"Is anyone else getting that feeling?"

Axton pulled his gaze away from the light of the stars swirling past the transparent dome of the ship presently named The Fiery Pearlescent Meat Grinder and looked over to the red-headed girl bouncing in her seat. "What feeling is that, exactly?"

"The 'night before a big event' type feeling," Gaige said, leaning forward in her beanbag chair and staring raptly at the stars. "It's taken us six weeks to get here, but we're finally about to visit our first planet since leaving Pandora!" Her smile stretched almost literally ear to ear. "It's like Christmas Eve!"

"It does remind me of Mercenary Day morning," Salvador admitted, polishing the barrels of his minigun. "I sorta feel like mi abuela should come in singing with a plate of guns."

Gaige blinked. "A plate of guns?"

"Yep! Every year, we'd start off Mercenary Day by clearing out some of the more violent bandit groups around the village for free. Abuela always let us use her family heirloom pistols for it." He sighed, a happy smile on his face. "She'd stay up all night polishing 'em for us."

Axton let the baffled silence hang in the air a few more seconds, then coughed. "Well, I guess it reminds me of the nights we'd stop off at a free port. That was usually right before we got dropped into a combat zone." He gave a sort of crooked smile. "Nobody parties harder than troops that know they could be dead in a few hours."

Gaige rolled her eyes. "Thanks for killing the mood, Darren Downer."

"No, really! We all had a great time!" He leaned back, laughing. "My favorite was this one port, right before making planetfall on a real hellhole of a world. Sarah pulled a few favors and got us off the transport before anyone else, and we beelined it straight for the fanciest hotel around." His grin edged into the more lecherous side. "Thank god they had good room service. We didn't leave that room for thirty-six hours. Sarah had just learned this thing where-"

"OOOkay, moving on!" Gaige yelled. "How about you, Krieg? This feel like anything special to you?"

Kreig grunted and spun the blade on his axe with one finger. "Every night before the blue sun rises and sends its happy heat into the world!"

Salvador scratched his head. "Was that depressing or hopeful?"

"Morning, all. Anyone else want coffee?"

At the sound of Maya's voice, Krieg leaped off his ragged, tattered chair and bounded to her side. "Morning, sunshine!"

Sal and Gaige looked at each other. "Oooooh..."

Maya turned a puzzled glance on them as she set the silver carafe on the table. "What was that?"

"Light dawning," Gaige said cryptically. "Is that the real stuff, or liquified and flavored nutrient paste?"

"Real, of course," Maya replied, taking a drink from her own mug. "We're about to enter the system. That definitely calls for actual coffee."

"It also calls for our pilot," Axton said, glancing past Maya as the elevator slid seamlessly back into the floor. "Wasn't Cassidy with you?"

"She went to get Zero," Maya told him. "He's been in the shooting range for the past couple hours trying to finish one more project before we get there. Not to worry, though, she can drop us out of lightspeed from anywhere on the ship." Maya settled into her rocking chair. "So, what were you talking about?"

"The fun of anticipation!" Gaige chirped. "How about it, Maya? Were there any big holidays you looked forward to as a kid?"

Maya sipped her coffee and made a face that had nothing to do with flavor. "Not really. Athenas didn't allow the celebrations that most human worlds do."

"Makes sense, given that the planet was run by a bunch of pessimistic monks," Axton quipped. "I mean, 'Order of the Impending Storm'? Talk about gloom and doom."

"There must have been something," Gaige insisted, shooting Axton a dirty look. "Wasn't there at least one night you waited for all year?"

Maya pursed her lips for moment, then her expression brightened. "There was one thing," she said. "The night before the carnival."

"Que es, senorita?"

"It was a local thing," Maya explained. "Some planetary alignment that the Order decided was worthy of a celebration. They never let me go, but when I was ten, I started sneaking out for at least one night of the party."

"Breaking rules early, eh, chica?" Salvador teased.

"And never regretted it once," Maya said firmly. "If I hadn't started back then, I might never have met you. Guys. Any of you guys." She took a large gulp of coffee, then glanced over at the elevator. "Oh, look, the assassin and our pilot are here. Good timing, you two."

"The turtle finished five minutes ago!" Krieg groused. "Was the rabbit sleeping?"

Cassidy jerked her thumb at Zero. "Blame my big brother, who wouldn't walk away from his latest bullet work."

"Bullet artistry Requires concentration," Zero insisted. "I couldn't just stop."

"Well, you pushed it right to the limit," Gaige said. "What were you working on, anyway?"

:) "Anticipation." Zero handed Gaige a rolled up sheet of paper and walked over to Cassidy's command chair.

Maya circled around behind Gaige and peered over her shoulder. "So? What is it this time?"

Gaige unrolled the paper. Her mouth dropped open as she examined Zero's handiwork. "Whoa..."

Stretched across it in burned, punctured glory, the Eridian Warrior perched atop the stone arch of the Vault symbol. Its jaws were cracked open in anticipation of its prey, the handful of tiny figures staring up at it. The Warrior's bullethole eyes glared down at them, promising the fight of a lifetime.

Gaige felt a chill run down her spine as she remembered that moment, hearing the Warrior's roar echo in her mind's ear. "Do me a favor, Z," she said, rolling up the paper and handing it to Maya. "Next time, just bullet-draw a pony or a robot or something, okay?"

"You may be waiting a while," Cassidy said, running her hands over the holographic controls all around her. "Welcome to the new world." She waved her arms, and the blurry light of hyperspace faded into blackness with pinpoints of light all around them.

Axton looked around the dome, slightly confused. "Uh, Cass? Where's the planet?"

"Underneath us." Cassidy pressed one final holographic button, and the Fiery Pearlescent began a slow, even turn on its long axis.

Salvador shifted back and forth uneasily. "Sooo... are we upside down right now, or is the planet?"

Gaige's face broke into a devilish grin. "Having a little trouble with the idea of variable gravity, Sally?"

"No!" He glanced at the rotating stars. "Maybe a little."

"Then this one will really blow your mind." She leaned closer. "We've been flying upside down the whole way here. Six weeks."

"But that doesn't-"

"There it is!"

Maya was pointing to the edge of the dome. A bluish arc had begun to come into view, rising like a cerulean sun. As the ship's rotation continued, more of the planet appeared. In a few minutes, the sky above the dome was filled with the massive sphere of the planet, daylight reflecting off its atmosphere and into the room around them.

Maya spread her arms, basking in the glow. "Actual sunlight. We're not even planetside and I love it." She sighed happily and turned to Cassidy. "How long before we can touch down?"

"I'm setting up the shuttles," she answered. "Then I can seek out a landing site."

Axton squinted at the planet. "Are we even going to be able to land? The whole planet looks like an ocean."

"Your eyes deceive you," Zero warned. "The surface is not water, Merely appears so." He pulled up a holographic screen of his own, and a patch of land appeared. "Behold an image Of the sea and shore below." The image, though slightly hazy and pixelated, did show a clear division between land and water. "I love these sensors."

"Huh." Salvador looked between the planet and the video replay. "Why's the whole place blue, then?"

"It looks like the planet's sun runs a little further into that end of the visual spectrum," Gaige said, reading from another holoscreen. "Plus, there's some kind of weird diffusion effect on the planet. The blue light's getting spread out a lot more than usual." She swiped the screen to another image. "It probably won't look exactly the same once we're down there, but they'll probably still be a lot less color range than usual. On the plus side, atmosphere is human compatible, so no breathing worries."

Axton frowned at Gaige. "Wait, since when can you work the holograms like that?"

"Since about day two of the trip." Gaige stuck her tongue out at him. "Not everyone has been hiding out in the gym this whole time."

"I have not-"

"Ahem." Cassidy's cough cut off the argument before it could really get started. "Our shuttles are set. Are we ready to determine our destination?"

"Should be," Axon said with a final grouchy look at Gaige. "How about it, Zero? Can those sensors pick up anything that looks like a Vault?"

Zero was already looking at several different screens. "Nothing found so far," he admitted. "But we've only just started, And the planet is vast."

"What are you looking for?" Gaige asked, peering around Zero's side. "Alien metals? Weird energy signatures? Signs of large scale construction?"

"All of the above..."

Salvador, bored by the science talk, wandered over to Maya. She was standing by the edge of the dome, staring at the blue world overhead, Krieg towering by her side. "Cool sight, eh, amigos?"

"Hm?" Maya glanced down at Salvador. "Oh, hi. Yeah, it's... really something." She stared out the dome again. "This might be it, Sal. I might find an answer this time around."

"And if you don't, we'll still have some fun," Salvador said with a shrug. "Never thought I'd be this far from my little village. Figured I'd live and die there." He grinned. "Guess I owe Hyperion one for attacking my town back then."

"Uh-huh."

Salvador looked up at Maya again, frowning slightly. "You okay? You're being muy quiet for a Vault Hunter about to tackle a new world." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Don't you wanna throw in on picking a landing spot?"

"Is that what they're doing?" Maya blinked and inhaled sharply, seeming to come back to herself. "Time to get down to it, then." She turned and head towards the center of the dome, where the others were now examining a holographic version of the planet.

Salvador's frown deepened a little more. He leaned over to Krieg. "She okay, muchacho?"

Krieg growled slightly and shrugged. "Pretty Lady did seem to want fish instead of meat." He leaned even closer to Salvador and lowered his voice. "Watch the fairest in the land with me, eh, Grumpy?"

"You got it, amigo," Salvador clapped Krieg on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's see if they've decided where to land."

"Nothing shows on scans," Zero was saying as they came back into hearing range. "The ground below is empty Of any Vault clues."

"Then let's head for the other side of the planet," Maya suggested. "Maybe we'll pick something up over there."

Zero nodded. "And lower orbit May prove more useful to us In the search for Vaults," he added.

"Both good ideas," Gaige said. "Go ahead, Cassidy. Bring us in and closer."

The mottled blue world grew larger overhead as the ship moved towards the planet. "Gotta admit, I've never seen a world quite like this one," Axton said, staring up at it. "Blue, black, and white. It's weird not seeing any green or anything."

"How many planets you seen from orbit, hermano?"

"I lost count a long time ago," Axton said with a small laugh. "Ten years as a commando guarantees lots of space time." He sat in his recliner and stared up at the world. "It's kinda nice coming in like this."

"What do you mean?"

"No enemy fleets, no groundside weapons taking potshots at us, not even a satellite defense network." He laced his fingers behind his head and sighed contentedly as they drew closer to the line of darkness separating night and day below. "Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to get planetside and start shooting things again. It's just nice to know that for once in my life, I won't be taking fire before my boots hit the ground."

A bloom of orange light flashed into space, fiery petals bursting across the darkness.

"The hell?!"

"Explosion!" Cassidy's hands raced across the controls. "Space based blast, bearing one-three-eight!"

"Me and my big mouth," Axton growled.

"What are we looking at, Cass?" Gaige asked tightly. "Who's out here with us?"

"It seems to be two ships," Cassidy answered uncertainly. "There's also scores of smaller signals, but they're too tiny to be true starcraft."

"More explosions!" Salvador pointed as a myriad of small orange pinpricks dotted the stars. "Whoever they are, they're going all out."

"Is there any sign We have been detected yet?" Zero asked. "By either vessel?"

"They'll never spot this ship," Cassidy said firmly. "We ended our engine burn before exiting planetary eclipse, so our stealth systems ensure secrecy."

"Then that gives us time," Zero said calmly.

"Time?" Axton looked blankly at him. "For what?"

"To choose between helping one..." he turned and faced the group. "Or destroying both."

"You're kidding," Gaige finally managed to get out. "We don't even know who that is! Why are we talking about shooting them down already?"

"It's just being pragmatic," Maya assured her, catching on. "If it turns out it's a band of pirates firing on a colony ship, of course we won't take them both out. But if it were a Hyperion vessel fighting an Atlas warship..."

Zero nodded. "Good analogy."

"Well, when you put it that way," Gaige conceded. "How about it, Cassidy? Can we get a decent view yet?"

Cassidy gave her head half a shake and ran her hands over the controls. "They're fighting pretty fiercely, but I think I can force a fair image..." A screen six feet wide and nearly as tall flashed into the air. "There!"

The orange pinpricks took on whole new meaning as the display came to life. The tiny points of light were the explosions of silver orbs, flying after a small craft that dodged and weaved valiantly through space. The small craft was mostly obscured by explosions and the sparks of lasers hitting its shields, and its own missile contrails.

Hovering over the cloud of explosions was another, far larger ship. It was all jagged angles and sharp points, and it was continuing to launch spheres after the smaller craft.

Axton let out a low whistle. "Well, whoever the little guy is, they sure picked the wrong opponent. That's an automated heavy cruiser."

"A what now?"

"It's a warship meant to be run by a skeleton crew, maybe one or two hundred," he said. "Those are drones it's launching at the smaller ship."

"Why is it bothering with drones?" Maya asked. "Doesn't it have guns?"

"Sure, but the cruiser is almost double our size. It's designed to take on targets that aren't as maneuverable as the little guy," Axton said. "They could probably escape planetside before the warship could shoot 'em down. The drones can just keep them trapped up here and peck away at 'em until-" He broke off, getting to his feet and staring hard at the screen. "What the..."

"Axton?" Maya tapped his shoulder. "What is it?"

"Cassidy." Axton's voice and posture had gone equally stiff. "Can you give me a better picture of that little ship? Doesn't matter if it's live or not, I just need a better look at it."

She nodded and pressed a few keys. "Here."

A still image of the little ship flashed up. "I was right," Axton breathed. "That's a Dahl transport."

Everyone's eyes were on the screen now. "You're sure?" Salvador asked.

"I spent enough time in 'em," Axton said tightly. "I don't understand why it's going up against the cruiser alone, though. A transport like that is usually part of a convoy or something, not out in the middle of nowhere on its own. One couldn't even get way out here without extensive modif-"

He whirled around, and Maya caught a glimpse of something rare and disturbing in his eyes.

Fear.

"The side panel," he said breathlessly. "I need to see the side panel, now."

"Which-"

"Either, it doesn't matter! Hurry!"

A new image appeared, a blurry and distorted close up. Salvador squinted at it. "Can anyone read that?"

"It's not words," Axton said, and his voice had taken a tone that was somehow panicked, furious, and calm all at once. "It's a mural." He turned to Cassidy. "Can you get communications with that transport, without letting the warship know we're here?"

"Uh..." She checked one of her screens. "I can set up a laser link. That should let us communicate without the cruiser catching us."

"Do it." He bent over her shoulder, watching her work.

"What's going on here, Ax?" Gaige asked. "Why do you care about that transport? Because it's Dahl?"

"Dahl would execute me on sight," Axton said, still focusing on Cassidy's screen. "Only one other person cared if I got out of there alive, and that looks a hell of a lot like her personal ship."

"Signal sent," Cassidy reported before Gaige could say anything else. "Try to talk now."

"Dahl transport, do you read me?" Axton's voice was tense but controlled. "Repeat, calling Dahl transport under fire, respond." He swallowed. "Sarah?" It was almost a whisper. "Are you there?"

Salvador frowned as Maya's eyes widened. He leaned in closer, lowering his voice. "Who's Sarah?"

Maya looked down to him. "His wife."

[Axton?!] A female voice came over the radio, disbelief and hope overflowing from it. [Is that really you?]

Axton let out a sigh of relief and put a hand over his eyes. "It's me, Sarah." He made an obvious attempt to get his thoughts together. "We're close by. What's your status?"

[Bad,] she answered grimly. [Shields down to thirty percent and falling, missile reserves lower than that, engines shaky, and we can't get clear of the drones! If we could just make it into the atmosphere-]

"Hold tight," Axton ordered. "I'm on my way."

[Wait! Where are-]

"Axton out!" The transmission cut off and he turned to Cassidy. "Are the shuttles prepped?"

"Ready and raring to go," she confirmed. "Why-"

"Hoooold on, Cassie," Gaige said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "You're not about to do something monumentally stupid, are you, Axton? Like, say, taking one of our dropships up against that whole warship and its armada of drones?"

He didn't even blink. "Yes."

"And for whatever reason, you aren't going to ask for help, are you?"

"It's got nothing to do with Vault hunting," Axton said. "No need for any of you to follow me in on this."

Gaige folded her arms and glared at him. "I seem to recall you chasing after me when I got kidnapped, and that had nothing to do with Vault hunting. If you're in this, we're in it." She glanced around the room. "Am I right?"

Krieg thumped his chest. "Let's set fire to the sky!"

"Let's say that speaks for all of us and get to work," Maya said quickly. "What's the plan?"

"That warship is tough, but it's not even looking our way," Axton said, his words fast and clipped. "We can get off one good shot before it even knows we're here, maybe take out its guns with the first hit." He looked at Cassidy. "If not, you'll be in a slugging match with a ship twice our size. I know we've got the firepower to hold our own. Are your piloting skills up to the task?"

"A chance to clash in a cosmic contest?" She grinned. "Cool."

"Thanks." He turned back to the others. "The rest of us should split up three per shuttle, one pilot and two gunners each." He looked around, embarrassed. "Uh... I'll need a pilot."

"I will be your wings If you will be my sword arm," Zero offered, stepping forward. "Who would fly with us?"

"A far-flung warrior, seeking to save his lady fair?" Krieg threw his head back and roared. "How can I not join your quest?!"

"Then you three take the Osprey while Gaige, Sal and I use the Red Tail," Maya said. She glanced at Gaige. "You can fly it, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then let's move!"

Gaige took two steps towards the elevator, then doubled back and grabbed Cassidy in a quick hug. "Be careful, girl. There's a lot of adventuring left, so don't you lose this fight."

"Move without misgivings, M- Gaige," Cassidy said, squeezing her in return. "I'll mow down this monster."

Gaige nodded and raced to join the others as the elevator slid out of the floor. "So what's the plan?" she asked as they all piled in. "Three pronged assault on the warship?"

"That's not the top priority," Axton said, keying the lift for the hanger bay. "The warship can't hit the transport easily, and they definitely won't be able to hit a couple stealthships like our shuttles. Besides, with any luck Cassidy can keep it occupied while we help the Dahl transport. The big threat to us is the drones."

"Those little things?" Salvador scoffed. "We've killed worse in our sleep."

"They're the ones doing all the shooting at the transport, and their guns will be able to target us," Axton bit out. "Plus, we're severely outnumbered."

"Yeah, but they're stupid," Gaige countered as the elevator slowed. "We should get at least one free pass at 'em before their AI realizes there's a new enemy in play."

The elevator halted and the doors slide open, revealing series of metal catwalks leading to a pair of rounded black metal humps. There was space for three, but one shuttle had been left on Pandora.

Axton was sprinting for the closer of the shuttles before the elevator doors were completely open. "Cassidy! Get ready to drop!"

[Aye aye, Axton!] A pair of loud clangs resounded through the hanger bay. [Magnetic latches loosed. Get strapped into your shuttles.]

"Hold on!" Gaige yelped, diving through the hatch of the other shuttle and sprinting down the short hall to the cockpit. "No one's set up yet!"

[No worries,] Cassidy assured her. [ I've got one wicked assist worked up before you ambush the automated attackers.]

Gaige slid into the pilot's seat as Maya took the gunner seat on her left. Salvador was already settled into the right side, and had his targeting systems booted up. "Okay, Red Tail crew in place. How about you, Osprey?"

[Ready over here,] Zero reported. [The battle intensifies. We must deploy now.]

Gaige pressed a few buttons and the shuttle's blast shield slid open, revealing the sky beyond. "Whoa."

Zero was right. The tiny specks of the drones had grown bigger as their ship had gotten closer, and the silvery dots filled the sky. The warship itself was even more intimidating, hovering over the battle like a metallic vulture.

[Is the transport still fighting?] Axton asked, his voice more tense than ever.

[Battling bravely, but beleaguered,] Cassidy reported. [She'll soon suffer defeat.] A low hum began to fill the air around them. [At least, she would... if we didn't unleash this!]

A massive salvo of purple energy beams lashed out at the warship, striking the larger vessel on its port quarter. The blast caught the ship completely unaware, slashing through its shields and incinerating a section of its outer hull armor.

"Linked fire," Gaige realized. "You fired both shuttle's guns and the Pearl's main cannon at the same time. Nice."

[And effective,] Cassidy reported. [Enemy engines at eighty percent. Now go save the small ship!]

"Launching now!" With a sudden lurch, the Red Tail and Osprey dropped away from the mothership and hurtled towards the firefight.

Maya shook her head and grabbed her gun controls. "Five minutes out here, and we're already in a firefight." Her mouth sharpened into a predator's smile. "I knew I picked this planet for a reason."

[And so it begins! I hope you'll enjoy this one as much as my others.]

[Next week, the battle in the sky. Thanks for reading!]