Ravager Family Escapades Part 2
The freighter’s silent when they arrive. Gamora uses a torch to cut through the side of the ship, dumping them into a storage room. As soon as they step out of the vastness of space and get into a side vent, Yondu whistles his yaka so that it’s at the ready. “Gotta move quick an’ quiet,” he says to Kraglin.
Kraglin grins. “I’ve been hunting many times, you know. I have some idea of what I’m doing.”
“An’ ya ain’t never had prey that can shootcha back,” Yondu says. “Jus’… let me fuss atcha, will ya?”
Kraglin halts, twists his body into Yondu’s and scent marks him. “Ok, Yondu.”
“Brat.”
Gamora raises her guns and Yondu notes the way Kraglin has a blaster in one hand and a wicked, curved blade in his other. They stalk down a gangplank, duck through another vent, and stop as they enter a medical bay. Fortunately, the only person on staff is a three-eyed female, who raises her hands in immediate surrender. “I don’t want to stop you,” she says. “Take whatever you want.”
Yondu grins. “Thank you. We will.”
Gamora and Kraglin fill their bags as Yondu keeps an eye on the door. “Hurry,” he says, as he hears footsteps from the hall. “Got company.”
“Shit,” Gamora says, and moves double-time. “How long?”
“Thirty seconds. Gotta go.”
Kraglin shoves the last of the gauze and syringes into his bag and says, “Back through the vent?”
“Yep. Move!” Yondu shouts, as he sees the rush of shadows coming at them. “Up ya get, boy!”
Gamora hoists herself into the vent, then grabs Kraglin’s bag and Kraglin. Yondu turns to the door and whistles his arrow out, skewering the first of the angry pirates into the room. “Yondu!” Kraglin shouts, and Yondu runs for the vent.
He grabs Kraglin’s hand as he’s hauled up into the opening. “We’ve been spotted,” he says, drolly. They take off at a dead-run for their entry point, only to stumble from the vent directly into a group of ten pirates.
There’s silence for a second and then it’s war. Yondu kills three of the opposing crew before anyone can draw a weapon, and Gamora and Kraglin hold their own against the others. With the ten adversaries down, they tear around a corner, intent on leaving as quickly as possible, when a voice yells, “UDONTA!”
Yondu whips his head around to see Stakar charging after them. “Yondu Udonta, you sonofabitch!”
“Shit,” Yondu mutters. “Hold up!”
Gamora and Kraglin stop, and Kraglin goes a step further; he draws his gun and steps between Yondu and Stakar, aiming for Stakar’s chest. “Easy, boy,” Yondu says. He rests a hand on Kraglin’s hip, squeezing gently. “Ain’t ‘fraid o’ him.”
Stakar and what’s left of his crew stops about fifteen feet from Yondu, Gamora and Kraglin. Stakar’s staring with his mouth half-open. “Yondu. You ugly flarkin’ a-hole, I’ve never been so happy ta see ya!”
Yondu laughs. He steps from behind Kraglin, strides over to Stakar, and embraces the other man in a bone-crunching hug. “’S good ta see ya, Stakar.”
“Guns down!” Stakar orders his crew. “Show some respect for one of the best Ravagers to ever live.”
“Aw, you’ll make me blush.”
Stakar laughs. “You bastard. We lit the lights for you.”
The comment has them both sobering quickly. “We lit the lights for you,” Stakar repeats. “Stars, Yondu. Why didn’t you comm?”
“Wanted ta retire after the Kree shot down the Eclector. Didn’t have another out. Y’all thought me dead an’ that was good ‘nough.”
Their conversation’s cut off as Kraglin pounces on one of Stakar’s crewmen. “Eh, boy!” Yondu snarls, until he sees the blade in the crewman’s hand. Shit, Kraglin’s just saved his life. “Nicely done.”
Kraglin nods at him, keeps the larger man pinned to the ground. He bares his still-blunt teeth at the Ravager. “Ain’t likin’ the idea o’ you hurtin’ Yondu,” he snarls.
“He’s a traitor to the colors!” the idiot on the floor shouts. “Fakin’ his own death, an’ fer what?”
No one gets to hear more from the man, because Kraglin slams his knife into the other’s neck. “No one gets to say anything about Yondu Udonta’s honor and lives!”
The rest of Stakar’s crew goes quiet, watching to see what their leader does at the death. Stakar nudges the body with his toe and spits on it. “Y’all heard the man. No one speaks of Udonta in my presence, either.”
Then he turns to Kraglin. “You look too scrawny to be able to hold that knife, let alone wield it,” Stakar says, admiring. “I take it you’re Yondu’s first mate?”
“My only mate,” Yondu replies, enjoying the play on words. “He’s mine, Stakar. Bitten and bred.”
Stakar blinks, then grins. “Ya old bastard. Got yourself a young one, didja?”
“Eh, flark yerself,” Yondu says. He feels his cheeks heat. “Stakar Ogord, this is Kraglin, my mate. Kraglin, this is Stakar Ogord. My first Ravager captain an’ friend.”
The two men eye each other cautiously. Gamora breaks the tension and clears her throat. “I am Gamora, daughter of Thanos,” she says. “And I will not hesitate to kill any man that dares harm my two companions or myself.”
Flark, there goes the tension in the room again. The pirates behind Stakar growl and snarl; Kraglin takes this as a sign to lengthen his fangs a little and roar. Yondu shields his ears at the deafening sound, watches as his little mate sends the others scurrying for cover. “Sweetheart,” he says. “Ain’t no one here gonna matchu for sheer scary power.”
Kraglin smirks. “Just makin’ sure.”
“What the flark are ya when ya change?” Stakar asks, shaking his head. He’s the first to recover from the sound. “Yondu. Ya travel with a daughter of genocide and a shapeshifter. Ya been dead almost a year an’ a half. Ya got a lot o’ ‘splaining ta do.”
“Yeah, probably,” Yondu says, just to be a dick. “Ya wanna come ta’ our ship an’ meet the rest o’ my family?”
Stakar arches an eyebrow at the word family. ‘Ya wanna tell me somethin’?”
“Rather show ya,” Yondu replies. “Bring Aleta. She’ll probably wanna meet ‘em all, too.”
Stakar nods. “Be at yer ship in an hour.”
The Ravagers turn down the gangplank; most of them, anyway. A few walk backwards, unsure whether to trust Kraglin not to kill them or not. Yondu grins widely as the last one disappears. “You’re a scary l’il shit when ya wanna be.”
Kraglin shrugs. “I’m not letting anyone get between the two of us,” he says. “Not when I don’t know them or trust them.”
“I was glad to be able to spectate, myself,” Gamora adds. “You are a marvel, little cub. I hope one day to hunt with both you and Peter in this same manner.”
Yondu sniffs. “Don’t mention Peter. Don’ want my baby ta grow up too fast.”
They both look at him and he clears his throat, realizing what he said. “Shaddup.”
He manfully ignores the snickering as he leads them back to the Wanderer.