Chapter 4

The Collector's goons surrounded the spacecraft as Gamora stood defiantly before them. They thought they were more powerful than she was simply because they had weapons, but Gamora knew better. She looked at the assembled hooligans and wondered whether she should go easy on them. As they opened fire, Gamora drew her Godslayer blade and deflected each laser blast with ease. The fearless act left the Collector's thugs speechless. She used their amazement to her advantage. Grabbing their leader by the arms, she swung him like a rag doll, knocking his cohorts out cold. She bent down near the broken bully and left him with a message.

“You got off easy this time. I'm going to return to Zaldrex very soon—and, make no mistake, I will finish what I've started,” she threatened. She took a final look around, boarded the ship, and took off into the stratosphere. As Rocket panted in the corner, Gamora stared out the window, thinking about the cruelty she'd seen in the thieves' market. It gnawed at her so much, she forgot that their mission had been a failure.

“I'm sorry,” Pip said, collapsing into the pilot's seat. “I wasn't fast enough to grab the box. I should have done something!”

“This wasn't your fault. Nebula always appears when you least expect her,” Gamora said comfortingly. The group became silent and reflective.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“Someone is trying to hail us,” Pip said, flipping a series of switches on the control panel. “The frequency's source is cloaked. I don't know who it is. Should I let the signal through?”

Gamora nodded affirmatively as Pip pressed a series of buttons. Nebula's face appeared on the screen before them.

“Hello, Gamora,” growled Nebula. “When are you coming home? Father and I miss you.” She held up the metal box she'd just stolen, inspecting every inch. “Do you like it? I don't know what could possibly be inside this plain old thing, but it must be something important if you're chasing after it.”

“That doesn't belong to you,” Gamora snapped.

“As long as my body is drawing breath, I'll see to it that you never get this box back,” Nebula sneered devilishly. She gripped the box tightly, trying desperately to pry it open.

“Having some trouble?” Gamora asked.

Nebula clenched her teeth and tensed her body, but the box wouldn't budge.

“Only I can open it,” revealed Gamora.

“Don't you recall what happened when we were children? I had my suspicions and now they've been confirmed. Only my touch can activate the mechanism. The box is worthless without me.”

Nebula noticed the small fingerprint lock on the outside of the box and became infuriated. Her frenzied scream filled the ship's cabin before she disappeared from the monitors completely.

Rocket found her reaction endlessly amusing. “HA-HA-HA!” he cackled. “Did you see her face?! Ol' Nebby did NOT like hearing that news. So what do we do now?”

“Nebula knows we'll come for her. She'll be waiting for us,” Gamora responded. “Patch me through to Carol Danvers. I need to talk to Captain Marvel.”

“You got it! I'll just track her down using her Avengers comm link and then hack into whatever camera is nearby so we can see her beautiful smile,” Pip said, pressing buttons and flipping switches on the old console. “This computer might be rickety, but I found her! She's busting up some trouble on the planet Ba-Banis. Patching her through now.” Captain Marvel soon appeared on-screen. She had a Ba-Bani warrior in a headlock.

“Smile, Cap!” Rocket said, waving. “And look up.” Captain Marvel turned, squinting up at the nearby security camera.

“Rocket? I'm kind of busy at the moment,” Carol said, squeezing the squirming Ba-Bani tighter. “Wait a second. Gamora, is that you?”

“Hi, Carol. I could use your help with something,” Gamora began. She rarely asked for assistance, but Captain Marvel was a good friend and a powerful ally.

“I'd love to lend you a hand, but I'm pretty tied up with Avengers business at the moment. You know how it is with alien invasions. I'm definitely in for the next round of butt-kicking, though. Anything for family. Oh, and tell Star-Lord he owes me a mixtape!” Carol said. “Captain Marvel OUT.”

“I'll call the Guardians,” Rocket said. “I think Quill and Groot are running errands on Spartax, but Drax should be around. He won't mind busting a few heads with us.” Rocket pushed into Pip's space to enter a series of numbers on the keyboard. “This old technology is killing me!”

VIIIIIIZZZZZZT!

The lights flickered inside the ship as the communication console sent sparks flying onto Pip's hairy troll feet.

“What happened?” Gamora asked.

“The power is going out, and we lost contact. But I can fix this!” Pip said, pressing buttons seemingly at random. Unexpectedly, the lights went out, leaving the ship in complete darkness.

“I knew we couldn't trust a troll,” Rocket huffed, flipping on his flashlight.

“We have just enough power to make it to Morag IV,” Pip said, changing course. “Pray we make it there in one piece.”