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The vast, boundless expanse of the cosmos.
Ego's egg-shaped ship took the lead.
The Enterprise followed closely behind, charting a course for Ego's planet.
It was a considerable distance, a journey that would take until late the next morning, Earth time, to complete.
Inside the Captain's quarters on the Enterprise.
Gwen, fresh from the shower and changed into a set of silk pajamas, walked out of the bathroom. She saw Hawk propped up in bed, casually flipping through the 'Intergalactic Travel Guide: Nova Corps 10th Edition.'
She let out a soft laugh, climbed into bed, and plucked the manual right out of his hands. She looked at him, her expressive emerald eyes demanding his full attention.
Their eyes met.
"Alright. Spill it."
"Spill what?"
Hawk chuckled, playing dumb.
"Ego," Gwen said, her tone serious. "His story. It wasn't as simple as he made it sound, was it?"
Hawk's eyebrow arched. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. As she settled comfortably against his chest, he began to lay out the true origins of Ego, and the dark reality behind his search for Star-Lord.
"Ego isn't human."
"He is a Celestial."
"Ego's true form is a living planet. Over countless eons, he developed consciousness, slowly constructing a planetary body around himself, and eventually acquiring the immense cosmic power that comes with being a Celestial."
"And he has one goal: to spread his essence across the entire universe, assimilating all life until the entire cosmos is simply an extension of himself."
"I am everything, and everything is me."
"He believes this 'Expansion' is the ultimate beautification and salvation of the universe."
"But to initiate this process, his own power isn't enough. He needs a second battery. He needs another living being who shares his Celestial DNA and has inherited his power, to act as a catalyst and trigger the assimilation protocol alongside him."
"Ego is Peter Quill's biological father, yes."
"But Star-Lord is far from Ego's only child."
As Hawk spoke, the image of the cavernous catacombs deep within Ego's planet from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 flashed in his mind. The mountains of tiny skeletal remains.
Those bones all shared a common origin.
Ego's children.
In the story, those bones belonged to the thousands of children who had failed to inherit Ego's Celestial light, and were ruthlessly discarded—murdered—by their own father.
Star-Lord was the only one who had inherited the light.
And honestly, if Ego hadn't been so monumentally arrogant as to admit that he put the tumor in Meredith Quill's brain, killing the only woman Peter ever loved... his grand plan probably would have succeeded.
Unfortunately for Ego…
He couldn't comprehend the profound, unbreakable bond a child raised by a single mother has with her.
To avenge his mother, Star-Lord didn't hesitate for a second to pull the trigger on his own father.
For his mother, he gave up immortality.
For his mother, he willingly chose to remain a demigod with the power of a very average mortal!
Gwen listened quietly, absorbing every horrifying detail of Hawk's explanation. When he finished, she looked up at him, her face a mask of disgust.
"So, Ego is a lunatic. A completely soulless, selfish, cold-blooded psychopath."
"Ego is a giant ball of dirt in space."
Hawk chuckled dryly. "He's a rock that, due to some cosmic mutation, woke up one day with a consciousness. No parents, no teachers, no moral compass. He might wear a human face, but he operates on the logic of a parasite. So, yeah, I wouldn't expect much humanity from him."
Gwen frowned.
"Then why are we going to his planet? Is there something there you need?"
"Yeah."
Hawk didn't keep anything from her. "Ego himself doesn't matter to me. But how he developed a living consciousness... that matters a lot. I want to go there and get a good look at his core, his true form."
He was hoping that studying Ego's planetary core might provide him with the insight he desperately needed to grasp the Eighth Sense—the essence of Life itself.
Hearing his reasoning, Gwen nodded thoughtfully.
She only had one more question.
"Is it dangerous?"
"Very."
"..."
Before Gwen's eyes could widen in alarm, Hawk immediately continued, "For Ego. It's incredibly dangerous for Ego. If he doesn't want to show me his core, well... for me, there's absolutely zero danger. If I wanted to, I could shatter his entire planet with a single punch."
Gwen looked at his smug, confident smile. After a second of dead silence, her hand, which had been resting on his waist, moved.
The next second.
Hawk's face contorted in mock agony.
Hiss!
"Does that hurt?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let that be a lesson. Next time, don't pause for dramatic effect."
Gwen said, loosening her pinch into a gentle rub, though she still shot him a reprimanding glare. Then, her curiosity got the better of her again. "Ego said he sent Yondu to get Peter, but Yondu kept him instead. Does Yondu know what Ego was doing?"
Hawk nodded. "He does."
Back in the day, Yondu had indeed taken a contract to ferry Ego's thousands of offspring across the galaxy.
At first, Yondu had no idea what Ego was doing to the kids. But when he went to pick up Star-Lord, he finally discovered the horrific truth. Driven by a lingering conscience, a desire to protect an innocent child, and overwhelming guilt over the countless kids he had already delivered to their deaths, Yondu broke the Ravager code and his contract with Ego.
He kept Peter, claiming he was going to sell him, but in reality, he kept the boy close to protect him, to keep him far away from his monstrous father.
But that decision cost Yondu dearly.
Not only did he cross a Celestial, but by participating in 'child trafficking,' he violated the sacred Ravager Code. He was exiled, shunned, and despised by the very community he called family.
But Yondu never regretted it.
The fact that he never once tried to explain himself or justify his actions to anyone proved it.
Gwen bit her lip.
"So, from what you're saying, Yondu is a good guy."
"I'd call him a bad guy with a bottom line."
Hawk corrected gently.
What are the Ravagers? At their core, they are space pirates. Intergalactic mercenaries. But they are an organized syndicate of criminals who strictly adhere to an ancient code of honor—the Ravager Code.
In a word:
The Ravagers were the cosmic equivalent of the mafia. They had their own twisted sense of honor.
Gwen leaned against Hawk's chest, her eyes unblinking, lost in thought.
Hawk looked down at her, amused by her intense concentration.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking... should we tell Peter about this?"
"He's over on Ego's ship with his 'dad.'"
After they had decided to head to Ego's planet, Star-Lord and Drax had accepted Ego's invitation to ride with him.
As for Gamora.
She had absolutely no desire to hang out on a ship commanded by a guy who knew Thanos, nor did she want to go to Ego's planet. Her only priority was to get Rocket to fix the Milano as fast as possible.
Hawk reminded Gwen of the current seating arrangements, met her gaze, and shrugged.
"If you want, you can go tell Gamora. She's Peter's girlfriend, isn't she?"
"Will it mess up your plan if I do?"
"Yes."
Hawk didn't hesitate, but having learned his lesson, he didn't pause for dramatic effect either. He quickly added, "But it doesn't matter. It's going to end in violence anyway. Like you said, Ego is a selfish, psychopathic ball of dirt. I never expected him to just politely invite me down to analyze his core."
Gwen looked at Hawk, noting his rapid-fire delivery, and smiled. She thought for a moment, then decided against going to find Gamora.
"Forget it."
"Why?"
"It's their private business. We shouldn't interfere."
Gwen looked up at Hawk. "Some things, you have to learn for yourself before you truly believe them. If he hears it from a stranger, he'll just assume it's a lie."
Hawk nodded, agreeing with her logic entirely.
"Alright. We stay out of it."
"But..." Gwen paused, looking at him with a soft, pleading expression. "He is our hometown friend. If things go bad... can we try to look out for him? Just a little?"
Hawk looked down, meeting the hopeful gaze of the woman in his arms.
The next second.
He smiled.
"Done."
It's a well-known fact: his Gwen was the very definition of smart, kind, and beautiful.
So!
He would be the sword and shield that protected her kindness.
Later that night, just as they were getting ready for bed.
The fully repaired Milano requested permission to depart the Enterprise.
Gwen listened to Gamora's request, a little surprised. "Leaving? We're almost at Ego's planet. You don't want to come down with us and take a look?"
"No, I'll be coming with you," Gamora replied over the comms. "But Rocket and Groot are leaving. We have a shipment on our ship that needs to be delivered on a strict deadline."
Gwen's expression cleared, and she nodded in understanding.
After receiving Gwen's authorization for the Milano to depart, Gamora went down to the lower hangar deck and found Rocket. She pulled him aside, her voice a low, urgent whisper. "I don't trust them. And I definitely don't trust this 'Ego' guy. Once you're clear, find the nearest civilized planet and wait. If things go south here, I'll signal you immediately."
Rocket hoisted his massive laser rifle onto his shoulder and gave a sharp, serious nod of his furry head.
"Got it."
"I am Groot!"
Sitting on Rocket's shoulder, Baby Groot gave a fierce, determined little nod of his own.
Gamora smiled softly and gently patted Groot's head.
Soon.
The fully repaired Milano detached from the Enterprise's docking clamps and flew out into the void, heading in the opposite direction of the Enterprise and Ego's ship.
Just as the Milano departed, a transmission came through from Ego's vessel.
It wasn't Ego. It was Star-Lord.
"Why is the Milano leaving?"
"Did you forget, Peter? We have that shipment that needs to be delivered on schedule," Gamora replied smoothly.
"...Oh, right. But Rocket and Groot can handle that by themselves, right?"
Star-Lord had initially wanted to ask 'What shipment?', but he caught the subtle warning in Gamora's eyes and seamlessly played along.
They exchanged a few more words before ending the transmission.
The next day.
Right around noon, Earth time.
They arrived at Ego's planet.
Gwen stood up from the Captain's chair, staring in awe through the main viewscreen at the planet looming before them. Its surface was a mesmerizing, swirling blend of deep reds and vibrant, ethereal blues.
"This planet is..."
"Beautiful?"
"..."
Gwen shot a look at Hawk, who had just interrupted her, and smiled sweetly. "I was actually going to say it looks incredibly weird."
Hawk shrugged.
"My mistake."
"Apology accepted."
Gwen smiled, then got back to business.
"It doesn't look like they have a spaceport down there. How are we supposed to land?"
"Did you forget we have a transporter room?"
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