Welcome to Chapter 4 of To Break a Leg! I'm sincerely sorry about the delay in getting this installation out, I promise I won't leave this story in the dark. I have actually began to consider some endings for this, which should not be for a few more chapters. I'd like to thank the reviewers for all of their amazing feedback on where the story is going, and keeping this alive to become an 18,000 word story. It is so large, that I can no longer load it up on Google Docs to work on it with my phone (Which is disappointing, really, considering the the first and some of the second chapter was all written on my phone).
This chapter focuses more on the plot, as the last focused more on relationship developments. I promise more character development in the next chapter, as I have added a whole ton of new cultures and characters to work with. Anyway, enough of my bantering, Enjoy!
Peter awoke with a start, his heart was thumping in his chest. This time though, it wasn't his fear of the ship being destroyed, nor an alarm system. He had this sketchy feeling that somewhere in his mind, Rocket was probably experiencing nightmares. Honestly, Peter had no clue why this bothered him so much. They weren't really his problems, and there was nothing much he could do to help him anyway.
The thoughts that Rocket must've been experiencing though, did run through his mind. He sat up as thoughts and fears of being experimented on washed through his brain. People in white coats, approaching him with a syringe. Being forced to look them in the eyes as they injected him with it's vile contents. Peter slipped out of his bed and put on some slippers that he had found laying around. Considering how recently the ship had been created, it somehow filled with junk unnaturally fast.
More thoughts ran through his mind, thoughts of being held down as people approaching with a dangerous looking set of scalpels. Screaming for mercy upon his soul if they stopped. In fact, he would do anything for them to stop. He couldn't bear to anticipate the pain of being cut open while awake. Slowly but surely, like a knife cutting through leather, he could feel his skin being cut open. He screamed in agony. Tears ran down his face.
Peter jerked back to reality, realizing again that he was overthinking Rocket's situation. It wasn't his problem, and the last time he tried to help he just got concussed. Peter stepped out of his room and ignored the screams and moans of horror as he walked past. On the illuminated ship, he got a glass of water and stood next to the pilot's chair as he gazed out of the cockpit. The stars were beautiful, twinkling in a dazzling array of reds and blues. It was unfortunate that they would never had time to visit them all, but then again, they really weren't that exciting to begin with.
The ship had been programmed on a course to reach inhabited planets by morning. Once they had arrived, they could inquire the local populace about the whereabouts of The Ranger. From there, the plan was a bit of a mess, but at least it was part of a plan. He finished his glass of water and set it back down in the kitchen, before proceeding back to his room. Rocket's room and quieted down by now, and regular breathing could be heard from inside. Peter's heart settled in it's place as he realized that Rocket would be okay. He laid back down on his bed and pulled the sheets back over him. He drifted off hoping that the night would not bring any unpleasantries. He turned out to be very wrong. In his dreams, he had strong visions of the day his mother died, and the days following his abduction from Earth aboard Yondu's ship. At least, he thought in his dream, this is not as bad as dreaming about being experimented on. It gave him slight comfort to realize that someone else was having the same issues as he was.
Peter awoke to the soft buzzing of his Alarm clock. Looking at the time, he realized that everyone else was probably up and awake by now, and that they had arrived at their destination. Peter had never been a morning person, and was often seen walking out of his room in just sweatpants. He opened the door to face the day, and heard talking from the common area.
"I'm not sure how he got over it so easily as well," He heard a female voice state faintly.
"Peter was always very forgiving, he essentially broke us out of prison and let us live in his ship," a more masculine voice replied. He figured this was probably Gamora and Drax talking about him, and walked in on their conversation so he wouldn't have to bear any more Drama.
"Morning guys, we have any coffee?" Gamora and Drax looked over at him innocently and shook their heads.
"We prefer not to start our day by drugging ourselves," Gamora said truthfully. Peter shrugged and continued over to the brewing machine.
"Suit Yourselves." Peter continued to scoop beans in until he had everything set just about right. He pressed start, and was comforted by the whirring noises that the machine made while brewing. He went through quite great lengths to get coffee, as it was not nearly as treasured a commodity as it was on Earth. Gamora and Drax continued on a conversation about whether or not her hair looked better when she used a different conditioner, but Peter drifted off absent mindedly. Thinking about The Ranger. Thinking about the plan. It was possible that they could steal a whole bunch of valuable technology from him and leave him alive. They would just have to evade the Nova Corps for the rest of their lives. He crossed the plan out as it relied on having an expert of engineering, and the only straight A engineer they had was also the least competent of the group.
"What do you think Peter?" Gamora asked quizzically. Peter opened his mouth, but no words came forth.
"I- I think it's great," he responded guiltily.
"You weren't listening, were you," she said in a disappointed tone. Besides from being a mastermind outlaw, he apparently also had to be an expert on fashion and social politics.
"No, I wasn't." Gamora walked over to him and took a look at the coffee machine, still brewing it's black splendor.
"Then enlighten us, what were you thinking about?" It was blatantly obvious to Peter that she was prying, but at least he could be honest about what he was thinking this time. He smiled for a moment.
"I was thinking about our contract, and how we are planning on completing it."
"It seems like normal you to be thinking like that." Peter rolled his eyes and gathered a coffee mug from one of the cabinets. It clinked along with the other few mugs as it went. Good thing the cabinets automatically locked when not in use, otherwise there previous encounter may have left them with shards of ceramic everywhere.
"Well that's because I want everyone to live, if you haven't noticed," he said assuredly as he poured the coffee into his mug. He brought it up to his lips before noticing Rocket walking down the hall in a peculiarly damp manner. He continued taking his sip, enjoying and savoring every second of it. "Since when did you get the time to take a shower?"
"Ever since you decided to start sleeping in half the day," he replied humorously. Rocket walked over to the refrigerator and opened it with haste. Peter's eyes followed him quietly as he sipped his coffee. "Ah, what the hell do we have to eat around here," he growled as he slammed the fridge door closed and started looking through different cabinets.
"We have coffee!" Peter almost shouted as a reply. Rocket looked back at him and shook his head.
"Who in the world drinks that stuff?" Peter's expression turned into a smile as he leaned against the countertop.
"I do," he said in an almost giddy reply.
"Whatever, fine. I'll try it if it makes you feel any better." Peter took this as his cue and opened the cabinet a second time. He grabbed a mug, twirled it skillfully on his index finger, and set it on the counter. Rocket just rolled his eyes. Peter walked past him and over to the rest of the group at the table.
"Okay, so here's what I'm thinking," he started off. Gamora and Drax both looked up at him and put aside their activities. "We go to the location the Nova Corps gave us. We ask around, see if anybody can recall something about our little friend. Then, we barge in blow the place up, get what we need, and get out of here."
"Since when did we befriend The Ranger?" Drax asked in confusion. Gamora and Peter stared at him. "Oh . . ."
"That hardly sounds like a plan, why would any local citizens help us?" Peter smiled.
"In case you forgot, we're the Guardians of the Galaxy. They should probably recognize us." Gamora rolled her eyes.
"Blah, how can you drink this stuff!?" Rocket shouted in disgust after attempting to drink the coffee.
"Generally people add stuff like milk and sugar to sweeten it." Peter looked back at the two of them. He wetted his lips eagerly put his hands on the table. Rocket tumbled through the fridge looking for something to add to his drink.
"Okay Peter, it's better than no plan at all," Gamora replied in a reluctant tone. Peter picked up his coffee and headed for the hall towards the cockpit.
"We'll be en route shortly." Peter made his way down the hall slowly, enjoying his time. Of course, it was only but a few seconds. In the cockpit, he set down his mug in one of the specially designed cupholders. The caffeine was making him jittery, and he had still forgot to even put a shirt on. He flipped a mass of buttons and switches and targeted themselves for the coordinates given to him by the Nova Corps. They were already within the system that the coordinates were in, and the planet appeared to be a dark gray, brightly illuminated planet. The Milano buzzed and whirred as it went through space towards the planet, Captain Quill at the helm. He tapped his hands on the dashboard, wondering just how many parts Rocket had taken out of there. It was sort of a wonder that the ship still flew at all. Peter got up from his chair and walked down the hallway to his room. Nothing had really changed in the minute or so he had left the Kitchen, besides the fact that Rocket was now drinking the coffee in various degrees while adding more of whatever was in his hands. He turned into his room, and looked at his shirt collection. There was nothing particularly interesting that was popping out at him, but he did have the feeling that another one of them was missing. He eventually picked one up when a massive jolt rocked the ship. An beeping alarm started going off in his bedroom, since it was the captain's room after all. He hurriedly put on the shirt and continued back down the hall in a frantic manner. Gamora popped her head out of the hall to see Peter walking towards the cockpit.
"Can you fly a little smoother?" He tried to respond as quickly as he could before continuing past her.
"It wasn't me." Gamora's expression cleared and she went back to the commons. Peter walked into the control room to see a dazzling light out the window and an incoming transmission on the main monitor.
"Shit." Peter adjusted his shirt and sat down in the chair. He sighed as he accepted the incoming transmission. A blue face filled the screen, a feminine voice emerging through her lips.
"Attention Milano, we are holding you in our defense beam due to lack of security clearance." Peter cleared his throat.
"This is Peter Quill, captain of the Milano, we are not here under any illegitimate purposes." He really wasn't even sure what the name of the planet or who the inhabitants were.
"We are requesting a security clearance code," she replied in an almost robotic voice. He scratched his neck in mild concern, knowing full well that this may be the end of their mission.
"We- We don't have a clearance code," he responded in an embarrassed manner. Rocket came into the room with haste, nearly splashing the now refilled mug on him. He jumped into the weapons seat, Gamora following close behind.
"Are you affiliated with the Nova Corps?" Peter and Rocket gave each other a look. Peter pressed his finger against the mute button on the panel.
"What should we say?" All three of them gave each other suspicious looks.
"Well if we say we are, they might destroy, but if we say we aren't they might do the same," Gamora logically responded. She seemed to be gripping his chair particularly hard as she stood behind him. She seemed quite innocent in the situation, and if they were going to die it was for quite a stupid reason.
"I say we tell them the truth," Rocket said firmly as he began to boot the weapons system. Peter looked down as he realized he had a hard decision to make. He could either tell them, or not tell them. He began tapping his foot on the ground. Time was running out. He tapped the unmute button.
"We are sort of affiliated with them, why do you ask?" A stagnant smell entered the room, the air filled with tension. At any moment they could be destroyed by the vastly superior weapon system. Rocket wouldn't even have time to get off a second shot.
"Please verify, are you Peter Quill?" Peter rolled his eyes as he realized he previously answered the question.
"Yes, I am Peter Quill." The defensive beam suddenly stopped, no longer being suspended in space. Everyone sighed in relief.
"You have been granted access to Hydroxa and surrounding planets by request of the Nova Corps," the voice firmly sounded before ending the transmission.
"See, I told you that they would know who we are!" Gamora just rolled her eyes in disbelief and walked back down the corridor. Rocket leaned back in his chair and picked up his coffee. Peter did the same. He watched as the raccoon gulped it down with much haste, and quickly finished off the entire mug.
"Man, what on earth did you put in there?" Rocket set his mug down and fidgeted around.
"I don't know man, but like, I feel all tingly and stuff. Maybe I should get some more." Peter smiled and put his feet up onto the Console while the autopilot directed them into the atmosphere of the planet. The raccoon picked up his mug and awkwardly speed walked out of the room.
Peter held the controls carefully at his fingertips while the Milano landed on Hydroxa. The landing gear thumped on the ground and the suspension kept them from all falling over. He disabled the engines, and turned off all of the navigation systems. Making sure that everything was correct for a second time, he headed down the hall towards his team.
"Everyone know what to do?" Peter asked enthusiastically. Everyone nodded and headed for the exit. The view was something they never would have expected, and only Peter had known what they were coming to land on. The Ship Port they had landed on was spurring with activity. Large cargo ships with masses of goods were landing and taking off in almost slow motion. Assisting craft were buzzing all around, settling her down softly on the platform with a loud thud that reverberated through their bones. Beyond the landing port, massive, tall structures rose from the ground, dazzling in the yellow haze that wrapped the planet. Thousands of transport crafts were flying around, in and between buildings in formulated lines.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Guardians all looked over at the new female individual who had seemingly come from nowhere.
"Who are you?" Peter asked gleefully as he shifted his weight on his other leg. The woman smiled.
"I am Jamoral, the security guard assigned to assist the landing party of pad number 8615. I assume you are the landing party?" She looked down at Rocket, unsure of what exactly their purpose was.
"Yes, we are," Rocket said as he drew back his lips into a growl. The woman took a small step back and regained her composure. Peter wasn't sure what life form she exactly was. She was blue, but a portion of her face had also been replaced with plastic showing some mechanical working inside. She was decked in a gray uniform, with a black band strung across with two stars near the shoulder. Her cap was of similar construction, more or less a gray Rogatywka with two stars embroidered on the top.
"The city is the largest trade hub in the sector, billions of credits are transferred in and out of Hydroxa every day. But, I assume you already know this." Peter reached his hand behind his neck and nervously scratched it.
"Well, uh, the thing is, we really don't know anything," Peter said uncomfortably. His team members looked around at every which way but Jamoral.
"Fair enough. This city was built many hundreds of years ago by the Hydrax people. It served as their place of worship, somewhere they could ask their leaders for guidance. Over the years though, they became corrupt, invested in power and wealth. This slow change in the way their ideals worked turned the solar system awry. They began to mine other planets for their wealth, and hold an elite few families control of the government." She paused for a moment, refreshing her memory. "Eventually, through different social struggles, a resistance formed on the planet, attempting to condemn their beliefs. There were many major battles, one being here right in this city. This platform was built over the ruins of ancient temples and houses. The planet was thrown into utter chaos. The solar system was divided, and the Hydrax government was scared."
She took this brief pause to usher the team down to one of the walkways that led below the platform. Under the platforms where massive loading and unloading bays, fit for carrying cargo containers onto maglevs and sending them deeper into the city. Walkways were spaced out against these, the windows providing excellent vantage from which the Guardians viewed.
"Over the course of a century, the battle had shifted in favour of the rebellion, known as the Hydroxa Alliance at the time. The Nova Corps, which you have come from, were good allies of the Hydroxa Alliance. They funded many of the ships and technology used to take down Hydrax Frigates. Hydrax lost control of the solar system, their leaders escaping into unknown depths of the quadrant. The planet was taken and renamed after the rebellion, and a new government was established." The group continued down the walkway, heading towards a large doorway that seemed to provide exit to the outside. Drax looked mildly uncomfortable in such a confined space, and would often glance around as if the windows had no glass. "This city, as well as many others, were built in the ever expanding trade economy of our system, which has been much more prosperous than ever before."
They all walked out of the platform area into an expansive and crowded city street. Venders were everywhere, attempting to sell raw meat to watches. It was a city of tomorrow. A Utopia. But of course that was not true. Poverty lay around, those who could not find work often just lived on the streets and scrap for food. Rocket was the first to notice such a populace, being the lowest to the ground. Many people were lined up against the walls of the buildings, looking away in silence.
"This person, The Ranger, he is one of the Hydrax leaders who escaped the rebellion with his life. He has coordinated attacks against our planets and our cities, this city not excluded from that list." And then the homelessness and poverty began to click in Rocket's head as well as Peter's. This planet had been previously attacked by The Ranger.
"What kind of attacks does he make?" Rocket asked with a serious tone. Jamoral looked down at him sorrowfully. The whole group stopped for a moment, waiting for a reply. Rocket turned his head to the side as he knew he was not going to like the answer.
"He attacks in large ships, larger than our defense system can handle. Then he makes . . . orbital strikes against our cities. Unfortunately, he can wipe several thousand lives off the planet in a single blast, and cause millions of credits in infrastructure damage. If he hits a business district, well then that can cost the economy billions, as well as putting many out of work."
Rocket shook his head and began to form his own thoughts about revenge. Gamora and Drax looked about the same, neither being as emotionally affected as the other two. "That is why when we heard the Nova Corps were sending help, we were surprised. We just didn't think it would be four, um, people," Jamoral said as she led the group further into the city.
Not much talking happened after that, and the group walked down the streets of the city for what seemed to be hours. They had walked past many tall buildings, and it seemed that there was people wherever they went. Peter had taken a keen interest in all of the strange looking restaurants and trinket shops, many of them not being heavily popular. Rocket on the other hand, was much more concerned about the density of bars and tool shops in the area. He had been promised a large wealth of loot along with the mission, but from his perspective, it seemed that the Hydroxa had taken every piece of scrap left over and turned it into something that could be sold. Profit was seeming less and less worthwhile, especially after that whole ordeal that had occurred on the ship. It was funny to think that not even two days ago his main concern was about the person walking next to him.
Peter sighed as they eventually ended up at the entrance to the Grand Hall, their walk taken almost two hours. The sky had darkened, the sun no longer being visible over the tops of the buildings that were surrounding them.
"Why didn't we just fly here," Peter asked sarcastically. Jamoral took his tone just as serious as Drax did, not understanding that it was supposed to be a joke.
"I did not think any of you had enough credits to pay for a Class One flight." Peter just frowned and looked over to Gamora for support. There was none to be given, not that he was expecting any though. Rocket shook his head and headed up the steps that lead to the massive building.
Inside, the structure was mostly built of marble, with the lobby stretching up at least 8 floors, the walkways shining with glass railings along the side. There was a very clear walkway that had been built into the floor, the gray standing out against the almost perfect white. Hovering security drones could be seen buzzing about the populace of the building. Jamoral caught the attention of one of these drones, and waved an ID pass in front of it's sensor. It flashed a few colours before flying off down the hall. Jamoral made a head gesture as if to follow it.
As much as Peter wanted his money, he wasn't sure why they were being led to the main political structure of the Quadrant. It was originally planned to be an in and out mission, with no major hassles. He had never expected for the inhabitants to become concerned about their mission at all, and completely disregarded the fact that a government had been established here. The drone flew into an elevator with glass doors, the group following it from behind.
"Before we go any further, I must ask that you give me any weapons that you may have on you." No one in the elevator moved. "Let me rephrase that, give me the weapons I know you're hiding." Rocket rolled his eyes and handed him a concealed pistol that was hidden under his jumpsuit. Peter handed over a Pocketknife in his coat, and Gamora pulled a dagger out of her boot and handed it to Jamoral. She then looked expectantly at Drax, expecting him to give her a weapon that he was concealing.
"Any weapons?" Jamoral asked impatiently.
"Unless you consider my fists to be weapons, I have nothing concealed on me." Drax looked at Jamoral and spoke in a serious and firm tone. She backed off, but expected that he was still hiding some weapon. The elevator door opened and let out a sharp, but classic, dinging sound. They all stepped off and began feeling mildly uncomfortable as they were entirely out of place in the room. The walls, floor, ceiling, and lights, were all white. Any color was easily shown on a person, making everyone stand out. It was also utterly silent within the room, the noise of Jamoral's mechanical whirring becoming more apparent as they stood there. A man appeared from behind one of the doors, also wearing a white uniform that closely matched his body. He had black hair, and appeared to be a human around 50 years old.
"Captain Jamoral, thank you for escorting the Guardians to my residence. You are dismissed." With that, Jamoral walked back aboard the elevator and floated back down. The rest of the guardians were left standing there with the man in white.
"Let me introduce myself, I am Prime Lord Jason, elected leader of the Fotron Quadrant, representing the people of the planets." He stuck his hand out formally to Peter, who graciously accepted the request.
"Peter Quill, captain of the Milano." Jason smiled at him and moved down the line of heros. He looked down at Rocket, who looked back at him directly. Normally, Rocket would have a problem with an authoritative figure standing over him, but he let Jason do it. Just this once. Jason stuck his hand out to Rocket. He did his best to return the handshake with his paw, a strange combination of shaking his arm with clawing ensuing.
" I'm Rocket. Do you happen to have a lavatory around here?" Jason smiled and nodded.
"On the door to your left, it should be the third door on the left side of the room." Rocket muttered something of a thanks and moved off in the direction listed. Jason shook and met Gamora, as well as Drax, making his formal introduction complete. "I will say, this is a pleasure to be working with you. What you did for the Nova Corp was amazing." They just all nodded and smiled. "Let's move to the Dining room, we may be more comfortable there."
The group walked over to where Jason was leading them, but it only left Peter with a bad feeling in his gut. His idea of a small mission had now turned into the concept of declaring an entire war upon criminals of the Fotron Quadrant.
Well, that was interesting! This chapter, I introduced the Hydrax, the old corrupted leaders of the planet, and the Hydroxa, the new democratic government of the planet that it was named after. Jamoral, the cyborg person, helped me represent modern advancements and gave key exposition. Jason, is the leader of the Hydroxa Alliance. Hopefully you aren't feeling too confused, as I was sort of getting things confused myself as I was writing this. I would like to say that I didn't enjoy writing this chapter as much, probably becuase not much happens. They just sort of live a day. Next chapter should have some good action, some good tests of relations, and should come out better written. Thank you for reading, please review, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
