It's a two days flight from the edge of the solar system back to Leeto. The Anilius was in rough shape but she made it back in one piece. Gamora followed the others off the Anilius and onto the Eclector. Horuz pulled the ship into the hangar. "The bridge is this way, " Kraglin gestured for Jazinda to follow him.

Gamora wanted to stay with Jazinda and Kraglin but Yondu grabbed her by the collar. "Hold it. Your gonna stay here and help Horuz fix the Anilius." Yondu shoved her roughly towards the hangar.

"But I wanna-"

Yondu interrupted her, "I don't care whatcha want. This whole mess is your fault, you're gonna help fix it!" Gamora kept her gaze fixed on the floor. She didn't know if she was too exhausted or too afraid to argue with him. "Am I understood?" Gamora nodded in response. Yondu stalked towards the bridge leaving her alone on the flight deck.

Gamora set her duffel bag down by the door and sighed heavily. She follows the sound of construction to where Horuz was working. He was repairing the inside of the Anilius. "Um, excuse me?" She yells to be heard over the sound. Horuz set the equipment down and grabbed a handful of bolts out of the toolbox. "Uh, Yondu said I was supposed to help you."

"Y'know what would be helpful? If ya shut up and stayed over there." Horuz pointed towards the far end of the hangar.

Gamora stood awkwardly behind Horuz, watching him work. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing. "What's that?" She pointed to the tool he was holding.

"Sladon," He grunted in reply.

"What's it do?"

Horuz sighed heavily and turns to glare at Gamora. "It repairs metals," he states curtly.

There was a tense moment while Horuz waited for her to respond. Gamora fidgets with the hem of her skirt. "Oh, " She replies meekly. He picked up the sladon. "Can I help?"

He set the sladon down with a loud thump. "Do you know how to rewire a console?" Gamora shook her head. "Can you repair a bulkhead? Run diagnostics on life support?"

"I can't."

"Then you're better off stitching up clothes, with Hazira. I ain't a preschool teacher." Horuz snapped at her with a mean snarl.

Gamora expression hardened into a scowl, "but Yondu said-"

He cut her off, "How many other little girls do you see in engineering?"

"Uh,"

"None." Horuz stood up, casting a long shadow over Gamora. She takes a step back. Her hand brushes against the wall behind her. She's trapped. "You don't belong here. Stay out of my way." He punctuates each word as if it were its own sentence. His voice is dripping with malice. Gamora bolted, Horuz watched her run to the cockpit.

She didn't feel better until she put a locked door between them. Her heart is beating fast, and her breathing is staggered. She flopped into the pilot's seat and tried to calm down. Gamora can see the glass hatch that separates the Eclector from the rest of the world, from the cockpit. Leeto was a way station for the Shi'ar empire, as a result, the dock is packed. It's crawling with different ships and deckhands moving cargo under the sinking sun. Movement catches her eye. There's a small group of kids drawing with chalk and playing in a fountain. It looked like fun. A deckhand shouts something at them, and two break off from the group to help move cargo. They're cabin girls, like her. Gamora decided being reprimanded by Yondu later couldn't be worse than spending time with Horuz now.

Gamora slipped out of the cockpit and nervously glanced around. Horuz had returned to work. He appeared to be significantly less angry with her. "I'm going to play in the fountain," She announced. The mechanic waved the sladon at Gamora as she passed him.

Gamora slipped out of the Eclector and wanders over to the fountain. She sent Jazinda a message with her location, just in case something bad happened. There are three kids playing in the fountain and two more drawing with chalk. They're all wearing different uniforms. "Um, hi there," Gamora called out to them in Standard. "Whatcha doing?"

"Hiya!" The half Sepiidae kid with the easy smile and clear gold eyes said. Their dark blue skin shifts to an even darker green and their white spots dissipate into freckles that splatter their skin like stars. Their jumper had the designation Neverknott. "I'm drawing the famous ghost ship, the Leiurus."

"Ghost ship?" Gamora asks, moving closer to get a better look.

They smiled wickedly. "It was a spacecraft carrier that was supposed to make a delivery in the Andromeda galaxy. Except it never got there. A union trader found it on the float, completely empty. The entire crew had been brutally slaughtered."

They had captivated the attention of the half Skrull kid playing in the fountain. The upper half of their jumper was tied around their waist. Gamora couldn't make out their name. "Was it ravagers? Or bounty hunters?" Their skin prickled. A yellow and blue pattern ripples across them in waves.

"Nope. All the food, water, and air were intact," Neverknott replied. "They say it was the ghost of a Xandarian boy, with glowing red eyes. He was singing a requiem for the fallen."

"That's creepy!" Gamora shivered.

The Xandarian girl with red hair and brown skin frowns. She dusts the chalk off her hands. Quibee is written in marker on her blue overalls. "If everyone died how do they know the ghost killed them?"

Orange ringlets flicker across Neverknott's skin. "I dunno, security footage?"

Quibee moved closer to get a better look at Neverknott's drawing. "And why does a ghost need a gun?" Gamora tried to suppress her laughter and failed.

"It's a ghost gun okay!" Neverknott rested their hands where Gamora presumed their hips are. The other kids are giggling. "Y'know it's better if ya just don't question the legend."

The half Skrull kid laughed, the yellow and blue pattern melted into a green color. "So the giant space Kraken is real but ghosts are too unbelievable?"

"Naefia is real! I've seen her!" Quibee shouted defensively.

"There's no way that's true," The Skrull kid scoffed. Orange waves ripple across their skin as it hardens into scales. "It would freeze and suffocate in the void."

A mixed race girl, in a green jumper, sighs. She's nervously twirling a stray lock of hair. Her name isn't sewn into her uniform. "I dunno Rexili, the Celestial's never had any problem moving through the void."

"That's the dumbest thing you've said all day! The giant space Kraken isn't a Celestial!" Rexili was caught between yelling and laughing.

"That's not what I said!" The girl splashed Rexili with water and they splashed her back.

Water sloshed over the side of the fountain. It washed away the Quibee's drawing. She dropped her chalk and balled her hands into fists. "I'mma flatten you, Dusty!" Quibee jumped into the fountain splashing the others with water.

Neverknott's skin settles and fades back into its original dark blue. "Nevermind them, Quibee and Rexili work for rival folding companies."

Gamora furrowed her eyebrows, "and a folding company is…?"

Neverknott explains without looking up from their drawing. "They create the jump points, we use to travel, by folding space together." A Sepiidae kid wadded over to the edge of the fountain. Their skin ripples in a vibrant blue-green pattern with white stripes. The word Eos was sewn into their jumper.

Gamora waves at them, "what are they saying?"

"Hm?" Neverknott glanced up as Eos repeated the pattern, a little slower and more vibrantly. "They wanna know which company you work for. They think your uniform is cute."

"Oh, uh," Gamora stammered nervously and hugged her ravager jacket to her chest. "I don't-I don't work for uh, a company."

Eos and Neverknott blink the same yellow pattern at Gamora. "You work for a guild?" Neverknott exclaims, "that's stellar! Which guild are you apart of?"

"I work for a ravager guild," Gamora said a little hesitantly. Her voice is barely above a whisper.

Neverknott laughed, "Right! Like a ravager guild has a cabin girl!" Green swirls bloom across Eos and Neverknott's skin, and the end of their tendrils glowed. "No, but seriously, which guild?"

Horuz's words are still fresh in Gamora's mind. She blurted out, "I sew and mend clothes, and drink too much coffee and talk about things that aren't any of my business." She was pretty sure that was Hazira's job was.

"You're a part of a tailors guild?"

"Yes! That makes sense!" Gamora nodded enthusiastically. Strange, how a lie was more believable than the truth. Horuz was right she doesn't belong here. The thoughts made her feel sick, but she doesn't understand why. She never wanted to be a ravager anyway. Gamora resolves to draw something instead of dwelling on it. There are too many different feelings and she can't sort them all out right now. Gamora sketched out the flowers planted around the fountain. She drew pictures and played in the fountain. Neverknott told her stories of other famous ghost ships. They're a little obsessed with them.

Gamora's not sure how much time passes before Kraglin came looking for her. He was dressed casually. She almost didn't recognize him without the ravager jacket. "Hey, kid!"

Gamora was wading through the fountain, the cool water was refreshing in the desert heat. She was soaking wet. "Hi, Kraglin!"

He scowled down at her, "where have you been?"

Gamora stepped out of the fountain and wrang out her pigtails. "I was playing with the other cabin kids. I told Horuz where I was going." She pointed to the cabin kids, "These are my new friends."

They waved at Kraglin. He greeted them curtly, "yeah hi, whatever. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause you're a tattletale," Gamora replied.

"Is this your older brother?" Rexili asked quietly.

"He's kind of rude, " Quibee added.

"He's not my brother, Gross!" Gamora wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Kraglin is the first mate."

Rexili and Quibee gaped at her. "And you call him by his first name?" Neverknott nearly shouted in disbelief. They are patterned with a light shade of yellow.

Gamora shrugged, she didn't think it was that weird. "What else would I call him?"

Eos and Neverknott exchange critical looks, "last name, or title!" They say in unison.

"My brother is sleeping with the first mate and even I'm not allowed to do that, " Rexili said.

Quibee snickered, "I think ya got that backward." Rexili pushed her into the fountain. "Okay, I deserved that," Quibee giggled again.

"Hey!" Kraglin shouted, startling the children. He grabbed Gamora by the arm. "You've wasted enough time. The captain needs to talk to you." There's a chorus of Ohs from the cabin kids, as Gamora is pulled away.

~~•˖✧•✯•✧˖•~~

Yondu stole a glance at the hotel entrance for the third time in the last five minutes. He was sitting at the bar in the lobby. Some of the crew are eating dinner in the adjacent restaurant. Jazinda was sitting out on the patio. Yondu didn't understand why the bounty hunter was still here. Gamora wasn't her problem anymore. Bruhl, the only member of his crew with medical training, strolled over to Yondu. "I thought you were looking for our cabin girl."

"She wasn't here the first time I checked the bar, thought I'd check again," Yondu said into his glass. Kraglin had sent Yondu a message saying, he had found Gamora and was on his way here. All Yondu could do was wait. He hated waiting. "While I gotcha here, there's a job opening. I need a new second mate." Bruhl scoffed and then laughed. "I'm serious, you're doin' half the job already."

Bruhl shook their head, "I'm most useful to you in sickbay. Promote current third mate, they've earned it."

"Aw hell, Doc, then I'd need a new third mate." Yondu sighed and glanced over at the entrance again.

"Taking job would put target on my back, " Bruhl replies dismissively.

The front door slid open and Yondu snapped around to look. Kraglin ushered Gamora inside the hotel and pushed her in Yondu's direction. "Just think about it," he mutters to Bruhl before standing up. Gamora wasn't hurt, the other bounty hunters hadn't found her, yet. She was safe. She was still alive. Yondu exhales slowly and his expression twisting into a scowl. He was going to kill that stupid brat. Didn't she realize the danger she was in? Gamora refused to look at Yondu or get any closer to him. "You better have a damn good reason why I shouldn't go get the hairbrush, girly."

She furrowed her eyebrows, thinking very hard, "Because you don't have any hair."

Yondu heard Jazinda smirk, someone else snorted, and then several different people were chuckling. Yondu pinched the bridge of his nose, "That ain't gonna be so funny in a minute."

This only confused Gamora even more. "I don't understand."

"That ain't what the hairbrush is for, " Kraglin muttered gravely.

Before Gamora could fully comprehend what Kraglin was implying, Yondu snapped at her, "Start talking! Where the hell have you been?!" The lobby went silent. He can feel the eyes of the crew on them.

"I was playing in the fountain by the docks. I told Horuz where I was going." Gamora explained in a soft voice.

"You don't report to Horuz, you report to me. There are dangerous people looking for you. I need to know where you are!" Concern was creeping its way into Yondu's voice, he tried to stomp it back down. "You disobeyed a direct order."

Jazinda stepped between Gamora and Yondu. When did she move across the room? "Calm down. Leeto isn't exactly a hub for criminal activity, and I knew where she was."

"Wait a minute, you told the bounty hunter but not me?" Yondu's mohawk flares up when he snarls. Gamora flinched and Jazinda put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you," Gamora whispers. It's infuriating, annoying, pathetic. Yondu wasn't worried about her. That wasn't what this was about. He's gonna knock some sense into that brat. Jazinda's hand is hovering over her holster. But then, Gamora said something that caught them both off guard. "I only left because Horuz said, I'd be better off learning how to stitch up clothes than learning how to fix ships."

Kraglin inhaled sharply through his teeth but didn't look surprised. Yondu visibly cringed. "He said, what?" Jazinda was trying very hard not to yell.

Gamora nodded sadly, "he wouldn't let me help. I don't belong here."

Jazinda huffs, "I grew up on a naval base. I knew the basics by the time I was your age."

Yondu had to make sure the mechanic learned how to watch his mouth. Horuz already had Gamora believing that bullshit he was spouting. That was dangerous. Yondu drifted away from Gamora, "Don't listen to Horuz. He's a moron and he's wrong."

Gamora furrowed her eyebrows, "Then how come I'm the only girl who works in engineering?"

Yondu shoveled his hands into his pockets and shifted uncomfortably. He could feel his rage fizzling out. "That's because, uh, " Shit. Are the engineers really all men? That couldn't be right. Gamora's waiting for an answer. Jazinda shot Yondu a critical look, there's no good response. He needs to say something, he blurted out, "I don't have to explain myself to you!"

Jazinda rolled her eyes and touched Gamora's shoulder lightly. The crowd of onlookers parted for them. He's a little relieved when Jazinda leads the girl away. She sighs and offers reluctantly, "If you really want to learn to fix ships, I can teach you." They step out onto the patio and Yondu can't hear them anymore. The room breathes a collective sigh of relief. The background chatter resumed and the lobby returned to normal. Except now the bartender was glaring at Yondu. He's probably going to spit in his drink.

Yondu sat back down at the bar and Kraglin joined him. "Uh sir, maybe we should hire more women, for Gamora's sake." Yondu sighed loudly and drummed his fingers on the bar. Truth be told, he was thinking the same thing. Horuz wasn't the only loudmouthed moron with bad opinions. Gamora wouldn't learn anything if the crew refused to teach her. It's all a mess.

Bruhl cleared his throat and Yondu suddenly remembered he was there. "Captain, I have thought about the job offer and,"

Yondu interrupted him, "You decided to take it?"

"No. I have uh," He paused choosing his words carefully, "different solution. You are not going to like it." Yondu sipped his drink and waited for Bruhl to continue. "You want to hire someone Gamora can look up too. Someone who's willing to teach 'er, and will not take shit from crew, a woman, yes?"

Yondu knew where this was going. "No, no, no, no. Not her," He put his head down on the bar and groaned.

"Promote current third mate, and make Jazinda new chief of security," Bruhl said.

Kraglin looked back at Gamora. Jazinda had her swaddled in a towel and was trying to dry her off. "Despite everything that's happened, sir, Gamora does seem to like her."

Yondu lifted his head to shoot Kraglin an exasperated look. "She killed the second mate."

"She killed to protect our cabin girl," Bruhl countered, "cannot buy loyalty like that."

"She's self-righteous, spiteful, and arrogant!"

Kraglin snorted, "she'll fit right in."

Yondu blew a raspberry. He didn't want to admit it but Bruhl had a point. If Jazinda had the balls to stand up to him, Yondu had no doubt she'd have zero problems handling the crew. She's already offered to show Gamora the ropes, and by some miracle, she had won Gamora's trust. But it all left a bitter taste in his mouth. There's a dull ache in his chest. Yondu is playing the part of the villain again, or maybe, he never stopped. He's trying to do the right thing, to keep Gamora safe. Was being good supposed to be this hard? Is it supposed to hurt this much?

Yondu stops his train of thought before it can get any further. The last thing he needed was more feelings. He's not drunk enough for this. He sighs again and rubbed his tired eyes. "You're right, I hate this idea."

"I'm always right," Bruhl grumbled.

Kraglin sipped his drink leisurely, "it doesn't matter anyway. She hates you, sir, she would never take the job."

Bruhl shrugged, "not without some… persuasion." That sounded like a challenge. All three of them turned to look at Jazinda.

Gamora and Jazinda are sitting out on the patio. The kid is drawing on the paper placement with colorful stones and swings her feet carelessly. She's still wearing the towel. Jazinda lazily flips through a menu, while reading it aloud. She must be translating it from Sepiidae to Standard for Gamora. Jazinda looks mildly irritated but she doesn't tell the kid to leave. "Bounty hunters are usually the lone wolf type. They don't think they need anybody else, and they don't play well with others." Yondu was thinking out loud.

"Okay, but clearly she likes the squirt. She wants to protect Gamora," Kraglin states the obvious.

"Jazinda said as much earlier," Bruhl replied flatly. "She's arrogant, you could offer her a challenge she cannot refuse."

"That ain't gonna be enough on its own." Yondu shook his head, "We need to convince her that the best way to protect the pup is by working with us."

Kraglin leaned against the bar and tilted his head to the side. "What about a common enemy? You could pit her against the crew, she already believes we're a threat."

"Eh, well," Bruhl makes a face, "if you push her too far in that direction it could end bloody. She's tad trigger happy."

"Nah, that idea ain't half bad," Yondu clapped Kraglin on the shoulder. He's confident that Jazinda won't try anything drastic with Gamora in the crossfire. He slammed the rest of his drink and stood up, a plan half-formed in his mind. This all balances on Yondu being able to lead the conversation in the right direction.

Yondu strolls across the lobby, through the sliding glass doors, and onto the patio. Leeto's pink sky was stained with reds and yellows, in its eternal twilight. The city sparkles beneath the low hanging moon. "Oh no," Gamora slid off her chair and crawled under the table. She was hiding from him.

Yondu rolled his eyes, "Gamora, "

"Gamora isn't here right now. You'll have to come back later." Jazinda intones flatly without looking up from the menu.

Yondu frowned, "I can clearly see her." Gamora was huddled in a ball, with her knees pressed up against her chest. She quickly looks away when Yondu catches her gaze.

Jazinda flipped the page. "Understandably, she doesn't want to talk to you."

"This is fucking stupid," He grumbled bitterly. "Come out from under there!" He considers kicking the table but decided against it. There are hot drinks that could spill, it would make a mess.

Jazinda rolled her eyes, "Don't yell at her. This is why she's afraid of you." Yondu ripped the menu out of her hands and tossed it aside. It sailed over the edge of the patio and into the city streets below. Jazinda was baffled. She looked between Yondu and the menu. "What is wrong with you?! Who's going to clean that up, huh?"

"Why are you still here?"

Jazinda's eyes went wide, she blinked and shook her head. "Some idiot blew up my spaceship."

"No, what are you doing here." Yondu tapped his knuckles on the table, "this is not your problem anymore."

Jazinda crossed one long leg over the other and leaned forward. She lowered her voice, "What makes you think this is your problem at all?"

Yondu pulled a chair over and sat down at the table. "I have a fully functioning ship, "

Jazinda sneered, "fully functioning?"

"I can provide medical care, food, and shelter. What do you have exactly?" Yondu managed to keep his composure. Jazinda clenched her jaw and looked away. "She's safe with us."

"Safe? You think your ship is safe. A group of hypermasculine aggressive men?" Jazinda choked back an ugly laugh. "Never once in history has that gone horribly wrong for a woman."

Yondu narrowed his eyes, "I keep them under control."

"Was your mechanic under control when he was running his mouth?"

He scoffs and retorted, "as if you could do any better."

Jazinda leans back, raising her chin slightly. He's concerned she won't take the bait but then she smirks. "Any idiot could use fear and violence to manipulate others, but a real grifter doesn't have to."

Yondu rolled his eyes, "what does a two-bit bounty hunter know about grifting?"

"I wasn't always a bounty hunter, jackass." Jazinda sighs irritably, "There are two things your men won't stand for; a coward and a pedophile. You make them believe that only someone like that would hurt a child, and they'll police themselves."

"They won't change, they can't," Yondu shakes his head. "Even if they could, it would take years."

"Maybe for you," she retorted.

He stood up and leans across the table. "I know the crew, you can't do it."

Jazinda stood up, "I could do it in six months!"

"Fine! You're on!" He slapped the ravager badge on the table.

"Fine!" She yelled back.

"Ship leaves at the end of the month." He turned to leave but then stopped. He pulls out a room key from his wallet and tossed it onto Gamora's drawing. He tapped on the table to get the kids attention. "I'm leaving your room key here. You can charge meals to the room if you run out of units." A small green hand snakes out from under the table. Gamora fumbles around until she grabbed the key. Without another word, Yondu turned and stalked back inside the lobby. That was easier than he thought it'd be.

Jazinda allows her anger to wash over her like a tidal wave and then she lets it go. She slid down in her seat. Her shoulders slump and she exhales slowly. With a clear mind, her gaze settles on the ravager badge. "What just happened?"

Gamora climbed out from beneath the table. She sat down next to Jazinda and picked up her chalk. "I think you got a job."

She picked up the metal badge, turning it over in her hands. It's warped around the edges and stained with blood. She wonders briefly if Yondu plucked it off the second mates corpse, or what was left of it. Jazinda drops the badge back onto the table. It had been a bad week. She had lost her ship, her home, and now she had signed up to work under that jackass. All of this to protect a girl and Jazinda didn't even like kids. Doing the right thing sucked. "Gamora, why didn't you stay with the Riders?"

Gamora's expression softened ever so slightly. She looks up from her coloring. "Yondu said there are bad guys after me. I'd be really sad if they… if they killed Richie or Cammi because of me."

Jazinda chuckled, "but you don't care if we die?"

Gamora blinked in surprise and then shrugged, "well,"

"Great, thanks kid," Jazinda deadpans.

"You're welcome, " she replied earnestly.

Jazinda doesn't notice when the server walks over to their table. "Do you know what you want to order?" They signal in a creole language developed by shapeshifters. Jazinda translated for Gamora.

"I want fried lepido and arachnid legs and uh, the eephy berry dessert thing?" Gamora counts items off on her fingers.

Jazinda leaned over to Gamora, "you charging this all to your room?" She nodded enthusiastically. "Well if that jackass is paying for this, " Jazinda switched back to signaling in the shapeshifter language. She translated Gamora's order and then added, "Another order of arachnid legs, the roasted spiced koleop, and fresh water." The server scribbled the order down on their tablet and vanished back into the hotel. They returned a while later with a mountain of food.

"Woah!" Gamora squealed in delight and clapped her hands together. "It smells so good!" Jazinda cut Gamora's food into smaller bite-sized pieces. The kid held up her transmitter, "smile!"

"Wah-hey!" Jazinda protested as Gamora took a picture. The flash blinded her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm letting Richie know I made it to Leeto safely, he was worried about me," Gamora says and taps away at her transmitter.

"Oh, did you let your mother know too?" Jazinda asked curiously.

"No, not yet, " Gamora slumped in her seat, hiding behind her transmitter. Jazinda gives her a patronizing look. "I don't know what to tell her. I don't want to burden her anymore." Jazinda flicked Gamora's forehead. "Hey!"

"You're not a burden." Jazinda stares into her drink, "tell your mother you got a job, that your safe and taken care of."

Gamora frowned and asked cautiously, "am I safe?"

Jazinda felt rage boil within her. She snapped one of the arachnid legs in half, cracking its glossy exoskeleton. "Everything is gonna be alright, I promise, " And she meant it.

Gamora looks up at her with soft hopeful eyes, "thanks, Jazinda." There was no going back now, there never was. We can only go forward.