Tears dripped down my cheeks as I stared at the giant ship in distance. I felt numb, terrified, but there was no mistaking that it was the Council ship. It had their crest proudly displayed on the hull.

My eyes bounced between the ship and the scanner again. I kept expecting something to happen. For a missile or ship to whip towards us. Or for someone to request comms, not just Andy who kept trying.

How’s it going? Peggy asked desperately.

It’s quiet, I sent back. Nothing is happening.

There was a pause before she asked, It’s definitely the right ship, isn’t it?

I eyed the Council crest again.

It’s definitely the right ship.

Even though she wasn’t there, I could feel her mind working furiously. She was trying to work out how best to keep us safe, how to approach the situation.

It could be a trap, she thought finally. They could be waiting for you to go into range or to come aboard. He could be playing with you.

I nodded.

She was right.

He could.

It did feel like a trap. It felt too easy, too quiet.

But that didn’t really matter. We needed to get aboard. We needed to find the lab and destroy it and then find Harvey. Even if it was a trap, at least we’d be on the ship. We could work with that.

And the scanner isn’t picking up anything suspicious? Peggy asked, even though she could see the scanner too.

No, Cas thought. The ship is impenetrable, it’s not picking up anything.

Okay, okay. So, what are you going to do? Peggy asked.

I knew how much it was hurting her that she wasn’t on board the ship with us. She hated being removed from it, unable to help us properly. She was helping though, she was the reason we’d gotten that far without Andy realising our plan sooner. If she had come with us, we might not have even gotten this far.

We board, I said, eyeing the ship as we pulled closer.

It was all I could see. The massive dark hull took up my entire front window.

Okay, she thought. Okay, be ready for an attack. It could be an ambush, there might be Guardians waiting for you. Or maybe they’re going to drug you again? Keep your helmets on, don’t trust the air.

Good call, I said.

That’s what I expected.

I expected it to be an ambush. I expected the airlock doors to open and for the hall to be lined with countless Guardian, all ready to kill us.

Maybe he wasn’t going to kill us. Maybe he wanted to capture us and use us against the fighters. If he had perfected the drug, if he could control us, we might have played directly into his hands. Delivered ourselves to him.

I realise now how dangerous that could have been.

We had enough weapons, we’d planned for that and Chal kept his ship well stocked. I knew we might succeed but even if we didn’t, I knew that we’d help stall them. Maybe Harvey would be so distracted by the fight that he wouldn’t send any Guardians out with the drug.

Or maybe, he’d think we were winning and destroy it before we got our hands on it. Either way, we’d be helping.

I debated writing something before we boarded. I debated writing it the whole flight. I wanted to say something to Peggy, a goodbye, just in case we didn’t come back but it felt like it was tempting fate. Like, if I were to write something, then we’d definitely die.

It was stupid, superstitious. Even so, I didn’t want to risk it.

Approaching the landing bay now, I thought. Are you ready?

I am, Cory sent back, his tone grime. Got guns trained on the door in case they try and override it.

I swallowed, glancing at Cas.

“Ready?” I asked softly.

He shook his head slightly.

His face was uncertain, I could see his fear.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for this,” he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Me either.”

I was terrified but strangely calm. I’d already made my decision, I was pretty sure I was about to die, but I knew I’d do my best to protect my crew and take down Harvey whilst I was at it.

“Aries,” Cas said, causing me to glance back at him. “I love you.”

My lips ticked up into a smile that I barely felt.

“I love you too.”

It felt like a goodbye.

About to dock, I told them.

Should I tell Andy? Peggy asked. He keeps asking me what’s going on.

I hesitated before thinking, Tell him everything.

If we died before the fighters got to us, it was the least we could do. They needed to be aware of the situation, to be prepared.

Will you… those flight suits have helmet cams. Do you want to turn yours on? I can stream it in here and in the ships, Peggy thought before adding, Aquila’s approved the mission, we’re going to start boarding soon but she wants me in here until the last possible second.

I glanced at Cas before tapping the side of my helmet.

“Activate cameras,” I said.

I heard my crew do the same.

Got them? I asked Peggy.

Yeah, just pulling up the feed now.

Okay, I thought just as the console beeped. Docking.

I felt the clunk of our ship connecting to the Council one rather than hearing it.

The console beeped again, indicating that we had connected safely. We were ready to board.

I threw myself out of my chair, racing toward Cory and the doors just in case the Guardians managed to force them open and swarm in. He was already on his feet, a gun in his hand and another slung across his back. His gaze didn’t leave the door but it showed no sign of movement.

I grabbed my guns, waiting just in case, but nothing happened.

“Move to the sides,” I ordered after what felt like far too long. “I’m going to open the doors.”

Cas and Cory moved immediately, ducking out of the way. I joined Cas, knowing that Cory was the better fighter, he’d be able to hold his own better than Cas.

Ready? I asked.

Cas nodded sharply and Cory’s gaze met mine for a moment.

No retreat.

No surrender.

“Open the doors,” I ordered.

My body was tense. I was waiting for the deafening clatter of gunfire but it didn’t come.

There was just silence.

We didn’t expect that. We expected a fight, for someone to be waiting for us, a lot of someones, but there was nothing and no one.

Before I could stop him, Cody’s head darted out to look.

“It’s empty,” he said, sounding as baffled as I felt. “There’s no one there.”

I looked at him before stealing a glance down the empty loading bay.

He was right, no one was waiting for us. My mods confirmed that.

“Now, what?” Cas breathed.

I licked my lips.

“We can either wait for them to come to us or we can go to them,” I said.

If we stay here, we have the advantage. We have our backs to a wall and we can retreat, but they might be waiting for us to make a move, I told the others.

I wanted to move, to start to sneak through the corridors, but I wanted them to decide. I didn’t want to be the only person to make another decision.

We go, Cas thought and I saw Cory agree. They already know we’re here. Let’s go find them.