Guardians of the Galaxy [1]

1

The Dark Aster, 2014

Ronan the Accuser picked up his Cosmi-Rod. "You Xandarians and your culture are a disease."

"You will never rule Xandar," rasped the restrained Xandarian man.

"No," said Ronan, raising the hammer. "I will cure it!" Then he slammed it down on the head of the Xandarian man. As his blood pooled in small rivers through the ground, three sisters entered the room.

The sisters were adopted daughters of the Mad Titan Thanos, deadly assassins who had established strong reputations throughout the galaxy while serving their father. The first was a blue cyborg who had been physically altered and stripped of her beauty. The second was a woman with green skin and wavy dark hair dyed red at the ends. The third was a young girl, pale and beautiful, with intense blue eyes and chest-length white hair. She had a small knife and a pistol strapped to her belt and a large sword strapped to her back.

"Ronan," said Nebula, the cyborg, "Korath has returned."

"Master," Korath began, "he is a thief, an outlaw who calls himself Star-Lord. But we have discovered he has an agreement to retrieve the Orb from an intermediary known as the Broker."

"I promised Thanos I would retrieve the Orb for him," said Ronan. "Only then will he destroy Xandar for me. Nebula, go to Xandar and get the Orb."

"It will be my honour," said Nebula, walking forward.

"It will be your doom," said the green woman, Gamora. "If this happens again, you'll be facing our father without his prize."

"I'm a daughter of Thanos," said Nebula, "just like you."

"But I know Xandar," Gamora contradicted.

"But Ronan has already decreed that I-" Nebula began.

"Do not speak for me," said Ronan harshly. As Nebula looked down at the ground, Ronan approached Gamora and looked into her eyes. "You will not fail."

"Have I ever?" Gamora asked, her gaze unflinching.

"Astra," said Nebula as soon as Gamora left, "follow her."

"Why should I?" asked the white-haired girl, turning away. "You don't tell me what to do. I'll go when Ronan tells me to." She turned back to face Nebula. "Besides, she's right, she's never failed our father. Only you have."

"I don't trust her."

"Neither do I," Astra told her. "But no one trusts each other here, don't you know anything?"

Nebula did not drop the idea. "Our father has searched for the Orb for years. If you help her retrieve it, he will reward both of you."

This time Astra lifted her chin. "You're right. We won't fail. You can be sure of that."

Xandar, capital of the Nova Empire

Astra, having snuck aboard Gamora's spaceship just as it took off, followed her sister and hid behind a concrete wall as she watched Gamora eat outside the Broker's office.

Just then, an angry-looking Terran man around her sister's age was forced out, the door slamming shut in his face.

"Hey, we had a deal, bro!" he yelled.

Gamora stopped eating and looked at him. "What happened?"

"Ah, this guy just backed out of a deal on me," said the man. In his hand was a shiny silver sphere. "If there's one thing I hate, it's a man without integrity."