Galaxy stood next to Ronan, her arms crossed. "Are you sure this will work?" she asked.

"It will work," Ronan reassured.

The two were talking about the written out plan the two had created in the last few hours. But with the time ticking closer and closer to the start of it, Galaxy had started to doubt it. She knew it was just last minute nerves, proved by her firm support of the plan just an hour ago, but even with that knowledge she still turned to Nebula and asked her, "Anything we should change?"

Nebula stepped forwards and tilted her head to stare down at the written out plan. She frowned and tapped one of the sub-points, "I don't like this one."

Galaxy turned the sheet, reading the part Nebula had disliked and frowned, "You don't like that we don't destroy Peter and his group when we're done?"

"That includes Gamora. We should not let people who have betrayed us not get punished."

Galaxy bit her lip and glanced over at Ronan. This was a point she had pushed for. Ronan didn't wantto kill Gamora and the group she had joined, but he also wanted to enact some sort of toll for her betrayal. When Galaxy had pointed out that her brother was part of Gamora's group, Ronan had suggested kidnapping, a suggestion Galaxy had firmly turned down, citing her own experience with Yondu.

She watched Ronan carefully, knowing he was considering what Nebula said. Even if he didn't have the half-frown on his face, Galaxy could tell by the way he had eyed the plan. She was surprised, elated even, when Ronan shook his head, "We will need all the help we can get when Thanos turns against us," he pointed out.

Nebula nodded slowly, though Galaxy could feel her eyes flick over to her. But she did not push her point and instead turned to one of the assistants, "ETA?" She snapped.

"Twenty minutes," the assistant answered promptly after smoothing their clothes out thanks to the upset they had had when the assistant had jumped.

Nodding once more, Nebula addressed Ronan sharply, "I will make sure the shielding is intact," when Ronan inclined his head in dismissal, Nebula turned on her heel and stalked from the room.

Galaxy looked down at the plan, her eyes traveling it but she took nothing in. She glanced down at her hands and winced when she saw they were shaking, "Peter will be furious," she said in a soft voice. "I doubt he want to stay in contact."

Ronan took one of her hands and gave it a squeeze, "It's not too late to back out."

"You know that isn't true," Galaxy shook her head at the suggestion, "Thanos will hunt us with or without that stone. At least this way we can possibly receive protection from Nova."

Ronan squeezed her hand once more, "You need to contact him," he reminded, as if Galaxy needed it.

Removing her hand from his, Galaxy picked up a communicator and pressed the call button. She could hear the buzzing as it connected to Peter's and then waited for him to approve, or deny, the call. Just as she was about to hang up, there was a click and then, "Who is this?"

Galaxy swallowed hard and, using the precious seconds she could, tried to compose herself while giving a thumbs up to Ronan. If he noticed her hand shaking, he did not comment on it, "Peter, it's me," she said in a far calmer voice than she had expected. When there was a long pause from Peter's end, she rushed to say, "Don't hang up!"

"I'm not planning on it," Peter replied, his voice flat.

Glancing over at Ronan, Galaxy started her prepared speech, "We both know that Ronan and I have the Infinity Stone. We're not giving it over to Thanos, but we need a reason to give it over to Nova."

"Is Yondu's Ravager fleet, the Nova fleet, and us not enough of a reason?"

"'Us?'"

"Rocket, Drax, Gamora, Groot, and myself," Peter elaborated. His breath hitched and he added in a much softer, kinder voice, "You can still join us."

"I don't think Drax would like that," Galaxy pointed out, her voice shaking enough to make Ronan catch her gaze. When she gave him a small smile, he relaxed. But he still reached out and took her hand to squeeze it in a show of comfort.

"I can make Drax like it. You're my sister and I want you safe, which means not on the side of a genocidal maniac."

"Peter, I'm an adult," Galaxy said slowly, "I can, and will, make my own choices."

"So can I," Peter pointed out, just a hint of a challenge in his voice to match the challenge in his sister's,"If you and Ronan hand over the stone then Xandar will let you go free."

"We need more than that. We need protection from Thanos."

She could hear a noise on Peter's end that sounded suspiciously like Gamora hissing something. Peter's voice came in a soft reply, too soft for Galaxy to make out. After a long time, during which Galaxy presumed Gamora was replying to Peter, Peter let out a heavy sigh, "Xandar refuses the deal. They're willing to take the stone by force if necessary."

"Will you help them?"

"Will you give the stone up on Xandar's terms?"

"No."

"I have no choice, Galaxy. I don't trust Ronan with the stone which means I don't trust you with it," He paused and then added in a grudging tone, "Good luck."

The connection fizzled out. Galaxy dropped the communicator into her hand and stared at it for a long moment. She placed it back onto the table and looked at Ronan. She didn't even have to do anything for Ronan to know. He stepped forwards and hugged her tightly, holding her for a few precious moments, "I'll inform Nebula that we are doing Plan B," he told as he stepped away, but he didn't leave her alone, "You didn't fail," he added, making sure he was looking at him, "We knew it would be a long shot."

Galaxy nodded slowly and, somehow, managed to give Ronan a small smile, "I know," looking like he desperately wanted to say something else, Ronan stared at her for a long moment before he nodded to himself and headed off, leaving Galaxy to watch him go.

Plan B started similarly to Plan A, with a call from Galaxy. Only this time, she hadn't been chosen because she had a close connection to someone, but because her connection to the person they were calling was slightly more positive than Nebula's or Ronan's.

"Nova Corps, this is Galaxy on the Dark Aster," Galaxy said for her greeting as soon as the communicator's call was accepted, "I have a deal for the Infinity Stone."

"Would you mind holding?"

Galaxy blinked at the question, "I guess," she said slowly with a shrug. Immediately, a click sounded followed by pleasant sounding music. When Ronan looked over at her, she mouthed that she was 'on hold,' making Ronan frown.

After a couple minutes, the communicator clicked once again, "Please still be there," the same voice from before whispered.

"I am," Galaxy informed him, just a hint of a bite in her voice. Their plan did not have much time for them to be sitting, waiting for some person to run all over Xandar. She heard quite a few voices at once, all raised in volume. There was a loud rustle that made her move the communicator away, wincing.

Finally, a crisp female voice spoke into the communicator, "This is Nova Prime."

Galaxy breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes briefly to thank whatever she could think of. Giving Ronan a smile, she replied back to Nova Prime with, "Nova Prime, this is Galaxy on the Dark Aster. I have a deal for the Infinity Stone."

"Why should we trust a deal from Ronan?" Nova Prime asked, "He has threatened our very way of life for years!"

"Because this deal gives you far more than it will give us."

"What is your deal?"

"We will give you the stone in exchange for protection from Thanos."

There was a snort, though it held no amusement, from Nova Prime, "Do you think we are stupid? It is well known that Ronan is working for Thanos. Why would you ever need protection from him?"

Galaxy sighed heavily and looked over at Ronan. He gave her another smile, but it fell at the worried look on her face. He got up and walked over, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. That was enough to give her strength to respond to Nova Prime's scoff.

"Ronan and I have betrayed Thanos. He wanted the Infinity Stone and to give it to him would destroy the rest of the universe," Galaxy took a deep breath as she mulled over her next words carefully, "Ronan and I…we don't want to live hunted for the rest of our lives. We just want peace."

Nova Prime sighed on the other end, "That's all well and good, but how can we trust you two? Ronan has been killing our people!"

"That is true," Galaxy gave, "But you've must have noticed he's stopped in the past few months? Just the other day we released a man who had broken into our ship with the aim to kill us."

There was a pause on the other end, and Galaxy knew she was checking the records, looking to see if there even was such a man, "How do we know this isn't a trick? We know what the Infinity Stone will do if it touches Xandar's soil."

"I am willing to come down by myself. The stone will be a protective case and will not react. I will give it to you, and only you. If it makes you more comfortable I am willing to be lowered into Peter Quill's ship so that the Dark Aster never touches the ground."

There was a very, very lengthy pause. Long enough for Ronan to whisper if they had replied, only for Galaxy to shake her head in a clear 'no.' As the pause continued, Galaxy considered asking if they were still there, but just when she was opening her mouth to ask, Nova Prime responded, "Quill's ship will be under the Dark Aster in three minutes."

"Does that mean you accept?" Galaxy asked, her voice quick as she heard a note of finality in it.

"It means we are willing to negotiate."

Before Galaxy could protest, the call ended. Swallowing hard, she turned to Ronan, "Peter will be here momentarily," she started, "I am to get on his ship and go down to speak with Nova Prime with the Infinity Stone.

Ronan frowned, "That does not sound like an acceptance."

"It was not one," Galaxy agreed, "But," she added quickly with a raise of her hand to stop Ronan from protesting, "it will likely be the best we can get."

Ronan nodded slowly, though the frown on his face was clearly one of distaste, "What if they trap you?"

"I trust Peter. He wouldn't betray me," Galaxy picked up the case holding the Infinity Stone, an involuntary shiver going through her as she felt the box vibrate. Shifting it to one hand, she used the other to wrap around Ronan's neck and pull him close, "I promise I'll be okay. And if not then you have my full permission to break me out of custody," hearing him chuckling, Galaxy leaned in and gave Ronan a soft kiss, "I will be back," she promised.

And then she stepped away, walking towards the pod that would allow her to join Peter's ship just as her brother pulled up and connected to it, likely instructed by Gamora.

Taking a deep breath, she gave Ronan one last smile and then she stepped into the pod and through it to Peter's ship. The door slid solidly behind her. She looked around the ship, just making out Rocket's tail from around the corner, clearly piloting the ship with Groot next to him, his head ducked to be able to stand in the small space.

Her eyes moved to the other side of the ship where Drax was sitting in the corner, his arms crossed as he gave her a glare with just a hint of a snarl on his lips. Her eyes moved past him and to Gamora, who just frowned and her. Finally, her eyes landed on her brother, "Do you have it?" he asked, not even bothering to give her a smile.

Stiffening, Galaxy moved almost robotically to hold up the box with the Infinity Stone in it, trying very, very hard to not show how much Peter's reaction to her hurt. She knew he could hold a grudge, but that had always been to others, never to her.

It hurt even more when Peter just nodded just as stiffly she felt and turned to the pilot's chair. Galaxy looked after him, unsure whether she should follow him or stay by the door. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked over at Gamora, seeing her just shake her head, "I would do anything to make things right with Nebula," she murmured with a small frown. She looked over at Galaxy with a pained expression, "Make things right," she said in an even softer voice.

Galaxy swallowed hard and, without Ronan to squeeze her hand, she squeezed her own. It did not bring anywhere near the same comfort for her. Nodding to herself, she walked down and stood behind Peter's chair. She could tell he knew she was there, he had stiffened and had shifted in his seat, "There are chairs back there," Peter said without looking at her.

"I know," Galaxy replied, "I just felt more comfortable watching. I still get motion sickness."

Peter tried, and failed, to stifle a snort, "Well if you're going to throw up then we have a bathroom."

"Better than the parking lot of a hospital."

The reminder not lost him, Peter shook his head. When their mother had been moved into the hospital permanently, their uncle had taken them in and would drive them everywhere, including the hospital. Galaxy had had the bright idea, one afternoon, to do her homework in the car, only to get horribly sick and had pulled open the door and puked out of it.

"It's not like you have any homework here," Peter said lightly without thinking about it before he remembered that he was supposed to be angry with his sister. But it was very hard not to see the smile on Galaxy's face and return it. So he looked down, focusing on the screen far more than he actually needed to.

"When did you learn how to pilot?" Galaxy wondered, watching her brother as he flew the ship with a clear level of high skill.

"Yondu taught me for my fifteenth birthday."

Galaxy slowly sat down behind him, a small frown on his face. She looked down at the box in her hands feeling it thrum with power that made her near nauseous, "I hate this thing," she muttered bitterly.

Peter looked down at the box and shrugged, "You could have just left it with us," he pointed out snidely.

"Thanos would have hunted us down as soon as he found out," Galaxy countered with a shake of her head. "With this Ronan and I won't be hunted. Even Thanos would face failure by the Nova Corps, especially without this stone."

"Do you know what his plan is?"

Galaxy shrugged, "Destroying the galaxy? He never told Ronan what it was, only that he would aid him in getting ride of Xandar if we gave him the stone."

Looking like he wanted to argue, Peter chose instead to say, "You should probably find a better seat. We're going to be landing soon."

Rising slowly to her feet, Galaxy gave Peter a small smile. "Hopefully this will be over soon."

She turned and walked to a chair next to Gamora and gave her a grateful smile. At least if everything went horribly wrong with Nova Prime, she had been friendly with her brother one last time. And, on the off chance everything went perfectly, then she had hopefully created a small bridge for their once strong relationship to be repaired.

Sorry this is a bit later than usual. I slacked off on pre-editing this week so this was in one giant session. If there are any extra mistakes, I apologize.

As for the rest of the chapter, I hope the plan they're doing makes sense. I needed to get the Infinity Stone to Xandar, so the only way I could think of it while having a friendly-ish relationship between Peter and Galaxy is by giving the stone to Xandar as a trade for protection from Thanos.

Next chapter is going to be the final chapters, so just to go over the plan again, I will not start working on the second book for this series until I finish writing Kayla. I'll post a chapter in this book when I get the second book posted so you guys will be aware. Like this book, the second book will be posted every Friday.

And now...review time:

monkeybaby: Thanks!

importchic: I'm glad you're excited for future books!

See ya'll next week.