Thor stood in front of the mirror, situating his top. After another good night's rest, he needed to address everyone on the aircraft. Have a game plan as to their course. The ship has been idlily floating in space to conserve their fuel tanks. At least the ship was stocked with food and supplies so they weren't in dire need at the moment for the necessities.
The door to the room opened. Anya came in with a smile in his direction. She no longer wore her gladiator outfit. She looked like one of the guards from Sakaar in dark brown pants, a red short-sleeve, high collar top, with black forearm, shoulder, and knee guards. The only attire available on this ship.
"I visited the medical wing," Anya said. "After Brunnhilde showed me the armory. I want to clean out your eye again. But I also think that this is more fitting for you to wear instead of that bandage." The young woman handed over the small item to the god. "Like father, like son."
Thor chuckled.
The wound was much better today when Anya began to apply the needed medical treatments. Once everything was cleaned up, the young woman assisted in setting the item in place. It was an eye patch. Similar to the one that Odin wore. It didn't need a string to hold it in place. Once set it held to the skin firmly. It was an odd sensation. And was even weirder only seeing out of one eye. He needed to get used to the fact that he no longer had a full range of view.
"How does it look?" Thor wondered.
Anya slid up alongside him to look in the mirror, leaning her head against his arm.
"Perfect fit," the agent answered.
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," the prince called out.
Loki entered. "It suits you," the god stated, motioning towards the eye patch.
"Maybe you're not so bad after all, brother," Thor said.
"Maybe not."
Anya excused herself, to give the brothers some privacy. "I'll see you in a moment," she spoke lowly, before ducking out of the room.
"Thank you," Thor said. When the mortal was gone, he spoke to his brother, "If you were here, I might even give you a hug."
He tossed a random object in the god's direction. Only this time instead of it passing through him, Loki caught it.
"I'm here," the God of Mischief reassured.
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The Asgardians and those from Sakaar stood in the main hull of the ship. Thor stood before them all, looking out the large window that Heimdall had been keeping post at. Where they could all see the dark galaxy before them dotted with millions of stars. Anya, Heimdall, Hulk, Brunnhilde, Loki, and Korg – carrying Miek under an arm – stood there alongside him. The now king's most trusted individuals.
"Your throne," Brunnhilde said.
She motioned towards a large chair that faced the crowd. Thor gladly took the seat.
"So, King of Asgard, where to?" Heimdall wondered.
"I'm not sure," Thor answered. "Any suggestions? Miek, where are you from?"
"Oh, Miek's dead," Korg announced. "Yeah, no, I accidentally stomped on him on the bridge. I've just felt so guilty, I've been carrying him around all day."
A chattering noise suddenly came from the alien, startling a few.
"Miek, you're alive!" the Koronan exclaimed in an excited manner. "He's alive, guys. What was your question again, bro?"
"I have one," Anya said. "Some place we both know quite well. One with enough space and a great deal of possibility and opportunity. Somewhere that's familiar. Home."
Thor gave a nod in agreement. Yes, where Anya suggested, both knew the planet well. He knew it was safe. The perfect place to rebuild and start a new life instead of searching the whole galaxy for new territory.
"Midgard it is then."
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Anya entered the bedroom with a yawn and stretched her arms high overhead. For nearly a week they had been flying through space. She always marveled at the sight of nebulas and unfamiliar planets that they passed. To keep herself busy, the young woman joined Brunnhilde in a section of the ship that had been set aside for those that wished to also stay busy sparing. Hulk wished to join, but that's wasn't safe. No one wanted to risk him breaking something on the ship or punching a hole in the wall.
The Valkyrie trained the mortal with Sudrstjarna per Heimdall's recommendation. The woman had seen it once at work before when the throne was threatened and Frigga had taken up arms to defend her home.
"It's amazing that you have it," Brunnhilde said. "But you're not a witch."
The sparing was reminiscent of their time on Sakaar. To feel out the weapon and see what it may produce. When nothing came from that, Anya attempted to partner the Aether with it. The dark matter didn't seem so thrilled by the idea to lace its energy with the item since there were still traces of white magic in place. The young woman asked nicely for the Aether to give it a try, yet there were no results there either.
"If it's made of a star it should amount to something else beyond enhancing magic," Thor said. "Otherwise, why would my father give it to you."
A few times the king would visit them to watch their sessions. Trying to also unravel the mystery of his mother's weapon.
"Maybe it's not supposed to give me some 'glorious' power like Mjolnir," Anya offered. "Maybe Odin merely gave it to me because it's a very capable weapon and I'm a weapons expert. He knew it was in good hands and I'd know how to use it. Sudrstjarna is easily one of the best weapons I've worked with."
To prove a point, Anya threw the weapon like a javelin through the air. Before it stuck into a box, the Aether gripped at the base to slingshot it back into the young woman's grasp.
"Extensions to the Aether are also my specialty. And that's what I'm going to go with until something else may transpire somewhere down the line."
Traveling through space also left those in charge busy to organize the ship so everything functioned without hiccups. Guidelines and rules were in place to keep order, and living in an aircraft for a long amount of time didn't become completely unbearable.
"We're rationing well enough," Brunnhilde spoke on morning. "Thankfully the horses got full bellies on Asgard before we left. I will be feeding them carrots and apples from the kitchens, which will help them along for the next few weeks. But we may have to make a pitstop somewhere. We should refuel as well."
"Is there a planet that we're coming up on that won't be hostile?" Anya wondered. "Where we can hit up a market and refuel the ship?"
"We don't have much money amongst ourselves."
"No, but we have things that can be traded."
The two of them were looking over a map in the cockpit that was now also a navigation room.
"How far are we from Xandar?" Anya wondered.
"Nearly two weeks off at our speed," Brunnhilde said. "And we'd have to travel off course to reach there."
"Which then adds more time onto our air travel. Well, worth a shot. It's the only planet I know of that's friendly to visitors, no matter where they come from."
"I'll keep looking. There should be somewhere nearby, but if I see nothing then I will have us change course for Xandar before it's too late. You should take a break. You were up early this morning doing rounds."
Anya took the offer to retire early. She wasn't alone long before the door to the bedroom opened again. Thor looked almost as tired as she did.
"Long day?" Anya wondered.
"I never thought that being suck on a ship would be nearly as difficult as when I had to manage things on Asgard," he answered.
"It definitely comes with its own set of problems that differ from what we're used to."
"Is everything in order?"
"From what I've seen so far. Brunnhilde and I are trying to find a course to gather more supplies and fuel. That way we're not cutting anything close."
"Part of me misses the smaller ships. They move a lot faster than something this large."
"If we weren't traveling with such precious cargo, then our travels through space would've been reduced by half. As least the view is beautiful."
He hummed in agreement as he draped an arm across her shoulders to also stare out the windows.
"Any chance that for dinner tonight, we can stay in?" the prince wondered. "I could use a bit of a break."
"I wouldn't mind, if no one is in need of your services."
Someone cleared their throat, the couple turning towards the door. Loki stood there, watching them.
"Am I interrupting?" he wondered. "The door was open."
"No," Anya answered. "Not at all. I should actually to see to the horses before we turn in. They have thankfully been adapting well to life on the ship, but they definitely miss the grassy plains. Using the Aether helps calm them if I place them in a familiar setting for a period of time."
"I will see you later, then?" Thor wondered.
Anya nodded. "I'll be back around soon."
Loki came up to stand beside his brother. Both of them looking out at the galaxy.
"Do you really think it's a good idea to go back to Midgard?" Loki questioned.
"Yes, of course," Thor answered. "The people of Midgard love me. I'm very popular."
"Let me rephrase that. Do you really think it's a good idea to bring me back to Earth?"
"Probably not, to be honest."
The brothers shared a smirk.
"I wouldn't worry, brother. I feel like everything's gonna work out just fine."
The room began to grow dark, as outside the ship, the sun in the distance became blocked. Thor and Loki's carefree demeanors dropped. Stunned by the sight before them.
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Anya was headed down to the lower levels. While Brunnhilde was certain that the herd could hold over on the limited diet, since there's was different to that from four legged horses on Midgard, she still worried for their mental state. Maybe if they did reach Xandar, or another planet that was hospitable... maybe they could take the animals. She hated to see any of them go. But if it would be more comfortable to get them off this ship, then the young woman had to make the difficult decision.
Suddenly, the path before her began to grow dark. The agent's brows pinched in confusion, head snapping towards the windows to the left. Her mouth dropped open in shock. The blocking of the sun wasn't due to a solar eclipse. A massive ship loomed over their position. Nearly fifty-times the size of theirs. The Aether began to make a clicking noise, on guard by their sudden presence. This didn't feel right. They didn't look friendly. Panels began to open on the opposite ship, but not to send smaller ships their way to investigate. Anya noticed the drawn guns. She bent her upper body over the railing into the staircase and yelled,
"We're under attack!"
Just as the enemy opened fire.
To be continued...