[ Distress is written plainly on her features as she turns everything over in her foggy mind. Her initial kneejerk thought is run but, even if she truly wanted to, she couldn't. In more than one sense. Physically, it would be literally impossible to try and escape. Mentally and emotionally, she can't actually bring herself to want to leave. Even if it would be better, even if it meant that they'd be safer-
You gotta trust me.
The implications of 'trust' don't paint pretty pictures in Rose's mind. Trust me, a dulcet voice hums in her head before a squick of blood followed by a thump. Just trust me! comes a sing-song saying before the silence of a sniper rifle snuffs out two lives before her eyes. Trust is merely a tool to be used against her; trust is only something that ends up hurting far more than its worth in all the worst ways. ]
Promise you won't leave?
[ And yet despite herself, she wants to. Maybe it's naive, maye it's too idealistic. She wants to believe in him because the woman wouldn't be here in this moment if she hadn't allowed herself to all the times before. For all the scars on her heart, for all the grief that it's caused, Rose wouldn't be where she is without trust. She would have never said 'yes' to his help the first time and might instead be suffering from a likely similar fate only to die cold and alone. So for as terrifying and trying as trust is, the latter is far more grim and not the path she wants to take even if it might be the path she deserves. ]
Promise m-
[ Her eyes roll back - taking the rest of her with them - as she chokes on the words still on her tongue. Muscles go from taut to slack in seconds as she stars to lose her battle with consciousness. So much for 'no sleeping.' ]
You gotta trust me.
The implications of 'trust' don't paint pretty pictures in Rose's mind. Trust me, a dulcet voice hums in her head before a squick of blood followed by a thump. Just trust me! comes a sing-song saying before the silence of a sniper rifle snuffs out two lives before her eyes. Trust is merely a tool to be used against her; trust is only something that ends up hurting far more than its worth in all the worst ways. ]
Promise you won't leave?
[ And yet despite herself, she wants to. Maybe it's naive, maye it's too idealistic. She wants to believe in him because the woman wouldn't be here in this moment if she hadn't allowed herself to all the times before. For all the scars on her heart, for all the grief that it's caused, Rose wouldn't be where she is without trust. She would have never said 'yes' to his help the first time and might instead be suffering from a likely similar fate only to die cold and alone. So for as terrifying and trying as trust is, the latter is far more grim and not the path she wants to take even if it might be the path she deserves. ]
Promise m-
[ Her eyes roll back - taking the rest of her with them - as she chokes on the words still on her tongue. Muscles go from taut to slack in seconds as she stars to lose her battle with consciousness. So much for 'no sleeping.' ]
[ Lucidity comes in seemingly random spurts. Later she'll recollect splintered bouts of consciousness: the weightlessness of being carried, reassuring words that she can't place beyond the intention, the rumble and clatter of the inside of an ambulance rushing to its destination, quick yet level voices spilling out medical jargon she doesn't even begin to try and pretend to understand. These hazy and disjointed memories are all she'll have to piece together what exactly happened later; they're the only things not lost when she finally does succumb to a completely unconscious state.
Blackness envelops her in the form of spindly arachnid legs and she becomes caught in a mental web of her own design. Sticky spider silk makes way for silken sheets just as confining yet uncomfortable in much different ways. Constraints keep her wrists and feet bound to the bed as if she's the threat instead of those keeping her captive. Familiar beeps and buzzing of medical equipment perforate her thoughts. Quiet fire roars along her back in branching paths. Smoke sears her nostrils above the already harsh smell of disinfectant. 'Sir?' a distant voice questions followed by a pause of palpable contempt. 'Teach her a lesson,' comes the resolute reply before the start her own screams as quiet fire becomes a blaze burning her to the core. 'She needs to learn.'
Torrential waves wash the scene away yet do anything but bring relief; Rose starts to sink like a rock to the bottom of an inky black sea. Just as her lungs begin to burn because water is filling them to burst instead of air a hand clasps her own and yanks her forward. She breaks the surface with a sputtering gasp and catches only a glimpse of Ren's distraught face before bobbing back under. His grip is too slick to keep latched on for long. A second hand splashes beneath the waves and she's pulled out of the blackness to see Peter Quill this time instead.
You gotta trust me.
Her struggling ceases and in turn his grip tightens enough to pull her to shore. Stars alight a crystalline sky and shine back on themselves in a perfection reflection upon the glassy sea surface despite her struggle just seconds before. It mimics the sensation of being suspended in space but it's cathartic instead of perturbing. The light sprinkling her vision begins to pulse in time with a fuzzy beep, beep, beep that begins to gain clarity with each succession. Rose casts one final glance at Peter with a silent 'thank you' before it all inexplicably melts away.
Slender fingers twitch and an audible inhale that breaks the rhythmic breathing from before are the first signs that Rose is climbing back to consciousness. Her eyes flutter open and try to adjust to the mix of artificial and natural light. She recognizes the beeping that had invaded her dreams as one of a holter monitor. Holter monitors mean hospitals. That same anxiety that had shot through her before strikes again with just as much intensity; her instincts scream at her that she needs to escape because this isn't safe.
Her head feels like it's full of cotton but in her panic she forces herself to sit up regardless. It's a good thing she does, however, for as soon as she's sitting she spots Peter and those fragmented memories rush to the forefront of her mind and bring into focus the situation at hand. That's right. Pain finally catches up with her brain and she winces harshly where she sits. She definitely remembers why she's here now. ]
Woah. They must've given me the really good stuff because I had the trippiest dreams.
Blackness envelops her in the form of spindly arachnid legs and she becomes caught in a mental web of her own design. Sticky spider silk makes way for silken sheets just as confining yet uncomfortable in much different ways. Constraints keep her wrists and feet bound to the bed as if she's the threat instead of those keeping her captive. Familiar beeps and buzzing of medical equipment perforate her thoughts. Quiet fire roars along her back in branching paths. Smoke sears her nostrils above the already harsh smell of disinfectant. 'Sir?' a distant voice questions followed by a pause of palpable contempt. 'Teach her a lesson,' comes the resolute reply before the start her own screams as quiet fire becomes a blaze burning her to the core. 'She needs to learn.'
Torrential waves wash the scene away yet do anything but bring relief; Rose starts to sink like a rock to the bottom of an inky black sea. Just as her lungs begin to burn because water is filling them to burst instead of air a hand clasps her own and yanks her forward. She breaks the surface with a sputtering gasp and catches only a glimpse of Ren's distraught face before bobbing back under. His grip is too slick to keep latched on for long. A second hand splashes beneath the waves and she's pulled out of the blackness to see Peter Quill this time instead.
You gotta trust me.
Her struggling ceases and in turn his grip tightens enough to pull her to shore. Stars alight a crystalline sky and shine back on themselves in a perfection reflection upon the glassy sea surface despite her struggle just seconds before. It mimics the sensation of being suspended in space but it's cathartic instead of perturbing. The light sprinkling her vision begins to pulse in time with a fuzzy beep, beep, beep that begins to gain clarity with each succession. Rose casts one final glance at Peter with a silent 'thank you' before it all inexplicably melts away.
Slender fingers twitch and an audible inhale that breaks the rhythmic breathing from before are the first signs that Rose is climbing back to consciousness. Her eyes flutter open and try to adjust to the mix of artificial and natural light. She recognizes the beeping that had invaded her dreams as one of a holter monitor. Holter monitors mean hospitals. That same anxiety that had shot through her before strikes again with just as much intensity; her instincts scream at her that she needs to escape because this isn't safe.
Her head feels like it's full of cotton but in her panic she forces herself to sit up regardless. It's a good thing she does, however, for as soon as she's sitting she spots Peter and those fragmented memories rush to the forefront of her mind and bring into focus the situation at hand. That's right. Pain finally catches up with her brain and she winces harshly where she sits. She definitely remembers why she's here now. ]
Woah. They must've given me the really good stuff because I had the trippiest dreams.
[ How much she doesn't like that idea is clear the second he says it. Rose gives a practically indignant pout as he presses her back towards the bed. ]
I don't want to stay here longer than I have to. [ Huff!!
Beyond her discomfort, she technically can't. Without a tracker, she's thankfully been able to keep under the radar rather easily. Hospitals require information though. Legitimate ones do. anyway. They would have checked her in in and now there's record that she's been here, that she's still here. It feels about the same as being a sitting duck.
She's also - as Nova Corps no doubt knows - a criminal, which is just another thing that doesn't bode well the longer she stays put. ]
I don't want to stay here longer than I have to. [ Huff!!
Beyond her discomfort, she technically can't. Without a tracker, she's thankfully been able to keep under the radar rather easily. Hospitals require information though. Legitimate ones do. anyway. They would have checked her in in and now there's record that she's been here, that she's still here. It feels about the same as being a sitting duck.
She's also - as Nova Corps no doubt knows - a criminal, which is just another thing that doesn't bode well the longer she stays put. ]
[ He's right - even Rose can recognize that - but she doesn't have to like that he is. Her injuries may stop her from leaving but they don't stop how horribly uncomfortable this entire place makes her. There's a phantom ache in her back as she recalls fragmented bits of her (likely) drug-induced dream sequence. ]
Nova Prime herself issuing the order to erase my records? [ Well. She can't argue with that, can she? ] That's some pretty impressive influence, Star-Lord.
[ There's an awkward pause on her end before a quiet- ]
Thanks.
[ Guilt starts to settle in gradually. Rose realizes that she'd not only ran off without a word originally but then he'd had to find her half-dead in alleyway. Probably not the best way to show her gratitude to the person who essentially gave her her freedom. ]
Nova Prime herself issuing the order to erase my records? [ Well. She can't argue with that, can she? ] That's some pretty impressive influence, Star-Lord.
[ There's an awkward pause on her end before a quiet- ]
Thanks.
[ Guilt starts to settle in gradually. Rose realizes that she'd not only ran off without a word originally but then he'd had to find her half-dead in alleyway. Probably not the best way to show her gratitude to the person who essentially gave her her freedom. ]
[ There's a lot of weight behind those words for Rose; she's never been considered part of a crew. In the ring, it was kill or be killed. Only Ren had ever looked out for her and once he was dead -
Well. She'd had to start looking out for her. And that was just really the way things went for a long, long time. There was no one but herself and she'd resigned herself to the fact that would never change. Being a lone wolf - literally and metaphorically - was just how it was supposed to be. How it would always be. That was what she'd believed.
Until she met Peter, anyway. He'd reminded her what it means to rely on people, to allow them to help. He'd reminded her that sometimes she can't take the world upon her shoulders try as she might to. When he didn't have to, when he shouldn't have he'd saved her from Hiromitsu. Let himself consider her to be part of his crew despite the brief time she'd been around.
Yet she'd only managed to fuck that up. As she always does. As she always will.
When it really comes down to it, Rose isn't sure she knows how to be part of a crew. She isn't sure she knows how to truly let people in anymore. It's why she ran, why she runs. For as much as she wants to try and believe maybe she could be part of his crew - It's just easier to be alone than to try and figure out how she fits with others. So that's why what she says next rings with a certain sincerity. ]
I'm not... really crew member material. I'm - You don't want someone like me in your crew, trust me.
[ It'll only keep hurting them both. ]
Well. She'd had to start looking out for her. And that was just really the way things went for a long, long time. There was no one but herself and she'd resigned herself to the fact that would never change. Being a lone wolf - literally and metaphorically - was just how it was supposed to be. How it would always be. That was what she'd believed.
Until she met Peter, anyway. He'd reminded her what it means to rely on people, to allow them to help. He'd reminded her that sometimes she can't take the world upon her shoulders try as she might to. When he didn't have to, when he shouldn't have he'd saved her from Hiromitsu. Let himself consider her to be part of his crew despite the brief time she'd been around.
Yet she'd only managed to fuck that up. As she always does. As she always will.
When it really comes down to it, Rose isn't sure she knows how to be part of a crew. She isn't sure she knows how to truly let people in anymore. It's why she ran, why she runs. For as much as she wants to try and believe maybe she could be part of his crew - It's just easier to be alone than to try and figure out how she fits with others. So that's why what she says next rings with a certain sincerity. ]
I'm not... really crew member material. I'm - You don't want someone like me in your crew, trust me.
[ It'll only keep hurting them both. ]
[ The 'shut up' definitely gets her attention; she doesn't break his gaze as he speaks.
It's something to consider, isn't it? When looking at what everyone else's stories were, hers didn't seem all that out of place. It actually almost appeared to fit right in. ... Though Rose isn't necessarily sure if that's actually a good thing. Hm.
Then she thinks over the next point he makes. The answer comes easier than expected: Of course she would have. She would because, well. Rose cares about them. It just hadn't occurred to her - and is still a difficult concept to wrap her head around - that they'd potentially felt the same way. Why would they? Why would anyone?
While difficult to believe, she wants to because the implications of that - people similar to her, people who understand, people who get it - makes her heart swell in wonderful ways she doesn't quite understand just yet. ]
I would. But that doesn't mean... I just. [ Mm. She would, and yet- ] I'm still not - entirely sure how to be part of a crew, but... Looks like I don't really have much of a choice in figuring it out.
[ ... ]
Besides, I really want to see some of this cool bomb calculator, spearing, assassinating, and thorax-ripping action now so I guess I'll just have to stick around.
It's something to consider, isn't it? When looking at what everyone else's stories were, hers didn't seem all that out of place. It actually almost appeared to fit right in. ... Though Rose isn't necessarily sure if that's actually a good thing. Hm.
Then she thinks over the next point he makes. The answer comes easier than expected: Of course she would have. She would because, well. Rose cares about them. It just hadn't occurred to her - and is still a difficult concept to wrap her head around - that they'd potentially felt the same way. Why would they? Why would anyone?
While difficult to believe, she wants to because the implications of that - people similar to her, people who understand, people who get it - makes her heart swell in wonderful ways she doesn't quite understand just yet. ]
I would. But that doesn't mean... I just. [ Mm. She would, and yet- ] I'm still not - entirely sure how to be part of a crew, but... Looks like I don't really have much of a choice in figuring it out.
[ ... ]
Besides, I really want to see some of this cool bomb calculator, spearing, assassinating, and thorax-ripping action now so I guess I'll just have to stick around.
Good to know I'm not alone.
[ That's just a bit of an understatement. ]
All I really can do is try. Sorry if I suck at it though. I think I'm done with 'entertaining' [ Can he sense the air quotes she doesn't actually have the energy to make? She wasn't lying when she said her 'job' for Hiromitsu had been entertainment; it just wasn't the type most people immediately thought of. ] for a while, at least.
And if I'm gonna' try to stick around this time, I wanna' be useful. I was kind of working in information gathering before, uh. This happened. So once I'm back up to snuff I can get to doing that again if it'll help you all out.
[ That's just a bit of an understatement. ]
All I really can do is try. Sorry if I suck at it though. I think I'm done with 'entertaining' [ Can he sense the air quotes she doesn't actually have the energy to make? She wasn't lying when she said her 'job' for Hiromitsu had been entertainment; it just wasn't the type most people immediately thought of. ] for a while, at least.
And if I'm gonna' try to stick around this time, I wanna' be useful. I was kind of working in information gathering before, uh. This happened. So once I'm back up to snuff I can get to doing that again if it'll help you all out.
Hopefully my recovery time isn't too long.
[ Knowing herself, it won't be. Staying idle isn't one of her fortes; no matter how badly beaten down in the ring she might have been, she'd always bounce back as soon as possible. This'll likely be no different.
When was the last time someone was glad she was alright? Ren, she recalls, was probably the only one that ever genuinely seemed to care about her well-being. Even more than she did, sometimes. So this feeling of being cared about, being worried over is almost absolutely alien.
That doesn't mean she doesn't like it though. It's definitely strange, but nice all in the same breath. It brings a small yet earnest smile to her face. ]
I'm glad you found me.
[ Knowing herself, it won't be. Staying idle isn't one of her fortes; no matter how badly beaten down in the ring she might have been, she'd always bounce back as soon as possible. This'll likely be no different.
When was the last time someone was glad she was alright? Ren, she recalls, was probably the only one that ever genuinely seemed to care about her well-being. Even more than she did, sometimes. So this feeling of being cared about, being worried over is almost absolutely alien.
That doesn't mean she doesn't like it though. It's definitely strange, but nice all in the same breath. It brings a small yet earnest smile to her face. ]
I'm glad you found me.
[ Even though her train of thought is along the same lines as his, she does her best not to show outwardly how the dark corners of her mind supply the horrors of 'what if.' It won't do her any good to speculate. ]
The only thing I need is to get out of here as soon as possible. [ Sorry, Peter, she's just a tad bit stubborn. ] ... Though I guess I'm a little hungry, too. [ She refrains fro, almost letting a truthful 'joke' slip out out that she hasn't been able to afford to eat regularly. Even if she had, however, she doubts she would have kept up a steady meal schedule. She'd never been particularly good at caring for herself for a myriad of reasons.
But this isn't the time to get into that. Hopefully they never have to. ]
The only thing I need is to get out of here as soon as possible. [ Sorry, Peter, she's just a tad bit stubborn. ] ... Though I guess I'm a little hungry, too. [ She refrains fro, almost letting a truthful 'joke' slip out out that she hasn't been able to afford to eat regularly. Even if she had, however, she doubts she would have kept up a steady meal schedule. She'd never been particularly good at caring for herself for a myriad of reasons.
But this isn't the time to get into that. Hopefully they never have to. ]
That's fine.
[ The touch gets a small smile in return. She trusts him (truly does) to get her out of here as soon as possible. Hopefully she can keep herself together until then.
Disassociating hospital environments with horrible torture is a little easier said than done, unfortunately. ]
Okay. I'll hold you to that.
[ The touch gets a small smile in return. She trusts him (truly does) to get her out of here as soon as possible. Hopefully she can keep herself together until then.
Disassociating hospital environments with horrible torture is a little easier said than done, unfortunately. ]
Okay. I'll hold you to that.
[Ai Thao has more or less proven herself to be a fairly valuable asset when it came to assisting Peter "Star-Lord" Quill on his man (mis)adventures in the vastness of space. She's been able to see and experience so many things outside of the tiny blue home planet she knows as Earth and honestly, it's been liberating in a fascinating way she's not sure she's able to put into words. That isn't to say this space travel doesn't have its downsides...
Like trying to be polite to aliens who are trying to get to know her TOO well while they trying to locate a contact that would give them information in a rather popular and crowded bar. Ai's strayed behind Peter after being held up by a particular tall blue fellow.]
"Don't see too many Terran 'round these parts. Whaddya say? I'll buy you a drink. Two even!"
Ah... I-I'm not old enough for that.
[18... So close, but so far...]
"No need to worry about arbitrary rules like that, c'mon!"
[HALP...]
Like trying to be polite to aliens who are trying to get to know her TOO well while they trying to locate a contact that would give them information in a rather popular and crowded bar. Ai's strayed behind Peter after being held up by a particular tall blue fellow.]
"Don't see too many Terran 'round these parts. Whaddya say? I'll buy you a drink. Two even!"
Ah... I-I'm not old enough for that.
[18... So close, but so far...]
"No need to worry about arbitrary rules like that, c'mon!"
[HALP...]
[Ai breathes her own sigh of relief as Peter leads her away by hand. Thankfully, the blue fellow doesn't seem too insistent on following them and disappears into the crowd himself.
She looks up at Peter smiling.]
Thank you! I wasn't sure what to do at all.
[This sort of thing happens since she was raised in a fairly limited social environment. They never teach the real important things, gosh.]
Are Earthlings really all that rare out here though?
She looks up at Peter smiling.]
Thank you! I wasn't sure what to do at all.
[This sort of thing happens since she was raised in a fairly limited social environment. They never teach the real important things, gosh.]
Are Earthlings really all that rare out here though?
[ It's about time that things caught up to Kasumi.
She should have known there was something suspicious about this last tech run for the Crucible project. It had taken her to a derelict research station further out in the fringes of the Milky Way in Batarian space, which was already a red flag; that area of the galaxy was generally known to be a Reaper fest, being the first door the giant cuttlefish figuratively kicked down in their mass arrival from dark space. But the scientists and engineers on the project were adamant about recovering tech from the derelict station, citing its importance in the completion of the Crucible, and Kasumi found herself unable to turn it down. It's why she's called on the Guardians to help her on this job--not only is it incredibly dangerous, but she knows both she and Peter would rest easier if they went into the thick of it together.
Kasumi gets there first, because of course she does, but mostly it's because of her being relatively closer from her last job. It had been her who insisted on making the rendezvous at the station, rather than on some asteroid belt or anywhere prior to the job, if only by virtue of their respective flight vectors. Meeting up beforehand would have added days of travel to the overall job, and with the galaxy on the brink of destruction, they don't really have the luxury of time.
She will, however, come to regret this decision upon her arrival. It's quiet... too quiet, she thinks, even for an abandoned station. She does her standard run of checks before the Guardians arrive--cursory reconnaissance, really--checking schematics of the place, looking for heat signatures, locating the tech, anything, only to find nothing. It's not until she finds a secure comm frequency that she stumbles across radio chatter, and she's shocked to find that there's even any to begin with.
"Alpha team, what's your status? Any word?"
"Not yet. We haven't seen a thing since we picked up on a new arrival."
One of the voices sounds Batarian, giving her a degree of unease. Not because she has anything against Batarians, but because of her graybox. The Alliance black ops raid--the intel in Keiji's graybox--is one of humanity's best kept secrets at the moment, but Kasumi wouldn't be surprised if what little Batarians are left have made it their personal mission to exact revenge on the Alliance after what Shepard did. The other sounds--human, maybe? It wouldn't surprise her to know that a few humans have turned heel to join that cause, either. Extremists come in all shapes, sizes, races.
"If you can't see anything, then chances are it's the guest of honor. We'll get what we need from her soon enough."
"Yeah. It's time the Alliance paid for their crimes against Batarians and against the entire galaxy."
That's when it hits her. The people here really are out for Alliance blood, and--this--
This is a fucking trap.
"Beta team, any sign on her backup?"
"No, sir."
And she's inadvertently sent the Guardians, sent Peter into an ambush.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
When a highly-encrypted message comes through the Milano's emergency comms, flagged specifically for one Peter Jason Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, it doesn't come from the Nova Corps, this time. It doesn't come from Kasumi Goto, either. It comes through the Shadow Broker, a feat in and of itself, because--since when does the Shadow Broker personally deliver messages, much less to a crew like the Guardians?
The voice on the audio message, at least, is familiar. Because in this case, it is Kasumi's, and her voice is calm, level, but there would be no denying a current of veiled panic that runs beneath:
"Peter--love, I'm going to need you to stay calm and listen to what I'm about to say very carefully. I'm sending this through the Broker so there's no way to track this transmission--do not proceed with the rendezvous as planned. We've been had. There's something--a group here, with stealth tech to hide heat signatures, so I don't know how many of them there are, but... Please, don't come. Stay where you are, I'll figure out how to get out of here and find you, okay? They said something about wanting revenge against the Alliance--I think they want my graybox. So just--please, don't--"
And then the feed cuts off. ]
She should have known there was something suspicious about this last tech run for the Crucible project. It had taken her to a derelict research station further out in the fringes of the Milky Way in Batarian space, which was already a red flag; that area of the galaxy was generally known to be a Reaper fest, being the first door the giant cuttlefish figuratively kicked down in their mass arrival from dark space. But the scientists and engineers on the project were adamant about recovering tech from the derelict station, citing its importance in the completion of the Crucible, and Kasumi found herself unable to turn it down. It's why she's called on the Guardians to help her on this job--not only is it incredibly dangerous, but she knows both she and Peter would rest easier if they went into the thick of it together.
Kasumi gets there first, because of course she does, but mostly it's because of her being relatively closer from her last job. It had been her who insisted on making the rendezvous at the station, rather than on some asteroid belt or anywhere prior to the job, if only by virtue of their respective flight vectors. Meeting up beforehand would have added days of travel to the overall job, and with the galaxy on the brink of destruction, they don't really have the luxury of time.
She will, however, come to regret this decision upon her arrival. It's quiet... too quiet, she thinks, even for an abandoned station. She does her standard run of checks before the Guardians arrive--cursory reconnaissance, really--checking schematics of the place, looking for heat signatures, locating the tech, anything, only to find nothing. It's not until she finds a secure comm frequency that she stumbles across radio chatter, and she's shocked to find that there's even any to begin with.
"Alpha team, what's your status? Any word?"
"Not yet. We haven't seen a thing since we picked up on a new arrival."
One of the voices sounds Batarian, giving her a degree of unease. Not because she has anything against Batarians, but because of her graybox. The Alliance black ops raid--the intel in Keiji's graybox--is one of humanity's best kept secrets at the moment, but Kasumi wouldn't be surprised if what little Batarians are left have made it their personal mission to exact revenge on the Alliance after what Shepard did. The other sounds--human, maybe? It wouldn't surprise her to know that a few humans have turned heel to join that cause, either. Extremists come in all shapes, sizes, races.
"If you can't see anything, then chances are it's the guest of honor. We'll get what we need from her soon enough."
"Yeah. It's time the Alliance paid for their crimes against Batarians and against the entire galaxy."
That's when it hits her. The people here really are out for Alliance blood, and--this--
This is a fucking trap.
"Beta team, any sign on her backup?"
"No, sir."
And she's inadvertently sent the Guardians, sent Peter into an ambush.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
When a highly-encrypted message comes through the Milano's emergency comms, flagged specifically for one Peter Jason Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord, it doesn't come from the Nova Corps, this time. It doesn't come from Kasumi Goto, either. It comes through the Shadow Broker, a feat in and of itself, because--since when does the Shadow Broker personally deliver messages, much less to a crew like the Guardians?
The voice on the audio message, at least, is familiar. Because in this case, it is Kasumi's, and her voice is calm, level, but there would be no denying a current of veiled panic that runs beneath:
"Peter--love, I'm going to need you to stay calm and listen to what I'm about to say very carefully. I'm sending this through the Broker so there's no way to track this transmission--do not proceed with the rendezvous as planned. We've been had. There's something--a group here, with stealth tech to hide heat signatures, so I don't know how many of them there are, but... Please, don't come. Stay where you are, I'll figure out how to get out of here and find you, okay? They said something about wanting revenge against the Alliance--I think they want my graybox. So just--please, don't--"
And then the feed cuts off. ]
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