marvel_girl:

Galactus was gone, Chandrillar had been saved.  The Throneworld of the Shi'ar Empire and its royals were safe.  Saved by the efforts of the X-Men and the former guardian of the M'krann Crystal, the Phoenix.

The Phoenix, bonded to Rachel Summers of Earth, daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey, the former host of the Phoenix, counterpart of another Rachel Summers who had also hosted a measure of the Phoenix's power.

The same Phoenix the Shi'ar had tried to kill or enslave numerous times.  The same Phoenix a rogue faction of the Shi'ar had so feared, they'd tried to kill the entire Grey family and would have, if not for the timely intervention of the X-Men.

As Rachel rejoined the others, still surrounded by a corona of cosmic flame, she could feel the unease from... well, virtually the entire world.

nextgen_cosmic:

Since his universe had ended and this one had begun, Galactus had fed.  His hunger had driven him, given him cause and purpose throughout the universe, in a way that the mortals who inhabited it would never understand.  He did not feed out of malice or even joy, he simply fed.  They tried to give motivations for him, but he was beyond their understanding, as necessary an element to the cosmos as Eternity and Death, the balancing point between those two extremes.

His feet touched the ground of Throneworld, and the whole of the populace seemed to tremble in fear.  Sharra and K'ythiri were called out for, but the gods of the Shi'ar would have no place here.  Here was only the Great Devourer of Worlds.  Here was only Galactus, assembling his terrible machine with which he would consume the lifeforce of the planet.

Galactus was.

nextgen_cosmic:

The small ship dropped out of hyperspace, but had it arrived too late?  The usual space traffic that surrounded the Shi'ar Throneworld of Chandrilar was light, and what few ships remained were either warships, now actively engaged in battle, or trying to flee the immediate area.

What dominated their field of vision was a ship who's geometry was utterly alien, almost seeming to not exist in quite the same space as everything else.  Taa II, the worldship of Galactus, Devourer of Worlds.  Galactus himself, for the moment, was nowhere in sight, but as close to the planet as the ship had come, it would not be long.  Unless the X-Men could do something, the Shi'ar Empire's days were likely numbered.

nextgen_shiar:

It was a modified kjethya scoutcraft. Big enough for passengers, but still small and simple enough for one man to fly.

Or, in this case, one seventeen-year-old princeling.  His Imperial Highness Starbridge Xavier Neramani hadn't been to the planet he was now orbitting since three summers ago. Various formal duties and complications had kept getting in the way of his visits with his father.

The father for whom he was mentally calling as his ship came screeching into the upstate New York sky. Starbridge managed to land safely at the Institute's designated area, but it was close. And until he'd gotten help, nothing counted as 'safe' anyway.

nextgen_shiar:

His Imperial Highness Prince Starbridge Xavier Neramani was standing on his balcony in the palace on Chandilar, looking at the stars, when it happened.

Visions were by now not an unusual thing for him; they had happened frequently over the past five years. He'd been able to discuss them a little with his father during his last visit.

But this one....
Sharra and K'ythri, the images fanning out before him were horrific. So many paths to annihilation.

When it passed, he knew what he had to do.