"Poodoo! Of All the Flarkin' Luck!" By Shadow Master

(BtVS/Elements of the Star Wars Universe/MCU)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my work. Therefore it'd be appreciated if no legal action was taken against me because I can promise you that even if you bleed me dry it won't cover your legal fees.

Note: I got this idea after getting the new Guardians of the Galaxy game for my PS4 (awesome game in spite of a few minor flaws) and as usual my enjoyment of the game got my muse thinking. The more I thought about it the more interested I became but not so interested so as to make it into a full fledged story. It was enough to make it into a Drabble for you to read though so here it is.

Note 2: If it turns out you like this idea and want it to become a full fledged fan fiction story then I'll need your help. I would rather not have things just retread the known MCU space based movies or anything like that. As such for those of you who're familiar with Marvel Comics' Earth-616, in particular the titles involving space centred heroes and story arcs to comb through them for things that could feasibly be translated over to the MCU. Not saying that there wouldn't be crossovers with the known MCU movies but they'd be like guest episodes in the Marvel TV shows where someone from another show appears with a problem or to help with a problem. Ideas? Suggestions?

As usual positive reviews will be greatly appreciated, constructive criticism will be considered but not necessarily acted on and negative/venomous/bashing reviews will either be ignored outright or burned as fuel to keep things going.

Poodoo! Of All the Flarkin' Luck!

Earth-19999

Knowhere

Xander's POV

"Wake up Solo!"

"Wha…who…how…oh…it's you Yabba." He said taking in his surroundings, "Damn. Did it again didn't I?"

"Yep." Yabba replied with mild exasperation.

"I win this time?" He asked recalling this wasn't the first time that he'd woken up in Yabba's bar 'The Black Swan'.

"Close. Came up short by two." She replied with a negative shake of her head, "Korvus managed to hang on. If it makes you feel better he passed out two steps outside and had to be dragged back to his ship."

"That…actually does make me feel better." He said pushing himself off the bar counter into a sitting position…

…only to immediately regret it as a headache body slammed his brain.

"Uuhhh…why do I keep doing this to myself?" He groaned trying to massage the pain out of his brain, "My parents were drunks and gave me every reason to hate booze. But every time…EVERY TIME…uuhhh…"

"Yep." She said after wiping down the counter himself, "Now get out. A passed out bum isn't good for my bar's rep."

"Sure but before I go…could you…" he asked before wiggling his fingers at his head, "…help me out?"

With a sigh her eyes briefly took on an unnatural tinge and a moment later a wave of endorphins reduced his headache from church bell size to counter bell size. He didn't bother to hide his relief afterwards and he was made all the more grateful that he'd chosen 'The Black Swan' his preferred spot to unwind. Sure he kept things non-alcoholic but the company was usually good and it provided him with a way to find work. With a grin and a nod gratitude he got off his stool before heading out of the bar to get back to his ship.

His ship.

It'd been a little over two years since everything'd changed for him and he still couldn't quite shake the bizarreness of thinking or saying those two words. Sure it wasn't as flooring as it'd once been but there was still there letting off little mental tremors every time the two words were thought or spoken.

Why?

Because a little over two years ago he'd been living a very different life, in a very different place and had very different friends.

Stepping into the open artificial atmosphere of craziest mining colony slash marketplace in the entire galaxy he took a moment to remember how it'd all begun. Halloween, nineteen ninety-seven, they'd all gotten roped in by Snyder to chaperone a bunch of kids around for trick or treating and costumes had been mandatory. Him, Buffy, Willow and a couple of other unlucky students had been amongst his victims with the threat of detention for the rest of the year making them do as they were told. It hadn't been a complete loss since it'd only be for two hours plus after they'd head to the Bronze for some fun there. The club owner had always held a costume contest every Halloween but he'd never really had a reason to give it a try given his minimal funds.

Thanks to Snyder's efforts though he'd been given a reason to get a good costume so he'd figured why not.

That hadn't meant though that he could get spend crazy and get whatever costume he wanted because he'd still been determined to go on the road trip he, Jesse and Willow had planned. Fortunately when he'd gone past a used movie store that he'd gotten a bit of inspiration and he'd been confident that buying what he needed wouldn't cost much. When he and the gang went to the new costume shop that'd opened up he'd gone through every isle and every rack to find what he needed. It'd been hard and he'd been forced to do some fast talking with a ten year old for the laser pistol he'd wanted but he'd managed.

As a plus he'd even come a full ten bucks under budget so he'd planned on getting a box of Twinkies after The Bronze.

After the costume shop they'd all gone home to get dressed with the agreement to meet at the school at four so they could be saddled with their own group of kids. Pulling on the black pants, lacing up the boots, sliding on the vest and best of all sliding the laser pistol he'd chosen into the holster it'd come with before clipping it to his belt. As he'd passed his dresser though and seen the object on it that he as well as Jesse had spent an entire weekend putting together then painting. It was a model from the same movie he'd gotten his inspiration from and while he and Jesse might've taken some liberties with some spots it was still a damn good replica.

It'd been his and Jesse's opinion that putting together a model wasn't just about making it look exactly like the picture on the box. It was also about putting your own personal touch on things so anyone looking at it would be able to say 'that is Xander and Jesse's model' rather than being just another one in a group.

Of course he'd known that if any of the movie's fanatical followers had seen the model they'd have spent the rest of the day lecturing him on the canon facts.

On a whim he'd slipped the model into his backpack and taken it with him. After two years he couldn't quite remember WHY he'd chosen to take it with him chaperoning but he was pretty sure it was a good reason.

~Too bad things never go according to plan.~ He thought as he navigated his way back to the ship docks.

To this day he only had a basic idea of what'd probably happened but it all came down to one thing: magic. That was the only thing he could think of that could take him from where he'd been before the curtain had gone up and dropped him where it had. It'd also been what'd dumped a plethora of facts, figures and skills into his mind along with no too few memories that DEFINITELY hadn't been mentioned in the movies.

Sadly only half of it was of any use to him and it was luck that'd had him bump into another ship with what he'd desperately needed to take significant first step towards survival. Turns out that unlike the universe the movie depicted travelling from one end of the galaxy to another was quite a bit different. He didn't understand the specifics but apparently there were long established routes that could only be accessed at specific points in each star system using a specific type of tech. Sure it sometimes looked like there were multiple entry and exit points but the truth was that you were actually dealing with one large access point wide enough for dozens if not hundreds of ship to fly side-by-side.

Too bad that the FTL drive on his ship didn't have the tech to access these entry and exit points like every other spaceship not trapped in a single system could.

Fortunately the ship he'd bumped into had been an explorer's ship determined to unlock the secrets of the galaxy one system at a time. With a little bargaining and a mutual understanding he'd managed to get ahold of the data he'd needed to get to the nearest civilized system using his ship's FTL method in one piece.

Dodging the ships, satellites and orbital space stations after arrival though had been a little too close for comfort.

Good thing arriving so close the way he had scrambled any sensors that might've picked something up or else he'd been in the centre of multiple uncomfortable spotlights.

After landing on the planet (outside of the city since he didn't have any money or paperwork) he'd spent eight solid months either getting what a space traveller needed or earning the money to get what he needed. It'd been hard work since he hadn't been willing to risk another FTL jump until he had a complete collection of the data he needed or figured out how to replace his ship's FTL with a local one.

It'd turned out that the former had happened rather than the latter.

After that he'd went with the move that'd been a part of his mind from the moment he'd gotten his bearings: get back to Earth, find the Scoobies and then show off his upgrade.

Too bad there'd been one little hitch: no matter WHERE or how HARD he looked he couldn't find Earth in any part of the data he'd acquired!

He'd talked to people who he thought might've heard of it but one after another he was told they'd never heard of a place called Earth or a system quite like the one he described to them. While his grades had never been the greatest he knew enough about Earth's solar system to be able to describe it and could even tossed in a few sciencey facts about each planet. The only conclusion that they'd been able to come to was that his home system was uncharted or so far off the beaten path that almost no one had ever been there.

Considering how many sentient space faring people there apparently were in the known galaxy he hadn't been filled with confidence about his odds of finding that one person who had been there.

Since then he'd been trying to make a living doing odd jobs ranging from hauling cargo to transporting VIPs on the sly to the occasional shady job. Nothing too risky for the last one and for the first year he'd made sure to check with people more experienced than him to ensure he wasn't biting off more than he could chew. Once he'd gained an understanding of the job market and who his potential bosses were things had settled into a pattern of living that if he was being honest wasn't all that bad. He'd met decent people, learned some fun things and got to live the dream of every person who'd ever seen the movies.

He could just picture some of the sci-fi nerds back at Sunnydale High School being green with envy if they knew where he was at the moment.

That didn't mean that he wouldn't jump at the chance to go home if he found a way but he'd stay in contact with his new friends and come running if they needed his help.

~Definitely gotta install an external camera on the front of the ship.~ He thought as his ship came into sight, ~The looks on their faces when they see the ship'll be priceless!~

Indeed the sight of a slightly modified Millennium Falcon was something to behold and even if it was considered junk by many in the movies on Earth it'd be considered cutting edge. Hell! Thanks to some creative work he'd been able to keep the Falcon's hyperdrive a secret allowing him to make trips faster than those using conventional FTL methods. Not EVERY time considering the star charts he had access to sometimes forced him to take roundabout routes but he still got the job done on time.

Thanks in no small part to his co-pilot and partner.

The second biggest surprise he'd gotten after finding himself aboard a ship that he'd only seen on the big screen before.

~Thanks for suggesting it bro.~ He thought sending his thoughts to wherever Jesse's spirit was at the moment, ~That's another one I owe ya.~

Aboard the Millennium Falcon

The cockpit

"Just a little more…a little…more…and…THERE! Done!" She declared taking a moment to take in her work with pride.

It'd been something of a chore but now that it was done she imagined things would go quite a bit better next time they got into a firefight. Not that they went looking for trouble but if there was one thing that had been proven beyond her ability to scientifically refute it was that trouble seemed to like visiting Xander every once in awhile. At first she reflexively thought it was something he was doing, that his choices or his flaws were getting them into trouble, but after she'd done some work to predict and anticipate these events she learned the truth. While Xander did have a habit getting into trouble most of the time it was for the best of reasons or at least with good intentions at the heart of it all.

The other times it was more like there was some sort of cosmic energy linking everything and everyone that manipulated variables to ensure that negative things were placed on Xander's path.

Unable to entirely blame the young captain and not in favour of being caught unprepared in the future she'd turned her personal hobby towards making modifications to better their odds. Ship modifications were the most costly both because ship parts weren't cheap but also making them compatible with THIS ship often took a little trial and error. Sometimes they worked out and other times…well…there was a reason they took almost any job they were offered.

Replacement parts and repairs could be damn costly.

Still with this latest modification she'd made she almost looked forward to the next time someone tried to take potshots at them.

"Hey Ellie? You there?" A voice she knew well asked from the direction of the boarding ramp.

"In here Xander!" She yelled at him before putting away her tools, "You sober yet?"

"Mostly. Yabba worked some of her mind mojo to jump start the sobering up process." He replied his footfalls getting closer to where she'd been working, "Still got a ways to go though. How're the repairs coming?"

"Finished them an hour ago. Had a lot of time waiting for you to get here." She replied closing the lid on her toolbox, "How much did you lost this time?"

"Who says I lost anything?" He asked in response doing a better job than last time at sounding innocent.

But she knew better.

"You did. If you'd won you'd have come in here gloating about outdrinking Korvus with a bag of units in your hand." She replied having gotten to know her captain quite well over the last two years, "So…how much?"

"…fifteen hundred." He replied trying and failing to make it sound like it was no big deal.

Honestly it was lower than she'd been expecting but still it was money they could've used on something a little more productive.

"Why do you let him bait you like that all the time?" She asked trying to figure out the particulars so she could do something to prevent another occurrence in the future.

"Because I've worked my ass off to make something for myself here with the Falcon and you." He replied with an undercurrent of passion, "I've worked harder than I ever have in my LIFE! But then that asshole has the nerve to take a crap on everything we've managed to do! Hell! I'm beginning to think the guy spends all his free time thinking up new ways to insult me the next time he sees me!"

"I think you're exaggerating just a little Xander." She said with a raised eyebrow of skepticism, "Korvus is one of the Spacejammers. He's got bigger things to do than think up ways of insulting you."

"Trust me. No matter how cool they are or how much everybody admires them those people can still be complete bastards." He said sounding certain of his words, "They were either bastards to begin with or they become bastards because everyone lets them get away with whatever they want."

Even though she didn't need to breath she sighed realizing that no one was going to be changing Xander's mind anytime soon about Korvus. Based on everything he'd told her about his life back on Earth she believed that it was his poor treatment at the hands of the 'popular kids' that caused him to react with hostility towards similar people elsewhere. From a desire to be like them to the hurt he experienced either at their rejection or their cruel deceptions of acceptance to a potent anger that could not be easily be cooled. Her captain had been kept from letting these emotions darken his soul by his friends as well as the dream that he could become more than what his biological parents but the old bitterness still remained.

In time, with the meeting of the right people, it would be dispelled but for now it remained strong.

"So you do some modding while I was out?" He asked noticing her toolbox nearby.

"A little." She said holding up her right hand before activating the modification.

In the blink of an eye the mechanisms in her right arm reconfigured thanks to the new parts she'd incorporated into it until they formed an impressive looking arm cannon. It'd been a bit of trick ensuring that powering it wouldn't be a problem but fortunately she remembered a few things about a friend of theirs that'd allowed for a workaround. Still needed to be field tested against something but she was sure something would come along sooner or later.

With Xander it always did.

"Nice. Anti-APC gun?" He asked looking at her newest weapon.

"At a push yes but only on the city based law enforcement models." She replied recalling the mathematically calculated damage her new weapon could do to various targets, "The military models belonging to the likes of the Kree or the Badoon though will be a little trickier to take down even with this."

"Well if we run into any military we'll be running away from them immediately after 'cause we're not stupid." He said making it clear he knew their limits combat-wise, "As for the police…well…it'll be a nice option to have if any of them turn out to be evil."

"A VERY nice option." She said with a grin imagining how things would turn out if it came to a fight between them and the police of whatever world they happened to be on.

"So any new jobs get sent our way?" He asked raising his gaze from her modified arm.

"A few but most of them were for things you'd never agree to." She replied remembering her review of their message box, "The best one of the bunch is a simple transport job from here to Xandar. Two people, one piece of cargo, and of course no questions asked. Seventeen thousand units, two thousand upfront and the rest once we get to Xandar."

"Not bad. Enough to pay for those parts the Falcon needs plus maybe some upgrades to the comm-systems." He said sounding quite pleased with the payday for the job, "When do they want to leave?"

"As soon a possible they said." She replied promptly, "I told them you were tending to some 'business' and that you'd be back about an hour from now."

"Then let's get some prep work done so we can take off when they get here." He said turning away, "We've got a rep to keep."

She could only smirk since the 'rep' her captain wanted to keep wasn't the one everyone else knew him by.

Xander thought is rep was 'the new up and coming captain willing to take any job for the right price'.

However the rep she knew everyone else attached to them was 'the crazy duo with the strange ship that're gonna get themselves killed one day'.

She wasn't going to tell him but she was looking forward to the day when Xander found out.

~Definitely glad I can take pictures with my optics.~ She thought with a smile as she strode to follow him, ~Lando and Han would've gotten a laugh out of it too.~

They would've found a lot of things funny about their 'successor'.

But they would've been happy to know that she was still around and through a monumental moment of chance had gotten a new body.

Definitely a step up from her days as a heavily modified piloting droid named L3 but she had no complaints. It came with a lot more options but more importantly according to her diagnostics it could take quite the beating by either blunt force or energy blasts.

Considering her last body fell to pieces after two or three shots from a slaver's blaster she considered it a definite improvement.

Approaching the Docks Set Aside for Light Freighters

An Hour Later

"I still say we should seize the ship and throw them off it." Growled the tall woman mostly hidden behind her hooded cloak and mask.

"You are a woman of many skills my bodyguard but piloting what is apparently a custom made ship is not one of them." A smaller young woman wearing a hooded cloak of a different colour carrying a utilitarian looking handled crate, "Their payment will ensure they remain true to their half of the bargain and if they should renege on it THEN you can throw them off the ship and we shall take our chances."

"Then I shall await their inevitable fall to greed or cowardice." The tall woman said as they turned the corner to the landing pad they were told by the artificial woman to go.

What they beheld when they arrived was 'different' from what they were used to but at the same time both of them knew that they didn't exactly have much to choose from. All of the ships and the crews that they would've preferred were not available to them by their own choices and actions. Honestly it had been a small miracle that they had managed to make it all the way to Knowhere with what few resources they had at their disposal. Through the sacrifice of a dear friend they had managed to get off of Chandilar and thanks to a bit of clever strategy they had managed to make it through three separate systems before arriving at Knowhere.

However now all their options was down to one.

This ship.

"It belongs in a junk yard." The taller woman said clearly unimpressed.

"Nice to meet you too." Said a young man from the boarding ramp of the ship, "The Millennium Falcon might not look like much but she's got it where it counts. Me and Ellie have spent the last two years making all sorts of modifications. She's got speed, maneuverability and if necessary a bit of a bite to her."

While the shorter woman was willing to give the young man the benefit of a doubt the taller one was very much sceptical.

"We're ready to go if you are so if you'll just follow me then we'll be on our way." The young man said gesturing at the two of them to enter the ship.

"They are not going with you." Came a voice from behind the female duo, "They are traitors to the Empire and will be taken back to Chandilar to face the Emperor's justice."

Immediately two things happened.

The taller woman cast off the hooded cloak she'd been wearing to reveal a woman with shoulder length red hair, clad in golden armour with a pair of wings framing her face and wielding a golden double bladed scimitar that appeared to flow into place rather than snap.

The shorter of the duo clutched the crate closer to her chest even as she took two steps back from the one who'd spoken. Though still hidden by the shadows cast by the hooded cloak she wore what was visible spoke of clear fear and a need to flee with all due speed.

"Well I've always been the sort to be my own judge of people and as for the justice of an emperor that's just a myth." The young man said from the bottom of the boarding ramp as he looked at the newcomer, "Now these two've hired me to take them someplace and they've already made the down payment so you're just going to have to wait until after the deal is done."

"The Shi'ar Imperial Guard do not wait for anyone Terran." The green man in the blue and gold armour, "We complete our mission's efficiently and with the expediency that Emperor D'Ken demands. You will not stop us."

"Us?" The young man asked with a raised eyebrow.

As if waiting for the most dramatic moment to do it three more people appeared one after another in spots that would make departure that much more difficult. One a woman with crimson skin, golden hair both on her head as well as her forearms and garbed in a white one piece while a high tech whip was clutched in her hand. Another was a man that looked like he could've been born on Earth and was clad in a blue and orange uniform with silver straps in all the right spots. The last was a woman in a full suit of grey, black and red with a pair of high tech goggles over her eyes that had implications that they did more than protect her eyes.

"I, Mentor, give you one chance to end this with honour." Mentor declared even as the others prepared to do battle, "Princess Lilandra Neramani. Guardsman Angela. Surrender peacefully and retain what little of your honour you have left. Resist and you will be subdued with all due force."

"NEVER! You mistake blind obedience with loyalty!" The redhead yelled taking a stance that would allow her to strike at any of the four foes in an instant, "What the Emperor intends to do is madness. Anyone who cannot see that is a fool and I would rather stand with the wise."

"Mentor! Your loyalty should be to the Shi'ar Empire NOT the one that currently sits on the throne." The shorter woman pleaded in an effort to get through to the four warriors, "I beg of you: let me and Angela go. Claim that you missed us and are gathering the flight plans of every ship to leave Knowhere in the last week. Please!"

"The Empire is the Emperor and the Emperor embodies the Empire princess." Mentor said to the shorter of the women, "They are inseparable and so it has been from the beginning. To do what you ask would require that we become traitors as well and dishonour our bloodlines for six generations. I will not do it and neither will Hussar, Titan or Smasher."

"Then there's nothing more to be said." The tall redhead said her muscles tensing.

"Actually there's one thing left to be said." The young man said before drawing his weapon from its holster at his hip, "ELLIE! NOW!"

In response to the yell ports opened up on the Millennium Falcon's hull lowering weapons out of hiding and once target locks were achieved they opened fire. To their credit the members of the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar were quick to evade and counterattack but the nearness of the near misses made it clear that they'd been caught by surprise. However with every leap it became clear that the systems guiding the ship mounted weapons were learning and adapting to their movements.

Sadly adaptation was a key for any capable warrior and the four guardsman soon went on the offensive with the one called Mentor and the one with the high tech goggles tackling the tall redhead while the others acted to destroy the ship's weapons. This of course wasn't easy not just because getting closer to a weapon made it harder to evade the incoming fire and because the young man was proving to be good shot with his blaster.

Nevertheless there were soon signs that victory would not come to the defiers but rather the aggressors. A good fight was being put up but with only one seasoned warrior defending and the others more promising than prepared.

A change of tactics was required.

"Ellie! Fire the blue pods at them! NOW!" The young man ordered knowing he would be heard.

There was a brief moment of hesitation but when three new emplacements emerged from the ship and fired it was clear that the orders had been both heard as well as obeyed. With previously unseen speed the aimed and fired pods filled with a blue substance made out of metal as well as glass. Not knowing what it was three guardsman they'd been fired at failed to move far enough and so when the contents were released the substance expanded to encompass them in seconds. When the substance hardened only the heads of the guardsman were still exposed to air but it had done the job of immobilizing them.

It also made it easier for the tall redhead to subdue her last remaining foe and as she raised her weapon to deliver the final blow it looked like death would claim at least one life that day.

"NO! Spare Mentor's life." The shorter of the duo pleaded rather than ordered, "Duty is what directs his actions not evil. There is still a chance for him to see the error of his ways!"

The redhead considered this for a moment but in the end chose to heed the words.

"Be grateful Mentor." The warrior woman said as she released her grip on the guardsman, "Princess Lilandra Neramani of the Imperial Royal Family just saved your life."

"Very honourable and all that but can we PLEASE get on the Falcon." The young man said with measured urgency, "That goop's not going to hold them long."

"What do you mean?" The redhead asked with a bit of suspicion.

"It's just a prototype and the last time we tried it out it only lasted five minutes before crumbling to dust." The young man replied waving the two ladies onto the ship, "Now COME ON!"

Needing no further direction the trio ran up the ramp with the young man slapping a button at the top of the boarding ramp causing it to close and seal itself shut. One by one the deployed weapons were retracted back into their compartments even as the ship's engines lifted it up into the air to clear the dock entirely. Then, with a mighty burst of blue flame, it shot forward picking up speed even as navigated its way to the nearest exit into open space.

For it was there that hope existed.

The Cockpit of the Millennium Falcon

Xander's POV

~I think I'm seriously getting my own Han Solo moment.~ He thought even as he piloted the Falcon out of Knowhere and into open space.

This was reinforced by the presence of THREE Shi'ar Star Cruisers parked half a billion miles off of Knowhere and judging by the warning icons activating on the Falcon's dashboard they were establishing target locks. Not wanting any more of those than he could handle he quickly brought forth the best evasive maneuvers he had in his repertoire. He knew it wouldn't last because one of the reasons why people liked Knowhere was because of the sheer lack of anything else in the system. There was little to no cover to be had or stellar phenomena that could be used to mask the approach of ships big or small. As a result no one looking to put an end to the less than legal business dealings that took place on Knowhere could approach without being seen coming.

Good for avoiding surprise attacks but not so good when you were looking to escape from someone.

The only good thing he had going for him was the fact that each of the cruisers were parked in front of the main jump points most ships used to enter or leave the system. Obviously they thought the Falcon travelled the galaxy the same way every other ship did and that as long as they didn't stray too far their prey would be trapped in the system.

~And if my girl was like all those other ships they'd be right.~ He thought pulling a sharp left before pouring a little more oomph into the sub-light engines, ~But my baby is one of a kind!~

Hearing footsteps he imagined that they belonged to his current passengers and while smart money said he should just turn them over to the Shi'ar nobody had ever accused him of being smart. Besides he'd heard enough things about the Shi'ar Empire and their Emperor D'Ken to take pleasure in causing them any level of aggravation he could. When added to the fact that he didn't like anything that could be labelled as 'madness' he knew there was only one thing he could do.

"Anything else you feel like telling me?" He asked without taking his eyes off of the sensors and star field in front of him.

"Only that we must leave the system as soon as possible." The young lady he believed was Princess Lilandra replied, "Now that they have confirmed that Angela and I are here every Shi'ar military ship in the sector will converge on this location. They will flood the space around Knowhere. Any hope we have of escape depends on leaving sooner rather than later."

"We have no choice but to charge their positions and hope that we can make it through a jump point." Angela said with a warrior's timbre, "Does this ship have any anti-ship weaponry?"

"Yeah but they're only good against fighters and medium class ships." He replied even as he moved to evade another barrage of Star Cruiser firepower, "If those ships were one class smaller we'd stand a chance of blasting our way past them. As they are getting closer would be a BAD idea."

"We have no choice! Behind them is the only way out of the system!" Angela bellowed determined through volume and passioned to get her way.

"No it isn't." He said turning to Ellie who was in the the co-pilot's chair and jacked into the ship's systems, "How much longer?"

"Another two or three minutes." Ellie replied only a slight twitch in her optics letting him know that her attention was divided, "Their ships are blocking the most direct trajectory to Xandar and the charts we have on file limit the alternatives."

"Then I'll buy you three minutes." He said seeing a light pop on indicating they were about to lose the Falcon's rear deflector shield, "Make the most of them."

Using the memories he'd gained from Han he reoriented the deflectors usually meant to protect the bow so that they'd shore up the stern deflector shields. It wasn't much considering the firepower being sent their way but it'd buy them more time and if he could keep the hits to glancing blows he'd make the three minute deadline.

~Guess it's a good thing they aren't launching fighters.~ He thought spinning the Falcon into a downward spiral, ~They'd have the speed and maneuverability to be a BIG problem.~

BAM!

One second everything was normal and the next the Falcon was going through space end over end with only instinct giving him what he needed to get the ship back under control. When he regained more coherence he could see that whatever had struck them had completely knocked the rear deflector shield offline and dropped the strength of the two front ones to half of what they'd been moments ago. If he hadn't thought to reinforce the rear deflector with the two front ones he had a feeling that whatever'd hit them would've gone right through the engines.

~Can't take another hit like that!~ He thought doing his best to evade chaotically and randomly from moment to moment.

"What the hell was that!?" Ellie asked not liking what'd just happened one bit.

"Other than the obvious your guess is as good as mine!" He replied feeling signs that the inertial dampeners were experiencing some problems, "But I doubt it's done with us! You two get on the quad-laser cannons! They're down the hall and up or down the ladder! Find out what's attacking us and keep it away any way you can! GO!"

To their credit neither of the ladies hesitated for more than three seconds before sprinting down the hallway to do as they'd been told. A few seconds later an indicator on the dashboard told him that the laster cannons were powering up and audio from the headphones confirmed that the ladies were in the chairs. Yanking the Falcon hard to the right he did his best to give them a good line of sight without exposing the weakest section of the deflector shields to whatever had attacked them moments ago.

"You guys see anything?" He asked before taking the ship up at ninety degrees, "What's after us?"

"Give me a moment!" Angela growled sounding somewhat distracted as she likely looked about, "There is a lot of space to see and your flying is not helping!"

He restrained himself from firing any snark back at her since he didn't want to hinder her efforts to find out what'd almost taken them out.

"There! I see something coming from below and to the right side of the ship." Princess Lilandra replied from her gunners chair, "It's small. Not a fighter but then what…oh…oh no! Not him!"

"Not who? Who do you think it is?" He asked jumping on the first piece of info that sounded solid.

"Gladiator." She replied sounding afraid and dispirited at what he now knew.

"Kallark, leader of the Imperial Guard, is here?!" Angela asked with an unease that sounded unnatural coming from the former Guardsman, "Why did he not lead the team sent to Knowhere personally? Had he done so our capture or deaths would have been assured."

"I cannot be certain but perhaps Gladiator chose not to appear with Mentor and the others because he is experiencing reluctance at the orders he has been given." Lilandra speculated a fragile piece of hope poking out of her words, "He would not directly defy D'Ken's orders but sending others in his place would make it clear where he stood on the matter."

"And when we managed to get out of Knowhere he had to get off his butt and handle things himself." He said managing to piece the rest of the logic together himself, "Great! What're the odds he'll try to capture us alive?"

"If he wished us dead your ship's shields would have done nothing to stop him from flying through it all and triggering the detonation of the engines." Angela replied even as signs she was using the quad-laser cannons to fire at Gladiator, "Either milady Lilandra is right and he is conflicted or D'Ken's orders require that we be brought to him alive and MOSTLY unharmed."

So this was Gladiator's version of using kid gloves on the Falcon?

He VERY much did NOT want to be anywhere near the guy when he chose to get serious.

"Ellie? How's it coming?" He asked trying to keep his concerns from showing in his voice.

"Almost ready. Twenty-three point five seconds left." Ellie replied her eye twitches picking up the pace a bit, "I'll try to shave some more time off at the usual rates."

"Yeah. You do that." He said deciding to pull off a crazy strategy to buy more time, "Me? Time to try something different."

Different as in brining the Falcon around and aiming it right at the Shi'ar cruisers.

"Fool! Why are you flying towards the Shi'ar cruisers?" Angela yelled through the internal communications system.

"Because they'll be just as confused as you are and that'll buy us time." He replied doing some quick math before adjusting the Falcon's speed to where it needed to be, "Hopefully twenty-five seconds of time."

"And if they decide to disable the engines and tow us into their hangar?" Ellie asked sounding half distracted.

"Well I'm hoping they're too cocky to think of that." He replied noticing that Gladiator was no longer trying to make the Falcon his own personal piñata, "They're a lot more likely to think 'oh the lowly ship captain has finally come to his senses' and just let us fly right into their hangar."

"Even if that is so they will notice the moment we change course that surrender is not our intention." Angela said sounding a little calmer but still opposed to the plan.

"All we need is for them to take four seconds to decide what to do about it when we do change course." He said watching as the Shi'ar vessels cease their attempts at shooting them down, "Just long enough to use an ignition lever."

He hoped.

Not for the first time he considered if his life wouldn't be easier if he just saved up the units to replace the Falcon's hyperdrive with the jump point engine every other ship had. Unlike the hyperdrive it wouldn't take so long to plot a course from place to place and there was a lot less chance of flying too close to a star or through a blackhole. However he knew Ellie wouldn't care one little bit and would probably turn all the ship's weapons on him if he said anything even remotely implying that he was thinking about it.

Seeing as how he valued their friendship, partnership and needed someone qualified to help him with ship repairs he wasn't about to do anything that'd turn her against him.

Still feeling the seconds tick by even as they got closer and closer to the Shi'ar cruisers did cause his tension levels to rise at an alarming rate.

"We're good!" Ellie declared as her eye twitches vanished and urgency replaced them, "All set for a trip to Xandar!"

"Music to my ears!" He said jerking the ship to the right so it lined up with the vector Ellie had on the display, "PUNCH IT!"

With ease born of doing something many times he and Ellie reached forward and pushed the hyperspace ignition levers forward. Thus it was that the stars did stretch and to those back in the space occupied by Knowhere the Millennium Falcon shot forward vanishing from sight in less than a second.

No way could the Imperial Guard follow them now and that'd leave them with anticipating destinations of which there were were more than a few. While the Shi'ar were powerful and definitely one of the top powers of the galaxy there did exist other governments and organizations that could stand up to them when properly motivated. Not as many as he'd like of course but enough that there was only a twenty percent chance that there'd be an unfriendly welcoming committee waiting for them when they got to Xandar.

He just hoped that Lady Luck wasn't in a bad mood.

Back in the Knowhere System

Gladiator's POV

~So…the rumours are true.~ He thought looking at the last point where the unusual spacecraft had vanished with the criminals.

With the effort due to his duty as leader of the Imperial Guard the moment they gained information on where the traitors were he'd ordered an evaluation on all possible escape routes. A map of the dead Celestial's head, a comprehensive inventory of all jump capable ships, a matching list of sentients who owned those ships who were also for hire and how dangerous they were. Most of the information they received back were the assorted collection of criminals and morally ambiguous individuals making it easy to come up with plans for subduing them.

Then came Alexander Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon, and something unique appeared to break up the boredom.

In terms of activities the man looked to be no different than most of Knowhere's inhabitants with transport jobs as well as a few thefts though the ones robbed were hardly honourable. It was when he came upon the reports involving his ship and his other pieces of equipment that matters diverged from the ordinary. From the design of the ship to the numerous reports of what it had incorporated into it was unlike anything he'd seen in the past. Oddly designed weaponry, energy shields that didn't match those used by other ships and finally there were suspicions that the ship possessed a revolutionary new form of FTL drive. None of the sources that were tapped into could produce any proof of this instead merely provided numerous times when the ship vanished far away from known jump points.

Mentor, an expert in numerous fields, had dismissed the idea of FTL travel without using jump points pointing out how terribly past experiments to do just that had gone.

~This should both please and infuriate him.~ He thought before flying back towards the star cruisers, ~Something he was wrong about and can learn about all in one ship.~

Nevertheless the fact that the ship had escaped meant that the ones he had been tasked by the Emperor to capture had slipped away along with the item they had in their possession. He knew Emperor D'Ken would be less than pleased with his report but he would do his best to reassure the ruler of the Empire that it wouldn't happen again. Now that they were better informed of what the Millennium Falcon could do and the skill of the ship's pilots so as to ensure that their next encounter would be the final one.

Such words would not do much to the Emperor's anger but he was certain it would prove to be enough to afford the forces under his command one more chance.

Upon landing in the hanger he saw Oracle approaching him with only mild displeasure managing to break through her professional composure. As with any member of the Imperial Guard she possessed no small amount of pride due to their elite skills and the numerous victories they'd earned fighting for the Empire. Failure was not something that pleased them and they made sure that if it happened once that which was responsible for it felt their displeasure even as they erased the past loss with a new victory. They were not dishonourable about it but that did not mean that they could not take satisfaction from the act.

"Prepare for departure. Notify the rest of the Imperial Guard to relocate themselves to the contingency points." He ordered not giving her time to speak, "Send forces to Centauri-IV, Xandar, Moord, Lotiara, Sovereign and Hala. The moment the Millennium Falcon is detected I am to be notified immediately. After they have notified me they are to immediately open fire on the ship with the intent to disable the Millennium Falcon…with extreme prejudice."

"You mean-?" Oracle asked with some surprise at his orders.

"I do not wish to harm the princess any more than you do but we dare not fail the Emperor again." He replied showing understanding of the enormity of what they'd be doing, "We must trust in the accuracy of the tactical officers on board the ships and hope that they are able to cleanly disable the ship."

The Imperial Guard were the elite warriors of the Shi'ar Empire and the Imperial Navy ships assigned to them were equally skilled.

They would not fail in their duties.

"And if the governments of those worlds should protest?" Oracle asked pointing out a very real possibility.

"Then they should be reminded of the treaties they have all signed and more specifically the parts that allow us to pursue high priority criminals wherever they might go." He replied firmly not about to allow politics to get in the way of his mission, "Impress upon them that we will do what we can to limit the damage done to their territory and their lives. That should be enough."

If circumstances made a liar of him hopefully it'd only be after they had the princess, the traitor and the Emperor's property in their possession.

The diplomats would handle any lingering issues as only they could.

"So where will we go?" Oracle asked as they made their way to the lift that'd take them to the bridge.

"Once Mentor and his team are on board we will go to…" he replied considering which destination had the best odds of being the one, "…Hala. If the Emperor is right about what the princess intends the Kree would be the best suited to protect her from the Shi'ar Empire."

He only wondered if in the princess' treacherous actions that she considered what could happen if the Kree Supreme Intelligence learned of the truth concerning that which had been stolen. There was a reason why the fabled jewel had been placed under such strong guard and why it was the only thing that could fulfill the Emperor's grand design.

If the Supreme Intelligence learned that Princess Lilandra had in her possession the M'Kraan Crystal all empires…all civilizations…would be in great peril.

He would not let that happen!

He would die before he allowed that to happen!

The Lounging Area of the Millennium Falcon

Princess Lilandra Neramani's POV

"Hand me the hydro-spanner." Captain Solo said from inside the maintenance hatch in the floor.

The ship's co-pilot, Ellie, did as asked even as she worked on her own repairs within the nearby wall. It had been like this for the past hour as they travelled through what Solo referred to as hyperspace to Xandar. While Angela faced what had happened, what was happening, in stride she could not so easily overlook the manner in which they'd escaped.

It was a universally accepted truth amongst all races not confined to their own solar systems that the only way to travel from one place to the next was via the established jump points created by a long forgotten race. The oldest races held records of some sort that indicated a near god-like race had used the pathways between jump points with many authorities in the field believing that it was this race that made them in the first place. While not a scientist of any sort she knew there had been efforts in the past to replicate the feat or even improve upon it but none had succeeded.

So how had Captain Solo done it? Had he invented the technology or had he gained it from someone else?

Then there was Ellie herself who unless she was mistaken was some manner of highly advanced artificial being that did not quite match what she knew of. At first glance one might mistake Ellie to simply be a Terran female with minor cybernetic augmentation but once they had gotten underway this had been disproven. A polymimetic alloy manipulated by what could be nano machines underneath which was some manner of metal exo-skeleton composed of a complex assemblage of parts. Those parts could apparently be reconfigured to form various tools and if the twitch she saw come from Angela was any indicator weapons as well.

Just who were they?

She found herself a little uneasy that she did not have the answer to that question or a feasible way of getting it aside from asking. She could ask but she somehow doubted that she would get a straight answer either from Captain Solo or Ellie if for no other reason than not enough time had passed for enough trust to exist between them. She and Angela were likely no more than passengers in Captain Solo's eyes and she was grateful that the option to simply surrender the two of them to Gladiator had apparently not even been considered. Since fleeing from Chandilar she'd had the displeasure of meeting some of the seedier members of the galactic community so she knew that self-preservation often outweighed honour with them.

His actions thus far spoke highly of Captain Solo and it was likely because of this that Angela wasn't behaving more hostile towards crew of the Millennium Falcon.

"Well…" Solo said as he pulled himself out of the maintenance hatch, "All things considered we came out of that pretty good. Still need some repairs once we get to Xandar but luckily I know a guy who knows a lady who knows a…thing…that can help us out. Seeing as how I was the one piloting I'll only add half the repair costs to your fee."

"What!?" Angela asked in anger showing her displeasure.

"It's a reasonable add on Red." Solo replied not intimidated…much, "You didn't tell Ellie or me what we'd be up against and you two are the reasons they were shooting at my ship. It's only fair you pay for half the damages."

"Don't worry. If he's thinking about who I think he is then it'll only be another four or five thousand units tops." Ellie said finishing her own work before letting her arm revert back to the Terran norm, "The rest can wait for our next job."

Angela looked like she wanted to protest more but a gesture from her stopped any conceived words in their tracks.

"That is fine." She said politely, "We did pull you into a situation you were not prepared for and are partly responsible for the damage to your ship. Once we reach Xandar I will do all I can to ensure that you are paid in full."

While much depended on her ally among the Nova Corps' Centurions being able to persuade Nova Prime that granting her and Angela political asylum was the right choice she was confident. As part of her duties as a member of the Shi'ar royal family she would often be sent by her parents on diplomatic missions as well as to partake of galactic social functions that the Shi'ar would be expected to send a representative to. She suspected though that she was sent because her brother could not be bothered to attend such gatherings and her sister was considered to be too volatile for anything good to come from her attending.

However as a result of her attending the various parties and negotiating with other powers in the galaxy she had made several contacts and even a few she'd consider friends. Her brother likely would've scoffed at her efforts pointing out that she'd passed up several opportunities to make sizeable gains or put the other participants in a vulnerable position.

A position the Empire could then take full advantage of.

She knew all too well what her brother meant and she would never take those steps no matter how it might benefit the Shi'ar.

It was one of the people she'd met during a diplomatic function on Xandar that she was placing all her hopes on. A high ranking officer in the Nova Corps would stand a better chance of persuading Nova Prime than she would by herself especially if D'Ken had spread any lies about her and Angela to deny them aid.

It would also be a part of the negotiations with Nova Prime that Captain Solo be paid the agreed upon sum of units plus whatever it cost to repair his ship. She doubted that there would be much trouble since such a small amount of units could probably be gathered just by asking each member of the Nova Corps to empty their pockets of whatever money they had.

"Good. Me and Ellie might not be the kind of scum that'd toss you back to your people but we wouldn't last very long in our line of work if we didn't make sure we got paid." Captain Solo said with a nod of trust and acceptance, "It costs units to maintain and fuel a ship like this especially since a good bit of it is one of a kind."

"Thank Sharra for that." Angela muttered clearly not impressed by the Millennium Falcon.

"The sooner we dump these two on Xandar the better." Ellie said looking like she took issue with the slander to the Falcon.

"I apologize for my friend's impolite words." She said in an effort to smooth over the foul mood, "She has always held herself to the highest standards and therefore has developed the habit of doing the same to the world around her whether it was the people living in it or the countless objects that could be found throughout the galaxy. She has difficulty remembering that not everyone has been as fortunate as her in opportunities and resources."

Seeing the mild chastised look on Angela's face she was glad to see that her friend and bodyguard realized if only partially that her words were ill chosen.

"Don't worry about it." Captain Solo said with a disarming grin, "She's not the first to judge the Falcon by appearances and it's fun to see the looks on the faces of people like that when they figure out they're wrong about her."

"I imagine it would be quite gratifying." She said with a polite grin of her own as she imagined what moments like those must've been like for Captain Solo.

"You don't know the half of it!" He said with his grin growing into an amused smile, "There was this one time we did a job for a contact on Contraxia only we had some competition times four and the one behind the job only cared that it got done."

From there she was told a story about the job that Captain Solo took and as time passed he told her others with Ellie commenting from time to time when her partner strayed from the truth a little too much.

Always at his expense much to her and occasionally Angela's amusement.

Nova Corps HQ

Xandar

Nova Prime's POV

"How certain are you?" She asked her full attention centred on the Corps top covert scouting team standing before her.

"One hundred percent Nova Prime." Captain Rhomann Dey, leader of the team, replied without a moment's hesitation, "Even with the Adora Nebula preventing complete confirmation the energy readings we did detect could only belong to HIS ships. After all that monster has done every government in the galaxy has committed every ship detail to memory."

Indeed it had been decades since the 'Mad Titan' Thanos had begun his campaign to supposedly balance the universe by wiping out half of all sentient life in it. In that time several efforts had been made by numerous armies, militias and anyone else who thought they could do it to stop Thanos as well as those allied with him. None had succeeded but that did not mean that the efforts of the fallen had been for nothing for with each encounter everyone learned more of what the enemy to all sentients was capable of. Through trial and error they learned what did work and what did not allowing each of Thanos' future targets to better their defences as well as refine any plans of attack.

As such it was agreed upon by all allies and potential allies to share whatever information they gained on Thanos' army regardless of how small. Should any worthy advancements be made and proven to be effective each member would immediately be transmitted to the others with all due haste.

Though even she had to admit that some allies were slower to pass on their findings than others were.

"How much time do you think we have?" She asked trusting the man's skill and experience.

"Given the size of the forces used on worlds of similar size and composition to Xandar I would say not long at all." Captain Dey replied with grimness, "A couple of days at best and that's assuming Thanos decides to commit the same level of resources as he did in past attacks. Surely he knows that thanks to Ronan's attack our defences are hardly at their best and this might prompt him to attack early."

The fact that they had in one of their strongest vaults the one thing Thanos would likely pay any price to obtain only further supported the possibility of an early assault.

Sadly there was no chance of them being able to evacuate Xandar in the time that they had and even if they did have the time it was assured that Thanos would notice. If the mad Titan didn't have spies on Xandar already she was certain he had probes of some sort monitoring all ship activity in the system. Any change from the usual day to day activity would tip him off and possibly spark the attack earlier when they needed every minute they could get.

"Suggestions?" She asked hoping that they might come up with a few that were better than the ones she was currently contemplating.

"A straight confrontation would be suicide. We don't have the numbers or the hardware for it." Captain Dey replied as though he'd been contemplating options himself, "Our best option is to get the Infinity Stone off of Xandar…and make sure Thanos sees it happening."

"I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more specific with your plan Captain Dey." She said failing to see how this course of action would do anything besides give Thanos precisely what he wanted.

"We all know that he wants the Infinity Stone above all else." He said with confidence in his words, "Keeping it planetside will only paint a target on Xandar as a whole. However if we load it onto the fastest ship we've got manned by the best pilot we have we might be able to get Thanos' forces to pursue them. All our forces would need to do is slow any pursuit forces down as much as possible so that the escape ship can make it to the nearest jump point."

"And if they're smart enough to block all the jump points early on?" She asked pointing out a very real possibility.

"If we see that happening we can send a squadron of Star Blasters to burn a hole in whatever Thanos puts to block the jump point we need." He replied considering the variables, "Even if they can't destroy the ships they should be able to disable the external weapons. Get rid of enough of them and the ship carrying the Stone will get through."

It wasn't a bad plan but it still put a lot of pressure on the pilots to both make the hole and get through it. She'd prefer to do something to lessen the gamble and make it more of a sure thing.

"While I have faith in the pilots that our academy can produce I believe we will need something more if your plan is to prevail." She said moving over to a holo-comm console.

It was a risk and strictly speaking neither Dey or any member of his team were cleared for this information but time was against them. After a few typed commands along with her own biometrics as a password the connection was formed with the most secret research facility on Xandar. Like any other organization or government involved in combat whenever there was a new threat an effort was made to counter it. Sometimes they were able to neutralize it outright while in other situations the most they were able to do was provide better protection for those in danger from the new threat.

One such threat had been around for years and it was Thanos's army.

For years the mad Titan had been assaulting world after world in an effort to realize his delusion of a balanced universe. Every planet resisted but thus far none of them had succeeded in holding out indefinitely and after the defences failed half the population of the planet was summarily wiped out. As soon as it became clear that Thanos would not be stopped anytime soon and neither would he see the error of his ways efforts began to invent a defence that would prove effective. Anything from battles in space to ground battles every avenue was looked into for ways to improve their odds and if at all possible deliver justice to all the worlds who suffered for Thanos' vision.

Seeing Doctor Drezlar's face she hoped that his project was far enough along to be of use.

"Nova Prime? This is a bit of a surprise." Doctor Drezlar said politely enough, "Our next meeting isn't for another four days."

"Unfortunately Doctor Drezlar circumstances have rendered any scheduling moot." She said taking a deep breath before dropping the bomb, "A Nova Corps scouting force has detected Thanos' fleet in the nearby Adora Nebula. Given what we have an attack is certain. Can we count on your inventions?"

She could see the concern and the fear spiking in the doctor but the man had reason enough to maintain his focus rather than allow his emotions to run away with him.

"At present seven suits have been assembled and undergone basic calibrations." Doctor Drezlar replied his eyes showing that his mind was going a mile a minute, "As for the test pilots you provided me with they are getting acclimated to the technology but I am uncertain if they're ready for live combat. Flight, energy blasts and a personal energy barrier I can confirm are operational but how effective they'll be I cannot say. Not against Thanos' army."

"It'll have to do." She said reaching a decision, "Make all possible preparations to the seven suits that you can. Tell the pilots to focus on reading every file we have on Thanos's ships from his fighters to the heavy cruisers. Their mission will be twofold: four of them will be sent to attack any craft that attempt to reach Xandar's surface while the remaining three will be escorts for a ship that MUST succeed in reaching a jump point."

"Do we have anything resembling an estimate on when Thanos' forces will attack?" Doctor Drezlar asked seeking data to make plans with.

"Two days. Maybe three." She replied passing on Dey's estimate, "That's assuming that nothing occurs to provoke him into attacking sooner."

"Sigh…I will do what I can Nova Prime." Doctor Drezlar said before grasping his resolve and letting it show, "You'll get Project Nova Four's best. I'll make sure of it!"

"I know I will." She said before terminating the connection.

"What's Project Nova Four?" Captain Dey asked with suspicion.

"One of many projects founded with the hopes of producing something capable of protecting not just Xandar but the rest of the galaxy from the Thanoses and Ronans." She replied preparing to tell what she could, "Using data acquired from a unique individual Doctor Drezlar has been attempt to create a suit of advanced technology capable of empowering its wearer with the means of combating an army or a mighty warship. It's taken over a decade of work just to produce seven viable suits and as you heard they're still far from perfected. Prior to today the projected completion date for the suits before mass production was six years from now."

"Doesn't seem like they'll be very reliable." Commented Dey's second-in-command and a major in the Nova Corps.

A stern glare to his second made it clear that Captain Dey didn't approve of speaking without first being spoken to especially where she was concerned.

She wasn't as strict on the matter.

"I've watched previous sessions when the first suit has undergone testing." She said putting forth confidence in Doctor Drezlar's work, "Even if they're not fully perfected there's nothing like them in the entire galaxy. The element of surprise coupled with the skill of the pilots wearing the suits may well prove to be the deciding factors in the battle to come."

Indeed if enough progress had been made since the last demonstration of the suit's capabilities seven of them would succeed in seizing the complete attention of Thanos and his army. They would not be enough to repel the invasion outright, even the optimistic end goal of the project hadn't been THAT optimistic, but if used strategically they might just be enough to aid in getting the Infinity Stone out of Xandarian space.

"The question then becomes what ship and what pilot will be used to get the Stone away from Xandar." Captain Dey said accepting her opinion of the suits, "Anything with sufficient speed will be lacking in armour as well as firepower. In my opinion it would be better to use a ship with maximum speed and maneuverability since in the hands of the right pilot it'd be impossible to hit."

"It can't be a Nova Corps ship." The major stated providing her thoughts on the matter, "If the plan is to get Thanos and his army to chase it we need to sell the idea to them. None of the ships we have are fast enough or maneuverable enough to take the role of an Infinity Stone escape ship. We'll need everything we have already just to hold off what's coming long enough for the Infinity Stone to make it through a jump point."

"What do you suggest?" She asked conceding that the entirety of the plan was focused on getting Thanos to follow his prize and forget all about Xandar.

"A civilian ship. More specifically a smuggler's ship." The major replied sounding mostly sure of herself, "It's no secret that smugglers make a lot of modifications to their ships to try and get past us as well as anyone else that might give them trouble. If we put the Infinity Stone on the right one it'll look to Thanos like we're trying to sneak it past him and the odds are pretty high that it'll have the qualities needed to get to a jump point."

She couldn't help the grim line that her lips formed.

Smugglers were criminals and dishonest out of the necessity of the crime they chose to specialize in. Like most criminals they tended to prioritize their own interests first and weighed every 'job' on a cost to benefit ratio. As such putting the Infinity Stone into the hands of a smuggler ran a high risk of them simply turning it over to Thanos in the hopes of being rewarded well for their generosity. That of course was assuming that the smuggler or smugglers in question even took on the job in the first place rather than rejecting it outright.

At the same time though it had been a group of criminals and misfits that'd managed to save Xandar from Ronan not too long ago. If they could find outlaws with some measure of honour or at least reasons of their own for keeping the Infinity Stone out of Thanos' grasp then the major's contribution might be feasible.

"Do you have anyone in mind?" She asked hoping that they would not have to waste time evaluating every smuggler currently in this system for their best chance.

"A few but the best one's not in the system right now though that could change." The major replied with minimal uncertainty, "His ship's fast at sub-light speeds and he's a good pilot."

"We need an elite pilot major not 'good'." Captain Dey said eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Everyone's good until a challenge comes along that makes them great." The major said in counterpoint, "Besides if I'm right his ship might be the only one that can get the Stone away from Thanos. Possibly for good."

This was a bold claim.

Even if this mystery ship could make it to a jump point in more or less one piece there were only so many places it could come out per entry point. Given the size of Thanos' attack fleet it would be all too easy for him to send a group of ships to each exit point and that assumed that those ships didn't stick close enough to the escape vessel to feel the heat of its engines. At first glance, should the ship succeed in leaving the Xandarian system, it would need to make three or more additional jumps at least in order to break whatever sensor lock Thanos' ships managed to obtain. After that a half dozen more jumps would be good idea to further muddy the waters of where it could've gone.

Yet from the way the major spoke it sounded like she believed that it could be done in one jump.

"Explain." She ordered hoping that this wasn't just an attempt by the major to earn a promotion.

She'd had her fill of Nova Corps members taking great risks in the hopes of gaining an equivalent reward.

However over the next ten minutes as the major laid out her data she came to realize that the young woman could indeed be right. There was simply too much data to dismiss the possibility that one jump would be all that would be needed to ensure Thanos lost track of the Infinity Stone. Indeed the bizarreness of the method might well prove enough to shock the Titan into forgetting Xandar entirely especially if their databases had little to no information on the vessel's systems.

It was a gamble but at this point anything was a gamble.

"Do you believe you can get in contact with him?" She asked deciding to be bold as well since it'd served her well with the 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.

"I believe-" the major began to say before her gauntlet interface beeped followed by the holographic display activated to show telemetry data from Xandar's traffic network, "Huh…I think I might owe my academy roommate an apology for dismissing her religious beliefs."

"Why's that?" Captain Dey asked looking at the telemetry to try to make sense of it.

"Because according this the Millennium Falcon just entered the atmosphere on the other side of Xandar." The major replied as she began to pull more data in through her gauntlet, "Looks like he doesn't want to get noticed though since he's using some of the tricks other smugglers' have used to slip past us. Seeing as how there're no active Nova Corps warrants out on him, his crew or his ship I think we have him to thank for our 'guests' in orbit."

Yes.

Their 'guests' though that would be putting it politely.

Impolitely she referred to them as 'those pompous avian imperialists' but only in the privacy of her own mind while employing mental exercises of shielding from telepathy.

If Captain Solo was indeed the cause of the three Shi'ar warships being parked in orbit and its crew throwing their political weight around then he just might be the one for the job.

After all if he enjoyed living dangerously by attracting the strong arm of the Shi'ar Empire then going on the run from Thanos' forces wouldn't be all that different.

Coral Bay Spaceport

Ellie's POV

"Well here you are: Xandar." Xander said after the slight impact of their landing on the pad, "Safe and sound."

"But safe for how long?" Angela asked sounding like she expected her skills to be needed soon, "I know I'm not the only one who saw those Shi'ar Star Cruisers in orbit."

"I switched out our ID signal the second we left hyperspace and Xander took us through a part of Xandar known for its strong EM fluctuations." She replied not sounding TOO worried, "We've used it a few times before and made sure all the key systems are shielded against it. Unless they're very attentive they'll only know that A ship descended to Xandar but not whether or not it's the Falcon. Sure if they know anyone familiar with tricks like this they might get closer than most to spotting us but that's not going to happen anytime soon. You'll have a few hours to put some distance between yourselves and this landing pad."

"But first there's the little matter of our fee." Xander said leaning over a bit more seriously, "Your downpayment came through fine but since the job's done it's time you turned over the rest."

"If I could have access to your comm-system I can contact the person Angela and I intend to meet." Princess Lilandra said her expression making it clear she didn't have the money, "She will provide the rest of your payment."

"Then let's get her on the line." Xander said walking over to the Dejarik table, "This doubles as a comm-station."

With familiar ease her captain opened up a panel on the table and pulled out a makeshift keyboard for the princess to use. Gesturing to it while stepping back she followed their usual process in situations like these: Xander plays the gracious host while she covertly plucks the details of the communication without being noticed. While it'd be fine if they got the transfer of units as promised it was always good to plan for the possibility of getting stiffed. If that happened getting the particulars of who was talking to who using what frequency as well as other details could be used as leverage to get what was owed to them.

Considering Lilandra and Angela were fugitives from the Shi'ar Empire with what looked to be stolen property and it was safe to say that things would go badly for Xandar if the details became broadly known. She didn't think that Xander would really spread the truth around but as long as the people they were using the info against did believe the threat was real it'd all end well.

It took a few minutes for the connection to be formed but when it did she and Xander got a surprise they did not see coming.

"Your highness. I was a little worried that you wouldn't make it."

"Ko-Rel!" Xander exclaimed in shock at the face on the holo-screen.

"Xander!? How?!" Centurion Ko-Rel exclaimed back before sighing in exasperation, "Never mind. You always find yourself in the middle of trouble."

"It's not like I go looking for trouble!" Xander protested in response to the often made statement.

"It just knows where you are most of the time." She said with a smirk.

Both statements were true though.

Despite what some people might think Xander didn't intentionally seek out dangerous situations and even made a serious effort at planning each job out when they had the time. Yet against all odds they still managed to somehow find themselves in dangerous situations along the way that made completing jobs more of a challenge than either of them liked. Most of the time they were able to overcome the odds but there were a few times they'd failed and been forced to return the client's up front payment as a result.

In the case of Nova Corps Centurion Ko-Rel it'd been during one of their procurement jobs a little under a year ago that they'd met the Kree woman. They'd been hired to gather up some very specific pieces of hardware and deliver them to a base on the moon where their employer would be waiting for delivery. Both of them had been thought the items odd and even odder that the employer hadn't just gotten them himself but they were never one to turn down units so they'd done as they'd been asked. It'd been during the delivery at the moon base that the two of them had discovered that their employer had captured Ko-Rel who'd been working to expose his operation.

The hardware they'd been hired to acquire? It'd been meant to gain access to the Nova Corps network through the gear in Ko-Rel's uniform. Not an easy thing to do since the Corps had precautions in place against unauthorized access to their network especially the sort of files that criminals would be interested in. Nevertheless their 'employer' had been confident especially when he verified that everything on his wish list had been provided. Ko-Rel had looked worried and that had been enough to sell Xander on the idea that their boss of the time could do what he wanted.

Then they'd been paid the agreed upon sum and 'politely' told to get out of the base and off the moon. While she'd had some misgivings about letting an enemy of the Nova Corps get access to classified data she didn't really see it as their problem. They'd taken on enough shady jobs to know that they were not exactly strict adherents to the law and were flexible in what they'd do. For Xander he was fine with just about anything so long as the only people who got hurt were assholes and bitches or people who could take the hit without much trouble. For her she was fine so long as it didn't endanger her captain, the Falcon or her and netted them some profits in the process.

She'd thought at the time that Xander would let this slide by like he'd done a couple of similar situations but when he'd pulled out a key Falcon component that'd prevent them from leaving her temporary confusion had led to a realization.

Xander had decided to rescue Ko-Rel and was trying to make it look like the Falcon was having technical difficulties.

They'd managed to successfully rescue the woman even if there'd been a couple of close calls but after that it'd been like every other job caused them to come into contact with Ko-Rel. Sometimes it was just passing each other on the streets while other times they'd had to do some fast talking to keep from being arrested and sent off to the Kyln. So in her mind it wasn't all that surprising that the Kree woman was a little exasperated at encountering Xander again.

"As interesting as this is I believe there are more important matters to discuss." Princess Lilandra said seizing control of the conversation, "Such as our agreement Centurion Ko-Rel. I have 'the item' and have made it to Xandar as agreed upon. Now it is your turn to hold up your end of the bargain. Full political asylum for myself, Angela and a place in your most secure vault for 'the item'."

"AND twenty thousand units for me and my co-pilot." Xander said butting in insistently, "Her highness here promised you'd handle payment once we got to Xandar."

Naturally Ko-Rel looked to Lilandra to confirm that this was indeed the bargain and when the princess nodded the Centurion of the Nova Corps sighed before doing something offscreen.

"Done. I'm also sending an unmarked transport with some co-workers I trust to bring you to HQ." Ko-Rel said sounding like she was not looking forward to having to explain the unit transfer to her boss, "With three Shi'ar ships in orbit it'd be too risky to send an official Nova Corps transport. Better to keep your pursuers in the dark for as long as possible."

The Centurion was about to say more when out of nowhere the screen split to show two faces with the newcomer needing no introduction.

Nova Prime.

"I'm afraid any deal to be made between the Nova Corps and Princess Lilandra will have to be 'amended' substantially." Nova Prime said conveying as much strength and authority, "While normally I would be willing to hear her request I'm afraid that whatever 'the item' is it will find no safety on Xandar."

"Ma'm I assure you what the princess is carrying and chose to bring to Xandar is of the utmost importance." Ko-Rel said quickly recovering from the unexpected surprise, "If the Shi'ar ships and their Emperor reclaim it the entire galaxy will be put in harm's way."

"Be that as it may recent developments indicate that Xandar is soon to become an extremely hostile environment with much of it focused on the very place 'the item' would go." Nova Prime said with genuine regret but firm resolve, "I would suggest heading for the uncharted regions for a place to hide it. If the correct place is chosen even Emperor D'Ken would be hard pressed to find it."

"Don't suppose you could tell us WHY this place is about to become so hostile?" Xander asked looking as concerned as she felt.

"It will become hostile because Zen-Whoberi's Bane is near and that is all I will say." Nova Prime replied looking uncertain if she should've revealed that much.

Was she worried that someone might be eavesdropping on the transmission?

Whatever the case both Angela and Princess Lilandra looked like they had a pretty good idea what the snow haired woman was referring to and looked to have lost almost all hope. Tapping into the local information network she quickly began to pull up everything she could on Zen-Whoberi and things that could be considered its bane. It didn't take long especially when she eliminated all the possibilities that couldn't possibly pose a threat to Xandar on the level Nova Prime was indicating.

"So did you just invite yourself to this transmission to tell us to get off of Xandar while we can or is there something more?" She asked suspecting that something important was about to happen.

"There is however it is best if the messenger I've sent to your ship convey's the details." Nova Prime replied looking at someone offscreen before looking anxious, "Right now time is against us and so it's best not to let any go to waste."

"Alright then. We'll wait for this messenger." Xander said not entirely pleased about waiting, "How long until she gets here?"

It was then that the Falcon's sensors picked up a civilian transport approaching from the south and its course made them the unmistakable destination.

"Not long if my hunch is right." She said getting up from her seat and heading for the boarding ramp, "We've got incoming."

"Please realize that I wouldn't be doing this if it weren't vitally important." Nova Prime said earnestly looking at both her and Xander, "Do not dismiss this out of hand."

With that Nova Prime's side of the transmission ceased leaving only Ko-Rel connected via the comm-system.

"If Nova Prime is right then things are going to get busy around here real soon." Ko-Rel said quickly, "Listen to what the messenger has to say and if you need any help you can reach me here. Hopefully I won't be too busy to do anything."

"See you then." Xander said following her to the boarding ramp, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

You're not the only one. She thought not liking the extra care that Nova Prime had taken in choosing her words.

The Bottom of the Millennium Falcon's Ramp

Xander's POV

~I hope I'm wrong about this.~ He thought as the transport was seconds away from landing.

But his instincts told him he wasn't.

He might not have figured out the reference Nova Prime had made but the fact that it'd caused everyone else to be worried made him worry. While not the absolute strongest force in the galaxy the Nova Corps was a respected organization that every major government respected and had citizens as members. With that kind of clout not many would choose to attack their HQ where they were at their strongest. Sure he'd heard about how Ronan and an ally of his had done some damage awhile back but it sure hadn't looked like the planet was vulnerable. The orbital space stations were the same as always and he hadn't seen any sign of battle damage on the planet's surface. Granted they'd aimed for a port as far from the capitol city as possible and that according to the story was where most of the fighting happened but that only proved his point.

No one was stupid enough to base the entirety of their military force and strength in a single city.

Even if the capitol was reduced to ashes the soldiers and ships stationed elsewhere on the planet would still be enough to defend the planet. If things really got nasty they'd have recalled any Nova Corps members and assets deployed elsewhere in the galaxy back home but he'd seen no sign of that being the case.

For Nova Prime to basically tell them that the planet wasn't going to be safe for them or Princess Lilandra's package it meant that a force matching or exceeding the Nova Corps was on its way.

Not good.

Hearing the clank of the transport setting down he focused his gaze on the side hatch so he could see who the messenger was and spot any more surprises immediately rather than find out about them later. He figured it could be anyone from a simple desk jockey to a Nova Corps Centurion to someone outside of both the government and the corps that Nova Prime knew and trusted.

However when the side hatch opened what came out had him both worried and a LITTLE bit afraid.

After all the person to step out of the transport flanked by two technicians was none other than Nikki Gold aka Ko-Rel's adoptive daughter. While he hadn't bumped into Nikki as much as her mother the few times they had met always left him glad that they parted company. The girl had a need to prove herself and that often led to her taking chances that triggered some pretty loud arguments when Ko-Rel found out. Like any mother, adoptive or not, Ko-Rel wanted to keep Nikki safe and even if being a member of the Nova Corps wasn't completely safe a few pulled favours made sure danger was kept at a distance. Last he'd seen the girl had been assigned to a scouting team with a seasoned veteran of the Nova Corps as her commanding officer. That'd been enough to reassure Ko-Rel that unless her sister's luck was truly bad she'd be safe enough for her to be able to focus on her job.

Now Nikki was here and he REALLY hoped that she was only there to brief them and would leave shortly thereafter.

The alternative left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Nice to see you again Nikki." He said with as much politeness as he could muster, "You want to tell us what this is all about?"

"I'll be glad to tell you but ON BOARD your ship. Not out here." Nikki replied even as the technicians brought out a seriously high tech container on an anti-gravity trolly, "And it's MAJOR Gold to you CAPTAIN Solo."

~Oh boy.~ He thought with a mental groan, ~It's going to be one of those days isn't it?~

Gesturing that the Major could board the young lady didn't hesitate and the technicians followed close behind with their trolly leaving him to take up the rear. As soon as they were all aboard he slapped the button to bring up the ramp before the new arrivals moved to the lounge area before Nikki set eyes on Ellie.

"If you have any means of preventing eavesdropping or countermeasures to electronic infiltration please activate them." Nikki asked Ellie politely reminding him of another quirk the daughter of Ko-Rel had.

Where he was concerned she treated him as though he was barely respectable and good only for manual labor or something else not requiring a brain. To Ellie she spoke politely enough and even occasionally showed some kindness to proverbial ship given human form. He'd asked her about it once but only got 'the look' in response with nothing else to follow. Thinking back to all their encounters he couldn't think of a single reason why she'd behave so poorly to him so all he could do was mind his manners like Willow and Buffy taught him and hope for the best.

"Done. If someone wants in on whatever you're about to tell us they won't be able to do it quietly." Ellie said with some slight activity from her mechanical irises confirming she'd done something.

"Good. Now it goes without saying that whatever I'm about to tell you is to be kept confidential and goes no further than those already here." Nikki said taking on a more professional tone, "The longer the enemy remains in the dark about what we're doing the better the odds of us succeeding."

"Loose lips sink ships. Got it." He said crossing his arms over his chest, "Now what's going on?"

"Simply put a few hours ago my scouting team was sent to a nearby nebula after receiving reports of some odd sightings by ships passing close by. Normally this would've been assigned to a probe but the nebula's nature makes electronics unreliable making a living person necessary." Nikki said placing a mini-holo-projector on the floor before activating it, "Given what the reports said my team was sent to investigate and what we found was dire indeed."

"Yeah I'd say this isn't good." He said looking at the somewhat garbled projection of a big fleet of ships of various sizes and configurations, "Any ID on who they are?"

"Hmph. Not surprised a captain like you is so ignorant." Nikki said with minimal contempt, "The ships all match the descriptions of those belonging to one man: Thanos of Titan also called the Mad Titan. Based on what we found there is no doubt that an attack on Xandar is imminent and if it is successful half of the planet's sentient population will be murdered."

A pit of dread began to form in his stomach because while he'd never seen the ships he'd heard stories about Thanos that made him glad that he didn't have a home world at the moment. According to the stories Thanos believed that the galaxy was out of balance with the number of sentient people dangerously close to being too much for the galaxy to provide for. As such his solution was to go from planet to planet with his armies and after crushing all resistance massacring half the sentient population of the defeated world before moving on. The monster had been doing it for years and despite the best efforts of civilized races to stop him one thing or another always led to failure.

Sometimes it was a numbers thing, sometimes it was tech and sometimes politics just got in the way of presenting a united front.

"So you want us to help with evacuation?" He asked thinking that running was the only reasonable course of action at the moment.

It made sense that if there was no chance of mounting a successful defence against Thanos then evacuating as many people as possible before the attack was the smart move.

"No. It would take days to get the necessary resources for a planetary evacuation and that's only if we focused only on getting people out. With things like food, medicine and ships capable of supporting large numbers of people we'd never make it in time." Nikki replied with a shake of the head, "My commanding officer predicts we've got two or three days tops before the attack begins. If they notice us mobilizing a large number of ships it might be enough to get them to attack sooner rather than later."

"So what's your plan?" Ellie asked even as both Angela and Princess Lilandra listened silently from their seats.

"We use what he's really after to get him to leave Xandarian space." Nikki replied with a focused look.

"So you threaten to destroy whatever he's so hot for if he doesn't leave your territory?" He asked figuring it could work if Thanos truly valued the item enough.

"No. Destroying what he's after is not an option." She replied with a negative shake of her head, "I'm not even sure we could even if we wanted to. If we could destroy it the release of power would wipe out everything in the system."

"Please! I might not be as up on galactic tech as Ellie is but even I know there's nothing that can wipe out an entire solar system." He scoffed figuring Nikki was making more out of the situation than was truly accurate.

"It's not technology Thanos wants." Nikki said for once not speaking with contempt towards him, "It's an Infinity Stone."

THIS sent a veritable shockwave of shock through the room putting Angela, Lilandra and Ellie in the position of having their brains temporarily stalled by what they'd heard. While the term 'Infinity Stone' was not familiar to him he was smart enough to know that anything that affected people this badly demanded respect and seriousness.

"According to most of the myths surrounding the Stones the galaxy began as six singularities and when the detonation that occurred to begin the galaxy's expansion six stone ingots were brought into being. Each ingot possesses the ability to control one of the six aspects of existence." Nikki explained as images taken from various sources depicting six stones were projected into the air, "Soul, Power, Mind, Time, Reality and Space. To wield one is to wield a means to control a planet. To gain all six is to gain the means to rewrite the entire galaxy into whatever you want."

"And you have one of them?" He asked a little blown away by what he'd just been told.

"Yes. You've probably heard about Ronan the Accuser's attack on Xandar but what you don't know is that he came here wielding the Power Stone." Nikki replied bringing up images of Ronan's attack on Xandar, "If not for a miracle and some dumb luck he would've destroyed the entire planet. Neither sources of good fortune have a habit of repeating themselves. Since then it's been contained in our vault under the tightest security possible but if Thanos has amassed such a large fleet then he knows it's here."

"So what's the plan?" He asked fully on board with helping derail a bloody massacre.

"At the right moment Nova Prime plans on releasing the TINY amount of power siphoned out of the Power Stone to coat the atmosphere with its energy signature. This should make it hard to for Thanos to see what's happening planetside and scatter whatever lock he might have on the Stone." Nikki replied bringing up a fabricated image of Xandar, "From there the plan is to get it aboard a ship that'll flee and hopefully leave the system with it."

"Causing Thanos to give chase once he reestablishes his lock on the Stone after the ship leaves Xandar's atmosphere." Ellie said completing the plan, "What makes you think we'll even make it to the nearest jump point? You probably know about our Shi'ar friends in orbit and if he's smart Thanos' first move after leaving the nebula will be to block the jump points."

"Then I guess it's a good thing the Falcon doesn't need a jump point to leave the system…isn't it?" Nikki asked with a knowing grin.

Now he could ask the usual questions about how she knew but he knew for a fact that the young lady had a terrible Poker face. Any attempt at bluffing and the girl would give herself away somehow but he wasn't seeing any of that. Somehow she knew about the Falcon's hyperdrive capabilities or at least had enough evidence to leave little to doubt.

"SO basically you're looking to paint a huge target on the Falcon's hull that'll have Thanos, his army and whoever's looking for an Infinity Stone." He said not thrilled about the risk level, "Am I gonna get any compensation for this insane scheme or is it just going to be a 'nice job' and nothing else?"

"I'd think that anyone with a brain would prefer that Thanos not get his hands on an Infinity Stone." Nikki said with a bit of an edge, "He's powerful enough as he is."

"I'm not crazy about it but I even less crazy about having a blood soaked fleet of killers and anyone who knows about these Stones after me." He said as counterpoint, "The Falcon's fast but to keep the Stone safe I'd need to stay away from civilized space entirely. She's one of a kind and that tends to stand out in people's memories. If I'm saying goodbye to the good life you bet your lopsided ass I want compensation."

"You scruffy looking, low level, second rate freighter captain!" Nikki exclaimed angrily, "If your ship didn't have the only way of getting the Power Stone out of Xandarian space I wouldn't be here!"

"Then it looks like you've got no choice. Half a million credits every year until I die of old age sounds just about right." He said secure in the knowledge that he had Nikki and Nova Corps over a barrel.

"You do realize Nova Corps could just seize your ship and use it however we like." Nikki said with a bit of danger in her tone, "We might not be able to fly it as good as you though and the odds of us getting shot down will go up but risk's all part of the job."

So not only was she threatening to steal the Falcon from him but thought she could blackmail him into agreeing to the mission by planting images of an exploding ship in his brain. No doubt she thought that this would be enough to get him to submit and go along with Nova Corps ridiculous plan.

Too bad for her that neither Han Solo or Xander Harris reacted very well to blackmail regardless of who was doing it.

"Nice try. Too bad you forgot two very important rules." He said as his hand inched towards his blaster, "One: never make enemies you don't have to."

"And the other?" Nikki asked obviously not impressed by the first rule.

"Never threaten MY SHIP!" He replied quick drawing his blaster and aiming it right at Nikki's head.

He wouldn't actually kill her, that was what the stun setting on his blaster was for, but he would throw her off his ship and immediately leave the system to its fate. The Falcon might be fast and capable of leaving the system without using a jump point but even he wasn't sure he could get past all the opposition in their way. Even with Ellie hooked into the Falcon to boost its systems it'd take time to make the calculations for a hyperspace jump. Last time all they had to worry about were three Shi'ar Star Cruisers and one overpowered Gladiator with his best only just letting them escape.

A fleet capable of conquering and killing half a planet?

Three Shi'ar Star Cruisers with who knew how many Imperial Guardsman on board?

He was getting serious flashbacks from his Han Solo inheritance about fighting the Empire and he didn't like it.

When he'd woken up in this new galaxy he'd freaked out for a bit but afterwards found the idea of travelling the galaxy alongside Ellie to be appealing. They took jobs to pay for the upkeep of the Falcon, supplies for themselves and occasionally help out those who needed it for a bit of adventure. But neither of them were looking for any causes to fight for or risk their lives for since that involved more risk than either of them were comfortable with. Maybe if they had a Rebel Alliance backing them up or even a fully trained Jedi he'd be willing to push the envelope a little further but they didn't.

"Captain Solo, Major, I think you both need to calm down." Princess Lilandra said standing up with peaceful gestures, "The situation is dire, no one here can dispute that, but fighting amongst ourselves only helps Thanos and D'Ken's forces."

"I'm not going to let her turn my ship into a target." He said making it clear that he would not budge on this point, "With that many guns firing at her she won't last a minute."

"Hey!" Ellie yelled clearly offended by the slight against her old body and the upgrades she'd made since they partnered up.

"The Falcon's a great ship with a lot of surprises under the hood but she's no warship." He said trying to calm his partner down, "Her speciality is speed and outflying the enemy so she can escape but these odds are worse than anything she's been up against before."

"The last captain I served under tended to ignore the odds." Ellie said with a smirk, "You'd be surprised at how well it turned out for him most of the time."

"I've heard of him. I also know how often ignoring the odds got him in over his head." He retorted recalling a few dreams about those moments.

"He managed to get out of them well enough." Ellie said never losing her smirk, "Managed to live twice as long as anybody expected."

"It's not like you wouldn't get any help at all." Nikki said her temper dissipating a little, "We'll have a full squadron of Star Blasters running interference and some experimental Nova Corps armour targeting Thanos' command ships. Plus what I brought you isn't just to take up space."

"What is it?" He asked voicing he question he'd had since he'd seen the trolly.

"A little surprise for anyone that gets in your way." Nikki replied with a grin that both worried him and also gave him a little hope.

It wasn't enough to get him to agree to the plan but it was enough for him to holster his blaster for the time being.

He'd give Nikki one chance to prove to him that the whole thing wasn't suicidal but if she failed he'd kick her off his ship one minute later.

That Night

The Streets of a Xandarian Town

~Gotta keep moving! Can't let them find me!~ He thought to himself over and over agin.

It was something of a mantra that he'd been repeating to himself for the last few hours and it served multiple purposes none of which could be allowed to fail. For one thing it helped him keep the fear whipping about inside him at bay allowing him to think about his next move rather than acting on instinct like some kind of animal. Against the pursuers that were after him he couldn't afford to let anything hold him back even if he had little hope to hold on to at the moment. For another his instruction in erecting mental barriers as protection against telepathy often mentioned how focusing on something to an extreme degree helped keep any probes from getting too deep. With any luck he'd be mistaken as a citizen of Xandar running from one criminal group or another rather than the truth.

The final reason and probably the most important was that it distracted him from the pain generated by the bloody wound in his side.

He'd managed to acquire a basic medical kit to tend to the injury the weapon that had created it had been specifically designed to make any healing problematic. The fact that he was running as fast as he could probably just made things worse but he couldn't afford to look for anything better. It'd been sheer luck that he'd managed to escape in the first place and he doubted that he would manage a second time.

No one escape from the intergalactic Kree strike force known as Starforce twice.

In all likelihood it was only because they might've been ordered to take him alive that he'd merely been wounded rather than killed outright. He had knowledge after all that could greatly benefit the Kree Empire and might prove enough to allow the Supreme Intelligence to cast aside treaties and pacts that it'd previously been forced to agree to. The Kree had always been an expanding Empire and while powerful had been forced to acknowledge their limitations when an opposing government proved just as strong as them. Indeed the treaty with Xandar had been one that many, Ronan in particular, had found unacceptable and only thanks to the Supreme Intelligence's authority had it been followed.

If the Kree gained the package in his arms, if they recaptured him, much would change.

He wouldn't let that happen!

His sister had risked everything defecting from the Kree to help those who'd suffered under their people's bloody ways. While he did not know the particulars he did know that it had been Yon-Rogg that had dealt the killing blow and that a little over twenty years ago she'd been publicly labelled a traitor to the Kree Empire. Amongst the Kree there was no greater crime, no greater stigma, then being labelled a traitor and even being related to one caused some weight to be placed upon your shoulders by society as well as the government. For too long he'd been just another fool who'd believed every word the Supreme Intelligence uttered without question and did what was expected of a loyal Kree citizen.

Until SHE showed up during an expedition he was on near the edges of Kree territory.

He hadn't known who she was but she'd explained things to him clearly providing proof that no one not close to the family would've known. With the truth about his sister and the Kree Empire he'd been left with a choice: continue to serve the empire that'd killed his sister for choosing a different path or follow her example.

He'd chosen the latter and escaped while making it look like he'd died in an 'accident' arranged by an enemy of the Kree Empire.

In truth it'd taken no small amount of work and much of it had been guessing since he was a scientist not some master schemer capable of making a devout Accuser look like he'd broken every one of Hala's ancient laws. Still there were some things that were universal and with some tidbits he'd learned from colleagues in other fields he'd managed to make it look like he was the victim of a Skrull attack. The method and the forensic evidence would be close enough that he had doubted that the investigative team would've looked too deeply. If they had they probably would've seen the discrepancies but six months later with not a single brush with his people he concluded that the trick had been successful.

In the weeks that'd followed he'd lost himself in thought about what to do next now that he was free of the Empire that'd killed his sister for having a soul. It'd been something of a revelation when he could not come up with much that didn't involve the Kree and this made him realize just how indoctrinated his people were. In the end he'd chosen to follow in his sister's footsteps to try and help those being targeted by the Kree Empire either to help them get beyond the Supreme Intelligence's reach or fight back. For that though he needed a place to work but fortunately one of the ship captains he'd travelled with mentioned Xandar and how in his youth he'd gone picking through some old abandoned labs on that planet. Tech no matter the age could be valuable to the right buyer and bring quite a few units to the individual willing to do the work.

For him though the labs had represented a chance to put his skills to use to create something truly great.

He'd done odd jobs in the beginning under an alias to gather the capital he'd need to get his personal projects off the ground but he'd managed. Ever since he'd worked tirelessly on his projects determined to see at least one of them meet his standards for success before dying of old age. Some of it had required getting in touch with his enlightener so he could get some readings off of her but when he'd explained what he intended she'd been glad to help.

~I hope she finds out just how much she's helped me.~ He thought as the spaceport he'd been trying to get to finally came into sight, ~I hope that I'll be alive to tell her.~

"That's quite far enough Scientist Dar-Vel." A voice said from the shadows that caused his hopes for the future to be reduced to a single candle flame in a growing wind.

Out from the shadows came one of the people he'd been running from and he had no doubt that he'd already sent word to the rest of Starforce to converge on him. It'd been one of the things he'd been expecting after he'd succeeded in getting away from them the first time that they would do their best to cut off every avenue of escape with the spaceport being one of them. However he'd held onto the hope that with so many places to cover and no other support he'd only have to deal with one of them for a few minutes before the others showed up.

But WHY did it have to be Cadmi-M the Pursuer?!

The Pursuers were counterparts to the Accusers for while it was the latter's job to dispense Kree justice to the accused it was the former's duty to find them should they flee. Armed with a spear said to be two thirds as strong as Ronan's hammer and possessing the skill to use it to an astonishing degree his hopes of getting away from her alive were dismal. He couldn't outfight her, outrun her or hope to persuade her to stand aside. In the end he had only one chance but he was loath to do it since it would mean death for many.

He wanted to HELP people! To stop the evils being committed by his people!

Now if he wanted to escape the woman striding towards him he had no choice but to commit an act of evil himself.

His people truly were monsters and it would seem that he was no exception.

Turning away as if to run he made it all of three steps before Cadmi-M's spear pierced through his right leg causing him to crumble to the ground while crying out in pain. However he knew this would happen and indeed it was a part of his desperate plan for escape so while doing his best to hide his intentions he opened the container that he'd been carrying with him. In it was his greatest achievement and key piece to him gaining enough lead time from the other members of Starforce to hopefully get off world.

~Mar…forgive me.~ He thought to the spirit of his sister as he removed the two items from the container.

"You did better than one would think of a simple scientist Dar-Vel." Cadmi-M said before grabbing the right shoulder of his jacket to get him off the ground, "All had believed you dead. It was only as a result of our monitoring of former lieutenant commander Vers that we found you. Had you kept your distance from her you might well have been forgotten."

"It's been…rrgh…years since I saw her last…" he said slowly working the mechanisms to his invention, "…what took you?"

"I can only guess but I believe the Supreme Intelligence saw wisdom in leaving you to your own devices up until now. Vers' visits implied that whatever you were working on involved her 'unique' abilities and they interest the Supreme Intelligence greatly." Cadmi-M replied before turning him around to face her, "So…what use have you made of that freak's powers?"

Summoning all the courage and speed he could he brought his hands up and with what had to be help from whatever deity the Xandarians worshiped he succeeded in snapping his inventions around Cadmi-M's wrists. Honestly he'd expected her to sense his intentions and in some display of elite soldier prowess foil his efforts but whether it was the element of surprise, her low opinion of him or her overblown opinion of herself he'd succeeded.

He'd succeeded in placing the golden bands around her wrists!

"What is this nonsen-?" Was as far as Cadmi-M got before items that looked to be no more than simple golden armbands took on a hostile red glow.

Then the screaming started.

When he'd been designing these prototypes he'd remembered what his old ship captain friend had told him about people looting labs for valuables. While he'd done what he could to keep his activities discreet and unremarkable he'd been unable to shake the fear that criminals might break in one day and take his work. Thus he'd modified the design somewhat to include a security feature that would make it unwise for anyone to try and use the armbands without his consent. Upon being put on a sentient the systems in the band would read their DNA and if it did not match what had been programmed into them the security function would activate.

A very lethal security feature.

It would essentially send all the stored energy in the armbands directly into the unauthorized person's body burning them to ash from the inside out. True some of the stronger and more durable sentient people might have qualities that would allow them a measure of protection against this security feature but none would be completely immune. Indeed he didn't know of many races capable of enduring a large amount of cosmic energy being forcefully channelled into their body in the space of a few seconds.

For Cadmi-M the Pursuer it took only four seconds to reduce her to a pile of smouldering ashes on the ground with his inventions resting on top.

"I know you were just doing your duty…NNGH…" he said pulling the deceased Starforce member's spear out of his leg, "…I'm sorry."

Picking up his inventions he watched as the red flow vanished as the system within read his DNA and determined that he was authorized. When he'd decided to test the security feature he'd naturally used his own DNA as the only authorized user since there was no one else. It'd only been when he considered possible scenarios that he'd modified the programming just a bit but not so much that it'd compromise the security feature's purpose.

It helped of course when he knew that even if someone found out about the feature all the known ways of getting around it would prove useless.

There was only one line of programming that might allow someone other than him to wear them but it was an impossibility.

He knew it all, all the facts and details, so he knew that no one would ever be able to make use of it.

~Nnnggh…gotta hurry.~ He thought feeling the weight of his wounds rearing their ugly head, ~Hope whatever ship takes me on…has a med kit.~

Inside the Millennium Falcon

Angela's POV

"I don't like this." She said keeping a sharp eye on the Xandarian technicians from a discreet distance.

"I am aware of that my friend." Princess Lilandra said with a slightly put upon expression, "You've made your opinion quite clear. However I do not see as we have any other choice. What we carry cannot fall into Thanos' hands any more than it can be allowed to fall into the hands of my brother."

"We could leave now. Find another ship willing to transport us off Xandar." She proposed having given the matter some thought, "The Imperial Guard already knows of our connection to this ship. They will be watching for it. Changing to a different ship without them realizing it would allow us to give them the slip."

"We would have to hurry." Lilandra said giving the matter some thought, "Even if Nova Prime has done all they could to keep Thanos' fleet a secret I have a feeling word will still get out. Everyone knows what the Mad Titan is capable of and what his fleet does to inhabited worlds. If fear overcomes someone who knows the truth they may disobey any orders they were given word will spread amongst the people."

"And any ship crew with a sense of self-preservation will try to get as far from Xandar as possible as soon as possible." She said realizing what the princess meant, "If we want off Xandar on another ship we'd need to find a suitable one before they all leave."

"Given that neither of us has been on Xandar before it would be as much luck as anything else if we found someone suitable." Princess Lilandra said not sounding hopeful, "Do you really wish to risk hiring the wrong ship or worse being stranded on Xandar when Thanos attacks?"

No.

They'd had a few days to evaluate the ships at their previous stops for the right one to take them on the next leg of their journey. She'd been able to learn about them each and this had succeeded in assuring that they did not make the wrong choice. If Thanos' fleet did attack when expected there would be too little time to check each ship for one that could be trusted to keep up their end of the deal. They'd be left to roll the dice with whoever agreed to take them off world first only knowing later if they'd made the right choice.

"Staying aboard the Millennium Falcon poses too great a risk." She said not quite willing to give up just yet, "We will have trouble enough with the forces the Emperor will send after us. If we add Thanos and his army to our list of enemies it won't be a matter of if we die but how soon we will die."

"I will admit that this is a little more than I was expecting when we first left Chandilar but perhaps this could work out in our favour." Princess Lilandra said with a bit of optimism, "My brother is not one to share. Once it becomes known that we have an Infinity Stone along with what we stole his greed will compel him to take possession of both. Thanos has proven his resolve in seeing his plan through to fruition and will not allow an Infinity Stone to fall into the hands of someone else. Perhaps they will become too busy fighting each other and give us some breathing room."

"Or they may form an alliance to hunt us down while secretly planning to betray one another once both items are in their grasp." She said pointing out a very real possibility.

Neither Thanos or D'Ken would be blind to the benefits of working together especially if the Falcon proved to be too elusive to capture on their own. They wouldn't trust one another but both would likely be arrogant enough to believe that if they were careful enough they could gain all they desired while destroying a potential future enemy. The only question would be when one would cease to see the point of maintaining the alliance any further and turn on the other.

"We must trust that Sharra and K'ythri will guide us down the right path." Princess Lilandra said with faith in the deities of her people.

Sadly she was not Shi'ar and her own experience with gods as well as goddesses left her with little if any faith in any help from them. Still until and opportunity presented itself to go down a different path on the Millennium Falcon they would remain and do what they had to in the interests of mutual survival.

It was as she was about to speak that her combat instincts spiked causing her to stand up before looking for the source. It was a few seconds later that she began to hear the sounds of weapons fire coming from outside of the ship and without hesitation she ran for the cockpit to find out what was going on.

When she arrived only the machine named Ellie was there manning the controls from the co-pilot's chair focused on operating them rather than acknowledge her arrival.

"What's going on?" She asked in a way that conveyed it was sort of a demand.

"Trouble found us." Ellie replied even as the ship's defences were brought out to fight.

"The Imperial Guard?" She asked mentally preparing herself to engage her former comrades once more.

"No. Judging by their gear and appearance my bet's on Kree military." Ellie replied even as the battle continued to rage despite the Falcon's weapons being brought out, "They were pursuing an injured Kree and Xander being Xander decided to get involved. The rest you can probably figure out."

"He puts us at needless risk to aid a stranger?!" She exclaimed in anger at the foolish action.

Already they stood posed to gain Thanos's army as an enemy in addition to the Shi'ar and now because of Captain Solo's actions they could gain the Kree as as an enemy as well!

"Yeah. He does that every once in awhile." Ellie said with amused exasperation, "You get used to it.

Growling with discontent she charged out of the cockpit bringing forth Ichors and willing it to become a double-edged scimitar along the way. If this battle were truly unavoidable then she would end it swiftly before the Kree soldiers could inform the Supreme Intelligence of anything concerning the ship or those who were aboard. Charging down the ramp her seasoned warrior eyes took in her foes, evaluated them in terms of threat level and once done she let out a battlecry before attacking the one she deemed the most formidable. She did not do this out of ego but rather because of a well known truth that an enemy could well scatter if the strongest among them was defeated.

In this case her chosen target was a muscled Kree with long white hair and a semi-circle of stars adorning the chest of his armour instead of the single one that his allies had. From what she could see 'Ellie' was focusing the majority of the ship's firepower on the male but it seemed to do little more than delay the soldier's advance rather than defeat him. It was clear he was something more than a Kree soldier, more than what could be explained by being a member of Starforce, and so he was someone that needed to be brought down with all due haste.

Leaping into the air in order to add gravity's strength to her own she brought her weapon down on the Kree warrior intent on inflicting a telling blow right from the beginning. While she took it as encouraging that her blow pushed her foe back a good few feet she was somewhat surprised that her blade did not cut deeper than the Starforce armour. The Ichors was a special weapon and in the past the most anything could do against it would be to resist it to varying degrees.

This was the first time that the skin of a living thing proved immune to the bite of her weapon's blade.

"You are foolish to challenge me directly woman!" The Kree soldier said using brute strength to force her back a few feet, "None can match the strength of Ultimus!"

"I know a certain Strontian who'd disprove that claim." She said employing a feint before coming at her foe from another angle.

"Arrogant braggarts the lot of them!" The Kree soldier said dismissively, "Beneficiaries of their master's exaggerated and widespread praise! Pitted against a true warrior their flaws would become all too evident. How else do you explain the Shi'ar Emperor keeping his pet Strontian on Chandilar most of the time? Only sending him out to specially chosen battlefields? D'Ken is protecting the fake exemplar of strength he has created by only sending his weapon into battles that could not possibly expose Gladiator's weaknesses and flaws."

Clearly this Kree had never faced a foe that could even begin to push him to his limits and this had inflated his ego considerably.

A grin formed on her face at this opportunity to humble an 'arrogant braggart'.

With a better grasp of what she was up against she eased her way into an old pattern of fighting that she was confident would lead her to victory. During her time as a member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard she had made the most of the opportunity to test herself against her comrades and their wide variety of skills as well as abilities. However unlike the others she hadn't limited herself to only fighting those capable of presenting her with a marginal challenge in order to improve. She'd done everything she could to push her body and her mind to their utmost limits whenever she was not on a mission for House Neramani.

One of those things was to spar with Gladiator though it was far from a regular event since she often needed to goad the leader of the Imperial Guard into humouring her.

Every match they had always ended with her defeat but as the wise know sometimes defeat can prove more instructive than victory. With every loss she learned more about how Gladiator fought, what he could do with his powers and what tactics he favoured when faced with different forms of attacks. With each piece of information she gained she learned how to fight someone possessed of power far greater than what she herself possessed. While she knew that even now she would not stand a chance against Gladiator if he fought her seriously it would be different against the Kree before her.

The first thing she'd learned fighting Gladiator was that matching strength with strength was a losing wager the greater the gap between to combatants was. Better to recognize where you stood in relation to your foe and devise tactics that acknowledged the situation.

The second thing you learned was that when fighting a foe stronger than yourself was how important it was to understand the mind behind the power. The more you learned about how your foe thought the more you could anticipate how they would use their power against you and through anticipation pounce upon a priceless opportunity to turn the battle in your favour.

The last thing you learned was that you could never allow yourself to become complacent with your training. In order to win against a for more powerful than yourself you needed to be at your physical and mental best in order to take advantage of the first two things you learned. Only with your mind and body honed to optimum levels could you prove victorious.

With all this and her experience fighting Gladiator she knew that her foe would prove to be only a minor challenge.

"You hesitate." The Kree warrior said with a grin, "It will prove to be your undoing!"

As expected the man rushed to take advantage of what he perceived was a moment of weakness but his perceptions could not be further from the truth. As with most people who thought an ideal chance had appeared the Kree's attack was designed to end things in one powerful stroke. However direct attacks were often the easiest to block or in her case evade but only an amateur limited themselves to those two options.

A true warrior knew how to combine defence and offence into one action and SHE was a true warrior.

Following her instincts and utilizing her hard earned skills she ducked under the Kree's blow while at the exact same time swung her Ichors with all her strength. It was jarring when the weapon made contact with the Kree's chest but she did not falter but rather forced more strength out of her body. As a result her foe was flung back hard but better yet with the combination of her attack going one way and him going in the opposite direction the amount of force focused at the point of contact increased considerably. Whereas before her chosen weapon could only cut through his uniform with her strength behind it with the power of both her AND her opponent she achieved more.

She drew blood.

BLUE blood.

"Aaahhh! Curse you!" The Kree warrior said rising to a more cautious defensive stance.

The bloody cut on his chest wasn't as large as she would've preferred and he still looked able to fight but the fact that the Kree was bleeding was welcome progress nonetheless. With a bloody wound time was now against the warrior since the more time that passed the more blood would leave his body weakening him. Even if he'd been enhanced with something to mitigate an open wound she doubted that it'd lead to a rapid recovery. So long as she was careful and didn't give any extra abilities the time it might need to heal him victory would be hers.

"Is a little blood all it takes to make you cower in fear Kree?" She taunted twirling her Ichors to rid it of the blue blood.

"I'll show you fear!" The Kree said before doing something she had not anticipated.

Blasts of concussive force from his hands.

Only thanks to the sparring sessions with Gladiator was she quick enough to bring her Ichors forward and willed it to take on the form of a sharply edged shield. While it was true that her weapon was designed only to take on the forms of edged weapons a little creative interpretation opened up some other possibilities. When the concussive blast hit she almost failed in bracing herself against but luckily for her the Dwarves of Nidavellir did good work. Her weapon did not bend in the slightest and her muscles honed through training kept her on her feet. However much like she'd anticipated the Kree warrior was so angry with her he did not stop at one blast but rather continued to hammer her shield repeatedly.

It was a trial of stamina between the two of them now.

Who would reach exhaustion first? Her or her foe?

Xander's POV

"Hang in there!" He urged the Kree he'd chosen to save from behind the stack of shipping crates they were using for cover, "As soon as we deal with these guys we'll get you on the Falcon and get you patched up."

To put action behind his words he edged out far enough from his cover to add some shots from his blaster to blasts Ellie was unleashing from the Falcon. While only some of his shots managed to hit anything the fact that they were different from the weapons used by most space faring races meant they were somewhat effective. The only question was how long could he and Ellie managed to keep them busy because even with Angela managing pretty good against her sparring partner he didn't see victory as being plausible at he moment. With every minute that passed he had little doubt that the team that was pursuing the guy bleeding at his feet would gain a grip on how to defeat them. What they needed was something to knock their foes on their butts, daze them and allow them to all get back in the Falcon so they could flee. He'd probably fly them closer to the capitol city of Xandar in order to make it harder for the ones attacking to stage a second attempt.

Too bad he couldn't think of much that wouldn't kill everyone not on the ship.

These guys weren't some credit a hundred Stormtroopers that you could take down with simple blaster fire or a well thrown thermal detonator. Even blasts from the Falcon's weapons were only managing a slow defeat rather than a stalemate or victory and that spoke volumes to him.

"No…no…" the man said his eyes beginning to droop, "…was already…losing blood before…I got here. Lost too much…not to know…what's coming."

"Don't give up! You're breathing, you're awake and there's a med kit with your name on it!" He declared before firing a few more precisely aimed shots at the woman with the big hammer most of which were blocked by said hammer, "Just hold on! I'll…I'll think of something."

Too bad for him the galaxy wasn't inclined to give him that time for with a mighty cry of aggression unleashed an energy blast from her hammer that he had not been expecting. He'd seen quite a few places since being relocated from Earth, had some crazy experiences but he'd never seen anything that wasn't an evolution things he was familiar with. Blasters? The next logical step from conventional bullet spitting firearms. Even the ship mounted ones were just scaled up versions of the sort that could be carried by a person. The fancier tech he'd seen was still within the realm of possibility as far as his brain was concerned.

A hammer unleashing an energy blast that obliterated his cover while pelting him with shrapnel?

Definitely beyond anything he'd expected.

"Aahhh!" He cried out as one piece of shrapnel managed to give him a nasty cut across the bridge of his nose.

It wasn't a bad wound by any stretch even with the bit of bleeding it was doing but it hammered home the fact that the cover capable of being provided on the landing pad wasn't going to be enough to keep him safe. Even if the hammer wielder couldn't fire energy blasts in rapid succession there were a finite number of things to hide behind so all the woman needed was for her weapon to last enough enough to get rid of them. At that point he'd have no choice but to retreat to the Falcon since unlike Angela he just had the skills of a respectable smuggler and survivor.

Not quite enough to survive fighting in the open against what he was beginning to think was an elite fighting force.

"You…the bands…"the man he wished to rescue said with urgency that was at odds with his condition.

Looking to see what the guy was referring to he saw that a bit of his blood had gotten onto the two golden metal armbands that Kree man had been clutching to his chest so fiercely. What caught his attention though was the fact that they were now giving off a gold-white glow and while not certain he could only presume that his blood had triggered the glow. Wasn't sure what the significance of it was but it looked like the one under his protection considered it to be quite important.

"Protecting me still…sister…" the guy said with a happy smile, "…too bad…my creations require…the protection…more than…I do…"

He was fading fast. Whereas before the man had a steady mind the surprise of his armbands glowing had knocked his grip on life loose causing his condition to deteriorate rapidly. Not good.

Kneeling next to the man he pulled the trigger on his blaster as fast as he could hoping that volume of fire would make up for the precision of the shots going down.

"Don't let go! Focus! Focus on me!" He ordered setting his blaster down momentarily to grab the man by his shoulders, "You don't die unless I tell you you can die!"

"Heh…she used to…say the same thing…" the Kree man said struggling to work mechanisms on each armband apparently to get them to open, "…won't be able to…listen this time… either. Keep them…safe…and honour her…memory…"

With one final exertion of strength the man pressed one armband to each wrist before doing something to make them close up thus making removal impossible. As though this had taken the very last drop of his strength the man collapsed with his body taking a few further monumental breaths before ceasing to do anything at all. He felt a shard of sadness at his failure to save the man but fortunately it did not last very long.

Why?

Because without warning mere seconds after they'd been successfully secured to his wrists the armbands exploded with light and energy. The former engulfed the area and while not enough for the people watching to have to worry about damage to their eyes it did cause them to stop what they were doing in order to cope with the unexpected occurrence. As for the latter it was sent coursing through his body like a runaway freight train overwhelming his senses and thoughts with little if any resistance.

Why was this happening?

It could all be explained by taking four very important points into consideration.

The first was the fact that the line of coding that Dar-Vel had considered an impossibility was one that made it possible for a close blood relation to utilize his creations. The reason why he considered it impossible was that up until a few minutes ago when it was revealed that somehow, in some way, Xander Harris had Vel blood in his veins. The exact amount was unknown but it was enough as far as the programming of the bands was concerned to make him an authorized wielder.

The second fact was that the inventions of Dar-Vel were meant to endow the wielder with as close to a match for his saviour's abilities as he was capable of achieving through science. It had been a long and often taxing situation but with her help he'd been able to make great strides he never would've been able to manage without her. Indeed with the help of Carol Danvers aka Vers aka Captain Marvel as she was calling herself now he had been able to make strides he never would've managed without her. Nevertheless due to the chaotic and unrecorded manner in which she'd been empowered he'd been forced to put most of the power burden on his creations with the wielder only serving as an emergency battery. The programming in the bands was that it would imbue the wielder with energy until monitoring sensors detected signs of the wearer reaching their biological limits. After that the rest of the energy would be stored in the bands.

Too bad Dar-Vel had never taken into consideration the third fact when designing his inventions.

Xander as a born and bred citizen of Sunnydale, California, Earth. However what most residents of Earth don't realize is that the small town was known by another name and had a very different nature to it. Boca Del Inferno aka the Hellmouth was a dimensional weak point between Earth and a dimension that could only be considered a hell by the human race. While the weak point did manage to keep anything from the hell dimension from coming through it was unable to keep the 'stink' or energy of that dimension from seeping through. That energy had certain mutating properties that no scientist would ever be able to quantify or understand which resulted in people changing in various ways. In the case of one ignored girl named Marcie it caused her to turn permanently invisible over the course of several weeks. These changes or mutations were sometimes caused by external sources and sometimes by the person feeling strongly enough about something to bring about the alterations. At its base level though it could be said that the Hellmouth energy primed the bodies of the people who lived in Sunnydale in order to make them more susceptible to change than would be the case if they lived elsewhere.

Because of this Xander's body could take it considerably more energy than even Dar-Vel's most optimistic projections.

The final point was of course the involvement of the Roman God Janus in the Halloween spell as well as influencing the relocation of the Sunnydale native. Sometimes referred to as a god of chaos while other times proclaimed to be a god of change the deity had been keeping an eye on Xander ever since the young man had broken a True Prophecy. The Roman did not like prophecies one bit because in his mind a prophecy was a little too close to predestination and the future being set in stone. For a god that ruled over change and chaos anything that got in the way of either was not something he liked. In Xander he'd seen the potential to widen the crack that'd been formed in the ordained plans of certain higher beings and make the future a little less certain.

Or a LOT less certain depending on how things went.

Thus when the Halloween spell was cast and Janus had seen who Xander had dressed up to be he'd been a little disappointed until he'd noticed the modified Millennium Falcon model. Examining the item itself and peering into Xander's mind for the details he'd seen a chance throw Earth's technological development into chaos and give the boy the tools to do more. Too bad that the higher beings that infuriated Janus so often caught wind of this and put in motion the means of nipping the problem in the bud.

Namely relocating both Xander and the magically manifested modified Falcon to a destination called 'anywhere but here' in the multiverse. However the deity wasn't about to let it go at just that and decided on two hail mary moves that could payoff in very interesting ways if things went down just right. The first was to ensure that both Xander and the Falcon arrived in a reality that possessed the means of getting them back home sooner or later. Such realities tended to have very interesting and VERY powerful beings living in them and if a few chose to follow Xander home then perhaps the iron grip of the higher beings could be broken. At the very least those idiots would have a harder time re-establishing their preferred 'balance' than if the boy had returned on his own.

The second…well…let's just say that Janus had access not just to the official movies both past and present but also the countless stories written by fans involving Han Solo. While the movies portrayed the scruffy smuggler amazingly the possibilities and the twists invented by the fans tickled Janus' fancy quite a bit. Thus before he lost contact with Xander entirely he tweaked the boy just enough to make him a version of Han Solo more akin to one fan's version of him than the one in the movies.

Add everything together and when the light of rebirth faded to the point where none needed to shield their eyes any longer they now beheld a decidedly different looking Xander Solo. The biggest and most pronounced difference that could be seen was the fact that his skin was no longer what could be considered for a caucasian California guy. Instead it'd become as black as the night sky speckled with little grains of starlight in a configuring no stargazer would be able to identify. This was not being metaphorical but rather quite literal since one might think that someone took a section of star filled night sky and used it to replace Xander's normal human skin. His hair had also changed going from black in colour to an unnatural white that almost seemed to glow even as it was tossed about by an unseen breeze.

Lastly were the eyes that while before were normal human chocolate brown were now orbs of white energy that in some manner still managed to let you know where he was looking.

"Definitely didn't see this coming." Xander said looking down at his hands with a bit of shock.

Thus it was with these words that Xander took his first steps into a much larger world than even he thought existed.