Amongst the Stars // Peter Quill

Welcome to the Human Race

The Sovereign pair piloted the ship to land on the highest platform, a sort of landing dock, where the Guardians then had to carefully navigate over a thin bridge to the adjacent platform for the real battle. 

Seven massive orbs sat on the edges of the circular platform. Golden energy swirled and bounced of the edges of the glass balls, illuminated the platform and gave a decent glow to the night sky above their heads. 

The Anulax Batteries they were asked to protect were stored in a single container; an oddly shaped cylinder with indents of diagonal lines and egg-shaped lights beaming through the golden exterior. 

Peter was asked to stay on the landing dock for a moment; the Sovereign granted him a handheld machine to tell when the transdimentional energy the creature emitted was nearing the atmosphere. After he ensured his pair of quad blasters were successfully charged and ready to go, as well as his helmet stored safely behind his ear, he brought it to the platform and stood near the center of the platform to get a good signal.

Meanwhile, Drax, Charlie, Groot, and Gamora were going through the two bags they had brought from the Milano. Separation of weapons was the first order of business, then, once everyone was equipped with their guns or knives, Charlie passed out protective wear to cover a majority of their bodies. 

"We don't know exactly what this thing can do," she told them when they scrunched their noses. "I don't want this to be like Alien and have it spit acid and kill one of you, so let's just have a little precaution, okay?"

Rocket took his little blue jumpsuit and wiggled into it quickly before he resumed being hunched over a device. Charlie didn't think much of it; she tended to push off anything technical looking as things he was working on for the better of the team. Usually, that was the case. 

Peter perked when the tracker beeped. Excitedly, he said, "Showtime, a-holes! Should be here any minute."

Charlie grabbed an aerorig for herself and one for Peter. She applied her own, then scooped Groot from the floor, setting him on her shoulder. She collapsed the storage bags and shoved them into the front pocket of her jeans. 

"Which will be its loss," said Gamora. She cocked the gun in her arms. 

Peter frowned. "I thought your thing was a sword."

"We've been hired to stop an interdimentional beast from feeding on those batteries and I'm gonna stop it with a sword?" asked Gamora slowly.

"It's just that swords were your thing and guns were mine, but I guess we're both doing guns now-- I just didn't know that," said Peter casually. 

"Butthurt, a little?" wondered Charlie.

Charlie slapped one piece of his aerorig to his back and the other to his front. She leaned away for it to build around his shoulders and connect in the front. She wrapped an arm around his waist. 

"I'll live, maybe," said Peter, applying a kiss to her forehead.

"Drax," said Gamora suddenly. "Why aren't you wearing one of Rocket's aerorigs?"

"It hurts," he said flatly.

"'It hurts'?" repeated Gamora.

"How are you supposed to reach the beast?" asked Charlie.

"I will jump," said Drax.

She looked to Peter to help. Distracted with looking through the gold-tinted sky for the Abilisk, he muttered, "Drax, listen to Charlie."

"Why can't you wear an aerorig, Drax?" sighed Charlie.

"I have sensitive nipples." 

Rocket busted out laughing, a real laugh this time, they knew, because it sounded more like a cackle than a normal chuckle. In between his maniacal laughing, he teased, "'My nipples hurt, oh goodness me!'"