A/N This is my first fanfiction. Whether or not I continue with this story will be based on the reception of my first couple of chapters.

The night was quiet around Sanctuary. The noise of revelers at Moxxi's was all but whisked away by the brisk breeze from the Highlands that whistled through the monolith at Sanctuary's centre and buffeted the door to the HQ. Inside the building, sheltered from the most of the wind, lay Axton, the commando, collapsed bonelessly on his bunk. The only noises he could hear past the wind were Salvador's snores and the drone of Zer0 rhythmically sharpening his sword. Axton was absolutely exhausted. Almost a day earlier, he and his fellow vault hunters had defeated Handsome Jack, prospective dictator of Pandora and CEO of the Hyperion company. Jack had not gone down easily, however, and had summoned the Warrior, an ancient, godlike beast with the intent of ending all life on Pandora. After a long and strenuous battle, the vault hunters had triumphed and vanquished their foe, along with Handsome Jack. In fact, the very party occurring at that very moment was a celebration of the downfall of Jack and the continued existence of the residents of Sanctuary. Axton, much to the disappointment of the grateful townsfolk, had decided to forgo the party in favour getting some decent rest. Which is why he was understandably irritated to hear his ECHO go off with a loud ping. He groaned loudly and smacked his hand in the general direction if the noise. The ECHO clicked and Lilith's voice came through, sounding faintly tired. She, too, was rather the worse for wear after the battle at the vault of the warrior.

"Sorry to disturb your well-deserved rest, killer, but I've got an urgent job that needs doing."

Axton let out another groan, this one considerably louder that the previous one. Lilith sounded amused.

"I'll take that as a yes. Get yourself down here in five, alright?".

The ECHO beeped, then went silent. Zer0 gave him a look that, even with his mask, could clearly be seen as pitying. Salvador grunted, having been awakened by the noise of the ECHO.

"No rest for the wicked, amigo" He rumbled, then promptly fell asleep again. Axton swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, making the springs squeal. He clipped on all his gear and wearily made his way downstairs to the briefing area.

Lilith smiled at his bedraggled state when he entered the room.

"Finally up, eh? Good."

He looked around the room, and for the first time noticed the other person in the room. He was wearing the yellow of Hyperion. Instantly, Axton pulled out his assault rifle and trained the sights on the man, who stumbled back and raised his hands above his head. Before he could do anything more, Lilith broke in.

"Whoa there killer, this man has information that could be useful; hear him out". Axton lowered his rifle, but continued to glare at the informant. The man smiled nervously at him, then spoke, words coming out in a rush.

"So I was a worker at the Hyperion" he swallowed "base in Thousand Cuts and I overheard some of the new officers talking about plans to pack up and leave Pandora. This might sound great to you, but I know for a fact that there is information about sirens and eridium usage in Control Core Angel that might interest you"

He tailed off as he looked at Lilith.

"Did you really kill... him? Handsome Jack?"

Lilith nodded, and the informant swallowed again. Lilith dismissed the man from the room, then turned to Axton.

"The man may be a fool, but I think he's right about this. We do need this information. Hyperion's extraction is due to occur in the next couple of days, so unless you want to go through a swarm of Hyperion employees to get this info, I suggest you leave for Thousand Cuts soon."

"But why me? You could of chosen anyone for this mission!" Axton asked incredulously. "I'm exhausted!"

Lilith winced sympathetically. "Sorry killer, but you're the one who still has Handsome Jack's pocket watch. You're the only one who can get through that door. I need you there."

She turned to go, but said over her shoulder;

"And before you go, you should probably freshen up. You smell terrible."

And with that, she was gone.