The war for Xandar had begun.
At Queen Adora's command, the planet's ultimate defense hummed to life. Countless automated drones, like a swarm of brilliant stars, surged into the upper atmosphere. There, they linked together, projecting a golden, honeycombed shield of pure energy that encapsulated the world. Simultaneously, the Nova Corps launched its counter-assault against Thanos's flagship, the Sanctuary II, and Ronan's vessel.
Though they numbered only five hundred, every member of the Nova Corps was a formidable warrior. The Nova Force, granted to them by the planetary supercomputer known as the Worldmind, amplified their abilities to superhuman levels. Their helmets, much like Tony Stark's AI, provided them with a constant stream of tactical data and combat solutions.
The most powerful among them, the Centurions, were living weapons, capable of flying through the void of space under their own power, each one a lesser version of Captain Marvel. There were several of these elite warriors, and with them leading the charge, the vast Chitauri army and even the Black Order struggled to gain an advantage.
But the battle was still tragically one-sided.
Not all Nova troopers were Centurions. The lower-ranking Corpsmen, who possessed only a quarter of a Centurion's power, could not fly independently and were relegated to fighting from the cockpits of their Starblaster fighters. These soldiers made up the bulk of the Corps.
Aboard the Sanctuary II, Thanos watched the golden shield hold against his fleet's initial bombardment. His patience began to fray. He gave the order. The cannons of his flagship and the Dark Aster concentrated their fire on a single point, pounding the shield with relentless fury. The Chitauri, meanwhile, replicated their tactic from the Battle of Wakanda, launching themselves at the barrier in suicidal waves, their bodies forming a living battering ram.
A crack appeared, then another, until a section of the golden shield shattered like glass. A bloody pathway was forced open.
The Chitauri poured through. Ignoring the Nova fighters, they dove straight for the shield drones, blasting them apart. As the network collapsed, the planetary shield flickered and died. A flood of Chitauri monsters and outriders broke through the atmosphere, descending upon the cities of Xandar like a plague. Riding their skiffs and firing their energy rifles, they began a brutal massacre on the planet below.
This forced the Nova Corps, who had been holding the line against the Black Order in orbit, to break formation and descend to defend their homes. This was precisely the opening the enemy needed. Unchecked, the members of the Black Order and Ronan's Accusers followed them down.
In an instant, the pristine world of Xandar was plunged into chaos.
Thanos remained aboard his ship, but Ronan the Accuser could no longer contain himself. With his Universal Weapon in hand, he descended with his ground troops. As a being strong enough to handle an Infinity Stone with his bare hands, Ronan's personal might was immense. He charged into the fray, a silver-and-black god of war, his hammer carving a path of destruction through the beleaguered Nova Corps.
His prey was the elite. Nothing less than a Centurion was worthy of his attention.
High above the capital, two Centurions intercepted him. One was Nova Prime herself, Irani Rael.
"Ronan the Accuser!" she roared. Igniting her power, she became a glowing projectile, slamming headfirst into Ronan with the force of a locomotive. The impact drove the Kree fanatic from the sky to the street below, carving a massive crater upon landing.
Irani Rael landed atop the mound of shattered earth, her golden armor gleaming. "Evacuate the civilians!" she commanded her forces, before turning her fiery gaze on the figure climbing from the rubble. "Have you forgotten the treaty between Xandar and the Kree Empire?"
Ronan rose, brushing dust from his armor. He was completely unharmed. He raised his cosmic hammer, its energy crackling. "I do not fight for the Kree Empire," he snarled, his voice a strange, guttural accent. "I fight for my ancestors! I fight for their hatred!"
The next moment, a concussive beam of purple energy erupted from his weapon, blasting Nova Prime off the mound and sending her tumbling through the air.
Without even looking, Ronan swung the Universal Weapon behind him, blocking a strike from the second Centurion. The golden energy flaring from the Centurion's gauntlets held strong, like the wings of a phoenix.
Instead of pressing the attack, the Centurion pleaded, "Ronan! The pain of the war was mutual! The Kree we killed, the Xandarians you killed… we should not continue this cycle of hatred!"
Objectively, the Centurion was right. But his words were meaningless to a man so utterly consumed by vengeance.
The Accuser simply clenched his fists, the power in his hammer surging. "You are wrong. The hatred will end," Ronan declared. "Because I will destroy every last Xandarian, until none remain to be hated!"
BOOM! With his final word, he unleashed the hammer's full power. A massive sphere of purple energy expanded outwards, vaporizing the Centurion and turning everything within a hundred-meter radius to dust.
Ronan had no time for debate. He plunged back into the slaughter.
Elsewhere in the city, Steve, Bucky, and Caiera had joined the battle. Though Queen Adora and Nova Prime had explicitly rejected their help, Steve couldn't stand by and watch innocent people be butchered. He and the Winter Soldier became a two-man rescue team, pulling civilians from the rubble and forming pockets of resistance.
Caiera was not idle. Once known as the Warbound, her strength was a match for the Hulk's. Outside of Ben and Looma, she was the most powerful warrior Sakaar had to offer. She waded into the battle like a force of nature, crackling blue lightning of the Old Power swirling around her body. The monstrous Chitauri Leviathans seemed fragile as glass before her, shattering under her focused power.
Her display was so spectacular that not only did the Chitauri notice her, but so did Queen Adora. Amidst the golden fire of the Nova Force, Caiera's brilliant blue energy was like a dragon dancing in a storm. Adora recognized her instantly as the envoy from Sakaar. It seemed her claims of power were not exaggerated; she was easily the equal of a Centurion.
If I had only agreed to their alliance, perhaps now… The thought flashed through Adora's mind before she violently suppressed it. There was no time for regret. Besides, Xandar was not yet in a desperate situation. Surely her Nova Corps would rally.
But the warriors of the Nova Corps could not rally. They gathered together, but they were an island in a sea of enemies. Against the endless tide of the Chitauri, their five hundred soldiers were simply overwhelmed. Ronan alone occupied the strongest of their Centurions, while the rest were slowly but surely being buried under a wave of bodies. The breeding speed of the Chitauri was their greatest weapon. Ben's order to destroy their mothership first had been the correct one. Without a queen to birth them, their numbers were finite. But that queen was not here.
Aboard the Sanctuary, Thanos watched the preordained victory unfold with an air of detached calm. Vilgax, standing beside him, was growing restless.
"You wished to show me the power of the Stone," Vilgax rasped. "Why not use this planet as your test and end this farce?" The squid-faced conqueror had no interest in Xandar. He wanted to get to Sakaar and verify his suspicions. If the boy, Ben Parker, truly possessed the Omnitrix… then his own plans could resume. An army of shapeshifting warriors, knowing no pain, possessing untold powers… tens of thousands of them, each a giant capable of destroying planets. All who did not submit to him, Vilgax, would face utter destruction.
"Why the hurry?" Thanos asked, glancing at his new partner. He knew the warlord had ulterior motives, but he didn't care. As long as Vilgax didn't seek the Infinity Stones, their goals did not conflict. The Stones existed for one purpose: to fulfill his destiny and bring balance to the universe. Once that was done, he would use their power to destroy them, ensuring they could never be used again. "It won't be long now. Ronan will bring me my victory."
Hearing this, Vilgax fell silent. Thanos's confidence was not an act. The battle was a rout. The efforts of Caiera, Steve, and Bucky were but a drop in the ocean.
Soon, most of the Nova Corps had fallen. Though the Chitauri had suffered far greater casualties, no one cared about the lives of those cosmic locusts.
Ronan had breached Adora's palace.
When Caiera and Steve finally fought their way to the throne room, they found him holding Nova Prime Irani Rael by the throat, her feet dangling limply above the floor. The once-proud Queen Adora knelt before him, defeated.
"It is time to pay your blood debt, Adora," Ronan said coldly.
Lying on the floor, the only emotion in Adora's heart was regret. A vast, bottomless ocean of it. When she saw Caiera standing in the doorway, that feeling reached its peak. If time could be reversed, if she could go back to the moment she had dismissed the alliance with Sakaar, she would not have hesitated. If there was truly a regret pill in this world, Adora would have paid any price to take it now and save Xandar.
Just as that desperate thought consumed her, the sky outside the shattered palace dome suddenly darkened.
A low hum grew into a powerful roar, and a voice, amplified by an impossible power, echoed across the war-torn skies of Xandar.
"Thanos. Ronan the Accuser. This is the Plumbers. Withdraw your forces from Xandar. Immediately."
Queen Adora looked up, stunned, hope flaring in her chest.
A colossal warship, sleek and black with glowing green circuits, now hung directly over the ruins of her palace, casting a shadow that eclipsed the sun.
Ronan looked up, his grip on Nova Prime tightening as he snarled. "It's you again… the Plumbers!"