Chapter Text
Richard Rider was a killer shot, a lethal combatant, and one of the select few chosen by the Nova corps; and he had just been assigned as a babysitter.
Richard followed his commanding officer, Rhomann Dey, down the corridor. "I thought our job was to protect the public! Stopping bank heists, hunting down assassins, fighting pirates, not–" Richard blew a raspberry and gestured vaguely at the porthole looking into the docking bay. Where the luxurious Call of the Sea was docked and waiting. It was the best private yacht on the Xandarian market.
Dey snorted, "I know it's not the most glamorous job in the galaxy, but you are protecting people. Mr. Reikey is on the Kree's most wanted list for coming to us with military and government secrets, and the Kree will murder him and his family for it."
Richard let out a sputtering sigh, "I'm protecting a rich asshole who is responsible for the enslavement and death of a lot of people."
"No, you're protecting a rich asshole's daughter from other worse assholes," Dey said chipperly.
"Oh, joy," Richard deadpanned. They reached the hatch of the docking bay and stopped.
Dey took a breath and looked up at Richard with sincerity. "I know it's not what you imagined, but it's an easy job and a good review from the Reikeys could get you assigned to a Nova outpost where you can do more good."
Richard sighed and looked at the closed door with disdain, "I guess."
"Good man," Dey ushered Richard into the docking bay.
Miss Menzin Reikeys stood proudly in front of her yacht. She wore a white petticoat over a lacey pink sundress. Golden necklaces dripping with pearls hung from around her neck and ears. Her curly purple hair tumbled down her shoulders, and her cerulean skin was a deeper and more vibrant blue than the Earth's ocean. She was only a year or two older than Richard and was sandwiched between two beefy-looking personal guards. Her servants loaded up the yacht with an absurd amount of luggage. Richard barely notices her group of tittering rich friends standing behind her. She smiled sweetly at Richard before looking over at Officer Garthan Saal. "Is this everyone?"
Saal looked as stern as ever. He stood at attention with three of Richard's fellow cadets behind him. Warden, Tallion, and Lar-ell. Richard had met them briefly, they were as stern and cold as their teacher. Saal turned his icy gaze on Richard as they approached. "This is the last of your personal guards for the week, Richard Rider."
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rider." Menzin's smile was blinding.
"Just Richard is fine, Miss." he smiled back. Saal rolled his eyes and Dey snorted.
"You ladies can board the vessel now. Our Nova will join you in a moment," Dey informed her.
"Ah, very well. For the good of… good day." Menzin started to say the Imperial Kree parting words before catching herself, blushing slightly, and turning to board her ship. The bodyguard sandwich followed her up the gangplank.
Once Menzin had disappeared behind the closed hatch, Saal turned to address them. "Cadets, as you know this will be your first mission without a supervising officer. You will keep watch, patrol the ship and if necessary… defend Miss Reikeys with your lives. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir," the Cadets replied in unison.
"This is no pleasure cruise. Stay on your guard." Saal looked each of them in the eyes before nodding, "you are dismissed."
The Cadets moved to board the ship when Dey called out, "and Richard?"
He paused on the gangplank to look back at his commanding officer, "Sir?"
"Do try to keep your relationship with Miss Reikeys professional," Dey said with amusement.
"I'd never dream of doing something nefarious with the lovely Miss Menzin," Richard smiled innocently.
Dey shook his head as Richard boarded the ship. "Teenagers are truly the worst," Saal commented dryly.
"Oh, it's a terrible age to be," Dey agrees. They watched the vessel roll out of the docking bay.
"Do you think your prodigy will be able to handle it?" Saal asked.
Dey sighed, "Richie is probably the best I've ever seen in a cadet, but he'll never be a good Nova." Saal raised one eyebrow. Dey shrugged, "He's too nice."
The Call of the Sea raced off the flight deck with a sonic pop and launched into the atmosphere.
~~•˖✧•✯•✧˖•~~
Richard had discovered that, unlike the glamorous movies, fieldwork was largely very boring. In the mornings he patrolled the ship and he discovered a great deal of nothing. Then in the afternoons, He monitored the security cameras in which he watched nothing happen. And late at night in his off-hours, he found that there was nothing to do in his tiny cabin far from his home.
Day drifted into night and then day again. The first five days of Miss Menzin's pleasure cruise were uneventful, which was unfortunate for Richard. The highlight of this week was the few hours he spent guarding the lovely Miss Menzin and her friends.
He stood at attention near the door while Miss Menzin sunbathed in her swimsuit by the pool. One of her friends lowered her sunglasses and called out, "You should come join us!"
"I'm sorry miss, I can't do that." He cleared his throat, praying silently that his voice wouldn't crack and embarrass him further. He knew his face must've been red at that moment. His only saving grace was the Nova uniform helmet, it helped conceal his expression. Never in his life had he gotten so much attention from so many swooning girls. He couldn't decide if he liked it or hated it.
"Aw, boo!" The girl put on a pout.
"I bet if you asked him, Menzin, he'd say yes!" A different girl called out in a teasing voice.
Menzin blushed, "Shut it Adalin!" She threw a nervous glance back at Richard.
"Aw she's blushing, I knew you had a crush!" Adalin giggled. Menzin abandoned her sunglasses and towel on the chair and jumped into the pool.
Adalin and the other girl blew kisses and winked at Richard before jumping in after Menzin. "Bye cutie!" He shook his head and tried to keep from smiling. The girls continued to laugh and play in the water.
Several minutes passed before Adalin pulled Menzin's other friends off the side. The group whispered amongst themselves while occasionally glancing in Richard's direction. Finally, Menzin's friends all got out of the pool. One stepped forward after an encouraging nod from Adalin. "Hey, Menzin? We're going to dinner–but you should totally stay here if you want!"
Adalin grabbed the arm of the other Nova cadet. "Lar-ell will guard us so you stay here with Menzin, Rider." The girls pulled poor Lar-ell out into the hallway before she could get a word in.
"Hey, Adalin!" Menzin swam to the edge of the pool.
"Good luck," she winked before turning back to the Nova Cadet caught in her whirlwind. "Y'know those uniforms don't leave much to the imagination…" the door closed behind her.
"Ugh, I just knew she'd try something like this, by Hala," Menzin pulled herself out of the water and sat on the edge of the pool. Her face flushed slightly. "I'm sorry that you're trapped here with me. I didn't even request a Nova escort but my dad insisted since we're in trouble with the Kree and–"
"It's no trouble at all, Miss." Richard shook his head. "There are few other people I would rather be trapped with."
Menzin started to wring out her hair but then held it in front of her face, hiding her from him. "Is that… so?" Richard blinked and Miss Menzin disappeared back into the pool. After a moment she reappeared, floating along the surface. She was staring up through the glass roof of the pool deck, and into the stars that hung over them. "If you could be trapped here with anyone else… who would it be?" Her voice echoed throughout the now quiet pool deck. "A friend, a girlfriend, perhaps?"
"I don't have a girlfriend," Richard resisted the urge to smile, "but if I had to choose…" Gamora's lovely smile flashed in his mind, "I miss my little brother Robbie and my sister Cammi a lot. It would be good to see them again."
"That's so sweet. It must be nice to have siblings."
"Are you an only child, Miss Menzin?"
"Mhm," Menzin hummed, "that makes me the heiress to my father's weapons company, you know. He's grooming me for the position. I have to attend all the meetings with him, read over the same reports, listen in on phone calls… I know everything there is to know about blasters and then some. I even designed a few myself." She let out a long sigh.
"Sounds exhausting,"
Menzin chuckled, "No one's ever said that to me before, but you're not wrong." She disappeared below the surface once more. After a minute she reappeared at the edge of the pool. Her dark purple hair slicked against her head. Her skin shimmered under the fluorescents. She could've been a siren calling him to sea. "I… don't think it's very fair that I am in nothing but my bathing suit and you are fully clothed."
"I am not preventing you from putting more clothes on, Miss Menzin," Richard replied.
"Maybe… just take off your helmet then?" Menzin smiled brightly, "if you'd humor me. Yvette claims that you must be bald under that shiny helmet of yours and I'd love to prove her wrong."
"Miss, it's… against protocol."
"I won't tattle." She shrugged. Richard sighed and slowly pulled off his Roman-style helmet. He ran a hand through his messy brown hair. He could feel his ears burning. "I knew you were cute," Menzin grinned and then disappeared beneath the surface of the pool once more.
Richard let out a small sigh of relief. "You're not bad yourself," he muttered so she wouldn't hear.
While he waited for Menzin to reappear and tease him some more, Richard found himself staring up at the stars. They were reaching the very edge of the Xandar's solar system now. He could just see the edges of the outer comet belt. The chunks of melting ice left streaks of white and blue across the night sky, drifting together, they formed a giant ring around the solar system.
He heard Menzin breach the surface for air again, but something outside the comet belt caught his eye. For just a second, there was the familiar bright blue of a jump point opening up.
Richard slammed his helmet back on and zoomed in on the light. He heard Menzin's voice distantly, "Aw, it's not fair to put your helmet back on so soon." His eyes frantically scanned the distant black for something amiss. Then he saw it. Something black, angular, and fast passed in front of a large star. His helmet locked onto the moving object. It was difficult if not impossible to make out the shape of the dark ship. Its color rendered it invisible in the night sky. But Richard recognized it immediately. After all, he had the misfortune of seeing it once before.
"Miss Menzin, get out of the pool, please. We have an emergency." He instructed her as calmly as he could. Before touching the side of his helmet and connecting to the other Nova over their shared comms channel. "One of Thanos' destroyers has entered the solar system and is headed straight for us."
If you could see one of Thanos' destroyers it was already too late to run.
Tallion was the first to respond. "Get everyone to the panic room. Lock the doors. Does anyone have eyes on Miss Menzin?"
"She's with me," Richard replied sharply. "We're on the Pool deck, what's the fastest route to the panic room?"
"Sending you the route now," Lar-ell replied. "I have the other girls with me."
Richard helped Menzin out of the pool and handed her a towel before ushering her out into the hallway. The little yacht wouldn't stand a chance against Thanos' destroyer. Not that anything in the galaxy would.
Menzin's friends were waiting for her in the panic room. They had brought her a change of clothes. Adalin tackled Menzin in a hug. After they confirmed that they were both doing as well as could be expected, Menzin turned to look at Richard with terrified eyes. "Please, keep us safe."
"I'll do my best, Miss," Richard muttered before closing the panic room door.
He heard Warden's voice over the comms. "I've sent out a distress signal to the nearest outpost. We're running towards Xandar but–"There was the distant low rumble of something scorching the hull of the ship followed by a mechanical clank. The lights flickered. Then the entire ship went dark.
"We're dead in the water," Tallion reported, with a slight tremble in his voice.
Richard took a deep breath as he felt the night vision on his helmet turn on. The long darkened corridor sprawled out before him. There was nothing but the low hiss of steam and the distant creaking of the hull. "The destroyer is above us…" Warden's voice was a dead whisper. Richard glanced over at Lar-ell. They only had to hold out long enough for the Nova officers to get here. Only a few minutes.
Something hit the hull of the ship. Tap, tap, tap, it sounded like… footsteps. Was it only one person? Why would Thanos send only one soldier? Richard squeezed his hand into a fist. The power of the Nova Force burning in his veins like fire. He exhaled slowly. There was the distant ratcheting of the door and the dull rush of air as the exterior hatch was pried open.
Richard could hear the sharp and fast breathing of his other cadets. And then… humming? It was difficult to make out through the radio. The sound echoed through the ship and distorted. "Oh God, it's him. He's coming this way. I'll hold him off for as long as I can but–" Warden's voice was drowned out by the sound of gunfire.
Richard jumped. "Warden, come in, Warden, hello?" He called frantically into the comms. Lar-ell turned off her comms and raised her fist toward the hallway.
A voice Richard had never heard before responded. "See you soon."
Richard turned off his comms. "Hold them off," Lar-ell muttered, "We just need to hold them off for five minutes."
Then the singing started. A distant voice echoed through the empty dark expanse of the ship. As they came closer Richard could make out the words. They were singing in English. "Go on and take everything, take everything, I want you to," Gunfire erupted at the end of the hall. There was a blinding white flash that burned Richard's eyes. Two figures were locked in combat. He flipped off the night vision and put a hand to his head. Two more gunshots went off and Tallion screamed. When the ringing in his ears subsided, the singing started again. Or maybe it never stopped. "And the sky was all violet. I want it again, but Violent,"
Two burning red eyes glowed in the darkness. He was here. Richard sucked in a cold sharp breath, "The Requiem of Andromeda."
"Halt! By order of the Nova Prime, you are–" Richard blinked and the Requiem was across the room. Lar-ell got off one blast before the Requiem broke her arm.
"I'm the one with no soul. One above," The Requiem sang as he methodically and ruthlessly took down Lar-ell. It was over in seconds. The Requiem threw her into the wall and raised his blaster. "And one below."
Richard dived in front of Lar-ell. "Woah, hey, hey, hey. That's um… that's Violet you're singing right?" The Requiem paused. They tilted their head to the side. "My little sister's been obsessed with the song Jennifer's Body, I know all the words. Are you… are you from Earth?"
At first, he thought the Requiem wasn't going to reply. The cold red eyes of his mask stared back blankly. Richard could feel Lar-ell's broken haggard gasps on his back. She was still alive. "I'm from Missouri."
Richard let out a breath, "Cool, that's cool. I'm from New York. Should I call you Huckleberry Finn or do you prefer the Requiem?"
And then the Requiem did something that surprised him. He laughed. It wasn't the evil super villain cackle, Richard had been imagining. It was a light, joyful sound and it was a little bit sad. "Aw, come on man, that's the one Missouri reference everybody knows." He lowered the gun pointed at Richard's head ever so slightly.
"Yeah, alright, fair you probably hear that one a lot."
"Less than you might think," there was a quiet sort of melancholy to his voice. He really was just some kid.
"You should try growing up with a name like Dick Rider some time. I've heard every conceivable joke,"
"Oo, your mom must've hated you." He lowered the gun more.
"I'm Richard, my friends call me Richie. Listen, I…" Richard pulled off his Nova helmet and tossed it aside.
"What are you doing Rider?" Lar-ell hissed.
"I don't want to hurt you," Richard said sincerely.
"You would hurt me?" The Requiem snickered.
"We don't have to do this."
The Requiem raised the gun once more. "Yes, I do. I can't go back if I don't kill the girl."
"Then don't go back." Richard pleaded. "I'll… I'll make sure you're safe here. Please…" he reached out slowly so he wouldn't startle him. "Let me help you."
"He'll just send someone else. Thanos always gets what he wants," The Requiem took a step back, shaking his head.
"Then when he does, we'll make sure there's no one here to find," Richard tried to reassure him. "It'll be okay. Everything's going to be okay." He took a step forward. "You're safe. You're safe with me, I promise." He put one hand on the barrel of the gun and ever so gently, tugged. The Requiem let go of the gun. He continued to back up until he bumped into the wall. Richard carefully flicked on the safety and removed the magazine. "Thank you."
"For not killing you?" The Requiem chuckled dryly.
"For trusting me. That couldn't have been easy for you." Richard tucked the gun into his belt.
The broken radio on Lar-ell's helmet crackled, but Richard could still faintly hear Saal's voice. "Lar-ell, come in, we're five minutes from your location. What's your status?"
"Saal, you're not going to believe this…" she wheezed out slowly, "but Rider has the Requiem of Andromeda disarmed and in custody."
The Requiem slowly reached up and tapped his temple. The iron mask with glowing red eyes disappeared, revealing the frightened teenager hiding beneath. The Requiem had short blonde hair and freckles. His left eye was his natural brown color but his right was cybernetic and glowed a dull red. His nose was crooked after it had been broken one too many times and there was a jagged scar over his red eye. The scar looked fresh. Richard didn't want to meet the person who could put an injury like that on someone as skilled as the Requiem. The Requiem blinked his long eyelashes and looked up at Richard. He was… surprisingly kind of cute. He looked like he was Richard's age. "Actually… um, y-you can call me Peter."
"It's nice to meet you, Peter," Richard smiled at him bashfully and rubbed his neck. "I hope we can be friends."