Post by Drake on Jun 3, 2014 20:43:46 GMT -5
#1: More Than Meets the Eye Part 1
Take Off
By Drake
“Peter, we have arrived at the Planet Halokos in Squadron Delta of the Spartoi Empire. I recommend that you cease sleeping and begin readying for your imminent crime.”
One Peter Quill grumbled as he rolled out of a cot in his rough, slim, cadatronium fueled, Kree Ka-Dull class ship, Milago.
He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair as he replied to the ship’s AI, “Call it a job, Mil. I told you that. A job. Calling it a crime makes it sound so…criminal.”
“You are partaking in a ‘job’ deemed illegal by seventeen different laws in the constitution of the Spartoi Empire, correct?” Milago said. Peter slipped on a white shirt made of an incredibly soft but thick Skrull fabric and a pair of blue pants. Holes were scattered around the calf portions of the pants. He then put on tight black gloves.
“Well, yes, but…”
“Then it is a crime,” Milago retorted.
“I hate you,” Peter whispered as he threw on black stockings and brown leather boots.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing,” Peter called back. He grabbed and put on a utility belt filled with every little toy, trick, and form of currency he may need. Next, Peter threw on his signature red leather jacket and stood in front of the mirror.
“Am I attractive or what?” Peter said.
“I suppose by most definitions you are appealing aesthetically, but you would stand out amongst any crowd that would deem you ‘attractive’ because of your…”
“My weird appearance, yeah, I got that,” Peter interrupted, “Too short to be a pink Kree, and too tall to be a Spartoi. My face is shaped like no species of being I’ve ever encountered, and my golden hair is unique in a galaxy of dark-haired pink skins. I’m weird, I know…” Peter’s expression softened as he glanced at himself in the mirror, “I just wish I knew why.”
Peter sighed and shook away the thought. Now wasn’t the time to think about his heritage. Whoever and whatever his parents were, they’d never been there for him. They didn’t matter. What mattered was the job. The Captain had hammered that into him from day one when he had found him on that Kree moon over twenty years ago.
Peter turned back around to his cot and threw away the pillow, exposing a curved knife. He slipped it into his belt. Next, he pulled out two silver, duel-pronged blasters from his chest of drawers.
“.80 centurion Kree Roguekillers. Best gifts I ever got,” Peter grinned as he slipped the blasters into holsters on his belt.
“The Captain gave you a great many things, Peter. I believe as far as usefulness goes, however, that the rocket jet attachments for your boots would be the most helpful and therefore the best gifts he gave you,” Milago’s feminine robotic voice echoed through the room. Peter shook his head as he slipped on the aforementioned rocket jets onto his boots.
“The Captain didn’t give me a d’ast thing. Krodo was the one who left me these.”
“The Captain used Krodo as a means to an end. You know that.
“Maybe, maybe not. It doesn’t matter now. The Captain and the rest of the crew are dead. I’m all that’s left of the Redfins,” Peter left his bedroom and approached the hatch of the ship.
“Open up, Mil,” Peter ordered.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Milago asked. Peter felt a cold piece of metal get pushed against the back of his neck.
“Right. The Helmet.”
“And universal translator. Without it, if your employer does not speak Intergalactic Common, you will not be able to communicate with him/her,” Milago said.
“And I could die if Halokos’ atmosphere and air isn’t compatible with my lungs, yeah,” Peter mentioned, “I know. Just a little nervous is all. Forgetting the little things.”
Peter tapped the piece of metal on his neck, allowing a slick silver helmet to cover most of his head, with the exception of his blonde hair, allowing it spike up over the helmet. The helmet’s red lenses glowed brightly and the breathing machine began to work, cleansing the air for Peter.
“Alright, Mil, now it’s time.”
“Before you go, Peter, I recommend that you fuel me.”
“Can’t. We’re already a little late to the job.”
“Peter, I highly recommend…”
“Later, Mil. Now, just open the d’ast hatch.” Peter demanded.
“As you wish. Hatch doors opening now….”
A long ramp opened up from Milago’s bottom, sliding down to the dusty ground below. Peter marched down the ramp to find himself in a parking courtyard in the middle of a bustling desert city. Waiting at the bottom of the ramp was a tall, gaunt, pink skinned man covered in a hooded robe. He stood about a few inches taller than Peter.
“I assume you are Yondu the Savage?” the man asked in Intergalactic Common. Well that was nice. If Peter’s helmet had to translate anything, it tended to slow down the conversation. Everyone speaking the same language made Peter’s life a krutack of a lot easier.
Peter nodded his head, playing the con he’d trained to play so well, “I take it you were the top of your class at the Kree academy?”
Peter’s voice came through the helmet slightly distorted. The Kree man frowned, obviously not amused by Peter’s attitude.
“You are quite the charmer, Lord Yondu,” the Kree sarcastically stated, “I am also impressed you could tell I am of the Kree race.”
“I was trained to pick apart the differences as a child. You’re short for a Kree, sure, but you’re much too lean to be a Spartoi. What’s your name?” Peter asked.
“Kad-Rol. Please just call me Kad,” the Kree motioned away, “And follow me.”
Milago’s hatch closed as Peter followed Kad away.
“Now, if you wouldn’t mind me asking, I was told that I would be able to know you by your large red hair-fin. You are…noticeably missing that attribute. Why?” Kad asked.
“What, people don’t change their hairstyles in your corner of the galaxy?” Peter exclaimed, feigning slight anger.
“No, I apologize! Lord Yondu, I did not mean to…I am incredibly sorry!”
“I will let it pass this one time,” Peter growled out, “Never doubt me again.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kad proceeded to lead Peter to a dirty floating car that seemed as if it was about to fall apart. Peter slowly, reluctantly got into the vehicle and Kad took off.
“You couldn’t afford better?” Peter wondered aloud.
“My employer…”
“You didn’t hire me?” Peter interrupted, “If not, I demand to meet who did! Yondu the Savage does not do blind deals! I—“
Peter began to panic a little. D’ast it all! Why didn’t he check with the Kree before following him?! Agreeing to a deal without the employer present was always a mistake. You could get caught in a two-way deal, scammed out of money, or killed.
“Please, calm yourself, Lord Yondu,” Kad begged, “My master will show himself once you retrieve the artifact. He will pay you in person.”
Peter glanced around. They were already deep into the city. There was no going back now. He sighed and nodded his head.
“Fine…” he tried to calm his nerves by getting to know more about his employer, “What does a Kree want with this…Element Gun, anyway? It’s just some sort of useless religious artifact, isn’t it? If this works out then the best you’ll get is a piece of crap laser gun. Worst? Full on galactic war with the Spartoi Empire, and since you guys are already caught fighting the Skrulls, I don’t see why…”
“The Element Gun is more than an artifact, Lord Yondu. It holds a power greater than you know. My employer wants the Gun for the very reason you mentioned: to defeat the Skrulls.”
So he is military, Peter surmised. That didn’t help. It also meant…
“You’re using me in case things go bad. If they do, the blame can’t be traced back to the Kree.”
“Well…”
“No, it’s fine,” Peter chuckled a little, “I’ve been in worse positions in my life, believe me.”
“I am happy you are appeased. You will be paid well. Furthermore, if Yondu the Savage is as great a thief as the stories tell, then everything will proceed as planned,” Kad said.
“You bet your garnag I am,” Peter agreed, “I’ll have that artifact faster than Kland-Ur can run the two-forty.”
Eventually, the two arrived in front of a large building made of thick gray rock. Gold tiles were scattered around throughout the architecture. This was it…
“The Temple of the Sun God,” Kad stated, “You will find the Element Gun here.”
“Right,” Peter hopped out of the car and pulled Kad out with him by his collar.
“Guess what, Kad? You’re gonna help me!”
“What?” Kad shouted, squirming in Peter’ grip, “No, I…”
“Want to cause a scene?” Peter interrupted, “Because that’s what you’re doing right now.”
“D’ast you, Yondu. I will not…”
Peter pulled out a blaster from his belt and shoved it into the small of Kad’s back.
“Do as I say. I just need one thing from you. Be a distraction,” Peter ordered.
“I must stay away. If I get caught…”
“Do it or die,” Peter growled.
“My master would kill you,” Kad mumbled back.
“You would still be dead,” Peter retorted, “And I have a feeling that if I completed the job anyway, he’d just give me the money and let me go.”
“Fine,” Kad pushed himself away, “I’ll do it.”
“Good,” Peter smiled under his helmet.
The two walked slowly and calmly into the temple. Peter now had his guns concealed. A fairly small crowd of a couple dozen stood around looking at all the artifacts encased in glass. This temple, while important to the religion of much of the Spartoi people, seemed to be more of a museum than a place of worship. Guards stood at the doors. Alright, time to go.
“Now,” Peter whispered.
Kad nodded and ran off, screaming. The guards looked over at him.
Kad screamed, “The demons are everywhere!! EVERYWHERE!!!”
All but one guard left their positions to apprehend the seemingly crazed man. Peter lifted a finger to his helmet, right above his left ear, and whispered, “Milago, now.”
“Yes, sir,” Mil’s electronic voice came through the earpieces in Peter’s helmet. Suddenly all the lights shut off in the temple. Everything went dark. Peter’s lenses switched to night vision. Booyah! He could see everyone and everything, including the Element Gun, which was positioned in the middle of the temple.
Peter approached the Gun as civilians screamed and ran out around him. Six stayed in, seemingly petrified. Odd. The guards scrambled around, trying to find the lights.
Peter reached into his pockets and pulled out a small metal square. He activated the device and the clear metal surrounding the Element Gun turned into liquid and got sucked into the box. No alarms went off. Milago really had done her job. Not only had she specialty EMP’d the lights, but she had knocked out their alarm system as well. Now the only tech working in the building was Peter’s gadgets and the guards’ weapons.
Speaking of the guards, they had left Kad alone now. The Kree man had apparently run out of the building. That was fine. His job was done.
Peter picked up the Element Gun. It was tough to tell in his mostly red vision, thanks to the lenses, but the gun appeared to be made of old, rusted metal. A faint orange glow emerged from an orb near the hilt of the weapon.
Peter was tempted to try it, to see if it would work. According to legend, it was the weapon of a demigod hero, the chosen warrior of the Sun, and it allowed the demigod to use all four elements as a weapon. Supposedly to the use the weapon, the hero also had to be pure of heart, the best of men. Peter figured it was just some relic. But maybe….No. He resisted. Now wasn’t the time.
Peter began to creep out of the room, carefully avoiding the guards. Surely the local law enforcement was coming now. This was a big deal. Which reminded Peter….why the hell had it been so easy? That was odd.
Suddenly the lights turned on. Of course. Peter’s lenses instantly reacted, returning to normal. The guards all turned to face Peter.
The man put his hands in the air, the Element Gun still in hand, “Now, guys, I can explain…”
Just as quickly as the lights had turned on, the twelve guards were shot down—by Kad-Rol!
“Holy krutack!” Peter cried out, letting his hands down, “You saved my life. I mean, wow, you’re a fast shot, Kad…”
Peter quickly quieted himself as Kad refused to lower his rifle, instead moving his aim to Peter’s chest. Peter frowned. This wasn’t good.
“Give me the Element Gun, now.”
“I’m sorry…what?” Peter exclaimed, “Is this about earlier? Because I am sorry. I needed your help. C’mon, Kad, the Spartoi Law will be here any minute!”
“You were never getting out of this alive, Yondu, but I’ll make your death quick if you give me the Gun now,” Kad roared. Suddenly, all the remaining civilians in the building turned to Peter, assault rifles in their hands.
“Son of a—“ Peter looked around, “You set this place up. You probably paid The Law off too!” Kad didn’t respond.
“Why the hell did you need me anyway?” Peter demanded.
“You said it yourself, Yondu. To take the blame when this inevitably falls apart. I can only pay people so long,” Kad replied. He reached out his hand.
“Now, give me the Element Gun.”
“You krutacker,” Peter growled, “D’ast you! You planned this from the beginning!”
“To get the Element Gun and take down one of the most hated criminals throughout the Kree Empire? Killing two kulags with one blast. It truly was stupid of you, Yondu, to trust a Kree after all the times you’ve embarrassed our people. Now, for your foolishness, you die.”
“Yeah, well,” before Kad could fire, Peter let his helmet slip down, “I’m not Yondu!”
“What in the Supreme Intelligence’s name are you? Spartoi?” Kad wondered, “And do you really think it matters who you are? You’re still dead.” Kad raised his rifle.
“I figured you’d say that,” Peter sighed, “To be honest, I thought this might happen.”
“Any last words?” Kad asked.
Peter grinned and his helmet slid back over his head, “You really should’ve just shot me.”
BOOM!
The wall behind Kad exploded as lasers burst through the rubble, piercing the Kree soldiers. Milago floated in the air, blasting every enemy in sight. Peter jogged towards his ship. He could hear the Spartoi sirens.
“You stupid…”
Peter kicked Kad to finish him off as he ran past. Milago’s hatch opened up and Peter hopped inside.
“So long, krutackers!”
Milago burst into the air. Peter threw the Element Gun onto the ground and ran into the pilot’s chair, taking the controls.
“We have three Spartoi Law ships on our tail,” Milago explained.
Peter looked down at their radar, “I can see that.” He pulled a lever and the ship began speeding up.
“We just need to outrun them.”
“About that, Peter…”
“No talking, Mil,” Peter demanded, “I’ve got to concentrate.” The ship dodged laser blast after laser blast. They hit the atmosphere. Milago continued to accelerate.
“Peter, the ship is nearly out of fuel,” Milago said.
“I’ll refill you later. For now, we’re going warp speed,” Peter grabbed a lever and began to push it forward.
“In 3, 2, 1….”
Nothing. The ship stopped moving altogether.
“What the d’ast is going on?” Peter demanded.
“I told you,” Milago argued, “I’m out of fuel. In fact…I’m getting…sleepy….”
“No, Milago! Don’t!” The engine stopped humming. Milago went silent. Peter slammed his fists against the controls.
“D’ast!” Peter cursed. He sighed. There was only one thing he could do now. Peter found where he’d dropped the Element Gun and a bucket full of cadatronium, a blue mineral. He tossed some cadatronium into a slot in Milago’s side. It wasn’t enough to get the ship moving, but it gave Peter time to do one thing.
“Milago, hide the Element Gun somewhere where no one can find it. Don’t tell me where it is. They’ll try to torture it out of me….”
“CRIMINAL! THIS IS KILKOMMANDER R-CHER OF THE SPARTOI EMPIRE! WE DEMAND YOU SURRENDER THE ELEMENT GUN AND YOURSELF TO US IMMEDIATELY! IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WE WILL USE LETHAL FORCE!” The voice echoed through Milago’s radio.
“Milago…” Peter begged.
“Consider it done,” Milago used her AI appendages inside the ship to pick up the Gun.
“I’ll find a way out. I’ll find a way to free us, I promise,” Peter patted a wall of Milago reassuringly, and then approached the controls. He clicked the communications radio.
“My name is Peter Quill. Board my ship, arrest me, and then go krutack yourself.”
Peter leaned back, took off his helmet and frowned. This wasn’t it. One con? One job? No…he wasn’t done. He’d find a way out and when he did, he’d hunt down the son of a smargol who set him up and make him wish he’d never crossed paths with Peter Quill.
---GotG---
The sun shined gently down upon Houston, Texas on a fine spring day as thousands of people rushed around, trying to get the very best look they could at history in the making—humankind’s first manned space flight to Mars!
“’One small leap for man, one giant leap for mankind…’” The President of the United States of America sat in his own private area, surrounded by a dozen Secret Service agents, a handful of other world leaders, and Nick Fury, director of SHIELD.
“We’ve done it again, Nick,” The President beamed, “Soon we’ll be actively living on Mars. Maybe we’ll discover extraterrestrial life there…find out we aren’t alone in the Universe after all.”
Nick couldn’t—or rather wouldn’t—smile back. Something about the day felt off to him. Of course, they couldn’t just stop the launch because he had a bad feeling. This flight was a bigger deal than just the scientific opportunities it provided. It had been the first real large scale collaboration between the U.S.A., China, Russia, and the U.K.. since World War II. The crew onboard was made up of eight men and women, split evenly by their nationalities. For Nick to stop this, the diplomatic results could be catastrophic.
“I’m going to go get a drink. I’ll be right back,” Nick walked away, leaving the President a little upset at his broody attitude on this celebratory day.
Meanwhile, onboard the spaceship, designated the Boeing Minerva 2, the crew of eight sat down, ready for their launch.
“Minerva 2, are you go for launch?”
The captain of the ship, a man by the name of Jack Flag replied, “Houston, we are good to go. Ready when you are.”
Jack was a tall man of military demeanor. His brown hair was buzzed short and, surprisingly, definition could be seen through the thick suits the crew wore.
Next to him sat his fellow American, Heather Douglas. Heather was petite, but fit. Her brown hair was tied back into a ponytail.
“Are you excited, Jack?” Heather pushed. Jack normally kept to himself, even despite all the training and bonding exercises they had done together. She hoped to finally get something out of him.
“Mhm,” Jack nodded.
“Minerva 2, we launch in T-Minus one minute.”
“I can’t wait to see the stars and Mars. The possibilities out there…they seem endless,” Heather continued expressively. Jack didn’t say anything in return.
“I wonder if we’ll find extraterrestrial life on Mars,” Heather said, “Do you think we will, Jack?”
Jack suddenly perked up, “Extraterrestrial life on Mars? I don’t know about that, but it is out there. I’m sure of it. I just hope I get to see it someday. It’s my dream.”
“Yeah?” Heather smiled, “It’s mine too, actually, but…for different reasons than yours, I’m sure.” Jack didn’t ask why. Heather decided to continue talking anyway.
“My dad…I saw my dad kidnapped as a kid, but it wasn’t by some thugs. I swear…I swear it was a spaceship. A UFO. No one believes me. I doubt you do…”
“You want to find him?” Jack looked at Heather for the first time all day.
“Yes,” Heather nodded, “And save him if he’s still alive. Do you believe me?”
“Yes. I saw a UFO once too. Wasn’t anything like in the movies. It was like…a person. It was humanoid, but it had rockets for feet and it was gigantic,” Jack paused for a moment before finishing, “No one believes me either.”
“Well, I do…”
“T-Minus 10. 9. 8.”
“Better get ready,” Heather sat back and took a deep breath.
“7. 6. 5. 4. 3.”
Adrenaline surged through Heather’s blood. It was finally time. All these years she’d trained for this!
“2. 1. Lift off!”
The rocket surged into the air, knocking all of the crew back into their seats. Minutes passed. Everything was going fine. Outside the windows, Heather could see the stars.
Thirty minutes in, the crew was up and moving. Their freedom didn’t last long.
Jack Flag sat at the front of the ship, looking out into the stars. Something odd…something glowing had caught his eye in the distance, and it wasn’t a star.
“Jack, what are you…” Heather walked up beside him, but she saw it too. The light was getting bigger and bigger. Heather realized it was getting closer.
“Oh God, what is…”
ZOOM!
Golden energy encased the ship and in a burst of light, everything ceased to be. Just outside of Earth’s orbit, where once a ship had flown, now was nothing.
The Boeing Minerva 2 had disappeared with its crew, seemingly lost to the stars.
NEXT: PRISON BREAK!