Chapter 04

T he planet Torfa was a border planet within the Kree empire—about as far as one could get from the homeworld but still be within Kree territory.

The tiny planet was busy minding its own business when the three Accuser ships appeared and commenced bombing the enemy on its surface. The Skrulls down below certainly weren’t expecting the surprise attack from the Kree military’s fearsome Accuser division. Known throughout the galaxy as ruthless, cold-hearted warriors, the Accusers could be counted on, no matter how dire the circumstances.

The bombs released from the munitions holds split through the Torfan atmosphere, screaming toward the ground below. In the midst of this pandemonium, the Helion slipped through the clouds unnoticed, before splashing into a large body of water, submerging itself completely.

The members of Starforce ejected from the Helion and into the water, hurtling like torpedoes toward the water’s surface. Each warrior was encased in a shimmering capsule formed from a pulsing blue energy, providing them with oxygen and protection from the environment.

A moment later, and Vers, alongside Yon-Rogg, Korath, Minn-Erva, Bron-Char, and Att-Lass, emerged from the water, and their protective energy capsules disappeared. Vers reached over to the forearm console on her uniform, and moved her finger until the coloring of the uniform shifted from its usual teal-and-silver tint to a darker shade, providing her camouflage amidst the dark Torfan ruins. The other members of Starforce did the same.

“Vers,” Yon-Rogg ordered, “track Soh-Larr’s beacon. Att-Lass, Minn-Erva. Find elevation.”

Without hesitation, Minn-Erva and Att-Lass were off and running, seeking higher ground from which to observe their surroundings.

“Locals on the periphery,” Minn-Erva said into her comm, as she looked down from a bluff that overlooked the Starforce team. Below her, she could see a small campfire on the outskirts of the Torfan ruins. The entire area was enshrouded with fog, not so thick that she couldn’t see anything, but enough that it was a nuisance. For a sharpshooter like Minn-Erva, every detail was important. Fog obscured those details, making her job all the more difficult.

Around the campfire, she could make out the heat signatures of several Torfans, huddling over the fire for warmth.

A quick count. “Maybe a dozen,” Minn-Erva said into the comm.

Yon-Rogg ran through the ruins, with Vers right beside him. He looked at his forearm console, as he heard Minn-Erva’s voice, along with plenty of static, over its tiny speaker. “Minn-Erva?” he said.

“Do you read me?” came Minn-Erva’s voice over the comm, along with more static. “Does anybody copy?”

“Repeat!” Yon-Rogg said into the comm.

There was more static, and then Minn-Erva’s voice came over once again. “Yon-Rogg? Come in,” she said. “Come in. Bron-Char?”

Great , Vers thought. Planetary interference. Might be Skrulls. Whatever it is, something’s messing with our communications. Not good.

Yon-Rogg and Vers had made their way through some bombed-out ruins and were now heading toward a bridge. They were following the trace that Vers had been running on Soh-Larr, and had pinned down his location. Yon-Rogg had drawn his weapon, ready for anything.

Looking at her forearm console, Vers got a good read on Soh-Larr. “His beacon’s coming from that temple,” she said. “Let’s move.”

Bron-Char and Korath were right beside them, but Yon-Rogg shook his head. “No. This is a perfect spot for an ambush.” He nodded toward the bridge. “Only one way in, only one way out.”

Bron-Char considered this a moment, then looked into the foggy distance. He could see the Torfans milling about through the ruins. Then he shrugged and said with confidence, “We can get past the locals.”

Yon-Rogg shook his head. “We don’t know if they are locals. Too risky.”

But Vers was impatient, and eager to show that she could be an irreplaceable part of Starforce. To Yon-Rogg, to the Supreme Intelligence... and mostly, to herself. “You don’t have to go with me,” she said briskly. “I’ll go alone.”

“No, you won’t,” Yon-Rogg retorted, without further explanation. And he wasn’t waiting for Vers or anyone else to argue with him. He was the leader of Starforce, and he expected to be obeyed. “We keep a close radius,” he continued. “We lose comm, we meet back at the Helion .”

Standing up, he ordered, “Come on,” and motioned for Vers, Korath, and Bron-Char to follow him across the bridge.

From her vantage point, Minn-Erva watched her teammates crossing the bridge into the Torfan ruins. She could also see something they couldn’t—namely, a group of Torfans waiting on the other side, in hiding, ready to strike.

“Att-Lass, you getting this?” Minn-Erva asked her teammate over the comm.

Beneath her, Att-Lass ran along a ridge. “Copy, I see them,” he called back.

Minn-Erva wasn’t sure exactly what was happening at the moment, but she didn’t like it. Too many variables, too many things that could go wrong. She clutched her rifle, her finger a hairbreadth away from the trigger.

“Get back!” Korath shouted, as an angry Torfan confronted them and said something to him in his native language. “Commander?” he called, turning to Yon-Rogg.

“Minn-Erva, do you have eyes on this?” Yon-Rogg called into his comm.

There was no response.

Korath wielded his sword, as Yon-Rogg and Bron-Char brandished their plasma weapons. The angry Torfans that a moment ago had been huddling over the fire were now screaming at Starforce, getting closer and closer.

“Does anybody copy?” Minn-Erva’s voice came crackling over the comm.

“Minn-Erva! Do you copy?” Yon-Rogg called back, but it was apparent that the system wasn’t working at all. There could be no communication between the two groups.

Yon-Rogg and his team were on their own.

He looked for Vers but saw no sign of her. Yon-Rogg glanced ahead, saw the temple, and knew exactly where she must be.