FILE 5:

THE SNYDER FILES FACSIMILES: THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST-GENERATION VAULT HUNTERS

I thought I'd jot down some notes about the first generation of Vault Hunters, the ones who effectively form the core of the Crimson Raiders.

NAME: Roland.

AGE: 39(1)

NOTES: I don't like military types, frankly, but there are military men that I can respect. When I first met Roland, I wasn't sure what would happen. I had heard stories from Jack, but by that point, Jack had tried to kill me and the second-generation Vault Hunters. I was wary, though. I didn't know whether, given that I was only freshly turfed out from Hyperion, he'd sentence me to a summary execution. As it was, he was merely suspicious of me, but was more than willing to give me a chance. And for that, I am eternally thankful to him.

I know something of his past now. He used to work for the PMC wing of the Atlas Corporation on Promethea, the Crimson Lance. However, shortly before coming to Pandora, he killed a senior officer and deserted. I've got the feeling, given the horror stories about how the Crimson Lance treated the inhabitants of Pandora, that Roland got qualms about what he was doing. Ironically, Roland would lead the remnants of the Crimson Lance (left behind when Atlas pulled out of Pandora after the Knoxx fiasco), turning them into the Crimson Raiders.

It's interesting to compare Roland and his nemesis, Jack, who were both leaders of men. Roland is relatively introverted (especially compared to Jack), quiet and polite (most of the time). Until he formed the Crimson Raiders, he was also very publicity-shy, whereas Jack embraced the spotlight. In battle, he's somewhat looser with his words and attitude (and he knows how to deploy his Scorpio turret very well, to deleterious effect on the enemy), but, well, you know that old saying 'an officer and a gentleman'? He's like that, a consummate professional.

He's also got some hidden depths to him. He enjoys playing Bunkers and Badasses, which he taught to his adoptive sister/daughter, Tiny Tina. He's in a relationship with Lilith (which, as of this writing, has FINALLY gotten out of Lilith being a mild tsundere and confusing Roland). And I count him as a friend, which is surprising. And he helped me with my admittedly insane plan to save Angel, which could have gone VERY badly for the Crimson Raiders. He's a good man on a world where there's a dearth of them, and it's clear why so many look up to him. Hell, I do.

NAME: Dr Lilith Cashlin

AGE: 32

NOTES: When we first met, we tried to kill each other. Admittedly, Lilith was (understandably) paranoid about Hyperion, and upon attacking me, I went into the Sci-Zone. But there could have been better ways to meet. She retained her suspicions of me, sending me to Tiny Tina to babysit her. Her reasoning was that I would either show that I was a decent person to Tina, or piss her off enough to become a guest of honour at one of Tina's deadlier tea parties.

Thankfully, it didn't turn out like that. Unfortunately, our relationship (such as it was) didn't improve much. We had an argument over Angel, but it was then that she began to realise how much Angel meant to me, and that Angel, as Jack's daughter (and not an AI as she had believed) was as much a victim of him as those murdered in New Haven. Over an ensuing conversation at Moxxxi's, I let slip (by accident) a few little clues that she used to guess correctly that Angel was a Siren. I think knowing that, and the depth of my feelings for Angel, finally convinced Lilith that I was on the side of the Crimson Raiders. And that Angel may not be their adversary by choice.

It was with her help that I finally formulated the plan to get Angel out of Control Core Angel. Without her Phasewalk ability and Tannis' device (not to mention Maya and Zed's help), I would never have succeeded.

I'm surprised that I can count Lilith as a friend, especially given how we first met. She's pretty much the only other one of the original Vault Hunters (besides Roland) that I can call a friend. And as it happens, despite her elegant and beautiful looks, she's very much a geek: she loves Bunkers and Badasses (she was teased at school for it, and I sympathise), and we sometimes have some conversations about a variety of subjects.

She's fairly infamous as the bounty hunter and vigilante known as the Firehawk, the terror of the Bloodshots. She even got a cult revolving around her at one point. Yeesh.

On a more personal note, I'm glad that Angel's plight (thanks to Jack flooding her system continually with Eridium) has had Lilith scale back on her own usage of Eridium to boost her abilities. Setting bandits and Psychos on fire is pretty awesome, but being a junky to a violet-glowing rock isn't. I'm working with her whenever she is in Sanctuary on a means to control her cravings. I think her stronger relationship with Roland helps.

NAME: Mordecai

AGE: 44

NOTES: I didn't even think 'Mordecai' was a real name. I had to look it up on the ECHOnet to find that it comes from the Bible! No, I'm not kidding(2). It's a Jewish name, though he speaks more like a Truxican or a Hispanic.

Colour-blind(3), half-cut(4) most of the time…and yet, he is one of the best snipers out there. I should know. The bastard shot at me for fun, deliberately missing, because Lilith wanted to put the fear of God into me. I wasn't exactly happy with that, understandably.

I can't exactly call myself a friend of Mordecai(5). Not because he is as arrogant as Axton, for example, and he's not stupid. I personally think he has an attitude problem (he's very apathetic in most regards), and his distrust of Hyperion hasn't gone away that much. True, the others don't trust Hyperion that much, but Mordecai (along with Brick) would probably want to keep fighting.

I think part of the reason was the fiasco with Bloodwing. Jack's people captured her (Bloodwing's species can change genders, apparently), and experimented on her. And don't get me wrong, Bloodwing and Mordecai didn't deserve that. I can't blame him for still feeling rancour at Hyperion for Bloodwing being mutated…and then murdered by Jack. I think the only reason he didn't go out immediately on a campaign for revenge, or else drink himself into a possibly lethal coma, was that we found an egg Bloodwing left behind. Already, he's training the new Bloodwing, calling it Talon.

That being said, I have to admit, he's a good teacher. After that whole BS at Oasis, I had him train Angel and myself in sniper rifles. He found it hard to forgive Angel(6), given that whole New Haven massacre, but he swallowed his pride and helped teach us.

NAME: Brick

AGE: 41

NOTES: If Salvador is like how I thought the stereotypical Vault Hunter was like in the second generation of Vault Hunters, then Brick is the stereotype in the first generation. Tall, musclebound, scarred, and revelling in violence. The best thing that you can say about Brick is that, while he has few friends, he is intensely loyal to them to the very end. But I don't really like him, and the feeling is mutual.

After the fall of New Haven, Brick fell out with the other Vault Hunters after murdering the traitor who had sold them out to Hyperion. He became listless and wandered Pandora as a mercenary, only to be captured by Handsome Jack's lackey, Nisha Kadam, the Sheriff of Lynchwood. Kadam tortured him for a long time, but despite being an expert in torture, Kadam didn't break Brick…until she found the puppy Brick had as a pet. She snapped its neck, which brought Brick to the very height of rage. If Hyperion was going to treat him as a bandit, he declared, he intended to make sure they feared him. So, he founded a new bandit gang, the Slabs, and became their leader, the Slab King. They made their base of operations in Thousand Cuts, near a top Hyperion facility that Brick intended to breach one day, not knowing that it was Control Core Angel.

If there's one thing that I'm grateful to Brick for, it's that he helped me in my quest to rescue Angel. He had reservations, sure, but that was because I was former Hyperion. My standing with him seemed to improve after I killed Jack and Nisha. I don't think we'll ever be friends, but like with the other Vault Hunters, old and new, he's a good man to watch your back.

FILE 5 ANNOTATIONS:

Snyder's thoughts on the first Vault Hunters. Nothing much to add here.

Except for this: just before I published this chapter, I finished the main campaign of Borderlands, and am now starting on my second DLC campaign (I've done The Zombie Island of Dr Ned), namely The Secret Armoury of General Knoxx. I've noticed that it seems to be in the DLC that Borderlands is getting the tone that it would have in its sequels. I also reckon that Commandant Steele, as a villain, is very much a non-entity, with very little personality or depth. Jack and Zarpedon by comparison (even with what little I have played of the Pre-Sequel) have considerably more personality and depth. And General Knoxx's tired, apathetic attitude is hilarious.

1. I looked up profiles on the Borderlands Wiki. Weird thing was, many of the profiles seemed to suggest locations from Borderlands 2. I've added five years to the ages displayed on those profiles, hoping that that works for their ages in Borderlands 2.

2. I didn't even know this was a real name until I punched it into Wikipedia to see if it was. You learn something new every day. So Snyder is definitely talking with my own voice there.

3. According to his profile (mentioned above), Mordecai IS colour-blind.

4. Half-cut, for those of you unfamiliar with British slang, means that someone is drunk.

5. Ironically, he is my main character for my playthrough of the original Borderlands.

6. I took this attitude from a fanfic called The Sirens Aren't Alright by Civilized Lee. I could understand Tina's attitude to Angel in the fic, but Mordecai?