Marvel Disassembler

To be honest, Arthur hadn't heard a joke like that in a long time.

So, he figured it was time to remind Star-Lord exactly why he used to be afraid of him.

Star-Lord instantly threw up his hands. "Okay, let's all just take it down a notch. It was just a joke, alright?"

Arthur fixed him with a cold stare. "Not joking. Answer the question."

"You're thinking about recruiting Yondu?" Star-Lord furrowed his brow, thought it over, then shook his head. "That's gonna be tough. Ravagers don't answer to anyone. You can wipe them out if you want, but don't expect to control them. Honestly, they only care about one thing: Credits. Sure, you could hire them for a single job, trade some gear for quick cash, no problem. But if you're talking monthly paychecks and long-term employment? Forget it. That's a nonstarter. They're used to flying free and taking orders from no one."

He had a point. Arthur ran a hand through his hair, visibly frustrated. "Yeah, I get it. That's not what I'm after anyway. I just need them short-term. The problem is... I'm broke."

Everything needed time, Coulson's operations, Tony's remote tech relays, all the unpredictable chaos swirling around them. It all took time to set up.

But Thanos wasn't about to wait.

The faster Arthur could roll out his tech, the bigger the advantage he'd gain.

Right now, he figured that if he could cut a short-term deal with Yondu using something other than cash, it might hold the line until Coulson showed up.

If he could finalize the new tech and the gold alloy even a little earlier, it would give him a much stronger position going forward.

"Is this mission-critical?"

Seeing Arthur's grim expression, Star-Lord grew uneasy. He paused, thinking it over. "Ravagers move across the galaxy. What they care about most are Credits and firepower. If you're short on credits, what about weapons?"

Arthur considered it for a second, then shook his head. "Can't offer him high-grade weapons. The genius behind our weapons program has sworn off arms dealing for good."

Tony Stark wasn't touching weapons anymore. Stark Industries had shifted gears toward cutting-edge energy research, and they were killing it. Their new innovations were just as impactful as anything they'd sold back in their defense days.

Star-Lord gave a dry laugh. "If they're not high-grade, they're junk. The galaxy's full of deadly hardware."

That was another hard truth.

Every advanced civilization out there had stockpiles of next-gen weaponry. The Ravagers, seasoned spacers who'd seen everything, already had access to elite tech. Standard gear wasn't going to impress them.

Arthur ran through alternatives in his head, but nothing workable came to mind.

He had briefly considered whether a few promises or favors might sway Yondu without any resources on the table.

But the problem was, Ravagers were strictly business.

If there were no tangible benefit, there would be no deal. Talk meant nothing without something real to back it up.

After standing around in silence for a while, the two finally went their separate ways.

Star-Lord returned to his drink. Arthur wandered a bit and eventually ran into Yondu.

"Hey there, pal," Yondu greeted with a sly grin. "A lot of new faces showin' up lately. All of 'em look like they pack a punch. If we weren't old friends, I'd almost think you were planning to bump me off and take over."

Yondu made a joke, but it didn't sound like one.

This was a hardened alien who'd spent his life drifting across the stars, surviving through force and grit. Aside from Star-Lord, Arthur couldn't imagine him showing genuine warmth to anyone else.

Even then, Star-Lord hadn't realized how much Yondu cared about him until the moment he nearly died.

That memory sparked an idea in Arthur's mind. Maybe... he could leverage Star-Lord.

But the thought barely formed before he shut it down.

Manipulating that bond would be too low, even for desperate times. If Star-Lord ever found out, that friendship would be over.

"You look like something's weighing on you."

Yondu had noticed the flicker in Arthur's expression and spoke in an unusually kind tone.

Arthur stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. "What if I said I was trying to figure out how to get you to help me with something, would you suddenly feel generous and offer your services for free?"

"Hah!"

Yondu burst out laughing. "You're a funny one, my friend."

Arthur nodded, already turning to leave, when Yondu's voice stopped him.

"So? What do you need help with?"

"Nothing too complicated, just collecting mineral samples from some abandoned systems."

"That's easy enough. Give me a sample, and I can fill a cargo bay full of them," Yondu said with a grin. "But let's be clear, I don't work for free."

Arthur glanced sideways at him. There was something in Yondu's tone that made him pause. A window of opportunity, maybe?

"What exactly would I have to… offer in return?"

"Come with me," Yondu said. "We'll talk it over."

Arthur followed him to his quarters. Ten minutes later, he stepped back out, looking oddly conflicted. He shook his head, half-laughing to himself.

"They are practically family."

Yondu hadn't even asked what the minerals were for. Instead, he made a simple request: if Star-Lord ever got into serious trouble again, like this time, Arthur had to be there for him.

And whatever happened, Star-Lord could never know.

"If that's not love… sheesh."

As Arthur passed through the corridor and saw Star-Lord casually sipping a drink in the mess hall, he found himself glancing at him repeatedly.

The situation had resolved itself in a strangely sentimental way, and with that handled, Arthur went to find Tony and Banner.

The two were locked in a spirited debate, poring over the signal amplifier Star-Lord had brought onboard.

"It's settled," Arthur said simply, giving them a quick summary of his arrangement with Yondu.

Tony and Banner exchanged a look. Then Tony leaned back and smirked. "We've made progress on interstellar comms. And honestly? Creativity-wise, Star-Lord's not half bad. Sure, his designs are crude compared to mine, but he actually came up with a way to mimic quantum jump relays to transmit audio signals over vast distances! It's insane, and kind of genius."

He gestured toward the amplifier.

"I even know our first business venture in space."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You're talking about building a galactic communication network? Is that even doable?"

(End of Chapter)

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