“Can you run that by me again, sweetheart?” asked Corsair.

[Said it’s Drax the Destroyer.]

“Right, that’s what I thought you said. And that’s the part I’m having a problem with.”

The Starjammers had taken the Shi’ar freighter Sectimus captive so they could loot the cargo. Something was off when they found out there wasn’t an Imperial Superguardian aboard the Sectimus. Now, they discover the cargo carried by the Sectimus was one of the most dangerous beings in the known universe.

The Terran looked to Steersman Ticcul and the Sectimus’ navigator, Leh-Kott. “Would someone mind telling me why the hell you’ve got Drax the Destroyer as your cargo?”

“We didn’t know,” said Leh-Kott. “All we were told is that the contents of the cargo were classified.”

“Captain, I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” said Ch’od.

“You and me both, big guy,” said Corsair. “Starjammers, I want eyes on everyone. If a hand goes anywhere near a comm-device or a weapon, you have my full permission to blow it off.”

Corsair turned his gun on Ticcul. “And you. If you even think of moving this ship one inch, then there’s something I should mention—we haven’t fed Ch’od today.”

Ticcul turned to the amphibious Saurid who grinned at the Steersman with rows of razor-sharp teeth. The Steersman instantly held his hands high in the air and stepped out of reach from the Sectimus’ controls.

Corsair pointed the tip of his sword at Leh-Kott, slowly moving towards him. “You seem to be the one with the brains around here, so I’m sure there’s something you haven’t told me yet.”

“I’ve been completely honest with you,” said the Kree navigator. “You want to know the irony? The only man who knew about this mission is the one you decided to knock unconscious.”

Corsair looked to the limp body of Captain Ke’doh and shrugged. “He was annoying the crap out of me.”

“Nevertheless, any hope you had of getting any more information about our cargo is now gone,” said Leh-Kott.

The aging pirate stepped closer, his rapier now inches from Leh-Kott’s throat. “Guess we should take him with us, then. Try a little interrogation of our own. What do you think of that?”

“You do and I will hunt you to the ends of the universe.”

“What’s with this loyalty, huh?” asked Corsair. “He’s Shi’ar, you’re Kree and last time I checked, those two species aren’t exactly linking hands and singing Kumbaya.”

Leh-Kott’s face displayed a look of confusion and Corsair sighed. No one understood the Earth references. “Forget that last part. Just answer the question.”

“The past is finished, we all have to move on,” said the Kree. “Captain Ke’doh is a good man and that’s why I serve him and that’s why I will remain loyal to him.”

“Now isn’t that sweet,” said Corsair. “Doesn’t that just warm the cockles of your heart, Raza?”

“Mine heart, ’twas replaced with a cybernetic one, as well you know, Captain,” said the cyborg. “Impossible to be warmed.”

“No one gets my jokes…” muttered Corsair. He spoke into the comm-link. “How we doing, baby?”

DESTROYER

Part II: Breaking Free

By Dino Pollard

Down in the cargo bay, the Mephisitoid catlike woman called Hepzibah examined the containment unit. Inside, held in suspended animation, was the massive green form, clad all in purple, of Drax the Destroyer.

“Soon, out have him,” she said.

[What do you mean you’ll have him out?]

“Little birdies with him, that we can’t have,” said Hepzibah. “Dangerous is it.”

[I’m not kidding here, Hep. Don’t let him out or we’ll have some serious explaining to do.]

“Wipe out a planet with him, they may,” said Hepzibah. “Planets to the Shi’ar Empire, they will add.”

[Now is not the time to let your hatred of the Shi’ar blind you.]

“Correct. Now, is hush time.”

She took the comm-link from her ear and dropped it on the ground. She could barely hear Corsair shouting her name through it. She moved to the control panel, trying to figure out how she could decipher the code to unlock the unit and awake Drax from his hibernation.

Frustrated, she moved back to the other side. “A weak point, must have…”

As Hepzibah searched around the unit, she looked up and saw Drax’s slumbering face. His eyelids snapped open and she jumped back. “How did…?”

The green behemoth tried to move, but found he was bound. Anger and confusion fell on his face as he cried out. Hepzibah moved towards the door, slowly. That’s when Drax’s fist shot through the unit.

He pulled himself free and stretched his body out. There was a void in his eyes, as if he were completely mindless. Hepzibah’s hand moved to the door’s control panel. With the door now open, she stepped outside and Drax caught her movement.

But he just stared at her, made no effort to come after her. She was careful with her actions, not wanting to startle or provoke him even as her hand reached for the blaster strapped to her thigh. Drax either didn’t seem to notice this or didn’t care. Instead, he turned his back to her and began to pound on the hull of the ship.

“STOP!” she cried out.

But he ignored her, those powerful fists continuing to bang against the hull. His fist finally broke through and the cargo hold quickly began to depressurize. Drax burst out of the ship, flying off into space.

Hepzibah gripped the edge of the door as she felt her entire body being pulled towards the hole. She pulled herself outside the door, watching as her blaster rifle was sucked into space. Once she was on the other side of the cargo bay, she shut the door and sighed as her feet touched the ground.

She ran back to the docking bay where she boarded the Starjammer. Moving to the cockpit, she activated the ship’s comm-link with the earpieces her teammates wore. “Corsair, have problem we do.”

“Sonnuva bitch…” muttered Corsair. He looked at Leh-Kott. “You have escape shuttles, I assume?”

“Yes…”

“Get your crew into them now, including Ke’doh. Send out distress signals as well, we’ll do the same. Your hull has been breached and it won’t be long before more damage is caused.”

“What did you do?” asked Leh-Kott.

“Starjammers, we’re moving out,” said Corsair.

Ch’od and Raza slowly backed away, following Corsair’s lead. Once they opened the door, the three ran back for their own ship. As they quickly boarded, Hepzibah was already firing up the engines.

“Goddammit, are you out of your mind?” asked Corsair. “What part of ‘don’t let him out’ did you not understand?”

“No fault!” she shouted at him, pulling the Starjammer away from the Sectimus.

“It wasn’t, huh?” asked Corsair. “And who was the one who found him in the cargo hold? Who was the one who said she was going to let him out? Now he’s out and you’re telling me it’s not your fault?”

“Nothing touched!” she said.

“Right, like I believe that one!”

“Ohhh… rage am I…” she muttered. “Crash right into an asteroid, will I…”

“Hooookay…” said Ch’od, carefully putting his massive paw over Hepzibah’s hand. “Maybe you should let me drive.”

Hepzibah growled at him and Ch’od stepped back. “Please? I’d really like to not die. I’ve never been to DisneyWorld.”

She hesitated but finally stepped away from the controls. Ch’od sat down and took over the controls of the Starjammer.

“If Hepzibah did not awaken thy beast, how now doth his slumber cease?” asked Raza.

“Just woke, did he,” said Hepzibah.

“That makes no sense,” said Corsair. “He was in suspended animation, wasn’t he?”

Hepzibah nodded.

“Then that means you must have tampered with something, whether you know it or not,” said Corsair.

“Limits, have I,” she growled. “Be pushed, I won’t.”

“Let’s hold off on any eviscerations of loved ones,” said Ch’od. “I think there’s something else going on here…”

“What do you mean?” asked Corsair.

“There’s a lot here that doesn’t add up,” said Ch’od. “This was top-secret cargo and for carrying someone as powerful as Drax, there would be at least one Superguardian onboard, if not several. If they were otherwise occupied, the transport would have been delayed.”

“You’re right,” said Corsair.

“More hath I discovered, mine Captain,” said Raza. “Ke’doh doth state Guardians were on Centauri IV. I believe this be fallacy. Look.”

Raza brought up the display as a holographic projection in front of Corsair’s seat. It showed the known whereabouts of all Superguardians and none were stationed on Centauri IV. As a matter of fact, many of them were involved in a crisis involving the Silver Surfer and Galactus.

“This doesn’t add up,” said Corsair. “Why would Ke’doh tell us the Superguardians were on Centauri when they weren’t?”

“Maybe because he didn’t know,” said Ch’od. “Maybe because this mission was so classified, the only one who knew about it was Ke’doh.”

“Ke’doh’s transporting Drax without the Imperium’s knowledge,” said Corsair. “Open comm-channels to the Lux Gloriana’s Imperial Palace on Chandilar.”

“Say it with ease,” said Raza. “But in execution, the gods doth protest.”

“I really wish you didn’t learn English from Shakespeare…” muttered Corsair. “Can someone translate?”

“All channels to Chandilar are closed off,” said Ch’od. “Might be a result of this crisis.”

“Then get me tracking on Drax,” said Corsair. “No way is he faster than my ship, so he couldn’t have gone far.”

Hala

“I’m telling you, R’Kin, I’ve gotta get off this rock and fast.” The anthropomorphic Rocket Raccoon stood in a hangar beside a diminutive Skrull dressed in greasy clothes with goggles on his forehead. “Can you believe I got ambushed in a bar?”

“Most people get ambushed in bars.”

“Really?” asked Rocket. “Well damn, that seems like a pretty uncivilized thing to do, attacking a critter trying to have a drink.”

“I’d like to help you, Rock. But the fact of the matter is, that’s easier said than done.”

“C’mon, you’ve got tons of ships just lying around,” said Rocket.

“Don’t mean I can just give you one,” said R’Kin. “Look, if you want a ship, you’re gonna have to pay for it. And my equipment doesn’t come cheap.”

“So what other options I got?” asked Rocket.

“You have to hook up with a transport ship, that’s your best bet,” said R’Kin. “But someone as infamous as you could have trouble with that, may have to pay top dollar to get onboard.”

“Well, can’t you put in a good word for me or something?” asked Rocket.

“I’m just a mechanic, hooking people up ain’t my business, Rocky.”

“Can’t you get me an image inducer or something?”

“Dude, those things are expensive. You’re better off just biting the bullet.”

“You’re a real pain in my ass,” said Rocket.

He left the hanger, hoisting the massive bag that held his cannon on his back. Rocket Raccoon had been stuck on Hala for months now and the place was beginning to get to him. His finances were hardly strong, which limited his methods of getting away from here.

As Rocket Raccoon stepped out into the afternoon sun, a shadow fell over him. He looked up, and saw a massive silhouette blocking the sun, one that got larger and larger as it came closer and closer.

The animal leapt from its path, rolling on the ground until he came to a stop. Rocket shook his head and looked up. His eyes widened as he saw the massive green behemoth clad in purple.

“You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me…” he muttered.

Drax the Destroyer had arrived on Hala. And it didn’t seem like he was here for the tourism.

In an escape pod cruising through the galaxy, Leh-Kott stood over the still body of his commanding officer. Slowly, Captain Ke’doh stirred, his eyes opening and seeing the form of his loyal officer watching over him.

“What happened?” asked Ke’doh, pulling himself to a seated position. He looked around the small vehicle. “Why are we in an escape shuttle?”

“Something happened, Drax awoke,” said Leh-Kott.

“What do you mean?” asked Ke’doh.

“Drop the act, Captain. I know we were hauling Drax,” said Leh-Kott. He moved to the shuttle controls, turning his back to his captain.

“So what happened after Drax woke up?”

“He broke through the Sectimus and we had to get to the shuttles.”

“And the Starjammers?”

“They got out without a scratch. Now I’ve just picked up a transmission that Drax has landed on Hala. And he seems very angry.”

“Interesting…” said Ke’doh. He looked at his side and saw his pistol strapped there.

“I’ve been trying to get word to the Imperium with no luck,” said Leh-Kott. “Something’s not right here.”

“Actually, you’re wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Leh-Kott turned and found himself staring down the barrel of Ke’doh’s sidearm.

“I mean everything is going exactly according to plan,” said Ke’doh. “Now we’re just going to sit back and allow Drax the Destroyer to lay Hala—and you Kree scum—to waste.”