Owner	Pose
Peter Quill	In the weeks since the invasion began, the Raken system and the border worlds along the Shi'ar border have been the primary target for Brood invasion fleets. The main body of the Hivefleet remains in the Raken system... but there have been reports of sightings further 'east' along the galactic borders going towards the Skrull Empire. This activity is recent, and doesn't match up with any known Hivefleet movements. Something is definitely up, and the Brood are being uncharacteristically covert about it. With no resources to spare but what Peter can 'acquire' from Fleet Command with Rockets help, Peter has made the call to go check it out in the Milano. There wasn't any need for the entire team to follow up on what is effectively a hunch by Peter though, and the others have stayed on Raken 3 to help with the war effort while Peter and Rocket head to the Xersis system, where the last sighting has been. Enroute to the system via hyperspace to avoid detection using jump points, Star-Lord sits on the helm of the ship, watching the galactic map hovering in hologram form above, "None of this makes any sense. You ever heard of Brood being sneaky?"
Rocket	Although sometimes wary of these hunches, Rocket would be the first to agree that, for a humie, Quill is disproportionately correct when compared to random chance. And that is pretty much the standard of intelligence they have these days about the invasion, so, eh, what the hell? Plus it was a good excuse for the diminutive bounty hunter to be elsewhere for a little bit, while the questions about a certain Shi'ar shuttle having been purloined from the repair line die down a bit.     "Quill, none of this has made sense so far, why they gonna start making sense now?" Rocket is strapped into the co-pilot chair, eyes glued to the sensors and reactor controls. Keeping the Milano ghosting in below detection treshold took quite a bit of effort and concentration. At least sixty percent of his total concentration, in fact, so he only has less than half to devote to tactical speculation. "But if I hadn't seen 'em with my own eyes in the Raken System? I wouldn't have believed ya these were Brood. Where's the days they just showed up and started blasting? Y'know? The good old days."
Peter Quill	Peter just... stares at Rocket at that point, "That's exactly what they did in Raken: jump in and start blasting. Granted, it happened after they coverted shut down the listening posts." He conceded. Then, he frowned, taking out a coin and flipping it casually... the gravity causing him to nearly drop it once. "These aren't usual tactics. Do we have a new Queen we're dealing with? I mean, they haven't changed much for millions of years and people are still terrified of them."
Rocket	"Or they finally ate something smarter than them." Rocket speculates, with a shrug. "Was gonna happen eventually. But where'd they get all the hardware?" Quite possibly his focus on the sensors is the mental equivalent of flipping a coin, or doodling something on a scrap piece of paper. He hasn't quite reached the point of exasperated boredom yet... there'd be more unfinished weapon projects on board if he had.     "What if we're doin' this backwards, Quill?" It's a bit of a lightbulb moment, possibly something in the ream of sensor data has flicked a few random neurons and sent a thought into high speed, but Rocket frowns where he sits and seems to be working through a tactical problem even as he speaks. "So, Brood ain't exactly smart, right? Never been a problem before 'cept for the whole body snatching horror stuff. In the end, big whoop, just send a few cruisers with big guns and wipe 'em all out, right?"     Now he finally half turns, to look at Star-Lord and gesturing in his direction. "You just said these ain't their usual tactics. So, whose tactics is it?"
Peter Quill	"Brood aren't mindless idiots, Rocket." Peter replies with a clear exacerbation to his voice, "They just have an overriding hive mind that forces them to be blaster fodder." He sighs, "We need a telepath to find out, right now, we're just chasing ghosts hoping to find one to track down."
Rocket	"Eh. They act like mindless idiots, same difference." Rocket shrugs again, changing frequencies on the sensor sweep to make sure they're not leaving any trail behind in this part of space. That would be... bad. "How 'bout your girlfriend? Don't she read minds?"     Dropping.     Topic.     "Anyways, I'm just curious, y'know? They ain't actin' like Brood, so who are they acting like? I'mma need to have another look at that tactical data from the last month, there's somethin' I'm missing."
Peter Quill	That girlfriend crack gets a heavy sigh from Peter, "No. She stores solar energy and fires it like energy bolts. Kori has nothing to do with mental abilities." Peter mutters, "Wish Adam were around." Then, he flips a switch on his console, and the hologram switches to an overview of the Raken system, "All here. What do you need?"
Rocket	Half a dozen jokes about reading minds and being with Quill queue themselves up and end up going unspoken. There is time for levity, there is time for banter, and there is time for serious work. Granted, the latter is fairly rare in the Rocket mindset, but it happens just often enough that this little ball of furry rage is more than just a pretty face.     Or, at least, a face.     "Been looking at it the whole time, an' I just thought o' sumthin'. Standard Brood tactic's to swarm the place, assimilate what they can an' get out before the balance goes negative, right? Well, if they ain't doin' that, what are they doin'?" Okay, nothing new there then.     Flicking his own console to standby, Rocket swivels his entire seat to face the hologram, peering at it. Now he has a hundred percent of his mental faculties to bring to bear, which is possibly scarier than any weapon he might be able to devise. "An' I don't mean, what's their goal, 'cause we ain't gonna figure that one out until we know more. No, point I'm makin', Quill, is nobody just invents new tactics when you've been doin' the same thing for a few thousand years. Look at the Shi'ar. Reason we could run ring 'round them if we wanted to is 'cause you an' I, we improvise. Extemporize. Make flarking stuff up if we hafta. Your average Shi'ar tactician, he can't do that, 'cause there's rules of engagement they follow that's so old by now they've got collector value. Play me back that assault on Raken IV, from the first moment the Brood got detected in the outer system. Speed compression twenty cycles per tick."
Peter Quill	"They have to deal with their neighbors. We have to deal with the universe proper." Peter agrees, then, he looks to the hologram and hits play as requested. Raken 4 plays out exactly as the Brood usually do: Overwhelming force followed by a massive assault. What's new is the Shi'ar willingness to torch the entire planet to deny the Brood it's use. The Hivefleet is still overwhelming the Raken system, but there's just a bit more caution in comparison to the Raken 4 siege now.
Rocket	It's almost frightening how much concentration Rocket suddenly brings to bear on the tactical data. His eyes barely blink as the recording plays out, focusing on different part of the assault as it happens, then suddenly flicking to another set of coordinates seemingly at random. After a few moments, he even starts to talk to himself, reciting seemingly incoherent facts and major engagements as they happen, when they happen. "Erga Flats... Tashin Heights... Lake T'Neth... Dugat Spaceport... Genesset Desert... Three point fallback there, as per friggin' usual, goodbye western continent... battle for the evacuation fleet, big boom, an'..."     Blink.     "The frick?"     As the recording continues, Rocket motions for that last two ticks to be played back. Again. And again. And again. Every time it repeats, a seemingly random shuffle of ships and assets throughout the system, his eyes narrow a bit more. And then he's actually rubbing his eyes, digging the heels of his palms into the sockets and stroking back the fur of his face in one long exasperated movement.     "Frickin' fantastic. Hey Quill, know I said the Brood act like mindless idiots? I'mma take that back now..."
Peter Quill	It's around this time the bridge suddenly gives a 'we're about to come out of hyperspace, might want to hold onto something' beep. A few seconds later, it does, right insidee Skrull space, as planned. In this case, it's the edge of a dead system. The star has just hit a white dwarf phase... and there are three husks orbiting it. "This is about around where I thought. Anything on sensors yet?" Peter asks as he astarts to navigate his way in-system.
Rocket	The sensor playback will have to wait. Giving it one last glare, as if the very notion of what he has just discovered is a personal insult, Rocket swivels his seat to face forward again and brings his console back to life. The sensor sweep is the second thing he runs, right after another diagnostic to make sure the engines didn't leave too much of a trail coming out of hyperspace.     Because, still, bad.     So far, though, it's all the usual, with a hint of desolation. "Nuthin' here that ain't dead a few centuries, except for that star. But it's gettin' there." Which gets him to look a bit more closely at every last blip or slight variation in what should be a very monotonous environment with little if any excitement.     "Y'know, if I were tryin' to hide, this place wouldn't be it. Too much dead space, not enough radiation pockets. Anythin' that moves here ain't s'posed to be here, so as a hiding place, it sucks."     But looking up from the console and out of the cockpit window, he scratches behind his right ear. "Now, if'n I was gonna plan an ambush..."
Peter Quill	"Yeah, I get that, and I agree. This is just nearby where I want to take a looksee." Peter hits a button, and the regional galactic map comes up on the main projector. Their system was 'Helega'. "This system was torn to pieces by the Kree ages ago. I figured it would be a good exit point for this region." Peter confirms, "what we want... is here." Peter gets up and points to a blue and red nebula a few light years away, "I don't know what's there, but this is close enough to Brood space you could hide a small fleet in there, and Shi'ar scouts have had sensor ghosts coming from this axis." He taps the thin air around the nebula projection, "If anyone wants to hide around here, it'll be in there. The Shi'ar have been getting completely destroyed in the Raken system just keeping up the stalemate, if they get reinforcements, Raken is gone." Peter looks to Rocket, "What do you think? I'm not saying we go in there blind, but we need to check it out somehow."
Rocket	"I'm thinkin' we don't have nearly enough alcohol on board for this." is Rocket's first and almost expected response. But his eyes lock onto the projection, and mentally he's already building a picture. A picture of logistics, travel times, sensor ranges, hyperspace routes, jump points, strategic approaches... it's not a pretty picture. More like one of those paintings that are rumored to make those who view it go mad.     "If what the Shi'ar are seeing is Brood..." and he looks over to Quill with an expression that is on the edge of absolute seriousness "... an' I'm not saying it is..." back to the projection "... but if what they're seein' is Brood, then best you an' I can do, Quill, is to turn this ship around an' burn hard as we can for the other side of the galaxy. 'cause they'd be screwed. Frickin' desperate..."     And yet... and yet. "But if that is Brood, then how the frick did they get all the way there without being seen? An' they're in the right spot, just the right spot, to hit the Shi'ar in the one flank they can't afford to lose. That ain't some kind of tactic you improvise on the fly, Quill, that means prepositioning. So yeah, we gotta go check that out. An' if'n you don't mind, I'm gonna load up one of our torps with a special surprise in case we gotta come back here in a hurry."
Peter Quill	"It's not my fault you suck up all the booze practically in days." Peter complained, "Get a frickin' regulator. You got assloads of cybernetics in there, what's one more bit?" Peter remarks as he looks at the projector. "Could be anything, but all their scouts are tied up on the borders." Peter confirmed, "I was thinking a probe, but that mess looks like it'd just eat up signals..." Peter brings up a hand to his chin, "we've already seen numbers of ships not seen for decades out of Brood space... well, we'll see." He turns back to the helm and moves to sit, "I don't reemember you bringing any gigantic explosives on board... what are you up to?"
Rocket	"We don't talk 'bout my cybernetics, 'less you wanna start talking about your weird genes, Quill. Professional courtesy." That was said in Rocket's 'sarcastic' voice, which he hasn't had an opportunity to use in the last few weeks and months. When in a war zone, the sassiest of all bounty hunters can be extremely professional. Who knew? And with a last glance at Star-Lord, Rocket swivels his seat around again and unstraps himself, dropping to the deck.     "See, this is where you always get it wrong, Quill. You think powerful means big, but that ain't true. Matter of fact, most dangerous things are small." Says the small being as he drops down the ladder. Unfortunately, he has comms open so he can continue to talk, and his absence from the bridge doesn't mean an absence of Rocket speak.     "B'sides, ain't no need for big an' messy when you've already got plenty of raw material to work with. Ain't nobody gonna miss this place..." There's the distinct sound of a torpedo launcher being opened, and the telltale warning light starting to flicker on the weapons station. A new warhead is being loaded. And locked in.     After a few more moments, Rocket re-emerges on the ladder, grinning. "B'sides, that white dwarf was gonna blow all by itself sooner or later anyway. Just think of it as givin' it a nudge to help it along." Hop into the seat, strap himself back in, swivel and resume console.     "Y'know, if'n we have to. Probably won't come to that. Don't fire tube three 'less it's desperate."
Peter Quill	Instead of arguing with the furball, Peter codes that launch tube directly to his personal authorization code so Rocket can't fire that thing into the sun on a whim. .... it wouldn't be the first time he's had to safeguard the galaxy from Rocket. Whew. "Sure, we can keep it in mind. So, I'm thinking a flyby to start with. Just got close, poke around a bit, see if anything reacts." As he speaks, Rocket can feel the engines coming online as Peter starts to head for the edge of the solar system, the small warp engines start to humm with power as they get ready to cross the light years to the nebula.
Rocket	Sometimes the galaxy needs guarding from its own Guardians. It's a fact of life. People are born. People grow old. Rocket tries to blow up a sun. Taxes. And it doesn't seem like Rocket resents having the big boom locked out of his own control, he's far too focused on the sensors now and watching what the engines are doing.     When you're constantly rebuilding something, it pays keeping an eye on the redline.     "Eh, flyby first, hit it with a scan pulse if we don't see anything immediately tryin' to kill us. Y'know, poke the krutaxing Tarantawasp nest."     And while the engines spool, preparing the ship for warp, he scratches his right ear again. "Brood ain't playing by the book, Quill."
Peter Quill	"Their book is 'throw everything we have at a population, infect everything, rinse, repeat'." Peter quips as the warp engines engage and the momentum of the space dive kicks in... only for the dampeners to kick in just after, "They've been doing that in Raken for weeks."
Rocket	"That ain't a book, that's a feeding frenzy." Rocket protests, feeling the tug of the jump push him into his seat for a few moments until the dampeners compensate. Hmm. Timing's a bit off, mental note to take apart the dampeners later and improve them.     "B'sides, don't need tactics when you got overwhelming numbers. Even Ronan knew that. I'm talkin' 'bout strategy here, Quill, getting your hungry brood to the feasting grounds. That takes planning, logistics, all kinds of stuff a lot of frontline commanders forget about. Strategy! An' there's rules to strategy, Quill, there's ways of doin' it that's just a little bit different for everyone. 'cept the Brood. 'till now."
Peter Quill	As the warp engines humm along... it actually doesn't take more than thirty seconds to drop back into normal space. The 'fold' the warp engines created disappears in a twisting of gravity and light, and the nebula expands in front of the Milano. Parking the ship just outside of it, Peter pings active sensors, "They have a hivemind, Rocket. Their logistics consist of the Queens telling the drones what to do and them doing it." A pause happens as Peter gets a return of the sensors, "Nothing yet. No scouts or even a vague impression. This nebula makes us blind. Great."
Rocket	"If it's too dark to see, you shine a brighter light. If we're blind, so are they." It's a fair assumption. The Milano has some of the best sensor equipment to be found in the galaxy. The very best Rocket could steal. So while the sensors are returning blank data, he boosts the gain and refines the resolution, disentangling the return echoes to the best separation the equipment can manage. Mental note, improve equipment.     And given that the ship is practically blind, Rocket lends his rather excellent eyesight by adding a visual scan every few seconds... or, more aptly put, looking out of the window every so often.     "An' what I'm sayin', is that 'till now, they've been playing by someone else's Book. Kree, Shi'ar, don't matter, they were always copyin'. Raken 4... textbook all the way until the weapon hit. Then they improvised."     He lets that hang, and then turns in his seat to look at Star-Lord, just to underline how big of a deal he thinks this is. "They improvised, Quill. Didn't copy, didn't fall back to somethin' tried an' true. I know every play book of every major galactic power out there, 's my job. But what they're doin'? I don't recognise it Quill. It's new. Ain't even somethin' closely resembling a known strategy, it's frickin' new!"     And having said that, he turns back to scan... electronically and visually. "An' I'm too old to start learnin' a new playbook, Quill. We're just gonna hafta kill 'em all."
Peter Quill	"Everything changes, buddy." Peter offhandedly comments as he watches the sensor projection. "... yeah, we're gonna have to go in. Luckily, if we eyeball something, whatever it is probably won't be able to chase us." Probably being the keyword here.
Rocket	"Strategy don't change that fast." But Rocket lets it go and checks the seat restraints, abandoning the sensor readout for now and going purely visual.     They probably don't be chased through his murk. It'd take some pretty exceptional equipment to be able to track them through the nebula, not to mention require some pretty heroic flying just to keep up. Unless it's huge and doesn't care about hitting something smaller than itself, of course.     Probably won't happen though.     Nah.     Pre-heating weapons juuuuuust in case.