Separation

The shuttle crossed the desert. From afar, a spaceship came into sight. On approach, the ship's docking bay opened and the shuttle landed inside. Shortly before, Drax had set the gun he captured on stun. After the landing, he fired at the two crew members to incapacitate them. He gestured at the captain to step out. They walked through a corridor towards the cockpit. The men passed closed doors to the left and to the right of the hallway. The cautious warrior watched them attentively, ready to fight if this would turn out to be an ambush.

Finally, they entered a door at the front side, onto the flight deck. Drax stepped out of the doorway and then to the side, to have his back covered by a wall. There were four officers in the cockpit; some reached for their weapons. Immediately, the captain ordered, "Stand down!"

The men did not pursue any defensive actions, but looked at the leader with a puzzled expression. He continued, "Drax the Destroyer is our guest. He will come with us."

"I did not agree to such a thing. You will fly this vessel to our landing site."

The captain slowly turned towards him. "May I please have a word with you now?" he asked.

"You want to negotiate?" Drax answered with unbelief.

"There are things you should know."

Drax gestured at the crewmen to move into a corner of the cabin, where he could watch them. He said to the captain, "You have one minute to explain."

The blue man paused for a moment. Then he elaborated, "We have orders to capture the killers of Ronan. We thought the Guardians were responsible. However, we received new information. The actions of Ronan have been led by Thanos."

"Thanos?!" Drax exclaimed.

"Yes."

Drax was baffled. He frowned while many thoughts crossed his mind. Ronan had killed his wife and daughter. For a long time, he had sought revenge and he finally got it. However, Ronan's death didn't satisfy him. Thanos, the mastermind, had to die too. Suddenly, the Kree captain had his full attention. He decided to put his mistrust aside for the time being and concluded, "Then I presume you want to capture Thanos instead."

"That is our new mission."

"Not an easy task. How will you proceed?"

"You see how fortunate we are to have found you! If there is any man in the universe who has the proper motive and skills to capture Thanos, it is you, Drax the Destroyer!"

"Enough with the flattering. How are you going to find Thanos?"

"We have an advanced tracking system. It will take some time but we will find him."

The warrior was silent for a few moments. He had to make a decision. This was almost too good to be true. Finally, he said, "Agreed. I will come with you. But first I have to contact my fellow Guardians."

"Excellent," the blue-faced leader said and formally extended his hand. Drax shook it with uneasiness. He put his knifes back in their sheaths and handed the captured gun back to his owner.

Meanwhile, in one of the ship's compartments, two men wearing white coats were monitoring the conversation of the captain with the Destroyer. One of them got up abruptly, almost in panic, unlocked the door, run through the corridor and took back speed while he entered the cockpit.

Drax and the captain faced the man standing in front of the doorway. Drax looked at him distrustfully. The white coat stammered, "Captain, please, if ... if I may, Sir."

"What is it? Can't you see we're in the middle of something?"

"I'm very sorry ... it's ... I thought you may want to know ... we need ten more minutes."

The leader looked at him with dismay. He ordered, waving his hand dismissively, "Fine. Leave and don't bother us again."

"What was that about?" Drax asked.

The Kree didn't answer directly. His eyes made a small jitter to the left.

The Destroyer grew impatient, "I asked you a question. What are you up to?"

The captain replied in an oily voice, "Please, you have to forgive my co-worker. He is ... in contact with the team who operates the tracking device. We ... may have more news in ten minutes."

"Good," his guest acknowledged. Then he added sternly, "You are hiding something from me. What is it you are not telling?"

The leader started to look more composed and informed him, "I have some thoughts about contacting your crew. Of course, you should notify them. But maybe it is wise to wait until we have left the planet."

"And why would that be?"

"Think about it: will they sympathise with this mission?"

The question made Drax ponder. Finally, he answered, "Why not? Thanos is a danger to the universe. It will be a fitting pursuit to seize him."

"Yes, but he's also Gamora's father. What if, let's say, he gets killed while we try to capture him?" he hinted. "Would she agree? Or, reversely, maybe she wants the honour for herself. Should we debate this in advance or do you prefer to act while the trail is hot?"

More thoughts were crossing the warrior's mind. He frowned while he took it all in. Then he smiled slightly and replied, "It will be my pleasure to kill him." He continued, "I will go along with you for the time being. If I find out however that you have plans to deceive me, Thanos will not be the only one who dies," he added with a menacing look.

"I can understand how our past actions have made you distrustful. Yet, I can assure you that we have a common interest. I hope you will learn to trust us."

The warrior didn't reply. He took a backseat in the cockpit. The captain ordered the crew to get back to their seats. They prepared for take-off and soon after, the Kree ship left the desert world.

"What is our destination?" Drax asked.

"We are heading for a planet where the tracking equipment is set up. As soon as we have confirmation, we will hunt him down. As a sign of good faith, I will open a communication channel with your crew in a short while."

Drax nodded.

The captain turned around to continue commanding his crew. Almost unnoticeably, he gazed at a clock. Five minutes had elapsed. Five more needed to pass. He was confident that the fear-inspiring warrior would trust him after that. His lab assistant had done a good job in warning him.

"Drax is taking his time," Peter complained, "I'm getting hungry."

"Why don't you start cooking? There's plenty of food," Gamora suggested.

"Me? Cooking? I've never cooked in my life. I thought that was your job."

Not amused by this remark, the Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe rebutted, "You want me to do the shopping and the cooking? What do I look like, a housewife?"

"Well, it was your idea and I can't cook," Peter replied with an innocent expression on his face.

"Fine, I'll look for somebody else to do the job."

"Good luck with that, Gam," Peter wished. Not much chance, he thought. No way the forest creature department would be of any help.

The tree-man said, "I am Groot."

"That's right," Rocket remarked, "Groot can cook."

Gamora and Peter looked at Groot in amazement and then to each other. "Groot's a cook?" Star-Lord asked very surprised.

"He ain't no cook, he didn't say that. He can cook. Look, in some prisons we escaped from, we worked in the kitchen. Groot did the cookin' while I looked fer a way to get out. So he knows a few recipes."

"I am Groot!"

"How can he cook, he doesn't even eat!" Peter objected.

"We didn't hear any complaints from the inmates!" the raccoon exclaimed, then continued in a lower voice, grinning, "'coz mostly we 'd left the premises when they started eatin'."

Groot hadn't waited for the discussion to finish; he already had settled in the pantry, put some large, calabash-like vegetables on the table and mashed them with his hands. Rocket watched him and said, "Hey, we got tools for that."

"I am Groot!"

"Oh, you don't want me around. Fine, do it yerself," he muttered and let the chef to his own device.

Finally, appetising vapours came out of the improvised kitchen. One after the other, the crewmembers came in and sat down at the small table. Groot had produced a large pan with hot, orange mash and scooped it onto three plates.

"What about Drax," Gamora asked.

"I am Groot."

"There's plenty left for him," the raccoon translated.

Peter tested the food with his fork. Groot had cooked the tough shell fragments of the vegetables with the rest. He picked a shell part and chewed it, but had to spit it out.

"I am Groot."

Rocket explained, "This is turnip stew or somethin' ... It's turnip, right?" he asked and looked at Groot. "Anyhow, you're s'posed ta eat the soft mush, not the shells."

"Why did he leave the shells in?"

"Fer the vitamins, of course. Gee, ya really don't know the basics of food processin', do ya?"

Peter shook his head convincingly. "And what are the dark grey bits?" he inquired.

Rocket stuck his fork into one of the small, finger-sized grey parts. It made a crunching sound while he chewed it. The raccoon smiled contently.

"Groot, this is delish! Deep-fried grubs, I love it."

Peter had picked up one of the dead insects and looked at it with disgust. "Grubs? That's gross! I can't eat that!"

"Come on, taste one, ya spoiled brat. They're really good! Lotsa proteins."

Star-Lord just pushed the grubs to the rim of his plate with the back end of his fork and then used the instrument to shove the mush into his mouth. "It needs some salt," he commented.

They were still eating when the onboard communicator made a buzzing sound. Peter got up and sped into the cockpit. On a com screen, Drax looked back at him.

"Drax, where are you? We started to worry." He was going to mention the meal, but then he noticed Drax was sitting in an unknown space ship, which made him worry a bit more.

Drax took the word and said, "I am fine. I will not be coming for some time."

"Where are you? What's going on?"

Drax calmly replied, "I am on a ship, moving away from this planet."

Peter interjected anxiously, "Did the Kree kidnap you?"

"No, they did not. In fact, ... I have new information. They are no longer after us."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I am on their ship."

"You're hiding in a Kree ship? That's some move. Quickly, give me the flight data so we can come after you."

"That is not necessary. They know I am aboard. We made a deal."

This took Peter aback. He didn't disapprove rogue actions per se, but striking a deal behind his back was not something he was going to accept. He inquired warily, "They know you are there and they overhear this conversation?"

Drax nodded.

Peter tensely rubbed his forehead with his right hand. In a lower voice he said, "Why didn't you contact us right away? What the hell is this all about?"

"You do not need to be concerned. I have this under control. These Kree agreed to take me to one of their mission centres."

"Just like that, huh? In case you're wondering, I like to believe that we're a team, so don't tell me I shouldn't be concerned!" Star-Lord said with angry sarcasm.

"Look, Peter, there was no time to plan this well. The Kree are tracking Thanos. They blame him for Ronan's death. Can you see how this is a unique opportunity to rid the universe of a great danger?"

"Drax, I thought we were doing things together. I don't like your stand-alone action one bit. Let us at least help you," he said with a pleading voice.

Drax stubbornly replied, "I am going to kill this devil! You and Gamora may disagree. I have to do this, Peter. You can not stop me."

"OK, OK, I get it. You got revenge issues. But even then, we're still a team." Thinking for a moment he added, "And yes, you're right. I don't like this idea of a vendetta against one of the most powerful half-gods in the universe. Who says you will kill him? What if he kills you?"

"It is my destiny to kill Thanos! I see now how I have been working towards this all along. I can do it, Quill, I can feel it!" he bragged enthusiastically and then continued in a calmer voice, "I appreciate your concern, but I do not want to put you and the Guardians in danger."

"That's my call, not yours!" Peter asserted. "Give me at least a coordinate where we can rendezvous. We need to put our heads together on this. You need to get back to the team!"

The Destroyer looked to his right and had a discussion with a crewmember outside the view area. Finally, Peter could see a hand reaching him a data sheet. A cybernetic hand.

"Agreed. Here are the coordinates of our destination. It is in a neighbour galaxy. By the time you get there, we can meet and work something out."

"OK, Drax, I'm glad we do it this way."

The screen went blank.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew had joined Star-Lord one by one and picked up parts of the conversation.

"This sucks big time!" Rocket muttered. "We should put a leash on that big flarkin' idiot."

Gamora and Peter looked at him in agreement.

The latter sighed and then decided, "OK, let's be as rational about this as possible. I'm going to have a few words with Drax once the crew is reassembled. But first, we have to get to this place they're taking him."

"Rocky, program in the destination he gave us. We're leaving."

Rocket didn't need commands. He already had taken the pilot seat and was operating the controls. A star map emerged on a big view screen. He looked at it and then shook his head. There was some kind of error. He pushed a few buttons, inspected the map, walked over to the communications panel, run diagnostics, checked the map again and then called for Peter, letting him know, "Pete, something 's wrong with the coordinates he gave us."

"What's wrong?"

"It's bogus. It doesn't lead ta any place."

"Are you sure?"

"Check it fer yerself. It's fake data."

Peter punched in a few buttons, looked at the star map and then frowned, asking, "How's that possible?"

"My guess would be: someone doesn't wan' us to go there."

"Flark!" Peter exclaimed. "Now we have no idea where he is."

"We can track the com signal," Rocket suggested and went to it. For a while, he was busy analysing the com logs, looking at star maps, making computations. Finally, he got something. "Here we go," he announced. The map came up with an object, but it wasn't what the smart Raccoon had hoped for. "D'ast! It's a relay station," he exclaimed disappointedly and concluded, "Someone definitely doesn't want us ta know where they're goin'."

Gamora said, "Did you notice: the guy who gave him the data had a prosthetic hand? I bet that's the guy whose hand I chopped off. I believe Drax sincerely wanted to meet us. These Kree are deceiving him!"

"That brainless cave man!" Rocket barked, upset. "He walked into a trap with open eyes. Flark it! Why does he always have ta do stupid things like that?" In frustration, he banged his clenched paw at a console and hurt it. He took it into the other hand and rubbed his sore knuckles.

Peter said, "OK, let's presume he has been kidnapped but he doesn't know it. And we have no idea where he can be. This is bad." He covered his face with both hands and rubbed his forehead with his fingertips.

"There must be a tracker," Rocket remarked. "We didn't find it, but it has ta be on our ship, somewhere. We landed on a random planet, no way they could've guessed it's location. I'm goin' ta find that tracker and then we'll get these krutackers."

"OK," Peter replied, "do whatever you need to do." He looked at his furry friend with some concern and added, "But don't take the whole ship apart, OK?