Disclaimer: I do not own Borderlands or any characters pertaining to its title
So, you want to hear a story, eh? One about treasure hunters? Ha-ha, have I got a story for you! Pandora: This is our home. But make no mistake; this is not a planet of peace and love. They say it's a wasteland; that it's dangerous; that only a fool would search for something of value here. Then perhaps I am a fool. But do not be fooled by what Pandora appears to be.
There was a legend. Many people tell it. The legend of the Vault. My father would always go on and on about the Vault; even with his dying breath.
Advanced alien technology.
Infinite wealth.
Fame.
Power.
Women.
So you can understand why some little kiddos who hear stories about the Vault grow up to be Vault Hunters. Well, I have a story you may not believe, but I tell you it is true. The legend of the Vault is real! And it is here on Pandora. And a . . . let's call her a "guardian angel," appeared to guide the Vault Hunters to their prize. The tale begins right here on Pandora, with the brave Vault Hunters, the guardian angel, and most importantly . . . me.
Fresh Off the Bus
The bus barely even jostled as it rammed over the foolish skag that had wandered out into the middle of the road. The driver just continued along his path with a smile on his face as the sun burned down on top of his vehicle. Marcus Kinkaid was the most successful merchant on all of Pandora and driving the customers during his own excursions was only one of the reasons for that.
"Wake up back there!" he called with a laugh. "It's a beautiful day full of opportunity!"
The bus' four occupants simply ignored the fat weapons merchant as he continued his laughter. There was only one reason that any of them were there on Pandora and that reason was the Vault. Near the front of the bus stood a man wearing a brown leather mask and goggles playing with a hunting knife as he spoke with the red haired woman sitting across from him.
"Come on, Lilith," he pleaded. "It's just a little money. I gotta get this rifle replaced before the rusty thing blows up in my face. Sniper's not much of a sniper if he's got no eyes."
"And I already told you no, Mordecai," Lilith replied. "You still owe me from the last loan anyway."
"Yeah, but we're partners," Mordecai grinned. "And we're on an alien planet. It's not like I'm just gonna run off on you. Besides, even if I tried you always seem to know where I am anyway."
Sitting near the back was a quiet, dark skinned man with a vivid skull tattoo on his arm. His eyes were focused on the floor of the bus as he gripped his combat rifle out of habit. Unintentionally his mind had already taken in all of the details of the bus as well as the four other people on it with him. He already knew the three best ways of escaping the bus in case of an unfavorable altercation.
"Once a soldier, eh Roland?" he mumbled to himself.
Standing in the very back of the bus with two massive hands gripping the luggage railing was a juggernaut of a man. Scars stood out on his face and body in contrast with his short shaved hair style. Brick cracked his neck as he rolled his grip over the metal bars, a clanking sound emanating from them every time the bolts in his gloves' knuckles hit them.
"Next stop: Fyrestone Depot. Time to gather up your stuff!" Kinkaid called. "Who's gettin' off the bus?"
Suddenly, a dark haired woman with piercing blue eyes appeared. It did not look as though anyone else could see her though.
Don't be alarmed. I need you to stay calm and not let on that anyone is talking to you. Start making your way off the bus. You don't have any reason to trust me, but I need you to believe that I'm here to guide you. I'm here to help you find the Vault. In a moment you'll be greeted by a funny little robot. He'll show you where you need to go. I'll contact you again soon.
Roland rose silently from his seat and grabbed the duffel bag he had set on the luggage rack. Without so much as a word he made his way to the front of the bus as it pulled up to the depot. The brakes hissed as the bus came to a full stop and the creaky doors swung open as Jacob's pulled the lever.
"We're here," Kinkaid chuckled. "Don't worry about saying goodbye. That looks like Crimson Lance armor you got pieced on there."
"What of it?" Roland asked.
"Get off my bus."
Roland did just that, without looking back for an instant. He was fully aware how disliked the Crimson Lance were by the people.
"Let's do this again real soon!" Jacob's voice came. "Maybe you can bake as all a lovely cake next time, sweet cheeks!"
Lilith whirled around almost too fast for Mordecai to stop her from drawing her gun.
"Moving on," he said quickly. "Not a good idea to kill the only merchant we're gonna be able to use for weapons on the whole damn planet, Lil."
"He touches my ass like that again and I'm going to ventilate his brain," she growled.
"What are we doin' anyway?" Mordecai asked, clearly annoyed. "I thought we agreed we'd be getting off at New Haven. Remember the plan? Get off at the bigger place with more population and better chance at finding a lead. Ring any bells? It was your plan!"
"I know what I said. It's this guy though."
"Please tell me we didn't get off the bus because you think soldier boy over there is hot."
"No dumbass!" Lilith glared. "Look at him. He looks like he's on a mission, totally focused. It's like he knows something."
"You think he's already got a lead?" Mordecai asked, taking a closer look at the soldier who had already crossed the street.
"I don't know, but it's worth looking into."
A small yellow box with two arms and a single green light in the center of it called out a farewell to the bus as it pulled away. Not a very pleasant one either. Lilith and Mordecai were both a little surprised when it rolled right up to them on its single wheel.
"Welcome to Fyrestone! I am CL4P-TP; you may call me by my locally designated name, Claptrap. Before continuing, please accept this ECHO communications device and heads-up display provided free of charge the Dahl Corporation."
"Sweet," Mordecai said as he activated his. Almost immediately a compass loaded at the top of his vision as well as an icon indicating the location of Lilith's ECHO communicator. "Great. Now I know I'll never be able to get away from you."
"Good thing too," Lilith smirked. She grabbed another ECHO communicator from Claptrap and called after the soldier. "Hey! This thing's got free equipment!"
"I'm covered," he replied with his arms crossed.
"Friendly guy," Mordecai commented. "Looks like the big guy didn't get off."
"Did you want him to?" Lilith asked.
"Not so much. I kept getting the impression he was gonna try to rip my head off and eat it."
"Great! I detect that your ECHO devices are fully functioning! Please allow me to guide you to Fyrestone Depot's residential area," Claptrap said. "Right this way please!"
The odd little yellow box turned around on its wheel and rolled its way over the rubble passed what the three travelers could only assume used to be some sort of gas station. It lead them to a locked gate where it began to type on a small console. Just as it seemed to be making a little progress the sound of revving engines came from the other side of the large mounds of rock and stone behind them.
"Wait . . . is that?" Claptrap said as it side panels raised. "Oh no not again! Run!"
Claptrap burned rubber into a small compartment at the side of the gate while Roland backed up to the stone wall and raised his weapon. Following the soldier's lead Mordecai and Lilith did the same. Not a moment too soon either. Five large, open vehicles vaulted over their heads, easily clearing the gate before they began to spiral around firing bullets where ever they pleased. One of the men managed to puncture a tank not too far inside the gate causing a sizeable explosion. Lilith covered her ears as the blast pressured her against the hard stone she was backed against. As quickly as it had begun, the incident was over.
"Are . . . are they gone?" Claptrap asked as it poked itself out from its hidey hole.
"Real brave of you to stand up to them like that," Mordecai chuckled with a grin.
"Those bandits really have it in for us Claptraps," it said defensively as it returned to the gate console. "Using us for target practice is not part of our programming." It raised its arms and motioned towards the gate. "And open!" The gate slowly began to rise. "Yes!"
"A little dramatic, isn't he?" Lilith smiled.
In its excitement Claptrap drove forward a little too quickly and crashed itself into the gate before it finished opening.
"Ow!"
"And none too bright either," Mordecai laughed.
As the three followed Claptrap's lead onto the road it suddenly panicked and drove itself up against a wall. It did not take long to figure out why. Bandits were now patrolling the road and they did not look happy to see the three travellers heading their way.
"Light 'em up!" Mordecai said as he raised his sniper rifle. One shot, one kill. That was his motto.
Lilith seemed to be one step ahead of him as she began firing away with the submachine gun that just a moment ago was strapped to her back. Three bandits were already lying dead on the ground before Roland decided he would get involved. He brought his combat rifle's sight up to his eye and took out the remaining two.
"I'll admit I'm a little impressed," he said. "Didn't expect much from you two the way you were acting on the bus."
"We're full of surprises," Lilith said with a wicked smile.
"I'll bet," Roland replied.
"Call me Lilith," she said. "This dominatrix wannabe is Mordecai."
"I thought I told you to stop callin' me that," Mordecai said indignantly.
"Roland," the man said. "Keep your eyes open if you wanna survive on this world."
The three began to follow the road and the now emboldened Claptrap until they lead to another locked gate, this one being pounded on by more bandits who were screaming at someone to send their woman out.
"You really don't want me to come back with Nine-Toes! Open the door!"
A shot rang out and the man fell over with blood pouring from his head. The other bandits turned their attention behind them where they saw the three armed newcomers.
"Ouch," Mordecai said as he lowered his rifle. "That looks like it hurt."
Roland made quick work of the other remaining bandits before Claptrap rolled over to the gate console. It pounded on the controls a few times and muttered some curses.
"This isn't working!" it growled in frustration. "This way!"
Claptrap rolled towards the side of the gate and pushed open a little doggy door. Or rather a Claptrap door in this case. The three stared at it for a moment before looking at each other.
"Ladies first," Mordecai said.
Lilith squatted down before she started to crawl through. About halfway passed the gate she kicked one of her legs back and caught Mordecai right above his eye.
"Ow! Dammit woman, that hurt!"
"Next time you'll go first rather than getting a cheap thrill looking at my ass, won't you?"
She laughed quietly to herself as she heard him grumbling behind her. After they made it around the gate they were greeted by a few more bandits along the path. All of them were quick and easy work. It was not until they actually made it into the residential area that the bandits were any more than annoying pests. The open area was a bit more exposed and unfortunately there were more than just a handful of bandits to keep an eye on.
"Bring it on!" Roland yelled as he gunned down another target. He ducked behind the cover of a house as bullets ricocheted off the mailbox. Lilith allowed herself a short break as she reloaded next to Mordecai who was carefully picking his shots from behind what looked like a counter in front of the neighboring building.
"You know, these guys a pretty dim," he said nonchalantly as he took out another bandit. "Anybody in their right mind would be staying behind cover. Well, that or at least actually aiming their gun before trying to shoot someone from so far away."
"You ain't gonna find that many people in their right mind here on Pandora," Roland said.
The gunfire came to a halt as Mordecai took out the last bandit. They all took a quick look around to see if any others were just hiding out, but could not see any targets.
"Clear," Roland said to himself as he stood up. He walked into the center of the small settlement with Lilith and Mordecai following behind him.
"This place is a depot?" Mordecai asked. "It looks like a garbage pile with huts in it."
"Pretty much like your place back on Earth." Lilith said. "You should feel right at home."
"Strip the flesh! Soak the wound!"
The exclamation caught Lilith off guard. She barely had time to turn around before she saw the large blade bearing down on her. She closed her eyes and raised her arms instinctively in what she knew would be a vain attempt to stop the assault, but it never came. She opened her eyes slowly to find a man in a white mask with both arms raised over his head in the grip of one enormous hand and his feet dangling above the ground. Mordecai and Roland looked just as shocked as her at the sight of the behemoth of a man they had thought stayed on the bus.
"Now that ain't very nice," he said. The large man turned the dangling psycho around and smiled a toothy grin. "About time you learned some manners."
One sickening thud later Lilith's assailant was lying dead on the ground with a crushed skull and a snapped neck. The three stared at the new arrival in surprise as he cracked his knuckles.
"You okay, Lil?" Mordecai asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "Thanks to you, big man."
"Saw the cars and heard the gunshots," the man explained. "Sounded like you guys were havin' some fun. Figured I'd join in."
"One helluva way to make an entrance," Mordecai said.
"Any other left over garbage?" Roland called out as he started walking around the open area of the depot. When there was no answer or movement he turned his attention to Claptrap. "Then maybe you can get your wheel in gear and find me someone who can answer my questions."
Excellent! I knew you were the right choice, friend. I'll contact you again soon.
A/N: Welcome to Pandora. Just to let you know, I'll be omitting a number of the side missions to cut down on the length of the story.