Before the Relay

He was the one to shift first. "What is it you humans would do first?"

Everything was much different, knowing the teasing was over. I understood how he felt. Two hours suddenly seemed so short. "It depends. I think we've missed the point of spontaneous shut-the-fuck-up kissing."

His laugh reverberated against my head. "That doesn't seem fitting for right now, regardless."

I tilted my head to look at him better; my gaze dropped to his hand. "We could start with that wine of yours."

He held it up, showing he forgot all about it. "Right. I was able to get it when we docked at Omega last. Probably tastes like piss, but whatever works."

I laughed a bit. "Come on, there's two glasses waiting. We can play twenty questions if that will help. Because I think it will."

He followed me to the couch, taking one side of the corner while I took the other. "And that is?"

"A 'getting to know you' game." I uncorked the wine and filled the glasses halfway. I suddenly felt uncomfortable in my civvies. Should I have just met him at the door in my lingerie? I cringed inside. No, I had made the right choice. Though even my sleep clothes would have been better. I handed him the other glass and restrained myself from draining the whole thing at once.

"How do you play it?"

"We each ask the other ten things, and we have to answer, no matter what. To play the shorter version, anyway." I swirled the wine before tasting it. For something that had been stripped of natural sugars and replaced with dextro/levo safe artificial grains, it wasn't too bad. Or maybe my brain was processing it as good to get me to drink it. It made me realize how dry my throat was. How real the whole situation was.

"So, I could ask why you decided to join your military's N7 program?"

And I realized how real his voice was, even if I could tell he was just as nervous as I was. It took me a second to form a response. "I was twenty-four. I'd been in the marines since I was eighteen and I was looking for more ways to prove I could take on heavier things. It took me a year, along with fifty other recruits. Not many made it to N6. N4 took a lot of them. Some died, others quit because they couldn't make certain calls. I made it to N7 by making a huge call. One only my squad made." I shut up then and kept my gaze on the liquid in my hand. "If it isn't too much, what is wrong with your mom?"

"Why do you wish to know?"

"You don't get to ask that. And I am genuinely concerned. I just want to understand what's wrong. That's your freebie explanation."

He tipped the glass to his lower jaw and swallowed. I could tell he wasn't sure what to say. He answered when I went to pass the question. "Corpalis Syndrome. It's a neurodegenerative disease. Still rare, so not much research has gone into it. It isn't quick." He tilted his glass to me. "Your public files say orphaned and raised on the streets. How old?"

"Six." No sense hiding anything. "Not all of Earth is as beautiful as they show in the vids. A lot of it is just as ugly as Omega. I grew up with a street gang called the Reds. That guy I helped way back when, to get his buddy out of jail?" I waited for him to nod. "He was a good friend of mine. Was one of the few that stood up for me. For awhile." I shrugged. "I decided I wasn't getting anywhere with where I was. I wasn't well-educated, but I was street-smart." I smirked and leaned back in my corner. "Military was the perfect fit, especially the marines. They also helped me get a proper education, working off what I already knew." I nodded to him. "Did the Spectre thing work out?"

"No. Even they were becoming corrupt. I figured I'd take out what I could on my own. A lead on the Citadel took me to Omega. How did you make it to N7?"

"Torfan." I tilted my glass, watching the liquid. "Every N6 that has made the attention of the higher ups, they are given an Interplanetary Combatives Training, ICT. Torfan was my ICT." I tilted my lips to the glass again, still glad it was tasting good. "When we put on the uniform, we don't say 'haul the blood' for nothing. How did you manage to survive for so long on Omega?"

"I had plenty of supplies we had stockpiled during our months of work. And… I wasn't holed up for as long as you think. It was only a few days. I was on my last resources." His focus was on his own glass now. He gave a harsh chuckle. "I even called Dad. I thought I was done for. But you know what? The funniest thing happened as I was telling Dad what could have been my last words, something came into my scope. And I could breathe again."

"What was it?"

"I believe I get to ask you a question next." His gaze caught mine and I hid behind my glass, though the contents drained easily. "When did you decide you wanted to sleep with me?"

"After you shot Sidonis. That whole mission, you let me see what you had gone through for the past two years. It made me see how alike we think. And so, if we're about to throw our lives away for people who will probably still end up dead anyway, I'd like to have a chance to go out with no regrets. And one of the biggest human regrets is fucking your best friend and have it go horribly wrong."

He laughed into his glass. He leaned forward and took my empty one to refill it. "I see your reasoning. So no matter what, it will all work out in the end."

"Exactly. So out with it. What did you see?"

He handed me the glass. "Your armor. Only one human woman could wear that and still look that good. I pulled out my scope and sure enough, you turned your fire on the mercs. And yes, I did pop a round at your ass. I had to screw with you somehow. You had just saved my damned life. And I got to tell my family I wasn't about to die." He frowned. "I mean I did end up almost dying, but still."

I leaned back into the couch again. "But we learned a valuable lesson that faces indeed cannot catch rockets."

"We'll have Mordin write a scientific study on it. I'm sure more turians would like to know." We both laughed, and the tension seemed to ease away a bit. "Do you prefer Jane, or Shepard?"

"I've just gotten so used to Shepard, I don't even think about my first name anymore. It's nothing special. Just plain. Almost as simple as John. What about you, do you care what I call you?"

"Honestly, Vakarian has been good when you're teasing. Sort of still a command, but still playing around." He ducked his head and laughed. "Sorry if that's weird."

"Not at all. With military background, I wouldn't doubt it if you got turned on by superior roles at times." I played with my glass. "At least now I know what to do on the field to tease you."

"Only if you want to be left unable to return to the field for a few days." He caught himself. "Sorry, too much?"

I was still processing hearing the words that I had grown used to seeing through messages. "No, not too much."

"I guess that qualified as my turn. You go."

"Oh, um…" I pointed to my cheek. "When do turians get their family crest?"

He touched his own. "Seven typically, when we're strong enough to hold a pistol and fire it straight. My father immediately trained me on rifles when I got my crest." He tipped his glass to his lower jaw again. "What we did yesterday, I hope you don't think I was overstepping any boundaries. Was I?"

"I could ask you the same thing. But no. And I am sorry. Kissing you just seemed to be something to do at that moment."

"I didn't understand it then, but it helped. I later found out that the actions meant pretty much the same thing. So I looked up more of your customs. Some we don't have. Our lips don't allow kissing, and have you seen our mouths? That is not something we men want near our dicks. It's hard enough to keep out sometimes."

I toyed with the rim of my glass. "From personal experience?"

"Ah, and that counts, doesn't it?" He groaned and I laughed while he hid his face, though I could tell he was holding back laughter.

"Come on, Vakarian. Don't make me pull rank on you," I said to tease him on. I prodded his leg with my foot, leaving my leg to rest up on the couch.

"Fine. There was a girl in my comp-sci class at the academy back on Palaven. I managed to talk her into letting me over her place after school. Never again did I try that. She was the worst screecher I had ever heard."

I had to hold my hand up. "Did she sound like a pterodactyl?"

"I have no idea what that is, but every time she came she made some awful sound that eventually made me give up and go home. I just pretended it never happened for the longest time, to save both of us the embarrassment. So what about you? Anything like that with you?"

"You'll be happy to know I do no such thing. I sound normal when that happens. As for men, I had one who thought he was being clever by only saying 'fuck yeah'. I tossed his ass out in the hallway and threw his clothes after him."

"I'll keep it in mind to keep my dirty talk witty."

I set my glass down and sat back up. "So you like dirty talk, hm?"

"Better if you say what you want, isn't it? Otherwise you're left wonder what could have been reached. More fun that way." His posture shifted as well. His glass joined mine on the table. "Which, if I do something wrong, or right, I want to know."

"Can't leave this world unsatisfied. Wouldn't be right. Still your turn."

"Why did you kiss me? From what I understand, humans comfort others in a few ways. Kissing is usually not a way friends would do things."

"We have a unique friendship. We've seen too much together for it to be any less. Given our personalities, that was the best option. Physical, intimate contact. Something we both needed." I dipped my head. "Something I think we both still need."

I heard his weight shift. His fringe pressed to my forehead. "I think so too." He tilted my chin up and I met the contact, feeling his gentle breath on my skin. "Don't ruin my ego if I do something terrible."

I laughed into his plates, shifting to look into his eyes. "You could never do anything to turn me off." I moved the leg that had been resting on the couch, resting it against a hook his hip bone made. How did more interspecies sex not happen? Our bodies fit perfectly.

He let out a heavy breath of surprise against my lips as I slipped into his lap. "Shepard." He practically purred. I pressed my lips to his, and it took no time for him to figure out how to hold his jaw, how to hold my lip so gently I barely felt him. His rough, serpentine tongue brushed against mine, sending my mind in the clouds.

I did have one moment of clarity. "Mmf, wait." I pulled away. He growled, more playful than anything. "Mordin wasn't wrong about one thing. Our skin won't get along."

He let out a huff and let me get up to go to my desk. "Fragile, fleshy things. How do you look with no armor to protect you? I am curious."

I arched a brow. "Never shared a shower with a human?"

"Never really had to look. Worked with turians until I came to the Citadel, and there I had a place to retire to, with a shower. And the days I couldn't wait I was alone in the office."

He couldn't see me where I was from behind my collection of ships. I fidgeted with the straps holding my shirt on at the shoulder. I shrugged it off, exposing a black lace bra I hadn't had a reason to wear until now.

"What are you doing back there?"

I let the shirt drop to the floor quietly. "Nothing important." I took the basket and stepped back around the dividing wall. "Now, I think you were curious?" Even I could read the surprise. All you had to do was look beyond the mandible, to the skin connecting their jaws. That is, if it was exposed. I had only seen his tighten in anger before.

Now they hid his surprise quickly, but his eyes narrowed, giving him a dangerous look. It was easy to see him as Archangel, Vigilante Turian. "If you're so willing to show me, show me everything. Unless the Great Commander Shepard is afraid?"

"You know I hate that," I hissed, setting the basket down. I unfastened my pants and pushed them slowly down my thighs, my panties caught with the pants. When I stood up straight I straddled his waist, fitting around the hooks of his hips perfectly. I took his hands and brought them to the clasp of my bra. "Let's see how you do against a man's greatest enemy," I teased.

I watched him progressively get more frustrated. "What is the point of this damned thing?"

I laughed and took over for him before he ruined it with his claws. "Don't worry, big guy, not many boys get it on their first try either." I saw him ready to retort, but as the last bit of fabric I had on fell away, he lost his speech. I leaned up on my knees, holding myself up on his carapace. "Is something wrong?"

"It's no wonder your armor is so thick. Any temperature fluctuations would kill you." He ran a soft-scaled thumb over my bare arm, over toned muscles. I could feel the slight drag, but it only brought tingles, not pain. "I'll have to keep that in mind if we need to have an emergency plan for the future."

"Excuse me for being a soft thing and not firm in the hips."

"I like it." His hands laid on my thighs, dragged up to rest on my hips. "My thumbs touch, and my fingers can still grip you. That's enough for me."

I tapped his nose and curled my fingers under the hem of his shirt, lifting it slightly. "Your turn. I'm not the only one playing show and tell tonight, Officer."

"It is fair, I suppose." One of his hands gripped my thigh and tilted me to my back. All I could do is let out a startled squeak. I clasped my hands to my mouth as his gaze jerked to mine. I saw the grin before the chuckle.

"Breathe a word that I did that and I'll shoot you on the spot."

His response was to lean over my body and let out a hot breath against my nipple. His tongue followed, almost unsure.

Unsure, but accurate. What the hell diagrams did Mordin send him? I pressed my legs together when his free palm grazed the other. I gripped the back of the couch. "You sure you've never done this?"

"I take it I'm doing well," he said against my skin.

The rumbling purr reverberated through me, sending a shiver up my spine. "A decent start, that's for sure." I met his mocked look of hurt with a playful smirk. "Tits and ass usually aren't the ways to a girl's heart, you know."

"I don't hear sounds of complaint from you." He teased both my breasts with his palms. My sex felt on fire. I let out a soft moan. He grinned. "Now refresh my memory, Shepard. Humans usually make this sound when they're in pleasure, right?"

I let out a breathless chuckle. "If you want that sound, there's better places for it."

"Oh I know. But where's the fun in that? You know I'm very hands-on."

I could only fidget to try and relieve some of the tension he was building. Not to mention the nerves. "It does feel good for most of us, but many don't get off this way."

"Now who said that was what I was aiming for? I've done my share of homework, Shepard." He licked between the valley of my chest, running it up and over the ridges of my throat, my head falling back to let him do so.

And then I felt a shock like never before from my sex. A sharp cry left my throat. While I was in that position, I hadn't seen or felt him move to flick a finger over my clit.

"It just takes a little waiting to make something better."

I was going to punch him later for his smooth, seductive nature. At that point though, all I could do was grip the couch harder as his hesitative strokes became more sure, testing new motions and paces every so often. Slow, easy circles. Quicker drags. His other hand continued playing with my breast. Every nerve was on fire. My hips rolled against his ministrations, my soft gasps getting sharper, louder. I leaned up and kissed him again. He pressed back, leaning with me as I laid back again. His stronger tongue danced with mine.

My legs shook. I cried out against a sharp flash of pleasure. I couldn't even think of a snide remark. My sex was winding ever tighter. His began the circles again, faster this time. The subtle bumps from pads of his finger created more sensations than I had felt with human skin.

The pleasure snapped all at once. Liquid fire erupted from his strokes, rendering me weak. I gripped on to him as I pressed close to his body, and he held me in place while he continued on, dragging out my breathless cries.

Once I was unable to take any more I nudged at his hand, finally able to breathe again. I laid back, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. I pushed my bangs from my face, seeing his smug grin. I gave him one back. "Not bad for your first human, Vakarian."

"No, I wondered what all those very sexy sounds were." He chuckled and lightly nuzzled my neck, still testing out what my skin could handle. "So long as I can eventually brag of seeing Commander Shepard naked, it's worth it."

I joined his laughing, pushing at his chest. I still hadn't calmed my heart entirely. "That's entirely not fair. I told you to get naked and you disobeyed me."

He pressed his flat nose to mine, his eyes locking on mine. "Because here, you aren't my Commander. You're my friend. Spirits, more than my friend. If I can trust you with my life, I can trust you here, alone. So long as you trust me like that as well," he added, a little rushed. He was still nervous.

"I do. In the prison, while we were trying to get Jack. You saved my ass. I trusted you would have my back, and you didn't prove me wrong. You never have."

"Your regeneration hadn't kicked in, your clips were out. What was I going to do? Stand aside and let them kill you? Never."

I tilted my gaze south. "You're still a little overdressed for the occasion, don't you think?"

"Just a bit."

"Strip for me then."

He went silent for a moment before laughing. "You can't be serious. I'm in no way turning into a male stripper."

"Ugh, no, spare me the banana hammocks." I laughed around a growl. "Come on. Or are you the one who's scared now? What, is your penis embarrassing or something?"

He arched a browplate and leaned back, unfastening the bindings on his shirt to loosen it. "Be careful, you may have to eat your words later." He hauled the wider collar over his head and back on his horns, tossing the shirt to the side. He took his boots off as he stood, unbuckling the straps holding his pants tight to his legs. The whole time I was taking in his own alien skin, not sure what to think. He wasn't exactly what I was expecting under the armor and clothes. He was thin in the waist like the rest of his species. His plates were a stark pale contrast against the darker hue of his scaly skin. His eyes caught mine and he let the pants fall to the spurs on his calves. Where in the diagram was the hint of a break in the plates, his were shifted a little more apart. He sat again to get the spurs free, and then added the pants to the pile of discarded clothes.

It was his turn to be pushed back to lean against the armrest of the couch, my weight pushing on him from my arms. "My turn, Vakarian." I tentatively touched his plates, finding the same sandpapery feel as the plates of his head. I followed the unusual patterns of his muscles. I was distracted from paying him back. I had become immediately fascinated by the way he was built. Muscles had always been a foolish girly weakness of mine. "From what I understand of your bodies, you're in pretty good shape."

"Have to be conditioned if I'm working on the field. Can't do that as a fat turian cop behind a desk."

An entertaining image of a round turian and human wearing police uniforms sharing a container of donuts formed in my mind. I couldn't stop the snort of amusement.

"They do exist. We just typically have a decent metabolism though. Nothing like the salarians, but it keeps us pretty average." His voice turned into an amused growl. "Questions, questions, Shepard. I thought you wanted to try fucking a turian, not interrogate one."

I ducked my head a bit. "Sorry, curious is all."

He laughed and tilted my chin back up. "It's okay. How better to learn about a species than question it? I'll answer anything you ask if you answer anything I do. Deal?"

I nodded. "Deal." I kept my gaze on the portion between his thighs, littered with plates of various sizes, though still grouped closely together until they split to follow his pelvis. "So, you're internal. How do you…?"

"Oh, no, not completely internal. It just… takes a little bit. It can't be forced out. "

I was about to joke that if a naked woman couldn't get him hard I didn't know what would, but then I remembered, he wasn't human. He didn't know what was attractive in our species, just like I wasn't really sure what turians saw in fringes and waist stability. Or if there was anything else that they found physically attractive. There was something that would make any man react though… "Soo," I trailed my fingers over the side of his protective plates, not daring to shove my fingers into something that I knew nothing about. Not when he said it couldn't be forced. "How do you get it out?" I frowned. "How the fuck do you piss?"

"1, I'm not ruining this with that information, and 2, you have to coax it. From what I understand, you human females are similar." He seemed to want to retract that statement. "I mean, you don't grow dicks, but the idea is the same."

I arched a brow, adding more fingers to my exploration. He let out a soft purr. "How do you know that we don't?" His purr cut short and my laugh escaped through my nose, pitching me forward against his chest as I laughed. His body relaxed under me. "I'm kidding. We don't. Don't let anime fool you."

"Spirits, Shepard, don't do that." I fixed my posture and kept teasing the plates, feeling them vibrate slightly. His subharmonic purr returned. "Well, keep doing that, but don't scare me. I want to still sleep with you before we die."

I felt something brush the sides of my teasing fingers. I switched my teasing there, knowing exactly what it was without looking. His eyes clenched shut and his breathing hitched. "Don't tell me this is it, Vakarian."

He grinned and opened his eyes. "I thought your species also wasn't cocked and ready to go right off the bat. Give me a minute."

I shifted my knees back until I could lay between his legs. I pushed his thigh, making him steady one leg on the floor. It was still weird, seeing a dick emerging from a protective slit, but it was exotic enough to not matter. I caught his gaze, not sure if he knew what I was going to do or not. I wasn't exactly sure how much research he had done on his own, or what sort of sources he used. I leaned forward and licked his shaft, sending a sharp hiss tearing through him, followed by a pleasant rumble of appreciation. I had read that he had some sort of self-lubrication. I wasn't prepared for it to be sweet. I pressed my lips to his arrowhead-shaped tip and took as much of him as I could in my mouth, feeling rigid bumps beneath the surface.

That rumble thrummed through his whole body. "Why the hell haven't we done this sooner?"

I replaced my mouth with my hand, stroking his shaft and passing over his tip. "Reality hadn't sunk in." I smirked. "What, am I doing a good job?"

"Almost too good," he groaned while my tongue teased him again. His grip replaced my earlier one on the couch.

He was in fact bigger by then. The ridges were more prominent, and his base was larger. I brushed the base with my tongue and he jerked forward.

"Shepard, stop."

"What, did I do something wrong?" I looked at him to make sure I hadn't.

"No. Our knots are just really sensitive. They don't come out this early, usually."

"What is it for?"

"It keeps us in a female. We both produce lubricants, which makes it hard to stay in sometimes. The knots do that for us, mainly when we're trying to reproduce."

"And the ridges?"

"Just part of our anatomy. Nothing special about it." He held on to my shoulders and nodded to the bed. "We're running short on time. Want to finish up here?"

My heart fell. It was that close already? I nodded. "Yeah." I squeaked again as he hefted me into his arms and took me to the bed. I groaned. "Not a damned word."

"Our secret." He set me on the bed. "Should I get the oil from the table?"

"Probably wise. Rather not risk anything."

He went and retrieved it for us. "Fragile human."

"Leather-butt."

"Oh so mature." He knelt on the bed between my legs, running his free fingers over my thighs. "So just put it on your skin?"

"Yeah, that's what he said. Just where it matters."

He popped the bottle open again let enough pour onto my skin. He worked it in to my thighs, making me purr a bit as he came closer and closer to my slit. He tossed the bottle aside and leaned over me. "Ready?"

I nodded, holding on to his arms. He shifted his legs for better balance, pulling his hips back. When he adjusted, he pushed inside.

I groaned as he went as far as he could. He was right. Why had we waited this long? He pulled out and pushed farther in, both of us groaning and not caring how loud. "Spirits…"

"Don't you dare stop," I muttered, still getting used to being filled again. I gasped as I felt his ridges rub against something inside. "Fuck, really don't stop."

"I've barely started." He gave his rumble of a chuckle again. "Finding something to your liking?"

"Nothing special about it my ass. The ridges," I added to his look of confusion. "Move again."

He did as I asked, shifting on his knees again when he realized what I meant. The ridges must have been hitting my g-spot. He kept going, finding a good rhythm for us. Not fast, but not slow either. Just enough to get used to the other. He bent forward, his breath tickling my neck. "I didn't expect… You're just fleshy everywhere, aren't you?"

"Mm, your groans are telling me you don't hate it."

"Ah, that I don't." He gave a few faster strokes, testing the waters. My breath caught in my throat as I choked on a moan. "I'm going faster. We're almost out of time. Can you keep up?"

I grinned. "Don't think for a second that I'm an amateur."

He adjusted his posture again, lifting my thighs up to rest against his pelvic hooks, my ass off the bed as he gripped the curve of my hips. He kept his focus on me, watching what I was doing as he gradually worked his pace up, faster than before.

I gripped whatever of him I could, fighting his hold. My walls tightened and relaxed around him. My chest went tight and throat dry against my panting cries, against the death threats I gave him if he ever stopped. He kissed me, gently pulling my lip between his sharp fangs.

I knew I had to survive now. Both of us had to survive. I clenched on him again, though this time, my body gripped too hard. His thrusts ruptured my orgasm. I keened into his arm, gripping the edges of his arm plates.

He cursed with every quick thrust. He grunted into my skin. "Spirits, I'm not lasting. It's too good."

"More of a reason to survive then."

"Mnf, Shepard…" He gave a few more strokes before pulling out, spilling on my skin with a harsh groan. He ran his hands over my legs, hooking under them to lay me on the bed properly. We both tried to calm our breathing. He put his forehead to mine. "Hope I didn't suck."

I let a breath out of my own. "Not bad for a first timer, Garrus. You sure you haven't done that before?"

"You're different from us physically, that's about it."

My omni pinged and I opened the message. "Joker says we're about fifteen minutes out." He made me look at him. "We need to get geared up."

"I know." He ran his thumb over my cheek. "But, if we do survive, you get to see what I can really do when we're not pressed for time."

"Mm, you think you did a good enough job for a second round?"

"Oh I think your moans made it very clear I did."

I laughed and he licked my neck. "Yeah yeah, preen your ego, bird-face."

"Again with the maturity, Shepard. I'm surprised you don't charm more men that way."

"Only the ones who can understand that charm." I let him up to gather his clothes. I didn't want him to have to do the walk of shame. I started to find my undersuit, knowing I'd have to be present in the cockpit when we entered the Relay.

We dressed in silence, though it wasn't awkward. More so, it felt like a weight was off my shoulders. I could breathe, for that point in time, at least. I could pretend we weren't parting for any other reason than a pest control problem planetside.

I heard him clear his throat and I looked, fastening the last of the undersuit together. "Something wrong, Garrus?"

"Nothing at all." He came closer, shirt still in hand. "Just still processing this is all. And realizing I have more to survive for than ever."

I laughed. "There's that ego again."

"Call it my male sense of being protective." He stood in front of me. "So, about that second round."

He set his hands at my waist. "Fine. If we survive this, come up here after we've all rested for a bit. I'll program the lock to let you in."

"Sounds like a plan." He did his head bump again. "Whatever you decide, I'm behind you. But listen to an old war buddy. Come back alive. Otherwise I may have to take your uniform and pretend to be you, and let's be honest, that wouldn't be pleasant for anyone."

I laughed against his plates and tilted my head to kiss him. "We couldn't have that. Don't worry, big guy, we'll be fine. I'm Commander Freaking Shepard. I've got this."

He stepped away and put his shirt back on. "Confidence, so sexy. Especially in a woman with guns strapped to her back."

My smile turned sly as he headed to the door. "You know I love that feeling right before popping that heat sink. Especially with the sniper." I let him figure out if I meant the gun or not.

"You are going to get me killed on the field, I hope you know that."

I crossed my arms as he left, the door closing behind him. My serenity quickly faded. My throat felt tight. "Hopefully not if I make the right calls…" I shook my head and started strapping on my armor.

The budding anxiety was forced down. It was time to get my crew back and fuck up the Collectors right in their home. Even if I was killed in the process.

I took in a deep breath as I fastened the last strap and picked up my visor. "No regrets."