Chapter 13

"Kurtis huh?" Axton said rubbing his chin "I knew I recognized you from the wanted poster."

"There's a wanted poster of me?" Kurt said looking confused, which cause Salvador to walk towards him,

"Yeah, here's a copy, this shit is spread all over the damn place," Sal said handing him a copy of the poster. Kurt began to scan his eyes across the poster, shifting his eyes downward to read all of the reasons.

"Oh bullshit!" Kurtis scoffed "Jack pulled most of these from his egotistical ass!"

"We figured," Gaige said "Hey do you guys mind? I promised my dad I would do a video call with them when I touched down on Pandora."

"Wait...What's your father's name?" Kurt asked walking over to Gaige. Gaige had a weird look on her face and replied

"Uhhhh... Tom...Tom Connors..." She said confused. Kurt's eyes widened and he had a happy look on his face.

"Whoa...I uhhh... Go ahead and make that call...I just want to say hi..." Kurt said to Gaige

"Alright," Gaige said pulling up the video call feature on her PDA and pressed call. "You know him?"

"Yeah...Kinda.." Kurt said.

"Hello? Gaige?" The device said as her father's face became clearer on the screen

"Hi Daddy!" Gaige said with a smile on her face .

"Well hi there Gaige! hows Pandora treating you?" Her father asked curioisly.

"Oh, It's not too bad," Gaige said twisting her wrists around to show the 'meh' disposition of the planet "I've made friends real fast and Death Trap proved to be and able companion!"

"Great to know!" Her father said to her.

"Oh yeah..." Gaige said remembering what Kurt told her, "This guy I met wants to say hello to you..." turning the camera over to face Kurt's direction.

"Hey Doc..." Kurt said waving at the camera, causing Gaige's father gawk at him for a moment before saying in complete disbelief.

"Wha? That's not who I think it is!? Kurtis Thatcher?!"

"That's DOCTOR Thatcher, Mr. Connors" Kurtis said correcting her father while looking at the screen,

"And that's Doctor Connors to you!" her father said correcting him in return "The last time I saw you is when I taught you! Was that like what? 4 years ago? You must've been at least 18 or something..."

"Correct," Kurt said

"Well, it's great to see you're in good health Dr. Thatcher...oh...What happened to your arms?" Gaige's father said shifting his vision towards his cybernetic arms.

"It's uhhhh...It's a long story, Doc" Kurt said scratching his head.

"Well alright then, I better get going. Kurt? Can I ask you a favor?" Her father asked

"Uhh, sure..What is it?" Kurt asked

"Just...Make sure my little girl doesn't get hurt.." Gaige's father said looking slightly concerned "I know how harsh life on Pandora is and well.."

"It's alright...I'll do that for you.." Kurt said holding his hand up, he didn't want Gaige's father to get all emotional over a communication between them.

"Thanks Kurt, I know I can count on you...And Gaige?" Her father said looking at her

"Yeah dad?' Gaige asked, her father paused for a minute then said to her

"Take care of yourself too hon...I'll miss you."

"I will dad.. I'll miss you too," Gaige said more sincere.

"Well, bye Gaige! I love you!" Her father said

"Love a too dad! Bye" Gaige said pressing the end call on her device.

"Well..." Kurt said taking a long breath "That was weird..."

"But totally awesome at the same time!" Gaige said jumping up from the chair she sat on "How long have you known my dad?" She then asked walking over to Kurt.

"Uhh...bout 10 years...My father and him were good friends." Kurt responded

"Wow...That's so...wicked..." Gaige said looking at Kurt dead in his blue-green eyes.

"Well, since you're here," Maya said walking up to him "You might as well tell us who you are"

"I guess I can tell you guys." Kurt said scratching his head. "Pull up a chair, this might take a while,"

'Great' Axton thought 'A hike through a complex of giant robots, dozens of foot soldiers, and now story time...'

"Well," Kurtis began "I am the heir to a long line of a company called 'Thatcher industries', started by my Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Olson Thatcher. Originally, they only produced medical equipment for local hospitals, then his son, Samuel Thatcher stepped in to take the bloodline, expanding the business so that they covered more equipment and started making advancements in prosthetics, making them almost seem human-like. Then his son, Howard Thatcher, decided that they shouldn't just rely on medical equipment and prosthetics to provide their source of income, so they started to create armaments for the military groups. We went on to produce the best damned armaments in the far reaches of the galaxy. Malcolm Thatcher, which was my grandfather, believed that they should have made new types of weaponry, and start our own privatized military group, but not just and normal marines, super soldiers. He labeled it Project TITAN, to produce the greatest foot soldiers ever made. He liked to call them 'disposable heroes' due to their superhuman capabilities. I've seen photos of some of the companies...I've never seen anything like them...They must've been close to 10 feet My father, Albert Thatcher, decided to have bioorganic studies, trying to dip the companies fingers in the honey jar that was known as science. As for me...Welp..I've got nothing really."

"Wow..." Axton said "You got a good memory don't you?"

"Yeah.." Kurt said rubbing the back of his neck "Well, I hope that wasn't too boring for you guys.."

"No no..It's fine" Gaige said "To be honest, I was mad that you stopped"

Kurt looked at Gaige then let out a small laugher "Well alright then...Didn't see that coming."

"Listen, I want to join the Raiders, I need to make sure the person who shit all over my life gets a mouthful himself," Kurt said in a more serious tone of voice.

"Yeah well get in line, bub," Axton said crossing his arms "I gotta score to settle with Jack..." Kurt was silent of a moment, remembering who Axton really was, then silently concurring with his statement.

"So can I join?" Kurt asked Axton.

"Sure..Why the hell not?" Axton said shrugging his shoulders, "But first you gotta pass the test.." He then said letting off a smirk.

"Oh God.." Maya said face-palming herself at the idea.

"Come on, we gotta pay a visit to Moxxi's" Axton said standing up.

"Who's Moxxi?" Kurt asked

"You'll figure out," Axton said walking out of the HQ, to have Kurt follow him out of the door.

Gaige looked at the door for a few seconds and let out a sigh. First day on Pandora, and it was this good already.

Moxxi's bar, home of the loudest music , cold beer, and lukewarm pizza. The only source of entertainment on Sanctuary. It was where people could relax, play darts, win the lottery, get drunk as hell, and try to come on to Moxxi (Which she would always deny). Axton and Kurt took a seat on the bar stool and waited for Moxxi's return from the back or the bar.

"So where is 'Moxxi'?" Kurt asked Axton, trying to talk over the loud techno music, who was sitting to the left of him.

"She'll come soon," Axton said smirking.

"Hey Axton!" Moxxi said walking out of the back room.

'Jesus' Kurt thought looking downwards at Moxxi 'Those Real?'

"Hey Handsome..." Moxxi said looking at Kurtis, mostly paying attention to his eyes. "What's your name?"

Kurt snapped out his trance and said "K-Kurtis,"

"Kurtis?" A man with a English tone said over Kurt's shoulders, which caused him to shift his attention over to his right, to see a dark skinned man, with a gentleman -like mustache and clothes to match it. "As in 'Kurtis Thatcher?'" He said walking up to him.

"Yeah..." Kurt said "And you are?"

"Oh! Where are my manners when I need them at utmost importance? I am Sir Hammerlock," Hammerlock said giving off a salute,

"Well, nice to meet you Sir Hammerlock," Kurt said

"I've read you father's book several times over. I'll have to say, his way of thinking was truly ingenious and clever." Hammerlock said holding out Kurt's father's book.

"Yeah...," Kurt said "My dad had a way of thinking...he was always...Well... out there..It's glad to see that some people take an interest in reading on this planet."

"Well, somebody must keep the tradition alive, correct?" Hammerlock stated giving off a small laugh. "I must be off, fare thee well, Dr. Thatcher, I hope to read a book that you published one day!" He then said extending out his hand

"Well thanks Sir Hammerlock," Kurt said extending his arm and shaking Hammerlock's prosthetic arm "Ah.. A Thatcher Industries prosthetic I see..." he said looking at the arm.

"Well of course! I only use the best of the best, and by Jove, Thatcher Industries is the best!" Hammerlock said walking out of the bar.

Kurt then shifted his attention back to Moxxi.

"So you're a doctor?" Moxxi asked putting her elbows on the table and resting her head on her hands.

"Yeah...Technically.." Kurt said.

"So how's Sanctuary been treating you?" Moxxi said.

"Well, it's a very fine titty...I mean city.." Kurt stuttered out mentally slapping himself

'Jesus, keep it together Kurt...'. He thought to himself

Moxxi then chuckled then asked them both "So drinks for you guys? Is he joining the raiders?"

"Yup," Axton said to Moxxi "We need an initiation mug,"

"Yeah it would be in our breast...best intentions to keep this visit at a minimum," Kurt said mentally punching himself for letting that slip out once again.

'Fucking Kurt, what the hell's your problem?' he thought to himself

Moxxi then laughed and brought out a giant mug, Kurt reckoned that the thing must've been at least a liter in size. He then looked at it and said.

"Hey Axton, It's kinda strange to do this on my own. You should have a drink too." Kurt said looking at Axton, which cause him to shrug his shoulders and say,

"Eh, what the hell? Can you get me one too Moxx?" he asked Moxxi, which she was glad to oblige.

After some time of filling the mugs up to the brim with a combination Ale and whiskey, she slid the drinks to the both of them.

"Well, here ya go! Enjoy!" Moxxi said standing back.

"Alright," Axton said picking up the mug and holding it to Kurt's general direction "To the Raiders!"

Kurt picked up his mug and said "Yeah...To the Raiders!" He clanged his mug with Axton's, then the two began to chug.

They were at equal drinking levels, chugging at the same speed, which caused everybody in the bar to look at them to see if they really going to finish it. They both finished at the same exact time and slamming their mugs face down on the table. Both of them were coughing and gagging, it was a reasonable amount of alcohol.

"Jesus!" Kurt said "Just like college!"

"Welcome to the Crimson Raiders, Kurt!" Axton said patting his back.

"Sheesh that was really fun. Hey Moxxi, you think we can get another one?" Kurt said putting a wad of cash on the table.

"Sure thing, sug," She said pouring them another mug each.

Maya was reading a book back at the HQ explaining the laws of Physics, which was ironically written by Malcolm Thatcher, Kurtis' grandfather.

'Axton was right' Maya thought to herself 'There is something about him..'

"Hey...When do you think they'll come back?" Gaige asked Maya. Gaige was lying on her bed, tossing a ball she found into the air and catching it again out of sheer boredom.

"They should be coming soon," Maya said still reading the book.

Lo and behold, the door flung open to reveal a (very) drunk Axton and Kurt stumble into the HQ laughing aimlessly at absolutely nothing.

"Oh man!" Kurt said " can't remember the last time I was this dunk..."

"Me either..." Axton said. He usually could keep his alcohol in check, but he reckoned he must of drank at least two more initiation mugs. It was a good thing Kurt had a lot of money on him, otherwise they would have to pay Moxii, in well...other ways...

"Hey...There's my favorite Siren!" Axton said stumbling closer to her "Enjoyin that book?"

"Quite," Maya said smirking at him. She had to admit, Axton was hilarious when he was piss drunk, was this what she was like when she was stoned?

"Well, I'm gon go ta bud...bed, good...noght Maya," Axton said kissing her cheek before making his way upstairs.

Kurt looked at Maya and said rubbing his neck "Eh...Uhhhh. Serry I got Axton drunk as hell, I uhhh.."

"It's fine." Maya said holding her hand up "He's actually pretty funny when he's like that,"

"Yeah..you should' herd him in Moxxi's didn't stop talking bout yous nonstop," He said supporting himself on the table.

"Really?" Maya said blushing slightly,

"yeeeh," Kurt said sluggishly "'E said that he's finnly fund a way to put his past b'hind him...or sumthin...can't remember.."

Maya laughed a bit at this, he was glad that Axton finally opened up on somebody, and told him how he felt, about her...

"Well, Imma go sleep ouside 'r sumthin," Kurt said beginning to stumble outside

"No way!" Gaige said walking up to him and grabbing his shoulder "You can sleep in here right?" She said looking at Maya.

Maya shrugged her shoulders "Well, he IS a raider now." She said "Mordecai isn't here so I guess you can sleep on the couch,"

"Oh good!" Kurt said back at her "Well, Imma go to couch now. G'night Maya and g'night Gaige"

"Goodnight, Kurt!" Gaige said looking at Kurt as he made his way up the stairs

"And Gaige? I make a promis to you father...I 'ntend to keep it!" He said then finally walking upstairs.

'Man...what a cool guy.." Gaige thought to herself 'Gotta get drunk with him..."

'You make me proud, son...This is beyond cruelty!...FINISH IT THATCHER!'

Kurt shot up from his sleep from the nightmare he was having. It didn't take long for his buzz to wear off, mostly due to his prosthetics not having to have blood pumping to those parts of the body anymore. He sat up and rubbed his temples, looking around making sure he didn't wake anybody, letting out a sigh seeing that he didn't. He then stood up, and went over to the deck and looked at the night sky.

'What are you gonna do now Kurt?' He said to himself

'Kill Jack...that's what you do...' Another voice said in his head.

'But to be honest, Axton should be the one to do it...' He then thought

'Screw Axton! He had the chance! Now do what he couldn't! Trust nobody!" The voice then said.

Gaige was rolling around in her bed, trying to get some sleep. She tried numerous times closing her eyes to maybe trick them into falling asleep, but it wasn't helping. Maybe it was jet lag that was causing her to not sleep, or the fact that she was on Pandora, one of the most despised planets for it's overall appearance and lawlessness. She heard a loud pant from upstairs and reckoned that it was Kurt who said that. She slowly sat up from her bed and tip-toed upstairs, making sure she wouldn't wake up Maya in the process. When she got upstairs, she found Kurt standing out by the deck just looking at the night sky.

"Are you alright?" Gaige asked Kurt, which prompted him to spin around and find her standing behind him.

"Yeah, I'm fine...did I wake you up?" Kurt asked worried.

"No no, I was up the whole time, can't get any sleep..." She said.

"Hmmmmm. Something that you'll have to get used to I guess..." Kurt said looking back at the sky.

Gaige walked out to the balcony to see the night sky the same way Kurt did, glistening with stars and neighboring planets, along with the giant 'H' that circumnavigated the planet with its ever present eye.

"Say...What's the reason for that?" Gaige said pointing at his arms.

"Well," Kurt said looking at his cybernetic arms "Like I said to your dad, it's a long story."

"I'm here, I'm all ears, think of it as a bedtime story or something..." Gaige said, eager to know about Kurt's past.

Kurtis looked around and looked back at Gaige and sighed.

"Alright.." Kurt said "Get comfortable..this'll take a while to explain..."

AN: Hey guys!

So as you probably guessed, I'll be updating this fanfic once every 2-4 days or so. Thanks for the positive feedback about Kurt (I thought adding an OC would be a catastrophe, but it seems to be working with everybody so that's fine I guess). Spread the word and please review! You reviews and favs are much appreciated!

Thanks!

-LT