Chapter 340: The Plan
16th May 2013, Middle of Space
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
I snorted, "Hero? No, I want him to be a survivor. My enemies make Ronan look like a child with a tantrum. I'm talking about a universe ending threat. If he doesn't fight, he'll die like the rest. So, which is it? Cower and die, or fight and maybe die. I won't lie. I'm kind of desperate here, and I just observed him to make sure that he wasn't some nutjob like his father. But right now, my chances aren't looking good. And think of it this way, if Quill survives and knows the truth about his abduction, you will have a very powerful Celestial owing you big time, and trust me that's far better than the silly stone you're fighting for that can't do anything but blow things up."
Yondu looked hesitant and I continued, "You don't need to answer me right now. Just think about it. I'm going to give the offer to Quill later either way, but whether you support him or not will severely impact your relationship."
I then turned and walked out of the office with a smug smile on my face, leaving the Ravager Captain to his thoughts.
I sat with Hela while Quill and the others were making another elaborate plan to stop Ronan from destroying Xandar. It was, honestly, one of the stupidest things I had ever heard. Oh, it could very much work, but it wasn't really a good plan by any measure. There were too many unknowns.
I snorted at how dramatic they were.
They were all standing up like a cheap heist movie, and Quill started, "All Ronan has to do is touch the stone to the planet's surface and zap, all plants, animals, and Nova corps will be gone."
"Everything will die," Gamora said.
Quill nodded, "So, our main priority is to make sure that Ronan doesn't make it to the planet's surface."
Well, that was just wrong. Even if the Kree had the Power Stone, he wouldn't have been able to destroy the planet without killing himself in the process. The stone's power doesn't just react to anything alive and kill it; it's a source of power, just like it says. You could use it to power an engine, although it will be overloaded easily. But a massive structure can just use the stone as fuel to work as long as it is energy intensive enough and the output of the stone is regulated.
Ronan would need to channel the Power Stone through his own body to cast anything using it. He could probably use it in small weak bursts, but nothing more.
Choosing to let them pursue their own plan, "Hela and I will be on the surface of the planet. We can make sure that Ronan doesn't step foot on Xandar. If anything goes wrong, we'll handle it."
They seemed very doubtful of our abilities, but seemed somewhat eager to get us out of the way. They probably thought that we were cowards that didn't want to fight. Honestly, I could understand why they would think that, but I will handle the situation when this moronic plan of theirs inevitable fails, and I'd rather be safe on the surface of a planet than on a fragile spaceship.
Rocket though seemed to just shrug and continue the usual plan, "That means that our heist has to happen in space. We'll need to breach his warship – the Dark Aster – and break inside."
Quill nodded, "We'll need to blow a hole in its hull, after that, our craft and Yondu's will enter."
One of Yondu's subordinates protested, "What about the hundreds of soldiers inside?"
Drax replied with a bloodthirsty grin on his face, "I'll handle them."
Everyone nodded in acceptance and Gamora continued the plan, "Once they know that we're on board, Ronan will isolate himself behind impenetrable security doors on the deck. Which I can disable by dismantling the power source."
Quill concluded the plan, "We'll make it to the flight deck, and I'll use Rocket's Hadron Enforcer to kill Ronan. Once Ronan is dead, we will retrieve the stone using these orbs to contain it. If you touch it, you will die. Do you understand?"
Gamora started distributing the mechanical orbs that should contain the stone. It wasn't anything pretty, really. It wouldn't hide the stone's signature like the original orb would.
The Ravagers yelled out in excitement, and everyone started to assemble their gear to begin the heist. They gathered the fleet and started to work. Quill had sent a message to the Nova Corps warning them of Ronan's plan.
Hela and I stayed on Yondu's ship, while the rest went on the Milano. Before Quill could leave though, I called for him, "Peter!"
The half Celestial turned towards me, and I gave him a hug and discreetly sent a small pulse of cosmic energy through him making him shiver. I murmured to him, "Good luck!"
I turned and left to sit next to Yondu, while the boy just confusingly turned and left for his own ship. I sat next to the Ravager Captain in silence until he asked, "What do you think about that plan?"
"I think that it's the stupidest thing that I have heard in a very long time. It's so moronic that it might actually work." I drawled back.
"But you still doubt it? Else you wouldn't have chosen to stay on the surface," he asked.
I just shrugged, "There are too many unknowns in this plan. There's the very significant possibility that Ronan would survive Rocket's Hadron Enforcer. Ronan was engineered as a weapon of war to serve the Kree empire. He is built to withstand energy weapons and explosions."
And I was correct in that. I had talked to Carol Danvers a while back about her time as a Kree soldier. People with special abilities like her photon blasts weren't that uncommon. The military was filled with them. The Kree stopped naturally reproducing a long while back. Each offspring is genetically engineered for a single purpose. It started when the Supreme Intelligence was created.
Ronan was made for war. His purpose, his very core, is to destroy the enemies of the Kree empire. The average Kree citizen is technically stronger physically than most humans, matching Earth's super soldiers in strength and speed. Comparing Ronan to the average Kree would be like comparing Captain America to your average human. His constitution, speed, reflexes, and strength are very impressive, and he could probably survive a lot of damage. Rocket's weapon was untested, and its output was theoretical. It might be enough to kill Ronan, it might not. And considering that the entire purpose of the plan was to use the damn weapon on Ronan, it was the mark of a bad plan. That's not even considering what complications might arise while infiltrating the ship.
I didn't really want to discourage Yondu, but he seemed resigned to this, "And Quill, do you think that he'll make it?"
"Yes, he will. Trust me, I'll make sure of that. You really are a big softie on the inside, aren't you?" I teased.
He seemed to relax at my statement. Quill was the one person I wasn't worried about dying. I had activated his cosmic core before he left, not that he understood what happened. He was now technically connected to Ego's energy, meaning that should he end up with a mortal wound, the cosmic energy would heal him. He was functionally immortal, not that he knew about it. I already decided that I could work with Quill, and that for all his bravado, he had a heart of gold. If I tell him the truth about Entropy, he will help and if he was scared, all I would do is tell Gamora and she would convince him to do it. After all, she's very sensitive when it comes to her father.
I didn't want to lose him to an accident during his silly plan, but that was life and that was a way to make sure of it. Technically his cosmic core should have stayed dormant until it would have been activated by cosmic energy, which tends to be very harmful. Him touching the Power Stone could technically unlock it, but I didn't want to risk it when I could do it for him without a lot of mess.
Yondu looked like he was lost in his memories, "You know? I didn't even know what the hell that freak was doing to his children. Not at first, at least. I just thought that he just liked fathering bastards and collecting them. I saw some fucked up things in my days, so it really wasn't a big deal. And the pay was so good, I would have been an idiot not to agree. When I realized what he was really doing to them, killing them the way he did, I refused to hand over Quill. I have been running ever since, afraid that Ego would hunt me down and take him. I tried not to get attached, I really did, but that boy was everything I would have ever looked for in a son. Did you ever have someone like that?"
I nodded, "Yes, I did."
"Then please don't make me lose my kid. And if anything happens, save him first, that's all I'm asking."
"I will. You have my vow that Peter Quill will survive this day," I simply answer.
The Ravager Captain relaxed at my addition, but then gave me a searching look, "I do have one question, though, If you really are strong enough to kill that asshole Ego, couldn't you take care of all of this by yourself?"
I nodded, "Yes, I could."
"Why don't you, then?"
I snorted, "Why should I, really? This isn't my planet. These aren't my people. I have enough problems on Terra, and I'm not willing to bring more problems there. Now, me just walking around killing space terrorists and saving galaxies is all well and good, but it would bring attention to my planet. I would be a common threat that everyone would fear and plan against. Now, me being on the ground among billions of people, while I save the planet, people wouldn't really recognize me and just assume that I was a Xandarian with powers protecting their home from a disaster. That's why I don't display my powers so easily."
"What about the infinity stone?" he asked.
"I'm not going after the infinity stone, if that's what you're wondering. I don't really care about it. But one piece of advice, if you end up with it, sell it as soon as possible. The Collector will give you a good price for it. The Mad Titan himself is seeking the stones, and having one, means that you'll need to defend yourself against him when he eventually gets there. I'm not planning on inviting a war to Terra when they can barely even visit their own moon."
Yondu blanched when I mentioned Thanos, and I could understand. The Mad Titan was like the boogeyman in the galaxy. He didn't hold a physical empire, he didn't conquer planets and star systems, he simply killed half the population and left.
No one really knew of his intentions, his goals or his dreams, outside of killing half the population of every planet he visited. His children, trained soldiers utterly devoted to him, were extremely feared. Gamora was one of the most feared women in the galaxy. The Ravagers kept glancing her way many times with nervous looks on their faces, as if they expected her to snap and kill them all at a moment's notice.
Still the fleet started to arrive towards Ronan's ship, I nod towards Yondu, "Good luck."
Hela followed me as I walked towards the small shuttles. We entered inside and were ejected from the ship. We made our way to Xandar's surface while the Ravager fleet prepared the attack. This should be interesting, at least.
As usual, I generally post four chapters a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. (The month is over, so I'm going back to the usual schedule)
If you want to support me, check out my Patreon. I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
Chapter 340: The Plan
16th May 2013, Middle of Space
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
I snorted, "Hero? No, I want him to be a survivor. My enemies make Ronan look like a child with a tantrum. I'm talking about a universe ending threat. If he doesn't fight, he'll die like the rest. So, which is it? Cower and die, or fight and maybe die. I won't lie. I'm kind of desperate here, and I just observed him to make sure that he wasn't some nutjob like his father. But right now, my chances aren't looking good. And think of it this way, if Quill survives and knows the truth about his abduction, you will have a very powerful Celestial owing you big time, and trust me that's far better than the silly stone you're fighting for that can't do anything but blow things up."
Yondu looked hesitant and I continued, "You don't need to answer me right now. Just think about it. I'm going to give the offer to Quill later either way, but whether you support him or not will severely impact your relationship."
I then turned and walked out of the office with a smug smile on my face, leaving the Ravager Captain to his thoughts.
I sat with Hela while Quill and the others were making another elaborate plan to stop Ronan from destroying Xandar. It was, honestly, one of the stupidest things I had ever heard. Oh, it could very much work, but it wasn't really a good plan by any measure. There were too many unknowns.
I snorted at how dramatic they were.
They were all standing up like a cheap heist movie, and Quill started, "All Ronan has to do is touch the stone to the planet's surface and zap, all plants, animals, and Nova corps will be gone."
"Everything will die," Gamora said.
Quill nodded, "So, our main priority is to make sure that Ronan doesn't make it to the planet's surface."
Well, that was just wrong. Even if the Kree had the Power Stone, he wouldn't have been able to destroy the planet without killing himself in the process. The stone's power doesn't just react to anything alive and kill it; it's a source of power, just like it says. You could use it to power an engine, although it will be overloaded easily. But a massive structure can just use the stone as fuel to work as long as it is energy intensive enough and the output of the stone is regulated.
Ronan would need to channel the Power Stone through his own body to cast anything using it. He could probably use it in small weak bursts, but nothing more.
Choosing to let them pursue their own plan, "Hela and I will be on the surface of the planet. We can make sure that Ronan doesn't step foot on Xandar. If anything goes wrong, we'll handle it."
They seemed very doubtful of our abilities, but seemed somewhat eager to get us out of the way. They probably thought that we were cowards that didn't want to fight. Honestly, I could understand why they would think that, but I will handle the situation when this moronic plan of theirs inevitable fails, and I'd rather be safe on the surface of a planet than on a fragile spaceship.
Rocket though seemed to just shrug and continue the usual plan, "That means that our heist has to happen in space. We'll need to breach his warship – the Dark Aster – and break inside."
Quill nodded, "We'll need to blow a hole in its hull, after that, our craft and Yondu's will enter."
One of Yondu's subordinates protested, "What about the hundreds of soldiers inside?"
Drax replied with a bloodthirsty grin on his face, "I'll handle them."
Everyone nodded in acceptance and Gamora continued the plan, "Once they know that we're on board, Ronan will isolate himself behind impenetrable security doors on the deck. Which I can disable by dismantling the power source."
Quill concluded the plan, "We'll make it to the flight deck, and I'll use Rocket's Hadron Enforcer to kill Ronan. Once Ronan is dead, we will retrieve the stone using these orbs to contain it. If you touch it, you will die. Do you understand?"
Gamora started distributing the mechanical orbs that should contain the stone. It wasn't anything pretty, really. It wouldn't hide the stone's signature like the original orb would.
The Ravagers yelled out in excitement, and everyone started to assemble their gear to begin the heist. They gathered the fleet and started to work. Quill had sent a message to the Nova Corps warning them of Ronan's plan.
Hela and I stayed on Yondu's ship, while the rest went on the Milano. Before Quill could leave though, I called for him, "Peter!"
The half Celestial turned towards me, and I gave him a hug and discreetly sent a small pulse of cosmic energy through him making him shiver. I murmured to him, "Good luck!"
I turned and left to sit next to Yondu, while the boy just confusingly turned and left for his own ship. I sat next to the Ravager Captain in silence until he asked, "What do you think about that plan?"
"I think that it's the stupidest thing that I have heard in a very long time. It's so moronic that it might actually work." I drawled back.
"But you still doubt it? Else you wouldn't have chosen to stay on the surface," he asked.
I just shrugged, "There are too many unknowns in this plan. There's the very significant possibility that Ronan would survive Rocket's Hadron Enforcer. Ronan was engineered as a weapon of war to serve the Kree empire. He is built to withstand energy weapons and explosions."
And I was correct in that. I had talked to Carol Danvers a while back about her time as a Kree soldier. People with special abilities like her photon blasts weren't that uncommon. The military was filled with them. The Kree stopped naturally reproducing a long while back. Each offspring is genetically engineered for a single purpose. It started when the Supreme Intelligence was created.
Ronan was made for war. His purpose, his very core, is to destroy the enemies of the Kree empire. The average Kree citizen is technically stronger physically than most humans, matching Earth's super soldiers in strength and speed. Comparing Ronan to the average Kree would be like comparing Captain America to your average human. His constitution, speed, reflexes, and strength are very impressive, and he could probably survive a lot of damage. Rocket's weapon was untested, and its output was theoretical. It might be enough to kill Ronan, it might not. And considering that the entire purpose of the plan was to use the damn weapon on Ronan, it was the mark of a bad plan. That's not even considering what complications might arise while infiltrating the ship.
I didn't really want to discourage Yondu, but he seemed resigned to this, "And Quill, do you think that he'll make it?"
"Yes, he will. Trust me, I'll make sure of that. You really are a big softie on the inside, aren't you?" I teased.
He seemed to relax at my statement. Quill was the one person I wasn't worried about dying. I had activated his cosmic core before he left, not that he understood what happened. He was now technically connected to Ego's energy, meaning that should he end up with a mortal wound, the cosmic energy would heal him. He was functionally immortal, not that he knew about it. I already decided that I could work with Quill, and that for all his bravado, he had a heart of gold. If I tell him the truth about Entropy, he will help and if he was scared, all I would do is tell Gamora and she would convince him to do it. After all, she's very sensitive when it comes to her father.
I didn't want to lose him to an accident during his silly plan, but that was life and that was a way to make sure of it. Technically his cosmic core should have stayed dormant until it would have been activated by cosmic energy, which tends to be very harmful. Him touching the Power Stone could technically unlock it, but I didn't want to risk it when I could do it for him without a lot of mess.
Yondu looked like he was lost in his memories, "You know? I didn't even know what the hell that freak was doing to his children. Not at first, at least. I just thought that he just liked fathering bastards and collecting them. I saw some fucked up things in my days, so it really wasn't a big deal. And the pay was so good, I would have been an idiot not to agree. When I realized what he was really doing to them, killing them the way he did, I refused to hand over Quill. I have been running ever since, afraid that Ego would hunt me down and take him. I tried not to get attached, I really did, but that boy was everything I would have ever looked for in a son. Did you ever have someone like that?"
I nodded, "Yes, I did."
"Then please don't make me lose my kid. And if anything happens, save him first, that's all I'm asking."
"I will. You have my vow that Peter Quill will survive this day," I simply answer.
The Ravager Captain relaxed at my addition, but then gave me a searching look, "I do have one question, though, If you really are strong enough to kill that asshole Ego, couldn't you take care of all of this by yourself?"
I nodded, "Yes, I could."
"Why don't you, then?"
I snorted, "Why should I, really? This isn't my planet. These aren't my people. I have enough problems on Terra, and I'm not willing to bring more problems there. Now, me just walking around killing space terrorists and saving galaxies is all well and good, but it would bring attention to my planet. I would be a common threat that everyone would fear and plan against. Now, me being on the ground among billions of people, while I save the planet, people wouldn't really recognize me and just assume that I was a Xandarian with powers protecting their home from a disaster. That's why I don't display my powers so easily."
"What about the infinity stone?" he asked.
"I'm not going after the infinity stone, if that's what you're wondering. I don't really care about it. But one piece of advice, if you end up with it, sell it as soon as possible. The Collector will give you a good price for it. The Mad Titan himself is seeking the stones, and having one, means that you'll need to defend yourself against him when he eventually gets there. I'm not planning on inviting a war to Terra when they can barely even visit their own moon."
Yondu blanched when I mentioned Thanos, and I could understand. The Mad Titan was like the boogeyman in the galaxy. He didn't hold a physical empire, he didn't conquer planets and star systems, he simply killed half the population and left.
No one really knew of his intentions, his goals or his dreams, outside of killing half the population of every planet he visited. His children, trained soldiers utterly devoted to him, were extremely feared. Gamora was one of the most feared women in the galaxy. The Ravagers kept glancing her way many times with nervous looks on their faces, as if they expected her to snap and kill them all at a moment's notice.
Still the fleet started to arrive towards Ronan's ship, I nod towards Yondu, "Good luck."
Hela followed me as I walked towards the small shuttles. We entered inside and were ejected from the ship. We made our way to Xandar's surface while the Ravager fleet prepared the attack. This should be interesting, at least.
As usual, I generally post four chapters a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. (The month is over, so I'm going back to the usual schedule)
If you want to support me, check out my Patreon. I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
