“Closer Weston, you can do it,” Delilah cheered. 

“I know I can, I’m fucking awesome,” I thought. My memories forefront, but my hand so close to the gem I was almost touching it. Mere inches away the memories became more real somehow and I felt like I was living these events all over again. 

—

“How do we travel through space?” Peter asked. We were all seated in our respective chairs, strapped in so no one went flying. All but Groot anyway. The eight foot tall plant man extended out branches from his body to hold himself in place. Peter and Delilah sat next to one another in the less comfortable spare seats that Shippie made appear for them. 

“Civilized people use the UDWN,” Rocket explained, the unofficial tour guide to the stars. “They call it the Updown for short. It stands for the Universal Designated Warping Network. Most systems have a coordinate point assigned where people can warp to and from. But that can be tricky. Mainly because you need approval from the governing body like the Kree or Xandarians. And you can’t teleport from one side of the galaxy to the next, you kind of have to leap frog from one warp point to the next.” 

“And you don’t want to leapfrog too much. Those teleport points are connected with worm holes. Too many too quickly and your insides will become your outsides,” I added.

“Most?” Peter asked. His haki said he was very interested in all of this, which was understandable since this was his destiny. 

“This ship is special,” I said.

“Thank you,” Shippie said.

I ignored it. “It travels through the inbetween. He calls it Null Space.” I waved my hand and the screen became pure white. Originally I had thought the white was simply static. But the Null Space just looked like that to our feeble minds. Shippie said we didn’t have the correct spectrum of vision to see all the paths, twists, and turns he took. To us it looked blank. “The space between dimensions of space.”

“Cool,” Peter said. Then a thought struck him. “Why does your ship use this method instead of the other?” 

“That’s apparently because of our fearless and clueless leader,” Jame said from the back. Her focus was on instrumentation readouts in front of her. She answered matter of factly as she distracted herself with ship reading. “Back in the day my people found this ship floating far from other Warp points. Set up with engines and technology our scientists could barely comprehend, I was trying to study it. But due to this ships advanced nature I struggled to produce results.” She paused, her haki flaring with anger as she thought of whatever happened to cause her demotion to test subject. 

“Then this idiot showed up and it practically drooled over him,” Rocket finished. “Now Shippie is part of the crew, and as long as Weston’s with us we get access to the Null Space. Which is basically a back door to anywhere we want to go, rather than the approved fly zones.”

She wasn’t wrong. Whatever was in my blood that allowed the ship to come to life was still a mystery. Though I didn’t need to be in the ship at all times, Shippie did need me present to go into Null Space. Something about ancient approved blood, which I assumed was my Viltrumite Form heritage. I supposedly jumped between different versions of universes, maybe in this one Viltrumites had existed at one point and made this ship. It was all a little farfetched, but I had seen stranger crap. Either way it gave me a cool ship that no one else could access. 

“You know, you really shouldn’t announce all of our secrets to every one we save from pirates,” I reminded them. 

“I thought they were your kin,” Rocket said. 

“No, Earth is pretty big. We don’t all know each other,” I said. 

“You knew her,” he said, his short racoon arm pointing at the redhead. 

“That’s besides the point,” I mumbled as I eyed Delilah.  

She eyed me slowly as her haki said she had zoned out to the entire conversation. “I have no idea what you said, but it sounds so exciting,” Delilah said. Her mouth beaming a smile. 

Suddenly a memory hit me. Delilah was in front of me, black headphones on her head as she listened to music. The same smile there on her lips, in the memory her eyes opened to stare at me and somehow the smile grew wider. I could feel my own face replicating the smile and the memory ceased. I stared at her for a moment, sadness in my eyes, feeling what old me felt as I stared at her. 

“What’s wrong?” Delilah asked, her smile breaking.

“Noth-” I said as something on the screen caught my eye. 

“Leaving Null Space,” Shippie said and the white screen turned to red, then blue, and finally black. 

Nothing but stars in our vision. We rejoined the rest of the people in existence as we fully entered our dimension. Again I felt something shift inside of me, my Rift power telling me that I could manage this. I squashed the thought, unwilling to try. I knew it would end in disaster so I didn’t bother trying to figure it out. 

“There it is,” Jame said from behind me. She took control of the ship and turned it to point at the skeletal remains of a Celestial. 

The skeleton of the monster was at least as long as a planet. Massive bones, the thickness of a moon, laid across the front of the screen. Lights lit the entire remains, people using the floating remains as a way station between systems.

The Celestial itself was unrecognizable. Long rotted flesh covered its flesh. I wasn’t sure when people started using it as a home. Supposedly it was some eternal being that died during the Big Bang. Either way, it and its people were dead. The only remnants of the monster, now used as tourist attractions or out of the way hideouts. 

“What the hell is that?” Delilah asked. Rocket was quick to explain as Jame flew us closer. I had been to Elsewhere more often than not. Unable to remember what a Celestial was, it became just another planet to me. With its own gravity field, atmosphere, and culture, it was an oddity in space, but far from the oddest. 

We requested and received clearance to land. I took control, keeping it slow since the others hated when I flew Shippie for some reason. Hopeful my old self was good at driving. I decided this was at least good practice. Flying the ship into the Celestial’s ribcage, we were guided by green lights until we landed along the thousand mile length of the long bone. 

After equipping Delilah and Peter with some spare clothes we had, we assigned tasks. “Jame, you and me on restock. Rocket touch base with-”

“I think Delilah and I can handle restock,” Jame cut in. The pink lady walked over to the red head with a wide smile and grabbed the girl’s elbow. “We can have some girl talk. You go with the boys to meet your Ravager buddies.”

Before I could offer another idea, Jame was on her way out. I frowned, not liking the idea of what the older woman could say to the amnesia girl, or vice versa. There wasn’t much I could do. Letting out a resigned sigh Groot stayed on the ship while Peter, Rocket, and I jumped on a tram to take us to the Ravager bars. 

The tram was one of many on the being. A floating train that took us the vast distance between the ribcage and spine. The spine itself was a long line of bars that covered the back of the beast. My thoughts worried for Jame and Delilah, I considered chasing after them, but pushed the thought away. This entire planet/carcass was filled with hundreds of different species that existed day to day without worry for their lives. Worrying about every little thing wasn’t going to help anyone, so I leaned back in my chair and studied Peter. 

“Doing alright?” I asked. He was scared of course, but that fear was rapidly changing to excitement as he turned from one alien form to stare at another.

“Fuuuck no,” he said. The kid letting some of his fear out. “I’d almost rather be back in the pirate ship. At least there I didn’t have to worry about things like that.” He pointed to an alien in another seat. He had spikes all over his skin and it looked like something from a nightmare.

“Those are harmless,” Rocket said. “Just don’t hug them….or sit next to them.” I noticed that in fact no one was sitting near the alien. “All you gotta worry about in space is stay out of people’s way, and saying sorry means you’re an easy target. Trust me, I’ve been jumping systems since I could walk. For now we gotta work on your stare. You see that guy?” He pointed to another rider. “Thats the look you want.”

“Constipated?” I asked. 

“No, angry and bored. Scrunch your face up, and give people that eye. Look at them, but not directly, and whatever you do, don’t look away,” he said.

“That was godawful,” I said. “Peter, you will be fine. You’re what? 17?” He nodded. “Alright, the real trick is some post-nut clarity.”

“What?” He asked, blushing.

“You know how you get after you…you know,” I said making the jerk off motion. “Relaxed and kind of at the top of the world? That’s what you need to replicate.”

“Don’t listen to this idiot,” Rocket spat. “This guy has almost gotten us killed more times than I can count. Luckily he is so strong or he would have died a while ago.” 

“Strength does work better than clarity,” I said with a nod, realizing the problem. “Change of plan, lets make a stop before the Ravagers,” I said. Moving my hand to the screen mounted on the roof of the train, I changed our destination to the shopping area. 

“A stop? Come on, I need a drink, Weston,” Rocket said. 

“Yeah, yeah, I think my new buddy Peter here could use some gadgets to keep him safe,” I said, putting my arm over his shoulder. “He’s part of the crew now. We can’t have him dying on us just yet.”

—

Peter walked around much more confidently in his new gear. Wearing a dark leather jacket, he had a holster at his side. Held in the leather holster was one of the most expensive blasters I could find. Some Macharovian Specter 30.2, or whatever Rocket called it as he salivated over the blaster, it could shoot a hole in most anything, and would be worth the money. After I sated Rocket’s own need for a new weapon, I also bought Peter a necklace that would turn into a space suit if he got sucked out into space. He couldn’t fly with the suit, but at least he wouldn’t die from suffocation or cold in the dark abyss of space. 

“Looking good buddy,” I said as I gave Quill a thumbs up. 

“I feel pretty good,” he admitted with a blush. “I swear I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. It cost quite a bit of sol, but I had plenty. “Just act more confident and if anyone looks at you wrong, shoot em.”

“Don’t do that,” Rocket said. “Elsewhere may not be part of any government, but we do have our own police force.”

“You do?” Peter asked.

“Yeah, vigilantes,” I said with a sneer. 

“Ravagers,” Rocket corrected. “We have our own sense of justice in the outreaches of space. And I can’t wait to be back among my kind of people.” We turned the corner to see one of his favorite bars.

It was a large steel building that was connected to a long line of other buildings. All along its length were booths and bars where people ordered food and alcohol. The people themselves were a mix of every humanoid race known and unknown. From giant men ten feet tall, to dwarf-like girls that had to stand on each other's shoulders to order a drink. 

“Welcome to the Ravening Row,” Rocket said with a satisfied sigh. Without warning he was running off, and it didn’t take too long to hear a group of people yell, “Rock!” 

“Are these all Ravagers?” Peter asked as we moved to the mass of people. 

“Mostly,” I said. “Just think of them like bikers back on Earth. And if someone tries to start a fight, grab me.” I pulled some sols from my status screen and passed them to him. The space bucks were small shining discs like coins, but had different shades of color from red to yellow. “Get me a drink and-”

“If it isn’t the Starlord himself,” a man said. He was some species whose name I had forgotten, but the alien had light green skin and red eyes. He wore a black leather trenchcoat and had metal spikes in a bandolier across his chest. “Saved any more galaxies lately?” His crewmates beside him laughed as if sharing some joke. Their haki said they were looking for trouble.

“Summon Tabi,” I mumbled and the blue cat appeared on my shoulder. She had been lazing around somewhere on the ship, but didn’t seem to mind being summoned. Rather she understood what to do right away as she shot a blue flame into the air. 

“Not today,” I said as the Ravager crew gulped. I had fought more than a few of them with Tabi by my side. The last thing anyone on any planet wanted was to be lit on fire. “Have a good day.” I nodded at them and walked on. 

“Do we need to worry about them?” Peter asked, his eyes on Tabi. Some from the Ravager group tried to talk to me, but I ignored them. 

“Nah,” I said. “Ravagers can be annoying, but I was one for a time. Just not long enough to get their full respect.” 

“And they call you Starlord cus you saved a planet?”

“More like a whole system of planets, but yeah. Our crew, thus now your crew, is called the Guardians of the Galaxy.” 

“So we save the Galaxy?” He asked. 

“Not yet, but the name has stuck.” I looked around to the crowds of crews around us. “Most all of these crews have their own weird name. That one is the Meteorstrike, there is Strikers, that one over there is the Tophats for some reason, and there is Pussysmashers,” I said landing on a rather raucous crew that wasn’t shy about all the prostitutes in their midst. “Ravagers aren’t the best at naming things. Think of each crew as a guild of random people from an online game. Either they are smart and pick the name, or get it thrust on them. For us the Guardians kind of stuck, and I like it. They just give us crap cus we tend to limit the jobs we take.” 

“Cool,” Peter said as I noticed Rocket in a group. He was being handed drinks that far surpassed his smaller stomachs capability to hold. Though he was no longer the slightly taller man he used to be, the rumors about his new racoon body had gotten around quickly. Many trying to poach him for their own crew. But I refused to let that happen, he was our mascot, no one else's.  

“Your job tonight is to stay with him,” I said pointing at Rocket. “Don’t let him near that…karaoke machine.” I struggled to think of the right word. The machine was really a projector that used your mind as a base and could show memories. Rocket tended to show more than he should. “And if you see this big walking moose lady, you get me.”

“Why?” Peter asked, fear gripping as I pushed him toward Rocket. 

“That’s an old ex of his. Don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine,” I said, then thought better of it. “You better go with him.” I told Tabi. The two tailed beast meowed and jumped to land on Peter’s head. As I walked away, Tabi burped a blue flame and a few people cried out. Then a few cheered and the party around Peter and Rocket truly began. 

My eyes scanning the crowds of groups around me, I knew some, but not too many. My Observation Haki watching every one and everything, I knew I was a small fish in the scheme of things. Yes, a few had heard of me, but this was a galaxy. At every moment there were a dozen other space captains doing something stupid and outlandish. I was famous for now because I tended to stick my neck out when I didn’t have to. That was mainly because of quests I received, but it was odd for being a Ravager. I knew that in a few weeks some other captain would be the talk of the place and I would be just another captain in a galaxy full of them. 

As more groups tried to get my attention, I moved on until I found my old crew. Wallum and Ly, raised their glasses toward me as I approached. Both having gotten my message, they had been rather helpful in my own attempt at captainhood since I got Shippie. 

As far as Jame knew, Shippie had been a ship found in the middle of nowhere. Unlike Elsewhere, nowhere was nothing. A spot far between warp locations, far away from any planet or anything of note, Shippie had just been out there. Jame’s people had been trying to crack it open for months, almost positive the ship was sentient somehow. It wasn’t until the ship reacted with my special blood that it awoke, granting me the top seat on the ship. 

When I came back from the dead, I of course searched for the man that tried to put me there. Wallum and Ly had said Rinxtar jumped ship. To sate my own bloodlust they gave me a lot of tips and tricks about the universe. From setting my ship up with its own identification, putting me in touch with information brokers, and their own sources for getting jobs. The reason the Guardians were so successful as of late was because of them. 

“Gonna have to end our relationship here,” Ly barked as I walked up. 

“I told you, I’m not gay,” I told the man that looked like a hot woman. She/he sneered at me. 

“Not that, kid,” Wallum admitted. “We heard you attacked the Andromeda’s.” 

“I…” I said slowly, but didn’t have an answer for that. “That was only a few hours ago.”

“News travels fast out here,” Ly said. “We heard Nebula already has a bounty on-” He stopped talking as two tiny darts were shot in my direction. Like a whip I twisted around, catching both darts in my hand. My eyes finding the source I noticed a Shi’ar male staring daggers at me. He had light yellow skin and a black afro. 

“You killed him!” The Shi’ar roared. I rolled my eyes as I flew straight at him. 

“I didn’t fucking kill your emperor-guy!” I yelled as I punched the Shi’ar in the face. Nen and my Tremor breaking the man’s face he flew back, knocked out. “Again with this,” I said a little more pissed I kept getting attacked by random Shi’ar. Each one claiming I killed some dominatrix guy. When the man was knocked out with some life left in him I threw him as far as I could, which was pretty far. 

The trash taken out I turned around to go back to the bar, but the first mate shook his head. “Don’t,” Ly said as I approached to finish our conversation.

“What? I thought we were friends?” I asked, as I put on my best puppy dog look. 

“We are. Deal with your Andromeda Drama and we can help again. For now, our team doesn’t want heat from that psycho,” Wallum said. I could feel that they meant it. Grumbling, I knew people didn’t like pirates, but I had a quest, and supposedly saved someone from my past. Unsure why everything was so fearful of the blue-bitch, I headed back to Rocket and Quill. My plans changing, I guessed I would have to go somewhere other than Elsewhere.