FILE 2:

GAIGE'S ECHO LOG TRANSCRIPT: RICKY AND ANGEL EDITION

GAIGE: Greetings, faithful subscribers! Today's a special day. It's the day you've been waiting for, that you've been demanding. The latest in my Crimson Raiders profiles series. Yesterday, we did the profile with Maya. Got more than a few negative comments from Athenas, all from former members of the Order of the Impending Storm…anyway, that's not what we're here for today! I've got two very special guests. You've heard about them, and even from them a couple of times, but it's time to have them speak in their own words. Now, guys, if you don't mind introducing yourselves…

SNYDER: Umm…two questions, Gaige. One, can I swear with impunity?

GAIGE: Yep. It's got an advisory.

SNYDER: Okay. Two, did you talk to Blake?

GAIGE: Yeah. He's cool with it. Besides, he reckons this would be a good opportunity for the ECHOnet to get to know two of the key people in the fight against Jack.

SNYDER: (sarcastically) Oh, marvellous. Is this like painting a bullseye on my groin and saying 'please kick here'?

ANGEL: Ricky, it's not like that.

GAIGE: Anyway, if you wouldn't mind introducing yourselves?

SNYDER: (resigned sigh) Very well. Hello, people of the ECHOnet. I'm Doctor Richard Snyder, biologist, sufferer from the Sci-Zone, and killer of Handsome Jack.

ANGEL: That was well done, Ricky. Anyway, I'm Angel Clarke, though many of you might know me as the Guardian Angel. That's right, I'm not an AI. I am a Siren, and Handsome Jack's daughter. It's a very long story. I'm also Ricky's wife now.

GAIGE: Okay, well, let's start with you, Doc. The Sci-Zone isn't that well-known a condition, so could you please elaborate?

SNYDER: (resigned sigh) Fine. Okay, well, the Sci-Zone is an acronym for Super-Cognitive Interpretation Zone. Of course, it has a shitload of nicknames, but the most appropriate one is the Spark. That came from an old comic series called Girl Genius, about mad scientists who, when their gift went into overdrive, they sort of got loud and hammy, tended to overlook morality, that sort of thing. Long story short, when it triggers, I sort of become a mad scientist temporarily. I begin yelling about things being 'for science'. A few people have gotten sick of it, really. It's pretty scary for me, but it was useful when fighting the various lunatics of Pandora: I can target weaknesses pretty easily when in the Sci-Zone.

GAIGE: Okay, and that ties into my next question: how did you two meet?

SNYDER: It was on Elpis, at some medical specialist, can't remember the name of it now. I was only six years old. Anyway, I meet this cute girl with tattoos. I was curious, as I thought tattoos would have been on older people, but she told me that they weren't. It sort of sparked off a deep interest in Sirens. We became friends, even though my condition tended to alienate other people. And then…

ANGEL: And then, Dad happened. I had trouble controlling my abilities, that was true enough. I'd scared my parents more than once when they got out of control, and I once accidentally shut off life-support to half of Concordia. But Dad wanted to exploit my abilities, and forced me into a control system. At first, he made out that I had accidentally killed my mother, but my mother was actually still alive, and was trying to get me out of there. Jack took control of me, and forced me to commit matricide using a Loader.

GAIGE: …Shit. Well, we all knew Handsome Jack was a douche, but to start so early…

ANGEL: I watched him over the years. There was still, debatably, a good man beneath it, but his evil started early. The Elpis incident was the turning point, but you also have to realise he was responsible, in part, for the first Vault incident.

GAIGE: Yeah, the Vault of the Destroyer, filled with, and I'm quoting Marcus' popular turn of phrase here, 'tentacles and disappointment'. So, half of the ECHOnet, really. So, why did you help Jack manipulate the Vault Hunters, the first ones?

ANGEL: Well, I was already fixed with a control collar. Jack wanted a few things. First, he wanted to harness some part of the Destroyer itself. It's not well-known, but once, Helios' top weapon was actually the Destroyer's eye, albeit modified. Secondly, he wanted the Eridium within, as the Vault's opening caused Eridium seams to open up around Pandora. Thirdly, he knew that Atlas would get decimated trying to deal with the Vault. Finally, he wanted to get the Vault Key together.

GAIGE: But he was just a programmer at the time.

ANGEL: He also had big ambitions, and he was also in charge of satellite surveillance for Hyperion. Of course, Tassiter, his predecessor as President of Hyperion, wasn't much better. Tassiter was an arrogant prick who didn't give a damn about his workers.

SNYDER: Ugh, don't remind me. Tassiter came round to taunt me a few times after I emerged from the Sci-Zone, saying that nobody else but Hyperion would dare hire a monster like me. Of course, Jack used the same line. Pricks.

ANGEL: Anyway, Jack had me manipulate the Vault Hunters covertly, as part of his hunch involving the Vault. He had some better sources than Tannis about what the Vault contained. Where he got that information, even I don't know. He was good with information control. I'd come to view Roland, Lilith, Mordecai and Brick as friends during that whole saga, and it pained me to have to lie to them. It was even worse when Jack had me betray them at New Haven, when he sent Wilhelm in to kill them.

SNYDER: God, Wilhelm was a piece of work. I mean, I only knew him for a year or two before he died, but he was one of those people that stay with you in your nightmares. Even before he went overboard with his cybernetics and became a human Loader, he was fucking scary, and the only person who could stop me in the Sci-Zone. There was one funny thing about him, though: those two drones he used to have, with those gung-ho voices. Wolf and Saint, I think he called them.

GAIGE: Well, Doc, did you know any of the other Elpis Vault Hunters?

SNYDER: I never met Lady Hammerlock. The others I did meet. Claptrap I only met during this whole mess with Jack sending me to die, and I only met Athena briefly when Jack took her on a tour of Hyperion facilities. But Timothy Lawrence, aka Jack's double, I actually knew at university. Poor bastard got turned into Jack to pay off his student loans. Thankfully, he has an understanding woman now. Nisha Kadam, aka the late Sheriff of Lynchwood, I met a few times. She was a scary bloody woman. She got off on violence. (shudders)

GAIGE: Well, we know how well that turned out. And my faithful subscribers can look back on my previous ECHO logs to learn about how Doc and Angel got together. Anyway, some guy wanted me to go the 'Kakashi Hatake(1)' route of asking you guys about things. You know, name, age, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams. So, Doc, you wanna go first?

SNYDER: Yeah, sure, why not? I already gave my name. I'm 24, I like retro music, games, and TV and reading, along with Sirens. Hell, I'm married to one. Dislikes, well, it's a long list, but Jack topped the list. Getting shot at and bastards of various kinds top the list now. My hobbies are reading and doing scientific research, as well as hanging out with, well, I guess you could call the Vault Hunters my friends now. Dreams? Well, one of them's already been fulfilled: I'm with Angel now. I guess my biggest dream now is to learn as much as I can about Sirens.

GAIGE: Okay, your turn, Angel.

ANGEL: Okay. I'm 24 years old. Likes? hesitates Well, funnily enough, I like Claptrap robots, believe it or not.

SNYDER: (incredulously) What?

ANGEL: There's something endearing about them. Okay, they're a little annoying, but…anyway, I also like Bunkers and Badasses, computer programming, and walks in the sun. It's been only a short while since I could do that again. Dislikes? Well, like Ricky said, Dad topped the list until he was killed. I really hate being helpless and being controlled. Oh, and not knowing things. So Zer0's a bit of a pain in that regard. Hobbies? Well, I mentioned them under my likes. I also like to experiment with hacking. As for dreams, well, like Ricky, one of my biggest was fulfilled. Actually, two of them: I'm free from Control Core Angel, and I'm with him. I think that if I have a dream now, it's that Pandora will be a good place for anyone and everyone one day.

GAIGE: Wow, well said, Angel. Okay, well, what about favourite music tracks?

SNYDER: Ooh, tough. I mean, I like Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Swede, the Doctor Who theme by Ron Grainer, and Nuclear by Mike Oldfield. But I like an eclectic bunch of songs from soundtracks, that sort of thing.

GAIGE: Wow, old school. And you, Angel?

ANGEL: I like classical stuff. Moonlight Sonata, Holst's The Planets, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, that sort of thing.

GAIGE: (giggles) Even older school. Okay, how about best achievement?

SNYDER: Oooh, tough. (hums pensively) I think there's two that spring to mind: saving Angel from Control Core Angel, though that was very much a team effort, and Rick-Rolling Jack.

ANGEL: Making friends with the Vault Hunters, even after what happened to New Haven and the Sanctuary bombardment. Oh, and helping Tim pretend to be Jack.

GAIGE: (laughs) Yeah, that was funny, wasn't it? He was scarily good as Jack, wasn't he?

ANGEL: (laughing softly) Gaige, I wish he was my father instead of my real father. Tim…well, he's a decent guy. He's like how I think Dad should have been. Nice, a bit of a dork, but funny and caring.

SNYDER: Yeah. He's like Jack when I knew him as Uncle John. It's weird, thinking of Jack as an honorary uncle. But anyway, Dr Zed and I are working to try and help make Tim more comfortable. Angel has found out that she could deactivate the bomb in Tim's face, so he could remove Jack's face if he really wanted to now. As it is, he's made his peace with looking like Jack, and so have the others. He's more worried about his voice modulator potentially causing him grief: that's what his doctor said when he first got the operations. Thankfully, Dr Zed has a newer model ready, so here's hoping we can help him.

GAIGE: Mmm-hmm. Oh, and there's another favourite thing question someone wanted to ask: favourite weapons manufacturer.

SNYDER: Easy. I'm a Maliwan guy. Before I joined the Vault Hunters, I ordered a custom Maliwan pistol that could switch between elements. I hadn't shot anyone before, but I knew enough about Pandora to know that you shouldn't go unarmed. And Maya was kind enough to give me her own Maliwan SMG that fired electric bullets after she found another one.

ANGEL: Hmm, tough. In terms of what I'd actually use in combat, it'd be, funnily enough, Hyperion. I prefer to fight from a distance you see, and that's one thing Hyperion weapons excel in: accuracy. That being said, I have a bit of a guilty pleasure for Torgue weaponry. The nomenclature…I mean, the naming of these guns is very crude, but it's got a sense of fun. Plus, explosive rounds.

SNYDER: I guess Tina rubbed off on you.

ANGEL: (chuckles) She's endearing.

SNYDER: (chuckles) Yeah, she is. More than a little…eccentric, but she's a good girl. sighs Pity we couldn't take Jack to one of her tea parties, really. But we didn't want him getting loose(2).

GAIGE: Okay, well, one last question, for you specifically, Doc. People asked, what was it like to kill Handsome Jack? (several seconds of silence) Uhh, okay, I understand if you're uncomfortable about it.

SNYDER: No, no, it's fine. sigh It was…nothing. I didn't feel joy or elation. Hell, I didn't even feel relief, which is what I thought I would. I just felt tired and empty. Dead inside. Oh don't get me wrong, as time went by, I felt relief. I felt relief that he was no longer hunting Angel and me down. But on that day…you have to realise that I shot two unarmed people in cold blood. I had killed people before, but that was in the heat of battle(3). But these two people had caused a lot of grief, especially Jack. Anyway, I wanted to do it myself, if only to know for sure that the nightmare had ended. I'm not proud of killing Jack, as an achievement. Like I said, it was killing an unarmed man in cold blood. Sure, he was a bastard, and letting him live would have been a mistake, but…sorry, I can't go on.

ANGEL: (soothingly) It's alright, Ricky.

GAIGE: Yeah, sorry I asked you that, Doc. Anyway, do you have any last words for the listeners?

SNYDER: Hmmm…something pithy, I guess.

ANGEL: I'll go first, Ricky. Never hold onto preconceptions about your life. Things can change for the better. And there is always at least one person who believes in you, even if you don't believe in yourself.

SNYDER: Okay, my turn. Ummm…the universe is a cruel, harsh place, and life has no innate meaning. That being said, there's no reason you can't impose one of your own. Try and enjoy your life as best as you can, and enjoy it with the company of family and friends. Happy endings don't happen like they do in fairytales, but sometimes, you can earn them.

GAIGE: Well, that's interesting. Doc, Angel, thanks for being here. Tune in next time for my interview with Dr Lilith Cashlin, aka the Firehawk. Gaige, Mechromancer and Vault Hunter, signing off.

FILE 2 ANNOTATIONS:

I was inspired to do this chapter by both the official ECHO logs done by Gaige, as well as the fanfic continuation of them, written by Discar. It's pretty good. Gaige's ECHO Logs by Discar.

1. Kakashi Hatake being, obviously, the leader of the ninja team Naruto gets put into in Naruto. I like Kakashi.

2. I wanted to have Jack die at one of Tina's birthday parties, but I decided against it for a couple of reasons, the biggest one being that I didn't want Jack potentially getting loose.

3. Snyder deliberately omits that he killed people while in the Sci-Zone.