Peter couldn't put together what happened. One second he was clinging to the old leather of Yondu's jacket while some guy yelled about explosions, and the next he could barely see and was half aware of the arms that were still loosely curled around him. He coughed and sat up, causing the arm that was resting across his shoulders to slide off.

He was shaken, but it didn't feel like he was hurt anywhere. He patted himself, looking for his Walkman. It was on him when the ship started pitching, but now he couldn't find it.

"No! No, no, no..." he muttered. If it flew out of his hands during that crash it might be broken, and he had just gotten it back. He started feeling around in the dark.

The floor was tilted towards the end of the room he was in, so he started along that wall, figuring the Walkman would have slid down.

Suddenly a faint white light came on and pulsed along the edges of the floor, causing him to flinch. An emergency light of some sort? It wasn't much better, but at least he could make out the room. He stared around for a few seconds, then spotted his Walkman in the corner. He rushed over and scooped it up, checking it over for damage. Miraculously it was fine.

Now that his first priority was taken care of, Peter turned and looked at the dark lump lying next to the dresser. Yondu... he still wasn't moving.

Frightened of what he would find, Peter struggled to find the nerve to approach the alien. If Yondu was dead, he didn't know how he would feel or what he was going to do.

What if the Centaurian was only hurt, though? He might need a doctor.

Taking a deep breath, Peter walked over to the prone form to take a closer look.

The first thing he noticed was the blood on Yondu's forehead. It was trickling from a bruise that was split open above his left eyebrow; he must have hit his head pretty hard. Peter felt queasy looking at it. Why did it have to be so red and... normal? Why couldn't it be blue like the alien's skin?

He couldn't see Yondu's chest moving, hear him breathing, find any sign of life. Peter's eyes started to well. All the other aliens were scary and wanted to eat him; at least this one was somewhat nice. He gave him food and showed him what Space looked like. He even gave the Walkman back. If he died, Peter would be all alone, and he'd probably end up as someone's dinner. Sniffling, he gripped the leather of Yondu's shoulder and gave him a feeble shake.

"Come on... wake up..."

Nothing.

Peter shook him harder. "Yondu, wake up! Please... please be okay..."

"Stop doin' that..." came a slurred, raspy voice.

The sheer relief caused Peter to laugh softly, but it was soon replaced with more concern. Yondu was curling in on himself and hissing in pain, so he scooted closer, still gripping the alien's shoulder.

Yondu pressed the heel of his left hand against his bruised forehead as he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up into a kneeling position. He had to use his arm to keep himself propped up.

The noises he was making...

Up till now he acted and sounded human despite his appearance, but now there was a rapid clicking noise coming from him that no human could ever reproduce.

Peter was scared and his grip tightened. "What's wrong? Are you dying?!"

He stifled a scream and fell back when Yondu looked at him. Those eyes... they were blank and flat like mirrors, and they were glowing red. It was one of the creepiest things Peter had ever seen.

Then Yondu's dazed gaze moved around the room and his eyes went back to normal.

Peter realized he'd seen that before. Cat's eyes did that at night... wolves and deer too. It had something to do with night vision.

There was a new sound in the room; a deep, wheezy grunting that corresponded with the shaking of Yondu's shoulders. For a second Peter thought he couldn't breath, but the alien had a grin on his face that bared all of his crooked teeth.

He was laughing.

Peter got to his feet and backed away a pace. "Um... you... you okay?"

Still chuckling, Yondu ran his hands over his face and sighed. "We're alive," he said as though he didn't believe it. He he gingerly touched his forehead and inspected the blood that came off on his fingers.

"You should see a doctor," Peter said tentatively. His stomach dropped out at the thought of more doctors and hospitals, but the Centaurian was really loopy.

Yondu wiped the blood off with his sleeve and made a slow, stiff effort to stand. He cracked his back and neck, and then carefully tested his left shoulder where he'd been slammed into the dresser. "Hot damn I am gonna feel this tomorrow."

Ignoring Quill's concerned stare, he checked the com on his arm. "Shit..." he wanted to call Nav or someone to find out what state the Galleon was in, but he was getting about a dozen calls at once and he wasn't good enough with the damn thing to pick and choose which ones to answer.

"Awe screw it." He hung up on them all and tried the bridge. No answer.

There was a loud boom that reverberated through the ship and made him duck reflexively. The metal was still groaning, he could hear pops and crackles from the inner workings, and he was starting to smell that dangerous combination of smoke and ozone. With growing alarm he turned to Quill. The kid didn't look hurt, but he asked, "You okay to move?"

"I'm fine."

Oh good... he wouldn't admit it, but his back was killing him. "Then stay close. We're leaving."

They might never have made it out of there if it wasn't for the emergency lights pulsing along the floor. At first Peter didn't know how Yondu was finding his way, what with the dark, the smoke, and the half tilted halls, but the alien had him by the hand and was leading him steadily forward. Eventually he realized the lights were all pulsing in a certain direction. Every time they came to an intersection, the lights moved one way, but not the other, and Yondu always went that way. He was following them!

They were coughing and hacking by the time they could see the dull orange daylight of Tau Bootis. Peter was ready to dash outside and breath air again, but his guide held him back.

Yondu crouched down and got a good look at the pandemonium outside. There were a couple of ships that had crashed into the station, causing wild plasma fires. It looked like the Galleon had landed on one of the rockier parts, though. Luck.

Other ships were sailing by and getting swallowed up into the nearby gas giant. Sakaaran skiffs were flying about like wasps, swarming Ravagers who'd taken to the air and the few Nova Cops who had shown up for the party.

There was a ground battle going as well. The handful of Ravagers who'd been on the Galleon were outside, shooting at the advancing Kree and Sakaarans from behind bits of wreckage. Yondu contemplated using his arrow from here, but the enemies were too far. It might fall out of range.

He looked down at the drop; a good 30 feet. There was a chain ladder dangling from the open hatch, but even as he contemplated trying to climb down, a couple of Necro-Blasts pinged off the hull around it.

Yeah... no way in Hell.

He'd have to jump.

He could feel Quill clinging to his side again, staring at all of this in uncomprehending terror. Yondu pulled him him closer and put his arms around his shoulders. "Hold on tight."

"Huh?"

Yondu didn't give him a chance to register what was happening before backing up a couple of paces and leaping out the hatch at a run.

The boy didn't scream, but he did try his darndest to choke the Centaurian on the way down.

Yondu landed hard on his feet and started running. He didn't have time to think. There was blaster fire going off all around him! He had to get under cover.

Still holding the kid, he dove for the nearest bit of wreckage poking out of the sand and slid in next to one of his men. The young Ravager jerked around and almost shot him in the face, and Yondu glared up at the wide eyed, startled kid.

A second later the Ravager was sprawled on the ground, dead; Necro-Blast to the head.

Yondu flinched when Quill started scream right next to his sensitive ears. This kid really was trying to deafen him... also strangle him.

He pried the boy off him and clapped a hand over that shrieking mouth. It was enough to startle Quill out of shock, and when Yondu put a finger to his lips to indicate silence, the boy obediently fell quiet.

He removed his hand, sat back against the wreckage, and moved his jacket out of the way of his arrow. He whistled a short, curt tone and the thin weapon was in the air.

Yondu fully opened his senses, his crest glowing at it's full brilliance; streaking with veins of light that followed the grooves his grandmother had carved a lifetime ago. He didn't need to peak out of cover, or even move. He could feel every living thing on the battlefield; the kid lit up like a star next to him, the five Ravagers that were left, fourteen Sacaarans, three Kree, sand lizards, insects, grass... he could feel the energy flowing though them all, heart beats, vital points.

His men thought his crest controlled his arrow. They were wrong.

It allowed him to aim.

He whistled high and long and his arrow was off, blazing with radiation released by the sound. It was through the first Sakaaran, and with a change of tone it moved on to the next one. He used the same note over and over, then a sharp up-tone and a trill. He could sense their agony. He could feel their last moments of horror and confusion, and then nothing...

Yondu was numb to the sensation. The few times people learned of his abilities, they were usually mortified that he was "forced" to feel death countless times over. They never understood his indifference. His species were hunters... predators; they evolved these senses for more then just the "we are all connected" bullshit. He was built to kill.

There was only one Kree left. She had managed to dodge his arrow three times already, and now stood in the middle of her dead companions, her stance wide, shoulders relaxed, battle axe held in a loose grip in on hand, the other hand extended in front of her.

So she thought she could catch it, did she?

Yondu smirked and commanded his weapon to circle her, point directed menacingly at her head.

"Stay here," he whispered to Quill.

He stood and stepped out from cover, walking over to the Kree with a cocky grace his aching muscles really didn't feel. He was pleased when his five remaining Ravagers fell into step behind him. Trelzar and Nav were amongst them. That was good.

His pilot appeared to be missing, though. Not so good.

"You ain't supposed to be here, little lady," he said amiably as he approached. He stopped a few feet from her and tilted his head. "I'd like to know what the hell your commander's thinking and I'd really like some compensation for the damage to my Galleon. Now, I'm pretty sure you'd like to live." He rubbed his hands together. "I think between the two of us, we can work something out."

Luminous purple eyes flashed at him in hatred. "Go ahead and try to kill me, you savage!"

Feigning hurt, Yondu put his hands on his chest. "Savage? Me? Hey now... I ain't the one's been fighting the same damn war for a thousand years."

"At least I am not traitorous scum!" she snarled in retaliation.

Yondu cocked an eyebrow. "Uh oh... have we hooked up or something?" He looked her up and down. She was certainly attractive under all that armour; rich blue skin, a powerful build, long black hair woven into cords, and those eyes... "Though I'm pretty sure I woulda remembered..."

Her rage boiled over and she raised her axe with a bellow.

The Ravagers levelled their guns on her, but all it took was a small, short trill from Yondu to force her to stop. The arrow was at her throat.

On reflex, she grabbed it with her free hand.

Yondu watched impassively as the skin of her palm started to sizzle and blacken and she shook from the effort of will it took to hold on.

"You ain't the first to get cute, girl," he said coldly. "If it can burn through your armour, it can burn through your hand."

Finally she let go and hissed as she flexed her smoking appendage. She lowered it to her side like nothing happened.

Yondu backed his arrow off and smiled. "Now that that's over, I'd like you to humour me. How did I betray you?"

Calmly she said, "Not me. My Captain. He told us of you when he saw your ship, Yondu Udonta." She spat his name like it was a horrible epithet.

"Awe Hell..." Yondu's widened as ice spread through his veins. He looked up and searched the skies for the Kree Warship, finding it a little right of the sun.

"What's wrong, Captain?" asked Trelzar.

He exhaled sharply. "I know that ship."

While his back was turned, the Kree took her chance to smack the arrow away with her axe and run for the cover of the city. She easily dodged the fire from the Ravagers and they gave chase.

Yondu grabbed Trelzar by the his collar before could join them. The Captain held out his arm and pressed a couple of buttons on his com, displaying a contact number. "Can you hack this like you did to me?"

Trelzar eyed the display with a frown. "That's a Kree line."

"I know," Yondu said flatly. "Can you hack it?"

"Aye..." The mechanic actually grabbed Yondu's arm to use his com.

The Captain stiffened and stared at him in disbelief, but he didn't notice as he got to work. It only took him a minute and he stood back. "There."

The screen came up and a Kree with a stern face and white hair appeared. "What is this?" He demanded.

"You shot down my ship you son of a bitch!"

The Kree's blue eyes hardened. "Yondu Udonta."

"Mar-Vell," Yondu said in a mocking tone. "How you been old buddy?!"