"It is well you have returned, Nova, for my hunger grows unbearable. What have you found for me? How many worlds that meet my requirements?"

            "Well… uh… see… that's the thing… I searched this whole sector. There were not suitable worlds…" The young, amber flame of a woman swallowed, and finished, "I guess we'll have to go somewhere else."

            The silence that followed was almost deafening, The two words that broke it were by contrast very soft. "You lie."

            Nova's eyes widened a little. "What reason would I have to lie?" she asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

            "Do not compound your perfidy by denying it." Galactus rose from his seat, looming even further over the tiny woman. "I have monitored your travels, and scanned each world you visited. And I have found what you insist does not exist." A small blue world flickered onto one of the mammoth view screens. "This sphere contains the proper combination of elements that will provide me with sustenance. And yet you would deceive me and have me turn away from it."

            "There are millions of people-"

            "I am Galactus. I take what I need. Any other considerations are beneath my being. When I deigned to accept you as my herald, you swore your allegiance solely to me. You have changed, Nova, beyond the transformation I wrought in you. And I find this new demeanor unacceptable! You must again learn what obedience is. And that lesson begins now."

            Nova suddenly realized that all that time, Galactus' worldship had been bearing down on the planet she had been attempting to divert him from. Helpless, she followed him as he descended to the surface, her pleas for mercy ignored as Galactus plucked one of the world's inhabitants, an executioner, out of a military base of some kind, transporting the being to his worldship. Minutes later, the world was nothing more than a collection of dust and rock and trash floating in space.

            Galactus turned to regard her again, before moving back into the worldship, and she saw that his earlier fury seemed to have diminished now that he had fed. So Nova pushed the conversation again, having found that once his hunger had been sated, he was actually a being that could be conversed with, even reasoned with. "How can you obliterate whole planets, whole races, as if it means nothing to you? Why all this…. What are you doing?" She asked suddenly, as she caught sight of them man Galactus had taken earlier.

            "I am freeing you Nova. Permanently."

            "What?"

            The devourer of worlds did not deign to meet her gaze, which made the next words hurt even more. "You are free to go. Your service has become bothersome, and I no longer require it."

            "You're asking me… to leave?" she whispered.

            "You are no longer welcome here. Leave, and trouble me no more." When she didn't comply, he thundered, "GO!"

            She went.

            Several weeks later, on the tradeworld of Mundonis, a man concealed under a lengthy coat and wide brimmed hat in keeping with the local dress moved through a crowd of, there being no other way for his thoughts to describe them, the scum of the space fearing universe. Even though Mundonis was a prime meeting place for pirates, thieves, mercenaries, slavers, and conspirators of all kinds, it wasn't all as openly repulsive as the southern continent. The city of Dunon in particular seemed to be the center of the planet's slave trade, and Norrin was not too pleased with having to be there. He kept his eyes well averted from the near pornographic advertisements plastered on the buildings advertising this club or that one, looking around only long enough to make certain he was still on course for the club that he – unfortunately – meant to enter.

            A light rain had started falling, heralded by a gentle thundering overhead. It made the ensuing scene more fitting in mood, it seemed. Several men had stepped forward from various shelters, taking positions around the shrouded man.

            "Hey friend," the one who seemed to be the leader leered, taking a step forward. "You look new in town. You come to look at our….," he trailed off to chuckle darkly, "…'filthy' trade? Or are you just here for the Herald they brought in. See, I was thinking that Murz over there ain't chargin' enough for his admission, and so I was thinking I should charge my own."

            The passersby were either just hurrying on by, or simply ignoring the scene. This was likely somewhat common.

            A knife appeared in the leader's hand as he approached the disguised man. "So how about coughing up a few creds, huh pal? I'd sure hate for you to have to see the medical wards of our fair city on your first trip…"

            His smooth, slightly gritty voice was cut off in a yelp as he tripped over the foot of another pedestrian. The pedestrian apologized, but didn't sound even remotely sincere. "Whoops. Sorry 'bout that." This man too was hidden under a cloak, a sort of green plaid number, clasped with a gold pin.

            It was a rather large and burly man who grabbed an armful of this new man's cloak, hefting him towards his face. "And I think you better start being even more generous than Mr. Hat's going to be!" He'd indicated the shrouded man, suggesting the green-cloaked man owed more than he, a fist cocking back to punctuate his words.

            "Hey now," the green-cloaked man held up his hands appeasingly, "you wouldn't hit a man in glasses, now would you?" The subtle joke was lost on the Mundonians, who simply snarled at him to take them off then.

            "Whatever you say, slugger."

            The tense air was sliced by a ruby red blast firing from the man's eyes, blowing the man back several feet. Another man had a pistol out in a flash, only to stop short as a throat was cleared loudly behind him. He found himself staring down the barrel of a pulse rifle, held by a rather irritated-looking blonde woman.

            The leader was starting to recover, glancing between the woman and the man. "Human filth," he growled, focusing then on the emblem revealed as the cloaked man's cloak had been pulled open in the scuffle.

            "You're those triple-damned Starjammers!"

            "Wow, B, we're famous."

            Scott had hoped they'd listen to reason, but they still seemed intent on drawing blood. A shame…..for them.

            He would have preferred to ignore the men entirely, but the sudden, and unexpected intervention of the cloaked man deterred his departure. Even though part of him was inclined to depart anyway, feeling he had more pressing matters to attend to than a scuffle in the street. Especially once the man revealed that he was capable of defending himself just fine, and his companion revealed her presence as well.

            More likely than not, it was the utterance of the word 'human' that gave him the final persuasion needed to stay. He had a soft spot for the race, being so like his own. He knew little of the so-called Starjammers, except that they were pirates. He'd actually thought them to be Kree mercenaries, and as he generally tried not to put himself between the Kree and the Skrull, he had never gone to great lengths to learn about them. It was possible that they were simply looking for a fight themselves, but…

            He was here.

            Not seeming inclined to participate in the witty banter like everyone else, the Norrin Radd let himself get caught in the circle of aliens as they pressed around the Starjammers. Not flaunting his powers as he didn't want to be recognized – because there were just far too many people with a reason to want him dead – he settled for hand to hand combat, until he was nailed in the back with a heavy-duty energy weapon of some kind. It did him little harm, but the same couldn't be said for his clothing.

            His glistening skin gave the fight around him a sudden pause, giving him ample room to get to his feet and shake off the shards of fabric.

            "It's… It's the Surfer!"

            Clenching his fists, green energy blazed to being around his hands and forearms, the glow reflected in his narrowed eyes. That display was enough to send the people previously intent on robbing him fleeing – although he held no illusions that it wasn't simply in order to get reinforcements. They already had one former Herald imprisoned on this world, a second – no less than the famed Silver Surfer – would make an even greater display. Cosmic powers or not, the sheer numbers would overwhelm him.

            The energy bolts died away when he and the two humans stood alone on that section of street. "I thank you for your assistance," he said quietly, and turned to go. Time was more pressing than ever now.

            "So you're here to spring the other one? Nice to have friends in high and mighty places." Sweeping the cloak from his shoulders, he swept it around the Surfer, readjusting the clasp that had been jarred loose in the fight. "Let's keep your 24 karat sterling skin outta sight, huh?"

            "Name's Cyclops, and that's Binary. Feel free to forget us if you like, but we're here to keep the other Herald outta the wrong hands ourselves. 'Wrong hands' meaning most any sorry piece of protoplasm within a billion light years of this rock angling to claim her for a slave, weapon, or who knows what. I'd rather Murz not line his pockets with the proceeds either."

            Cyclops had a less-than-pleasant association with the alien Murz. It was Murz who'd captured him when he was a small boy tossed out of D'Kenn's palace, passed over as a 'worthless human boy'. Living the next several years in slavery until he'd escaped again had left him with a bit of grit in his temperament, but he'd rode the storm with his character intact, at least.

            And now, a little revenge along with keeping the galaxy safe, and the Herald at liberty, it was harmless, wasn't it?

            Norrin was visibly startled by the cloak being draped around his shoulders. It was one of his quirks, really, to believe in the nobility of the human race, and yet still be surprised when they actually lived up to his expectations. Then again, after being trapped on their little world for several very, very, very long years… he had also learned not to let his desire to trust the humans completely overrun his common sense. Doctor Doom had taught him that lesson the hard way. He'd have to keep an eye on these two in case they had their own ulterior motives.

            "I would be grateful for your assistance in freeing Nova," he murmured with a polite nod. "We must move quickly. I do not doubt that my intentions here will be easily guessed when my presence is reported. My… sources have informed me she is in a place called 'Flamers'." His voice held a disdain for the irony in the club's name.

            "Funny irony is, Surfer Boy, there's probably at least half a dozen other groups looking to get your Nova out, only they mean to get her free of charge. We just have to be sure we're the ones who do it first."

            Scott knew the way to the rather flashy club called Flamers quite well. He usually had a disadvantage in manpower and strength when it came to dealing with aliens – the scant few humans who actually made forays out into the universe were looked on in contempt, as backwater hicks who couldn't get off their own planet, and had just hitched rides into the great beyond. Scott hadn't volunteered, himself, but he was used to being looked down on. He never let it bother him.

            "If I had to guess, the back ways and side ways and secret ways and whatever other ways are going to be impossible to crack. I kinda figured slipping in the front door was our best option. Too many crooks to watch to narrow out one face."

            "I had arrived at that conclusion as well," Norrin said with another nod, and allowed this Cyclops to lead the way.

            Milling into the club amidst the crowd of eager patrons unnoticed was easy enough, it seemed. As was finding Nova. She was on stage with a number of other women, dancing. And while he would have preferred to avert his eyes from the scene, he found he couldn't. The blank, absent look in her eyes, so mismatched from the look on her face, held his attention. As a human might say, the lights were on, but no one was home. A quick glance to some of the other scantily clad women showed that Nova was alone in the trance-like state. She, like the rest of the women, wore a slavers' collar, though hers appeared different from the rest. Norrin suspected that it was designed to keep her powers in check should she become unruly.

            It really didn't look like that was likely. He tried to surmise what had caused this. Nova's spirit was one he had always suspected could not be broken by any means.

            Mingling in the crowd proved fruitful for Scott. Nova was fairly easy to spot, as none of the other women sported flaming hair, but the Captain of the Starjammers was beset by Murz himself upon trying to near the stage.

            "Yoooouuu look like the kind of man who needs a companion to fill his evenings…" He staggered slightly. His performance was telling Scott two things. Firstly, and most importantly, he didn't recognize Scott. Scott hadn't been wearing his visor when he'd been the slave boy, so it figured. Secondly, he was quite plastered. From the amount of money Murz stood to make off this evening, it was somewhat understandable.

            Binary seemed intent on 'helping' Scott in his endeavors. "Oh yes, you wouldn't believe how long his bed has been empty." Scott would have shot her a snide glance, at least if Murz hadn't lurched towards the stage again.

            "Well then consider one of these fine beauties, boyo! Take Nova there! Former Herald of Galactus, she is! She's nearly powerless with that collar on, and she takes orders –really- well….," he leered. "I'm sure you could use that for some…'eventful' evenings."

            "You don't say," Scott murmured, a hand reaching up to adjust the knob on the side of his visor. The lenses were realigned to project a pinpoint beam, and with a bit of precise aim…..

            Her collar sprang open with a slight popping noise, clattering onto the stage. Scott sprang onto the stage alongside the woman who looked rather empty at the moment. "Don't mind if I do, Murz!"

            Scott's sword was out and slicing through a cable that another dancer had been seductively hanging and swinging from, making her fall with a shriek.

            "Cyclops!" Murz's horrified realization was a bit late, but not bad, considering it had been almost twelve years.

            "Just relax, Nova, I'll get you out of here." Scott was trying to whisper reassuringly into her ear quickly, catching the cable, grabbing her around the waist, and swinging somewhat impressively over the heads of several stunned patrons.

            "Cover us, B!" Scott was feeling somewhat optimistic until his swing came to an end, right in front of several armor-clad bouncers. And this armor they were wearing was some serious stuff. Scott couldn't blast them away without taking the whole front of the building with them, and that would mean dropping a nice chunk of the roof on himself, Nova, and several somewhat-innocent people.

            "Um, hi…" Scott was racing for ideas as they began advancing.

            Nova uttered a tired shriek of, "You're not allowed to touch the merchandise!" as she was tugged off the stage by Cyclops. It was a statement echoed in some form or another by several other club employees in the area. People getting grabby with the entertainment was a reoccurring theme, of course, and Murz had measures in place to deal with it, as Scott quickly discovered.

            "You're going to get me in trouble," she replied to him, obviously unaware that this was a rescue, or that one was necessary.

            The Surfer had disappeared in the crowd, and he appeared now, behind the group closing in on the human and Nova. He spread his hands open before him, the charged look flaring in his eyes again, this time sans energy bolts prepared to be thrown. It had occurred to him that neither of them could do much shooting without destroying the place and endangering lives, but that instead he could absorb or contain the excess energy from Cyclops' blasts.

            "I'm afraid I am always in trouble, Nova." Scott didn't sound too perturbed, despite himself, interjecting himself in between Murz's bouncers and Nova.

            Murz was sounding delighted again, sobered somewhat by the disturbance. "This is too good to be true. I get to sell the former Herald as well as the only human too stupid to get back into its cradle," he sneered, again voicing to all too common sentiment that humans didn't belong outside their planet's atmosphere.

            "I'd sooner find a taste for impaling myself on my own sword, Murz."

            The Silver Surfer had arrived from the crowd, Binary right behind him, but Surfer didn't look like he was about to go tossing around the Power Cosmic he was supposed to have, but his appearance at least slowed the bouncers.

            His arms were spread, but no fireworks. "I'm hoping you're not going to start a game of Blind Man's Bluff, Surfer," Cyclops quipped, one hand on Nova's arm, needlessly keeping her still, as Nova still looked quite out of it.

            The blank, unrecognizing look in his direction was all Norrin needed to confirm that Nova was truly not herself. It was a shame, as between the two of them they could have ended this situation very speedily. But he would have to settle for working with the humans, and broker an escape for all of them.

            Escape out any exit didn't seem likely – as there were not only Murz' guards to contend with, but the likely great number of ill-wishers that would be gathering as a result of the earlier scuffle – so the best way out seemed to be up, through the roof.

            "To me, my board," he commanded to air, his voice somewhat lost in the shouting. Exerting his powers on the floor below the guards standing between him and Nova, the formerly solid substance seemed to melt and then solidify again, causing the guards to sink in, impeding their movements. Their weapons were dispensed with immediately afterward, surrounded briefly in green energy before starting to look like Dali watches.

            Unfortunately, he'd run out of time for fancy, precise, non-violent methods. A rather large alien barreled out of the crown from behind him, trying to get him in a headlock. He ducked under the grab, hurling the alien towards another that was charging to enter the fight. "Stay close to me!" he called out to Binary and Cyclops over the roar of the crowd.

            Cyclops carried no pistol, but then, he really didn't need one when his sight was a weapon. But with the crowds closing in, he'd resorted to his sword to keep some at bay. Nova was doubtful to follow them on their own, so a few desperate measures were called for.

            "I promise I'll make this up to you," he whispered to her before hoisting her over a shoulder, a rather undignified position, and not one Scott would ever want to be in, but even so…

            With Nova secure, the optic blasts began accompanying the sword, now switched into a broad beam, useful for knocking over groups of people all at once.

            "As much as I love knocking heads," called the forceful voice of Binary, "I hope you two heroes came up with more to this plan than bust in, grab the girl, and bust out!"

            Nova yelped in protest, but delivered a kick to an alien that had tried to grab her ankle instead of lashing out at Scott. "You're insane!"

            "It seemed like an effectively simple strategy at the time," the Surfer replied, in a tone that confused whether it was a joke or perfectly sincere.

            A silver, seven foot long projectile cut through the ceiling like a knife through hot butter, without the resultant gaping hole that one would have expected. In fact, it left no trace of its point of entry at all as it barreled towards the Surfer's side, where it impacted with the stomach of a multi-armed alien, sending him flying. The board arced up and circled the room once again before swooping down on the Surfer. He sprung onto it, rising again. From that vantage point he was quite a sitting duck to anyone in the room with a blaster, but the shots bounced ineffectively off an energy barrier created by his left hand. The vantage point also gave him a better position to fire from. Confident that anyone who qualified as innocent would have fled by now, he unleashed a forceful, sweeping blast of the power cosmic, driving a section of the crowd back away from his allies still on the ground, giving himself some room to maneuver down beside them, hovering a couple feet off the ground.

"Get on," he ordered, sending another blast into the crowd to drive them further back before dropping his shielding around the small group. "Quickly." No longer being shot at, the mob was closing in.

"Mmm, take me, Moon Doggie," Binary remarked sarcastically, springing onto the board, helping Scott get Nova and himself behind her. "Hi-ho Silver, away!" Well, who knew Carol Danvers watched Saturday morning cartoons religiously as a child?

Scott was more productive, firing covering blasts even while scrabbling to get onto the Surfer's board. "Surfer! I've got a ship tucked into an out of the way docking bay in the southern part of the city, I can lose these yokels and anyone else trying to follow us if you can get us there!"

The Starjammer was just about the fastest thing there was on four ion drives, and Scott was naturally a rather proud owner – besides, the Surfer wouldn't have to shield them all on the ship.

"Brace yourselves," he said in reply, although it was rather unnecessary as he was already applying fields to ensure they did not fall from the board. The laden surfboard rose above the crowd, then darted over it, finally arcing upwards and going through the roof, an outstretched hand altering the roof's molecular makeup to allow their passage through it.

They bore down on the south side of the city at full speed, and Norrin landed beside the ship that Cyclops indicated. Nova had gotten very quiet as they soared over the city, casting odd, unhappy glances at her abductors. Briefly, the Surfer considered the prospect that Galactus might have done something to her. Yet while the Devourer had shown no qualms about tampering with minds, it made little sense that he would do so and then dismiss her.

            "Take Nova with you," he said, having finally decided to really trust the humans. "I will follow and deter others from doing the same."

            There was a long and tactical rebuttal about sticking together and combining their forces forming on Scott's tongue, but he did realize there would be a fair number of ships quite angry that their 'prize' had been snatched from their grubby little paws, hands, claws, talons, tentacles, and most other sorts of appendages.

            Carol seemed to soften slightly in dealing with Nova. Female bonding and all that. Quickly ushering her into the cockpit as Scott sprang into the pilot's seat, his fingers flying over the controls, doing what would be called an abridged version of the abridged version of a preflight check, and the Starjammer was airborne, aiming for the stars.

            "Buckle in," encouraged Carol almost warmly. "It's a comfy chair, and no one's been killed in it this month…..yet."

            Nova followed along like a sheep, seemingly resigned to her fate. Watching this, Norrin's face darkened slightly, and he took to the sky, hovering a few hundred meters above the ship. He stayed close until a group of small ship showed up to harass the Starjammer, and then he broke off, methodically disabling them.

            The larger ships that followed proved more of a problem, the force of their weaponry actually presenting a threat to the Surfer. True, they would have been easier to deal with had he not been attempting to simply disable them. But if he had been one to use power simply because he had it, he would still be working for Galactus.

            Still, between the Starjammer and the Surfer, there were no truly large problems until they were down to the last, and largest ship. It seemed to be keeping pace with the Starjammer, and whom ever was operating the weaponry was doing a good job driving Norrin away from its vulnerable points.

            Inside the Starjammer, Nova watched the battle on a screen, still looking resigned. Until the Surfer got nailed and sent flying, seeming to have finally gotten caught in spite of his best efforts. Separated from his board, he drifted, unmoving. That, finally, seemed to break through whatever walls Nova had been stuck behind. "Oh… God… Sufer…!" Her fingers fumbled for the release of the seat's safety harness.

            Meanwhile, the other ship bore down mercilessly on the Starjammer.

            "Sit down and let me worry about him!" Scott was shouting over the noise of the sudden explosions, the laserfire concentrating on them now. Scott had thrown the ship into high throttle, and in the instant the inertial compensators needed to adjust, she likely would have been tossed into her seat as it was.

            "B, get on the cargo scoop!"

            Scott had swung around the hulk of a ship that Surfer had crippled, blasting right back into the middle of the furball, the ship shaking violently as it was assaulted. From the looks on their faces, Binary and Cyclops found this suicidal, but for what it was worth, Surfer was part of their ragtag band for right then, and Cyclops never left anyone behind.

            In a wide turn, the Surfer was collected neatly in the cargo bay, the scoop making sure he didn't wind up a dent in the floor. It was a blind jump into lightspeed that allowed them escape, and it also had Binary somewhat irked at the Captain.

            "You idiot! We could have wound up in the heart of a star somewhere!" She was shouting, and even delivered a fairly solid punch to Scott's arm. His stern glance quieted her as both knew there'd been no other way.

            He was already calculating a trip into 'quieter waters', somewhere he could hunker down and actually get his ship fixed, as he was quite sure it had been blown to heck and back again in their little 'adventure'.

            Just as she got to her feet Nova was hurled back down again by the force of the ship's sudden movement. Still a little hazy on the details of what was going on, she stayed put, seeing that the other two appeared to have things well in hand. After it was clear they'd escaped, she darted off the bridge without a word to either of them, not knowing anything for certain except that she'd have no trouble locating the cargo bay the Surfer had been caught in. She heard footsteps pelting down the corridor behind her, but didn't slow down.

            Arriving at his side, she knelt and lifted him slightly off the floor, resting his head upper body against her legs. He was still breathing, just out cold. She gently offered some of her own energies to try and rouse him. His body absorbed the energy eagerly, and he started to stir. "C'mon, Silverado. Nap time's over…"

            It was Binary who'd followed immediately. Scott hadn't followed until he was certain that they were all safe for the time being. He did arrive when the Surfer had started to stir, however, standing alongside Binary.

            "Nova? You're –" The Surfer started, but was cut off as Nova tugged him into an embrace. Gazing over her flame-draped shoulder, he saw Binary and Cyclops. Gently, he separated himself and Nova, and stood.

            Following his gaze to the pair of humans, Nova grinned at them somewhat sheepishly. "Uh… Silverado? I don't guess you'd like to tell me what's going on? Who're your new friends?"

            "Cyclops, and Binary. The 'Starjammers.'" Norrin's tone was mildly uncomfortable, and his gaze fell on her again. "They assisted me in recovering you from Mundonis. You were… Not yourself." He paused. "I do not understand how Galactus could have allowed you to remain… imprisoned."

            Nova shifted uncomfortably herself, her grin fading, and the look in her eyes threatening to go distant again. "Yeah. Well. You know how much attention the Big G pays his former heralds…" Trying to change the subject, she looked back up at Cyclops and Binary again. "Thanks for the rescue, I guess. I didn't know there were other humans roaming space…"

            "Not an intentional career move, but Earth isn't really home anymore." Scott took a few steps forward, offering a hand. "Call me Scott." He found himself sympathizing with the flame-haired woman. He'd been in the scenario when he'd lost everything he knew and loved, and left in a completely unknown world with nothing. It had been….unsettling, to say the least. Being a thirteen year old lost on the Shi'ar homeworld had hardly been fun.

            Pleased that the subject-changing had gone smoothly, Nova took Cyclops' hand and shook it, finding a small, friendly smile. "Then call me Frankie," she offered in return. Clasping her hands behind her back, she parted her lips to make more idle chatter, but was cut off by the Surfer.

            "Nova."

His tone came off as a slight admonishment for her trying to avoid the discussion. Sighing, she lowered her gaze to the floor. "He fired me, Silverado."

The Surfer took her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "What happened?" he asked, the concern in his tone barely hiding the underlying urgency.

Nova explained her final, failed attempt at dissuading Galactus from devouring an inhabited world. She supposed she was lucky that Galactus had changed his mind about teaching her obedience.

"Galactus has taken another Herald. Then the rumors are true indeed."

"Rumors?"

"I had heard that he was consuming inhabited worlds again, with a renewed vigor. I had believed that you…" He trailed off, but the thought was already out there, and Nova's hurt was visible. "I am sorry, Nova."

"Forget it," she replied, not sounding in the least like it was forgotten on her end.

Norrin looked about to apologize again, and then stepped away from her, looking to Cyclops and Binary again. "I thank you again, my friends, for your aid. I must depart now, and find Galactus. This… cannot be allowed to continue."

"Hey, don't mention it," said Cyclops, waving away the gratitude. He made the requisite goodbyes, but the look on his face seemed to imply there was something working in his mind. He meant to follow the Surfer. If the World Devourer was eating planets again, there'd be a lot of people in need of a quick ride. While he'd never get them all off, he could do what he could regardless.

"You ok? You can hang around here until your 'infamy' dies down a bit." No doubt there'd be several people gunning for her, at least for a while, and a place to lay low for a time could be useful.

Nova stared slightly as the Surfer departed through the hull of the ship without a word of goodbye, and then looked back to Cyclops when he spoke. "I'm… I… I don't know. I should go after him…" she murmured, the struggle against her emotions visible on her face.

Scott's hand rested lightly on Nova's shoulder. "The offer to hang around here is still good, but somehow I get the feeling you aren't exactly the sedentary type. With that in mind, I want to ask you a favor."

"Let us follow you to where Galactus is. I have a nasty inkling that if he is going after inhabited planets again, there's going to be a lot of people needing to be somewhere else really fast. We aren't superheroes or powerhouses, but we can do what we can."

Tilting her head, Nova studied him a moment, then nodded. Galactus wasn't the type to shoot down evacuating ships, so she didn't think it'd be too insane to let them come along. Hopefully, though, if she and the Surfer confronted the Devourer, there would be no need for evacuations.

"You're brave," she said softly, "And maybe kinda crazy. But sure, you can follow me, if you really want to. Just… don't get any ideas about tryin' to get in Galactus' way, okay?"

"Crazy, sure, but I am not that crazy. Even if all I can get is a shipful of people off, that's something, which is better than the nothing we're going to get otherwise. He took a step back with a slight bow. "After you."

            The Starjammer arrived right behind Nova, but angling off for the planet just nearby. Apparently Surfer had caught him just in time. "Full burn on the engines, B, we need to get in and out quick."

            Nova made a beeline for the world ship, pleased that Galactus' numerous defenses didn't attempt to prevent her entry. She arrived at the ship's core to find the Surfer hovering in front of Galactus, speaking quietly. Another man, wielding a large axe, was on the ground at the Devourer's feet.

            "Enough, Norrin Radd. Your speeches tire me," Galactus waved his hand, driving the Surfer back a few paces. "Nova. I warned you to trouble me no more. It seems you lack gratitude as well as obedience."

            "Galactus… Please. Let me be your Herald again. I'll…"

            "I have found a truly suitable Herald. I have no need of you. Begone, both of you."

            "I will not allow this to continue, Galactus," The Surfer boldly stated, moving to Nova's side. "There is no need for this destruction, when Nova can-"

            "ENOUGH!" Galactus bellowed, rising. "Depart, my former Heralds, and do so quickly." When they made no move to comply, he murmured, "You will defy me no more."

            The last thing they saw was eyes ablaze with fury and power incomprehensible. And then, after a painful interval, they found themselves on the planet below, the onset of Galactus' feeding apparent.

            "To me, my board," the Surfer said in a weak voice. A few moments later, "My board, to me…" he sounded less certain.

            "Silverado?"

            "I… cannot sense it, Nova." His gaze turned skyward. "I cannot hear the turning of the cosmos…"

            "I guess daddy grounded us," she replied, her attempt at a pun not really as amusing as she thought it would be. "What now?"

            "Now, Nova?" He looked down at his still-silver form with disgust as the world rumbled beneath them. "It seems Galactus means for us to drift in space with the remains of this world." His eyes finally fell on her face. "I am truly sorry, Nova. Were it not for me, you would not be in this-"

            She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Forget it, Silverado. We tried to do what was right. That's all that matters…"

            The Starjammer prowled slowly through the aimlessly drifting field of lifeless rock, every last joule devoured by the eternally-hungry Galactus. Binary was at the helm, as Scott had taken to staring out at the debris with a blank gaze. Binary was almost as shaken as Scott was, never having seen such carnage.

            But it was a small glint that attracted Scott's attention in the middle of the rubble.

            "B, that over there, what are those?"

            Surfer and Nova were drifting in space, utterly still. "Change course to intercept them, B!" Scott was already on his way down to the cargo bay, aiming to reel them in.

            It was the next day that found Scott in the medical bay, watching the stars go by through the smaller port. The medical droid the previous crew of the Starjammer had used, a locust-shaped android, was busily hovering over the two patients, though admittedly even the Shi'ar database had no data on how to aid such enhanced beings.

            Scott cast a somewhat worried eye over the pair. Exactly what had Galactus done to them to make them like this?

            In the time following the planet's destruction, the Surfer had instructed Nova on a Zenn-Lavian meditation technique, not entirely certain how long their bodies would be able to survive in space with their obviously reduced powers. Periodically, he had brought himself back to consciousness to check on their situation. This time, he found it changed. They were on some ship.

            The answer of who had rescued them became clear when his gaze fell on Cyclops' back where he stood gazing out of the view port. "It seems that, again, I owe you my gratitude, Cyclops," he murmured, sliding off his bed and moving to Nova's side.

            "No need to thank me. As I recall, that was you being the only one with the stones to spit into the wind there, Surfer." That kind of risk was impressive to Scott, and gave him hope for what he was doing, as limited and small scale as his work was.

            "How are you feeling? You two were pretty close to being…well, gone when we brought you onboard. Our medical droid tried tending to you, but we're kind of at a loss for caring for former Heralds."

            He'd turned to speak to the Surfer, casting an eye towards Nova as well, checking to see if she'd come around yet.

"We are not seriously injured – our energies have simply been reduced to something infinitely lower than the medical droid was expecting. I do not believe Galactus intended our deaths. Merely to deter us from interfering with him again." He pressed his fingers methodically along the nerves in Nova's neck. "Nova. Can you hear me?"

            Slowly, she too stirred. "Sil… Silverado?"

            He placed  a hand on her shoulder, preventing her from rising. "Rest. You are safe."

            Nova raised her head a little anyway, and caught sight of Scott. She grinned tiredly. "You again? My hero."

            Scott grinned in turn, glancing toward the window slightly. "Yeah, well. I owed you for tossing you over my shoulder like a bag of flour."

            He paused, as though collecting his thoughts. "Seeing as Galactus just forced you to owe up as far as paperclips and ball-point pens you guys took home from work, more or less, I was wondering if the two of you would like to stay on the Starjammer. It's not exactly the ritziest and cleanest ship out there, and what Carol and I do is hardly battling the hordes of galactic warlords and saving all of existence, but would you two be interested in helping us keep at least a few parts of it a little nicer?"

            It had been Carol's suggestion, really. Just the two of them couldn't always do that much, and they were a bit alone, and even tended to drive each other crazy from time to time.

            There was a few moments of silence as the two former heralds exchanged a look. Finally, the Surfer allowed Nova to sit up. She swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I haven't got any other plans – or anywhere else to go, really. The few times I've been back to Earth, the welcome wasn't exactly open-armed… So. Sure."

            The Surfer looked less enthusiastic. "I… cannot." At Nova's surprised look, he frowned more. "I am sorry, Nova. I have… other obligations."

            "Well… then I'll go with you."

            "No. I believe it would be best if you remained here, with the Starjammers." He looked to Scott once more. "I will depart as soon as we reach a space station or space-faring colony."

            "Silverado…"

            "I would feel better, Nova, knowing that you were among friends." End of discussion, his tone said.

            "Sure."

            "Well, I suppose we'll have to sanitize a cabin for you, Frankie," Scott grinned slightly, "and I bet we can rustle up some kind of ever-so-stylish clothing with the logo on it. He stopped to glance down at the logo on his own outfit, remarking "It's not actually that bad even." The clothes might cut back on how easily she was recognized, something a bit important as she was staying on.

            "Surfer, any place or direction you'd like to be dropped off on? We don't really have anywhere to be until we can figure who's trying to screw who over, basically." They'd need to lurk in a few dives and taverns for some rumors to look into. That, and maybe even 'liberate' a few things from some slavers or other pirates.

            Nova had gone quiet again, only offering a small grin of acknowledgement to Scott's remarks about a room and clothing, just to show him she did appreciate it.

"Perhaps the Lunar Gate of Renvar VII…" he replied after a few moments thoughts. "It should not be too far. And I suspect you will find it suitable for your information gathering needs as well." He always had.

Sliding off the bed, Nova stepped past the Surfer. "All right with you if I wander around?" she asked Scott.

"Sure, go right ahead." It seemed as though things were somewhat strained between Surfer and Nova, but he wasn't good at that sort of thing, and so he was leaving that one alone.

He did get on the intercom, though, relaying the destination of the Lunar Gate.

"Just when did you pull that one out of your –"

"Just go there, B."

"All right, all right…"

Later, Scott had switched shifts on the bridge with Binary. It was actually rather nice at the moment. The only noise was the slight rumble of the ship's engines, and the Ij Nebula was coming up.

Scott seemed quite relaxed, sitting back in his seat, his feet propped up on a non-essential part of the console…..

…when Nova crept quietly onto the bridge. She stood at the rear, studying things in silence a few moments, then said, somewhat hesitantly, "I… just wanted to thank you again…"

That being said, she drifted further onto the bridge, looking over the various consoles and displays. "It's not a bad ship, for a human," she commented, trying to sound light, even though she wasn't feeling it.

"Shi'ar, actually," Scott corrected. "I….uh….I kind of…well, 'borrowed' it. From the Shi'ar military. It was a prototype of a new scoutship, which is why it's got speed on anything else out there." He grinned sheepishly back at her, generally not the stealing sort, but when he'd needed a ship, or else go back into slavery, he'd picked thievery.

"You stole a ship from the Shi'ar?" Nova grinned, approvingly. Moving down to the seat she'd been offered when she'd first come aboard, she settled on its edge, draping her hands across her knees. She seemed to be done moping over the Surfer's departure and her own reduced power-state, or at least ignoring them for now. "So… what is it you and Binary do, exactly? Other than rescue Heralds in distress, I mean."

"I keep an ear out for warlords that might be hording arms to go on conquering sprees, I listen for rumors of drug trades, slave trades – basically, for all those sorts of things, I become a thorn in their side, and shut them down. That's how we came upon you. There was big talk of a slave with great beauty and power available, and it was calling for a price that would basically make whoever sold it for life. I don't like that kind of money in hands like Murz's, and I like the idea of you being enslaved to the people he deals with even less."

Nodding, Nova relaxed back in the seat, her look growing a little more serious. As she'd suspected it would be, it was a worthwhile cause, and she was glad she'd agreed to stay. And with her ability to find things, she might even be able to make herself useful.

"I… don't know what happened, really. Galactus dismissed me, and I just… headed off into space," she murmured after a short silence. She'd wanted to talk to Norrin, but he seemed intent on avoiding her. Scott seemed friendly enough, and I she was going to be joining the crew, she might as well make a proper start with the trust thing. "I guess I was just… overwhelmed. Never really expected the Big G would… Well. To be honest. I sorta thought we were… friends…"

"Left with nothing, no purpose, in a great big universe. It is overwhelming. A long time ago, my parents were pilots. We were all flying back home to Alaska, my parents, me, and my kid brother. The plane was attacked by a Shi'ar ship for some reason, and I got taken back to the Shi'ar homeworld. I don't know what happened to the rest."

He chuckled slowly. "The Shi'ar Majestrix D'Kenn considered me useless, and tossed me out into the street. I was overwhelmed just like you were, and I just survived, really."

"Everyone always underestimates the humans…" she said softly, then more softly, added, "Sorry. About your family, I mean." The former Herald fell silent again. Survival. That was the point, wasn't it? She'd always gotten exactly what she needed before, so maybe this was life opening one door after having slammed another on her.

Gazing down at her hands, she realized she'd been absentmindedly toying with shaping a small flame in between them, and chuckled slightly. "Sorry. Nervous habit. Though… I suppose I need all the practice I can get at remembering how to use my old powers properly…"

"Maybe. But as nice it would be tactically and strategically to have someone with fire powers, I'd say you've got everything you need to do just fine." Binary had once had a sort of cosmic power herself, and lost it, and had dealt with her loss as well.

She was still quite lethal, just in different ways. Scott was a leader, despite that he didn't usually have much to command, and he knew that you could never expect more of people than what they could do.

Funny thing was, humans were highly underrated. They were easily some of the most dangerous creatures in the galaxy. Maybe that's why several other races wanted them to stay on Earth so much.

"I'm not too worried. I just wish – " she skipped finishing that thought. Norrin was leaving, and her concern wasn't going to stop him. He was one of the most stubborn people in the universe. "Nevermind. Hey… will you teach me how to fly the ship sometime, maybe? I've never actually had the chance before to learn. Or a reason, really." She paused. "I promise not to scratch the paint job?"

Scott grinned a bit more broadly. "And you even know how to get around my usual objections. I like you already." His face straightened slightly. "But anytime you'd like, just let me know, and I'd be happy to."

"You rock. Galactus never let me drive the ship," she replied good-humoredly, standing. "I'm going to go roaming again. I seem to have a lot of energy to burn after trying Silverado's little meditation-trick…" Giving him a small, cheery wave, she wandered off the bridge.