Anyone remember that one guy in T-Bone junction? The one who says "Didja hear? We lost Jess to the Rakks." I got to wondering Who IS Jess, what was he (or she) doing around rakks? Before I knew it I had a cup of coffee, a sudden burst of inspiration, and a weeping fit over T.K. Baha again. It's short but only an intro.

Boys and Girls: Meet Jess, the feisty young redheaded mechanic with a pet skagg, a redneck named after his sister for a best friend, robin hood-esque notion of justice in her head and a dislike of bandits rivaling that of the vault hunters.

Enjoy

Disclaimer: I own nothing, just Jess and Robin

Pandora: Eleven years ago

Pandora was no place to raise a child, so Marie Oleson was surprised that her sister's dying wish had been for her only child to come live with her in this wasteland. Not that the child was a problem, heavens no! It was just that Marie worried about how this would all end up. After five years it was hard to think of life without her niece, and god if she didn't love her, it would break her heart to only give her a basic education and commit her to a life, married to some man she'd settled for.

"Auntie Marie, can I go wait for Uncle Spence?" The child in question asked as she sat the kitchen table, swinging her feet. Jessica was the spitting image of her mother, red hair, freckles, even the little quirk of her lips that had always spelled trouble when they were growing up. The only thing that wasn't Kelsey's were the baby blues that saw anything and everything, they belonged to Jessie's father, whoever he was.

"Go ahead baby. Just don't go off the lawn, it's almost the moon cycle." Jess gave a rushed thank you and slipped outside. She and Spence were inseperable almost. Every day Jess would run outside, trying to spot the old blue speeder he drove as it barreled over the hills. The familiar roar of the engine hummed it's way from nothing to a growl that cut off outside her front door. A muffled laugh broke the silence. Something about rakks and turbines was said and Jess mentioned a fence. The door swung open in the hall and Spence came up behind her, kissing her cheek.

"Smells good." He said, nodding at the pot she stirred sedately. "Guess who got a promotion." Marie stopped stirring.

"You're serious?" She laughed and caught him in a hug. "Oh lord, this is great!"

"You bet it is. We can send Jessie to school, I can fix the speeder up real nice, and you can have the kitchen any woman would envy!" Marie smiled leaning into him. Money had been tight but now, now they were moving up in the world. However a scream distracted them. Jess.

"AUNTIE!" she wailed from outside. Marie grabbed the shotgun from where it hung on the wall, a must have piece of interior décor on Pandora, and ran outside. She leveled the barrel at- oh.

Jess sat on the ground, holding a skagg pup against her. Poor thing hadn't opened it's eyes yet, but it bore signs of rakk claws. Must have been stolen. "Auntie, we gotta help her! She's hurt bad!" Blood smeared on her pink shirt from where she held it, cradled like a baby. "Please."

"I- I don't think- baby I-" those eyes were begging "I'll do what I can." Jess gave a nod and stood slowly, following the woman inside. This girl was going to drive her mad some day, but until then Marie just couldn't refuse those big blue eyes.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The pup healed well under Jess's constant watch and care, turning out to be a boy. Jess promptly named him Robin. It would lean towards her when she spoke, panting and begging for attention. Marie had seen a tame skagg or two but having one was an adventure. He ate almost anything he could and hid whenever a loud noise , but Jess loved the little ball of armored skin.

Soon enough Robin opened his eyes and caring for him got a lot easier. He followed Jess religiously, deterred any Scythid from their home and in general brightened their days. Jess at least had a friend out here, Pandora could get awful lonely.