BIOGRAPHY - Page 5
From Mainframe’s world, the Guardians had been following Vision’s directions towards Haven, the lost colony of mutants who followed Wolverine and Magneto to the stars in order to avoid persecution before the Martian invasion. The Guardians had known the legend of the lost colony since finding their first starship Captain America at the mutants’ first base on Europa, and they had considered it one of the group’s first missions to find them. Once they arrived, however, Starhawk ensured the Guardians knew the truth about life on Haven by retrieving Giraud, a member of the planet’s resistance against the ruling Nine. Centuries of in-breeding meant that only a handful of true mutants remained on Haven, vicious lieutenants to the fifth-generation descendant of Wolverine known as Rancor. The Nine mutants kept the rest of the population under their iron fist, and the people cried out for liberation.
Starhawk “suggested” the Guardians split into two groups before journeying down to Haven -- one faction to meet with Rancor openly while another would follow Giraud to rendezvous with his underground cell. The Nine were sadistic and paranoid to a fault, however, and the entourage of Aleta, Martinex and Yondu were almost immediately captured by Rancor, as Stakar must have suspected. Charlie, Nikki and Vance had more luck rallying the people to lead an insurrection against the Nine. Both of these events were aided by the local Haven legend that the "Overmen" would come to free them from tyranny. It wouldn’t be enough. This was a key moment in the timeline, and Stakar had tried more options, more variables here in his past lives than at most junctures. There was only one terrible option to save the people of Haven. As the Guardians led their uprising against the Nine, Starhawk appeared on the battlefield only to snag Giraud and spirit him away to a nearby volcano. There, he introduced Giraud of Haven to his destiny… the Phoenix Force.
Dormant since the arrival of the mutants to Haven, the Phoenix needed a host to rejoin the universe, and it promised Giraud the power to save his people. Giraud accepted, and Starhawk was there to ensure “Phoenix IX” was not lost in the intoxication of his power and remembered the goal he had as a mortal being. The Phoenix’s 
might was incredible, and it quickly turned the tide of the revolution. Three of the Nine were dead by the time Rancor and her teleporter retreated with the rest, but the vengeful Rancor activated a series of bombs to destabilize the already volatile geology of the planet. Haven would soon explode and take its people with it. As the out-of-the-loop Guardians finally reached Rancor’s throne room for their coup, Starhawk arrived and told them they must evacuate immediately. When Martinex and the others began demanding explanations, Stakar merely tapped their teleporting badges at light speed, ending all conversation.
The Guardians watched in horror as Haven was consumed by the Phoenix, seemingly killing Stakar and the entire population. In reality, Starhawk had connected the computers and teleporters of the Captain America II to Mainframe through sub-space. With the Phoenix acting as 
a willing power source, they were able to transport all the people of Haven to Mainframe’s empty world at the last moment. While the victory was sweet, many of the Guardians were reaching their breaking point with Starhawk. He kept them out of the loop while coordinating separately with Mainframe and Phoenix, leading to a costly revolution where many innocents still died and the Guardians’ lives were needlessly risked as well. Starhawk assured them as the One-Who-Knows that their foreknowledge wouldn’t have affected the outcome, but even Martinex was irritated by this point. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #9-11]
As he prepared to return from Mainframe’s world, Starhawk was haunted by the growing gaps in his memory of future events. Giraud willingly entered into stasis in case the Phoenix Force within him became unmanageable, but Stakar realized he no longer knew Giraud’s fate. The other Guardians were drawn into a conflict between their reserve member Firelord and the Stark cyborg Taserface, revamped and out for revenge in the new identity of Overkill. Nikki had a crush on Firelord, and Aleta did her best to comfort her worried friend as they rushed to his aid. Starhawk seemed to have the opposite intent when he arrived at the battle, already in progress, and grabbed Firelord to plunge him into the nearby star. Nikki even took a shot at Starhawk when he emerged alone, no longer able to trust that the brusque and enigmatic One-Who-Knows was acting in their best interests. He was, however, for Firelord was able to recharge off of the star’s energies and return to the battle. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #12]
Overkill retreated, though the Guardians’ newest member Replica learned the Stark had placed a bomb on the Captain America II while the fight was going on, so the team remained in near-space to the planet Sarka while they hunted for it. As they waited, Aleta willingly approached Stakar for the first time in months to have a conversation. She uncomfortably raised the subject of her growing relationship with Vance Astro, but Starhawk confirmed he already knew and wished them the best. Stakar confided in Aleta what little he still knew about her upcoming rivalry with 
Malevolence over a child known as the Protégé, but his knowledge was fading. He and Aleta had separated far sooner than in any timeline he had experienced before, and the ramifications were making the One-Who-Knows less and less reliable. Worse still, his body was also breaking down and dissolving. Stakar could wield the light in many powerful ways that Aleta could not, but the light itself had always come from her. Without their bond, his coherent light form was finite and un-replenishing.
Aleta left her sad ex-husband with his thoughts and met with Vance to tell him her marriage was now officially behind them. The Stark’s bomb detonated, exposing them to vacuum, but Aleta’s light field saved them from harm. The Guardians hoped to contact the Sarkans for repairs, but the planet was under the iron grip of the Universal Church of Truth. Autolycus of Sarka was from a 
rival faith and wielded the power of the Spirit of Vengeance. He believed the Guardians’ ship must be carrying more of the Church’s Black Knights, and his religious fervor led him to strike first. Starhawk tried to peacefully intercept him, but he failed to predict how dangerous the Spirit’s hellfire would be in his weakened state. The One-Who-Knows experienced dramatic symptoms as the hellfire burned his knowledge from his soul.
Aleta made a second attempt to speak with the Spirit of Vengeance peacefully, and the pure nature of her soul convinced the Spirit that she held no deception. Once they entered the Captain America II to begin a dialogue, however, the Guardians were shocked to learn Replica was a member of the Universal Church of Truth’s faith. Replica denounced the Spirit of Vengeance as a demon and a murderer of priests, and he in turn took her presence as a sign he was lied to by the Guardians. The renewed fighting between the Spirit and the Guardians lasted until the Church’s Holy Fleet arrived and declared themselves. The Spirit finally accepted his mistake, but his attempts to lead the Church away from the Guardians failed and the team was captured.
While the others were taken to Sarka below, Aleta went searching for Stakar, still adrift in space after his initial contact with the Spirit of Vengeance. Transparent and fading, Stakar asked Aleta to share her light with him or else he would die. Aleta was compassionate enough to put aside her enmity to Stakar this once, but she was shocked when her body started to become transparent too. Aleta realized Stakar was trying to reabsorb her, and violently thrust him away. The still-
weakened Starhawk tried to justify himself, explaining he wanted to give Aleta a glimpse into his memories as the One-Who-Knows. Unaffected by the hellfire herself, Aleta did perceive what Stakar knew about Malevolence and the Protégé. Replica disobeyed the Church to free the Guardians and, when they returned to the Captain America II, Aleta had already plotted a course to Homeworld, capitol of the Universal Church. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #13-14]
Vance Astro was taken aback when Aleta declared herself the One-Who-Knows to defend their trek to Homeworld, but she quickly explained it was only a momentary exposure to Starhawk’s 
accumulated knowledge. Satisfied that their relationship was solid, Vance went forward with his plan to propose to Aleta in Earth tradition, and she happily accepted. In sickbay, Aleta received Stakar’s blessing as she kept him alive with light transfusions, and together the ex-couple journeyed to the bridge to explain what they “Knew” regarding the Church.
The Universal Church of Truth was founded by a being known as the Magus, who they worshipped as a living god. After his disappearance, they crafted their own messiah using genetic engineering, birthing the child known as the Protégé. Set to inherit the zealous masses of the Church, the Protégé had the power to permanently duplicate any power or skill he witnessed in action. Able to stack these gifts exponentially, the Protégé had the potential for unlimited power. To ensure his tutelage and growth, the Universal Church on Homeworld was holding a contest to find a Matriarch who would guide him and rule the Church by proxy until the seven-year-old Protégé came of age. In Starhawk’s past lives, Aleta had become that Matriarch, and so Malevolence wished to eliminate her to claim the role herself and lead the Church into darkness through her new charge.
Malevolence recruited Force and sent them into battle with the Guardians of the Galaxy once they arrived over Homeworld. They failed to delay Aleta from arriving at the contest and declaring herself a candidate for Matriarch. Malevolence had already defeated all other challengers, but her arrogance was dangerously close to blasphemy. She was forced to concede to the Protégé’s wishes as he proved curious about the beautiful light-wielder offering to be his Matriarch. Raised to believe himself a living god, the Protégé was innocently arrogant, but Aleta tried to convince him to show mercy and respect towards those who chose to worship him. Force and the 
Guardians had compared notes and transported down to Homeworld to oppose Malevolence. Instead, the daughter of Mephisto convinced the Protégé they were coming to assassinate him and he sent the Black Guard against the new arrivals despite Aleta’s pleadings.
The chaos that followed only fed the Protégé’s abilities, as he observed the various powers of Force and the Guardians in action. Malevolence took the opportunity to attack Aleta again as well. The entire ordeal proved triggering for Aleta, and the heightened emotions led her to see the Protégé as one of her own fallen children as she lost herself in a rage against Malevolence. Aleta even lashed out at Vance Astro when he tried to dissuade her from abandoning her vow of peace to murder Malevolence. Starhawk had been ominously quiet since the Guardians beamed down to Homeworld, and he chose this moment to act. Losing his advance knowledge and seeing his body disperse like never before had made Stakar fearful – for the first time in a hundred lifetimes – that 
he might actually die. He took it upon himself to forcefully reabsorb Aleta into his body in order to preserve his own life. He immediately regretted this action, as Aleta’s return was corrupting in a way he could not have foreseen, and Starhawk fled from Homeworld in pain, cursed at by his former teammates as the Guardians saw how he took Aleta against her will. [Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #15-16]
[Note: Much of what happened to Stakar and Aleta was the result of manipulations by Malevolence’s father, Mephisto. In order to gain control of the Universal Church of Truth through the Protégé, he needed to remove Aleta as the potential Matriarch. Mephisto subtly encouraged Aleta’s grief and twisted it into irrational hatred towards Stakar, driving them apart. His intervention triggered their early split on Courg, significantly altering the path of this reality beyond Stakar’s prior knowledge. This, combined with his covert augmentation of the Spirit of Vengeance’s hellfire, eradicated the One-Who-Knows’ ability to foresee the outcome of the conflict. Separating Starhawk and Aleta so early also meant that Stakar was significantly weaker by their first encounter with the Church. His body weak and his mind blind of his foreknowledge, Stakar was perfectly manipulated by Mephisto to lash out in ignorance and fear. While Mephisto monologued about much of this in Guardians of the Galaxy (1st series) #15 from his own realm, it doesn’t appear as if Stakar and Aleta ever learned how they were manipulated.]
