2015.02.06 - Stargate Dilemma

The Guardians have been back to Earth a few days, so Thara can recruit some Kryptonians to attempt rescue Kandor from Brainiac’s grasp. Despite the urgency of their mission, Adam has been willing to give her time. Maybe he wants the Kryptonians back to the Galaxy. Most likely he just wants some extra firepower to fight Brainiac. Stealth has not been working for the Guardians of the Galaxy.

This means he has a few spare days to check some anomalies in the Solar System. And he took Rachel for this task because the young woman needs to learn to pilot a starship, and also to handle herself in space now her cosmic powers are finally awakening. Not too soon, in Adam’s opinion.

“The Solar system stargate is seven thousand miles ahead. It is the third largest natural stargate in the Milky Way, and despite its distance to the galactic core at least a score spaceships use it every month. Many of them are Kree. You should be able to feel its presence from here,” notes Adam. He is, however, checking the instruments of the starship, because they are indicating the stargate might have been used much more often than that. Overusing a stargate is never good.

Koriand'r already has her starship in park, telling the crew to stay inside while she investigates. After all, she's the captain of this rustbucket - no, I don't mean it's literally a rustbucket, that's a euphemism that humans use in a lighthearted manner! It's fun! But she should be the one out and investigating because that is her job. Or responsibility. Or privilege. Whatever, she's the Princess, what she says goes. Suck it up.

She flies out fearlessly, as she does everything, leaving energy trails in her wake as she starts to fly out - just as she sees Adam's ship coming in, "Ooooo, visitors. Wait, I don't live here."

That's what Rachel likes about Adam - he announces that she needs to be able to do something, should be able to do something, and then drags her off to do it with what usually amounts to minimal instruction. Which is why she's strapped into the pilot's seat of his spaceship, trying to keep an eye on a bewildering array of displays and readouts that she barely understands, while technically flying the thing.

At least space is big. There's not much to hit out here... Rachel hopes.

"Third largest? How many /are/ there?" Rachel asks, risking a quick glance across at Adam before returning her attention to flying the ship. And then he wants her to multitask. OK then. Rachel gives the console a quick scan to make sure nothing is blinking any red warnings at her, and then stretches out with her more than human senses, searching for... she's not sure what. But she seems to find it. "Adam, I've got..." She frowns. "Something. Not sure what a stargate should feel like, but..." Her telepathic senses cue her eyes toward the figure leaving a blazing energy trail across the stars. "...I'm pretty sure that's not it."

“About five hundred, but only fifty or so are stable. This one has been very stable for nearly two hundred thousand years.” As for her other comment, he taps one of the holo-displays (at least they are in English, not Interlac). A signal alert from the sensors indicates Starfire’s starship approach. But since Adam classified that particular ship as friendly months ago, it is quiet and easily missed. At least until Starfire herself comes flying. The sensor readings are weird, because super-beings are hard to identify using the normal databanks of spaceships.

“We are about to have a visitor,” he adds, “computer, open starboard hatch. You might have heard about this woman, Starchild. She has been living on Earth for a time.”

Koriand'r alights on the opened hatch, her head cocked. Her green eyes glow slightly as she steps inside, the Amazonian alien trailed by her long, almost endless train of ruddy hair, "Helloooooooooo, the ship! This is Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran! I did not bring cookies but I mean you no harm! Let us make friends and not begin with the fighting and the lasers and the stuff!" she says.

She cocks her head at the pair inside, smiling and waiting to be greeted.

Five hundred stargates in the galaxy, fifty stable ones, and a score of spaceships use their local one every month. And most people on Earth are blissfully unaware of this fact. There really is no way that Rachel's going to be able to go back to living an Earthbound life after everything she's seen with the Guardians. Not knowing how much is going on above her head.

Rachel looks around sharply when Adam announces that they're about to have company. In her experience with him so far, that could either be good... or very bad. At least he doesn't seem immediately concerned, and Rachel touches various controls that will put the ship in a station-keeping mode - assuming she remembered her crash course correctly. "Of course we are." Rachel comments, in an amused tone, while she works, then hits the release for her seat restraints. Stepping past Adam with a wry grin and a shake of her head, Rachel makes for the airlock. She's not QUITE expecting the effusive greeting that their visitor offers - but Rachel's never taken aback very long. "...no cookies? Sorry, that's a deal-breaker." Rachel says, a broad grin putting the lie to her words. "Rachel Summers and..." She gestures toward her companion. "...Adam Warlock. I think we can skip the fighting and the lasers too."

"Welcome to my ship, princess. A pleasure to see you again,” greets Adam. He never bothered to give the starship a name. His ships tend to end up exploding too frequently for names. Besides, he took this one from pirates and it probably had a stupid pirate name.

He invites the tall redhead to the main deck, because with just Rachel and himself onboard he doesn’t want to lose sight of the sensor readings. “Have you been in the area for long? Because I just noticed the Stargate has seen heavy use recently. It looks likely a whole fleet crossed over within the last sixty standard hours.”

Koriand'r peers as if trying to remember Adam and then blinking, "Oh, yes! The wizard guy! I remember you. I'm sorry, I probably should've sent you some sort of greeting card or fruitbasket. Especially if we shared pleasure last time we met. Earth customs are very strange and I'm never sure how far out into their empire it goes. Is this an empire, though? I mean, these planets are mostly empty. Even Mars, although it's soooooooooo spooooooooooky."

"And it's nice to meet you, Rachel Summers. I am so pleased! While I am adept at fighting and lasers, you have a very pretty face and seem very nice, so I would not have liked to burn you to death."

Rachel shoots Adam a look. It's a look that says 'you know royalty? Of course you do'. The look is accompanied by a smirk when Adam is described as 'the wizard guy', even as she's getting out of the way to allow Adam to usher Koriand'r past her and onto the main deck. And then their visitor gets to fruitbaskets and shared pleasure and... Rachel was NOT expecting that. She makes the mistake of trying to swallow her instinctive burst of laughter and just starts coughing instead. "Don't mind me." She manages, between coughs, even as her too-innocent face is turning to seek out Adam, and her mind is slipping briefly into his. << So tell me... >> Her mental voice is utterly unaffected by her coughing fit. << WERE you expecting a fruitbasket? >>

Getting her coughing under control, finally, Rachel's pulled up short by... was that a threat? No, somehow it just... wasn't. Rachel doesn't take well to threats. Not at all. But somehow it's impossible not to like Koriand'r, so Rachel's hackles don't rise. "Likewise. Think of the mess we'd have made."

“I have to admit I don’t get invited for lunch often when I board unknown ships with little warning,” comments Adam, sounding faintly amused for once. “Lasers tend to be a... more frequent greeting. So yes, it was a pleasure.” Rachel’s telepathic question deserves an appropriately mocking response. << Yes. I have heard Tamaraneans send fruitbaskets for Christmas. Because they are from Vega. >>

Koriand'r smiles, "I am delighted to not-murder each other then! And, well, my crew knows that I have a healthy appetite, so we keep things packed with provisions for all occasions! They're probably making a nice stew while I'm gone right now. Silly billies."

"Were you here looking for anything interesting? Oooo, is there a galactic tyrant or planet-eating alien nearby? Is there an armada of wicked warships about to crash through the stargate? Does the planet have an artifact of extraordinary cosmic power that would make me Queen of the Universe?!? And if it does, can I get it on a toe ring?"

Rachel's mind withdraws from Adam's, leaving a fading telepathic chuckle behind in answer to his riposte. She appreciated it. "Great!" Rachel replies to the not-murdering. "I'm doing better than I usually do when Adam drags me off-world already." But Koriand'r's already onto stew, and Rachel's having trouble keeping up.

"That was the week before last." Rachel's response to galactic tyrants. "And that was last week." About the armada of wicked warships. The dates might not tie up /exactly/, but it /does/ sound like what the Guardians have been up to lately. The reference to an artifact of cosmic power, though? That makes Rachel laugh. "Adam keeps telling me I could be one, but you can't have me!" Rachel quickly puts in, and shakes her head. "Nothing so exciting, sorry. You basically crashed my driving lesson." It sounds weird even to her own ears.

Adam sits on the captain’s chair, since Rachel is being slow to do so. “Odds are it is the second of your theories, princess. I will contact the Peak to see if they have detected a fleet crossing. If they have not, then they came cloaked, and that means it is unlikely they were friendly.” He types a few commands on the holo-console. “I will leave the ship here, cloaked, to monitor the gate. We can use the Passports to teleport back when Thara is ready to leave. Princess, would you like to come with us? A brief detour through the farthest corner of the universe before returning Earth, but they have good restaurants at the End of the Universe.”

Koriand'r considers, folding her legs underneath her and sitting lotus style floating in the air, even though her hair dangles down below her bottom now. "Driving! Oh my, I was never very good at that either. That's why I hire people to fly for me. I much prefer self-propelled flight. If only I could be my own little engine. I think I can, someday."

"That sounds very interesting, Mr. Warlock! I think, what I was able to follow of it. You are an excellent speaker, very eloquent and authoritative. You remind me of my father. Or maybe Fab Freddy, the man who sells the cars that are used on the TV. He is very good. I have considered buying an auto from him myself, and I do not need one. But I do like restaurants and detours!"

"Hey, I haven't run into anything yet!" Rachel protests good-naturedly, but then shivers a bit as Koriand'r talks about self-propelled flight through space. "Yeah, I think I prefer staying /inside/ the spaceship." Rachel says the words with feeling. "Sorry, bad memory. Learning you don't need to breathe through explosive decompression... I don't recommend it." Rachel looks pensive for a moment or two after saying that, but it's difficult to stay that way in the presence of Koriand'r. Not that Rachel's really following half of what she's saying. "Knowhere, then?" She asks Adam. "If we go to that Kree-Shi'ar place again I'm going to have to start asking for a discount." Not that she's generally the one paying.

“Knowhere,” confirms Adam. “I will have Cosmo’s engineers to review these readings. They might be able to identify the ship designs from the energy trails.” He taps on his bracer, “Cosmo, recalibrate for a Tamaranean coming with me, please. Brings us to the Continuum Cortex in... eighty seconds.” Which is what he needs to finish setting up the auto-pilot.