This is my first published fanfic. Please r/r. NO FLAMERS PLEASE.

Disclaimer: I do not own Lilandra, Commando (even though I gave him an Earth name for reasons that will be explained later), or the Shi'ar Empire. General Hathad is just a name I created on the spur of the moment; I doubt we will hear from him again. Or will we?

Summary: In the midst of the Shi'ar Empire, a great chase is happening. Who is being chased and why?

SHI'AR EMPIRE, NOT SO LONG AGO…

Michael Neil strode as purposefully as he thought appropriate through the corridors of the starship Shi'ar's Freedom. He was headed for Empress Lilandra's throne room bearing news that he personally found grave and disturbing.

The metal doors whisked open and he stepped into the crowded throne room. Normally, the throne room of the most powerful being in a multitude star-systems would be packed to the rafters with dignitaries, beings of noble birth vying for better position or higher favors. Normally, Michael would have avoided the throne room like the plague. But, these are not normal times. The throne room was still crowded, but he was able to approach the dais where Lilandra was meeting with her military advisors.

He waited patiently while she listened to the different strategies and concerns from the heads of her military branches. Finally, she turned and acknowledged him. "Ah, Commando, you have returned. What have you to report?"

He slapped his fist to chest in salute. "My Empress, I have a multitude of issues to bring to bear. First, Commander Ja'san wished to report that she has disappeared from all sensors."

The silence that greeted this proclamation gave validity to the seriousness of the situation.

"We know where she will head, my Empress." General Hathad mentioned carefully.

"I am aware of that, General." Lilandra sat on her throne. M-Nell, or Commando as he was more commonly known, had to give her credit for not showing the fatigue and frustration that he knew she must have been feeling. "Set course immediately." She turned her attention back to Commando, "What else?"

"You had expressed an interest in the findings from my personal mission."

"Yes, of course." She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Please, leave us. We have personal matter to discuss."

Commando waited until silence had filled the chamber before he continued. "As you are aware, I went to Earth to investigate a claim made by a woman with whom I had become acquainted and…" He paused to search for an appropriate word.

"Intimate?" Lilandra suggested.

"Yes, intimate, thank you, Majesty. That claim being that she had birthed a son. Given her offspring's age, it would coincide with the time that most of the Imperial Guard, myself included, had been stationed there."

"And your findings?"

"He is my child. Being half-human he does not bear the colorations that members of the Kree race do, however, there can be no denying it. He is my child."

NEXT: Firebat makes an appearance, and who is Lilandra chasing?