Chapter 7- Ravagers

Eventually Rocket managed to get Valkyrie's pod back into Knowhere and her pod landed with a thump where it had taken off from. The area was deserted of people and oddly quiet, unlike it had before the group had gone into the club to see The Collector. Valkyrie got out, a bit unsteady on her feet from the adrenaline which was now leaving her body in a flood. She sagged against the pod.

"Blasted idiot. They're all idiots!" Rocket grumbled as he got out of his pod.

"Thanks Rocket." Valkyrie said sarcastically and breathlessly.

Rocket looked up at her, "You know, for a Xandarian, you're not that bad. Great fiering."

Valkyrie winced, crossed her arms and mumbled, "I wish we could have avoided collateral damage of innocent civilians though. They aren't involved in this conflict."

"There's going to be a lot more if we don't stop Ronan." Rocket responded, walking away from her, "Come on, let's find Groot and Drax so we can get Quill and Gamora back."

Valkyrie froze, "You're not still considering me as a hostage are you?"

Rocket paused but didn't turn around, "From the way I see it you could have let them kill us and find transport back to Xandar when things went kaput and Ronan showed up. We were distracted enough that you could have easily slipped by unnoticed and scrambled for Xandar. Instead you saved our lives. As far as I'm concerned, you're in the group."

"Even though I was the one overseeing your… stay at the Kyln?" Valkyrie asked, still not understanding why a criminal was accepting her, a prison guard, into their group.

"Don't push your luck, missy." Rocket responded, waving a finger at her and started walking again, "Now, come on girl. Let's look for Groot before I change my mind."

"Rocket." Valkyrie called, running to catch up to him.

"Yep?" He asked, still walking.

"The name's Valkyrie, not girl." Valkyrie shouted after him.

The search lasted five minutes. They eventually found Drax and Groot at the end of a street. Drax was half laying and half sitting on the ground covered in goo and Groot was kneeling beside him. Drax looked like he was run over by a spaceship, "Quill just got himself captured. None of this would have happened if you didn't try to single-handedly take on a frickin' army!" Rocket shouted, pointing at Drax.

Drax gave a sigh, "You're right." He looked down at the wet ground, "I was a fool. All the anger, all the rage," Drax looked up at Rocket, "It was just to cover my loss." He sighed and looked down again.

Groot put a hand on Drax's shoulder before Rocket started, "Oh, boo-hoo-hoo. 'My wife and child are dead.'" Rocket fake cried.

Valkyrie's eyes widened at how harsh Rocket was compared to how he was thanking her not five minutes earlier for saving his life. Groot seemed to agree with her and gasped out loud, covering his mouth.

"Oh, I don't care if its mean!" Rocket snapped. He pointed at the ground, "Everybody's got dead people. It's no excuse to get everybody else dead along the way!" There was a pause. Then, "Come on Groot. Ronan has the stone. The only chance we got is to get to the other side of the universe as fast as we can and maybe, just maybe we'll be able to live full lives before that wack-job ever gets there." Rocket starts to turn around to walk away.

Groot stands up and angrily says, "I am Groot."

Rocket turns back around, "Save them? How?"

"I am Groot."

"I know they're the only friends we've ever had, but there's an army of Ravagers around them." As Rocket is speaking, Drax is getting up, "And there's only two of us!"

"Three." Drax says, as he finishes standing up and put an arm on Groot's shoulder.

Valkyrie sighed 'I'm going to regret this' she thought and stepped forward, "Make that four."

Rocket grunted, put his arms over his head, turned around and started to kick a couple of grass weeds, "You're. Making. Me. Beat. Up. GRASS!" Rocket yelled, kicking the grass every time he spoke.

Valkyrie snorted, "So, what are we going to do about Quill and Gamora?"

Drax smirks, "I have a couple of ideas."

"Attention idiots." Rocket said after firing three shots of missiles from the Milano at the biggest Ravager ship where Quill and Gamora were most likely to be. Drax was standing on top of the Milano with a Hadron Enforcer and wearing a space helmet, "The lunatic on top of this craft is holding a Hardon Enforcer. It's a weapon of my own design. If you don't hand over our companions now, he's going to tear your ship a new one. A very big new one! I'm giving you to the count of five. Five, four, three-"

And then Quill's voice came over the ship waves, "Rocket, it's me, for God sakes! We figured it out! We're fine!"

Valkyrie let out a breath as Quill said, in a much more relaxed tone than before, "Oh, hey, Quill. What's going on?"

"You call that 'figuring it out'?" Rocket asked as soon as the group was allowed on to the Revenger's main ship and Quill explained to us what had happened, "We're going to rob the guys who just beat us senseless?" Rocket, Drax and Groot were sitting on crates and Quill, Gamora and Valkyrie were standing up. Gamora had her arms on her hips and Valkyrie had hers crossed in front of her.

"Oh, you want to talk about senseless? How about trying to save us by blowing us up?!" Quill shot back.

"We were only going to blow you up if they didn't turn you over!"

"Just sayin' this wasn't my idea." Valkyrie put in quickly.

Valkyrie's comment was ignored and Quill quickly turned around and said, "And how on Earth were they going to turn us over when you only gave them a count of five?!"

"Well, we didn't have time to work out the minutiae of the plan. This is what we get for acting altruistically." Rocket ranted.

"I am Groot." Groot put in.

Rocket apparently agreed with what Groot said, "They are ungrateful."

"What's important now is that we get the Ravanger's army to help save Xandar." Gamora cut in with a level head.

"Yes, thank you Gamora." Valkyrie said pointing her hand at Gamora. Valkyrie then gave a startled look, 'Did I just thank a criminal?' She thought. Then the other side of her brain said, 'She does seem genuine on helping save your planet and people.'

"So we can give the stone to Yandu who's gonna sell to somebody even worse?" Rocket asked.

Quill looked away for a brief second, annoyed, "We'll figure that part out later."

Valkyrie gave a weary sigh, "We have to stop Ronan. He'll kill my people."

"How?" Rocket asked, looking defeated.

"I have a plan." Quill spoke out.

Rocket snorted, "You've got a plan?"

Quill hesitated, "Yes."

"First of all, you're copying me from when I said I had a plan." Rocket commented.

"No I'm not." Quill shot back, "People say that all the time. It's not that unique of a thing to say."

Rocket continued right after Quill, ignoring what he said, "Secondly, I don't believe you have a plan."

"I have..." Quill shot back, then gave a brief pause, "Part of a plan."

Drax finally spoke up, "What percentage of a plan do you have?"

Gamora rolled her eyes and pointed at Drax, "You don't get to ask questions after the nonsense you pulled on Knowhere."

Drax looked reproachfully at Gamora, "I just saved Quill."

"We've already established that you destroying the ship that I'm on is not saving me." Quill argued.

"When did we establish that?" Drax asked.

Valkyrie sighed and rubbed her temple which was beginning to throb.

"Like three seconds ago." Quill shot back.

"I wasn't listening. I was thinking of something else." Drax said sitting up right and clasping his hands in his lap and stared straight ahead.

Gamora groaned and turned around from him, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"She's right. You don't get an opinion." Rocket looked from Drax to Quill with his hands up in the air, "What percentage?"

"I don't know. Twelve percent." Quill suggested.

"Twelve PERCENT?" Rocket burst out in a fake laugh.

Quill looked down, "That's a fake laugh."

"It's real!"

Quill rolled his eyes, "Totally fake."

"That is the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh of my entire life because that is not a plan."

"It's barely a concept." Gamora put in, sitting on a box of crates.

Quill looked at Gamora, offended, "You're taking their side?"

"I am Groot."

Rocket stared at Groot, "So what if it is better than eleven percent. What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Thank you, Groot. Thank you." Quill said, friendly hitting Groot on the side, "See, Groots the only one of you who has a clue." There is a chomping sound as Groot eats a leaf off of his arm.

Valkyrie closes her eyes in disgust, "We have to come up with at least something. Part of a plan is better than no plan at all." Valkyrie opened her eyes to see Quill smiling at her.

"Thanks Val."

Valkyrie looked at Quill, puzzled, "Val?"

"Yeah. Short for Valkyrie." Quill said, smirking.

Valkyrie bit her lip, "... Fine."

Quill smiled then turned his attention back to the group, "Guys. Come on. Yondu is going to be here in two seconds. He expects to hear this big plan of ours. I need your help. I look around us. You know what I see? Loosers." Valkyrie cleared her throat. Quill paused then continued, "I mean, like people who have lost stuff. And we have. Man, we all have." Valkyrie nodded at that. She had lost three cousins and two friends to this scuffle... no war, with Ronan, "All of us. Our homes, our families, normal lives. And usually life takes more than it gives. But not today. Today it's us giving something. It has given us a chance."

"To do what?" Drax asked softly.

Quill looked at Drax, "To give a shit. For once. Not run away." At that line Quill looked at Gamora, "I for one, am not going to stand by and watch as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives."

"But, Quill," Rocket said, looking at the floor, "Stopping Ronan… it's impossible." Rocket looked up, "You're asking us to die."

Quill sighed, "Yeah, I guess I am." He stammered and turned around, walking a bit away from the group. It was silent as everyone thought things over.

Valkyrie stepped forward, "I'm in. It's my planet. My people. I'm with you, Quill."

Quill turned around and faintly smiled at her and nodded.

"Quill." Gamora cut through the silence, "I have lived most of my life surrounded by my enemies." Gamora stood up, "I will be grateful to die among my friends."

Drax pushed himself off the cart's he was sitting on, "You are an honorable man, Quill. I will fight besides you. And in the end, see my wife and daughter again."

Groot stood up next, "I am GROOT."

Everyone turned to look at Rocket, who was still sitting down and he looked around at everyone and sighed, "Oh, what the hell. I don't get that long a lifespan anyways." Rocket got up and stood on top of what he was sitting on. He straightened out his outfit, "Now I'm standing. Y'all happy? We're all standing up now." Rocket crossed his arms, "Bunch of jackasses standing in a circle."

Valkyrie snorted rather unladylike causing the group to switch starting from Rocket to her. She gave a sheepish smile in return.

Valkyrie was standing in the Milano, putting on her outfit to get ready for battle. She was remaking her prison guard outfit. She had on the red pants of the Ravanger's, her boots and a black undershirt underneath with her zip-up blue uniform jacket opened, which was against regulation, but she didn't care at the moment. She would close it before the battle. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail to get her hair off her neck and out of her face.

The next step, weapons. She sighed. Her swords were back home in her fighter ship she had named Nexus. She had convinced Rocket to drop her off at her home so that she could pilot the Nexus. The Nexus was the best damn ship she had ever owned. And it was fit for battle.

Quill knocked on the door, "Val, the meeting's in five."

Valkyrie nodded, looking up, "Coming."

The group was standing around what looked to be the Ravanger's control room with screens everywhere. Gamora stood in the center of it while everyone else filled in a circle around her, "The stone reacts to anything organic. The bigger the target, the bigger the power surge."

"All Ronan's got to do is touch the stone to the planet's surface and ZAP. All plants, animals, Nova Corps." Quill stated.

"Everything will die." Valkyrie finished.

"So Ronan does not make the surface. Rocket will lead a team to blow a hole in the Dark Aster's starboard hull. Then, the Malino, Valkyrie's Nexus and Yando's will enter."

"Won't there be hundreds of Sakaaran soldiers inside?" One of Yandu's men asked a reasonable question.

Drax glared at him, "I think of Sakaaran as paper people."

The man nodded, grinned and punched Drax in the shoulder. Drax just glared at the man even more and the man that punched him backed off looking a little weirded out.

"I don't see a ship named Nexus." Yandu pointed out resulting in Valkyrie glaring at him.

"Rocket will drop me off were it is located on Xandar in the Malino and I will fly up in it. It's a hell of a ship." Valkyrie argued, "It has survived battle before."

"Once they know we are on board," Gamora continued, "Ronan will isolate himself behind impenetrable security doors on deck. Which I can disable by dismantling the power source."

"We'll make it to the flight deck, and I'll use the Hadron Enforcer to kill Ronan." Quill concluded.

"Once Ronan is dead, we will retrieve the stone." Gamora stated as Quill handed out round shaped containers, "Use these devices to contain it. If you touch it, it will kill you."

"I'll contact one of the Nova officers. I am positive that they will listen to me once I explain the plan and what has transpired." Valkyrie stated.

"They'res one more thing that we need to complete the plan." Rocket stated and pointed to a man who already had one eye missing and replaced with an electronic one, "That guy's eye."

Quill put out a hand as if to stop Rocket, "NO! No we don't! No! We don't need that guy's eye."

Rocket chuckled. "No seriously, I need it! It's important to me."

Thank you to who Favorited this story: sofialorido995 and Flashfox Tyrell05

Thank you to who Followed this story: artemisrocks124, Elo Elo, independentcinderella, phoenixmoon25572, Flashfox Tyrell05 and jvspoke

Review:

Guest: I didn't plan on Valkyrie parring with anyone in this story and if she did get together with someone, It wouldn't be a major character.