6978/Milano Tales: The Port of Xandar

Milano Tales: The Port of Xandar
Date of Scene:	17 July 2021
Location:	Common Area - Milano
Synopsis:	The Milano crew sit down to take stock post Ronan encounter on Xandar. It is agree, to Earth they go. Also something weird is up with Peter.
Cast of Characters:	Phyla-Vell, Groot, Gamora, Peter Quill, Rocket, Drax

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Phyla-Vell has posed:
    Phyla-Vell has been stuck in meetings with Nova Prime for over a day explaining what happened, why, and what next. When she does finally make it back to the Milano, she flops in to a chair in the common room and thunks her head against the table top. "If it's not the psychotic Kree Warlord Zealot that gets you, it's the Nova bureaucracy that'll get you."

    She extend an arm across the table and holds out a hand, "Someone please give me something alcoholic to drink." She pries her eyes back open, "I need some energy to talk about ... things. Plans. And the ace up my sleeve. I mean, I have yet to get your Nebula back to you so we're not done."

Groot has posed:
Groot rapidly produces a large self made beer that he has been working on that would be a taste that the entire crew could enjoy which is a challenge given its rather large and complicated tastes but he nods sympathetically, even if the words themselves might not be immediately understood, "I am Groot."

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora steps into view from another room, keeping one hand on the doorframe as she asks Phyla, "... Should I presume we're not going to be arrested, then? Or should I warm up the engines?" Given her dour expression, she may not be joking. She frowns at the mention of Nebula and says, "... About that."

Peter Quill has posed:
Star-Lord's eyes widen as Groot brings out a beer. "Got another of those?" he asks hopefully before he turns his attention to Phylla and adds on the end of Gamora's words. "Yeah, we need to blow this place or what?" he asks. "Though got to say if they're going to try and throw us in the Kyln for saving their planet, I'm going to be *pissed*."

Rocket has posed:
"This is all the bureaucracy I need," says Rocket, tapping one of the many weapons he commonly has in his possession. If they weren't allowing any larger ones, he smuggled a smaller one in with him. If they checked for that, well, he's got his secrets. And so on.

Laughing aloud, he nearly doubles over. "Arrest us? We saved their hides. If anything, they should be worshipping us. I could be a Lord, you know," he explains, starting with a hand gesture as if he's about to paint a visual of how it could be. Instead, his attention snaps elsewhere. "Did I hear something about a drink? And yeah, it is, pal. Even more annoying than Quill."

Who is, of course, right there.

Phyla-Vell has posed:
    Hand finds mug and Phyla-Vell pulls it over and takes a sip. "Thanks tree-buddy," she says with a small smile for the big tree heart. She sits up and smirks at Gamora thinking she's joking. Turns out she's not: the look on Gamora's face confirms that.

    "On the contrary, they did what you asked - your records with the Nova Corps have all been expunged. Well, not yours Gamora. I decided it was probably for the best that I didn't tell them who you really are...."

    "It took a bit of work to explain to them about the infinity stone. They were confused as to why a single Kree ship was such a huge threat. There's no love lost over the death of Ronan though. On Xandar or Hala. He was an embarrassment to the Kree Hegemony and a lingering threat for the Nova Corps. Especially since he's been working with Thanos."

    She runs her fingers through her white hair and raises an eyebrow, "They're extremely grateful. It's not ever day they clear out records like that. My goodness the number of crimes against some of your names." She shakes her head and smirks. "I'm both horrified and impressed."

    "Hey we're all here. There are things we should talk about." She looks back to Gamora and asks, "What about Nebula?"

Groot has posed:
Groot slides out beers for each of the Guardians like he were a master larp player of the 1980's video game Tapper. They are in foamed frosted steins he got from Earth. Apparently this was the occasion to use them. "I am Groot." He says with dry humor.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora frowns slightly, but nods her head. "... So, a low profile is still called for." She concludes, at least for herself. Perhaps a change of wardrobe is called for.

    Still, she's at least satisfied that they're no longer a gaggle of criminals, even if they're still harboring one. When prompted about Nebula, Gamora sighs softly and takes a seat. "She doesn't want to come back. She doesn't even know why she WOULD. She..." Gamora shakes her head and... explains; much as she did to Peter the previous night, about how much of Nebula's body has been converted; that her memory and perceptions can be reset to a time and state that suits Thanos better. Gamora closes her eyes afterward. "... I don't know if we could force her without hurting her."

Drax has posed:
Drax makes some kind of composite metal groan underneath his weight as he shifts in his seat to have a better angle on some kind of living form of breakfast cereal.  He's been more a fixture of furniture that consumes and decimates things than a conversationalist for the last month or so.

"Ask her." Chomp, chomp.  "If she does not know why, we do not need a reason to ask." Drax says simply, finally.  "She would be more interested if she did not know why.  Would that be reason?"

Peter Quill has posed:
"Wait, what's more annoying than me?" Peter asks Rocket looking over as he takes a beer from Groot and lifting the stein in salute to him. "Thanks man," he says off hand still looking at Rocket.

As for the rest the news about their records being purged gets a low-whistle. "That's some of the best news I've heard all day," he says, far better than getting arrested. "Did they say anything about a reward? You know, like a shit load of units for still having a planet thanks to us."

Though the talk of Nebula brings him down off his high, "From what you said, it sounds like it, Gamora, but we'll do what we can to bring her in with minimum damage."

Rocket has posed:
Rocket waves Peter off. What's more annoying? "Nothing," he says, giving Groot a look that shows he's barely keeping from slipping into a fit of giggling, masked by the beer he's soon in the process of tossing down.

"Wait, expunged? Everything? Even that time I..with the..in the..? No, there's no way they knew about that," he squints, shaking his head. But what if?

Clearing his throat, because he's still apparently on the verge of losing it, he asks, "So what's next, then? Most of us are gonna end up with a record again soon enough, but maybe we can take advantage of it for a little bit first. Like Groot just said, we got a reputation to uphold."

Phyla-Vell has posed:
    A small smirk crosses Phyla's face again and she says, "I said the Nova Corps expunged your records. All those other little space stations, planets, ports of call, etc... they all have their own security and policing forces you know. You just won't have the space cops coming after you. That's the reward Peter."

    Phyla tilts her head a bit and regards Gamora. "You'll have to remind her of what she fought so hard to protect. May be that'll get her to connect the old memories to her repressed inner feelings. She hates Thanos, that's not going to go away just because he resets her right?"

    "There's some good news on that front though. The tracker I planted on Nebula has given me the location of Thanos' fleet. He's hidden in hyperspace. This is a rare opportunity - for us to sneak on to his capital ship, rescue Nebula.."

    She narrows her eyes and says a lot more darkly, "And kill Thanos. Of course, there's the black order and his army and himself to get past. We're going to need a few things. First stop - Earth. I'm not the only Vell out there with super powers."

    She lifts up her Q-bands, "These give me incredible abilities, but it won't be enough to stop Thanos. I've faced him one on one before and it was a draw. No, sad to say, I need help. When this was a 'rescue Nebula from Ronan' I wasn't concerned. When it was 'rescue Nebula from Ronan with an infinity stone' ... things got real dicey. But 'rescue Nebula from Thanos' ..."

    "On Terra Nova, aka Earth, is Mar-Vel, or.. should be. I need to find her, convince her to join me in this fight. That's job number one. Job number two is an old research station on the edge of Thanagarian space. There we will find and liberate a cloaking device for the Milano."

    She lifts up a hand, "I know this is asking a lot. Earth is an obscure place you've probably only heard of from Peter before. Cloaking devices are notoriously dangerous and illegal. And Thanos is no joke. I'm asking you to be patient. I'll get you on his ship and you get Nebula off... I'll deal with Thanos."

    A finger stabs at the table top, "I will accept No as a valid response. Either way I'm going to use this intel I have to strike at Thanos. With or without you."

Groot has posed:
Groot says, "I am Groot." He finishes his beer and nods, listening with interest. He nods to a lot of what Quasar says. "I am Groot" he puts his hand under his chin considering patiently....nodding."

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora clenches one fist as Phyla talks in optimistic tones about Nebula's recovery; doubting it, yet struggling not to be hopeful. Her hand goes flat on the table when Phyla mentions killing Thanos, her eyes suddenly staring at her like a hawk. "... We've been to Earth." She notes distractedly. "It was... far stranger than the profile suggests." That said, almost as soon as Phyla finishes, Gamora says. "I'm in." very sharply. "... If there's a really a chance, I'm in."

Drax has posed:
"Earth is magnificent.  And yes.  Very strange.  I will crush Thanos," Drax leaves the rest of his fantasy unspoken for now.  Don't worry guys.  Drax has it.  He leans back to another metallic protest below him and sluuuuurps down the rest of the so called meal.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter frowns, "Can't buy drinks on Knowhere with a lack of cops," he grumbles before he let's it go, they've got bigger, purple, fish to fry.

"I'm in too," he says. "Gamora told me what he's planning, he needs to go down." At the mention of Earth he says, "/The/ Mar-vell? That'll help. Think any of those Avengers will help out, y'know Captain America or Ironpants or whatever he's called?"

As for Earth? He nods, "Yep, strange and magnificent, that's Earth for ya. Anyhow, so we're all down with this plan?"

Rocket has posed:
Rocket gives Groot a brief glance further, shrugging his shoulders with nothing more than a quiet "Yeah." His eyes are starting to narrow, whether that means he's thinking about something or just bothered by what he's hearing. Both are likely.

"We're more than familiar with that scrap heap of a planet," he adds, shaking his head. "But whatever. Nebula needs our help even if she doesn't know it, and I know a thing or two about being fucked with in ways you can't do anything about. So whatever we gotta do, let's go get it over with. I ain't in the mood to worry about the details."

Phyla-Vell has posed:
    Phyla stares a moment at Peter. She looks at the others who have apparently all been to Earth before. "I have no idea who Captain America or Ironpants are. But if you think they are strong enough to oppose Thanos then ask them."

    "I doubt Knowhere thinks of you as criminals. Not after what we did there. Out in the open - everyone saw you fighting to save their lives and homes. Xandar.. only the Nova Corps know what you did because I told them. They were skeptical but they have no reason to think I'd lie to them."

    She smiles a touch wickedly at the support she gains and nods her head, "Thank you all. I know together we can get your Nebula back and strike Thanos when and where he least suspects it. Earth it is. You've all built it up now."

    She takes a long drink of her beer and says, "Which leaves the other thing I left out of the report to the Nova Corps and Hala... Peter." She peers at him directly. "Groot burned, I burned, .. we all burned touching that power stone. Why didn't you?" For once she doesn't have an answer or a way to get an answer. A true mystery has fallen in to their laps.

Groot has posed:
Groot replaces drinks as required. He winces at the memory of burning. He is curious abou that and looks at Peter, curious.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora nods once slowly. "I'd be surprised if they wanted to get involved in Galactic affairs they probably don't understand. I'm sure Earth isn't on Thanos' radar. Still. There are some... alarmingly strong people there."

    Peter enduring the Power Stone, though? That's news to Gamora. She turns in her seat to look up at Peter. "What is she talking about?"

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter was a bit slow on the uptake tonight, blame the giant beer, but he gets around to it, "I heard that," he says to Rocket eyes narrowed before suddenly he's the topic of conversation. "What? I don't know I thought it was just you know all of us working together? Power of friendship and all of that," he says before glancing down into his beer like an ostrich putting his head in the sand.

Phyla-Vell has posed:
    Phyla hmmms critically at Peter dipping his head down. May be he knows something, may be he just doesn't want to think about it. "Right well. You're the captain. Set court for Earth when we're ready please." That's how being captain works right? taking orders from your friend you brought on to help you save your other friend who now doesn't even consider you a friend if she ever even did?

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora furrows her brow with a dubious expression. "I don't think there's a Friendship Stone." At least, it's not part of the mythology???

    Gamora nods her head in agreement with Phyla. "Yes. As fast as possible. I want this all over with."

Rocket has posed:
Rocket asks Peter, "What's your point?" when told what he said was heard. More of the drink is swallowed down, leading to a rather large belch from someone so small in comparison to the rest.

"Look, once in a while we're gonna do the right thing, especially if it's gonna benefit us later. That doesn't make us good guys." Now, as the question is raised to Quill about what happened with the Power Stone, he peers up toward the Earthling, a slight frown lingering. No, none of that felt very good.

But, it seems there's no big revelation forthcoming. "Right, then I'm gonna go work on some shit," he lets them know, a hand going up in brief acknowledgement before he starts off for his work area.

Peter Quill has posed:
"There should be," Peter says of the friendship stone, before people start giving orders and getting ready to roll out. He takes a pull of his beer. "I really don't know what happened," he admits. "I felt the stone's power and then something else... and the something else pushed it back. The something else came from inside of me... or at least I think so? It was weird. I think we won over the stone... Either that or putting my fingers in the power stone socket," so to speak. "Messed with my brain, I've got no idea."

Drax has posed:
"There should be a stone for friendship, but I would not waste it on anyone not worthy," Drax agrees with a small nod to Peter, then squints as if naturally skeptical of the idea due to such ready agreement.  The skepticism doesn't last.  He pushes up from his seat and steps over to refill for however many rounds makes a meal for the big guy.  It's not worth counting sometimes.  Novelty wears off quick.

"Hmm," he intones as he sprinkles some dry breakfast food into his open maw instead of from the bowl.

Phyla-Vell has posed:
    Phyla nurses the beer for a bit as she listens to Peter describe his experience when they faced off against Ronan. "Hm. That's definitely not what it felt like to me and my Q-bands." She lifts up the beer in cheers, "To the Friendship stone."

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora listens to Peter with some concern. It's typically pretty tricky to make Peter not know what to say; or at least not know what he wants to say. She really doesn't know what to make of it, but... in a rare effort to find the bright side, she says, "Well... whatever it was... it saved all of our lives, so." She shrugs a little. "It can't be that bad." A moment later, she adds, "Probably."

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter's looking deep into his beer again, though this time not to hide, but in thought (scary, right?). He looks up, "Of course you wouldn't Drax," then he nods to Gamora. "Yeah, I guess it did," he says smiling. "You're all welcome I accept tips in units and valuables," he says generous as always.

Then at Pylla's toast he lifts his glass, smile still on his face "To the Friendship Stone," he toasts lifting his glass to his crew.