Disclaimer: I do not own the Borderlands franchise or anything related to it.

Chapter 3

It was evident that the Seraphs were prepared to make their last stand along that valley pass. Heavy fortifications lined the walls of the ravine, and the sheer look of determination in their eyes made one thing clear: these soldiers were willing to give their lives to protect their leader. Such dedication is rare indeed.

They were, however, vastly outnumbered. What the Queen's Guard lacked in firepower, they compensated for in strategy and raw force. Focused offensive movements gradually pushed the Seraph defensive line further and further towards the base. With each foot taken, the Seraphs became even more determined to hold their ground.

The Queen, overseeing the operation from her flagship, found their loyalty impressive, almost admirable.

Far below the surface, 30 minutes ticked off on the bomb's timer.

The Seraph's anti-air defenses made quick work of any fighters trying to provide air support, but one-by-one, a fighter would slip past and destroy them. Eventually, an order was given, and the Seraphs retreated around a bend in the valley. The Queen's Guard followed on their heels, but their progress ground to a halt when they encountered a massive energy shield. Twin generators scaled the valley walls on both sides. The shield absorbed their laser shots with ease, effectively rendering most of their weapons useless.

"Your Highness, what do we do?" the Queen's battle strategist asked her on the flagship's bridge. Her brilliant blue eyes stood transfixed on the flickering pink wall of energy separating her forces from their objective.

Her grip tightened on the golden staff she held in her right hand, a family heirloom and symbol of authority. "I will take care of it," the Queen answered, a hint of annoyance in her smooth voice. Before her strategist could protest, she blinked out of existence in a flash of scarlet light. She materialized on top of her flagship in a similar flash.

She pointed her staff at one of the generators and closed her eyes. Tendrils of purple energy flowed down her arm onto the staff, then traveled to the large purple crystal fixed on the headpiece. It glowed brightly, humming with energy, and small bolts of purple electricity arced from it.

The Queen opened her eyes, now glowing the same bright purple color, and fired a bolt of energy from her staff. It left a sparkling trail behind it as it traveled towards its target. The bolt pierced through the generator's tough exterior and exploded inside of it. The energy ripped the generator apart from the inside out. With its destruction, the energy field flickered and vanished. Both the Queen's Guard and the Seraphs opened fire once again, and the battle resumed as if it had never stopped.

15 minutes ticked off on the clock.

"Geez, how far down does this thing go?" Gaige whined, not for the first time. The light of day had long since left the trio; the darkness was pierced by a pair of flashlights and the soft blue glow of Maya's tattoos.

"Just a little farther down," the Siren assured her, also not for the first time. Her voice seemed somwhat distant; her mind was seeking out the voices that lured her there in the first place. They had grown silent since the path was revealed.

"You've said that the past four times she's asked," Axton grunted. His grizzly voice echoed around the rather tight staircase, as all their voices and footsteps did. Maya struggled to drown them out.

"Seriously," Gaige groaned, "we've been walking down these stairs for what, five, ten minutes?" She sluggishly continued down, her boots making a particularly annoying amount of racket.

"Could you two please keep it down?" Maya hissed sharply. "I'm trying to-" Her sentence, as did her movements, cut off abruptly. The twin flashlight beams revealed the cause; a flat surface sprawled under Maya's foot.

"Finally!" Gaige sighed in relief. "The bottom!" She jumped ahead of Maya, and a quick sweep of her flashlight confirmed her claim. The trio stood at the entrance of a chamber. "I wonder if there's any way to make this place brighter." Gaige's voice reverberated through the massive space. She went off into the darkness, guided only by her flashlight.

Axton started off towards the Mechromancer, and Maya followed suit. She had only taken a few steps, however, when a harsh pink light flicked on in front of her. The Siren shielded her eyes from the intense light, which seemed to be looking her over. In fact, it was looking inside her, at her DNA, though she had no idea. After a few seconds of scanning, the light vanished as abruptly as it appeared.

Moments later, lines of light slowly appeared on the edges of the chamber. Gradually, the illuminated the entire chamber, and the trio got their first glimpse at how truly massive it was. It spanned nearly the same area as the streets of Sanctuary, with tables and consoles arranged in a grid and a circular pedestal in the center. The pearly white walls at first harmed the trio's eyesight. A large, black crest was revealed on the back wall.

"Ho-ly crap," Maya breathed in awe. She ran her hand along one of the flawless table tops. It was impossibly smooth, akin to silk. "If the Eridians built this, it's amazing."

"No kidding," Axton said. His eyes were turned up to the vaulted ceiling. It seemed to stretch needlessly high before the corners came together for form a dome shape. "What do you think this place is, exactly?"

"I have no idea," Maya replied absent-mindedly. She noticed tools on some of the tables. They seemed scattered haphazardly, as if whoever was working here had to leave in a hurry. She examined one, which resembled a scalpel. "If I were to guess, though, I'd say this is a lab of some kind."

Gaige had wandered onto the center pedestal while silently admiring the stark beauty of the chamber. Four rails partially enclosed it, which left gaps to come and go off of it. She ran her hand along one of the rails, and unconsciously pressed a small bump when she felt it. A holographic screen, outlined with pink light and filled with strange characters, flickered on shortly after. It was an alien language to the Mechromancer; she had no hopes of deciphering it.

"Hey, check this out," Gaige called out to her companions. Axton and Maya hopped onto the pedestal and examined the screen before them, their heads cocked in interest and confusion. "Any idea what it might mean?"

"Pretty sure none of us can read Eridian, Gaige," Axton said flatly, scratching the back of his head. "Unless you know someone we don't."

"Actually, I do," Maya said. Gaige and Axton traded looks of confusion. "Tannis."

The Commando and the Mechromancer glared at Maya like she had two heads.

"Seriously?" Gaige asked skeptically. "Is there anything that woman can't do?"

"Have a reasonable social interaction, for one," Axton offered. He received a smack on the head from Maya. "What? You know I'm right!"

"Anyway," Maya rolled her eyes, "if we can get her down here to look at this, maybe she could translate it. There's gotta be something down here besides scattered tools, and I'm pretty sure we'll need her to find it."

"Alright, alright," Axton conceded, "but you're gonna do the convincing on your own."

Maya glared at the Commando. "And you can't help me because..?"

Axton shrugged, a small, smug smirk on his face. "I just wanna see if it's even possible to get her to leave her little office."

A/N: I tried to inject a bit more humor into this chapter, mainly to keep the narrative at least somewhat interesting. Tell me what you think. The little flashback narrations in the beginning will end in at least 2 chapters, in case you were wondering.
As always, feedback is much appreciated.