The Void

Xandar, home to the Nova Corps headquarters, was a planet with quite a reputation throughout the interstellar civilizations.

Although the Nova Corps generally favored peace, they were no pushovers and also provided protection to nearby worlds.

Thanks to their good reputation, many different groups from across the universe had chosen to settle on Xandar.

As a result, this planet, which orbited three stars, had a population of as many as twelve billion.

Recently, Xandar had also clashed with the Kree Empire for the third time, and the negotiations were nearing their conclusion.

In terms of their absolute military strength, the Kree Empire, one of the three great empires, clearly had the advantage.

But the Nova Corps were no weaklings either. A senseless war of attrition would only benefit others, so both sides were ultimately inclined to make peace.

With rumors of a settlement spreading, Xandar had gradually emerged from the shadow of war, and the streets were growing more crowded.

The fountain plaza, a local landmark, was filled with people of various races relaxing in the shade.

Every kind of form, hair color, and skin tone could be found.

Most were humanoid, though they differed in many details.

The occasional Rocket Raccoon or tree person was in the minority.

"Oh, this is terrible. The war's about to end, and we're going to run out of food. We haven't had a single job lately."

A bipedal raccoon complained, carrying a comically oversized weapons pack on his back.

Beside him walked a tree person more than three meters tall, moving at a leisurely pace.

Though the tree person looked slow, his long strides meant the raccoon had to jog to keep up.

"Groot."

The tree person, Groot, seemed to speak only in that slow, drawn-out way, but the raccoon seemed to understand