Happy New Year's Eve to everyone for whom it will be a new year in a day or two In case you're searching for a way to start the year with a bang, yearly subscriptions to my pa-atreon page are now on their largest discount ever (the largest that pa-atreon is actually going to even let me give). It'll last till the Second of January, so jump on it while you can.
Questions, comments and concerns? Reach out to me on discord on this link; di s c or d. gg / au XH 2h Zd
A/N; I am entirely reader-supported. Here are my special thanks to those of you who enjoy my writing enough to support me with your hard earned money on my pa-atreon page. Not just them though, special thanks to everyone who even just reads this story, reviews it, favourites or follows it. You're the reason I keep going. Thank you. Welcome to this new story, feel free to check out my other work if this is your first.
Knowing what he wanted was only half the victory. The other half would come when I turned that knowledge into a true victory. Getting what I wanted and needed for the Kylosians, the few former slaves that remained, and myself. A base. The planet was already a good enough prize. Once I had the world engine ready, I'd be able to turn the place into a paradise for all the affected species, but the possibility of getting more stalled me. Like I said earlier, wanted and needed. The Kylosians needed only a planet, but I wanted more. A power base, room for expansion, and sources of raw materials to build all the things I could ever want was a hell of a draw, and to do that, I'd need a lot more than a single planet. Besides, my search for more was not limited to selfish reasons. It would be better for building a perfect society for the Kylosians if I could move things like agriculture and mining and manufacturing to different planets. Avoid the common pollutants that could ruin the environment and climate of the new planet. I'd basically be getting to build heaven.
"So what do you say, what kind of condition is the body in?" Tivan asked, heartbeat steady, and barely anything about him showing just how badly he wanted a positive answer to that question.
"Fully intact. Looks like he just fell asleep." I said, poker face not giving anything away. After he'd died, and I'd taken the ship, I'd had the head reattached, and the body reconstructed to ensure that nothing looked amiss about it. It was just like the man had fallen asleep only to never wake up. I'd kept it as a morbid keepsake, but to think that even in death, he'd prove a stepping stone for my goals, then that would be something invaluable.
"Perfect. So, what do you think about the deal?" He asked.
"No deal there. The body is worth much more to me than the planet. I could parade it to the Nova for much more than that. Pretty sure he's got enemies among the Shiar, and even some people in the Kree empire must have wanted him gone. Why should I sell the body to you when so many sources across the galaxy could pay much more?" I asked, looking at him and trying to project an image of disinterest in his offer.
"None of those would be much interested in a body, I reckon. Just the knowledge that he's dead would satisfy them. Any rewards you'd get would be paltry compared to my offer. His bounties have all been taken down in the past few years after he began his affiliation with Thanos, and no one wants to touch that whole mess with a pole. Face the facts, I'm the only one interested, and this is the best price I can give you."
"Is it?" I cut in briefly with narrowed eyes. "Yes. Yes, it is." He said.
"Then I might as well destroy the body myself if it's so worthless." I said, voice flat and meeting the immortal being eye to eye. I tried as much as possible to lean in on Zod's training to project just how serious I was being about it. All warfare is deception, and as the prime General of Krypton, no one knew deceit like Dru-Zod.
"You would not dare. That kind of waste is unthinkable" He sputtered, nearly dropping his composure.
"Test me and see." I said, stepping forwards with my arms spread out by my sides. Taneeleer's guards grabbed their weapons, but I paid them no mind. I could cut through the lot of them with two hands tied behind my back.
"This is the body of Ronan the Accuser. Last of the true Accusers. Scourge of Nova battalions for centuries. Warrior, Servant to Thanos the Mad Titan. Conqueror of Planets, killer of millions and Captain of the Dark Aster, the most feared ship in the galaxy. When men see his shadow, they pray. I'd sooner destroy the body out of respect to a fellow warrior than let you have it for such a paltry sum" I said, looking at him and making my intentions clear as day. A calculated gamble.
"What do you want for the body? Be realistic?" "At least a small solar system. I'm fine with one with uninhabitable planets. All I need is that it has a functional yellow sun."
"A yellow sun, that's oddly specific"
"That's the best for energy capture, is it not?"
"Indeed. You are right. How many planets would be in this solar system of yours?" He asked, consulting the tablet briefly.
"At least five. I don't find myself particularly concerned about their state." I said.
"One dead body for five planets is unconscionable. You ought to know this. I said, be realistic".
"I am. Let's not deceive ourselves that one such as Ronan is not worth infinitely more now that he is dead than he was when he was alive. You wouldn't want a target like that on your back by keeping his living body. The Kree would not abide the insult. Neither would Thanos, if we are being honest with ourselves." I said to him, annoyed at his intention to continue dancing around things as if we weren't just about to make a deal.
"I see. You are not incorrect. But with risk comes reward. I am a businessman, you see. It is in the difference between the risk and the reward that one stands to make profit at the end of the day." I ignored his words in favour of staring at him patiently. He was about to crack, I knew it.
"Fine. I see a deal here. I can give you a solar system in the Andromeda Galaxy. It has seven planets, two of which are mostly habitable and only need a small bit of terraforming to get all the way there."
"Now you're talking."
"But the body is not enough. I will have the complete set, this is non-negotiable. I want Ronan, his Cosmi-rod, and the Dark Aster. A full set, my man. That is what I require." He said.
"I already told you that what remains of her species calls the place home" I said, nodding towards Ovette, who until now had been silent and out of the way.
"And is that not the purpose of your purchase? To find them a new home. I am a patient man. I can wait until you are done with the ship and have it returned to me immediately after. As long as it does not take more than one Galactic Standard Year." He said, nodding his head and looking at me like that was supposed to deal with all my objections.
I had to think it through. Seven planets. Two of which were already close to habitable, was a damn good deal. Sure, the Dark Aster was my ship. I enjoyed being the captain, but in the last week of being onboard, I'd seen a ton of places where I could have been better with the improvements I'd made or even just plainly more efficient. Furthermore, trying to keep things within the Dark Aster's shell did kind of hold back a lot of the innovation I'd have loved to make. Left to design a ship from the ground up, I could definitely do better than the Dark Aster. But that did. Not account for the sentimental value that the Aster had. It was my first ship. Claim ed by conquest and earned in battle. It was mine, all things considered. I itched to tell Taneleer to take his offer and shove it up his arse, but the part of me that was Dru-Zod had some choice words to say about that idea. Fucking stupid was the most polite two of them. It was stupid to place so much valuer on a replaceable asset. I was literally being given the choice of acquiring something I needed with something I did not need.
It would be stupid to say no, indeed. Did IO still want to? Yes. But looking at the look on Ovette's face once the offer had been made, I knew I could not refuse it. All she was probably thinking about was not having to raise her daughter in a ship, like I knew she and most of the other Kylosian parents feared. This was no longer about just me. When I'd essentially forced them into electing me as their king, I'd taken their burdens as mine. I'd taken their problems as mine. I'd agreed to prioritise them whenever I could. Sure, it was never expressly stated, but I was a man of my word. A man of even my implied word. "You have yourself a deal, Taneleer Tivan" I said to him, stretching my hand for a shake.
He walked forwards, bright smile on his face, "As do you, my friend. But I would have your name before we finalise." He said, taking my hand.
"Kal El" I said as we shook hands.
He let go of my hand after a few seconds and waved towards the slave at his side, "Carina, bring the deeds to the planets here" He said, and when she did, he began to write on them with flourish.
"I expect that you will be keeping your own end go the bargain, right now" he said to me, and I whispered a few words in native Kryptonian into my communicator.
My vision allowed me spot the shuttle that shot out of the Dark Aster shortly after AIKO responded affirmatively to my request. It flew over to the Museum under its own power as the thrusters kicked in a few seconds after it left the Ship. AIKO had no difficulties directing it to fly through the open door and to come to a stop right next to me. I waved a hand over it and the coffin shaped shuttle opened itself to reveal the intact body of one Ronan the Accuser.
The Collector's gasp at the reveal echoed through the museum. He nearly ran back over to look at the body as he gaped at the condition. The body was perfectly preserved. The head had been reattached and all of its had been specifically repaired to the extent that it looked like the Kree Accuser had indeed just fallen asleep instead of being dispatched in battle.
"Perfect condition, indeed. This is perfect, Kal El." He said, touching and running his hands over the dead body, It was slightly creepy how he looked at it with so much adoration, but I chose to mind my own business. Just the same way I minded my business regarding all the living creatures I saw trapped in different cages and placed on display like animals. I wished I could help them. I honestly did. But not now. Not until I had the kind of power base that would make the rest of the galaxy think twice before deciding to avenge the dead Collector. That meant I had to turn the Seven planets being granted to me into a series of fortresses if I wanted any chance of one day having the power to go after him with no fear of the possible blowback. "Here are your deeds" He said, passing me a tablet that I began to flick through. Seven planets. Just as promised. All except one were smaller than the Earth that I'd once called home, but that was no matter. Most of the planets would be turned into manufacturing bases or energy generation stations at the end of the day. Only one planet would be inhabited, and I already had the perfect name for it.
A/N; Very short chapter tbh. I've been sick for a long while and I don't even know how to explain it. For some reason, I seem to have become lactose intolerant and also got a nasty fever. So without going into too much detail just know that the last seven days have been a marathon from hell between my toilet, my bed, and the nearest sink to vomit in. Trying to scientifically determine how much milk it would take for me to get sick definitely didn't help.
We've got the next two chapters of this story, along with the first twelve chapters of another fic that I uploaded at the exact same time as this one (an insert is into an OC firebender in ATLA) all available on pa-atreon, and you can read all of that right now just by heading to the link on my profile or searching for my username up there. Feel free to have a look.