ghost ship

Written for August Fic Challenge 2023, Prompt: Shipwreck. Note: Ties in with my other GOTG fics in which Kraglin and Yondu get to wrangle a young Quill. Comments and kudos would be awesome. Enjoy!


"Let him come," Yondu had said, several hours ago as they'd prepared to board this wreck of a ship in the middle of nowhere with the hopes of finding some decent loot. "Kid's scrawny, might be able to use him, fit him into those tiny places folks like to hide their shiny things." He'd slapped Kraglin on the back and led the way, "C'mon, now, what could go wrong?"

Turns out a lot could go wrong. Kraglin had felt something off, something intrinsically sketchy about the seemingly abandoned wreckage they'd happened upon from the second their sensors had detected it, hadn't wanted the crew to board at all, least of all to be towing Quill with them when they did. In the months they've had the kid with them on the Ecclector, Kraglin's gotten… begrudgingly attached. Though he would admit that to exactly no one. Well, maybe to Yondu. Under duress.

But, trying to convince Ravagers to pass up on potential riches for no real reason is easier said than done and he didn't even bother with trying to say it at all. He knew better than to waste his breath.

And now, it's all come to a head. The ship was a trap. Judging by the evidence they find aboard, they are not the first crew to fall into it. The second they'd boarded, there'd been an explosion behind them, cutting off their route back to their ship. Then they'd been attacked by the crew of pirates that runs this death trap of a ship. Several Ravagers are promptly killed, and Yondu had been injured in the initial blast – something is very broken in his leg. The crew still aboard the Ecclector is probably ten minutes from bugging out of this nightmare with or without them. And the kid is lost, separated from them in the chaos of the attack; probably already dead.

"Quill!" He shouts as loudly as he dares when there are still hostiles present on this wreck of a ship. He's got his Captain braced against his side but he knows damn well they're not leaving without the terran brat. "Damn it, kid, this is not the time for fucking hide and seek!"

He's forced to dodge out of the way of an incoming laser blast and take cover.

"Just leave me here and go find him," Yondu demands. "I'll cover you."

Kraglin does not question these orders, but slips away while Yondu returns fire.

He weaves down a maze of ruined hallways as quickly and as quietly as he can manage, ducks into and out of the half-destroyed rooms he passes in search of Quill. No luck in the first two, but the third reveals an air-vent with its cover displaced.

Aha, he thinks. Gotcha.

The kid is nothing if not predictable. He's lost count of the times he's found the boy tucked into vents aboard their ship.

"Quill," he calls out again.

He's expecting to hear the metallic echo of movement as Quill works his way back out to him, but the thing he hears instead is the ominous sound of a laser charging up just behind him.

Fuck.

Just before the weapon can fire, there is noise overhead and a wild terran falls from the vent return just above. It makes a hell of a racket and Quill wraps his arms tight around Kraglin's would be assailant's neck on the way down. This manages to rather effectively distract the hulking thug.

Unfortunately it does not stop the bastard from pulling the trigger, though. The shot goes wildly off course, grazing through his shoulder instead of his head and he'll take that. Despite the searing pain, Kraglin is quick to take advantage of Quill's unorthodox diversion and with a few swift movements, he takes out the pirate before he can get the chance to aim the weapon again.

"Thanks, brat," he says, ruffling Quill's unruly mop of hair with his good hand. The kid had been surprisingly calm in the chaos of this unexpected battle, hell, he's even proven useful. "Maybe you're not so bad to have along, after all."

Quill beams up at him at this high praise. "Anytime," he answers.

But they're not clear yet. They still need to get back to Yondu, and then back to the Ecclector.

"Come on," he says, struggling to get Quill up into his arms despite the steady flow of blood from his shoulder. He manages the task, Quill's arms looped securely around his neck, watching his back as he ducks them out of the room and through the hallways.

"Kraglin," Quill whispers against his neck a moment later, his hold tightening just the slightest bit. "More are coming!"

He moves faster, unwilling to stop here to fight, not with Quill.

He bursts back into the main room, where Yondu still waits. The laser fire there has significantly diminished; no doubt several pirates have fallen to his arrow. The way back to the ship is nearly clear, too, back-up working its way through the wreckage. They're almost home.

"Three guys behind us," Kraglin warns his Captain as they move into cover beside him.

A sharp whistle and a few muted shouts suggest that their pursuers have been dealt with and Kraglin heaves a sigh of relief.

"Took you damn long enough," Yondu gripes, eyes narrowing in thinly veiled concern at the sight of his bloody arm when Kraglin sets Quill down.

He is glad for the moment of respite it brings his shoulder, but the reprieve does not last for long. The crew is through now. "We've got to go," he says, eager to get them all back to safety. Instead of Quill, he gathers Yondu against his side, the two of them braced against each other as they hobble toward the exit, Quill tucked safely behind them.

Once they are back aboard, the Eccelector is quick to detach from the wreck, unwilling to risk further losses on what has already proven to be a trap. Still, Yondu orders some pointed strikes at it and the thing explodes as they take their leave. Likely they are the first and the last to escape the hellish ship.


Later, Quill's settled in med-bay while Kraglin and Yondu both get patched up.

He's regaling Yondu of his daring assault from the vents, perhaps embellishing the tale a bit, but Kraglin lets him get away with it, just this once. If anyone asks, he'll blame it on the drugs, he thinks.

"Guess we'll have to let you come along next time, too," Yondu concedes. "Let you scamper around in the vets for treasure instead of trouble."

That seems to remind Quill of something. "Oh!" he says, excitedly, digging around in his pockets. "I found this while I was hiding." He pulls out a few shiny metallic coins and drops them onto the bed beside Yondu.

Yondu laughs, "Would ya look at that, Krags. I get blown up, you get shot, and somehow the kid's the only one who came outta this with any loot."

"We'll split it," Quill decides. He offers one coin to Kraglin and one to Yondu, holds the last one in his own hands like he's never going to let it go.

Neither of them opt to tell Quill that the coins are not particularly valuable as far as treasure goes and neither of them will admit to keeping their coins, either, evidence of Quill's first raid with the Ravagers.