6051/Parting Ways Among the Stars

Parting Ways Among the Stars
Date of Scene:	27 April 2021
Location:	Cargo Bay, The Raacal
Synopsis:	Some food and drink is enjoyed before the ships part ways, though the Raacal has an additional unexpected passenger for the journey.
Cast of Characters:	Maxima, Gamora, Groot, Conner Kent, Rocket, Karen Starr

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Maxima has posed:
It has been an eventful and at times harrowing journey for the inhabitants of the Milano and the Raacal. There was the trip to Oa and nearly starting a war with the Guardians of the Universe, the trip to the broken ruins of Krypton, and clues that lead them to the lifeless Argo City and another confrontation with General Zod ...that ended surprisingly peacefully.

But the time has come for the ships to part ways with the Raacal continuinging on to the Almeracian galaxy and the Milano ferrying its passengers back to Earth.

In the cargo bay the disparate groups have come together for one final social gathering before the Milano takes off. A variety of food and drink have been synthesized using the ship's matter replicators and Maxima has even brought out a case of Almeracian wine.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora has foregone her cloak for the occasion, sitting cross-legged in a seat fairly close to the proceedings. Her instinct would normally be to avoid immersing herself socially, but... no matter who currently claims the captainship between Peter Quill and Rocket, neither has explicitely told her that she's NOT the second in command when they're 'in charge', so... she has to represent the ship at least a LITTLE.

    As heavy as the trip ended up being, and as disruptive as having guests has felt - nevermind being accompanied by a royal warship - she can't help but feel a touch bittersweet at the moment. She's not really used to goodbyes.

    "Where will you go, once we've parted ways, Princess Maxima?" She asks with genuine curiosity and a guarded disposition.

Groot has posed:
Groot enters and is neutral. He has enjoyed the trip but also eager for the ability to move about. He is ..nervous more than anything else but still smiling. He has enjoyed this and the clearer mission was nice. He nods as nodded to and politely answers "I am Groot" to anyone who says anything to him but is just sort of...there.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner followed Kara into this adventure thinking it would be a great adventure, but he was wrong. Mostly, it has been tense, harrowing and depressing. There was no evil to punch and no cool alien cities to visit. The spaceships were interesting for a couple days. Then the novelty value was lost.

And live threw him an unexpected surprise in the form of Jon-El. He still needs to talk with that kid, and he is not here.

But Maxima is, and farewells are due, so he approaches the tall redhead just in time to hear Gamora's question.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket doesn't look as if he cares that much about the captaincy right now, or a whole lot else for that matter. He's slumming it over by the food and drink, especially the drink, which could be a danger in case anyone remembers what he's like when completely plastered. Imagine someone with no real filter, only with even less of one. Fortunately, this time the jumpsuit is still in place.

"Yeah. I'm Rocket," he calls over to Groot, squinting in his direction at something, as if trying to decipher it, only to shake his head and hit the bottle again. "Can't wait to have our ship back to ourselves," he grumbles.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Power Girl has been packed up and ready for this since their departure from where Argo's grave now stands a derelict in space. When the party commences, Karen actually hasn't heard of it- spending most of her time secluded in the quarters she'd taken on the Raacal has taken its toll.

    That's why when she arrives at the Milano, her brow has risen. Looking over the whole of the get-together, she offers a shrug and steps over to the table to prepare a plate of food, before making her way over to Maxima.

    "I was already going to thank you for the hospitality, but you're going above and beyond. I was curious what you were going to do with Ant-Man, though. Have to find out what I'm telling the Avengers when I get back."

Maxima has posed:
Maxima finishes opening the Almeracian wine and several glasses begin to pour themselves as she manipulates the containers telekinetically while turning her attention back to the others.

"Home." She informs Gamora, nodding to Conner in greeting when he approaches. "Our next stop is the Core system of Almerac in the Almeracia galaxy. First to the third planet, so that Scott Lang may assist in restoring the city that Brainiac managed to steal before he was repelled by the Almeracian military and then to the throne world of the Empire, Almerac Prime."

Karen receives a nod of greeting as well, and a glass of the now poured Almeracian wine. "Ant-Man? Is that what Scott Lang calls himself when he is Heroing?" That's the Earth term right? "He will be helping me to restore an Almeracian city taken by Brainiac to its proper size. Recovering it was the reason for my mission on Earth, and it is time to see it completed."

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora's eyes focus on Rocket without turning her head, merely chastisingly saying "Rocket." as he openly yearns for the departure of their 'guests' in front of the guests in question.

    Gamora clears her throat slightly and focuses on Maxima's answer while idly taking a glass of wine herself. "I see. Not long ago I would have thought that the longest and strangest journey a Terran has taken into the Galaxy, but... it seems to be something of an epidemic."

Groot has posed:
Groot says, "I am Groot." He chuckles to Rocket's comment but looks at Maxima a moment and nods, "I am Groot" this seems significant but its hard to tell what it might be compared to anything else. As it is, he drinks one of the drinks provided languidely, seemingly more or less listening when not talking."

Conner Kent has posed:
"Well, when he gets back I think we should talk with him," mentions Conner. "I mean Ant-Man. Kandor also needs to be restored. And I am sure trust Zod will do something dumb and violent about it, soon." Krypton Hegemony dumb stuff. Of all the creepy things Zod could have done, picking that name to go around in his crystal ship gets top scores in Conner's mind. "What about you, princess. Would we see you again on Earth?"

Rocket has posed:
Rocket makes to help himself to some of that wine, consequences be damned. "Oh, this makes me feel warm all over," he says, getting a distant look about him before Gamora chides him. "What? You want me to lie in front of our..esteemed guests?" Public relations, politeness, civility - these things are not what the Milano's engineer and self-proclaimed best pilot (which is /true/) is known for. "When Rocket's around, you're gonna hear it like it is."

This is not to say he didn't have moments of enjoyment during some of these capers, but he has also been himself, which often leads to conflict, arguments, threats, and occasionally biting. He gives Groot a weary look and says, "Do I /have/ to? Fine, fine. Groot thinks the ant guy was all right and wishes you all great success with whatever you got left to do, and he says Brainiac is an asshole." He sniffs at that wine, then downs another unhealthy portion of it.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen ponders that for a time, reaching up to scratch at the back of her head. There's a level of pensiveness, as she considers the person and the matter in question.

    "Er..." she begins, having come to the end of a thought. "Just- one quick question. I don't doubt Scott at all- and, yeah, that's what he calls himself while heroing, Ant-Man- but I don't really know if this is his area of expertise." she begins, "He didn't have any hand in putting together the technology that lets him shrink and grow."

    Pinching at her brow, then- "If you need something stolen, or for somebody to punch surprisingly above their already considerable weight class due to sheer pluck and ingenuity in the moment, Scott's great for that- but what happens to him if he fails? What happens to the city and its people?"

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora wrinkles her nose at Rocket's response, but chooses not to start an argument right this second. If Rocket's in a good mood, no one benefits from souring it. When Groot's sentiments get protrayed in a manner that doesn't entirely rob them of their warmth and charm, Gamora considers for a moment, then rises to her feet, "... I concur." She says, and raises her glass, "To the good health and continued fortune of our guests; may you live long, and spread the good word of our commercial services."

    Gamora takes a drink.

    "... Oh."

    Gamora sits down.

    "... Oh my."

Maxima has posed:
Maxima nods in agreement with Gamora and Groot gets something that may even be a smile, he is royalty and well mannered after all, before she looks back to Karen, "Ant-Man has assured me that he is capable of this feat. If he isn't, he will have much explaining to do before the Imperial Court." It's all very matter of fact, for some reason she seems to think he can do it even though as a known telepath she should really know if he is lying to her.

Conner's question catches her off guard and Maxima pauses for a moment, "I do not know. I had not really thought about it. My mission there is complete. Though perhaps it might be nice to visit sometime." She tells him, taking a drink from her own glass of wine.

Groot has posed:
Groot is not as affected by the mead as most since only specific types of alcohol interact with his system to intoxicate it but he loves the taste and texture of it so slowly sips it. He nods in return, smiling himself but also smiling at Rocket. He knows his friend doesnt like expressing his more sentimental side so he doesnt dwell on the sentiments of the whole thing. He is enjoying the ritual but can sense the underlying tensions so tries to adjust accordingly.

Rocket has posed:
"Sounds like you'd better hope he doesn't screw it up," Rocket points out, and a moment washes over him where he doesn't look fully aware of his surroundings. Could be that wine kicking in, wine he decides to have more of. "When this is all done, I'm gonna find the most backplanet dive I can and just clean out their supply. I think I've earned it, dealing with all of this." What 'this' is, he fails to explain. Entertaining as he can be, dealings with him normally come with an element of the unexpected, the dangerous. "Not gonna lie. This stuff hits."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner smiles, "I hope you do." The he sighs, "this trip answered some question, but has also left a few mysteries unsolved," he loses his smile. "Fact is... it looks like the explosion of Krypton's sun had to be engineered. There is no way the Guardians or the Kryptonian astronomers would miss the sun was about to explode. They would have had years ahead of warning if the star's core was collapsing." And a nova would have left a normal star not the quark-thing they saw.

He sips from the wine glass and blinks. It is about the first time he feels something from drinking an alcoholic drink. "Anyway. It has been quite the adventure. Thank you for taking us in."

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen rolls her head back, continuing to quietly pinch at the bridge of her nose. She understands that part of this is that the man just wants to help- and, probably, can't really turn down a pretty face- but she worries now that Scott might be in over his head.

    The problem is that Scott isn't a dishonest person- Karen knows this. He's a little goofy, but not dishonest, at least anymore. Whether he understands what he's going to try and do or not, Karen fully believes that /he/ believes he can do it, so there's no lie.

    "Listen, I hate to ask this, but would it be possible for me to accompany you to Almerac? Just to make sure there's less possibility of an incident." Says the woman who was /ever so close/ to being more responsible for a war with the Lanterns than anyone or anything else.

    She turns to Rocket for a moment, whom echoes her unspoken sentiment exactly, but all the same- she doesn't do much more than just let that thought linger in the air.

Maxima has posed:
Maxima glances over in the direction of Gamora and Rocket as they descend in increasing states of drunkeness with mild surprise, like she hadn't considered the effect it might have on non-Almeracians.

She returns Conner's smile though it fades again as he continues. "The Guardians of the Universe have shown themselves to be hypocrites with no regard for the norms of interstellar relations. Given the way they reacted to your presence, for all of their high talk about war crimes, I would not be surprised if they were the ones who sabotaged Krypton's star."

Maxima studies Karen for a long moment when she makes her request, "What sort of incident?"

Groot has posed:
Groot says, "I am Groot" it doesnt take Rocket's translation to see Groot's attitude toward the Guardians and his experience on the bridge when they originally threatened the crew. He sips the mead and looks pensive, philosophical even and then looks at the mead considering.

Rocket has posed:
"That's why the Guardians of the Galaxy are much better. We don't let suns get blown up without doing anything about it, and we'll always be honest with what we think. At least, I will," Rocket says, his words beginning to slur together in spots, but he doesn't let up on the wine. His ears shift this way and that, as if his attention is split every which way, then he rubs at the side of his face and begins to wash the area with a series of licks.

Squinting, he raises his arms in a stretch as he yawns, forgetting about the glass in his hand, looking toward Groot in confusion as he asks, "Eh?" while the glass flies away a few feet to likely shatter. "Yeah, Groot, about all that.." he adds, but before he can finish he lurches forward and splats face-down on the floor, snoring in short order. That ringed tail stays up for an extra second or two, then flops over like the rest of him.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Taking in and letting out a deep sigh, Power Girl offers a small shrug of her shoulders. "The kind of incident that happens should he fail in getting the city back to its proper size and location in some way?" she responds, offering a mildly scrunched expression.

    She worries exactly what an empire that produces a woman that has some level of admiration for the days of the Hegemony might do to an outsider that promises success but may not be able to deliver- and further, she worries that Scott might not know.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner looks at Rocket faceplant, then at his drink. "This drink seems pretty strong," he remarks, ever the master of the obvious, moving to help Rocket back up, or carrying him to a chair if he is unresponsive. "I wish I could visit Almerac too. But I have been absent too long and my team was in the middle of something dangerous. I need to get back to Earth."

Groot has posed:
Groot puts Rocket on his shoulder fully aware that his friend can snore. He isnt ready to go back yet but is ready to take both his crewmate back to the Milano with relative ease. Of course, he's more listening than anything else since while is fairly sure Maxima can understand him he's just...used to Rocket translating for him. "I am Groot" he says politely but not really interjecting in converstation but offering it anyway.

Maxima has posed:
Maxima gives a shrug of her own shoulders, "If you are in no hurry to return to Earth and wish to accompany Scott Lang, there is no reason not to show you the glories of the Empire." Maxima tells Karen, while drinking some more wine. "Perhaps upon experiencing it you will decide to settle there instead." It's really hard to tell if she's joking ...does Maxima even joke?

She smiles at Conner again, "Perhaps you will one day."

Groot gets a nod as Maxima reacts to whatever it was he said, since she apparently speaks Tree. "I hope so, too."

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen shakes her head, holding up a hand. "That's... Highly unlikely." she states, remaining as professional as she can. Earth is her home- and there's not really a force in this universe or any other that'll truly take her away from it.

    "It's the least I can do, though, to tag along and make sure everything goes according to plan. With any luck, we'll have that city unshrunk before long once we've landed."

    Turning to Conner, she nods at the young man. "Good luck, I'll get back home as soon as I can. There's /always/ some dangerous thing we're in the middle of." For example, when she left, SHIELD was, you know, legitimate.

Conner Kent has posed:
"I am sure Kal has a way to reach the ship from the... y'know, secret base thing he has," replies Conner, addressing Karan. He really should stop sipping the Almerician wine. "Do bring some souvenirs, okay?"

He heads for the food tables. Maybe it will help with the super space alcohol. He heard somewhere it does for humans.

Groot has posed:
Groot is pleased that Maxima can understand him, even if he isnt entirely sure what to say. He looks at Rocket almost tempted to throw his voice through Rocket's somehow and blinks a moment and smiles inwardly at their curious symbiosis. He almost says something but isnt sure what to say per se. Souveniers is a very human thing and he doesnt rando collect things, though Rocket does. An idea occurs, "I am Groot?" He looks at Maxima.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket remains out, still overcome by the drinking, but he squirms atop Groot's shoulder, while still held there. A few words surface, as if in a dream. "..no...hurts..too much..stop.." There's a brief shudder, punctuated by, "..no more.."

Perhaps not a dream, but rather a nightmare.

Maxima has posed:
Maxima can't seem to imagine why anyone would choose Earth over the myriad worlds of Almeracia, but doesn't press the matter.

All things considered she seems to be in a relatively good mood, but that may just be the alcohol. She nods to Groot, "You can keep the rest of this case. In anyway event we should be going soon. The residents of that city have already waited long enough to be freed and it is a ways to Almeracia still."

Groot has posed:
Groot nods, "I am Groot" he ducks his head graciously and gently picks up Gamora to take her back to the Milano. He has long known that Rocket has a dark past even if he didnt ask for the particulars, figuring he would share the details when he was good and ready. What he definitely knew, was that his friend wouldnt want that fact broadcast to strangers. He waves to the others, "I am Groot."

Karen Starr has posed:
    "The Fortress of Solitude, Kon." Karen notes, finally starting to pluck up food from the plate she'd prepped at the outset of this whole conversation. "And... Maybe. I didn't give him one, but he's creative. He'll figure it out."

    She looks at Rocket for a moment- sounds like she may pay them a visit on her way back from Almerac, just to find out what's going on with that Raccoon.

    Finally, though, she looks to Maxima. "Yeah, I figure we can't be too early, myself. Good luck everyone."