Peter has never felt more alone in his life. He’s sitting on a cold, grated floor in a dark room that smells like the locker room at the public pool. He’s shaking and his eyes are red from tears and his cheeks burn from being tear-stained. He also has to pee really bad, but he doesn’t dare to get up from the corner he’s trapped himself in, knees drawn up, arms around them.
Take my hand, Peter, his mother had said, and he couldn’t do it because he knew it would be the last time.
Now he would give anything to go back and hold her hand because he was afraid and alone. He’d been zoomed up into some kind of spacecraft like in the movies, only these were not large-headed, big-eyed mysterious creatures. Most of them looked like men, only different colors and textures and smells.
God, the smells. Peter has smelled ripe once or twice in the summer going a few days without bathing, but he was certain some of these guys had never even been near a bar of soap. He would never again whine and cry about taking a shower before bed. Not that he could-Mom was gone after all. He didn’t see it happen, but he knew it was almost time. She and Grandpa had been preparing him for weeks.
He could feel the cold metal through the seat of his pants and he was uncomfortable from sitting in the same position for so long. He was also hungry and very thirsty. He hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since Grandpa had taken him to McDonalds that morning and even then he had only nibbled at his egg McMuffin and sipped his orange juice.
After several more minutes, he finally realizes he could not hold it any longer and stands up, feeling that desperate urge to pee. He timidly goes to the heavy metal door and tries to push it open. It’s locked. He hesitates and then knocks softly.
“Hello?” He asks and then more loudly, “Hello?”
The door opens and there’s a bright red man standing there in a maroon uniform. He has deep jagged marks on his face and he looks bored. He says something in another language and his voice is deep and raspy.
“I hafta to go to the bathroom,” Peter tells him and involuntarily crosses his legs.
It must be a universal gesture because the red man rolls his eyes dramatically and leads him out of the small room. Peter nervously follows him down a corridor and the man stops at another metal door. He says something to Peter, opening the door, and steps to the side.
To his surprise, the bathroom doesn’t look all that bad. It’s rows of stalls and urinals on the wall just like any other men’s room. It also smells nicer than some other parts of this craft he’s been on, but maybe that’s because he’s alone. He goes into one of the stalls and relieves himself just in time. When he gets out, the red man is waiting with someone else. A blue man.
—----
The terran is cargo. That’s what Yondu told the crew. They’d taken jobs from Ego before-after all, picking up and delivering children weren’t an issue. Most of them were scared and stayed away and behaved. Yondu would pick them up, toss them in the small cell with a mattress, make a few jumps to Ego, and that would be the end of it. He’s lost count of how many he’s actually delivered, but the pay has been good for such an easy job.
Terra is not a planet anyone really visits. The inhabitants are primitive, the technology is practically stone-age, and there’s no real space travel. Of course there are humans in other parts of the galaxy, but even they do not consider going to Terra for any real reason other than to gawk at other beings that look like them but live much more modestly.
Picking up the terran child was not difficult at all, especially because he was outside and alone. Of course, he was terrified-terrans didn’t space travel, but Yondu had quickly put a stop to his screaming and whimpering after having him tossed into the small cell.
He’s now holding the small, rectangular device the kid had dropped earlier after being beamed up. Every time Yondu touches the screen there’s a set of numbers requiring some sort of passcode. He can’t imagine what kind of secrets a little terran runt would have so after growing bored of it in about ten seconds he decides to return it. It’s of no use to him after all.
When he gets to the cell the door is open and the terran is gone.
“The hell?” He murmurs, sticking his head in and looking around. “Where’s the terran at? Where’s Torra?”
Torra should be standing guard at the door. He’s older, calmer, and has grown children of his own. He’s used to whining and crying. Sometimes the ravagers who were picked to stand guard would open the door and yell at the children or take a swipe at them. Yondu didn’t like snotty noses and high-pitched wails any more than they did, but he was aware that these were just children so he tried to pick the most suited.
“He took him to the lavatory,” Jodi says, passing by with some machinery he’s tinkering with. “Little brat was practically dancing, he had to go so bad.”
Yondu shrugs one shoulder at that and goes to the men’s room down the corridor. Torra is coming out with the terran boy, who notices the device in Yondu’s hand. He reaches for it and Yondu holds it up.
“Ah-ah!” He says, like he’s scolding an animal. “You keep yer mitts to yerself.”
The boy’s shoulders slump and he looks at the floor. Yondu hands him the device.
“What is it?” He asks. “Some kind of vidya game?”
He looks at Torra.
“I’ll take ‘em back,” he offers. “Find whoever’s on next watch.”
“Aye, Captain,” Torra says.
He leaves and Yondu stares at the child. He’s small and thin with thick reddish brown hair and big, solemn eyes.
“I gotta hand it to you,” he says. “You look the most like yer daddy,”
He knows the child doesn’t know what he’s saying, but who cares? He’ll be gone by tomorrow.
—--
“You want me to watch the kid?” Kraglin asks, eyebrows furrowed. Most of the crew would not question the captain, but Kraglin had certain…privileges.
“The one next up on watch is Zav and you know how he is,” Yondu says. “He’ll have the kid whinin’ and cryin’ and pesterin’ all night.”
Kraglin shrugs.
“You don’t gotta stand there,” Yondu says. “Kid ain’t goin’ nowhere, but just in case he needs the commode or somethin’ again.”
Kraglin nods and Yondu pats his arm as he walks away. He walks over to the cell and pulls the slider in the door so he can peek inside. The terran child is sitting on the floor looking at the screen of whatever device he has. He hears the slider open and looks up and then scrambles to his feet and goes to the door.
Kraglin takes a step back and unlocks and opens it.
“You gotta go again or somethin’?” He asks.
—----
A human! There’s a human person at the door!
Peter drops his phone and runs for the door, which opens. It’s a tall, thin man who asks him something in a strange language, but Peter doesn’t care. Maybe this is some kind of space ranger or NASA person.
“Please help me,” Peter tells him. “I’ve been abducted by aliens!”
The man only asks him something again in strange sounding words and Peter feels hot tears fill his eyes again. He’s afraid in that tiny dark room. He wants his mom and his grandpa and his own bed.
The man moves past him and picks up the device. It’s playing some kind of video of a compilation of cats doing funny things set to music. He chuckles and looks at Peter.
“I wanna go home,” Peter says in a shaky voice. “I wanna go home!”
He runs out of the room and down the corridor. Maybe there’s a way out of here. Maybe there’s someone who can help him. He just knows that he can’t be in that room any more. Even if these men don’t plan on hurting him, he’s left in the dark with his thoughts-thoughts about Mom and her last plea to him that he couldn’t bring himself to do.
He hears a sharp whistle and then something knocks him down on the ground, tearing through the corner of his jacket. He sees heavy boots and the boots become a heavy coat and then a face. A blue face.
—--
“Sorry, Capn’! Kraglin says, approaching. “He slipped right past me.”
“Fast little sucker, ain’t he?” Yondu asks, staring down at the boy. There’s blood seeping through the right shoulder of his jacket.
“I’ll get a med pack,” Kraglin offers.
“Take him to my quarters,” Yondu says.
“Sir?” Kraglin frowns.
“Imma doctor ‘im up in there,” Yondu says. “Some of these boys might smell his terran blood and decide he’s a nice little biscuit.”
He’s joking of course, hoping the joke might scare the child, but of course the child cannot understand what he’s saying.
—-
Peter is led to a room that’s in a corridor all by itself. It looks like a tiny apartment inside, but very bare. A bed for sleeping. A desk for sitting. Nothing on the walls or no potted plants or decor.
He jumps slightly when the blue man tugs on the tail of his jacket. He gestures for him to remove it and then touches Peter’s shoulder, which hurts. He finally notices that he’s bleeding. He removes his jacket, shiving in his t-shirt and the human-looking guy from before comes into the room with something in his hand. It looks like an ice pack only it’s warm and not cold.
—--
“I ain’t never had any of Ego’s kids tryin’ to run out that room,” Yondu jokes dryly. “What’s wrong? Not enough toys?”
“Last thing I want is to send you to yer daddy banged up,” he says, being careful with the med pack.
Ego.
There’s a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach he hasn’t been able to shake since he picked up the terran child. With every one he delivered, it’s like Ego had another one waiting shortly after and every time he called, he made no mention of the previous child when asking for another. It was like he was collecting trinkets rather retrieving his own offspring.
“There,” Yondu says, gesturing for him to put his jacket back on. “Good as new.”
The boy is looking around and his eyes fall to something on the desk. He gets up from the chair he’s been sitting in and goes over to it.
“Make yerself at home,” Yondu mutters sarcastically.
The boy begins touching things on the desk-coins, pieces of gadgets, one by one and very carefully. He picks something up and seems fascinated by it.
“Picked that up on Klor,” Yondu tells him. “It’s a dagger the natives make usin’ the bones of the enemies they slaughtered.”
“You sure it’s a good idea to let him touch that?” Kraglin asks.
Yondu dismisses the other man’s concern with a wave. The boy puts it down and then picks up a glowing crystal orb.
“That there’s from Tetron,” Yondu says. “Supposed to tell you the future.”
The boy sets it back down, gently, and looks around the room. He looks between Yondu and Kraglin.
“I’ll take him back,” Kraglin offers.
Yondu nods and then gestures his head at his first mate to Peter.
“Go with Kraglin,” he says. “And stay in yer room, ya understand?”
Of course Peter doesn’t verbally understand, but he seems comfortable enough to follow Kraglin out of the room.
—--
Ego’s next call is very persistent. He wants to know where the child is.
“He’s on his way,” Yondu says. “How are the other rugrats doin’?”
Some of them he’d delivered were extremely small, just barely starting to walk.
“They’re good,” Ego says, sounding slightly annoyed. “But I want the terran child here now.”
Yondu feels that sinking feeling in his stomach again.
“We’ll be there,” he says.
—---
Kraglin frowns when Yondu chuckles at him. Peter has become the first mate’s shadow. Every time the door is opened to his little cell, he fights and cries to go back in. Yondu finally decided just to let him wander around. It’s not like he can run away.
The child doesn’t try to run now. Kraglin wishes he would because wherever he goes, there’s the kid nearby. He thinks he’s sneaky about it too. He’ll be glued to his strange little rectangle, giving secret glances to Kraglin, and then when Kraglin moves out of his sight, the kid waits a few minutes and then casually appears somewhere nearby, making himself comfortable.
Yondu knows it’s most likely because Kraglin looks the most similar to him than all of the ravagers, but it’s still pretty funny. Twice the kid has tried to go in the bathroom with him.
“He’s the first lil’ child I’ve seen that’s warmed up to a ravager,” Yondu says, shaking his head as the kid eats his sandwich quietly nearby.
“He can’t get to Ego fast enough,” Kraglin sighs.
That’s when Yondu stops smiling.
“What do you think he’s doin’ with all these children?” He asks his frist mate.
Kraglin shrugs.
“He’s got a whole planet, hasn’t he?” He says. “Maybe he just really likes kids. He certainly likes makin’ ‘em. What is this now? Number sixty-four?”
“We’ve delivered that many?” Yondu asks. “Damn.”
—----
The terran is beginning to stink, Yondu realizes after a few days of the kid being wherever Kraglin is, which is usually somewhere around Yondu. He’s gotten another call from Ego, just as impatient, but this time, Yondu tried something.
“How’s the littlest one?” He asked casually before Ego could disconnect the call. “I remember she kept sayin’, ‘choopio’. She sounded like a little bird. What was her name again?”
Ego forces a laugh.
“She’s a handful, alright,” he agrees. “Please hurry and bring me the terran.”
There was never a little girl that said ‘choopio’. In fact, all but two of the children had been male and the only females had been two older children-twins.
What was Ego doing with all of these children?
—----
“We need to put an implant in him,” Yondu says, watching the child who is watching some of the ravagers hoot and holler at a raze game they’re watching.
“What for?” Kraglin asks, brows furrowed.
He’s going to Ego tomorrow. What’s the point?
“Kid smells ripe,” Yondu says. “He needs to clean up and he won’t understand unless he has a translator. Hell, he won’t be able to communicate with Ego.”
Kraglin shrugs one shoulder.
“Alright,” he says. “How do we do this?”
“My quarters,” Yondu says, and Kraglin watches as he approaches the boy, tapping him on the head.
He gestures for the child to follow him and the boy looks at Kraglin, uneasy.
“Yeah, yeah,” Kraglin says with a sigh. “ ‘m goin’ too.”
He still can’t believe this little runt wants to follow him around. Kraglin has shown his sharpened teeth once or twice in an attempt to frighten him, but all the kid did was open his own mouth to show he was missing a bottom tooth. It was like he thought they were exchanging dental pleasantries.
—---
Peter is still afraid, but he feels less afraid around the human-looking guy. If nothing else, he’s at least familiar in appearance. It’s strange because the adults in his life have instilled in him to be afraid of human strangers. Now he’s completely dependent on one for a sense of safety.
He follows the blue man and the human-looking man back to the single room in the lone corridor far away from everything else. The human looking man gestures for him to sit on the bed. Peter does so, feeling odd because this is the first time he’s been told to sit on the bed. Is this his new room? Is this space for him?
He sees the blue man go to the desk and rummage around for a bit before taking out what looks like an industrial staple gun and some kind of flat metal.
—---
Yondu decides to do the procedure right in his cabin. The implant procedure isn’t difficult to do, but it’s painful. It’s the reason some parents decided to do it at birth and get it over with and some wait until their children are a bit older because the procedure itself involved an implant gun, which pierces the skin just behind the ear and sent the microscopic chip inside, and then the outside plate has to be put on with two piercings. Three painful holes in all.
"Alright, Squirt," He says, moving to sit on the bed. "This gon' hurt, but you'll be alright."
Yondu tries to force the boy down and that's when he begins to fight and thrash. Yondu whistles and his Yaka arrow appears. The boy has seen how it works and what it did to one of the ravagers who became aggressive with the blue captain. He stills but a long steady whimper comes out of him.
“Yer fine,” Yondu says. “Be still. Don’t wanna give you a nose piercin’ too. Or a lobotomy.”
“Might not be too bad,” Kraglin jokes dryly.
Yondu notices the boy's hands gripping the bed spread.
"Look at his knuckles," he says. "This 'bout to get ugly. Get up here. You're gon' have to hold 'im in a minute."
Kraglin nods, looking bored, and crawls on top of the boy, straddling him. He forced him onto his stomach, pulling his hands behind his back. Yondu turns his head back to the side.
The boy is whimpering something over and over, trying to raise his head, but Yondu holds him down.
"First one," he says, pushing some of the child's hair out of the way as he pulls the trigger.
The boy cries out and begins to cry, thrashing helplessly under them.
"Did it go in?" Kraglin asks.
"Yeah," Yondu replies, leaning down to admire his work. "He's bleedin' more than I thought a terran would, but he'll be alright. Hand me the plate."
The boy is sobbing now, trying to move his head, but Yondu won’t let him. He screams again as Yondu pierces the plate at the top and bottom and then presses his thumb down on it, holding it in place and making sure it’s good and secure.
"It turn on?" Kraglin asks.
"Boy?" Yondu asks.. "Hey, Boy-Kraglin, get off 'im. We're done now."
—---
Peter is released and the pain in the side of his head behind his ear is searing. He can feel blood dripping down his neck. He hears the two men’s voices, but it sounds like everything is under water for several minutes.
“You understand what I’m sayin’ now?” The blue man asks.
Peter fingers the cold metal that feels odd on his head and then realizes he can understand the man.
“You won’t bleed for long,” the human looking guy says, handing him a small towel. “It’s gonna sound funny for a few hours.”
“Now that that’s out of the way,” The blue man says. “What’s your name, Kid?”
—---
“Peter,” the child says, holding the towel to his head.
“Hot damn he can talk,” Yondu says. “You didn’t do half bad for a kid as old as you gettin’ a translator, you know that?”
“Translator?” Peter asks. “Is that what this is?”
“We all got one,” the human looking guy says, pointing to his own.
“I have to pee,” Peter says, climbing off the bed.
"Bathroom's right there," Yondu tells him,nodding at the ensuite washroom. "You'd best pick up that seat, boy. That's my private lavat'ry."
“What’s a lavatry?” Peter asks, frowning.
“Fancy word for toll-let,” Yondu says. “Go. I don’t want you makin’ a mess on my floor.”
Peter goes into the bathroom and calls out, “There’s underwear on the floor!”
Kraglin snorts at that, covering his eyes with his hand and Yondu rolls his eyes.
“We mighta made a mistake givin’ him that implant,” he says, but his eyes are smiling.
The only real mistake, he thinks, is delivering the other children to Ego.
—-
Kraglin is the one to walk Peter back to the cell, who is now talking a mile a minute, asking a thousand questions.
“I don’t wanna go in there,” Peter says when they get there.
“Come on, Kid,” Kraglin says with a sigh. “Is this gonna be another fight?”
“I don’t like it in there,” Peter says, swallowing hard. He looks at Kraglin .
Kraglin sighs and says, “Alright, I have an idea. Grab that mattress. Can you pull it? You strong enough?”
Peter nods and though he struggles, he grabs the small mattress and awkwardly pulls it behind Kraglin who leads him back to the lonely corridor. He opens a second door next to the captain’s quarters to show a small space with shelves, like some kind of utility closet.
“It ain’t much,” Kraglin says, “but will this work? The whole hall’s blocked off at night so you can leave the door open. Will that do?”
Peter hesitates and then nods.
“What’s your name?” He asks him.
“Kraglin,” Kraglin replies. “I’m the first mate.”
“Like a pirate?” Peter asks.
“I guess.” Kraglin shrugs one shoulder.
“Pirates are missing eyes and hands,” Peter says. “I’ve seen it on TV.”
“Yeah?” Kraglin seems uninterested and gestures for him to move the mattress inside. It barely fits and sort of folds over on itself, but Peter seems satisfied.
“My phone died,” he says, removing it from his pocket. “I don’t have a charger.”
Kraglin is surprised that he hands it to him because he’s been so possessive of it.
“I’ll see what I can do,” he says neutrally. It seems like some kind of antique.
—---
“I hope you don’t mind,” Kraglin says, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly after he explains that Peter is now residing next door.
Yondu shakes his head.
“As long as his little ass is quiet,” he says.
Secretly, he feels better about this. He’s been worried about a small child being in the midst of ravagers. He’s also been worried about Peter crying all night and banging on the door, even after someone comes and yells at him to stop.
“He said this lost it’s charge,” Kraglin says, handing Yondu the device Peter carries around. “Some kind of little amusement device, I reckon. He had a video of cats doin’ funny shit.”
“Huh,” Yondu says, turning it over in his hand. “I’ll take a look at it.”
He sets it down and walks out of the room and goes to the open storage closet next door where Peter is snooping around at some of the items on the shelves.
“Kid,” Yondu says. “Quill.”
Peter looks at him.
“Come get cleaned up,” Yondu says. “You ain’t gonna be stayin’ next door to me smellin’ like a rotting gorbzob.”
“What’s a gorbzob?” Peter asks, following him. He smells under his arm. “I don’t stink.”
“Yer nose blind then,” Yondu says. “I can smell you all the way from my cabin.”
He leads Peter into his room and points to the ensuite bathroom.
“Don’t worry,” he says with a straight face. “I picked up all the undergarments from the floor.”
Peter smiles at that, covering his mouth so he doesn’t laugh.
“Clean towels by the shower,” Yondu directs and as Peter starts to go, he takes him by the arm. “Listen here, I don’t want you usin’ the community showers. You take care of your business and shower in here, understand?”
Peter nods.
Yondu sits at his desk, hearing the shower turn on and turn off almost a minute later.
“Boy, there ain’t no way you got clean that fast,” he calls.
The shower turns back on.
Yondu smiles a little, but then he frowns thinking of what tomorrow holds.
He’s supposed to deliver Peter Quill to his father, Ego.
To Be Continued…