[Valkyrie stood in the safe house, her posture shifting subtly. Her shoulders squared, her spine straightened. There was something different in her bearing now—a return of the warrior she'd once been. She raised an eyebrow, her expression carrying a mixture of determination and dry amusement.]
[Her voice was steady, businesslike, as she made her declaration official. "So, I've decided to join your team. Your little rebellion against my personal demons and your genocidal sister." She paused, tilting her head slightly with curiosity. "Do you have a name for this team? What do you call yourselves? The Thunder God's Revenge Squad? The Suicide Mission Specialists?"]
[Thor glanced sideways at Banner, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He seemed almost proud as he answered: "Yeah! It's called the Avengers!" His voice carried genuine enthusiasm for the name, as if he'd just shared something truly impressive.]
[Hearing this name—this somewhat underwhelming, frankly pedestrian name that was about to become legendary—Valkyrie couldn't help but pause. Her expression showed her processing it, turning it over in her mind. She repeated it slowly, testing the word on her tongue: "Avengers?" Her tone carried a note of skepticism, perhaps even disappointment. After centuries of hearing grand titles and legendary names, this seemed almost... quaint.]
[Thor nodded enthusiastically, completely missing or choosing to ignore her dubious tone. He explained the reasoning behind the name with earnest conviction.] "Because I definitely want revenge! Revenge against Hela for what she's done to Asgard! And you have to seek revenge too! For your sisters, for your past!" [His voice became more passionate as he spoke, as if saying it out loud made it more real, more achievable.]
[Valkyrie's jaw tightened. She pursed her lips and visibly gritted her teeth, her expression showing the internal struggle. The name was ridiculous. It lacked poetry, lacked gravitas. But the mission—the mission was what mattered. After a long moment, she gave a short, sharp nod of acceptance. Fine. She'd be an "Avenger." The name didn't matter as much as the action.]
[Thor then turned his attention to Banner, who'd been standing awkwardly to the side during this entire exchange. Thor's expression became questioning, encouraging.] "As for you! Do you have any revenge to take? Any scores to settle? Any wrongs that need righting?" [His tone suggested everyone should have some personal vendetta driving them forward.]
[Banner blinked, looking somewhat caught off guard by the question. His hands made vague gestures as he tried to formulate an answer. "I... I haven't thought about it yet!" His voice carried uncertainty. Revenge wasn't really his driving motivation. Survival was. Control was. But revenge? That was more of a Hulk emotion.]
[Thor nodded, accepting this answer without judgment. "Okay!" His tone suggested that Banner would figure out his revenge motivation eventually, once they got into the thick of things.]
[Valkyrie's expression shifted, becoming slightly sly, almost playful. A genuine smile crossed her features—perhaps the first real smile she'd worn in years that wasn't alcohol-induced. "And! I have a welcome gift for you!" Her voice carried satisfaction, as if she'd been waiting to reveal this surprise.]
[She moved toward the far wall of the safe house where a reinforced door stood closed. Her hand found the control panel. As she activated it, the heavy door began rising slowly with a mechanical hum, sliding upward to reveal what lay beyond.]
[In the revealed room, illuminated by harsh overhead lighting, Loki could be seen sitting in a chair. He was thoroughly tied up—ropes binding his arms to his sides, his legs to the chair, restricting his movement completely. The bindings were clearly Valkyrie's work, practical and efficient. Loki's expression was one of resigned irritation mixed with grudging respect for how thoroughly he'd been immobilized.]
[Thor approached cautiously, his movements careful and deliberate. His eyes never left his brother's form as he moved closer to the table beside Loki. He'd learned over centuries never to trust Loki completely, even when he appeared helpless. His hand found an empty beer can on the cluttered table—one of Valkyrie's numerous empties. Without warning, Thor picked it up and threw it directly at Loki's head, testing whether this was real or another illusion.]
[The beer can flew through the air in a lazy arc and struck Loki directly on the forehead with a hollow metallic TINK. It bounced off and clattered to the floor.]
["Ouch..." Loki let out a soft cry of pain, his face scrunching up. His head jerked backward from the impact, then slowly returned to its normal position. He glared at Thor with offended dignity. "Was that really necessary? I'm already tied to a chair!"]
[Thor finally allowed himself to relax slightly. A satisfied smile spread across his face. "Confirmed!" His voice carried relief. This was really Loki, not a projection or duplicate. The beer can test had been surprisingly effective—illusions didn't say "ouch."]
[Behind Thor, Banner observed this interaction with obvious wariness. His body language was tense, defensive. He stood slightly farther back than Thor, maintaining distance from the God of Mischief. Then, in a gesture that had apparently become habitual, he reached down and tugged at Tony's too-tight pants again, trying to find a more comfortable position. The discomfort was clearly ongoing and distracting.]
[Loki, ever the one to break uncomfortable silences with charm, turned his attention to Banner. A smile—warm, friendly, completely untrustworthy—spread across his face. His voice took on a cheerful, conversational tone as if they were old friends meeting at a social gathering. "Hello! Bruce! Wonderful to see you again! You're looking well! Much more... clothed than the last time!"]
[Banner's wariness intensified. He moved closer, but his posture remained defensive. When he spoke, his voice was flat, carrying years of exhaustion and suspicion. "So! The last time I saw you, you were planning to kill everyone on Earth! You brought an alien army, destroyed New York, caused countless deaths! What do you think about that now? Had a change of heart?"]
[Loki's smile didn't falter, but his eyes showed a flicker of something—calculation, perhaps, or genuine reflection. His response was characteristically slippery. "My thoughts keep changing! I'm very adaptable that way! Fluid thinking, you might say! I've had time to... reconsider certain priorities!" His tone suggested this was somehow a virtue rather than proof of unreliability.]
[Banner's eyes widened slightly, his expression making it clear he found this answer deeply unsatisfying and not at all reassuring.]
[While Banner processed his concerns about Loki, Thor's attention had been captured by something else entirely. He watched as Valkyrie moved across the room and picked up a cloth-wrapped bundle from where it had been carefully stored. The wrapping was old, stained, but the shape underneath was unmistakable to anyone who knew what to look for. As she pulled back the cloth, the distinctive blade was revealed.]
[Thor's breath caught. His voice came out reverent, almost awed. "Is that the Dragon Tooth Sword?" His eyes were wide, fixed on the weapon with the intensity of someone seeing a legendary artifact they'd only heard about in stories.]
[The blade gleamed even in the dim light of the safe house. The metal was unlike anything found on Earth or even most of the Nine Realms. Its edge carried that distinctive shimmer that marked Asgardian craftsmanship of the highest order.]
["My God!" Thor moved forward immediately, his hand reaching out. Valkyrie, after a moment's hesitation, allowed him to take it. Thor immediately drew the sword fully from its cloth wrapping and held it up, observing it carefully in his hands with the appreciation of a weapons expert. He turned it slowly, examining the blade from every angle, running his eyes along the edge, checking the balance.]
[His voice was filled with wonder and respect as he spoke. "This is one of the Valkyrie's Swords of Honor!" The plural was important—there had been many Valkyries, and each had carried such a blade. These weren't just weapons; they were symbols of office, of duty, of a sacred trust given by Odin himself.]
[Valkyrie glanced at him, her expression unreadable. The sword represented everything she'd lost, everything she'd run from. Having Thor handle it, speak of it with such reverence, brought up complicated emotions she'd spent centuries trying to suppress.]
[She pulled her attention away from the sword and back to practical matters. They had planning to do. Her voice became businesslike, strategic. "So... Sakaar and Asgard are in two distant galaxies! We're talking about a journey across vast stretches of space!" She moved toward where a crude star map had been sketched on the wall, pointing to demonstrate the distance. "Our best bet is to find one of the stable wormholes near the city! Plot a course that takes us through known space!"]
[She continued laying out the logistics, her finger tracing a path across the makeshift map. "We'd need to refuel on Xandar—assuming the Nova Corps don't arrest us on sight! Then continue from there! We'd be back to Asgard in approximately eighteen months!" [Her tone made it clear this was the safe option, the smart option, the option that gave them the highest probability of survival.]
["Nope!" Thor's voice was immediate and decisive. He shook his head firmly, then raised the Valkyrie sword and used it to point upward through the ceiling, toward the sky beyond. "We have to go through that gate!" His finger—and the sword—were aimed at the largest, most prominent wormhole visible in Sakaar's chaotic sky. The massive portal that dominated the skyline, that everyone could see from anywhere in the city.]
[Valkyrie's face went blank. She stared at Thor as if he'd just suggested they fly directly into the sun. Her voice came out stunned, disbelieving. "The Devil's Anus?" The name was crude, colloquial, but everyone on Sakaar knew exactly which wormhole she meant. The big one. The unstable one. The one that was notorious for destroying ships that attempted passage.]
["Anus?!" Banner, who had been investigating Valkyrie's kitchen area looking for anything edible among the bottles and takeout containers, immediately snapped his head up when he heard this particular word. His expression showed utter confusion. "Did someone just say anus? Why are we talking about anuses?"]
[He abandoned his search for food and walked closer to the group, his scientific curiosity overriding his social awkwardness. "Wait! Wait! Wait!" [His hands came up in a stopping gesture, trying to get clarity. "Whose anus? Why is it called that? What's the astronomical phenomenon that warranted that particular nomenclature?"]
[Thor held up one hand, his expression carrying mild embarrassment mixed with defensiveness. "I solemnly declare! I didn't even know it was called that before today!" His tone suggested he would have chosen a different target wormhole if he'd known its unfortunate colloquial name. "I just knew it as 'the large wormhole!' Nobody told me the locals had given it such a... descriptive designation!"]
[Banner, now fully engaged despite the crude name, moved closer to where he could see out the window. He looked up at the massive wormhole dominating Sakaar's sky. His eyes narrowed as his scientific mind began analyzing what he was seeing. His posture shifted into what those who knew him recognized as "Professor Banner" mode—slightly hunched forward, completely focused, processing data.]
[His voice took on that particular quality it always did when discussing physics—excited, rapid, slightly breathless with intellectual enthusiasm. "That thing looks like a collapsing neutron star caught in an Einstein-Rosen bridge!" His hands began moving, gesturing to illustrate the forces involved. "The gravitational fluctuations alone would be... and the radiation! The tidal forces! The spatial distortion at the event horizon would be..."]
[Valkyrie walked over toward the window as well, a bottle of wine in hand—because of course she'd grabbed another bottle. Her expression was skeptical as she looked at the wormhole, then back at Thor. Her voice carried the weight of experience.] "We need another ship then! A much better ship! This one—" [she gestured at her current spacecraft, or what remained of it] "—will be torn to pieces before we're even halfway through! The structural integrity requirements alone..."
[Banner immediately nodded in emphatic agreement, jumping in to support her assessment with scientific reasoning. "She's right! The spacecraft must be able to withstand the coordinate pull of the singularity! The gravitational gradient would create stress forces that would rip apart anything not specifically designed for it!" His voice rose with the passion of someone who'd done the math in his head and didn't like the numbers.]
[He continued, building on the requirements, his brain already designing the theoretical specifications they'd need. "We also need an offline power control system! Redundant systems! Something that can operate normally even if the main computer fails—which it almost certainly will! The electromagnetic interference near a portal like that would fry standard electronics! We'd need hardened systems, shielding, backup after backup!"]
[While Thor and Banner discussed technical specifications with increasing animation, Loki—still tied to his chair and largely forgotten—decided to contribute to the conversation. His voice carried practiced nonchalance, almost boredom.] "I need a cup holder!" [Everyone stopped and turned to look at him. He continued as if this was perfectly reasonable.] "I'm not going to live long anyway with you lot in charge! Might as well get properly drunk for my final journey! Cheers to imminent death!" [His tone was sarcastically cheerful.]
[Banner turned away from the wormhole discussion and looked at Valkyrie with sudden intensity. Something was nagging at him, some sense of familiarity he couldn't quite place. "Do I know you? You look so familiar to me!" His head tilted as he studied her face, trying to place where he might have seen her before. "Have we met? Did Hulk meet you? The memories are all jumbled..."]
[Valkyrie turned around and met his gaze. A small, knowing smile played at her lips. "You look familiar to me too! How strange!" Her tone suggested she knew exactly why he looked familiar, but she wasn't going to explain it. Not yet. Let him figure it out on his own. The mystery was more entertaining.]
[Thor, sensing that Valkyrie and Banner were about to get sidetracked on personal mysteries, redirected the conversation back to the mission. He moved to stand between them, his voice taking on an encouraging, almost sales-pitch quality. He needed them enthusiastic about this insane plan.]
["What do you think? Crossing an unstable cosmic portal! Taking a journey through a galaxy with an uncertain future!" His arms spread wide, as if embracing the adventure. "Exciting, right? This is what legends are made of! This is proper hero stuff!"]
[Banner reached out his hand and touched Thor's forearm, the gesture bringing the thunder god's attention back to practical reality. Banner's voice was gentle but firm, the voice of reason trying to penetrate Thor's optimistic enthusiasm. "We need a spaceship first! Before we can do any heroic traveling through death portals, we need an actual vehicle! Preferably one that won't explode!"]
[Thor's face lit up with renewed excitement. "That's right!" He nodded vigorously, as if Banner had just solved their biggest problem rather than stating an obvious prerequisite. "And there are so many spaceships here on Sakaar! The Grandmaster has a whole fleet! Absolutely top-notch models! State of the art! Well, state of somebody's art—various arts from various civilizations!"]
[From his chair in the corner, Loki suddenly interrupted, his voice carrying carefully measured hesitation as if he was reluctant to speak but compelled by conscience. It was, of course, completely calculated. "I don't want to force you to listen to me..." He paused for effect, his expression showing mock reluctance to involve himself.]
[Valkyrie's reaction was immediate and visceral. She whirled around, grabbed the wine bottle she'd been holding, and slammed it down on the table near Loki with enough force to make him flinch. She stood there glaring at him, her hands planted firmly on her hips, her entire posture radiating hostility and distrust. Her expression made it absolutely clear: whatever he was about to say, she didn't want to hear it.]
[But Loki, undeterred by the threat of violence, continued with that same carefully modulated tone.]
["But... The Grandmaster does have quite a few excellent spaceships! A remarkable collection, really! And—this is the interesting part—I even managed to steal the security codes for their defense system!" He said this last part almost proudly, as if they should be impressed by his foresight and thieving abilities.]
[Valkyrie's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. She didn't believe Loki at all—not even for a moment. Her voice dripped with suspicion and sarcasm. "Why did you suddenly feel guilty and start doing good things? What happened to the god of mischief and lies? Had a religious awakening, did we?" Her tone made it clear she thought he was playing an angle, running a con, and she was not about to fall for it.]
[Loki's expression shifted, becoming more honest—or at least appearing more honest, which with Loki was never quite the same thing. His voice lost some of its theatrical quality and became more businesslike, more practical.]
["Of course not! I haven't suddenly developed a conscience, let's not be ridiculous!" He shifted in his bonds, trying to find a more comfortable position.]
["I've fallen out of favor with the Grandmaster! He's rather upset about the whole 'losing his champion' situation! So in exchange for providing you with the security codes and helping you steal a spaceship, you must promise to get me out of this cosmic asshole safely!"]
[His eyes moved between Thor, Valkyrie, and Banner, gauging their reactions. "It's a simple transaction! I help you, you help me! Everyone benefits!"]
[Thor moved closer, studying his brother's face for signs of deception—which was futile, really, since Loki's entire face was essentially a sign of deception. His voice carried cautious interest. "You're saying you can help us get into the hangar without setting off the alarms? Without immediately alerting every guard in the city?"]
["Yes! Brother! I can absolutely do that!" Loki's voice carried conviction, his expression earnest. Whether that meant anything was another question entirely. "I have the codes! I know the security patterns! I've been planning an exit strategy since the moment I arrived on this forsaken garbage planet! I'm nothing if not prepared!"]
[Banner, who had been listening to this exchange with growing alarm, suddenly felt compelled to interrupt. He held up one hand, his expression showing genuine concern. His voice rose slightly to be heard over the planning. "I'm sorry—can I say something? Just for your reference? A small observation?" He looked at each of them in turn, making sure he had their attention.]
[The three of them—Thor, Valkyrie, and Loki—turned to look at him. They moved closer, forming a small group, waiting to hear Banner's perspective.]
[Banner's voice became more emphatic, more urgent. He pointed toward Loki, who remained tied up but somehow still managed to look smug.]
["I just spoke to him a few minutes ago! And based on that conversation, he's hell-bent on getting us all killed! Murder is absolutely on his agenda! His entire track record supports this assessment!"]
[Banner's voice carried the frustration of someone who felt he was stating the obvious but nobody was listening.]
[Valkyrie immediately nodded in agreement, her voice rising to match Banner's energy. "He really wants to kill me specifically! I can feel it! He's plotting my demise even as we speak! I'd bet this bottle of wine on it!"]
[She held up said bottle for emphasis.]
["Yes! He wanted to kill me too!" Thor jumped in, his voice joining the chorus of Loki's victims and near-victims. "Multiple times! It's simply too much to list! There've been so many murder attempts I've honestly lost count!"]
[His expression shifted as memories flooded back—centuries of brotherly betrayal, of close calls and narrow escapes.]
[Thor's voice took on a storytelling quality, illustrating his point with a specific example from their childhood. His eyes grew slightly distant with the memory.]
["Once when we were kids—we couldn't have been more than eight years old—he transformed himself into a snake!"]
[He paused for effect, making sure everyone was following.]
["And he knew—he KNEW—that I loved snakes! I'd been obsessed with them since seeing the great serpent Jörmungandr in a vision! I thought they were magnificent!"]
[His hands gestured, acting out the memory.]
["So, there I was, just happily picking up this beautiful snake I found in the garden, thinking about how lucky I was to find such a perfect specimen! And just as I had it in my hands, he suddenly transformed back into himself!"]
[Thor's voice rose with the remembered betrayal.]
["Just—POOF—suddenly holding my brother instead of a snake! And he looked me right in the eye, smiled, and said 'Yeah! It's me!' And then he stabbed me!"]
[Thor's expression showed the ongoing bewilderment of that moment.]
["We were eight years old! He stabbed his eight-year-old brother just to prove he could! Just for the prank of it!"]
[The room fell silent for a moment as everyone processed this disturbing glimpse into the brothers' childhood. Even Loki had the grace to look slightly embarrassed by having this particular story shared.]
[Valkyrie, who had been listening to this catalog of Loki's betrayals, raised another practical question. She turned to address the group, her voice cutting through the reminiscence.]
["If we want to actually launch the spaceship successfully, we have to lure the guards away from the palace! The hangar is going to be heavily secured, and we can't fight through the entire Grandmaster's army!"]
[Her experience with military tactics was evident in how quickly she identified the core problem.]
[Loki, sensing an opportunity to be helpful and thus prove his value, interrupted again. His voice carried enthusiasm, as if he'd just thought of the perfect solution.]
["Why not call the beast out to help? Have him create a distraction! Hulk smashing through the city would certainly draw every guard's attention!"]
[His eyes moved to Banner, the implication clear.]
[Thor's reaction was immediate and explosive. He whirled around to face Loki, his finger pointing in warning. "Shh! Shut up!!!" His voice was sharp, urgent, carrying genuine alarm. His eyes were wide with the panic of someone whose secret is about to be revealed at the worst possible moment.]
[But it was too late. Valkyrie's head had snapped toward Banner at Loki's words. Her eyes narrowed with sudden interest, pieces clicking together in her mind. Her voice carried curiosity mixed with excitement.]
["You have a beast? A weapon? What kind of beast?"]
[Her expression showed genuine interest. In her experience, beasts that could create city-wide distractions were usually quite impressive.]
[Thor and Banner both spoke at exactly the same moment, their voices overlapping in their urgency to deny this revelation. "No! There is no beast! He is talking nonsense!" Their simultaneous denial was so perfectly synchronized it was almost suspicious. Both men looked uncomfortable, their body language defensive.]
[Thor, desperate to move past this dangerous topic, pivoted to a new strategy. His voice became loud, declaring with forced confidence:]
["We're going to instigate an uprising!"]
[He said it as if this solved all their problems, as if starting a rebellion was a simple, straightforward solution.]
[Banner turned to look at Thor with an expression of complete confusion. His voice rose with bewilderment and concern.]
["Uprising? We're going to what? An actual armed rebellion? On an alien planet? With what army? What resources? What plan?"]
[Each question came faster, his scientist brain already identifying all the ways this could go catastrophically wrong.]
[Thor made a dismissive gesture, not wanting to get into the specifics right now.]
["I'll explain it to you later! Trust me! It'll make sense when I lay out the whole plan!"]
[His tone suggested he had a plan. Whether he actually had a plan was less certain.]
[Valkyrie's attention had not left Banner. She stared at him with open curiosity, trying to reconcile what Loki had said about a "beast" with the nervous, fidgeting scientist before her. Her voice carried confusion and interest.]
["Who is this person exactly? And why does he seem so... familiar? And why would Loki suggest calling him a beast?"]
[Thor, now thoroughly frustrated by the multiple complications, made another dismissive gesture.]
["I'll explain it later! I'll explain everything later! Right now we need to focus on getting a ship!"]
[His voice carried the strain of someone juggling too many secrets and running out of hands.]
Back in the real world on Earth, the scene had shifted from observation to preparation. The atmosphere was electric with anticipation and purpose.
"The Devil's Anus? That's the name?" Tony shook his head with an expression mixing amusement and disbelief. His fingers were flying over a holographic interface, running final diagnostics on his armor. "I mean, I've heard crude astronomical names, but that takes the cake! Who named these things?"
At this moment, the assembled heroes had all changed into their combat equipment. The viewing room had been transformed into a staging area. Armor gleamed, weapons were checked, team members stretched and prepared themselves mentally for what was coming.
The gathered force was impressive. The core Avengers were present, of course, but they'd also been joined by some of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Yondu stood with his distinctive red leather jacket and his arrow whistling softly in its holster. Drax was sharpening his blades with single-minded focus. Even Rocket had shown up, his eyes gleaming at the promise of a good fight and probably some things to steal. They were all very interested in visiting Sakaar—some for noble reasons, others for more mercenary motivations.
The space was filled with the sounds of final preparations—armor plates sliding into place, weapons being loaded and charged, the distinctive hum of repulsor technology warming up, the crackle of energy shields activating.
Thor stood at the center of the group, his restored Mjolnir in hand. He took a deep breath, centering himself for what was to come. Then he raised his head toward the sky, toward the heavens beyond the ceiling, and roared with all the power of his divine voice:
"HEIMDALL!"
For a moment, nothing happened. The room held its collective breath.
Then suddenly, the response came. A brilliant beam of colorful divine light descended from the sky, piercing through the atmosphere, through the building's structure as if it weren't there, enveloping the entire assembled group in its radiant glow. The Rainbow Bridge—the Bifrost—Asgard's greatest transportation technology, had answered Thor's call.
The light was almost blinding in its intensity. It carried every color of the spectrum and some that human eyes couldn't quite name. The sensation was indescribable—like flying and falling and standing perfectly still all at once. Reality bent around them, space compressed and expanded, dimensions folded like origami.
The Rainbow Bridge went straight through the massive wormhole they'd been discussing—the Devil's Anus, as the locals so crudely called it. But under the protection of the Bifrost's divine light, under the ancient magic woven into Asgard's greatest creation, they passed through easily. The gravitational forces that would tear ships apart couldn't touch them. The radiation that would kill organic beings in seconds couldn't penetrate the rainbow shield. The spatial distortions that would scatter matter across light-years had no effect on Heimdall's precisely controlled transportation.
Within moments—or perhaps no time at all, time being somewhat flexible during Bifrost travel—they materialized on Sakaar. The Rainbow Bridge deposited them in a flash of light and thunder that sent nearby aliens scrambling away in alarm.
They found themselves standing in the midst of chaos. Sakaar was in a state of active rebellion.
The carefully controlled order that the Grandmaster had maintained for so long had broken down completely. Smoke rose from multiple locations across the cityscape. The sounds of combat echoed from several directions—shouts, weapons fire, explosions. The prisoners had risen up, and they were not going quietly.
Buildings showed signs of recent damage. Debris littered the streets. Abandoned vehicles smoldered. This was a city at war with itself.
Across the urban landscape, in the shadow of the towering Rune Tower, Valkyrie was leading the charge. Korg and several other freed prisoners followed her as she navigated through the chaos. They were rushing through corridors, climbing maintenance shafts, fighting when necessary and avoiding when possible. They were trying desperately to find a way to enter the main hangar.
The rebellion had been more successful than anyone had anticipated. The prisoners, given hope and basic organization, had proven to be remarkably effective fighters. Years of rage and resentment had been unleashed all at once. But Valkyrie knew they couldn't hold out forever. The Grandmaster had resources, technology, endless waves of soldiers he could throw at them.
Her spaceship—her beautiful, reliable spacecraft that she'd used for countless bounty hunts—had been destroyed earlier by The Grandmaster's forces in retaliation for her betrayal. They'd found where she'd hidden it and reduced it to smoking slag. So now she had no choice but to take the risk, to lead this desperate assault on the hangar, to steal one of the Grandmaster's own ships for their escape.