simple: people on the ground would build the components and the armors would take them up, Tony and Rhodey doing most of the installations as the Iron Legion had major, intentional limitations. The speed bumps appeared when designing the anchoring satellites, originally they were going to use satellites that had fallen out of use and repurpose them but in the end, they made and launched new satellites. The Iron Legion cleared the space around the planet by taking down unused satellites. Realignment, getting all of the satellites from both public and private sectors lined up in such a way that they all worked, would be a challenge but that could wait.
During the project, an engineering challenge was posed to the remaining scientists in the Enhanced community, building a mobile platform to strip the two armored Avengers out of the space suits to boost efficiency. Youths were invited to join the challenge, working on the theory, with a scholarship offered to the best idea. After finishing work on the last relay station for the defense grid, Tony and Rhodey touched down on the mobile station and walked along the platform at a slow steady pace. Remnants of their suits remained for doctors to remove as they eased the pair back into Earth's atmospheric standards. Some of the life support systems had stayed on to boost efficiency during the months long project, Rhodey and Tony were both glad to be rid of it all. They were also pleased to see how the world rallied together to get the defense grid up and running, the real reason they were enacting that part of the plan so soon after Fury's Avengers fell apart.
Global unity was a big goal.
They were quarantined in specially pressurized chambers to effectively ease them away from the suits' highly controlled atmosphere back to Earth's less regulated atmosphere, a goal achieved by slowly bringing their rooms to outside standards (literally, making their rooms as much like the outdoors as possible). They had revolutionized the space industry in the name of planetary defense. Being an astronaut was now a bit easier, which was good in case they needed to make evacuation plans for the whole planet. When Pepper visited them, she reported on the new Extremis trials being conducted on veterans who are fully aware and accepting of the risks. A healing serum that could potentially double as a super soldier serum was invaluable. Their preparations were coming together nicely and there was always a good chance they were ahead of the curb.