hero worship

A lush and verdant jungle covered the volcanic surface of the rogue planet. Villages dotted the dense vegtation. A large pyramid shaped mound rose from the earth in the center of the largest village. After some tests they determine the atmosphere is similar to that of earth, but had lighter gravity. The planet was rich in pure oxygen. They landed their borrowed ship just outside of the largest village.

A dozen humanoid aliens quickly approached. They stood at hardly 5 feet tall and wore nothing but a green cloth over their loins. Their bodies and heads were completely bald.

The natives' jaws drooped from elongated heads, that made them seem taller than they really were. Their deep-set eyes studied the visitors with a vacant, yet curious gaze. Huge, fan-shaped ears flapped at the sides of their heads. About half of the natives present carried crudely crafted spears or clubs made of strange, bone-white substance that resembled wood. Although all the armed natives instinctively clung to their weapons, it was clear they found them woefully inadequate.

One of the natives stepped forth from the homogenous crowd. He moved his lips, but hardly the utter of a whisper could be heard. All of the other natives turned their ears, listening to their speaker. A moment later he finished his inaudible speech, and all the natives patiently awaited their reply.

-

"Hey, what's up, I'm Star-Lord. You've probably heard of me, I'm a member of the Nova Corp. These guys are--" Star-Lord tried to introduce.

Squealing in fear and agony, the natives flapped their ears over their head and threw their spears before scurrying a dozen steps away. When the Guardians and the Silver Surfer did not retaliate, the natives threw their weapons aside and prostrated themselves before them with their ears carefully folded across their faces. The Headman then approached, and again attempted to whisper a message.

Mantis approached the Headman and laid her hands upon his to use her empathic ability and understand the alien language. "Welcome to Oolafat, mighty ones. We are honored by your presence." the Headman was exclaiming in a hush.

The Headman of the Oolafat then insisted upon entertaining the visitors with a feast of fruits, vegetables, and varied bounties of their jungle. When the guests all agreed, the Headman ushered the villagers into preparation.

While the villagers prepared the feast, the Headman entertained the guests with tales of the devoutness of the Oolafat. The Headman reveals that his villagers, as well as all people of Oolafat, were devoted pacifists. He also reveals there were once two suns in their sky, but now there is only one. The Oolafat believed the Guardians and Silver Surfer were a pantheon of gods descended upon their world to study and solve their plight. The Headman voices his hopes that in providing worthy entertainment, the gods would be appeased and see fit to return the 2nd sun to the sky, as their planet has grown desperately cold without it and the majority of its vegetation will soon die.

Within an hour of their wait, the feast was prepared and the guests were asked by the Headman to take seats of honor atop of the tip of the pyramid. The servers placed baskets of red, green, and yellow fruit in front of the guests of honor. As the guests enjoyed a particular treat, so did the Oolafat determined by the guests favor. While the feast continued, several Oolafat performed an awkward dance around a massive bonfire for the guests. The native audience watched diligently for their guests' judgement, and then mimicked their response.

The guests all approved of the first dance, and so a second immediately followed. Many dances until the guests grew bored with them and Rocket expressed discontent. When the slightest hint of disapproval of the dance was displayed by the guests, the Headman angrily ordered for the end of the ritual dancing. He then barked commands to begin the roasting. A dozen Oolafat seized the dancers, bound them to long poles and prepared to roast them alive on spits. The Headman seemed quite determined to roast the dancers who had offended his gods, and could not be swayed by the Heroes gentle persuasion. He seemed to believe the guests desired to eat Oolafat flesh, as Drax had made a comment regarding their civilization's vegan lifestyle.

As the guests physically intervene to prevent the sacrifice, a tremendous flash burst over the horizon. A thundering boom echoed out shortly after. All of the Oolafat disarmed and fell to the ground, muttering to themselves about the "Underspirits". The Headman then flatly accuses the guests of angering the Underspirits by refusing their ultimate of sacrifices and trying to save the dancers.

Mantis relays their sincerest of apologies and asks to be introduced to the underspirits to appease them, and the Headman reluctantly agrees to escort the guests to the home of the Underspirits deep in the jungle.