Chapter 32

It took several days for Carol and me to take care of the Kree problem. Carol started feeling better after saving several of the other plant lifeforms here. We had to make sure to get rid of any spot the Kree were hiding and any technology they left behind. The Cotati had it rough. They were used by the Kree for experimentation and since they had the ability to increase plant life, they were used to maintain the plant life in Hala. The Kree were 'merciful' in that they didn't slaughter all of the Cotati. But something changed recently. They started to behave more aggressive and easily angered.

When we finished, we had one of the Cotati tell us what happened. The Kree suddenly launched bombs and started to gather them into ships. It was all so sudden. They just randomly attacked them for no reason. We were lucky to arrive when we did. Otherwise, the planet would have looked much different.

The Cotati were truly a peace-loving species. They had no forms of weapons to defend themselves. Once we finished with the Kree, we used the resources from the ship to create defenses around the planet. A majority of them were sensors for us to know if they ever get attacked again.

I headed outside the Tree we were invited into. I found Carol looking at the night sky, gazing at the stars. "Penny for your thoughts?" I asked.

"Just thinking about the other planets that are like this,"

"We just have to keep doing our best," I placed my hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"There's so many planets..." she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Hey…" I turned her to face me and hugged her. "One step at a time" Her breathing was relaxing as she made space between us. Her expression serious.

"I hate to ask but…"

"Stop, you already know I'm with you" she smiled at my response.

"We need a plan,"

"Let's talk in the ship," she nodded.

We said our goodbyes to the Cotati and teleported back to the ship. We all gathered in a round table. I sent an urgent request for a meeting over to Erik and Astrid. I thought about inviting the Skrulls and Wendy but decided against since they are still recovering. We didn't wait too long until Astrid showed up in a projection followed by Erik.

"Hey, what's going on?" Astrid spoke.

"There's been a development and I am not sure how to proceed," I responded and explained the situation with the Kree.

I updated them on what we saw happen with the Cotati. We showed them images and videos of what occurred. Once it finished, everyone was quiet.

"This is not an easy decision," Astrid said.

"What do you mean?" Carol asked.

Astrid looked up and displayed several images. Each screen had different settings. "The Kree has begun to mobilize their efforts in trying to find the culprits behind the attack on Hala," she paused as an image of the crater I created was displayed. "While they might not be able to find New Genosha, they will eventually connect us to Earth."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Carol asked frustrated.

"Whatever option we pick, it will pin a target on Earth. Let's say we somehow manage to deter any attacks on Earth from the Kree. Other aliens will be more interested on Earth. For curiosity or for more heinous acts."

"We also can't support a full-scale war with the resources we have. Most of it is already used on protecting the citizens here. We lack the manpower to facilitate a full-scale war." Erik added.

"We can't do anything then?" Carol's voice had a hint of anger mixed in.

"It's not that we can't. The question is the approach. I believe the saying 'better the devil you know, than the devil you don't' applies here"

When Astrid finished that quote, I thought about what she meant. I realized she meant that it would be easier to deal with a known threat like the Kree versus an unknown race that we might not know information about. I started to piece what Astrid has said before. Resources and manpower are our biggest obstacles.

"War it is then," Erik said. Carol looked relieved but conflicted.

I realized what I had to do in order to support this campaign.

"Carol, you have to protect Earth," I voiced my idea. She immediately began to protest but I spoke again.

"You have to be there to deter the Kree. You're powerful enough to take care of Earth. And if you ever need backup, Astrid and Erik can help,"

"What about you?" Carol asked.

"With these stones," I put my hands out and let the stones shine with energy. "I'm basically an armada. I'll continue to strike at the Kree. Emma and Tessa will go back to New Genosha to help,"

"Carol, you should only focus on the Kree. I asked Erik to send one of his best who will help fight off the other threats. Erik, can you send me information on who you sent?"

Erik's facial changed slightly and looked down. I was confused by that. He wouldn't normally react like that.

"Of course, I'll send it after this. The agent has been preparing to go to Earth since you tasked the order and briefed," Erik said quickly and shifted his glaze back at me.

"Right…I made some Uru armor for the individual. It's not much but it'll help in a pitch," Erik nodded and I got a sense he felt a bit more relieved.

"You should also take the time to make some allies, Lydia. Perhaps the Xandar might be inclined to help," Astrid said.

"Worth a shot" I responded.

We continue to talk about other issues that Astrid and Erik wanted to talk to me about. I transferred the call to a smaller ship we had and had the crew return to New Genosha while I headed to Xandar.

I decided to use the ships engines and just head in the general direction of Xandar while I was speaking with Erik and Astrid. I was enjoying the views of distant nebulas and stars. I realized it was probably the first time I ever stopped to marvel at space. It was truly breath taking.

I was snapped out of my state when Erik and Astrid began to ask questions. They had formed a mixed constitution government. Essentially taking the best of democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy. Erik had reported that we now had several thousand mutants and humans now. It was mostly due to the fact that some of the mutants that we were taking in wanted their parents to come along too.

Astrid held the role similar to what the Hala and Xandar did. She would provide guidance to leadership. Erik would be the leader and I would be in charge of military. We all had checks and balances in place to prevent one person or group from getting too much power. We would have a circle of members to decide urgent matters that would involve the future of the planet and people. It was still a young government with issues, but it was better than no government.

Once we finished talking, I activated the jump drive and selected Xandar's location. The flight took a few minutes before I finally exited. I activated the auto pilot and requested permission to land. Once I landed, I headed to the Capitol. I would hope that at least they would listen to my request.

I walked through the pathways observing all the people and stalls. It still amazes me when I come here. I was tempted to go to my favorite stall to grab a bite to eat but I knew Carol would yell at me if she were here. Something along the lines of duty first.

I reached the building and asked a nearby guard if I could meet with Irani Rael. The guard looked at me suspiciously before asking more questions. I gave my name and the purpose. Later, I was told to wait. I sat down and decided to meditate on the Mind stone. I continued to view through Loki's memories and organized them. From his memories, I knew that there were other gods out there. I was interrupt when I felt a presence near me.

I open my eyes to see a large bulky fellow standing in front of me. He easily towered over me. Roughly 7 ft I would say. He had grey skin and four eyes. Two on each side of his face. He had the rank of Centurion which was one step down from Nova Prime. Meaning he had a lot of power allocated to him.

He stood motionless and stared fiercely at me. I met his glare with an expressionless face. It probably looked comical from an outsider's perspective.

He released a huff and spoke, "Follow." He turned around and proceeded to an elevator. I calmly walked behind him and entered the elevator. He pressed his fist at a panel and the elevator launched upwards. I looked at the large window to my right and got a beautiful view of the city. Several flying ships were flying in lines. It was all extremely organized. Quite surprising considering how many different alien species are here.

The elevator stopped and the large fellow grunted as he stepped outside. I followed behind him again. We entered into a large open area with several people working. I saw Irani Rael barking orders at different people. She stood in front of a large table that projected different planets and windows. As we got closer, 3 other Centurions were surrounding her. The big guy took his position with the other members.

"Lydia Howlett, born in Terra, bounty hunter, no serious charges, several files under different authority forces. Most recently regarding a dispute with handling of a criminal,"

"Ah…It was just a misunderstanding. Thank you for meeting with me. I know you are a very busy woman," she eyed me and continued to look at different windows. I took her silence as an invitation to continue talking.

"This is the Cotati," I raised my hand and used it to project to display the world and the people. "They were attacked ruthlessly."

"We cannot provide aid to every planet. They were also aligned with the Kree,"

"They were forced to submit. And the reason they were targeted was to get back at us," I displayed a few scenes of Carol and I attacking the Kree.

"That was you? Your attack has scrambled their forces. We managed to regain most of our ground thanks to that," she paused and looked at me. "You want a reward?" I could see why she would come to that conclusion. I am considered a bounty hunter to her.

"No, I am…" I paused and thought how to word this correctly. "…I seek cooperation. Their attack on the Cotati was to get to us. They can not find our planet which is why they decided to retaliate in this matter. Carol is protecting Terra in case they decided to attack there."

"Cooperation in what matter?"

"I would like to offer my assistance in any critical attacks you have planned." The big guy released an amusing snort. I had to mentally calm myself down and pretend Carol was here.

She hummed and tapped her fingers on the table. She was probably running all the scenarios this would cause. I could use the Mind stone to see what she was thinking but I didn't want to invade her privacy.

"You don't have to worry about any hostility from my planet and you can put any negative outcomes that I've done on me instead of representing Xandar. And you can take the credit for any good outcomes," I added to try to sweeten the deal.

"Oh? And what is the driving force behind this deal?" she stared at me.

"They made it personal," I stared at her back. She was silent again and then look at one of her guards.

"There was a spaceport we had to retreat from. What was the name of it again?" she asked.

"4G45A-5, ma'am"

"Ah, found it," A number of different windows popped up for her and a large hologram of the space station was displayed. "This space station is a crucial hub for the Kree's fleet." The space station hologram changed into a birds eye view of the galaxy. "It provides access to a number of jump gates and allows their fleet to remobilize from there. We attempted to disrupt it, but it is heavily guarded." She displayed a few videos of Kree warships raining fire on their ships.

"Do you need the space station intact?" I asked

"…no," she was a bit taken aback from my response to all that.

"When can I start?"

"We can spare a few ships but not enough to actually do damage,"

"No need. I just need the location"

"He will come with you then – to observe" she pointed to the big guy. I smiled.

"Okay, send the coordinates to him then." I proceeded to turn and go back to my ship. "C'mon big guy. It's just you and me now" I heard a small but quiet grunt behind me.

We took a shuttle over to my ship. The flight there was quiet, but I was enjoying the views. I hope that New Genosha would resemble something like this in the future.

My daydreaming was interrupted by the small shaking of the shuttle landing. I looked at my escort and left the shuttle. We boarded my ship and I started its engine sequence.

"You don't talk much, do you?" I waited a while before talking again.

"Well, can you enter the coordinate here?" I asked pointing to the navigation panel.

He begrudgingly moved and enter the information. I activated the auto pilot and the ship began to move. I sat down at the pilot seat looking at the coordinates. Irani Rael also provided some information on their last battle. There were several Kree warships and fighters patrolling the space. On occasion, even some Kree capitol ships were seen.

"What is your plan?" the Nova Corps member said with a deep voice.

"Simple-" the ship shook sightly and we exited. We were greeted with a multiple Kree ships signatures in the vicinity. "-just attack them" I said smiling at him. He's eyes were open. He looked at the coordinates and saw that I had come straight to the station.

"Unidentified vessel, you have entered Kree Space. Prepare to be boarded!" a booming voice came from the open channel.

"Strap yourself in. Its going to be a bumpy ride," I said smiling as I headed to the ship's exit. I entered a small room and activated my suit and armor. The pressure was released and another door in front of me open to space. I activated my shroud and flew outside. My HUD displayed the locations of the Kree ships as I looked around.

I smiled because I was about to make Carol proud. I charged forward. Full speed ripping through the ships. I used my hands to occasionally launch energy beams at them.

I carved a path of destruction as a made my way closer to the station. I increased my speed and tore through the station's hull. I kept zigzagging creating multiple puncture holes in the station.

I stood victorious as I watched the station. Small explosion occurring in different areas until finally a larger explosion in the center of the station erupted outwards. The station was torn into pieces as the force of the explosion rippled. The shockwave was a beautiful blue hue.

I suddenly found myself smiling. It was weird feeling. Seeing the bodies and metal debris gave me a sense of happiness. Part of me knew I shouldn't feel gratification from killing so many people, but another felt it was justified.

My ship came next to me as it uncloaked its stealth technology. I saw the stun expression of my passenger.

"Inform them of what happen-" I looked towards the chaos I made "-and ask them for my next mission"