Starjammers

Leh-Kott tried to back away from Captain Ke’doh, who had a blaster pointed right at his head. Just moments ago, Ke’doh, the man Leh-Kott had pledged his service to, told him that he planned to release a mad Drax on Hala, to lay the planet to waste.

“…you can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious,” said Ke’doh.

“I’ve fought by your side, I’ve served you…”

“And you did a fine job, it’s the only reason you’re still alive,” said Ke’doh. “But I’m not about to let the Shi’ar Imperium become overrun by Kree trash.”

“Why?” asked Leh-Kott. “Why do you hate us?”

“The Kree were warmongers, it was only after we defeated you that we halted your destructive ways. The Skrulls are no longer a threat and soon, neither will you and your kind be. Which means the Shi’ar will rule over a peaceful galaxy.”

“You’re insane,” said Leh-Kott. “Is Lilandra aware of this?”

Ke’doh struck Leh-Kott with the pistol’s hilt, rocking his head to the side. “Don’t you dare speak the name of the Lux Gloriana! You aren’t worthy of it!”

“You’re insane,” said Leh-Kott. “What makes you think you’ll get away with this? What makes you think that the Imperium won’t charge you for this?”

“It doesn’t matter, my task will be accomplished. I can die happy knowing that I’ve purified the Shi’ar. The last thing I ever want to see is a Kree/Shi’ar halfbreed.”

“And what about the Starjammers?”

“The Starjammers?” Ke’doh began to laugh. “Corsair and his little band of misfits are nothing compared to the might of Drax the Destroyer. If they get in his way, he’ll destroy them just as surely as he’ll wipe out your race.”

“Why would Drax even do what you want anyway?” asked Leh-Kott. “There’s no logic behind it. You may think of him as a weapon but he is still a man with a mind of his own.”

Ke’doh smiled. “Drax was created for one reason and one reason alone—to destroy the Mad Titan. I simply arranged it so he sees Thanos in every single face.”

“…you didn’t…” said Leh-Kott, his eyes widening. “You’ve discovered the Rites of Shihai, haven’t you? Those are expressly forbidden by the Imperium for the danger they pose!”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” said Ke’doh. “The Rites of Shihai allowed me to assert the proper domination over Drax, to make him see what I want him to see. And there is nothing in this galaxy that can stop him.”

DESTROYER

Part III: Taming the Beast

By Dino Pollard

“Ch’od, I want maximum thrust to warp engines!” shouted Corsair from the deck of the Starjammer. “Raza, have you been able to hail Lilandra yet?”

“Try I have, Captain, but with no luck yet,” said Raza.

“Keep trying, we have to get a warning out to her immediately,” said Corsair. “If Drax is headed for Hala, there’s no telling what sort of damage he may do.”

“Why helping are we?” asked Hepzibah.

“You hate the Shi’ar, right?” asked Corsair. Hepzibah nodded. “Well, Drax was brought here by the Shi’ar and now he’s going to lay waste to a planet inhabited by non-Shi’ar. Do you really think that should go unpunished?”

“…Ch’od, hear him not?”

“I hear just fine, m’lady,” said Ch’od. His eyes turned to the small creature perched on his shoulder, covered with white fur. “Seriously, I have bigger ears than anyone here. Why wouldn’t I have heard him?”

Cr+eeeeee chittered a response in a language only the Saurid could understand and he smiled. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Raza, any luck with reaching Chandilar?”

“Nay, but I have reached another.”

“Bring it up.”

A holographic project appeared before Corsair of Araki, Lilandra’s loyal advisor. [Corsair, this is most unexpected. And your timing could not be worse. At the moment, we are facing something of a crisis—]

“And you’re about to have another one on your hands, Araki,” said Corsair. “What do you know about Drax the Destroyer?”

[Is this a joke, Corsair? I haven’t the time for riddles.]

“A Shi’ar freighter, called the Sectimus, was transporting Drax the Destroyer through space. Now, there wasn’t a single Superguardian onboard. Doesn’t that seem a bit strange to you?”

[It’s impossible is what it is. First of all, we have no knowledge of Drax’s whereabouts. He hasn’t been seen in quite some time. And second, even if we did arrange a transport, there would be no less than three Superguardians onboard.]

“The Sectimus didn’t have one and Captain Ke’doh told us it was because they were all stationed on Centauri IV.”

[Again, impossible. I’m not sure why this Ke’doh would lie to you, but I’ve never heard his name before today and for such a high-profile assignment, I most-certainly would be aware of it. The crew of such a mission would be hand-selected by myself. Second, the Superguardians are not on Centauri IV at all, they are—]

“Right, that thing with Galactus, I know,” said Corsair. “Listen up, you’ve got a problem, Araki. Drax broke free from the Sectimus and now our tracking shows he’s headed straight for Hala.”

[I’m sorry, Corsair. I wish I could offer you aid, but the Superguardians are all otherwise occupied at the moment. I’m afraid you are on your own. The threat we now face may or may not determine the fate of the entire universe.]

Corsair sighed. “I understand, Araki. We’ll do what we can. Starjammer out.”

[May Sharra and K’ythri watch over you.]

The hologram faded. Corsair rubbed his eyes, the frustration evident in his face. “Where are we at?”

“Entering Hala’s orbit,” said Ch’od.

“Have Waldo take over and then—” Corsair stopped himself, recalling that the Starjammer’s artificial intelligence was no longer operational. “Nevermind, just find a good place to land.”

“Won’t have to,” said Raza. “Look.”

On the viewscreen, they saw Drax tearing through the buildings in Hala’s major city. Corsair stood up to attention. “Hep—”

“To the guns I go,” said Hepzibah, already moving on all four limps to the gunner pit. Corsair kept his attention focused on the viewscreen.

“Raza, are the photon torpedos locked and loaded?”

“I do not understand, Captain,” said Raza. “Photon torpedos are not physical, they are simply energy. It’s impossible to load—”

“It’s a figure of speech, goddammit! Are they ready?”

“Aye.”

“Good, lock on target…”

Raza checked the targeting computer, waiting until the torpedo launchers could get a proper lock. Red crosshairs appeared over Drax’s form and the computer began to beep. “Locked on.”

“FIRE!”

The Starjammer fired off two photon torpedos in between bursts of laser fire courtesy of Hepzibah. Drax turned just before they struck, raising his hands up to guard himself as they pummeled him, leaving a smoking crater.

Rocket Raccoon hovered over the massive crater on a custom-made sky-cycle that held his small form. He peered down into the crater and caught sight of Drax’s body, his purple costume now almost in tatters. But the Destroyer himself was only a little banged up. He glared at the anthropomorphic raccoon who hovered over him.

“Oh, that can’t be good…” muttered Rocket. Drax shot towards the sky-cycle and Rocket pulled back on it, narrowly avoiding Drax’s massive hands. With one hand to steer, Rocket’s other hand hefted a large gatling gun. As he pulled away, he aimed at Drax and pulled the trigger. The turret spun around fiercely, cutting the air with bursts of laser blasts.

Drax dodged or deflected almost every single blast and Rocket hit a switch on the side of the gun. The turret expanded, revealing a larger barrel in the center and when Rocket pulled the trigger again, a thermite grenade fired from it.

“FIRE IN THE HOLE!” he shouted as he kicked his cycle into gear and sped from the scene just as a massive explosion rocked the area.

Leh-Kott lunged forward, gripping Ke’doh’s pistol in one hand as his other fist struck the Shi’ar captain across the jaw. Now Ke’doh found himself staring down the barrel of his own gun.

“You forgot, I’ve gone through military training, you haven’t,” said Leh-Kott. “You’re nothing more than a freighter captain and one with extreme delusions of grandeur.”

“So what are you going to do, kill me?” asked Ke’doh.

“No,” said Leh-Kott. He pistol-whipped Ke’doh, knocking him unconscious. “Death’s too good for you. I thought you were an honorable man, now I know the truth. You’re nothing but a cowardly bigot.”

Leh-Kott took the controls of the shuttle, setting a course for Hala. He activated the shuttle’s communications systems. “Luckily, not everyone shares your ideas.”

“I want rifles, I want grenades, I want whatever we need to take this guy out,” said Corsair. “Hepzibah, you cover us from the Starjammer. Ch’od, Raza, I want you to hit this guy with everything you’ve got.”

“I think all of us staying onboard would be a much safer course of action,” said Ch’od.

“Yeah, it would be, but we’ve also gotta help out with crowd control, see if we can keep these people away from Drax. We’re trying to avoid casualties, got it?” Corsair twirled his blaster around his finger before slapping it into its holster. “We can either sit here and whine about it, or we can do something. Any objections?”

Three identical energy signatures appeared on the battlefield, drawing Rocket Raccoon’s attention. As the signatures faded out, the three Starjammers faded in, Corsair holding a blaster rifle with Raza wielding his twin swords and Ch’od cracking his knuckles.

“And just who the hell are you supposed to be?” asked Rocket.

“The Starjammers,” said Corsair. He considered for a moment that the creature who posed the question was a talking raccoon on a sky-cycle, but then he recalled that he had seen far stranger things since coming to space.

“Hope you’ve got something a bit stronger than blasters or swords, like a neutron bomb or something,” said Rocket. “’Cause short of that, I don’t think we’ve got much hope of stopping this guy.”

Drax rose up again, his body now smoking from the thermite grenade Rocket hit him with. Rocket gestured to him. “You see what I mean?”

“Ch’od, full-frontal assault,” said Corsair.

“Shall I go in from behind, mine Captain?” asked Raza.

Corsair cringed. “Yeah, sure. Just…never phrase it that way again.”

Ch’od lunged for Drax, their arms locking onto one another. Their faces leaned in close, both of them grimacing. Meanwhile, Raza leapt in from behind, bringing his rapier down across Drax’s back. It barely seemed to even scratch him. Drax gripped Ch’od’s arms and lifted the Saurid, swinging him around and using him to swat Raza away. As Drax continued to spin, Ch’od found himself suspended in the air by the former human’s massive arms. When Drax released him, Ch’od flew off into the distance.

“That’s not good…” said Corsair.

“You’re telling me, I’ve hit this guy with everything I’ve got and nothing is working,” said Rocket.

“You haven’t been hitting him correctly.”

Corsair and Rocket both turned and saw a massive Shi’ar man with his eyes crackling with blue energy. “Allow me.”

“And just who are you?” asked Corsair, pointing his rifle at the new arrival. The Shi’ar simply looked at the Terran and his eyes began glowing again. Corsair just froze in place.

“Whoa, what was tha—?” asked Rocket, before the Shi’ar did the same to him.

Drax towered over the lone man, who seemed to possess a complete and utter lack of fear in the face of his assured destruction. Drax raised a pair of massive fists above his head, but as he brought them down, the Shi’ar man simply held out his hand and spoke one word: “Stop.”

Drax paused, lowered his arms to his sides very slowly. The man made a motion and spoke again, “kneel.”

Drax did as he had been instructed, kneeling before the strange man. He laid his hands on Drax’s head and an orb of blue energy consumed the two of them. Nearby, Raza found himself slowly rousing from Drax’s strike and he watched in shock at the display. The scanners in his cybernetic eye read that the energy levels were like nothing ever recorded before. Or…like almost nothing.

“I-impossible…” said Raza.

The energy subsided and Drax had changed form. His skin was still green, but now adorned with red tattoos. And he was much shorter and slimmer, although still of an impressive physical build for a man—but no longer was he the massive, hulking brute he was just moments ago.

The Shi’ar man walked back to Corsair and the Starjammer suddenly awoke. He looked at the Shi’ar. “Like I said, just who are you?”

The man simply offered a smile. “Perhaps a friend. Perhaps an enemy. Only time will tell. But for now, I am leaving Drax in your care.”

“What do you mean—?”

Corsair hushed when he saw Drax’s new form lying unconscious on the ground. He pointed to the green-skinned man. “Is that…?”

“Yes. A new start.”

The Shi’ar man wandered towards the distance. “Do not try to follow.”

Raza approached Corsair. “Captain, the man doth possess powerful energies. Methinks an investigation is in order.”

“For what?” asked Corsair. “He just saved our asses, not to mention this entire planet.”

“…whoa,” said Rocket snapping out of his trance. He spotted Drax on the ground, then Corsair and Raza looking at him. “Someone mind telling me what happened? Did we win?”

“Raza, go find Ch’od,” said Corsair. He spoke into his comm-link. “Hepzibah, we’re ready to get out of here.”

“Hey, you guys have a ship?” asked Rocket.

Corsair smiled and pointed up as the Starjammer began to descend. Rocket stared up at it for several moments as he said, “we should talk.”

“Oh?”

Rocket smiled. “I think we can help each other out.”

Green eyelids slowly rose and Arthur Douglas found five beings standing over him, watching. “Who are you?” he asked. “Where am I? What is this place?”

“Take it easy, you’re among friends.”

The voice didn’t come from any of the people standing over him. Drax stared up and saw a miniature helicopter with a face hovering over him.

“What in—?”

“That’s Sikorsky, our ship’s physician,” said Corsair.

“You’ve been through quite an ordeal, Drax,” said Sikorsky. “Your body has been altered, to the point that your once vaunted powers have been reduced. But with that, your intelligence has risen.”

“Why are you saying that?” he asked. “Why do you keep calling me Drax? What power?”

Corsair folded his arms across his chest. “What is your name?”

“Arthur—Arthur Douglas,” he said. “Last thing I remember…I was with my family and then…”

Corsair looked at the rest of his crew. “Could you all excuse us for a moment? I think Mr. Douglas and I need to have a discussion—Terran to Terran.”

“Not safe leaving you with Destroyer,” said Hepzibah.

Corsair gave a half-grin. “Relax, babe. I know what I’m doing.”

The four aliens shuffled out. Sikorsky did another check on Drax’s readings before hovering in front of Corsair’s face. “If something happens, let me know.”

“Go on, get,” said Corsair with a smile and Sikorsky followed the others from the room. Corsair pulled a chair up to the bed and sat next to Drax. “Listen Arthur…you’ve got a form of amnesia it seems like. You don’t remember anything after your abduction.”

“What do you mean?” asked Drax.

“You were transformed, given great power in order to take on the being known as Thanos,” said Corsair. “I don’t know much else about it than that. Recently, you were somehow manipulated into going berserk.”

“Where am I?” asked Drax.

“You’re on my ship, the Starjammer. My name is Chris Summers, but up here, I’m known as Corsair.”

“Up here? Up where?”

Corsair sighed. “Arthur…you’re in space.”

“No…this isn’t possible…this is insane,” said Drax. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I’ll—”

Corsair grabbed a mirror and held it in front of Drax’s face. The man who was once Arthur Douglas looked at his facial features in shock. “This—this is impossible. What did you do to me?”

“Nothing,” said Corsair. “Look, you’ve got nowhere to go. A lot’s changed since you came out here. Stay with us for a while and maybe you can find what it is you’re looking for. You can make a new life for yourself out here.”

“And just how the hell do you know that?” asked Drax.

“Because I’ve done it,” said Corsair. “Like you, I was abducted from Earth, taken away from my family. Made a slave. But I broke out and since then, I’ve been out here for about twenty years or so. I found a new purpose in space, Arthur. You can, too.”

Corsair entered the lounge where the three Starjammers were gathered along with Sikorsky and Rocket Raccoon. Ch’od was the first to speak: “well?”

“He doesn’t remember anything since he was taken from Earth,” said Corsair. “Which may be a good thing, I haven’t decided.”

“What’s he doing now?” asked Sikorsky.

“Resting. But he’s agreed to stay with us for now.”

“After what happened on Hala, that may not sit so well with Lilandra,” said Ch’od.

“We’ll deal with her later, right now I think Drax is a bigger priority,” said Corsair. “He’s been used. He’s been a slave. Just like we were, once. We need to give him the same chance we were given.”

“Speaking of which…” began Rocket.

“You want to stay, too?” asked Corsair.

“Might as well, don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Rocket. “Besides, seems like worse places I could end up.”

“This ship’s going to get a lot smaller, isn’t it?” asked Ch’od.

NEXT: The Haunting of the Starjammer

 

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