The pirate fleets surrounding Thanos were not bound together by loyalty.
Nor by ideology.
Certainly not by faith.
They followed him for one reason only:
Resources.
Money.
Loot.
That was the greatest weakness of Thanos's empire.
His forces were powerful, but they consumed staggering amounts of resources.
The Black Order and the countless pirate groups under its influence couldn't survive without constant expansion. They needed new worlds, new wealth, and new victims to sustain themselves.
In simple terms, too many mouths were feeding from too few sources.
And now the problem had reached a critical point.
Inside the Skrull Empire, a high-level emergency council had been convened.
The situation was serious enough that Emperor VII personally summoned the generals responsible for the empire's four major stellar regions.
The reason was simple.
Thanos had sent an ultimatum.
The self-proclaimed conqueror of civilizations.
The ruler of the Centauri systems.
The most infamous pirate king in the galaxy.
The Mad Titan himself.
Thanos.
His demand was straightforward.
One hundred resource worlds.
Hand them over willingly...
Or he would come and take them himself.
The emperor was furious.
When had Thanos become bold enough to threaten the Skrull Empire directly?
Historically, the three great empires had never regarded Thanos as a true equal.
Dangerous?
Absolutely.
Powerful?
Without question.
But not unstoppable.
After all, Thanos had once been captured by the Nova Corps.
No matter how individually powerful he might be, concentrated fleet firepower could still bring him down.
He wasn't Gladiator.
He couldn't simply ignore entire armadas.
Normally, the emperor would have dismissed the threat outright.
The problem was that the galaxy had become increasingly unstable.
The Shi'ar Empire had recently suffered a catastrophic collapse.
For years, the Shi'ar had made enemies everywhere.
The only reason rival powers tolerated their interference was because Gladiator stood behind them.
A living deterrent.
A warrior capable of treating entire fleets as inconveniences.
But Gladiator had left.
Not only had he departed, he'd become one of the Kryptonian Empire's senior military commanders.
The moment he was gone, every grudge the Shi'ar Empire had accumulated came due.
Old enemies struck from every direction.
Thanos himself had joined the feeding frenzy.
Eventually, the Shi'ar were forced to deploy gravitational collapse bombs.
The resulting devastation destroyed vast portions of their own territory.
And after that...
The empire simply vanished from the galactic stage.
No one knew what remained.
At the same time, the Skrulls were already locked in a costly war against the Kree.
They had also managed to antagonize what they believed was one of the most terrifying civilizations in existence.
Earth.
More specifically...
Superman.
From the Skrulls' perspective, the legendary Earth champion wasn't quite Gladiator's equal.
But he wasn't far behind.
That alone was enough to make them cautious.
Now they faced threats from every direction.
The Kree.
Earth.
And now Thanos.
The pressure was becoming unbearable.
Unfortunately, Thanos wasn't interested in giving them time to deliberate.
The message was clear.
Surrender the worlds.
Or prepare for war.
The destruction of the Chitauri expeditionary force had left a substantial hole in his finances and military assets.
Now he intended to recover those losses at Skrull expense.
As for Earth?
Thanos wasn't interested.
The Solar System was distant and comparatively poor in exploitable resources.
At least, that was his official reasoning.
Whether there were other factors influencing his decision was another matter entirely.
The emperor stood in the center of the vast imperial council chamber.
His hands clasped behind his back.
His expression dark.
Slowly, he paced across the polished floor.
Then he turned toward his assembled generals.
"What do you think?"
His voice echoed through the hall.
"Do we give Thanos the resource worlds he demands?"
The commander of the central fleets answered immediately.
"Absolutely not."
His response carried no hesitation.
"The Skrull Empire has never bowed to threats."
He stepped forward.
"If we surrender one hundred worlds simply because Thanos rattles his sword, what comes next?"
His eyes swept across the room.
"Will every scavenger and pirate in the galaxy start demanding tribute?"
The chamber fell silent.
No one could deny the logic.
If the empire yielded once, it would establish a precedent.
And precedents were dangerous.
Civilizations feared unequal relationships more than open hostility.
The moment the Skrulls surrendered to coercion, outsiders would draw their own conclusions.
The empire would appear weak.
Subordinate.
Dependent.
Even if the Skrulls denied it, the rest of the galaxy would see them as one of Thanos's clients.
His lapdogs.
That perception alone could damage their authority throughout the Andromeda Galaxy.
Many of the smaller civilizations currently under Skrull protection might begin questioning their rule.
Others might rebel entirely.
The risks were enormous.
Yet refusing came with dangers of its own.
The Left General finally spoke.
Unlike the commander, he felt obligated to present the other side of the argument.
"If we refuse," he said carefully, "Thanos will use that refusal as justification."
His expression grew grim.
"He'll seize those worlds by force."
The chamber grew quiet again.
The emperor was old.
Age had left deep creases across his face.
His eyes usually remained half-lidded.
His posture often appeared tired.
But at that moment, something changed.
His eyes snapped fully open.
The room temperature seemed to drop.
He fixed the Left General with a gaze that felt almost predatory.
Like an ancient dragon awakening from slumber.
His voice became dangerously soft.
"Are you afraid?"
The Left General froze.
The emperor took another step forward.
"Has my Left General become so frightened of Thanos that he's prepared to surrender before the battle even begins?"
The accusation hit like a hammer.
The Left General practically launched himself from his seat.
Though he stood over two meters tall and possessed the power of a Super Skrull, he immediately lowered his head.
His body trembled.
"No, Your Majesty."
His voice was filled with urgency.
"I am the Empire's spear."
"If you command it, I will face Thanos personally."
"I'll fight until my last breath."
"I would gladly die for the Empire."
The emperor stared at him for several moments.
Then his expression softened.
Just slightly.
"I have no desire to see my Left General die in a war like that."
His voice was quiet.
"It would accomplish nothing."
The assembled generals exchanged puzzled glances.
What exactly did that mean?
Was the emperor considering surrender?
The central commander was already preparing another argument when the emperor continued.
"I don't want war with Thanos."
The statement stunned the room.
Before anyone could respond, he raised a hand.
"Because if war begins, his pirate fleets will swarm our borders."
"They'll harass our shipping lanes."
"They'll attack isolated worlds."
"They'll force us to bleed resources across countless fronts."
His expression darkened.
"And if the Black Order enters the conflict..."
He paused.
"We cannot guarantee victory."
The commander immediately stepped forward.
"Your Majesty!"
His voice rang through the chamber.
"The Black Order is powerful, but they are not invincible."
"If we concentrate our forces, we still have a chance."
His expression grew increasingly urgent.
"If we retreat now, what becomes of our civilization's future?"
The emperor turned his head slowly.
Then he looked at the commander as though he'd said something ridiculous.
"Who said anything about retreating?"
The question hung in the air.
And suddenly, every general in the chamber realized the emperor had something else in mind.
Something far more dangerous.