POV Rocket
"Hey, Zaru, got any interesting jobs?" I ask.
"Meh, depends on what kind of work you're looking for. The Kree Empire lost a fleet to that maniac and has upped the bounty to a trillion credits. There are a couple of other jobs, but they don't pay the best and are all pretty damn far. The Chitarui have done a number on the contract business. I guess you could do some trade protection," Zaru, my contact at the Contractors' Guild, says.
"Caravan work, really? Come on, you have to have something better than that!" I complain.
"Well... There is one job, but I wasn't gonna mention it, as the source is unverified. But they requested you specifically," Zaru says while pulling out a data chip.
I plug it in and read over the request.
"The price isn't the best, but they said you can pick the meeting spot," Zaru says.
"Which means either they have no bad intentions or they don't see me as a threat," I add.
"Basically, yeah. The person who placed the job didn't show their face, but they did leave a 50k credit down payment. Given that they wouldn't reveal much about the job or even the payment, it's not exactly great. I know it isn't much, but a personal request like this doesn't come often, unless you made an impression on someone or someone wants you dead," Zaru replies with a shrug.
"Hmm, sure, send word that I am interested, the meeting will be here at the guild, three galactic standard days from now at 3," I reply.
"Got it, good luck," Zaru replies while inputting my response to be given to the client later.
3 Days Later...
"Stay here, Groot. I shouldn't take that long, and don't talk to strangers," I warn before leaving the ship and heading to my meeting with the mysterious client.
A small part of me was worried this could be a trap, but if that happened, they would have to risk fighting with the Contractors' Guild, and even the Kree or Nova wouldn't carelessly antagonize them.
I enter the meeting room and spot my client, who was hidden under a brown robe. As I enter, he looks towards me and waits for me to close the door before he removes his hood. As he does so, I lower my guard a decent amount.
"So, are you here representing Alfheim? Or on your own?" I ask.
"On my own, my name is Rio, and I presume you are Rocekt," Rio says with a calm smile.
"Yeah, that's me, now what do you want?" I ask bluntly.
"Straight to the point, very well. I wish to hire your services as a scientist for some work. You will be working on various projects," Rio explains.
"What's the pay and what kind of projects?" I ask with some intrigue, as I am rarely hired for my mind.
"I offer to expand your lifespan..." Rio starts, but I interrupt him.
"Wait up a second, what do you mean, expand my lifespan? You want to turn me into some lab experiment, huh?" I say defensively.
"Nothing of the sort. I've already used this method before successfully. There were no side effects, and in your case, it will be even easier to do as you are much younger; I could likely give you 90 years more or 100 if we're lucky," Rio explains calmly.
I narrow my eyes and stare at him.
"Sorry, not interest..." I say, but hear the door open and turn around with my weapon drawn, only to lower it a second later.
"Groot?! I told you to wait on the ship!" I complain.
"I am Groot," Groot says.
"I know... But come on!?" I complain.
"I am Groot," Groot says.
"Sigh. Fine," I say begrudgingly as Groot makes a good point.
"Thank you, Groot," Rio responds in Groot's language, and I nearly fall over in shock.
"Look, since Groot vouches for you, I'll hear you out," I say while sitting down again.
"Thank you, now to explain what I am offering. I will be taking someone's lifespan and transferring it to you. I will only accept those who deserve such treatment. I'm sure you know the kind of people," Rio explains.
"Yeah, I can think of a few that meet that criteria within a block of here," I say with a nod.
"Now, I will use magic to do this, but before you ask, no, I am not a Sorcerer, nor a Warlock, as some call them, I'm closer to a Wizard," Rio explains.
"Okay, so you don't answer to one of those higher powers, that's good, never liked those idiots, selling your soul for a little power? Ridiculous," I say with a shake of my head.
"Exactly, now in terms of payment. I have a few options. I have a nearly limitless source of gold, and while I know that isn't that valuable in the current market, it is still worth a decent amount. I also have Vibranium. Then there is Tritium, which is sold for a reasonable price as well on the market," Rio explains.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Go back," I interrupt.
"Tritium?" Rio asks.
"No, Vibranium, you saying you have Vibranium? How much?" I ask with massive interest.
"An amount," Rio says vaguely.
That was enough for me to calm down and make sure that everything was secure. Vibranium was ultra-expensive on the market.
"Prove it," I demand.
He pulls out a silvery bar from his robe and tosses it to me. I catch it and take out some equipment to test it.
Gulp
I look back at him.
"I-It's 100% pure. Do you have any idea how expensive this one ingot is?" I ask with a slack jaw.
"Very valuable," Rio says vaguely.
"Very valuable? Hahahaha! I can buy a godamn star system with this ingot alone. If you offered this to any star nation, they would likely make you a noble," I say with a massive smile, but with shaky hands, I place it down on the table.
"I have no interest in being bothered by those nations. They all have issues that make them less than ideal to work with, thus my need for discretion," Rio says calmly.
"No kidding. Even I dare not take that, let alone steal it. I'd be dead before I left Knowhere. But where would I be working?" I ask while considering how much I would be willing to risk to have access to this quality of Vibranium.
"Earth, in the Milky Way Galaxy," Rio says.
I pause for a second while trying to see if I recall a planet called Earth. Then it clicked.
"Wait, Midgard? The one under Odin's nominal protection? That Earth? The one that is still in a pre-FTL state?" I ask with shock.
"Yes, though I would like to point out that not all of the planet is pre-FTL. I was born there, and I have access to FTL travel. I even have a new and improved version of what is used in this universe," Rio explains.
I think about it for a long time before nodding.
"I can accept, as long as I can do some work with that Vibranium, but how long will the contract be for?" I ask.
"I require at least 20 years of service unless you have a good reason to leave early. Anything past that will be your own volition, but you will get a pay increase for staying on past 20 years," Rio explains while pulling out a document.
The terms of the deal were quite favorable. I changed a few things, but otherwise was quite happy with the deal, and as such, I signed the contract.
"Welcome aboard. Now, would you like help getting to Earth, or will you get there yourself?" Rio asks.
"I got a couple of things I have to handle, then I will head that way. Shouldn't take me more than two weeks. You can hold my pay until then," I reply.
"Got it, I'll see you later then," Rio says with a smile and offers his hand.
I shake it and leave the meeting feeling excited for this job. This would be the best-paying job I had ever gotten, and I was damned if I was going to mess it up. But who doesn't want to live longer? So I needed to collect some real scumbags for that ritual my boss is preparing.
'I think Morbo the Destroyer had a bounty, dead or alive, and his species lives what like 300 years?'
POV Shift Rio
After finishing my meeting with Rocket, I teleported a few systems away and changed my form. This time I chose Nehdar Vebb. I had already made an elaborate plan to rob the Collector of his things. The Collector wasn't evil per se, but he was more than okay with the enslavement of sentient species for his collection. He was sort of this world's version of the Preserver from DC, but unlike the Preserver, who collected the last of a species to preserve them in this cosmic zoo, the Collector did so out of greed and the desire to collect things and would treat some of his slaves extremely cruelly.
But regardless, my plan was fairly simple. I would teleport outside the skull in an area where nobody lives and then crawl back into the city, then make my way to the Collector's Palace. I would sneak my way in and cut his head off before he could do anything, while activating a virus I had already input into the defences he had set up. As for the slaves he had captured, I had talked with some Nova Corps officials who agreed to take in the refugees.
"Hmm? Carina, go check what those sensors detected. It's probably another idiot thinking they have something special," The Collector says with an annoyed tone while he was reading a book of sorts.
I approach him, and he seems to sense me.
"Carina, I thought I told you..." The Collector says, but doesn't get to finish his statement.
VRrrrm
Thud
With a quick slash of my lightsaber, the Collector's head is removed from his neck. His face was stuck in an annoyed frown as he died.
Thud
His body falls out of the chair and onto the floor. I checked his body to make sure I got the real deal, and only when I was certain did I store his body. I quickly got started talking to everyone and explaining what was happening. Very few were sentient beings, so it wasn't that hard to convince them. Carina, the slave and assistant to the Collector, was more than relieved to be free for once. Some wanted to loot some things, so I let them do so, as I didn't need them and would have sold them anyway, except for any magical items that were mine, though there were very few of them. In the meantime, I got to work on emptying out all the bank accounts of the Collector.
When all was said and done, I walked away with 11 trillion Intergalactic Credits, 25 more cubic meters of inventory space, and a couple of exotic creatures. Even after giving everyone a billion credits each, I still had an insane amount of credits and kept those in case I ever needed them. Only when I was sure everything was fine did I leave. When everyone in the massive intergalactic criminal Tivan Group checked the accounts, they would likely panic as they realised all the money was gone, but I had no sympathy for them.
I would do more, but I have to pick my battles. I still have a long way to go before Earth is good, so I can't spend too much time dealing with intergalactic affairs.