Maxwell watched Angel sleep soundly in the bed, a small, serene nap she definitely needed after a rollercoaster of emotions. Hours had passed since the rescue, and it was time to move on to the next objectives.
Pulling his ECHO out of his pocket, Maxwell made a call to Knoxx. It was good to reassure his men and prepare them for the upcoming objectives.
The call connected, and Knoxx's image appeared on the screen, his usual stern expression and classic cigar in his mouth.
("Sir,") Knoxx greeted, his brows softening slightly. ("Good to know you didn't end up dead in space. Did you manage to rescue the girl?")
"How could I allow myself to die at the very beginning of my career, Knoxx? Promethea is in sight, after all." He paused briefly, glancing aside, then back at the screen, his smile widening slightly. "Yes, the rescue was a success. Now, I'm going after the AI and the Constructor Project."
("Understood. I will send your Titan, along with some troops to assist,") Knoxx replied promptly. ("Should we begin the search for Emily now?")
"Hold off on sending troops until I have the target coordinates. But yes, greenlight the search for the Siren," Maxwell instructed. "I'll also send information on Elpis's most wanted criminals. It'll be your job to make all those outlaws disappear. No capture, just death."
Knoxx seemed curious about the last order, a slight raise of an eyebrow in his image, but he didn't question it. ("Copied. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now.")
The call ended.
Maxwell sighed and got out of bed. To develop Ouroboros as quickly as possible, he needed credits, and the best way was by hunting down targets from the [Most Wanted List] function.
The problem was that he was just one person, and it would take too long to go after every individual whose bounty was worth more than 10 credits.
But those were old times.
He remembered the explanation he'd received from the system about the [Most Wanted List]: it didn't just work for targets he killed, but also for any subordinate who eliminated the target. And now that he had his own organization with thousands of men, it would be a piece of cake to kill these criminals and get the sweet system credits to buy more equipment and vehicles.
In particular, he wanted to buy more spacecraft and the blueprints for second-generation Titans. Weapons would never be a problem; he was on Borderlands, after all, and besides, he had Knoxx's entire secret arsenal.
"I better check on Athena's progress." Maxwell still needed to reach Pity's Fall and was in a hurry. It was the crash site of the Drakensburg, a Dahl warship captained by Colonel Zarpedon in the past, before it was transferred to the Britannia.
Janey Springs was the woman from whom Athena had to get information about Davis Pickle, an orphan living in the Outlands Canyon area. He had tried to rob the Scavs who occupied the Drakensburg's remains, so he knew the location well.
"Are we leaving?" Angel yawned, rubbing her eyes with one hand.
"Already awake? I thought you'd want to explore the city."
"I think Elpis is more interesting. I want to feel the thrill of an adventure."
"Alright, alright. Just don't stray too far from me." Maxwell tossed her a pilot helmet.
Angel snatched the helmet, her eyes sparkling with the promise of the unknown. An adventure!
She accompanied Maxwell out of Moxxi's bar. Their destination was Janey Springs' recycling business, which wasn't far away.
When they arrived, they were greeted by a tomboyish blonde with a band-aid on her nose, a bandana on her forehead, and dirt stains on her clothes.
"Are you with Athena?" Janey scrutinized the visitors up and down. She deduced from their attire that they were important people.
"What makes you think that?"
Janey shrugged. "Easy. Athena and you have similar-looking corporation uniforms, and well, I'd already been warned you might show up." Janey glanced sideways, watching the pretty girl following Maxwell explore her room and touch everything.
"Angel, be a good girl and don't break anything," Maxwell warned the girl, but didn't take it too seriously. The place didn't have anything worth much.
Angel nodded in agreement. Janey had some interesting trinkets. Although most of it was junk, there were still some things Dahl had left behind.
"Looks like Athena knew I wouldn't be able to sit still for long, how convenient. So we can skip the introductions and get to what matters." Maxwell turned back to Janey.
"Athena said you're after some military AI. Big soz, but your best bet's a mate of mine, a little ankle-biter by the name of Pickle. Lives in the Outlands. He's almost impossible to reach mind, but I can help with that. Take this scrambler." Janey picked up the ECHO, and it didn't take long for the information and exact coordinates to arrive.
'Wait, what? She just handed it to me like that?' Maxwell didn't complain and took the odd-looking device. He sent the coordinates for Knoxx to send BT; he'd need his Titan for a smoother advance on this mission.
"What did you ask Athena for in return?" Maxwell asked suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing much. Just to take some pictures..." Janey bit her lower lip, her expression flushing slightly. "You know, quality pictures..."
"Questionable quality?"
"You're no fun."
Maxwell cleared his throat, pulling the blonde out of her daydream.
"Athena and her group haven't reported completion. Did you ask for anything else?"
"Well, since the group of little girls following her seemed quite strong, I gave her a mission. Kill Deadlift with the Zapped 3.0 prototype and retrieve the digistruct key for my Moon Zoomy. They must have killed him by now."
As if the system were listening to the conversation, a screen popped up, punctuating Janey's words.
[Target "Deadlift" finished by subordinate Hestia. Depositing rewards...]
[+190(C)]
[2x Electric Smoke Grenade]
[1x Volt Submachine Gun]
[Credits: 1405]
Maxwell was surprised by the system screen's appearance. He felt as if he were playing those mobile games with an auto-farm. Seeing the credits drop into his pocket without doing anything was a very gratifying feeling.
'Well, that was pretty fast.'
Janey leaned closer to Maxwell, nudging him with her elbow. "Hey, I heard you're the man who stole Moxxi the MILF's heart?" Janey whispered.
"Yeah, she's a beast in bed."
"Oh! You lucky bastard!" Janey patted his shoulder. "Don't say anything more or I'll really get jealous. Damn, how does she manage to look like a teenager at fifty?"
"You were already eyeing Moxxi, and now you want a piece of Athena? Do you have no limits?"
"Look who's talking, walking around with a girl so young while your wife works so hard?"
"Eh?" Angel's face flushed upon hearing their conversation.
"See you around, Janey." Maxwell ended the conversation right there. Any more and Janey would try her luck with Angel, too.
Now that Elpis wasn't limited to a few closed game maps, it would take a few hours on foot to their destination, so a vehicle would be necessary.
Angel and Maxwell left Concordia without problems and headed to Triton Flats, specifically to Janey's garage, where they could pick up a Stingray.
The garage's surroundings were full of Scavs, but nothing Maxwell couldn't handle. The garage had a reinforced door that prevented access, which seemed to have slipped Janey's mind, who was connected on the call.
("I forgot about that door! Combo's—")
Angel extended her hands and opened the reinforced door without needing the password. The password was quite simple, but Angel wanted to show off a bit.
Angel turned, puffing out her chest with pride.
"Good job, girl." Maxwell chuckled, patting her head.
The interior of the garage was revealed, flooded with ambient light from the flickering greenish and blue tones of the panels and monitors. The air was filled with a strong, familiar smell of old oil and dust. In one corner was a Stingray, its sleek hoverbike chassis designed for Elpis's low gravity, though some parts were missing. This agile vehicle had two thrusters that allowed it to jump high and a machine gun mounted on the front.
("Before Dahl upped skirts and left Elpis. They integrated Moxxi's improvements into the production model. They'd deny it, though. Plug in the scrambler to that digistruct machine.")
"Wow, is Moxxi so good at mechanics that a corporation used one of its modifications?" Angel couldn't help but praise the vehicle. Even though it was unusable, since it had been sitting there for many years.
While Angel inspected the stationary Stingray, Maxwell plugged the scrambler into the central panel, some sparks flying from the device.
("Yeah, that's it! Now order yourself up a Stingray!")
Maxwell selected a Stingray on the monitor, and in seconds, with a blue glow, a new vehicle was digistructed in the center of the garage, complete and ready for use.
"Why are you in the passenger seat?" Angel asked, surprised, looking at Maxwell, who had already settled in.
"Didn't you want an adventure?" he teased, patting the front seat. "You're driving."
Angel swallowed hard, clearly trembling. "B-but I might crash!"
"A scraped knee is part of the adventure!" Maxwell guffawed.
"Oh God, help me."
Angel sat in the driver's seat with a nervous sigh. She started the Stingray, and the thrusters emitted soft bursts, lifting the vehicle a few centimetres off the ground. As Maxwell held Angel's waist, she felt a shiver run through her body.
("It should be me, not him!")
Both ignored Janey.
"No need to go too fast, just keep calm," he murmured, his voice tranquil near her ear. "The destination is marked on your helmet's HUD."
Angel nodded, gently twisting the accelerator. The journey through Triton Flats was smooth, Maxwell shooting at any Scav that tried to approach them, keeping the area clear for passage.
Angel stopped the Stingray when they reached a ravine. A boiling river of lava awaited those unlucky enough to try to cross to the other side. There was only a precarious ramp that promised passage, but it required them to be fast enough to cross the incandescent abyss.
("Now you're on a Stingray, you can jump that, no worries... Prob'ly")
Angel turned to Maxwell, frantically shaking her head in denial, while Maxwell slowly nodded his head up and down. Even with their pilot helmets covering their faces, their emotions were clear.
Angel barely had time to protest. In a quick and decisive move, Maxwell grabbed Angel's hand on the accelerator and twisted it to the limit. The Stingray roared, rocketing towards the precarious ramp, gaining dizzying speed as the edge of the ravine approached.
"NO! WAIT! WAIT, MAXY!!!"
"MWAHAHAHA!"
They launched themselves above the river of lava. For a dizzying instant, the Stingray and its occupants plunged, Elpis' reduced gravity pulling them slowly but surely down towards the deadly orange glow.
"KYAAAAAA!"
"YAA WOOOOOOO!"
Then, with a sudden, powerful thrust, the vehicle's secondary thrusters activated, launching them upward. The Stingray practically flew with the powerful boost, gliding through the air and landing smoothly on the other side, in safety.
Angel was breathing heavily, patting her chest as she tried to recover from the shock and adrenaline. Maxwell couldn't stop laughing.
("Nice! I've told Pickle you're coming, just go meet him.")
"Hahaha, we should do that again on the way back!" he exclaimed, his stomach hurting from a fit of laughter.
"NO!" Angel yelled in response, but, beneath her visor, an uncontrollable smile spread across her face.
They moved forward once Angel's nerves finally settled. After passing through an old Dahl checkpoint to resupply their oxygen tanks, they continued down an old road that led them to Outlands Canyon.
Being a territory even further from the sole civilization, Concordia, it was swarming with Scavs who had set up their bases amidst numerous Tork nests. They were primarily scavengers, but also predatory by nature and would attack anything that approached their nests. Maxwell simply told Angel to run over the insects and not to slow down. Although they weren't dangerous as individuals, they were very lethal in their numbers.
Unfortunately, their path was blocked by an old gate. The place looked like an abandoned Dahl facility, and by the signs, it was being occupied by Scavs. To advance further, conflict would be inevitable.
Stepping down from the Stingray, they advanced stealthily, hiding behind a pile of junk.
"Angel, get ready," Maxwell said, pulling his Wingman from his hip and giving the cylinder a last check. "We're going to have to deal with some Scavs here. Blood and severed limbs will be a pretty common sight, so..." He let the sentence trail off, not wanting to scare her further.
Angel, however, shook her head, interrupting him. Her arms trembled slightly, a subtle sign of nervousness, but her voice was firm when she spoke. "I know... But I have an idea, Maxy." She paused, waiting for his confirmation. "Would you trust me?"
Maxwell observed the tension in her shoulders, the slight tremor in her gripping hands. He could have just told her to wait obediently, of course, pushing her back into her comfort zone. But he saw the genuine effort the girl was making to overcome her fears and be useful. This world didn't tolerate weak spirits, and he wanted to encourage her to be more proactive with her own safety.
"Always, Angel," he replied, his voice softer than usual. Pulling his Volt SMG from his ECHO, he handed the light, elegant weapon, along with a spare magazine, to the girl as backup, should things "go south." The weapon fired concentrated beams of high energy, which perfectly suited a Siren's nature. He briefly taught her how to wield a firearm, his movements short and precise.
"Stay focused, you're better than them." Maxwell encouraged the girl, before stepping out of cover, his Wingman already aimed. Leaving cover, he started shooting at anything that moved.
BangBangBang
It didn't take long for their presence to be noticed. Bestial shouts echoed through the canyon, and soon a crowd of Scavs swarmed their location, rushing forward with improvised faction weapons.
But before the gunfight could truly begin, Angel raised her left hand. A subtle glow emanated from her skin, and with an invisible pulse, her powers swept over the horde.
A hissing sound of air being expelled echoed as Angel deactivated all the Scavs' Oz Kits. Terror seized their eyes. Rapidly, they began to suffocate, their desperate hands clawing at their throats, pleading for help in muffled screams. Their bodies convulsed, and their eyes popped out of their skulls due to internal pressure, before they dropped lifeless, one by one, into an inert and silent pile.
Maxwell watched in disbelief, disconcerted by the speed and silent brutality with which they were all killed.
This was the efficacy of a Siren's magic.
Not that Maxwell didn't know about a Siren's capabilities, but for someone accustomed to using "pea shooters" and the "power of the ancestral monke," called a punch, killing so many enemies with a raised hand was a novelty.
Angel blinked, her gaze fixed on the pile of inert bodies. The sight of someone dead wasn't new or shocking to her, but the silence that followed was strange... One moment they were screaming and jumping, the next they were all dead on the ground. She couldn't help but feel a little dizzy.
Maxwell's voice brought her back.
"You've got this. You're better than them!" Maxwell gave a thumbs up, very proud of Angel's performance.
Angel stood motionless for an instant, unsure how to respond to the compliment. Besides a small, quick nod of agreement. She was grateful her helmet hid her blushing face.
"Let's go, my Guardian Angel. BT has probably arrived by now." Maxwell patted her helmet. Angel was excited to personally meet Maxwell's Titan.
They advanced into a cave, marked with a large iron sign that read "No Refunds." They had finally reached the boy who would lead them to Drakensburg. The cave led to the other side of the mountain; the passage was filled with turrets, which, thanks to Janey's warning Pickle about their eventual arrival, were deactivated.
On the other side, Pickle's base was in sight, which could be described as a jumble of containers with workbenches, telescopes, a large screen TV and sofa, and other salvaged equipment, plus life supports keeping the environment habitable. The boy himself was busy looking through a fixed telescope.
"Coooor! The fings they got over there look bang tidy!" Giving one last look at the distant Scavs, Pickle jumped off the crate and went to greet his guests.
"'Ere to 'elp. IF the price is right!" Pickle's voice and size made his tender age clear. He wore a custom-fit space suit.
"Good to meet ya! Davis Pickle, in case ya dunno, something a bit difficult, ya know I'm weeell known around here."
"Maxwell and Angel." Maxwell gestured to himself and Angel. "Now, talk."
"Springs says you're trying to get yer mitts on some military AI." Pickle pointed to the silhouette of a spaceship on the horizon. "Well, it's yer lucky day! You can half inch one from the Drankensburg."
"I hear The Bosun and The Skipper, who run that place, are well known collectors of rare and nifty intelligences of the artificial persuasion." Pickle felt tremors, thinking it was just an earthquake.
"Trouble is, it's not like you can just walk right up to the place and ask to have an AI— WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!?!" The tremors intensified. Looking back, he saw three enormous metal figures behind Maxwell and Angel.
"Oh, it's you, BT. Did anything happen on the way?"
"Apologies for the delay, Pilot. We had some unfortunate encounters en route. Unfortunately, my attempts to dialogue with the moon's natives were frustrated, and we had to engage in armed conflict. The number of fatalities until we arrived here was eighty-two."
"Well, that explains why you're covered in blood." Maxwell looked at the other Titan and deduced it was Minerva, as there were only two Stryder models at the moment. The other Titan was an Atlas.
The hatches opened, allowing the two pilots to salute Maxwell. Unsurprisingly, it was Minerva in the Stryder. The other Pilot was recognized when Maxwell saw the prosthetic leg; it was Elliot, one of the soldiers who fought against the Vault Hunters in the Secret Armory.
"At ease, Pilots." Maxwell waved a hand casually. Turning his gaze back to Pickle, his tone clearly provocative. "What were you talking about again, kid?"
"Cocky, eh? Fair enough! they're a tricky pair, but it looks like they're in for a real headache this time! I'm updating your ECHO with the most direct route there!" Pickle perked up after the shock. They would be cutting their way into Drakensburg. "Truth is. I've 'ad my eye on that wreck for a while and you going in for a bit of look-see would let me do a bit of shopping meself!"