I try to pick up titles as they release; otherwise it’s poor market signaling to publishers & authors if everyone waited for collections. The Black Ocean stories are fun and I recommend all the missions.
The mission’s main plot is 100% Mercy for Hire. Kubu, Tiffany, and Wesley are a thumbs up and should make anyone smile a few times. Elsa is as underwhelming as any other mission. If she becomes more than a placeholder that could change, the character has potential.
The reason to wait is the Esper centric part is murky as hell and the story ends poorly as a result. There seems to be something left out between the end of 8 and the beginning of 9. Fingers crossed Mission 10 either explains things or ties them up in that area.
Don’t worry fans, the irksome waffling attempting to convey Esper as more human remains. Perhaps it would be a better sell if the same script wasn’t used for Cedric in the Astral Prime missions. Heroes could be limited by the plot, instead a rubber stamped inner conflict is utilized.