"So how long dis 'ere ride gon' take?" The unmistakably Cajun accent asked from one of the seats at the back of the cruiser. It had only been hours after Lilandra's transmission that the space transport unit had arrived on the mansion's front lawn and the X-Men found themselves venturing once more into the far reaches of space.

One of the pilots uttered something in Shi'ar, and Hank willingly translated. "No more than two hours my Cajun compatriot." Hank grinned at the back of the ship. "In the meantime I would suggest we all hold onto our hats, because this baby hasn't even left first gear yet."

"Uh, Hank?" Bobby asked from the second row of seats. "Did you just use a contraction?"

"Why yes, Robert, I did." Hank answered, gaining him a few laughs.

"Kay, just checkin'."

* * * * *

"Empress." D'tar said, catching Lilandra's attention. "The pilot of the space transport you sent to Earth has informed us that the X-Men are less than two Earth hours away."

"Thank you, D'tar." Lilandra replied as a dismissal, but instead of leaving D'tar remained standing in the doorway, shifting slightly on his feet. "You are dismissed councilor." Lilandra commanded, and Ch'od stepped menacingly closer.

"My apologies, Empress." D'tar stated, planting his feet firmly, "but there is more I wish to tell you." At Lilandra's nod, he continued. "The skrull is up to something, Empress. He was much too eager to have you call the X-Men after the guard disappeared."

Lilandra showed no visible signs of a reaction to that statement, but merely rebutted D'tar's argument. "As were you, councilor."

Frustrated, D'tar did the only thing he could think of that would completely gain the Empresses attention and full concern. "Empress, he hates the X-Men, out of us all he was the only one set against you choosing Xavier as your consort!" Lilandra stared aghast as D'tar continued on in English, unwavering. "It was his idea to call on the X-Men, Empress. Tell me how that makes sense?"

"How?" Lilandra asked accusingly, turning to Corsair in a fury.

"You needed somebody to look after you." Corsair shrugged, returning to filing his nails as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. "Somebody who could eavesdrop on those private conversations in English and know what the hell was going on. And somebody who could listen in on the Shi'ar conversations and, if necessary, inform you in English so nobody would be the wiser." He looked up at Lilandra and shrugged. "D'tar here seemed like a perfect candidate." Then that aggravating smile once again appeared on his lips. "I was only looking out for you, Empress."

"And I suppose you expect me to be grateful." Lilandra sighed, sinking down into a couch, with her staff of office hanging from her fingertips. "Between you and Charles one would think I was incapable of governing this empire." Then the anger left her face and she returned her attention to D'tar, still waiting impatiently in the doorway. "Very well, since I can't wipe a language out of your mind I suppose I might as well make use of you somehow D'tar." The councilor nodded nervously, and Lilandra tried very hard not to laugh at his expression. "Not like that, councilor. You are to become my new personal spy." A mischievous twinkle sparked in her eye that only the Starjammers could fully appreciate. "You are not to let A'nok know that you are fluent in English. Instead I want you to pay particular attention to your peers, especially that skrull, and if he so much as blinks suspiciously I want to know immediately. Is that understood, D'tar?"

The councilor merely raised an eyebrow and nodded to his Empress appreciatively. "Completely, your Majesty." With that he turned and left the room.

As soon as he was gone, Lilandra turned on Corsair. "Sometimes I swear you four are more trouble than you're worth!"

"Of course, empress." Ch'od laughed from his position at the imperial wet-bar. "That's why you love us so much!"

* * * * *

"Oh my stars and garters!"

"Robert, that is my line."

"Oh, sorry Hank."

Only half way to the imperial star cruiser and the sky outside was already glowing a brilliant fuschia color. The stars that were normally so bright in space were completely dimmed by the overpowering effects of the M'Kraan Crystal. For those who had never seen the Crystal before it was an awe-inspiring experience, for those who had it was a soul numbing realization of the true magnitude of the situation.

"So how's one little crystal making all this light?" Rogue asked ignorantly from her seat next to Storm.

"The M'Kraan Crystal isn't little Rogue." Jean answered simply, never taking her eyes off the window by her seat. "It's about the size of Australia."

Gambit let out a whistle from the back of the cabin at that comment. "Now dat's what I call a challenge."

"Gambit please do not joke about stealing the Crystal once we are in the Empress' presence." Xavier asked blandly from his spot to the left of the shuttle's pilot.

"Y'act like dey'd take me seriously!" Remy scoffed, shuffling his cards in a continuous pattern that didn't belie his agitation at the Professor's accusation.

"All I am saying, Gambit, is it has been stolen before, and threats to the Crystal are taken very seriously." Charles said, adding more meaning to those words with a simple look into the glowing eyes at the back of the ship. Those eyes nodded in return, conceding the Professor's point without argument.

"So Chuck." Logan asked from the front seat, breaking the uncomfortable moment of silence. "What exactly are we gonna have to do as Lil's personal body guard?"

"Hopefully nothing, Logan." Charles said, smiling at the knowing look in Wolverine's eyes. "Mostly it will be your job to follow her around, and look imposing. Something, I am sure, that will not be much of a problem."

"In that case, leave it to me, Hank, and the Cajun. The rest of you boys and girls can just sit back and enjoy the vacation." Logan said smugly, reclining even more into his chair.

"Yah sayin' Ah don' look imposin', Logan." Rogue quipped.

"Nah, chere," Gambit answered for him, "y' pout too much. It's sexy as hell, but intimidatin'? Non."

"Ah'll show you intimidatin', swamp rat." Rogue fumed, arms crossed over her chest.

"Be my guest, chere." Remy answered, leaning over the back of her seat to whisper in her ear.

"That's enough, you two." Scott finally interrupted the conversation. Remy just sat back in his seat and shrugged, but more than a few muffled laughs floated through the cockpit, especially at the blush on Rogue's face. "Now can we get serious for a minute?" After looking at each member of the team things calmed down and he gained their complete attention. "Now we know that the Imperial Guard is missing, they disappeared somewhere around here." He stated pointing to a spot on a holographic display that appeared magically at his fingertips. "From the Starjammer readouts the radiation levels around the Crystal are too high for most of us to venture too close. Now when we dock with the cruiser, we are officially acting as a replacement bodyguard. That means you are all to be on your best behavior. No instigating fights with Hepzibah." He looked at Logan meaningfully on that point. "No practical jokes." That look was meant for Bobby. "No taking matters into your own hands." Betsy was subject to a long glare on that one. "And all personal matters are to remain behind closed doors." Somehow Scott managed to pull Gambit and Rogue both into that stare. "Are we all understood?"

Nods from various people encouraged Scott to move along. "More importantly we are unofficially working in a re-con capacity. It is our job to figure out where the Guard went, and more importantly what is going on with the Crystal." That got Scott a few confused looks, but mostly grateful ones. "Now like I said, most of us won't be able to venture that close to the Crystal, so with the exception of a few we are effectively body guards. Logan, Rogue, Sam, you three are the only ones who can get anywhere near the Crystal right now." Nods went around the cabin on that. "So, as far as the Shi'ar are concerned, you did not come along on this mission. After we dock with the cruiser and exit, the three of you will remain aboard and the pilot will bring you to a place where you can deploy and reach the Crystal. Jean will remain in contact to learn about anything you find." The three members of the re-con team looked at each other and nodded satisfactorily. "Good." Scott said. "In the mean time, people, keep an eye out for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. I realize that going into an alien world we're not all sure what ordinary is, so don't be afraid to clue the Professor in, since he is our resident expert. Any questions?" Silence reigned through the cabin, and Scott took his seat again. "Good, enjoy the rest of the ride everyone, we're almost there."

* * * * *

Gladiator shivered in what he could only deem a holding cell. It was solid, not even a trace of where a door should be because there was no door, and there was no keeper. Yet still he found himself held against his will in this room, unable to move even though there were no shackles to hold him. Unable to cry out for help though nothing stopped him from using his voice, and unable to see even though nothing covered his eyes. For the first time in his entire existence the leader of the Imperial Guard felt completely helpless, though he knew no reason why. As he stood there, unable to move unbidden thoughts of his greatest regrets swam through his mind, almost as though called there by somebody other than himself. Then one thought focused and consumed him, playing out a scene before him that could only be reality. Thoughts that had plagued him for as long as he could remember floated out around him as the reality of how his life could have been different played out in front of his eyes. The thought: what if Gladiator had never been tricked into following D'ken's attempts for the throne? The truth of it all hit him hard, and Gladiator crumbled into himself with the thoughts of how he could have saved lives and made his empire stronger and weaker. For once Gladiator was presented with an unedited version of the truth, and it was too much for the impervious being to ignore. For the first time in his untold of existence, Gladiator cried.

* * * * *

"Things are going well, Tes'ral. Wouldn't you agree?" The man in the hologram asked, after the picture of Gladiator winked out of view. "Already the Crystal is active, searching, creating..."

"Of coursh." Tes'ral agreed. "You are never wrong, my Lord. But theshe Xsh-Men, they are almossst here. What would you have me do with them oncssse they arrive?"

Again the figure in the hologram smiled, sending shivers down Tes'ral's spineless back. "Like I told you before, do nothing. If I know these X-Men as well as I am sure that I do, you won't need to do anything, they will take care of everything themselves."

"Not to dissssobey you, my Lord." Tes'ral answered the figure. "But I do not undershtand."

"And you do not need to!" The hologram practically shouted. "The less you know, the less you can screw up. Just trust me that I know exactly what I am doing and everything will work out exactly like planned. Soon, I will have the Imperial Guard, the X-Men, and Lilandra bowing at my feet, Tes'ral." A finger of the hologram pointed out toward the skrull, coming uncomfortably close. "And you, my friend, will be there to see it." With that the hologram cut out, leaving the room in an uncomfortable darkness.