Chapter 175: First Steps on Xandar

Chapter 175: Chapter 175: First Steps on Xandar

Nearly fourteen days had passed since they set off on this leg of their journey. Throughout the trip, Jack had kept himself buried in work, spending most of his time with the combat and science teams and training the recruits according to the Plumber code he’d absorbed. He’d also been tweaking the training here and there to fit their situation, pushing everyone, himself included, to their limits as he tried to turn the recruits into real Plumbers.

Luck had been on their side for the most part. Their only real encounter along the way had been an old spaceship that had been destroyed and left drifting through space all alone. They’d searched the wreckage and stripped it of anything useful before continuing their journey. Beyond that, the trip had been uneventful, and they were finally closing in on their destination.

[Warning. Multiple unidentified spacecraft detected ahead.]

Redqueen’s sudden alert put the entire crew on edge, and Jack and Gwen rushed straight to the main control room.

"Red, what’s the situation?" Jack asked, his usual easy tone gone, replaced by something serious.

"We’re nearing our destination, and several spacecraft have been detected. I’ve also received an incoming message. Should I decode it?" Redqueen asked.

"Decode it."

[Unidentified vessel, reduce speed and shut down your weapons. You are entering Xandarian-controlled space.]

"That sounds like Xandar’s police," Jack said.

"Should we power down the weapons?" Gwen asked, tension creeping into her voice as the ships closed in, clearly ready to fire if needed.

"Redqueen, slow us down and shut down weapons," Jack ordered, following protocol. He hadn’t come this far just to start a fight.

[Yes, master.]

Redqueen complied, slowing the ship and powering down its weapons. Seeing this, the Xandarian ships eased off as well, holding their fire.

[Master, they’re requesting a connection.]

"Connect it."

A holographic screen flickered to life in front of Jack and Gwen, showing a Xandarian woman who looked remarkably similar to a human, aside from her gray skin and unusual eyes.

"This is the Nova Corps. Please state your identity and the purpose of your visit."

"I’m Jack Walker. We’re a new organization called the Plumbers. We’re here to establish contact with Xandar and learn more about the galaxy."

The woman nodded.

"Understood. Your vessel isn’t registered with Xandar. I’m sending a temporary registration request to your ship now. Complete it before proceeding."

A notification appeared on Redqueen’s interface.

[Temporary vessel registration received.]

Jack glanced at the notification.

"That’s it?"

"The registration can be completed automatically through their system," Redqueen explained.

A few seconds later, another message appeared.

[Registration approved.]

[Welcome to Xandar. Please follow all local laws while within Xandarian territory.]

The woman spoke once more.

"Your vessel is cleared to proceed. Enjoy your stay on Xandar."

The connection ended.

Jack stared at the now-blank holographic screen for a moment.

"Well... that was a lot easier than I expected."

"Yeah, I figured there’d be more of a security check," Gwen said.

"Guess they’re just that confident in their defenses," Jack replied, watching the Nova Corps ships peel away.

As they drew closer, streams of different spacecraft passed in and out of Xandar’s orbit, ranging from small personal vessels to massive transport ships. The planet below was just as impressive, its cities stretching across the surface as countless ships moved through the atmosphere.

Jack and Gwen found themselves staring at the sight in genuine amazement.

No matter how many movies you watch, no amount of imagination prepares you for seeing something like this in person.

"It’s beautiful," Gwen said, awestruck, as their ship began its descent toward the planet.

After guiding them to an appropriate docking area, Redqueen sent another message.

[Master, there’s a problem. Our vessel is too large for standard civilian docking, so we’ve been assigned a larger parking zone. The fee is 500 units per day. We don’t currently have an account or any recognized currency.]

"Money," Jack muttered, unsurprised. Money mattered everywhere, apparently, even out here.

"Five hundred units a day?" Gwen asked.

"I have absolutely no idea if that’s expensive or cheap."

Jack looked toward the salvage they’d collected from the derelict ship.

"Let’s see what we can get for the loot we picked up."

Jack sent photos and technical information on everything they’d salvaged that wasn’t particularly useful to him to the local exchange center for evaluation.After examining the information, they received an offer of 200,000 units.

"Is that a good offer or a bad one?" Gwen asked, having no frame of reference for the currency’s actual value.

"How would I know?" Jack replied, then turned toward Redqueen. "Red, can you access Xandar’s public network?"

"I can access civilian systems only. Anything military or restricted would likely trigger their security systems," Redqueen replied.

"Honestly, I’d be more surprised if you could get into everything." ℯℯ𝑙.

Jack had her check the current market prices and compare the exchange center’s offer with other legitimate buyers.

"Master, I’ve checked the available information. The offer is reasonable and isn’t significantly below the current market value. Private buyers might offer more, but there’s no guarantee of security. Several have been accused of selling client information to pirates or other interested buyers," Redqueen reported, pulling up several relevant news reports.

"Then let’s use the official exchange center. Smaller profit, sure, but we’re not risking the bigger picture over it."

Now that I think about it... Peter Quill’s bounty was only 40,000 units, and that prosthetic leg he bought cost him 30k.

So 200,000 units is actually pretty solid money for one person.

But for a hundred-person organization? That won’t last long.

Jack made a mental note that they’d need to find a real way to start generating income of their own, and soon.

Once the sale was finalized, Jack handed the funds over to the logistics team and made sure they understood the budget they had to work with. He also gave everyone instructions to stay on their best behavior while on Xandar and begin gathering information about the planet and the surrounding galaxy.

The science team would focus on scientific and technological knowledge, while the communications team would gather information about local civilizations, laws, and current events. The combat team would familiarize themselves with Xandar’s security rules and remain ready in case anything unexpected happened.

Redqueen would handle the public network searches, but Jack made it clear that the team should verify important information themselves instead of blindly relying on the AI.

Once everything was assigned, Jack finally stood up.

"Alright, that’s enough work for now. Gwen, let’s go see what Xandar actually looks like."

With the team settling into their new assignments, Jack and Gwen left the control room and headed toward the city.

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