"Invasion!"
Holographic images displayed multiple ships emerging from hyperspace alongside swarms of drones attacking the city-planet itself.
"An unknown threat has compromised the programming of countless droids across the galaxy, causing them to attack any and all organic life forms."
The screen flashed to clones and Jedi Knights fighting valiantly against seemingly endless waves of drones. Occasionally, several humans with extraordinary abilities could be seen fighting alongside Republic forces.
"Panic and confusion reign as multiple reports on this mysterious enemy show them attacking not only the Republic's capital world, but also numerous planets belonging to both the Republic and the Separatists."
Moments later, the footage showed Separatist Alliance forces fighting off a sudden influx of ships and drones that devastated their ranks.
"Both sides blame each other—the Republic and the Separatists. Some attribute the cause of this chaos to an unknown entity, who may be the source of all this destruction. But this remains speculation, with no concrete evidence. Meanwhile, the Republic has regained its footing and mobilized its forces to combat this entity that appeared—"
"Turn that noisy thing off," a small rodent-like creature said. "They keep repeating the same garbage over and over."
"Oh, come now, Master Rocket," a mechanical voice said with distinct amusement in its tone. "The thought of the galaxy's capital under attack makes me feel quite alive."
"Yeah, yeah, HK, we get it—you've said that multiple times already," Rocket Raccoon said, patting the assassin droid on the head. "Now keep quiet. I need to make sure my theory is correct."
"Query: What are you doing, Rocket?" HK-47 asked.
"After seeing those droids get hijacked by whatever this is, I'm making sure the same thing won't happen to you," Rocket replied, opening the back of HK's head and beginning to examine the droid's processor core.
"Defensive statement: Master Rocket, I am part of a group calling themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy, and we profit from eliminating meatbags," HK declared solemnly. "No known force could compel me to harm any of you."
Rocket snorted loudly. "Yeah~ I'm not taking any chances."
As Rocket worked on HK aboard the spacecraft, in the cabin below, other team members were discussing recent events.
Present on their ship were Star-Lord Quill, Gamora, Kraglin, Drax, and one of their allied friends.
"Didn't you say Hondo had these droids with him?" Kraglin asked Gamora and Star-Lord, both of whom nodded.
"Wonder where he got them," Star-Lord mused, observing the holographic news about the Coruscant attack.
On the central table lay several droid components they'd recovered from their last mission.
They had been completing a minor escort job for quick credits in a neutral system when this chaos began.
Not only did they encounter those advanced droids from before, but they also battled nearly every other droid they encountered, as the machines attacked any civilians in sight.
The Guardians not only fought for their own survival but also protected their clients and bystanders.
"Any insights, Sugi?" Gamora asked, turning to the Zabrak female bounty hunter, who held up the head of a droid that had attacked them.
While most of the droids out there appeared largely similar, this one had a distinctly different design.
The mouth configuration, the two antennae on either side of the head, and the angle of the optical sensors all gave it a more menacing appearance.
Sugi examined the droid's head carefully.
"Haven't we encountered these droids before?" Sugi finally pointed out, tossing the head back into the pile.
"Yeah, on Felucia," Star-Lord muttered.
"Maybe we should track down Hondo and ask him where he acquired them originally," Gamora suggested.
"But these things are spread across the galaxy," Kraglin said. "What would Hondo know?"
"He must have obtained them from somewhere... or someone."
"Then where should we—"
"I don't know," Gamora shook her head, interrupting Star-Lord. "It's definitely not galaxy-wide."
"What do you mean?" Star-Lord asked, and the group turned their attention to the deadliest woman in the galaxy.
"I've been studying maps and news reports about the attacks," Gamora said, pressing a button on the table.
Before them appeared a display of the entire galaxy, with several areas marked in red.
"Look at where these attacks are occurring," Gamora said, pointing to the galaxy's center. "There's Coruscant, right? The Republic's capital, governing most of this region. And here's Raxus—"
"Raxus," Sugi corrected.
"Right, Raxus," Gamora nodded to her. "The Separatist capital. This is where the largest bounty hunter guild operates, and it's one of the primary hubs in Hutt space. These are coordinated and tactical strikes."
"How can you tell?" Sugi asked, not doubting her, just curious.
Gamora continued staring at the galactic map rather than facing the Zabrak woman.
"It's something I've seen my father do," she replied in a slightly subdued tone.
Sugi blinked, observing the unusual change in expression on the typically composed assassin's face.
The other Guardians shifted uncomfortably, and Drax clenched his fists tightly.
Sugi noticed this strange reaction and looked at all the Guardians with confusion.
"So... what do we do?" Kraglin asked, mostly directing the question to Star-Lord, who was frowning in thought.
"Well... the best approach is to find out what happened," Star-Lord said. "And since we don't know where these droids originated..."
"...time to hunt down the Pirate Lord," Star-Lord added. "Sugi, want to come along? Is Embo nearby?"
"They're not far," the Zabrak bounty hunter replied. "I'll contact them. I'm curious about this myself."
"Alright," Star-Lord nodded. "Where are Mantis and Groot?"
"They're in Mantis's quarters," Kraglin replied.