Treats


Notes: This is the last chapter where the different personalities get to know each other better. It was a lot of fun to write, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In the next chapter, the real action starts.

If you read it and you like it and/ or if you want to make a remark, please leave a review! I'm very happy with all the feedback you give! It makes me confident that I'm heading in the right direction (or should make a few changes, that's all part of a writer's job).


Peter took over the helm and Gamora co-piloted. Rocket went to the pantry and sat down at the table to plan the mission. He studied the schematics Sam had given him.

Meanwhile, the cat was done sniffing and had found the food storage. He browsed through all the vegetables and then noticed the still unrepaired food dispenser. He said to Rocket, "Seems your food synthesiser needs some repair."

Rocket looked up from his study and replied, "I needed some parts. I haven't come around to fix it yet."

"Hmm, that's a bit of an inconvenience. I need a high protein diet."

"That's not my problem. Ya shoulda thought about that before ya came on board."

"Well, thank you for being so considerate." He looked at the machine and had a thought, "Hey, I know a guy who is crazy about classic food machines like that. I can give him a call so he can help fix it."

"I'm not gonna help with that. We're on a mission, it can wait."

"Would you mind if I fix this thing with his help?"

"Sure, knock yourself out."

Sam did some gesturing and a holographic scene appeared. It showed an upright standing fox in an old-fashioned overall who seemed to be working on some machinery. The image of the fox was about twenty cm high. Sam said to the guy, "Hi Muzzo, are you busy?"

The fox in the image stopped what he was doing and replied, "Hi Sam. Well, I'm working on this ... never mind. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm on board of a ship and they have a broken food processor. Have a look at this." He moved his fingers, seemingly grabbing things in the air. An image of the dispenser appeared in the hologram and the fox looked at it.

"Cool," he enthused, "I haven't seen one of those in a long time. Looks like a 3D food printer."

"I thought you may like it. Can you fix it?"

"Yeah, easy peasy. Oh, I see what's wrong. The coils have been taken out and ... apparently modified into something. I can show you how to change them back."

"Are you sure you have time for it?

"No problem."

"By the way," Sam said, "This is Rocket, Rocket this is Muzzo."

The raccoon waved his hand absent-mindedly while Muzzo said, "Hi there, Rocket. Nice to meet you."

Rocket mumbled back, "You too."

"He's planning the mission," Sam excused him.

The hologram disappeared. After a while, it reappeared and the fox said, "I got instructions for you. But I got another idea. That thing is totally outdated. What if we upgrade it a bit?"

"Sounds nice. What do you have in mind?"

"This version can only heat food. I can add a cooling device. Furthermore, the auto-clean unit must leave a terrible taste, it uses a chemical detergent. If I add a steam cleaner, it would make the food taste a lot better."

"Won't that use a lot of water?"

"I'll build in a recycler."

"Well, let me ask. Rocket?"

"Yeah, what now?"

"Can we upgrade the dispenser?"

"Do with it whatever ya want. Make it sing and dance for all I care. Can't ya see I'm busy with urgent things?" the annoyed raccoon barked.

Sam put up his thumb and said, "Sounds like a 'yes' to me. Muz, do you have the parts and the instructions ready?"

"Give me half an hour."

The hologram went off again.

Sam started to prepare the repairs. He disassembled the device that Rocket had made to scan metal and cleaned it. After he was done, he squatted on the floor and started to clean himself by licking his paws and his fur.

Gamora came in. She opened a closet, took out an apple-like fruit and bit in it. Then she sat down at the table where Rocket was working. The raccoon looked stressed. After a while, he said, "What?"

"I'm just taking a break," the lady said. "How do you come along?"

"We'll get there. I figure ya get in with a thermal lance. Pete an' I will give you suppressive fire. Groot can't go in 'coz of the heat. We need ta get him close to the compound, so he can beat up the Skrulls who come out." He sighed, "If they come out at all. They'll probably stay in ta have more of a fightin' chance. The corridors and narrow openings are easy to defend. More likely, they'll just close the cubes, in which case we have ta cut through them all."

"That will take a while. I hope they don't have teleportation."

"That would invalidate the whole plan. Let's just assume they don't have one." He pondered for a short while and then addressed the cat, "Sam, can ya see if they have a teleport?"

The cat stopped his cleaning routine and moved his fingers. After a number of movements, he confirmed, "Yes, they have one. In the central cube, the one Drax is guarding."

"Damn," Rocket called out in frustration. "Damn, damn, damn! This is fucking impossible." Then he looked at Sam in anger and said with a raised, angry voice, "Couldn't ya have told me before?"

Sam frowned. He replied, "Hey, my system is query based. If you don't ask the right questions, it doesn't come up with the right answers. Besides, why are you angry at me? I'm only here to help, you know?"

The raccoon growled and pulled at his own cheek fur. He grumbled, "Yer system doesn't do a lot of good. Now I have to start all over again."

Gamora said, soothingly, "It's nobody's fault, Rock. You've cracked tougher nuts."

Sam suggested, "Maybe the situation calls for a ruse."

Rocket sneered, "Who asked you?"

The cat suddenly hissed angrily, "Do you want my help or not? I resent your unfriendliness. I didn't do anything wrong to you!"

Rocket looked at him and muttered, "'m sorry, OK?"

Sam's tail swished nervously while he angrily continued licking his paw.

Gamora looked at him. Then she had an idea, "If Sam approached the base, they'd probably think he's just an animal."

Sam looked up. He let the idea sink in. His tail stopped moving except for the tip. He said with a faint smile, "That sounds like an idea."

Rocket interjected, "Yes, but how's he gonna do that on his own?"

Gamora looked at him, grinning subtly. Rocket moved back slightly and said, "Oh no, oh no no no. I know what ye're thinkin'. No way."

Sam looked at Rocket, "I think it's a good plan. It may work."

Rocket scowled at the cat. The discussion raised his hackles. He wanted to snap something at Sam. However, after he had made his apologies, he was more aware that his anger really was about getting Drax home safely and the difficulty to achieve that.

On a deeper level, he had been feeling all this time how his Guardian family had been ripped apart and how he felt powerless. Feeling helpless was something he found almost unbearable; it made him feel on edge.

He took a deep breath and told himself, I need to control my anger. A thing he always told himself after he had exploded or was about to explode. He explained slowly and with determination, "I don't care how ya feel about impersonatin' an animal, but for me it's a no go. It just doesn't fly for me."

Sam said, "Really? For me, it's no problem. I'm a cat and I like being a cat. I think it would be cool."

Rocket continued, "Look, I don't see how this plan can work. Raccoons - ," he said and swallowed, " - and cats are probably not even indigenous to the planet. Besides, if two animals of different species were workin' together, it would raise their suspicion. They ain't that stupid"

Sam listened to his remark and smiled even deeper.

"What?" Rocket exclaimed.

"Oh, I know something, it's just beautiful. You hate me, right?"

"What if?"

"No, think about it, raccoons and cats are natural enemies."

"So?"

"Why not make the best use of your misplaced instincts? Why not approach the base while we're fighting?"

"How do ya mean?"

"Picture this: I'm a medium sized predator. I caught a big prey. You're a thievish raccoon, wanting to steal my catch. I'm trying to defend it. Meanwhile I see the construction in the middle of the jungle. I hoist my prey up to be able to defend it better. You follow me. Together, we make a big mess. That would catch their attention."

Gamora nodded almost unnoticeably. Rocket was baffled. It was a good plan. But the Raccoon wasn't ready to give up his resistance. It wasn't his plan and he disliked it in many ways, so he criticised, "It's a stupid plan! How can we protect ourselves against gunfire if we're ... naked? And besides, I have ... my ...," he hesitated and stuttered, took a short breath and then continued, "no, no and no! I have my dignity, ya know?"

Gamora glanced at him with a look that conveyed wisdom, as only she could look. She tried to convince him, "Of course you don't have to do something that you find shameful. It's only about saving Drax."

"I know, ya don't have ta be cynical," Rocket exclaimed with a mix of annoyance and despair in his voice. He struggled to find a way out of this distressful proposal and protested, "Look, if that cat doesn't mind walkin' around naked like a freakin' animal, it's his choice. I'm just not comfortable with it."

"I'm not naked," the cat said.

Gamora and Rocket looked at him. Sam stood up and pulled at something at his side. It seemed like he pulled a patch of his fur loose, but underneath he had more fur. "I'm wearing furry short pants," he simply said.

Now they realised that he was wearing furry shorts in exactly the same colours as his own fur, matching the white of his belly/ chest area and the black of the rest of his body (not entirely that is, his muzzle, hands and feet were white too).

"I got big balls, you know. Didn't any of you wonder why you didn't see them?"

Rocket tried to make a joke, "Well, I thought ya were ..."

"Oh no, don't you say it!" Sam called out. "That's offensive to say to a cat! We're a proud species! I'm fertile."

"I bet you are," Gamora said. "OK, we got a little sidetracked here."

"Not at all," the cat claimed. He took off his blue backpack and gestured a series of instructions. Then he pulled out a pair of shorts that roughly matched Rocket's fur colour. "Tada!"

The raccoon looked estranged, "What ... have ya been keepin' that in yer backpack all the time?"

"Oh, the knapsack," Sam said and chuckled. "No, it contains a miniportal connected to a production facility. I can pull out stuff I program."

Rocket remarked, "Ye're full of surprises, ain't ya?"

"You haven't seen half of it," he continued. "That brings me to the next issue. A fake prey and protection against photon blasts. I can have some of the Tangerine staff make a fake prey and design suits that contain some protection."

"A suit?" Rocket asked.

"Well, a furry suit that covers most of your body. We can weave in a shielding device that protects against high energy photons."

"So how big would that suit be?"

"I don't know; I guess only your feet, hands and head would stick out. But with the right tech, the parts that stick out can be protected to some degree. Don't you have technology like that?"

"Yeah, sure," the raccoon replied. He realised that his question had sounded a bit silly. All the time, he was worried a lot that he had to show his naked backside. Running around in the nude wouldn't even be such a problem for him, but he was very sensitive about the implants in his back. He didn't like it when people saw them. Now that he knew the suit would cover them up, he gave up his resistance. It was a good plan. This was the best shot they had at getting Drax out unharmed.

"I'll get to it then," Sam suggested.

Rocket nodded. Gamora walked back to the cockpit to inform Peter. Sam used his communication device again. This time a female bunny appeared. She was dressed in blue trousers and a white shirt with a small collar. She was white all over except for the beautiful black tips on her long ears.

"Hi Trix."

"Hi Sam," she said with enthusiasm. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, really fine. I'm on a mission."

"How exciting!"

"Hey, I need your help with something, can you spare some time?"

"Of course. We can always make time." She winked.

Sam chuckled, "We sure can." Then he explained about the suits he wanted, one for himself and one for Rocket. He transmitted data to her and after a bit of chitchatting with the cute bunny, he closed the connexion.

Directly after, a new hologram appeared with the fox in the overall. "I got the specs," he said.

"Great! Did you enjoy making the device?"

"You know me; I love cooking and making food machines. Nothing gives pleasure like good food."

"I can think of one other gratification," Sam joked. The fox giggled and Sam grinned.

"OK," Sam said, "let's see what you have for me." The cat pulled one part after the other out of his backpack.

Rocket watched him attentively. The bag actually did contain a miniportal. He was distrustful towards the cat and he never knew if the guy was making things up or if he was for real. Even the location and the building they were heading for was something imaginary for him until he could see it with his own eyes. However, this repair operation showed that the Tangerine residents had useful skills that actually worked.

After he had pulled out all the gear, Sam asked the fox to stay online in case he got stuck. The cat started to work with the machine, but didn't seem to have a natural talent for it.

Rocket watched the two and stepped down from his chair after a while. He walked towards Sam hesitantly and asked, "Why dontcha let me take over? I hafta know how ya changed the machine in case I hafta make repairs."

Sam handed it over to the raccoon with some relieve. Rocket didn't need much instructions from the fox to figure out how to assemble the device. After fifteen minutes, it was done. Muzzo told Rocket how the new interface worked and demonstrated how he could make a specific selection on the integrated view screen. The machine buzzed and rumbled. The upper part of the automaton contained a compartment with a transparent door, where an inverted cone with something white on it appeared. The modified device even had a few short steps built in at the lower front side, so Rocket could climb up to take the food out. Before, he had to stretch or step on a chair. He took the cone, sniffed and licked it. "It's cold," he said to the fox.

"That's ice-cream. Don't they have that where you're from?"

Rocket didn't answer. He continued to lick and decided that he liked it. Sam looked at the fox in the hologram and put his thumb up. He complimented his colleague, "Nice job, Muz! You're the best!"

"Now I guess the only thing you have to do is move it to the kitchen."

"This is the kitchen," Sam replied.

"Sacre blue!" The fox exclaimed.

"I know. It's a small ship."

"No, I mean, I thought this was the repair shop."

"I guess some tidying up wouldn't hurt. Anyway, the crew probably has other things on their minds. You've been a great help. Love you!"

"Love you," the fox said and disappeared.

Meanwhile Rocket had walked into the cockpit to check how long the journey would take. Some of the molten cream had run over his hands, making them sticky. He licked one hand, while the treat continued to mess up the other one.

Peter looked at him in surprise. "Is that ... ice-cream?" he asked. "Where did you get that?"