Four Hyperion guards were sitting on the stairs that led to the Fast Travel Station. They each held a hand of 5 cards. Guard duty at the Fast Travel Station was the dullest duty on the Hyperion Moon Base. With the exception of the Jacobs Corps CEO Kali, no one visited the station. As one of the guards drew his next card, a flash of light burst forth from the Fast Travel Station. The guards looked up simultaneously. Two women, a man in black, a huge psycho and a robot were on the platform. Krieg swung his buzz axe at the nearest seated guard. The buzz blade cut through his chest. The three remaining guards fell backwards, tumbling down the steps.
Krieg leapt in the air and buried his axe into the skull of another guard as they scrambled to their feet. Ripping the blade out with a howling laughter, Krieg twisted his waist and swung the axe into the third guard. The last last guard fell back onto his rear and raised his arm to protect himself. The axe swooped down toward his head when Agent 71's hand grabbed the handle.
Krieg looked at Agent 71. "Cry Havok! And let slip the dogs of war!"
"We need answers big guy." Agent said looking at the terrified guard. "Where's Kali?"
The guard kept his arm over his face in a defensive position and shook his head. "I'm not sure. The last I heard was she was headed to the Forward Control Room."
"Show me." Agent 71 said.
The guard quickly punched up a display on his ECHO. A mini-map of the station appeared. A dot showed their location and a triangle appeared to mark the destination."
"Now, where's the Moon Base Shield Control Room?" Maya added.
Agent 71 looked over at Maya.
"We need that power cell. Remember?" Maya said, responding to his unasked question.
Agent 71 nodded. "Right. You heard the lady. Show us!"
The guard's trembling fingers pulled up a second map route and showed it to Maya.
"Is that all you need?" Agent 71 asked Maya. She nodded. Agent 71 let go of the axe. He patted Krieg's shoulder.
"Okay big guy, now you can kill him!" Agent 71 said as he headed for the door. He could hear the guard's scream silenced with a wet crunch from Krieg's buzz axe.
Agent 71 exited the transport room and turned left following the guard's directions to the Forward Control Room. Agent 71 heard footsteps behind him and the hum of a repulse generator.
"Gee. What do you think you are doing?" Agent 71 said without bothering to turn around.
"Going with you." Gaige replied as she moved along side of him.
Agent 71 turned his head to his left and looked down at Gaige. "This is between me and Kali."
"Wrong Daruis! Your employer's ambush could've totaled Deathtrap. She is so going down!"
Agent 71 let his attention slip from talking to Gaige and he failed to see the pair of guards turn toward them from an adjacent hallway.
"Intruders!" the guards yelled as they raised their rifles.
Agent 71's lapse of focus would have normally cost him his life. However, Deathtrap's reflexes prevented that. Deathtrap enveloped Gaige and Agent 71 into his shield. The boost to Agent 71's shield strength deflected the shots. Deathtrap's red eye then fired a heat beam at the guards.
The guards burst into flames. They frantically tried to beat out the flames as they screamed "Oh god! I'm on fire!"
As the charred bodies of the guards fell to the ground, Agent 71 looked at Deathtrap and then at Gaige.
"Third Place in the Science Fair? Really?"
"Yep. No thanks to that rotten Marcie!"
"If I ever get back home to Eden - 5, I have a bullet with a talent judge's name on it!" Agent 71 said before they continued down the corridor.
Agent 71, Gaige and Deathtrap soon reached the door leading to the Forward Control Room. The three of them activated the door control and stepped inside. The Hyperion crewman saw the three of them entering the room. Like roaches when the lights are turned on, the crewman scurried to find cover or an exit. Only Kali had not moved from her spot near the center of the room. Her right hand clutched the Infinity pistol.
"I've delivered the Jack-Slayer as promised." Agent 71 said, gesturing toward Gaige and Deathtrap.
"So I see." Kali said with a smile. She tapped the Infinity pistol against her thigh.
"Lady, you are in so much trouble!" Gaige said to Kali.
"Oh no my dear" Kali corrected Gaige. "I'm afraid it is the three of you who are in trouble."
Agent 71 could see glowing blue patterns emanating through Kali's left sleeve and collar.
"Phase-Split!" Kali shouted.
With a violet flash, two glowing apparitions of Kali appeared. There was a blue one to Kali's left and a green one to her right. Both apparitions held a specter version of the Infinity pistol. The three Kali's raised their guns in unison and fired. The three vault hunters scattered for cover. Agent 71 sprinted to his right and dove behind a nearby console. He waited for a pause in the firing but none came. A few inches from his face he saw the metal of the console begin to melt. A green bolt came from the hole and struck the wall behind him. The metal wall sizzled and began to corrode as the green bullet made contact.
More holes began to emerge in the console. Agent 71 pressed against the floor to keep from getting hit. Knowing it was high risk, he took a gamble. He peered into one of the corrosion holes to peer out into the room. Agent 71 could only see the pair of apparitions. Kali was gone! Then he saw the Kali dopplegangers become enveloped in another violet flash. When the the flash dissolved, the apparitions had vanished.
Agent 71 got up and headed for the only exit at the far end of the room. Since he was too near the door they came in, it was the only door Kali could have gone through! He ran through the door clutching his Little Evie pistol. Once out of the room, Agent 71 could see a four-way intersection in front of him. He shook his head in dismay. He knew he'd lost her.
"Darius come on! We have to leave!" Gaige said coming up behind him.
With a reluctant nod Agent 71 agreed, knowing this was not over between Kali an him. Gaige, Deathtrap and Agent 71 headed toward the Fast Travel Station Room. From another corridor, they were soon joined by Maya and Krieg. Maya was clutching a power cell under her right arm. When they reached the room Agent 71 covered the door. He fired at approaching guards as they entered the corridor.
Gaige ran up the steps to the Fast Travel Station transport controls and inputed a destination link.
"Darius, let's go!" Gaige said.
Agent 71 fired a few more shots that made the Hyperion guards duck back out of the corridor. Then he dashed from the door up to the platform to join the rest of the Vault Hunters. There was a blinding white flash. When his eyes cleared, they were once more at Lynchwood Fast Travel Station.
Maya pressed her ECHO and sent an encrypted transmission into Agent 71's ECHO communicator. "Thanks for the help. Here, take this."
"What is it?" Agent 71 asked.
"It's an transponder link to Sanctuary. I'd say you earned a place in the Crimson Raiders today." Maya said.
Agent 71 waved off the suggestion.
"Thanks but I'm not interested in joining your little rag tag group. I didn't do this for Pandora or the Crimson Raiders. I did it because nobody tries to hurt my baby sister on my watch." He said, gesturing to Gaige with his thumb.
"Darius! I'm not a baby anymore! I'm an adult!" Gaige said placing her hands on her hips.
Agent 71 walked over to Gaige and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. "You'll always be my baby sister Gee." Agent 71 said, then he turned around and activated cloaking device as he walked away.
"Oh my god! He makes me so mad sometimes!" Gaige said before letting out a sigh."Come on you guys, We've got to get that cell back to Sanctuary."
Agent 71 stood on the ledge of a cliff face looking out at the barren desert. He was stuck here in the borderlands of Pandora. His ship was gone and he burned his bridges with both the Jacobs Corporation and Hyperion. Still, there were other companies on Pandora. Maybe one of them could use a their own corporate funded 'Vault Hunter'?
There was a sound from his ECHO communicator signalling an incoming call. Agent 71 activated the ECHO. A muscular man with a red bandanna and rocker shades filled his screen. It was Mr. Torgue, founder of the Torgue Corporation.
Hey Badass! I caught the tumble you had with those JACOBS cronies at Lynchwood! That was freaking Awesome! Do you like EXPLOSIONS?! What about getting loot, killing and wrestling sharks in a bolo tie? Questions!
Agent 71 smiled under his mask. "What's the job?"