"Sixty seconds to sighting," Cassidy reported. "Flying in for final approach." She looked around the four-person cockpit that was currently holding seven. "Fortunately."

Salvador tried to look over Cassidy's shoulder as Pandora dropped away. "So, where is it?"

Axton grabbed Salvador's arm and pushed him into one of the four seats. "Trust a longtime passenger on this one, buddy: you do not want to hover around a pilot while she's flying. Especially during takeoff, and never while docking."

"Good thing we're not going far," Gaige said. She was half crushed against the wall. "These shuttles are high-tech, but there's not much elbow room with seven people riding."

"The mouse complains about living in a fridge?" Krieg growled. He was further back, and more scrunched up than anyone else. "Try being a .45 in a .22!"

Maya gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat. "Hang on a little longer, okay? We'll be there soon."

"While waiting, witness...this." Cassidy put the shuttle into a casual spin, bringing the planet into full view. Pandora's better half was laid before them, the Eridium-leaking scar out of sight on the dark side of the world. Daylight was reflecting off the surface, and the whole viewport was filled with the blues, browns, and greens of the living planet far below.

"That's home?" Salvador asked, his voice oddly choked. "Wow."

"Didn't look that good on the way in," Axton said fondly. "Not through a window the size of a beer can."

"Least you had a window," Gaige reminisced "I half-smuggled myself in on a drop barge."

"I didn't get to look when I got here," Maya admitted. "Fell asleep right after take-off, slept until touchdown."

Axton glanced backward. "How about you, big guy? You wanna weigh in?"

"Dark and pain and flying!"

"Didn't think so."

Cassidy glanced at Zero. "Tell me your tale of travel, amazing assassin. Were you wary of what wildness awaited?"

"I sought a challenge, And conquered my greatest one," Zero said. "Now, on to the next." He pointed out the window. "Look there everyone, And behold our new home." :D "It is moving day."

Axton squinted along the line of Zero's arm, but couldn't make out anything. "Anybody else see it?"

"I think so," Gaige said, squeezing one eye shut. "It looks like there's a little patch of too-dark space, but I can't make out anything else."

"Let me simplify the situation," Cassidy offered. There was a brief surge of motion as the shuttle's engines pushed against Pandora's gravity, moving them into higher orbit. "There. See?"

Pandora still filled the window, but now, as they stared down at it, an irregularly shaped blot of darkness hung between them and the planet.

Salvador's eyes widened. "Where did that come from?"

"It was always there," Maya said, squinting at it. "It must have some kind of optical shielding. It's playing tricks with my eyes. I can't make out any of the hull features."

"It's stealth plating!" Gaige realized. "It's this stuff that soaks up light, radiation, anything. With its engines off, a ship like that can stay hidden for weeks." She glanced Zero. "How did you even see it?"

"I have good eyesight," he said, shrugging. "And I know Father's style. I knew how to look."

"That's not all," Axton interrupted, staring hard at the dark shape. "The primary hull is circular."

"It is? I see protrusions on either side."

"Those are the weapon wings," Axton said, his tone awed. "Extensions off the hull with energy weapons on the underside. There's only one company other than Dahl that ever made ships with a circular hull, and only one model that mounted its guns on wings." He stared at Cassidy. "That's a HarrFord-7700, isn't it?"

"Correct, commando." She ran her fingers over the console. "Cool, huh?"

Axton leaned back and exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. "That's one word for it."

"Stop dancing and play cards!" Krieg growled. "What's the value of one hand clapping?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Why is that such a big deal?" Maya translated.

Axton looked at the ship again. "Let me put it this way. If ships were loot, we just got a pearlescent."

Salvador found his voice first. He wiped the drool off his mouth and said with a grin, "I'm gonna like space travel."

[And so ends this tale. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've really enjoyed your comments, and I want to thank everyone that favorited and followed me.]

[If you're wondering what happens next, well, so am I. I do think I've got at least one more story to tell. I like to work with a buffer in place, so I'll be taking some time to write the second, currently untitled story.]

[In the meantime, however, I won't leave you with nothing. It's a long trip from Pandora to the next Vault world, and road trips always have a few fun stories in them. Starting next week, I'll be putting up short chapters detailing some of the events during the Hunter's flight. It'll mostly be character bits and minor details that are fun to know, but would be irrelevant and slow the pace of a longer story. There's also a few seeds for the next story, but nothing heavy. So, if I've provided some amusement with my story, mission accomplished, and I hope to see you next week for the first segment of 'The Space Between.']

[And, as always, thanks for reading!]