Fly on, cowboy of the stars

[getoffmyearth]

Date & Time: January 18th, night
Location: SPACE...THE FINAL FRONTIER
Characters: Peter Quill (getoffmyearth), Adam Warlock (awarlock) & Gamora (gamora)
Summary: The Guardians of the Galaxy attempt to do their jobs, and guard the damn galaxy.
Warnings: Excessive negative feelings, trauma, bodily harm.

If he were completely honest, Peter would have to say that he's not always one hundred percent sure that his ideas are good. He has had some spectacularly bad ideas. It's great that everybody thinks he knows what he's doing, and most of the time he has at least enough of an idea to safely wing it. So the outrage over his proposed plans doesn't really bother him as much as it might have once upon a time. There's no immediate pressure to pull something out his ass the way he has to at home, no matter what Gamora says.

But whatever anyone else says, this he knows has to be done. They need to see what's out there. They need to know there's not going to be any surprises coming from behind, or at least try to make sure they're aware of them before they hit. Fighting a ground war on two fronts will be hard enough. Fighting a ground war caught between two forces unexpectedly will be a massacre. And he is very, very sure that one day, the conflict is going to come back.

It took some time to...to get it back together, once Rocket had left. To work out how this would go, how far they could maybe make it. But he's got his guns and he's got his helmet and hopefully he's got enough ammo to take down whatever they're going to face out there. Peter doesn't know whether he hopes they'll be something to face or not, but there's only one way to find out.

"Ready when you are, Adam."

Comments

[awarlock]

There's no way of knowing what's out there until they see it. That's all it took for Adam to be convinced. Earth and its inhabitants may be occupied by themselves and this closed system but they've all been around the block a few times to know that it never just ends with Earth. The stars and planets beyond may be screaming their protests at the space time violation Earth is openly pursuing. And as long as they are still guardians, a proactive team—a team—they're going to take a look.

Adam can travel at light speed himself. Transporting others are a different matter. While Gamora may know what to expect, he's not sure Peter does. Then again, it's Peter. Unexpected things happening to him has become a pattern. Adam looks to Peter then nods.

"Prepare yourselves. This may not feel as pleasant as the Passports."

He holds up his hands, light bursting from them as he makes the finger signs, and light sigils begin to appear beneath their feet. It shines brighter and brighter until they're encased in white light.

To Titan...

[gamora]

Gamora, despite being well-versed in Adam's teleportation, always thought he could have at least made it slightly more comfortable. The space suit she's wearing doesn't help any - the feeling running through her and her bones is exactly the same as usual, and when the light clears and they're suddenly there she makes a face.

Not that the either can see it through the helmet.

Titan, for all that she knows she should have seen it, looks nothing like she thought it might. Gamora can't tell if that's just letdown over the years or the fault of this universe. Her first steps on Titan and nothing.

"Could be underground. And next time I want a more advanced suit."

[getoffmyearth]

Peter, who's lived through far worse- getting processed and phased into the Kyln, for example- still can't help a little bit a shiver once they end up back on solid ground. Or maybe that's not because of the teleportation. Maybe that's a shiver of anticipation, for being back in space, for how he can feel the tension he hadn't even realized he was carrying ease in his shoulders and back. Or maybe it's a shiver at just how empty this whole place is.

If someone's here, though, they definitely should know that strangers have arrived. If someone lives here who can even remotely keep up with technology.

It occurs to him that they should be so lucky...and they're never that lucky.

"Next time you're more than welcome to go find a suit that fits your particular standards yourself, Gamora. I did the best I could with what I had to work with."

But there's no real bite in it. Peter knows they'll probably find nothing, and yet, as he picks a direction and starts heading some way, he feels better than he has in months.

"If they had security measures up on the surface, would we know they were there? They should know we're here, right? If- if they're here."

He didn't need to elaborate about them. They all know who it might be. The Eternals- if they existed. A'lars. Thanos.

It's a sad day when Peter might actually be happy to see Thanos.

[awarlock]

The good news is there's no rips, no faults in space and time that they can see, or he can feel through his cosmic awareness ability. Nothing to be worried about except for the absolute silence under the moon's surface.

Still, he strains hard for it, looking out into space and tuning into the galaxy and the planets spin, like this view of this particular sector of space is going to give him anything else different. And when he returns with nothing, there's no sigh of relief, he just looks to Peter marching and he floats along.

"If there are anyone here, they might not want to greet us. There is a sure way of knowing if there are any living beings here."

And in his hand, he's holding a small green jewel.

"The Soul Gem feeds on souls. Naturally, it will be able to detect it's prey, in living beings or otherwise."

[gamora]

"And everyone who's died here." The distaste for Adam's plan is evident in her tone - it's a stupid idea. And because it's a stupid idea, they're going to do it. She's been a part of the Guardians for long enough to know how this works. If this Titan is anything like the Titan in their universe they could be in for a nasty surprise should they attempt to deal with souls, what with Thanos' grand homecoming.

Gamora gives Quill a look, and then back at the surface of the moon. "They'll know, if they've got ISAAC." It's amazing what you manage to pick up by exposure, really. "So we can do what Adam says, go looking for an entrance we don't know exists or where it could be, or we can wait for them to come and get us if they're here."

They're going to do what Adam says. There's not really any point in debating it when it's the best option they have.

Great.

[getoffmyearth]

"Well, it's not like anybody ever rolled out the welcome mat for us before."

He's not going to take that personally. He kicks a rock or two, debates these things for about thirty seconds. Because the obvious choice is obvious. They could spend years trying to find a way to get where they want to be, and they don't have years. They don't even really know if they have days. Or hours. These things always happen so fast.

"Do it, Adam," he says finally, knowing vaguely what he might be condemning his friend to if this all goes to hell in a handbasket. "And if there's nobody here, we'll get the hell out of dodge and go...well, to Pluto at least, that's as good as last call for the solar system. Or as far as you can get us."

[awarlock]

It's not condemning if he volunteered for it, Peter. And Adam is the guy who would volunteer for it. They either sit here and wait for something to happen, or be smart about this and do things the quick and dirty way. That's why they formed anyway. They're a proactive team.

Adam makes brief eye contact with Gamora. Only she knows what happens when he wears the Soul Gem. Last time he fizzed out. This time—who knows? If he does, if he loses consciousness while the Soul Gem steals his mind away from this plane of existence, how will they get back? But Adam, being less on the logistics part of the team, doesn't think about that. He wears the gem to find the souls that are and the souls that were, nothing else is really his concern at the present.

So he wears it, promptly.

Adam blanks out for a moment. The whites of his eyes dull and he looks straight ahead. The moment passes, the glow returns and he says, curtly "Nothing."

"No soul lives or has ever lived this space."

[gamora]

Gamora's hands uncurl from the tight fists she made them when Adam speaks, accepting the fact that he's at least stable. It's better than last time which means it's worse for Adam than the last time or however it worked. She made a point of not knowing the last time she had her hands on one - there's no need for her to start now.

"Should have known it could never live up to its reputation."

She wanders away from them, burying the toes of her boots into the dust out of frustration and agitation. The universe shouldn't be this empty - it felt wrong.

w/e we're all just kicking along

[getoffmyearth]

"Aw, shit."

Can't stop. If they stop, they'll just be discouraged. They have to keep moving, have to keep playing along with the foolish lie that there might be something out here for them. So there's nothing here. So they'll move on. They'll find something. No universe is empty. Maybe it won't be Kree, maybe it'll be some other species the Kree experimented on; maybe there'll be no Spartoi, only the Shi'ar, but someone, somewhere, has to be close enough. They have to get lucky sometime.

"Just as well. You couldn't pay me enough to want to meet Thanos' people. No offense, Gamora. Adam, get us out of here. Nearest place we could possibly look for someone who'd help."