Slap A Big Ole Bullseye On There

Thought for the day: Starlord's little squad is actually an expendable diversionary tactic by the Kree.

- Consider that Kree intelligence was kind of vague about what this thing Peter's group is looking for actually looks like, as well as where it's supposed to be. That could just be due to a lack of reliable intel, since the Phalanx quickly take control of any Kree surveillance equipment brought against them, right along with every other piece of tech in the Empire. However, seeing as this isn't the first time the Phalanx have threatened a galaxy-spanning empire, Galen-Tor could have simply used their past modus operandi as the basis to concoct a plausible reason to send a strike team in that direction.

- Consider that when Peter is being patched up in #1, Captain Chan-Dar (the Kree that was among the saved when Starlord defeated the Fallen One) tells the doctor that Peter's recovery, and the removal of his cybernetic implants are by Ronan's command. Except when Galen-Tor shows up, she comments that he's the one who ordered the removal of all cybernetic implants. Also keep in mind that Ronan is under Phalanx control, if Wraith is any indication. Would he have had time to issue such commands regarding Peter, or is he being name-dropped to reduce questioning?

- Consider that on such an apparently vital mission, one that is designed to keep the Phalanx from spreading throughout Kree space, there is not one Kree on the team. Just, as the Phalanx noted, three Terrans, a Shi'ar, a Kaliklak, a Flora Colossus, and a sentient mammal. Galen-Tor has no love of Terrans, or really, any species that isn't Kree ("Kree purity" and all that crap). Would he entrust such a mission to them, without sending at least one trusted Kree along to keep an eye on them?

- Consider that in the brief interlude with the Phalanx, when the arrival of Starlord's group is noted, the Phalanx have no idea what their objective could be. Perhaps in part because the Phalanx don't consider them to be any sort of threat (which they do mention). Perhaps in part because there really isn't anything around that the Phalanx would expect someone to target, which certainly doesn't sound like a description of the 'viral bombs' they'll use to 'seed the galaxy'. You'd think the Phalanx would expect some sort of an assault on that, consider it predictable, and note that even if the group set against them is odd, it's doing something they expected.

- Given these conjectures, I'm wondering if the Kree aren't actually planning to strike somewhere else, and are hoping to use Starlord as a diversion. It's reminiscent of an Unknown Soldier comic of my father's I read, where he recruits a Maquis group to help clear the way for a D-Day landing at. . . some place other than Normandy (I forget where). The Maquis get wiped out, except for one fellow. The whole time they expect that the Allies are going to land and that'll turn the tide on this battle. Except the Allies aren't landing there, they're just using this Maquis cell to distract the Nazis, and draw some forces away from the actual landing area. I remember that the one fellow who survived, the leader, was pretty steamed, and was going to kill the Unknown Soldier, which made sense to me, since that whole "deceiving them and using them as cannon fodder" struck me as such a dick move. He didn't do it though. I was disappointed. Anyway, I think that might be what's going on here. I'm not sure what the Kree might be targeting instead, but I'm sure there's something, and Galen was head of covert ops, so using prisoners as expendable distractions is up his alley as much as it was the Unknown Soldier's.

- Fly in the ointment: Annihilation Wave forces showed up in the same location (which means that bubble enclosing Kree space enclosed the Kree part of Annihilus' empire as well). If there is something vital there, it's likely that they could have detected it as well, and sent their own team to deal with it. Of course, it's also possible that the Kree found a way to feed false information to Ravenous, to convince him to commit forces to a similar mission. The Annihilation Wave forces did touch down after Starlord's group, so they may have just been reacting to what the Kree did. Tricking the Wave serves two purposes: 1) it weakens the bug forces, since some of them will die on their mission, and 2) it draws Phalanx attention towards the Annihilation Wave, and by extension at least attention away from the Kree, making it that much more likely that the Kree could execute whatever their actual plan is, since they'll have an extra layer of distraction.

Just something to consider.