It is a league of anarchist planets, aligned only truly in name and for the need of mutual protection. None of the worlds have real leaders, thus being 'anarchist planets'. Though, contrary to the Shi'ar's propaganda, it was not a terrible place filled with murderous pirates. It was, indeed, a peaceful area. As peaceful as one may find, of course. People minded themselves, lived normal lives.

In orbit of the planet Pireg was a small space station. It was put together out of various scrap metals and was poorly maintained. It appeared to be a floating mass of junk. But some knew better. It was the outside that kept the unwanted away. But inside was one of the most highly skilled repair and refitting technical groups in the galaxy.

And it is in this station's dock that we find the Leviathan ship carrying six escaped prisoners of the Shi'ar Empire.

"So you'll be able to help it?" Genis-Vell, the young Kree, talked quickly with another Kree working on the station.

"I will admit, I have never seen a Leviathan before," the other Kree, this one of a blue skin color, spoke. "But I believe we can help her."

"It's a her?" Genis asked.

The Kree nodded.

"How do you know?"

"She's pregnant," he shrugged.

"What?"

"We did a complete scan of the ship," he explained. "There is the ship, and in the ship's belly is another one, still developing. And, then of course, your five shipmates, and your . . . prisoners."

"They won't be returning," Genis said. "They've been turned in to the station's authorities."

"We don't want any trouble," the Kree frowned. "Will the Shi'ar come looking for them?"

"The crew? Doubtful. The ship? Yes. That's why I urge you to be quick in your repairs."

"And the payment?" he asked.

"You will have it upon completion," Genis nodded. He was lying through his teeth. Rather, he didn't know. He knew none of his 'shipmates' (he used the term loosely) had any currency, but he did not know if they would be obtaining any anytime soon. "I thank you."

The other Kree nodded as Genis walked away. A third Kree, an older man, watched him walk past curiously. He was dressed rather strangely, after all: dark blue pants, a bright red shirt with blue shoulders, the strange gold bands around his wrists, the star symbol on his chest. That was it. The star symbol. The other Kree knew that man . . .

"How are we going to pay them ten thousand credits?" Scott Summers asked in a hushed whisper.

"We will find a way," Hepzibah answered, equally quiet.

The two sat at a corner table in a small bar. They kept their heads down, but kept their eyes moving . . . watching.

"Ch'od and Raza went off somewhere," Scott frowned. "I think Keeyah went with them. That worries me. None of us know each other . . . yet we've all thrown together . . . and for what?"

"Revenge," Hepzibah replied. "Every one of us has a reason to hate the Shi'ar. They destroyed me homeworld and massacred my people . . . they abducted you and killed your parents . . . "

"But what about the others?" Scott asked. "The trip here was short, and we didn't speak much . . . "

"Then we shall ask," Hepzibah replied. "And how do you know you can trust me?"

"I don't know," Scott shrugged. "But I do."

She looked up slowly at Scott's face. Though she couldn't tell, through his visor, Scott met her stare.

Genis entered the bar and sat down at their table. "The arrangements are made . . . the repairs will be done soon."

Scott nodded.

"She's a girl, the ship," Genis continued. "And she's pregnant."

"Really?" Hepzibah's eyes went wide. "How interesting . . . "

"That changes things," Scott frowned. "We have to be careful . . . we can't risk the child's life."

"The child is a space ship," Hepzibah frowned. "And the Shi'ar may have mutated it when they 'modified' the mother."

"Who needs a name," Genis smiled. "I'll see if I can use my Cosmic Awareness to communicate with her, see if she has a name."

" . . . " Scott paused. "Genis? What's your story? Why are you here?"

"I . . . " he paused. "The Shi'ar killed my father. I swore vengeance. I failed."

"Running theme," Hepzibah commented.

"Now I've been given a second chance," he shrugged.

"I'm going to go find Raza, Keeyah and Ch'od," Scott said, standing. Hepzibah stood with him. "Coming?"

"I'll stay here for awhile," Genis answered. "Soak in as much as I can."

Scott nodded. "We'll meet up at the ship later."

As Scott and Hepzibah left, the other Kree, the old man, slowly entered the bar. His eyes fell on Genis sitting alone at the table. He turned and walked over to the bar itself. He would wait.

"And the winnah . . . ! Raza!"

Ch'od laughed, a large smile spread across his face. Keeyah grinned as well.

"What's going on?" Scott and Hepzibah approached the large, scaly man.

"Look," Ch'od pointed. Before them, in the center of the room, was a large, metal cage. Inside was Raza and an unconscious member of the Rancud species. "We are winning the credits by having Raza fight . . . he is doing very well."

Scott shook his head. "We don't need to draw this kind of attention to ourselves. And what's more, we don't need to get the station's populace angry at us."

"We've made almost three-thousand credits," Keeyah grinned.

"Sounds good to me," Hepzibah grinned.

Scott shook his head.

"We've got to make money somehow!" Hepzibah exclaimed, seeing Scott getting upset. "What, would you prefer I sold my body to these men?"

"Absolutely not," Scott frowned.

"Then let Raza, Ch'od and Keeyah do this there way," she shrugged. "Genis will find his way . . . and we shall find our way. We will find the money, we will survive."

Genis sat uncomfortably. His Cosmic Awareness made it more than clear that someone was watching him. But he couldn't determine the intent of the person watching. Finally, just as Genis was getting ready to stand and confront that man, an elderly Kree put his hand on Genis' shoulder.

"Who?" he asked, starting to stand.

"Sit, boy," the old blue-skinned man frowned. "You have no quarrel with me."

"You were watching me," Genis commented.

"I assumed you would know," the old man said, sitting beside him. "You are your father's son."

Genis' eyebrows raised in curiosity. "You knew my father?"

"Captain Mar-Vell, defender of the Kree?" the old man chuckled. "Who didn't? But, of course, I knew your father better than most."

Genis watched the old man, waiting for him to continue.

"We had known each other when we were young," he explained. "We drifted apart . . . then caught up to each other when we were men. I was a great supporter of your father's heroics. He brought hope to billions of our kind. You should be honored."

Genis nodded. "Unfortunately, while he was out protecting the universe, I didn't get to see him much. But then again, he didn't live for too long after I entered the picture."

"This is true," the Kree nodded. "He was killed by the Shi'ar. Emperor D'Ken, I believe, ordered his Imperial Guard to find him and kill him. He said Mar-Vell was too powerful to be left alone."

"When he was killed, I was enraged," Genis answered. "I created these clothes as an homage to my father . . . similar to his, but altered to fit my own tastes. I swore vengeance, and I even made it to the Imperial Palace . . . then Gladiator and his Imperial Guard bested me. There were just too many."

"And now?" the old Kree asked.

"Now, I'm free. I have escaped Shi'ar prison . . . I have a ship . . . and fellow shipmates that hate the Shi'ar as much as I. We all want revenge . . . "

"You will wind up dead," the old man frowned.

"Are you saying we can't fight the Emperor?"

"I am saying that fighting out of anger will destroy you. Fighting out of anger clouds your judgment, makes you careless. You will lose."

" . . . What's your angle?" Genis asked. "What are you after?"

"I told you, I knew your father. I mourned his passing. I would hate to see his only son die as well. You must fight for nobler causes than vengeance."

Genis sat forward, listening carefully and curiously.

"The Emperor D'Ken is probably the most powerful man in the known galaxy. He demands great loyalty, and those who dare to stand against him soon disappear. His forces will follow his every order. Which means to get to him, you must go through the entire Shi'ar army. One ship, with a crew of five, will not succeed. To win in space, you need a space power."

"A space power?" Genis asked.

"On land, you need land power . . . in air, an air power. Space will require a space power. I do not know where you shall find it . . . but I hear rumors of a gem. The M'Kraan crystal it is called. Supposedly the most powerful thing in all existence. It is a weapon that would surely aid you in your quest for vengeance. But, do not fight for vengeance . . . fight for freedom. Fight for victory. Fight to end tyranny!"

"That's some speech," Genis answered. "Tell you what . . . I'll take your advice, okay? But I'm gonna go now . . . "

"The young are foolish," the old man frowned as Genis stood and walked away. "Foolishness leads them to their graves."

Scott and Hepzibah walked side by side through the station. Scott had found himself a large black cloak, one he was wearing almost constantly. His visor gained him enough weird looks. He tried to hide his human appearance to keep further investigation away.

"I don't know how we're going to get money," Scott frowned. "Ch'od and Raza can only raise so much until they beat everyone on the station, or get everyone so mad at them that they're killed."

"I can pick pockets," Hepzibah shrugged. "And don't say that stealing is wrong. We're wanted criminals. The rules are already broken for us."

"Stealing is wrong," Scott answered. "The only evils I want us to do are the necessary ones . . . like killing the Emperor."

"Whatever," Hepzibah shrugged.

"Excuse me?" a young Bansarac asked.

"Yes?" Scott answered.

"You are the ones belonging to the Leviathan, yes?"

Scott nodded.

"Come," he said, motioning with his hand. "Something you must see . . . "

"I will not go back in there until that thing is removed!" one of the Kree engineers yelled to their boss.

"What's going on?" Scott asked as he and Hepzibah arrived.

"Not all of your crew has left the ship," the head Kree frowned.

"What?" Hepzibah asked.

"Here, watch the viewer," the Kree pointed. "This thing appeared and attacked one of our engineers . . . "

The creature was small, insect-like, yet almost mechanical. It flew by a motor on it's back, with its six legs hanging below it.

"We didn't know about it," Scott answered.

"You obviously haven't had this ship for very long," the Kree frowned. "We found it in the medical bay. We are almost finished working, but my men won't go back in just to be attacked."

"I'll take care of it," Scott said. He stepped inside transport tube connecting the station to the ship. The Leviathan was big, about a quarter of the size of the station. But it was still only about a tenth of the size of a Shi'ar war cruiser.

As he entered the actual ship, his right hand raised to the side of his visor. It was surgically attached to his head by Shi'ar doctors to keep him from using his powers in an uncontrolled setting. Raza had recently discovered a button on either side of the visor that, when pressed, opened the ruby-quartz and allowed him to fire his optic force beams.

Now that I think about it, that does seem rather odd. They went through a lot of trouble to attach it and hide the controls that would allow me to use it. One would think they would've just had me killed. But they didn't. I wonder why . . . ?

He heard a faint buzzing noise a few corridors down. He turned and slowly headed for it. Then he heard it again, behind him. He turned, ready . . .

Nothing.

This is ridiculous . . .

"Hello?" he asked. Anyone who had ever been off planet in any civilized sector had been injected with translator microbes. They were an interesting piece of technology. They allowed the user to be able to understand and be understood by any other alien speaking any other language. And they seemed to last just about forever. If this thing was an alien capable of speaking, it should understand. "Whoever's there, I mean you no harm . . . "

Nothing.

And then the buzzing sound again, down a few more corridors . . .

"I just want to find out who you are . . . "

The buzzing grew louder. It was getting closer . . . until it appeared. Just like on the monitor, an insect like creature, hovering in the air.

"My name's . . . Scott," he said cautiously.

"Called I am Sikorsky," it spoke in a strange, mechanical tone.

"Are you with . . . the Shi'ar?"

"Shi'ar evil," it replied. "Take me from my homeworld they did. Capture, pillage, destroy. All things, Shi'ar kill. All things, Shi'ar destroy. Here Sikorsky hides from Shi'ar. Now, Shi'ar gone. Sikorsky . . . safe?"

"You're safe," Scott nodded. "The others of us on this ship . . . we don't like the Shi'ar, either. But we didn't know you were here. You scared the men making repairs."

"Sikorsky is . . . sorry. He knows little about things outside of medicine."

"You're a doctor?" Scott asked.

"Yes, doctor. Master of every known medical practice I am."

"Y'know . . . we could use a doctor. Why don't you come off the ship, I'll--"

"NO!" it yelled, taking a defensive position. "Ship . . . home. Sikorsky no leave! Sikorsky stay . . . "

"Whoa, easy . . . easy," Scott put his hands up. "You can stay . . . that's fine. There will be men inside, doing work . . . is that alright?"

"Shi'ar?" it asked.

"No, no Shi'ar."

"Fine," Sikorsky replied. "Sikorsky shall be here, in ship, exploring, when you return."

Scott watched as the small insectoid flew off the way it came. He almost laughed to himself as he slowly left the ship.

"Repairs are complete," the Kree engineer said to the gathered crew. "Because of the scare, we are adding an additional two-hundred credits to the price, making the total ten-thousand, two-hundred credits."

"We have it," Ch'od replied. Keeyah and Raza gave him the credit chips.

Genis looked at them in surprise. As did Scott and Hepzibah.

"I thank you for your business," the Kree nodded.

"I thank you for your help," Scott replied.

"Tell me," the Kree asked. "What is the name of your ship? Or your crew? You are strangely dressed . . . pirates?"

"Would pirates have paid you?" Genis asked.

"Noble pirates, yes," the Kree nodded.

"Then maybe we are pirates," Scott smiled. "Come on, guys . . . we should keep moving."

Hepzibah nodded in agreement and the six quickly returned to the Leviathan. Three minutes later, it had cleared the hanger back and was back out in open space.

"Now that we're repaired, what do we do?" Scott asked.

"Revenge!" Hepzibah grinned.

"Umm . . . " Genis pondered. "Why don't we not rush into that so quickly? I mean, we've just kinda been thrown together . . . there's probably a lot we'd like to know about each other, right? Maybe we should . . . keep navigating the Clench, make some friends, get some supplies, get to know each other better . . . make some plans for our futures?"

"Sounds good to me," Scott nodded. "If you four are fine with that?"

Ch'od, Raza, and Hepzibah nodded.

"I'll get to the piloting controls," Keeyah shrugged. "Anywhere specific you wanna go?"

"Nah," Genis shrugged.

"Just keep us out of trouble," Scott added.

"Will do," Keeyah nodded.