Narrator's POV
"I still think it's a really bad idea." Jim Kirk voiced his thought while working from his station, punching in the coordinates for warp.
"Being successful off risky ideas is my forte, Jim." The person in question replied from the Captain's chair, busy typing something in a holopad.
"Still," Jim didn't yield." You leave us for days, then you suddenly return without a word and announce the Strange is dead. You've left Christopher on Earth and sent Christine to God knows where. Now that we are finally assembling, you force the Enterprise and its crew to leave the others without a word for Earth. What the hell are you thinking??"
"Mr. Hunter, attacking Thanos without an army is futile. We won't even get past the border sentry. We are basically heading towards suicide." Spock spoke up as well.
Max finally looked up at them, frowning." It is useless to attack Thanos with an army because he is expecting a frontal assault. Specially after the death of Corvus Glaive, he has tightened his security. Our army is not strong enough or well equipped to handle them. The only way is a stealth approach." He pressed a button on the holopad, pulling up a hologram." These are the schematics of his command center. His tower is surrounded by the Chitauri barracks and defenses. The tower can't be breached by land or air." He pointed to a red line highlighting an underground tunnel." We'll use this passage to access the basement, and then move upwards. I will lead a small assault team. Each man must be rigged with explosives, so that our breach won't be in vain. Thanos will not expect this."
"And what is your plan for the Black Order?" Jim asked skeptically.
"Well, Maw and Corvus are dead. Cull must be distracted long enough for one of us to destroy him with explosives. Spock is the most trained in hand-to-hand combat so he will handle Proxima."
"And what about Thanos?"
"Leave him to me." Max sat back with a satisfied smile.
" Leave him to you??!" Jim cried out. "Are you crazy? You won't last a second in front of the Stones."
"I have a plan." Max answered calmly.
"Is that why you left Tania behind?" Jim asked.
Max's calm demeanor shifted a bit." I can't read her into danger. She's better coordinating our troops at base. There is a high chance we won't make it, and I'm not willing to play with her life."
Spock looked calmly at the former Nova officer. He had changed a lot since Spock first saw him. At that time, Max was impulsive and reckless, someone ready to plunge into trouble without a second thought. Now he had matured. He had acquired a sense of responsibility. Accountability. Like a true captain, he kept in mind the needs of his crew before all. Maybe, just maybe, he was ready to put on the mantle of a captain.
Max looked at Spock." You have the equipment the Technomen gave us, right?" Spock nodded.
"Good. Listen to me very carefully."
****
"I don't like this at all." Jim whispered.
Max furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at his friend." You don't? I thought you would like the idea of crawling up a dark underground tunnel, said tunnel being barely wide enough to fit us through."
"Yeah yeah, I can totally feel the sarcasm off you."
Max cracked a smile." Nothing best than to be optimistic in these troubled times."
Jim grumbled, then shifted his head to see his friend in front of him, crawling on all fours. He debated whether he should say anything, then sighed. "Hey, Max?"
"Yeah?"
"If we....you know....if we don't make it tonight.."
Max shut him up with a glare. "The universe depends on us, Jim. We can't afford to fail now. Now is-"
"For Christ's sake will you let me finish?!" Jim asked exclaimed, exasperated. Max just rolled his eyes as he kept on crawling.
"If we don't make it tonight, I just want you to know- that you've been a really good friend. Better companion. We may not have known each other long, but I'm glad to fight by your side." Jim paused. " We fought beside you. And gladly, shall we die beside you."
"So shall we." Spock and the rest of the team said.
They had reached the end of the tunnel. In front of them was a wall. Looking up, they saw a wooden trapdoor on the ceiling. Push that, and they would find themselves in the basement.
Max looked at his team - his friends, companions, fellow soldiers, and nodded.
"Today we fight for not one man or country, not one planet, but for each and every living organism in this universe. We have lived in fear and oppression long enough, and now it's time to rebel. To take back our freedom and liberty. It has been my honour to serve with you, and I thank you for all that you have done. History will remember you, us, as the people who stepped up to fight the tyrant in the face. In the immortal words of Jay-Z - Whatever deity may guide my life, dear Lord, let me not die tonight. But if I shall, before I wake, I'd accept my fate." He raised his arm in salute. "Hell yeah!"
"Hell yeah!" The whole team echoed, raising their arms in salute. They stood like that for a moment till Jim put down his hand. "Now can we get going?? The whole tower's probably heard your war cry down here."
Max laughed and pushed open the trapdoor, letting white light stream in the place. Pushing himself up, he found himself in the basement of the tower. Waiting till the last man had come up, he closed the trapdoor and motioned for them to move forward.
Guns cocked, blasters ready, the small team made their way up, their eyes on the lookout for guards and patrols. Shooting the CCTV cameras in the hallways, they slowly went up till they reached the 10th floor. Max raised his hand, indicating them to stop.
"We need to split up. Cover more ground that way. Watkins, you guys take the ground floor and the basement. Locate all possible entrances and close them. Barricade them if you can. They shouldn't call in help from the Chitauri barracks outside."
The soldier nodded." Yes, sir."
" Zaman, you guys locate the security room. I want eyes everywhere in the building. Anything happens, I want to know."
"Will do, sir."
"Kiera, your team will sweep the place for guards and patrols. Eliminate as much as possible. Steer clear of the Black Order. Understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Me, Jim, Spock and the rest of you will head up to the throne room. Radio immediately if anything happens. Good luck."
"Are you crazy??" Jim whispered angrily as the other soldiers went off. " You're going to attack Thanos with what, 14 men??!"
"I too advice against the situation Mr. Hunter." Spock said.
"Trust me." Max said, and paced towards the throne room. Jim gritted his teeth in annoyance, but followed anyway.
The small group made their way to the top floor. Everything was eerily silent, which aroused Spock's suspicion, but they at last reached the doors of the throne room. Pushing the doors open, they slowly entered the room, and were shocked to find it empty. The large golden throne stood in the middle of the room, and the room was totally bare.
"What the hell man? Where is everyone?" Jim asked, shocked. For the first time, Max appeared at a loss for words. "I don't know. Thanos has no reason to go anywhere. He should be here."
"But where is he?" asked Spock.
"I don't know. Maybe the other teams are lucky." Max was about to pull out his communicator when a grim chuckle froze him in fear.
"I didn't know you were this naive." The voice sent chills down his spine, as he gazed at the throne. A ripple of red light flooded the room. After it cleared, he saw Thanos sitting on the throne, clad in his battle armour, the Reality Stone shining brightly on the gauntlet. The red light flickered on the sides of the room, revealing the enormous number of Chitauri guards concealed, who now advanced with their weapons armed.
"The Reality Stone did well to warp our presence, none of you could find us." Thanos chuckled darkly. The small Rebel team came closer in a circle, with the Chitauri boxing them in. It was an ambush.
Thanos chuckled as he looked at the Rebels. "Poor humans. You come so far, only to die. The likes of you will always fail."
Max glared at Thanos. "You will have to answer for all the crimes you have committed, against life, and the countless planets and lives you have destroyed."
"Oh really?" Thanos smirked.
"The universe will never tolerate your rule."
"Pity. Then maybe they will learn how sharp the blade of a sword or how painful the blast from a gun is. Maybe they'll learn after they have fallen before your Captain's blade."
"Don't say a word against my Captain!" Max growled, and lunged at Thanos. Grabbing the gauntlet, he tried to rip it off. Thanos gave an amused smirk, and with a powerful punch, sent Max flying across the room at the feet of his team. His smirk disappeared, replaced by an enraged expression. "You dare stand against me?"
Max pushed himself up, spitting out blood. " I can do this all day."
Thanos rose from his throne, brandishing the gauntlet. " You said the universe will rebel. Then let's make sure the universe doesn't exist." He held up the gauntlet, which shone brightly.
"No!" Jim cried out, but it was too late. Before anybody could do anything, Thanos had closed his fingers in a fist, pushing his thumb against his middle finger.
SNAP!
"What have you done?" Jim cried out, ignoring the warning bells in his head. "By using all the six Stones together, you just wiped out half the universe!!"
"And that is the aim." Thanos answered. " In a few moments, you all will be nothing but dust."
But nothing happened.
Thanos furrowed his eyebrows. "What happened?" He snapped his fingers again, but nothing happened. The Stones just glowed a bit, then returned to their lustreless form.
"This shouldn't happen. This is-" Thanos stopped on noticing a small metallic device at the base of the gauntlet. He tried to wrench it off, but failed. With blazing eyes, he turned to Max, who was looking at him with a smirk.
Max held up the device to control the magnetic EMP device he had attached on the gauntlet when he had lunged at Thanos. "Bet you didn't see that one coming."
Guess whose back after nearly a month's leave??
What with half-yearly exams and all, I hardly found time to update.
"Galaxias: Retaliation" is nearing its end. A few more chapters, and the end of the journey of the past few months. It's been a really wonderful journey and I thank you all who stood beside me.
So we find Max and Thanos in another face-off! In the real world this time. Who will win? What will Nemesis do? Will he stand with Thanos, or finally acknowledge his human roots?
Note: Max spitting blood and his "I can do this all day." quote is what happened to Steve Fleming as well in the prequel well.
Please don't forget to vote and comment.