5112/The Crystal Mines of Sector 70-6-8B

The Crystal Mines of Sector 70-6-8B
Date of Scene:	10 February 2021
Location:	Sector 70-6-8B, Eskeem-6
Synopsis:	The Baron is beheaded, the Crystals are stolen, and the crew have some soul searching to do. Ronan the Accuser also has some searching to do...
Cast of Characters:	Nebula, Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot, Rocket

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Nebula has posed:
    When last we left the Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot had been locked out of the throne room, Drax had discovered Nebula's lie (by being told) and collapsed due to possibly Gnug leg overdose (or possibly stun blasts and a kick to the throat) and the Baron had gotten his entertainment, as well as a massive payday. The baron detonated a knock out grenade to capture his prizes, incapacitating all but Nebula who was forced to surrender. Gamora made a deal with the Baron, that one of Thanos' daughters would be his wife.

    When the throne room doors open once more to Groot, it is empty. There are holograms of medieval looking people conversing and being merry. There's signs of battle with furniture having been tossed around. But no Baron, no Guardians.

    Nebula is kneeling with annoyance in the battle arena on one pedestal. On the other - Gamora, still unconscious. Both now wearing a fancy collar about their necks. A small shock is delivered to Gamora to wake her up. The baron sits upon another throne and this time the denizens of the moon have gathered to watch the fight. The baron bangs his hand on the arm rest and says, "Eskeeeeeeeeem SIX! One of these two lovely ladies will soon be my bride. A fight ... TO THE DEATH ... for my hand in marriage. Which will secure our position in the galaxy as a member of Thanos's mighty armada for time immemorial!"

    Meanwhile, below the "palace".. Rocket, Peter, and Drax awaken. Also adorning fancy collars. They are in the crystal mines. And there sure are a lot of crystals down here. A robot is standing near them and says, "AWAKEN AND WORK OFF YOUR DEBT" as it sends an electric shock through their collars. There are pick axes for mining and a cart on rails to fill. The light down here is orange too, very strange. The beautiful crystals twinkle in the low orange light, embedded in the rock walls of the mines.

Peter Quill has posed:
Quill jerks awake at the shock. "Hey! Watch who you're shocking there Rosie or I'll let Rocket here use you for parts!" he glances around then seeing the crystals, the tools, the collars. He checks himself for his Zune, and eventually his gear and weapons. "Hey guys, get up, any of you got your gear?" he asks as he starts to try and stand up.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora snaps back to consciousness with a sharp, ragged gasp that ends in a sharp grunt of pain as she clutches at her neck, her eyes wide with alarm. Jostled awake, she pants slights as she takes in her environs with confusion. "What...? Where...?" Gamora mutedly mubles, before her memory returns to her, and she gets a pronounced sinking feeling in her stomach. "... Ooooohhhh."

    Gamora moves to stand on her dias, looking at the assembled crowds with undisguised disdain. She regards Nebula for a moment, and asks "Why are you alive?" Which isn't the most delicate way to express what she means.

    The Baron's arrival, and especially his announcement, draw a look of bewildered disgust from the green assassin, who calls out "Don't be absurd! You've done nothing to protect my-" she hesitates. 'Friends' is a strong word. "-associates! I won't be made a spectacle for a deal that was never completed!"

Drax has posed:
Drax's leg kicks once at the electric shock and rouses after Peter does.  He reaches to take hold of the collar and wiggle it.  "That itches!"  Maybe it itches as much as it hurts.  Drax gives away nothing.

The Kylosian grunts at Peter and checks for his daggers.  "My daggers have been stolen."  They can steal all day, but far be it from anyone else to take his daggers.  To be fair he's right.

"Where are Gamora and Nebula."  Drax pushes up and reaches to try and snatch the robot up and bang it against some crystal like it is some intergalactic Furby.

Groot has posed:
Groot is shocked and annoyed at what happened to say the least, and tries to decide what to do. The "Baron" has clearly kidnapped them, and is likely putting on some show, but why did he lock Groot out? He starts with his first clue and moves to the systems where the holographic medieval peasants are being generated and tries to see if there is a system that generates them that he can hack into.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket was dreaming. About what, only he knows and unless he's talking in his sleep (he's not), nobody else is going to find out. The jolt gets him up and snarling, turning around in a full circle with fur and tail poofing out a bit from the zaps. "Enough! Enough! I'm up! What the hell?! When did I end up back in the labs? I said no more tests! I--"

Stopping, he realizes they are not, in fact, in the labs, and both Quill and Drax are nearby. His ears flatten and he adds quickly, "You didn't hear that last part about the labs." He's rubbing down a spot along an arm, the fur not wanting to settle.

Checking himself, he finds the guns are gone, but that's not all he's hidden within the secrets of his jumpsuit. Realizing where they're at, a very pleased expression takes shape that he only allows his crewmates to see. "Oh, this is perfect. Drax, I know you want their heads, but you're gonna have to forget about Gamora and Nebula right now. I'm working on a plan." Indeed, those beady little eyes are surveying the area. Zappy collars means some way to control them, for starters.

Nebula has posed:
    "Oh great. You're awake. Yay," she says dead panned and sarcastically to Gamora. "Just in time for us to fight to the death for this idiots hand in marriage, which you promised him. Thanks for that Gamora. Best sister ever," she continues dead pan.

    The baron scoffs and says, "Your friends are perfectly alright. They are being watched over by one of my most sophisticated personal protection robots and giving a VIP tour of the Moon." If he had a moustache to twirl he would absolutely do that right now. "Let the games begin!" At this the crowd murmurs amongst themselves. "I said, let the games BEGIN!" with arms waving, the crowd lets out a lackluster 'Huzzah!'.

    The 'most sophisticated in personal protection robot' crashes up against the mine wall and one of its arms falls off. There's another sharp electric shock sent to all three collars, "Desist from contact. You are to mine crystals to pay off your debt to the Baron. One of your colleagues will marry the Baron as was the deal struck, the other shall be deathed."

    The holograms seem to ignore Groot. They're there for show. Underneath a bit of broken chair an emitter is found and buried under the floor the cable leads over to a wall. There, a fake brick is found and removed revealing a fairly standard galactic computer interface for Groot to hack.

    -- At which point, the holograms disappear and a holographic display of the Moon appears. Three dimensional - theme park on top, mines below, little dots indicating people working in the mines, and the streets of the theme park emptied, with many dots crowding in another large building on the other side of town labelled 'the arena'.

    A dot is approaching the 'palace'. A man in a jumpsuit and a broom. He gives a small 'sup' nod to Groot and begins sweeping up broken bits of wooden chairs.

    Nebula glares at Gamora angrily, "I told you I was going to kill you." But she has zero intentions of marrying that bozo pretending to be nobility. She has no intention of killing Gamora today either, but she does need to know just what kind of prison they're in. She rises up and with a jerk of her arms, her staves fall down in to her hands and crackle. This elicits a gasp of interest from the audience.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter checks his pockets, no weapons, but he does have his Zune. "Sweet," he says clutching the music player for a moment before that second shock zaps through him. "Damn it!" he curses almost dropping the device, and glaring at the robot. "Guess we are going to use you for parts after all," he says looking at the fallen arm. "And Rocket's right, Drax, need to put getting revenge out of your mind, first thing we need to do is escape," the second thing is of course help themselves to as many crystals as they can carry, but one step at a time!

"Rocket, can you get these collars off of us?"

Gamora has posed:
    "Sister." Gamora irritatedly addresses Nebula. "Has sarcasm *ever* served you well?" The Baron's response draws mouth-agape outrage from Gamora, who's rarely met a man willing to distort the truth so merrily, who's also lived long enough to try.

    The 'roar' of the crowd prompts Gamora to look around the arena with anxiety, before her eyes fall on Nebula again.

    So, this is what it's come down to. To die free at her sister's hand and subject her to indignity; or end her life and face a future in chains. An existential battle for a life not worth living; the final clash and confrontation between two sisters, two of the deadliest women in the universe. Gamora steels herself and draws her short sword...

    "... Hyyeeeeeehhhnnn..." she dejectedly 'cries' as she lethargicly lifts one boot to kick out at Nebula, who's just barely in her range.

    Gamora has never been less enthused in her entire life.

Drax has posed:
Drax tosses the broken arm to Rocket as if the second shock which makes him squint a little more is nothing.  He was already revenge squinting anything.

"I can do two things at one time.  I can do many things at one time."  But Drax actually takes two of the pickaxes and starts slamming away at the crystals methodically as if this were just an cool down at the gym.  "I will keep this robot happy while you think."  But every hit is kind of...well, annoying?

Groot has posed:
Groot looks at the janitor and tries to ask, "Do you know where my friends are?" but it comes out "I am Groot." This is, of course, not likely to get a result so instead he look son the computer trying to see if he can increase the resolution of those in the mine vs those in the arena. Its a conundrum to say the least.

After some decisions, the decides that his friends may be in either but the arena is likely a more deadly scenario and cannot wait. He brings the computer with him if he can to continue to try and hack it but may need to free people from space lions or whatnot eating them.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket cringes from another jolt. "I said stop it! We're up, you rusty bucket of bolts, and--ooh, arm." He holds the thing once it's sent his way and caught, leading to him turning it around this way and that to see if there's anything on it that might tie to whatever the setup is down here. "You shock me again and I'm gonna slap you with your own hand!" It's probably not even programmed to say more than a few basic phrases. Not exactly cutting-edge technology down here.

So far, he does not take up a pickaxe. Let's say Drax has his. "Yeah, I can get Drax and I outta these. You? I think you look good in one, Quill. So let's call it a 'maybe' in your case, since you're the one who had the bright idea to come here." And yet, there they are in the mines themselves. "Just give me a minute to see how this place is set up, and I'll figure something out."

A small screwdriver shows up in hand, courtesy of a pocket in the jumpsuit, and he begins to open up a panel in the arm to check out what's inside.

Nebula has posed:
    Gamora and Nebula have fought each other many times in their life. Training. Thanos liked to pit them against each other. Nebula always lost. The lackluster kick from Gamora gets a growl of annoyance from Nebula. "You never take anything seriously, " she says. She's not going to kill her - daddy would not be happy with that. But she can certainly hurt her a bit.

    Nebula wraps an arm about that lame kick with an arm and a stave, shocking her sister with a sadistic little smirk on her lips. She turns and tosses Gamora toward the Baron. Gamora hits the force field and Nebula watches with interest as the energy dissipates out and around them in a circle. "71 Petawatt shielding system," she says mostly to herself, may be a little to Gamora too, "we will need help from our friends to shut it down."

    The crystals are lodged in there good and hard, which is a great way for Drax to work off some pent up anger at Nebula's betrayal. It would be hard work, if any of them were planning on staying here to actually work off their debt. The robot does seem happy that he's working. "ALL OF YOU WORK," it insists though and sends a shock to Peter and Rocket's collars again. Drax doesn't get tickled this time.

    The circuitry in the robots arm reveals -- essentially a remote control to open and close doors. The mines themselves are a warren, but doors usually indicate the way to go when they act as locks to keep prisoners in and working.

    The janitor looks up and nods his head, "Right on man. Right on. I am Groot. Very deep." He resumes sweeping as Groot takes the computer. Zoom and Enhance. Yes, there they are -- three down in the mines, two in the arena. The map shows the space port, their ship, the ship release controls, the force field generators, all the things that visitors aren't meant to know about. The behind the scenes pathways are cement-like walkways behind the building facades and give quick access around the town.

Peter Quill has posed:
"Ha, ha," Peter says to Rocket. "Just get these things off would-jaaaaaa!" the shock zaps through him again. He picks up his pickaxe brandishing it at the robot. "Listen dude, I am getting tired of your bullshit!" he takes a swing at the robot with the pickaxe. Smart move? Probably not but it's what he's going with!

Groot has posed:
Groot does not really even have to think of it, while he is not enthusiastic about Gamora and Nebula alone in the arena he knows they can hold their own and moves to Rocket in the mine, also immediately releasing the clamps on the ship in case something happens to the computer. As he goes, he looks for where his comrade's gear is stole so he can pick that up and bring it to them. On second thought? Screw it. If it isnt a system that says "life support" or "critical non self destruct infrastructure" he doesnt just turn off the clamps on the ship as he moves to get the group's gear he just starts deactivating systems whole sale.

That will teach the baron to underestimate a plant.

Gamora has posed:
    "Ggnn!" Gamora grunts as electric current runs through her body and she's propelled through the air. Her reflexes are good enough that she's prepared to stick a landing off of the dias, but she instead impacts against the forcefield, unceremoniously and harshly stopping her momentum. Nonetheless, she manages to land in a kneeling position on one knee, one hand on the ground.

    "Hmph." She grunts, and eyes Nebula. "Well. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of everyone." She taunts, though there's a peculiar hint of playfulness in her voice. Gamora casts her eyes to the side when Nebula points out the defense system, then stands and readies her sword. She darts towards Nebula, then, with fearsome speed, and swings her blade... *so* much more slowly than she could.

Drax has posed:
Drax is the only one here earning their payday here, and the old fashioned way at that, not on the backs of slave labor.  Aren't these crystals extremely valuable?

Rocket has posed:
This time, a pained look crosses Rocket's face by the time the shock subsides. Still, he refuses to follow directions. Maybe Quill will disable the robot first. "Unf..quit wasting your time here, Drax. Check this out." He points after manipulating the controls built into the arm, as a door slides open. "Betcha that leads back topside. Maybe we'll find some loose crystals to stuff our pockets with along the way. I'm beginning to feel like Allie Baboon and the Forty Thieves here."

For one, where did he hear about that tale, and secondly, how did he mishear it that badly?

Unaware of Groot working on making his way toward the mines, he nevertheless moves ahead...and scratches a few crystals with the screwdriver. Technically, he just mined.

Nebula has posed:
    It is not lost on Nebula that 'winning' would be like accepting a marriage proposal. But the tactic of play fighting had never occurred to her. The opportunity to get some back on Gamora was first and foremost in her mind. "...Right," she says as she starts to realise just what her sister is proposing.

    Nebula brings up her stave to block the slow swinging sword and then she lets go and it clangs away, "Oh no," she says unconvincingly, "You have disarmed me. Whatever will I do." Nebula was never trained to stage act. It's quite obvious. The crowd isn't pleased either as they start to booooo.

    The Baron sits up on his chair a bit and starts to look concerned that this isn't necessarily going the way he had planned. Throwing Gamora at him was exciting.. but this? this is disgraceful. "What are you doing? Fight! kill! you're sisters, don't you have pent up issues to work through or something??"

    Two crystals pop out of the walls for Drax. They are _extremely_ valuable. Valuable enough that the Baron had been trying to keep it a secret by using slave labor to death. One Credyt, may in fact be worth roughly one crystal. Peter baries the hatchet, so to speak, right through robot eye and in to its central processing unit. It sparks and then blue smoke puffs out of it. The shocking at least has stopped.

    One door opens, and another. They seem to have somewhat free rein of the mines. At least until they find the exit. On the other side -- their weapons sit on a desk that is unattended. Between them and that though -- a force field. The arm clicker does not deactivate the forcefield.

    A little green light indicates success to Groot as the clamps and force generator holding the Milano in place are lifted. A small message pops up -- "Your supervisor has been alerted, this ship has outstanding debt to the Baron" -- but nothing further happens. More than likely, whoever supervises the docks is in the arena anyway.

    Groot does find his comrades gear as he enters through the mine entrance and in to the guard and processing areas. There's a desk with their stuff on it, then there's a forcefield.. and on the other side, there are his friends. His whole sale disabling of systems, hits the lights, the climate control, and eventually the forcefield generator. The field holding the crew back from escape is disabled. It is not immediately evident until someone tries to touch it.

Groot has posed:
Groot doesnt quite go berserk but the good news is that for those who might be afraid of the dark, Groot lights the way for them. Grante, its a bioluminescent blood red as his body and eyes turn like a Christmas Tree from hell as he grabs his friends equipment and will attempt to THRASH any robot or guard that gets between him and his friends....

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter grins as the robot goes down, punching a few more holes with his pickaxe before he stops swinging. "Well now I feel better, c'mon let's go," he says rushing up through the doorway that Rocket had indicated running until he sees that forefield when he skids to a stop. "Groot buddy, can you turn this thing off or something there's got to be a button somewhere," then the systems go out leaving them in the dark. No clue about the forcefield though, but there's away to test for that, he reaches over and tries to give Rocket a shove towards where the forcefield last stood.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora's expression is grim, but her actions show a... lack of determination. The so called 'deadliest woman in the galaxy' may also be the worst liar in the galaxy. A gap in her mentor's skillset COULD be blamed! But it wouldn't totally explain... *this*.

    "I'll have your heeeaaad." She 'cries' lamely, swinging her blade slow enough that a child could likely parry it, swinging thrice more before the mildest slap on the wrist in history sends her blade flying.

    The back and forth is... *harrowingly* slow. Kicks so delicate that one might wobble on their one leg before they return to a fighting stance. Punches that look like they're happening under water. Gamora gets ONE opportunity to hit, but she just... to call it a slap would be generous. She sort of *pushes* Nebula's cheek.

    Dodging out of the way of an errant punch, Gamora calls back to the Baron. "I'm... *tryyyyying*... 'dear fiance'...!" She says with remarkable flatness. "My passion for you is... distractiiiing...!"

Drax has posed:
Drax catches the crystals and secures them...somewhere.  No one needs to worry about that.  He takes his new pick axes with him when they get on the move, boot coming down on the robot's other arm with a crunch as he moves along with Quill and Rocket.

When they reach the force field, Drax roars at it and throws one of the pick axes at it.  Luckily he isn't aiming for Rocket's height.

Rocket has posed:
Through one door, then another, and another, and "How many freaking doors does this place have, anyway?" Rocket gripes, before the very next one gets them to the place they want to be. "Look, there's all our stuff! But..shit." He throws the arm at the force field, which proves to be useless as it simply bounces off as if hitting a wall. No dice there.

Seconds later, "Groot! There you are, buddy! Do us a favor and hit all the buttons! Yeah, /all/ the buttons." Some of the results are sure to be..entertaining..but if there's a self-destruct for the collars...let's just hope Groot hits the deactivation button first.

When you're a Guardian, you walk that line.

Things happen. Power goes down. Groot lights up enough to get a "Whoa" out of Rocket...and he's getting shoved into the force field, which lets him through as he slides to a stop at Groot's feet. "See? Told ya I'd find a way outta this mess. Now let's get all the crystals we can and go give that idiot up there a little payback." Meanwhile, he's securing his weaponry. And, taking that stupid collar off.

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula takes that 'slap' on the cheek and stumbles back like a soccer player looking for an unreasonable penalty. "The audacity," she says.. losing that annoyed edge to her tone. Somehow, this.. THIS.. is enjoyable. Actually spending time with her sister being a bit silly and not actually competing. With the sword 'disarmed' Nebula points her remaining stave at her sister, "Soon you will suffer at the hands of our father."

    A small twitch of an eye there, there's only so much of that she can joke about before it hits too close to home. Nebula is considering how best to continue the charade hoping the Baron will get bored and let them go? no.. not likely. He might be stupid enough to try to ransom them back to dad. That'd be the end of him for sure. Then again, the nova corps would like to get them too.

    And then the lights go out. The crowd goes silent a moment and then the murmuring starts again. The Baron says, "Hey, who turned out the lights?! Someone fix that RIGHT NOW." Nebula ponders a moment, lifts up her stave, then tosses it at the Baron. The stave passes through where the forcefield should be and Nebula smirks. But, for the first time, an actual security drone dips down out of no where and intercepts the fast moving projectile. A red beam lights up on its front and it sweeps through the arena. Nebula dives out of the way as the ground sizzles where the beam hits.

    A security drone lowers down behind groot and its eye begins to glow red. The drone is not messing around, even as Groot smashes it, redirecting its deadly heat beam against a metal pillar which instantly melts, making a set of scaffolding above start to creek and groan. The clunky robots in the mines were several generations old and not really designed for riot control. Drax easily crushes them as they pass them by until they are met with a glowing Groot and potential freedom. Another security drone lowers down behind the group as Drax tosses his pickaxe and embeds its sharp tip right in to the heat ray. The drone bursts in to flames and drops to the ground.

    It's payday. There's barrels filled with low quality crystals and one small tray filled with high quality crystals.

Groot has posed:
Groot preemptively presumes his friends want him to grab some of the loot which he grabs but also looks around for some kind of a hover platform. He tosses their gear to his compatriots and lets them focus on killing the drones for now. He shouts in rage, eyes looking cool as they flicker, "I AM GROOT!"

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora, too, has a subtle tug in the corner of her lips, though she also winces at the mention of her father. Favorite or not, she's experienced... 'discipline' more than once; and through victory she's brought it on others more often than she cares to remember. But such a thing is easily dismissed in the moment. Dare she say, she's almost enjoying herself.

    She's not entirely sure what the end game is. The thought of rescue by her comrades hasn't seriously crossed her mind. The thought that the Baron may simply kill both of them has. In truth, her most realistic hope was that the Baron would simply call off this charade in disgust and pick one of them. She's... not sure if that's better, to be honest. Father would no doubt come to them... but it's hard to say whether he would obliterate the Baron for his impertinence, or expect his daughter to hold to her regrettable vows.

    Gamora straightens up when the lights go out, looking somewhat mistrusting of her own good fortune, until a smile lights up her face as Nebula's stave passes through where the forcefield should be.

    The smile fades and Gamora is forced to suddenly roll to the side to avoid being seared in half by that laser, then begins to hurriedly feel around for her sword in the area she believes she discarded it, with some haste.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter rips his collar off then quickly grabs his Quadblasters, mask and rockets when Groot passes them to him. "Come to papa" he says as he slaps them all back into their proper places before moving towards the orange glow of the crystals. "Let's load up, I don't like the sounds that scaffolding is making."

A blaster in one hand, he uses the other to grab crystals off the tray and shove them into his pockets looking for something to help them carry one of the barrels too if they can swing it. As for Nebula and Gamora? They're big girls, they can wait a liiiittle while longer before the rest of the team comes to the rescue.

Rocket has posed:
Metal-melting drones? It just got more real. A couple are handled, but as another drone shows up it gets a blast from one of Rocket's laser pistols. Bam! Right in the face it doesn't actually have! But the beam part is close enough for now! "That's right! Say my name! Heisenberg!"

There was much time spent on Earth watching their shows in lieu of actually leaving the Milano.

"Groot! Get as many of those shiny things as you can. We're gonna bust this place up for good! And of course I was right!" he calls out, making sure everything is in order before using his personal jet propulsion pack to find his way back to higher ground where, presumably, the others are to be met. And, more presumably, where that stupid Baron is. "Gonna rob them blind, indeed. Heh heh heh. Suckers."

Drax has posed:
Drax quickly grabs his daggers and walks over to a twitching security drone to stab it one, two, too many times, all the while with that terrifyingly determined face.  The daggers are sheathed and Drax just steps forward with all sureness that he will be able to pick up one of these barrels.  Normally this would be a time for pointing out to Quill how puny he is for his own benefit.  Maybe one under each arm?

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula frowns and rolls again as another red beam burns where she was crouched. She scoops up her first stave and starts to make her way toward the Baron. Another security drone moves in to the area and Nebula jumps to the side as its heat beam cuts along a wooden wall, lighting it on fire.

    The general populace of the moon lets out shreaks of concern when the drones start opening fire and they make a run for it. Gamora finds her sword just as Nebula scoops up her second stave. She launches off a chair and pulls one of the drones down out of the air, forcefully turning it to shoot at the second drone. Two more float down and flank the Baron as he starts running for his personal exit. Nebula gives Gamora a determined look of 'revenge time' and starts to run after him.

    A loud speaker warning suddenly sounds, <WARNING: ARTIFICIAL GRAVITY DISENGAGING> -- and then suddenly it feels like everyone is walking on the moon. Long steps, long jumps, long fall times. There's no Earth-like gravity here anymore. Which in some respects makes it easier to flee with the goods. The dots on Groot's computer indicate people removing themselves from the arena in all directions.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora grabs hold of her sword and takes a running leap towards one of the last two drones to descend, bringing her sword down on it, and splitting it in half before her body passes through the space the drone just occupied before it started flying apart. She shares that brief look with Nebula, and persues the Baron on the same path as Nebula.

    Gamora gasps when the gravity fails, and says "What the hell is going on out there?!" Luckily, she's not without training with moving in reduced gravity, so the hindrence isn't what it could be.

Drax has posed:
"My strength know no bounds," Drax says, perhaps having picked up the barrel in the instance before artificial gravity shuts off...or not.  Just another mystery we'll never know, like what downed Drax, or what was really in that Gnug leg sauce.

So the problem isn't really the weight now, but containing the crystals in the barrels, which Drax solves by trying to just let the two barrels dangle behind him at an angle as he propels himself forward so they want to stay in the barrels.

"I am going to the ship.  Nebula deserves to marry that little Baron, and he deserves her removing his head," Drax announces to the others.

Rocket has posed:
As Rocket helps lead the way forward, Groot secures the most valuable crystals along with lancing a length of tree branch through the laser eye of yet another drone. "Yeah!" Rocket calls back.

And then, More Things Happen, chief among them the shift in gravity. It's really of little consequence to him, simply reacting to it by adjusting his thrusters to account for the change. Drax gets a response. "Yeah, if I don't blast his stupid face off first after thanking him for saving us the trouble of getting to the crystals! Quill, are you sure he ain't some long-lost relative of yours?" That /was/ epically dumb of the guy.

Peter Quill has posed:
As the gravity disengages Quill kicks his rocket boots into hover mode keeping him relatively stable. "Hey! What happened to leave no Cyborg behind? Nebula and Gamora are crew, we have to get them back!" Now that they have the crystals.

He gives Rocket a look. "Hey let's not look a gift idiot in the mouth, especially one who is DEFINITELT NOT RELATED TO ME!!" he hopes anyhow. "So let's go get the girls, blast this baron, and get the hell out of here!"

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula feels the gravity shift and scowls, "Rubbish moon theme park why did Quill think this was a good idea," she complains mostly to herself but definitely in Gamora's earshot. She pushes through the door and jumps up, smashing a stave through one of the drones, then landing down to tackle the Baron to the ground.

    Nebula pushes her stave in to his side and zaps him, then pins him on the ground with the stave and a knee in to his back, "You're garbage and you're going to die Baron von Vonners. You dare to humiliate the Daughters of Thanos? you foolishly think you could marry in to his family. If we weren't to kill you now he'd rip you to pieces atom by atom. Consider this a small mercy."

    The security bots are thinning out and the pathway back to the ship is filled with people awkwardly flailing in the low gravity.. and carts floating with produce and gift shop items, like a small plushy of the Baron and a cap that says E6 on it surrounded by stars.

Groot has posed:
Groot grabs a few souvineer plushies but mostly focuses on taking as much of the crystals as he can. He tries (tries mind you) to set the computer to issue a warning that gravity is restoring itself in two minutes. He makes it actually 2 minutes and 6 seconds, and tells that to the others. "I am Groot." OK, he tells rocket who hopefully tells the others.

Drax has posed:
"Leaving them behind would not help Quill.  How could I kill them?"  Drax scoffs as if Quill should have already known Drax wasn't going to just buzz off.  "Must I explain everything?"  And then, as if Quill isn't getting it, he harumphs out a, "Okay."

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora slows her pace when Nebula pins the Baron to the ground, walking slowly towards them, her heels now echoing ominously through the hallway. Gamora passes him, and then turns around to face him before going down to one knee. She searches him briefly, before producing a gun from one of his pockets, which she then wordlessly uses to fire a blast of energy over Nebula's shoulder, destroying the drone that was following them.

    She looks down at the Baron coldly.

    She's not really spoken of their Father in earshot of Nebula since they reunited. She does now. "Our father taught us... teaches *all* of us... to kill without spite, or twisted joy in our hearts... but with the satisfaction that we are doing our universe a service." Gamora stands slowly. "I never truly understood the point. Why would someone take pleasure in such grisly work." Gamora narrows her eyes dangerously. "Now, I think I know. It's... tempting."

    "Take heart, Baron." Gamora lifts her sword above her head, "You won't feel a thing."

    Without hesitation, Gamora brings her blade down on the Baron's neck with such force that the carves into the floor beneath him.

Rocket has posed:
As they close in on the arena, chances are they'll get to have an encounter with the other side of the trouble here. "You hear that, about the anti-grav kicking back in? Groot says we got a few extra seconds," Rocket relays, before the pistol takes aim...and busts through the head of one of the Baron plushies. After he does a forward roll in midair of course, just to add a little challenge to the shot.

Peter Quill has posed:
Drax's words have Quill facepalming, "Drax..." he begins looking at the man before he says, "Screw it we'll call that progress..." he lets himself down to the ground when the word comes they'll be getting the gravity back. "Drax you still going to be able to carry those right?" priorities! However as they get near the arena, Quill kicks in the jets again to zoom ahead and over the crowd of spectators fleeing the place. "I'll go get the girls, let's work on getting out of here." Then he's into the arena, mask on, weapons ready, just in time to watch Gamora kill the baron. "Aww," Peter says landing near the sisters. "And here I hope you kids would make it work," he says the smirk plain in his voice even if hidden by his mask. "Anyhow, we've got the crystals, time to get out of here."

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula stops holding him down when his head is detached from his body. "I don't think that's actually true. I heard the remain alive and conscious for many moments past decapitation. I'm sure it would hurt immensely," she says and looks around the room they're in. It's like a large office with a safe room up ahead. Still closed. The baron was close to getting out of this alive. Too bad.

    "It's time to we free our ship and depart this place. With or without the crew," she says.. and doesn't wait for Gamora to agree or argue. She got to kill the guy after all. She hears the alert that the gravity is coming back on and nods her head, "Good." And then Quill turns up. "Enjoy your tour?," she asks wondering what happened to them. She pushes off the ground and starts heading back to the Milano.

    Because there's one thing that is certain about their encounter with this place. Someone on this moon probably made some credits by contacting a middle man to let them know that Nebula and Gamora were here... which means father knows they were here. Which means someone will be sent here. So the sooner they leave the better.

Groot has posed:
Groot gets on board the Milano, secures the crystals and begins making preparations to get off of this place. "I am Groot!" He is extremely anxious in his vocal tone but nods appropraitely, waiting for the time he told everyone that it ws going to happen and...turns the gravity back on when he told those who could hear via comms it was going to.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora looks at Nebula. "... Oh." She says softly, then looks down at the Baron's head. "Hmm."

    Gamora ponders this for a moment with folded arms as Nebula walks past her. "... I'm not sure if we should-" she begins to say, before Star Lord makes his entrance, drawing a look of genuine surprise from Gamora. "Quill! You've not been savaged by slave masters." She remarks, as if impressed by him clearing that bar. Nonetheless, she's already reaching for her sword before Quill finishes speaking, only to stop. "You... still want us on your crew? But..." Nebula's exit draws Gamora's attention, and Gamora gives a concerned look before finishing "Nevermind. You're right, we should go, now." as she begins to flee towards the Milano. For the first time that thing is a sight for sore eyes, as she charges towards the entrance and the relative safety within.

Drax has posed:
"I was just doing that," Drax says when Quill rockets off to go get the girls.  "He does not know how to tell people what to do."  He flings the barrels into the hold when Rockets says they have a few more seconds.  They look as if they are gliding along the deck for about a second and a half before they drop and start to roll.  The big guy hops in and helps Groot help him before hanging out in the back to watch for the Sisters.  Freakishly, he looks like nothing has happened, but that doesn't mean his eyes won't be pinned to the two.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket changes course to get back to the Milano and help square up the stolen crystals, landing just as the grav situation changes again. Before Quill returns with Gamora and Nebula, he takes in Groot and Drax and wonders, "Soooo, what exactly are we gonna do about, you know, the /Daughters of Freaking Thanos/ being part of the crew?"

Peter Quill has posed:
"Zero out of ten," Quill answers about the tour. "And no savaging just a crap ton of electric shocks," okay it was two, but it still hurt damn it! "And of course I do, you guys are awesome," though he adds soto voice to Gamora, "You more than her," before continuing. "But let's get out of here before someone gets cheesed off about you guys killing your would-be hubby," Or who knows they might celebrate, but Quill wasn't planning on finding out, he blasts off towards the Milano guns out to cover Nebula and Gomora's path behind him. << Found the girls, we're heading your way >> better make that decision quickly guys!

Nebula has posed:
    As Quill rockets away Nebula turns to look at Gamora, "We may have to kill them all." That is all she says on the matter. She's sure Gamora has thought of this herself. Now that they know.. being stuck on a small ship with them. They might get ideas. Best to have those ideas first.

    She feels her feet settle back on to the ground and she breaks in to a regular run as she boards the Milano, very happy with the idea of getting off of this rock. The defensive cannons are still offline from when Groot hit all the buttons. They remain dormant, the clamps are gone, the force projector is gone. The Milano is free to leave with its loot.

Nebula has posed:
    Some time later...

    In the dark depths of space, Thanos sits upon his throne. Fingers wrapping against the tip of its arm. Quiet contemplation, patience, are a virtue that he has ample of. He moves his chess pieces carefully, considered, as this is how seriously he takes his mission.

    A man in long robes enters and bows before Thanos, "Your daughters have been seen on a small moon called Eskeem-6," The Other says. Ronan the Accuser turns suddenly and steps forward, "Allow me to investigate."

    Thanos sits back in his chair and strokes fingers over his chin thoughtfully and then gives a small wordless nod to Ronan. Moments later, with Ronan onboard, the Dark Aster departs for Sector 70-6-8B.