Yondu didn't find himself speechless very often, but at that moment he couldn't figure out what to say or how to react. Mostly he wanted to run away, which was out of the question. Instead he stepped forward, causing Quill to back up and give him a wide birth. Yondu settled into his seat and pressed the com, calling up the navigator. "I need you to stop the Galleon. I'm taking my ship out for a test flight."
Quill came closer to him and he could sense the boy's curiosity.
The man who appeared on the screen said, "But... we've almost reached our..."
"Just do it, Nav."
"Of course, Captain." The navigator ended the call.
While this was going on, Peter remembered that he was supposed to be escaping and started inching towards the port.
"Don't bother," Yondu said without turning. Quill froze. "It's locked up tight, and you ain't gonna wanna miss this." He smiled as he saw Trelzar out in the hangar waving his arms around like a lunatic. Yondu waved back.
Trelzar dropped his arms and started pressing buttons on the band on his arm. A com-screen appeared in front of him, and a second one popped up next to Yondu, who tried to wave it away. As he watched, Trelzar started pressing buttons again, and the call on Yondu's end accepted itself.
"The Zatoan isn't Space-worthy yet," said the frantic mechanic.
Yondu ignored Quill's whispered, "Cool..."
He said, "Is that by your standards, or everyone else's?"
Trelzar's eyes shifted to the side and back to his Captain. "By my standards..."
With a smirk, Yondu ended the call. He buckled his harness and was about to activate the launch sequence when he remembered Quill was still standing there. He pointed to one of the forward seats and said, "You strap yourself in too, boy."
Peter stared at him. "Um..."
"Better do it quick or you're gonna kiss that windshield when we pitch down."
He took the hint and ran up to the front, picking the left chair. He was way too small, and even with his bag between him and the back rest, his knees couldn't make it past the seat and his legs were stuck out straight. At least the buckle was easy. It looked like the two pieces of metal were so high they would connect in front of his face, but once he snapped them together, the straps adjusted themselves so that the buckle was against his chest and he was pressed snuggly into the chair.
When he finished, the ship did exactly what Yondu said it would; it pitched down as the floor tilted, opening up a dark hole beneath it. He clung to the arm rest and held on for dear life as the moorings gently slid the ship into the hole. He looked back and could just see the floor close up again.
The lights in the cockpit came on, as did various lights across the ship. Peter noticed that Yondu wasn't smiling like he had been when he spoke to Eyegore. When he first caught Peter in here, he looked like he was secretly laughing, but then in that strange moment before he sat down and started all this he seemed... sad. He was like that again now.
His expression reminded Peter of his Grandpa the night his Mom... that night. God... that was only a few days ago.
There was a startling *whoosh* and then an eerie nothingness as something in front of them opened up. He got an impression of stars before the ship shot downward into what looked like an endless abyss, but he shut his eyes as he was met with the terrible sensation that they were going to fall forever.
Only his stomach didn't do that butterflies thing it did when you go down a big hill. It didn't feel like they were going anywhere.
He heard clicking behind him, and then moving. Yondu was coming towards him, and he didn't want to seem like a scaredy cat so he forced himself to open his eyes.
Yondu, on his part, was concerned. He remembered what this was like. He could perfectly recall the horror he felt the first time he saw the stars from outside his planet's atmosphere. The kid had to face this, but the point wasn't to break him; it was to make him understand.
As he reached the chair, he heard a hitch in Quill's breath and froze. He didn't know what he was sensing from the boy, but it was almost as suffocating as the sight of the endless everything surrounding them. He watched as Quill unbuckled himself, climbed out of his chair, walked up to the window, and pressed his hands against it. There were tears pouring from his eyes that he half-heartedly swiped at with his sleeve.
Yondu couldn't stand it anymore, so he spoke up. "It ain't a hop, skip, and a jump back to your Terra, boy. Even if you figured out how to fly this ship, if you don't know how to navigate you'd get lost out here forever."
He barely heard the boy's small, shaking voice. "You said..."
"I know what I said," he cut in bitterly. "And goodie for you making it this far, but sometimes getting what you want ain't possible, no matter how hard you try. This here's one of those times."
Quill responded in the weirdest way possible. He smiled and said, "Star-Lord."
Yondu blinked. The kid was filled with grief, but at the same time he was a confusing bundle of joy and fear and sadness and... and longing? "What the hell?"
His little hands shook as he said, "My Mom... that's what she calls me: her Star-Lord. We... we were always making up stories where we explored the Universe together like... like Flash Gordon. I was the hero, and now... it's for real..." He looked at Yondu with those wet, emotion filled eyes and that strange smile.
The Centaurian masked his shudder by snorting and crossing his arms. "I ain't calling you that. There's enough idiots with 'Star' in their name already."
Quill's smile vanished and he went back to staring out the window. Yondu could practically taste the disappointment, but he wasn't here to cater to anyone's whims but his own.
This was not going how he intended. The kid was supposed to... to understand, like Yondu did, how desolate the universe was; how it would never give you anything and would take whatever it could if you let it. He was trying to teach Quill a lesson about the indifferent nature of the Cosmos, and here the kid was falling in love with the damn place.
At least one good thing came of it: Quill no longer resembled his past self in any way at all. He would never have this reaction to space.
Quill snapped him out of his thoughts by saying, "That one looks real close." He was pointing at something, his finger pushed against the window.
Yondu tilted his head so he could see what it was and spotted a large star about a parsec away away. "Must be Tau Bootis."
He activated the navigational overlay on the windshield and poked the star. A large hologram of it appeared in the middle of the cockpit, its gas giant in close orbit. "Yeah, that's it alright."
"Wow!" The kid was in awe of this display until he noticed the tiny Tau Bootis 5 floating not far from the planet. He cocked his head and said, "That's a funny looking moon."
Yondu smirked. "It ain't no moon. That's a Space Station."
With a loud gasp, Quill yelled, "No way! I can't believe you just said that!"
"Why?!" Yondu's eyes went wide as he seriously started doubting the kid's sanity. That was way too much joy over such a simple statement.
"Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope," Quill answered quickly as though that explained everything. "Obi Wan says something almost exactly like that." He turned to Yondu, his eyes big and pleading. "Can we go there?"
The question startled a laugh out of Yondu. "That's where I'm headed," he said. "There ain't no way you're going."
"Why not?" he whined.
"Because you're probably gonna try to escape again." Yondu flicked his wrist and the hologram disappeared. The kid came too close with his first attempt. He wasn't getting a second.
"Nuh uh!" Quill followed him to his seat. "I promise I won't if you take me. I'll pinkie swear it." He made a fist with his right hand and stuck his smallest finger out.
"What does swearing on your... never mind." Yondu sat down and pointed a finger in Quill's face. "You ain't escaping again 'cause if you do, I might just reconsider letting my boys eat you."
Quill glared at him. "No you won't," he said firmly. He believed it, too.
Yondu didn't know if he was bothered that a kid called his bluff, or touched that at least someone didn't expect him to murder them. Too bad this boy was the last person who should be putting any faith in him. "Go sit down and buckle up." He didn't give Quill a chance to object. Pressing a button on his console, he barked, "I'm coming back in."
He swung the Zatoan around until the Ravager Galleon was in sight, and got another gasp from Quill.
"That's the ship we were on?" said Peter. It was huge, and it looked to him like a giant space-gun from a movie. It was covered with dark metal and bright lights and had to be as big as a city. To himself he muttered, "No wonder I got lost..."
Yondu heard that and chuckled, then stopped and internally berated himself. He had to quit liking the boy so damn much. Yes, he used to want kids. That was no excuse to get attached to the first one he spent any time with in so many years; especially this one.
He flew under the Galleon, started the docking sequence, and relaxed as the computer took over. His ship slowly backed towards its moorings until it was close enough that they clamped onto it and pulled it inside. The hatch closed and Yondu braced himself as the Galleon's gravity took over he was suddenly facing down.
Quill cried, "Ow!" when his harness unexpectedly bit into his shoulders.
"Oh yeah, watch out for that," said Yondu.
The boy shifted and shot the him a pouty glare.
A few seconds later the Zatoan was pulled up into the hangar and docked once more. Yondu got up, ready to leave, but he frowned when Quill stayed in his seat with his arms crossed across the buckles.
"You coming?"
"You're just gonna lock be in that room again," he accused.
Yondu put his hands on his hips and said, "Yep, and it ain't gonna be hard to cut you outa there and carry you. That what you want?"
With a sigh, Quill said, "No..."
Yondu ignored the stares as he marched through the halls of the ship, he boy's arm in his firm grip. None of his men said anything and none of them got in his way, so he didn't care.
The mix of fear and curiosity he could sense from them was faint compared to the sharp frustration of Quill. The kid was was scared of them too, and rightfully so, but he seemed able to manage it. He kept his eyes down, pointedly not staring.
As they walked, Yondu noticed how grimy the cloth under his hand was and how much the Quill was starting to stink. Apparently the Terrans hadn't invented filth repellant clothes yet. He absently thought he should get some for the boy at the station. He should probably let him use a shower too, before he got sick.
They arrived at the room, and Yondu was pleased to find any mess that had been made during the grand escape was cleaned up. The batteries were gone as well.
Speaking of which, as Quill stepped dejectedly into the room, Yondu grabbed the bag on his back and gave it a tug. "This comes off, boy."
"What? No!" Quill grabbed the straps at his shoulders. He would fight for it, Yondu could tell.
The Centaurian pulled out the small knife he kept in his belt for emergencies and slipped the the blade under the thin strip of black fabric. "You take it off or I cut it off."
"But you let me keep it before!" The boy's eyes were misting.
"And you used the shit in it to trip my First Mate." Yondu frowned as he crushed a tiny flair of pride. "He's gonna be pussyfooting around me for days, and who know's what else you'll get up to if I let you keep it." He raised the knife, putting pressure on the strap.
"Ok! Ok!" Quill frantically slipped his arms free and stumbled away. Once he got his balance he straightened and turned. He had gotten his emotions under control; there were no more tears in his eyes. "But you practically told me to do it!"
That earned a smirk from Yondu as he closed the door.
At the edge of the Magellanic Cloud a black, sleek Kree warship emerged from a cloud of ionized gas and quietly crossed the border into the Galaxy proper.
In the control chamber a man with dark blue skin and stark white hair sat in his thrown-like chair, his cheek resting agains his hand. "Have we passed undetected?" he asked.
One of his pilots shifted the red navigation sphere in her hands and said, "Yes Captain. We are now in Xandarian space."
The Captain sighed and rubbed at his eyes, careful not to smudge his black warpaint. He took a deep breath and stood, and the tone he spoke in was suddenly powerful and authoritative. "I know this looks like a suicide mission, but we are Kree! We fight today so that our children and their children may prosper. If we succeed, we will be hailed as heroes, and if we die... it will have been an honour to serve with you all." He paused for a breath and gravely said, "Set a course for Tau Bootis."