Chapter 2

Someone was pulling her hair. It was one of the inmates, a muscly, yellow-skinned Aakon. He was trying to use her to get to a higher floor.

Rude! Mila thought, elbowing him in the ribs. His nails dug into her scalp. She kicked him with her left heel.

She couldn't inflict too much damage; his constitution was too strong. She only hoped to get him off her.

The Aakon wasn't giving up. He snarled at her. "Xandarian scum!"

He raised his fist, she blocked him.

"Stop it! We have to work together! Can't you see there's no gravity? I need your help and you need mine!" she yelled.

He stared at her as if she'd grown a second head.

"Yes, you heard right, I'm not the enemy! I am here to protect you, actually."

The Aakon inmate suddenly became self-conscious. He let go of her and scratched his head.

"I don't trust Xandarians."

"I'm a Nova first, Xandarian later. Now, help me get my blaster. I won't shoot you, that would be bad manners. What we are going to do is get you to safety. We can't have you escape, because you'll die."

The Aakon nodded his head with some hesitation. He still didn't trust her, but seemed to be out of options.

Her blaster was floating several feet away. He gingerly retrieved it for her.

Mila shot a hole through one of the prison walls and, urging him to follow her, went deeper inside the prison pod.

She could hear more blasts and shouts behind her, but she had to focus on finding a surveillance room.

She checked her wrist. One message was written on her portable server in plain red:

PRISONERS HAVE ESCAPED

So, the ragtag team of misfits had gotten out after all. She should have been angry or disappointed, but she was almost secretly glad.

At least something was happening at the Kyln.

Her new Aakon friend was asking her questions.

"Where are we going? Why are you doing this? Do you know who those prisoners are -?"

"Slow down a bit, will you? We're going to try and fix this gravitation mess first," she explained over her shoulder.

Just then, a shot went over her head and almost hit her. Luckily, the Aakon pulled her aside in time.

"Thanks," she said, flashing him a smile. "See? Cooperation is optimal."

She liked to think the Nova belief system wasn't as corrupt and naïve as the rest of the galaxy deemed.

The two of them dodged more angry inmates and reached one of the surveillance rooms in moderate safety. Mila only boasted a few scratches but the Aakon sported a nasty bruise under his ribs.

"I'll have to take you to the medical pod, afterwards. Although, I figure you won't be the only one there," she told him as she surveyed the surveillance room. It was predictably empty.

Mila went to the control board and tapped into the operating system. She scanned through the facility's various features, but she was having a hard time finding the artificial gravitation feature.

"So, what is your name?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Sargo."

"I'm Mila. Do you have a family, Sargo?"

But she never got an answer to that question.

The Aakon was shot straight through the head. Mila shrieked. She was staring into a pair of soulless black eyes. A female Luphomoid. She looked more robotic than humanoid.

"Nova Corps, I assume?" the Luphomoid asked briskly. She sounded vicious.

Mila gripped her blaster tightly. "You are under arrest for murdering a Kyln prisoner."

The Luphomoid sneered. "I'm trembling."

They were jolted suddenly by the return of the artificial gravity. Mila fell on her knees, but the enemy jumped through the air and landed on her feet.

Mila charged her blaster. The Luphomoid pulled out two swords.

"I need information, Xandarian. If you don't deliver, you will suffer a painful death."

At the last moment, Mila grabbed a demobilizer and threw it at her feet. The Luphomoid was taken by surprise. Her ankles were tied together. She fell down, her swords flying across the floor. Mila kicked them with her feet.

"I said you're under arrest. Now, raise your hands above your head and don't make any sudden movements."

The Luphomoid raised her arms. Mila removed a pair of cuffs from her suit, but she would have to put down her blaster in order to cuff her.

She was debating on how to proceed further, when she was kicked hard in the stomach. The Luphomoid punched her again and Mila shot a blast.

The Luphomoid was knocked down instantly, but she was not killed or disabled. Mila had been right about it being more robotic than humanoid.

"Well, that just sealed your death," the Luphomoid gritted, pulling back her unhinged jaw.

Mila spoke hastily into her portable server.

"I need backup on Corridor 13B89, Prison Pod No. 2. Subject has shot an Aakon prisoner. She is Luphomoid, female, purple-skinned, black-eyed and heavily armed. Anyone copy?"

No one answered her notification. Mila realized there were probably thousands of such messages coming from other Nova Corps struggling to get things under control.

She had to find her teammates. She couldn't handle this by herself.

What is a Luphomoid doing here anyway? Did she come for the escaped prisoners?

The blaster was suddenly wrenched out of her grip by a sharp blade.

She looked down at her gloved hand. It was bleeding.

She had the presence to dodge the other sword and it clanged loudly as it hit the wall behind her. The Luphomoid growled and charged again. Mila ducked and slithered on the floor, trying to reach her blaster.

The Luphomoid grabbed her by her hair and pulled her up, holding the blade to her throat.

"No more nonsense! Where did the prisoners go?" she hollered angrily.

Mila winced. "I don't know."

"Don't play dumb. Where did they go?"

"I don't know! They disabled the artificial gravity and took off in the guard tower. I didn't exactly follow them!"

"You're useless to me, then."

"Wait! If you give us more time, we will find their coordinates. The Nova Corps will want to capture them just as much as you!"

"Right. Like I would ever help the Nova Corps."

"You should reconsider. We are professionals," Mila said and head-butted the Luphomoid.

The impact almost blinded her. The Luphomoid's head was made out of metal while hers was clearly not. The attack, however, gave her enough time to narrowly avoid having her throat cut.

She ran towards the exit as fast as her feet would carry her, but her perception was severely affected by the blow to her head.

She didn't make it very far. Her entire body collided against heavy armor.

Mila's blood froze in her veins.

Her blurred vision must have been playing tricks on her. The figure towering over her could not be him. But she recognized the blue Kreean skin, the black makeup, the headgear. She had seen his face on all the news-posts across Xandar.

He was dangerous. Very dangerous, in fact. A fanatic and an anarchist. He topped the list of most wanted men not only in the Nova Empire, but in the galaxy.

And he was here.

"You…" she trailed off in shock.

Ronan, the Accuser looked down at her for a brief moment and their eyes met. She was chilled by their intensity. They were not cold. No, they were warm, boiling with rage. She should have looked away, but her instincts were still numbed.

She was standing before the man who wanted to destroy her race.

"Nebula," he spoke, lifting his gaze to the Luphomoid behind her. "Why are you wasting my time with this vermin?

Mila put two and two together. The Luphomoid was working for Ronan, and he was the one attacking the Kyln.

"I thought the Xandarian would know about the prisoners, but she is as stupid as her race."

"Then I should assume all Luphomoids are reckless because you are breaking intergalactic law by interfering with the Kyln's prisoners and staff," Mila replied formally, in an effort to hide her fear and impress on Nebula and Ronan the gravity of their actions.

"This one appears to have a tongue," Ronan said, his voice a rumbling threat. "She must not know my reputation."

Mila gulped. Of course she knew. Everyone knew. He wished to annihilate her kind. He acted out of passion and hatred. He was irrational. She had joined the Nova Corps because she believed in reason and cooperation above all things. How could she reach any kind of compromise with someone whose system of beliefs was in stark opposition to hers?

"You want the escaped prisoners, but you're wasting your time here. No one will be able to tell you anything. They were unanimously disliked by the other inmates and they fled without our knowledge," she spoke quickly, praying that he would see reason.

Ronan looked unimpressed.

"Why should I believe a Xandarian?"

"Because more Nova Corps teams are going to arrive soon and they will be better armed," she added, trusting that he would apprehend her meaning.

It was true that she had no idea how fast they would answer their call. The team stationed at the Kyln was small and generally ignored, but for Corpsman Rhomann Dey who held some sway in the capital.

Ronan suddenly bowed down and gripped her chin between his fingers. Her skin burned.

"Let them come. I will paint these halls with their blood. Just like I will do to you."

Mila tried to wrench her head away but his grip was stronger.

"Ronan," Nebula interrupted urgently. "The Nova Corps can't find out what we're after."

"Do not presume me ignorant, wench," Ronan snapped at her. "We shall purge this place long before they arrive."

Mila's eyes widened.

"You can't!"

Ronan pulled her up by her chin and gripped her throat.

"You dare protest, Xandarian?"

Mila felt her air supply being cut short.

"My name is Mila Rael, I am a Nova Corps and I will not let you destroy this place!" she yelled with much more bravery than she actually felt. But her last words ought to be heroic, even if she couldn't be a hero.

Ronan seemed to pause. He was arrested by something she had said.

"Rael," he muttered. He nodded towards Nebula. "The Rael?"

The Luphomoid checked her internal database. "Mila Rael. Age twenty-four. Junior member of the Nova Corps. Daughter of Irani Rael. Ronan…she's the Nova Prime's daughter."

Mila held her breath. She hadn't heard that appellative in years. She had rarely used it in the Nova Corps. She had always wanted to separate herself from her mother's renown and make a name for herself, but it seemed that this connection would be her salvation.

"So, I am holding the daughter of the most powerful leader in Xandar," he spoke with satisfaction. "I shall not leave empty-handed, after all."

Mila opened her mouth, but her words were cut off. Ronan knocked her unconscious. She fell into his arms like dead weight.

"We will make an example out of you and all of Xandar shall see how their leader falters," he spoke, surveying Mila's now peaceful features.

"And the Kyln?" Nebula asked, staring at the Xandarian with curiosity.

"Burn it to the ground."


A/N: Hello again. I did not expect such positive responses, thank you! Also thanks to the anonymous reviewers Guest, Anonymous & Yul, I am very grateful. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! For anyone who has forgotten, Irani Rael is the Nova Prime played by Glenn Close in the movie.