Their Kwai navigator performed admirably, clearly taking every shortcut he could while leading them through the twisted trails of D-space. When they reached the threshold hub, Kraylo called out, "Close the gate to Braal down now! And open the one to Legion World! We have a Legionnaire down!"

Seeing the clearly injured Nova, the techs worked to close down the Braal gate as quickly as possible.

"Surfer--" Rich choked out, a hand clasped in a death grip on Grif's arm. "Could've -- glckt -- killed me. Instant...ly."

Rich knew the Surfer. He knew what this was. This was the Surfer trying to spare him, trying to force him to stay out of the way. If Rich was injured, he wouldn't try to stop Galactus, and the Surfer wouldn't have to harm him. In its own sick way, this was his way of trying to keep him out of harm's way.

"Would've -- kcckt -- listened. Without...Stardust. Would've --"

As soon as the Braal gate blinked off, the Legion World gate blinked on.

"Legion World gate's open!" called out one of the techs. "Go go go!"