Chapter 3

A rumbling snore shook the inside of the tiny metal spacecraft.

“Is that Rocket?!” asked Pip, shaking his head in disbelief. “He sounds like a Varlaxican sludge beast.”

Gamora stared out the window, distracted.

“You look good, kid. Been too long since we've caught up,” Pip said, noticing Gamora's uneasiness. “Whatever you're thinking about, don't let it get to you. We'll grab this box, and you'll be on your way in no time.” He flipped a switch on the control panel, lighting up the monitors in front of them. Alien beings from a hundred worlds filled the screens.

“This is Zaldrex. On the outside it seems like some no-name planet,” Pip explained. “But it's much more than that. You just have to go underground. The Collector runs a top secret thieves' market and auction house in the caverns underneath the planet's surface. He's got all kinds of nasty stuff down there, mostly the junk he doesn't want. I'm betting that's where you'll find what you're looking for. We'll disguise ourselves as riffraff and sneak in. I've got some counterfeit credits we can use to bid on it. They look just like the real thing! No one will ever know the difference.”

Gamora stared intently at the screen. “Nebula will be there,” she muttered. “I can feel it.”

“BLAHG!” shouted Rocket, waking from his nap and rubbing his eyes. “I had the worst nightmare. I was stuck on a spaceship with this chubby little troll, and...” He sputtered, spotting Pip in the captain's chair. “UGH! My nightmare came true!”

“I don't know how you stand that guy,” Pip said to Gamora, pulling back on the ship's throttle. “Prepare for landing. We're here.”

Pip brought the spaceship down on the outskirts of Zaldrex's capital city. Then the trio donned dark cloaks to disguise themselves. If anyone recognized them, it would ruin the entire plan. Following a winding staircase, they traveled down into the thieves' market casually and discreetly. The market had many alien curiosities, all of which were deadly. There were things like canisters of disease and various cruel weapons for sale. These were things meant to inflict pain and suffering on countless people. It made Gamora angry. Soon she spotted something even worse: a tiny cage containing three alien children. The cage was being guarded by the Collector's thugs, a collection of the galaxy's worst bullies. While the guards were distracted, Gamora took a small bag of rations from inside her cloak and gave it to the children. The tasty treats brought a smile to their faces, and they eagerly scarfed them down as quickly as they could.

How could someone do this? Gamora thought. It boiled her blood to see children separated from their families, kept in cages, and waiting to be sold like slaves. Her body tensed as she considered ways to free them. But suddenly, a siren sounded and an announcement blared from the speakers above.

“THE AUCTION WILL NOW COMMENCE IN THE MAIN AREA!”

“This area is off-limits. Get moving!” one of the Collector's goons shouted, rudely pushing Gamora with the end of his rifle. It took everything she had not to grab his weapon and teach him a lesson, but there was a bigger plan in motion.

Before she left, Gamora spoke to the children in a whisper. “I will return, I promise,” she said, placing her hand on the bars. “Do not be afraid.” Still angry, she joined Pip and Rocket in the main hall, where the auction was getting under way.

“Welcome, brutes, devils, fiends, and beasts!” a voice echoed through the bustling chamber. “I am Taneleer Tivan, known to you miscreants as the Collector. This evening I bring to you some of the rarest rubbish in the entire galaxy. One warlord's trash is another warlord's treasure, after all. Settle in, you'll not want to miss out.”

“I'm ready,” Pip said, holding his bidding paddle tightly.

The Collector had assembled an impressive amount of antiquities over the years, but often found himself with broken or worthless items. Instead of discarding these things, he decided to sell them. He knew his followers were too naive to know none of the items had any real value. They bid with their hopes and dreams. The Collector brought forth numerous salvaged goods, some of which he'd only recently acquired and all of which were snapped up instantly by the assembled scoundrels. Many strange items changed hands until, finally, a black box appeared.

“That's it,” Gamora said nervously.

One of the Collector's men brought forth the rectangular metal box. It had been roughed up over the years and was covered in numerous small scrapes. The crowd seemed uninterested. No one knew it once belonged to the mighty Thanos. The Collector stared at it for a moment. He'd never seen it before. His associate leaned in and whispered the details of its retrieval in his ear.

“Ah, yes. This was recovered from a space trawler near Titan. Shall we see what's inside?” teased the Collector, attempting to pry open the lid. The task was giving him some difficulty, and he was not pleased. “Cosmic junk. Who wants it? Bidding begins at one hundred credits!”

“What do I do?” asked Pip, flustered.

“Raise your paddle and bid on it, troll!” Rocket said in a loud whisper.

Pip raised his bidding paddle. The Collector immediately nodded in confirmation.

“Going once... going twice...” The Collector paused, looking around the room. “Sold to the troll in the hood! Pay your one hundred credits and come get this sad piece of trash.” As Pip made his way forward, a familiar blue-skinned figure bounded through the audience, landing squarely onstage. It was Nebula.

She snatched the box out of the Collector's hands and took off in another direction, laughing wildly. The Collector was quite displeased. “Get her and get that ugly box!” he shouted. But before his minions began their chase, a distraction arose in the audience. Rocket was voicing his agitation.

“Un-krutakin'-believable!” Rocket shouted, whipping off his cloak in anger and revealing his plasma cannon. It wasn't the wisest move. The Collector's eyes widened. Rocket had stolen from him in the past. Now was the time to make sure he paid the price.

“Get that animal!” screeched the Collector. As his crew of snarling bodyguards made their way toward Rocket, Gamora swung her leg out into the aisle, tripping them so that they fell like dominoes on top of one another.

“Time to go,” Gamora said, pushing Rocket and Pip toward the exit. They took off after Nebula, but the Collector's goon squad was on their tail soon enough, chasing them wildly through the thieves' market. Laser beams nipped at Rocket's heels as he, Gamora, and Pip rushed to their spaceship.

“D'AST! Watch it with the lasers, flarknard!” Rocket said, charging up his plasma cannon. “You don't know who you're messing with!”

“No, Rocket,” Gamora commanded. “Get in the ship and be ready to take off. There's something I must do first.”

Rocket grumbled to himself, pushing Pip up the ship's staircase. “You heard the lady. In you go, troll! Let's get this garbage plane moving.”

Gamora darted back across the bazaar, throwing her hunters for a loop and losing them momentarily. At last she found the imprisoned alien children she'd encountered earlier. Gamora ripped open the door to their cage and freed them. “Are your parents safe?” she asked as they nodded in unison. “Go to them.” The little ones scurried away to safety and Gamora made a silent vow. She'd one day return to Zaldrex and end the criminal activity that plagued it once and for all. Hearing footsteps furiously approach, she then took off toward the spaceship.