A massive spiral-shaped starship loomed in the silent void, emanating a silent sense of intimidation.
This was the Dark Aster, a powerful warship of the Kree Empire, and also the flagship of Ronan the Accuser.
Two faint points of light rapidly approached the Dark Aster. After verification by the bridge's intelligent system, the two small ships were allowed inside.
"Your Excellency," a soft female voice echoed through the vast chamber, "Two women claiming to be envoys of Thanos request an audience."
The completely naked Ronan sat up from the black pool. The water evaporated from his blue skin, revealing steely, powerful muscles that exuded an aura of formidable strength.
He was one of the Supreme Accusers of the Kree Empire, a notorious warlord feared across the galaxy. During the Kree invasion of Xandar, he had personally ordered the massacre of over ten thousand prisoners of war, a blood-soaked atrocity that still haunted the Xandarians to this day.
Moreover, this commander of an entire space fleet was a fanatical warmonger. Throughout the Kree Empire's colonial expansions, Ronan routinely orchestrated large-scale slaughters. He was ruthless, efficient, and utterly indifferent to life.
"Thanos…" Ronan muttered as servants helped him don his black armor, "I heard he suffered a rare and humiliating defeat on some remote planet in the Milky Way."
Rumors circulated that Thanos's Black Order and the Chitauri legions had suffered a crushing defeat during their invasion of a primitive world called Earth. The Mad Titan himself had been grievously wounded and nearly killed. He was now in hiding, recovering from his injuries.
Yet despite the swirling rumors, as long as Thanos drew breath, who would dare to defy the cosmic tyrant?
The smoldering ruins of civilizations, each with half their populations eradicated, stood as grim, bloody warnings.
Even the fiercely proud Ronan had no desire to make an enemy of Thanos.
After all, the three great galactic powers; the Nova Corps of Xandar, the Kree Empire's Supreme Intelligence, and the Shi'ar Empire's Imperial Guard, all deliberately avoided provoking the Black Order. They tolerated Thanos's genocidal rampages in silence, swallowing their pride and holding their tongues.
Such was the terror of Thanos's name. Wherever he went, mountains of corpses and rivers of blood followed.
"Why would Thanos's underlings seek me out?" Ronan wondered aloud, his normally impassive face betraying a flicker of curiosity.
Clad in black armor and gripping his war hammer, the imposing Kree Accuser strode out of the throne room.
Two women stood silently at the rear of the bridge. Ronan recognized them. They were both adopted daughters of Thanos.
The lithe, green-skinned woman was Gamora, a renowned assassin known throughout the galaxy. Behind her stood Nebula, a cybernetically enhanced being and a wanted interstellar pirate listed on the Nova Corps' most-wanted registry.
Neither was to be underestimated. Anyone foolish enough to dismiss them because of their gender would swiftly learn the cost of such arrogance.
"Thanos seeks an object called the Cosmic Orb?" Ronan asked from his elevated throne, listening as Gamora laid out her proposal for cooperation.
"He should go to the Collector," Ronan sneered, "Everyone knows Taneleer Tivan has a passion for antiquities, especially relics unearthed from ancient civilizations."
Though Ronan respected Thanos's overwhelming power, he had no intention of becoming the Titan's lapdog.
Sending just two envoys to command a Kree Empire's Accuser like a servant? That was an insult.
"The great Titan Thanos offers fair recompense," Gamora stepped forward calmly, "In exchange for securing the Orb, the Black Order will destroy Xandar for you."
Ronan's indifferent expression vanished instantly. His eyes sharpened, gleaming with sudden intensity.
He rose from his obsidian throne and locked eyes with Gamora...
"Is this Thanos's personal pledge?" he demanded coldly.
Xandar, the headquarters of the Nova Corps, was a wealthy technologically advanced world and one of the galaxy's most sophisticated civilizations. But more importantly, the Xandarians and the Kree bore a blood feud spanning millennia, ignited by a struggle over a handful of resource-rich planets.
Over centuries, the conflict escalated: fleets launched from homeworlds, clashing in titanic battles across the cosmos.
To the Kree and Xandarians, the cosmos was like a dark forest... each civilization were like hunters with their rifles raised, ready to kill the other on sight.
"I understand the Nova Prime has already signed a peace accord with the Kree Empress," Gamora replied evenly, meeting Ronan's piercing glare without flinching, "And the Supreme Intelligence has approved it."
She knew well that the Kree Empire had long ago created the Supreme Intelligence; a vast bio-computer that served as the empire's ultimate ruler. All major decisions by the Empress or the Accuser Corps required its authorization, and defiance was treason.
"This is a disgrace to the Kree!" Ronan snarled.
The Kree were ardent nationalists. They viewed Xandarians as inferior vermin, a pathogen to be exterminated. To them, Xandar was the greatest obstacle on their path to galactic domination.
Now, to sign a peace treaty? To swear eternal non-aggression? In Ronan's eyes, this was nothing short of betrayal.
When the Empress announced the accord, riots erupted across the Kree Empire. Warlords like Ronan openly rebelled, seeing the treaty as surrender.
"My ancestors bled and died in that thousand-year war," Ronan growled, his voice trembling with fury, "My family's honor is built upon the annihilation of Xandarians!"
He tightened his grip on his war hammer, his eyes blazing with rage, "To erase such deep-seated vengeance with a stroke of a pen? That is the act of cowards!"
Gamora wisely lowered her gaze, avoiding Ronan's wrath. She had heard the rumors, that Ronan had already launched raids on Xandarian outposts in a brazen attempt to sabotage the peace process.
"I will retrieve the Orb for Thanos," Ronan declared after a tense pause, agreeing to the alliance, "But he must uphold his promise: Xandar will be reduced to dust."
The Black Order, backed by Thanos's might, truly had the power to obliterate Xandar. Even with the Nova Corps stationed there, few in the universe could stand against the Mad Titan... unless of course, one of the ancient cosmic entities intervened.
After Gamora and Nebula departed, Ronan slumped back onto his black throne. After a long silence, he murmured, "Earth…"
He recalled the rumors that it was on that insignificant planet that Thanos had met his near-fatal defeat.
"I remember Mar-Vell went there," Ronan mused, frowning, "Long ago, he was part of a Supreme Intelligence operation."
During the Kree-Skrull War, Mar-Vell, a junior officer, had pursued Skrull infiltrators to a primitive world. Later, he even brought back an Earth woman, causing quite a stir.
"Just ancient history," Ronan dismissed the thought.
He refused to believe Thanos could be so thoroughly defeated by a backward species in the galactic backwaters.
The only noteworthy civilization in that sector, as far as he knew, was Asgard... and even that realm had long since faded into obscurity, its former glory lost to time.
"Korath," Ronan summoned a trusted lieutenant, "Assemble a team and find the Orb."
Destroying Xandar wasn't just strategy, it was his life's purpose...