Indezon 3
Comment:
Hi readers,
It's been a while. Christmas, New Year and all. Happy New Year by the way! I hope the next chapters will come in a more regular interval.
If you want to write a (small) review: please do. I'm really glad with the feedback I got! It surely inspires me to keep writing.
Rocket, Groot and Sam where sitting in the back of the Milano. Peter flew the ship and Gamora was co-piloting.
The ingenious raccoon worked on a small camouflaged hand weapon that Sam and he could wear without enemies seeing it. When it was done, Rocket tested it on a target disc. The pressure gun hardly made any sound and left needle-thin holes in the disc.
"That's a bit smaller than your other gun," Sam teased.
"Small, but deadly," Rocket replied proudly.
"How is it deadly?" Sam wanted to know.
"It's a poison gun."
Sam frowned and though about what he was going to say next. "Do we need to kill the Skrull?"
"Hey, this is how we do it. These are enemy forces; they can kill us so we kill them first."
"Why not just sedate any opposition forces?"
"Bad idea. What if they wake up? You can't keep shootin' the same guys, you need ta take them out for good."
"I don't know, what if you can sedate them for a time long enough to succeed with the mission? Like one or two hours?"
"Why do ya meddle with things like that? Putting yer nose in it again? We got yer plan in place, now ya have ta leave the logistics to me. That's my job!" He punched himself on the chest with a fist, a snarl on his muzzle.
Sam was not impressed and kept on, "It's not my plan, it's our plan. I don't take the credits for it. Secondly, I respect your authority, I'm just giving input. Thirdly, I meddle with things because I have to act according to my rules. I can't kill people if there's an alternative."
"Well, ya don't get an alternative."
"Then I just go in without a gun."
"Are ya crazy? The plan requires two men with a weapon."
"Do I have a say in it or not?"
"Ya flarkin' stinkin' ...," Rocket swore, adding a lot more terms, ending with "... nosy cat."
The cat tried to keep his cool. Words don't hurt, he told himself. He continued, "What if Drax doesn't want to come with us?"
"What are ya blabberin' about, of coz he comes with us."
"Yes, but he seemed to be manipulated. What if you can't convince him? You can't shoot him."
"Then we have to wait for Groot and Gam to come in, they will drag him out."
"If you sedate him, there is less risk."
Rocket was contemplating this information. It made sense.
Groot, who had been following the conversation, said, "I am Groot."
"Are ya on his side now? I'll tell ya what we do: you fill yers with sedative and I load mine with toxin. Keeps us both happy."
"What if you need to shoot Drax?"
"He has self-healing powers, he'll survive."
"What kind of poison are you using?"
"Look fer yerself, it's a potent neurotoxin."
"I see. I know this agent, it causes convulsions. I got a sedative that works very smoothly; it's compatible with Skrull physiology. If a guy is hit, he will think he's been stung by a mosquito and will slowly slide down into a deep sleep. Very discrete."
"No, that ain't no good idea! Look, there's a teleport. What if a hundred Skrulls come out? You can't tranq 'em all, ya need ta kill 'em."
"You can't fire more rounds with poison than with sedative during the same time interval, it makes no difference. There can never be so many Skrulls that you need hours to shoot them all. The building is too small for that."
Rocket clenched his teeth. He hated this know-it-all more and more. Then he took a breath. He had to be rational about this, "So yer suggestin' we both take a tranq gun. I don't feel comfortable with that. Ya just may get into a situation where ya have ta kill a guy, ya don't know in advance. If it comes to it, ya need the tools to do so."
The big tree-man suggested, "I am Groot."
"Exchangeable cartridges, eh? Hmm." He thought some more about it and then said, "OK, but just because Groot says so. I need some time to readjust the guns."
"I think that's a good solution," Sam remarked. "I'll produce a bottle of the sedative."
"OK, ya do that, ya d'ast Skrull hugger."
"I don't like Skrulls any more than you do. But they happen to be sentients, you know."
"Jes' wait till yer smell their breath. Then ya wan' ta kill 'm fer sure."
"Death penalty for poor dental hygiene? That's a bit strong."
"I was jokin', ya fool."
"I was too."
Rocket got back to work on the mini-guns. Meanwhile, Beatrix, the white rabbit, had produced the suits and Muzzo had fitted them with shielding. Beatrix added small pockets to stick the guns and the cartridges in. Then the suits were beamed into Sam's backpack. In addition, another item was sent over.
Sam put on his suit and exclaimed, "Look at this cool prey she made!" It looked like a replica of a small deer. Sam clenched it between his fangs and moved around swiftly through the back of the ship. He looked like a genuine predator that had made a kill.
"Now at least ya look like a decent killer," Rocket said with a cynical voice.
Sam stood up and tugged at the replica while he held it in his mouth. Reddish goo dripped out. Groot looked at it with displeasure. Sam took the thing out of his muzzle and dropped it on the floor. "If you pull it a little, this muck will flow out. It's full of it. We can totally mess up their doorsteps." He grinned with childish pleasure.
"Yeah, that's nice," Rocket added, "don't spill it here. Ya know how tidy Star-Lord is."
After a while, the raccoon finished his gun design. Sam handed him a bottle with a green fluid. Rocket filled two cartridges with the sedative and two with black poison. He fitted the green ones to the guns and then gave the gun and a toxic capsule to Sam.
"I hope ya will use the black stuff when ya need ta, don't go pacifist on me."
"Of course. If there's a compelling reason, I'll use it. I'm not a pacifist! But I'm not a murderer either."
The ring-tail muttered something. Then he took the raccoon suit and changed into it. Making sure Sam couldn't see his backside while he did. He stuck the gun and the cartridge into the small pockets and ran around on all fours to see if they wouldn't drop out. The design was good; so far, the plan seemed to work.
Sam walked on all fours too, grabbing the prey with his teeth and darting through the pantry. Then he sped up the stairs, to the front of the ship. Peter was focussing on the approach to the planet, while Gamora turned her head and looked amused at the wild cat entering the cabin. Soon after, a wild raccoon came along. The warrior woman tapped on Peter's shoulder and pointed with her head towards the newly arrived animals. Star-Lord glanced back and chuckled, "Lookin' great, Rocky! You could have fooled me."
Gamora laughed. Rocket growled.
Peter joked, "Amazing sound effects too!"
All of a sudden, Rocket shouted angrily, "Stop laughin' ya flarkin' idiots! Ya think this is funny? It's a freakin' circus act, fer cryin' out loud!" He stomped down the stairs angrily. Sam saw him go and was taken aback. He looked at Gamora with an uncertain expression. Gamora stepped out of her stool and went down the stairs. Rocket marched towards Groot on two feet and pointed a finger at him, "Don't you dare laugh at me too!"
Groot had a friendly face while he watched him come in, but his friend's mood swing startled him. Rocket sat at the table and sulked. Gamora walked in and sat down next to him without saying anything.
After a while she said, "Look, we're really sorry. We didn't mean to insult you. You just look so convincing in the costume. It's all good fun."
Rocket looked at her but said nothing. Gamora gently petted his paw. Groot put a hand around his shoulder.
Sam slowly climbed down the stairs. He tried to be as quiet as possible. He felt sorry for the raccoon. It had become clear to him that the sentient animal had a few issues and that his crewmates took good care of him. He felt sorry that he caused things to move in a direction that was painful to his fellow mammal. Yet, he couldn't figure out how he could have done things differently. These were all professionals, like him. They had to do what's best for a mission. Sometimes that meant you have to sacrifice something. He wasn't happy at all that most sacrifices seemed to come at Rocket's expense.
He slowly walked towards the table, where the three Guardians were sitting silently, morally supporting their raccoon friend without words. Sam said, hesitantly, "If it means anything, I'm sorry too."
The raccoon looked up and stared at him. "Sorry for what?"
"I don't know exactly what is going on, but I want to show more consideration for you. Did I hurt your feelings?"
Rocket stopped staring. He faced the table and glanced at his two friends. Then he looked at Sam again and said, "It's not yer problem, really." He looked at the table and sighed. Then he slowly rubbed his face. "I'll get over it."
Gamora went back to the cockpit to assist Peter in landing the Milano. Sam joined Rocket and Groot at the table. They were silent for the rest of the trip. Emptying their minds and focussing on what was to come. No more words were needed.
When the Milano hovered at great distance over the location to find a suitable landing site, Peter saw a jungle with a large artificial clearing. All life had been burned away within a diameter of two hundred metres. Patches of grass had grown back on the blackened soil. In the middle was a platform on top of a scaffold. The floor, about twenty-five metres in both directions, was covered for three quarters by a shiny metallic building. Broad steps led from the ground to the uncovered part of the stage. On the roof of the metal construction, two connected cubes were placed in the middle. One of the cubes carried a large metal disc, supported by a short pole; The disc faced the building like an umbrella.
Twenty minutes later, a medium size black and white coloured predator peeked from behind a tree into the open area. In his muzzle a freshly caught hoofed animal. He nervously glanced back into the growth. Then he made a decision and took a fast sprint towards the platform.
Behind the same tree, another animal was lurking. It was about equal in size and had greyish fur. It sniffed around and seemed to follow a trail of blood. Meanwhile, the predator halted near the platform. He dropped his prey and looked around to see if the area was safe. He smelled at the scaffolding. Then he glimpsed the other animal leaving the woods; sniffing, taking a sprint, smelling again. The black and white predator didn't like it. He swiftly grabbed his catch and ran up the stairs, onto the platform.
There it hastily began to tear his prey apart. Blood and giblets were spilled all over.
His competitor had tracked him and cautiously climbed up the stairs. The black and white animal growled and hissed fiercely, but the grey one slowly pursued his upward motion, meandering from one side of the steps to the other while looking casual and innocent.
In response, the black and white creature moved his half-gutted prey to the other side of the stage. The grey animal bit in one of the organs that had dropped out of the dead animal. He chewed it, holding it with his paws. Distasteful substances leaked out. He dropped the meat and smeared his hands off on the metal wall. Then he ambled in the direction of his competitor, who held the rest of the prey.
The predator felt menaced by the renewed approach of his competition. He dropped his prey, made a few steps towards the other guy, hissed and threatened to attack by making a short sprint, catching himself and flailing his paws with fully extended nails. While he charged, the grey animal suddenly sped around him, snatched the kill and run back to the stairs. The other animal was furious and ran after him, hitting his hind legs with his paws to make him stumble. Finally, the skirmish turned into a tug war. Both animals buried their teeth in one end of the catch and tried to rip it out of the other's mouth. Goo gushed out of the dead thing into all directions, painting the platform and the walls over in red and brown colours.
Two metal doors slid open and a large, green soldier stepped out with an annoyed look on his face. The grey animal seemed to be scared and let go of the prey. He fled towards the opening in the wall, trying to hide behind the soldier. The latter took out his gun and pointed it at the other predator who growled and wasn't about to let anyone steal his prey.
Suddenly the grey animal stood up, grabbed a small gun out of his fur and shot the soldier in the back. The man didn't notice. He fired at the black and white predator but missed because the creature jumped sideways when he pressed the trigger. The animal firmly grabbed his prey and darted towards his grey competitor, who had already dashed into the building. The soldier was about to fire a second shot, but fell backwards and hit the deck. He had trouble getting up again.
The mammal with the prey sprinted through the hallway, passing the grey one. From the dark, a second green man appeared. The black and white predator growled fiercely. The soldier grabbed his weapon. He didn't pay attention to the grey animal, who shot him in the neck. After a few seconds, the man stretched his arm towards the wall to catch himself from collapsing. He slid along the wall onto the floor and rested there motionlessly.
Three more corridors followed. The black and white predator caught the attention of the guards; the grey animal unexpectedly shot them down. No alarm was sounded.
Finally, around the fourth corner, the grey animal went up on two feet and walked towards a huge tattooed man who guarded one of the middle cubes of the building.
The big man responded to the intrusion of the small creature by taking one of his knifes out of its sheath. He held it in his right fist, blade facing down, and slowly approached the animal. The mammal didn't flinch and kept walking towards the man. The man squeezed his eyes and said with much surprise, "Rocket?"