Chapter 8

Digistruct Peak blossomed from a prototype training gauntlet to a full-fledged boot camp for Crimson Raider recruits. The digistruct technology usually worked according to plan, though unfortunate (and sometimes hilarious) glitches occurred from time to time. Any person wishing to join the Raiders had to pass a series of tests within the gauntlet to join the ranks.

The training ground also doubled as a makeshift prison. People thought to be threats to the Crimson Raiders – usually nosy Hyperion personnel or similar – were held until their fates were decided. It was here that Lilith and Mordecai materialized out of Phasewalk.

It was here that a particular person-of-interest was being kept.

Lilith motioned for the soldier guarding the person's cell to open it. He obliged after a sharp salute, opening the cell door for the Siren and the Sniper to enter and closing it once they did. Lilith then dismissed the soldier, as she preferred to keep the topic of discussion confidential.

The person in the cell heard the pair enter, but didn't react. Her red and black attire, a mix of casual clothing and military-grade armor, was reminiscent of the now-disbanded Crimson Lance. A black hood covered the dark hair on her head. She was laying on her cot, her purple eyes fixed on something on the ceiling, her arms behind her head.

"I suppose you're not here to let me out of this cell, is that right?" the woman spoke, her gaze still fixed upwards. The cold air condensed her breath into little clouds.

"If you tell me what I want to here, Athena, then it might be," Lilith said as she crossed her arms. "I've got a few more questions I need answered."

"Ask away, then," Athena said. She shifted slightly, perhaps to re-position herself, perhaps to mask a shiver.

Lilith shifted her weight before beginning, "Would there be any reason Hyperion might come after you, considering you worked for Jack?"

"Not that I can think of," the Gladiator answered after a short pause. "I made it clear to Jack that I wasn't under contract after his… episode. Maybe Hyperion wants me dead, I don't know."

"I think that rules her out," Mordecai mused. He took a swig from the bottle in his hand. "That leaves the one guy in your story, Jack's body double. He's the only one we haven't found yet."

"We picked up Aurelia a few weeks ago," Lilith explained when Athena's head cocked. "Anyway, that's why I'm here."

"You want to know where Timothy is," Athena filled in, her gaze finally meeting the Siren's. "Unfortunately, I have no idea where the kid is. Maybe he's still working for Hyperion. Maybe he's dead. I honestly don't know. The last I spoke to him was shortly before I left Jack's employment."

"Can you help us find him?" Mordecai offered. Lilith gave the Sniper a look, but he only shrugged. "Hey, she knows the guy better than any of us, Lilith. She might know where to start."

Lilith considered the proposition. She still had her reservations about Athena, but considering the situation, any leads to Timothy could he useful. "Fine," the Siren finally said with a sigh. "We'll need all the help we can get, I guess." She hid her reluctance well.

With that, the trio left the makeshift prison. Athena received all of the items confiscated from her upon her capture: Xiphos, her sword; Aspis, her shield; and a small assortment of other equipment, including her ECHO device. The trio started off towards the Fast Travel Station.

"So, Athena," Lilith questioned as the group walked. "Where would you suggest be start looking?"

Athena paused to think. "I can give Timothy a call on my ECHO," the Gladiator offered after a moment. "If he answers, at least we know he's still alive." Mordecai gave a gesture that meant "go for it", so Athena entered the Doppelganger's number. She raised the box-like device up to her ear.

She took a few unconscious steps away from the Siren and the Sniper as her ECHO tried to connect with its target device. For a few tense moments, nothing happened. Then…

[…Athena?] a voice said, his tone cautious, as if skeptical of something.

The Gladiator's eyebrows rose. "Tim," she said a bit too loudly, making no effort to hide her surprise. "It's… it's been a while."

[Couple years, right?] Timothy said, his tone relaxing. After a pause, he admitted, [I honestly never thought I'd hear from you again.]

"I thought I asked you to keep in touch," Athena said with a short pout. Indeed, she asked the body double to call her every now and then before she left Elpis.

[I've been… busy,] the Doppelganger sighed. His cryptic answer made the Gladiator's eyes narrow slightly. [Listen, Athena, I-I need to go soon, is something wrong?] It seemed as though Timothy didn't want to talk for too long.

Athena considered how to answer. "I need you for something," she finally said, trying not to reveal too much too soon. "Where are you?"

An awkward pause passed before Timothy answered. [I… can't answer that,] he said hesitantly.

The obvious questioned entered Athena's mind, but she pushed it aside momentarily. "Well, can you make it to Pandora?"

Another long pause. [I… I'll see what I can do,] he said at last. [I can't say when I'll get there, but I'll try to message you when I do.]

"Great, that's fine," Athena said, her tone strangely cheerful. She hesitated before adding, "It's nice talking to you again, Tim."

[Same here,] the body double mused. [Take care, Athena.] With that closing remark, the connection cut off.

Athena clipped her ECHO device back onto her belt, a small smile on her face. Her talk with Timothy left her with a short list of questions, but overall, she felt… happy, upbeat. Perhaps it was just the relief from knowing he was still alive.

The Gladiator returned to the expectant Siren and Sniper with her news. "It sounds like Timothy's still on Elpis somewhere. Regardless, he said he'll message me when – if – he gets here."

"Well, that's… somewhat helpful, I guess," Lilith shrugged. "At least we know he's alive somewhere. Did he say where he was?"

"He wouldn't tell me," Athena shook her head. "I don't know why, though."

Mordecai scratched his goatee. "Sounds a bit fishy to me," he mumbled. Lilith nodded in agreement.

"I know, it does," Athena admitted. "I'll have to pick his brain when I see him next."

Helios Station loomed between Pandora and its moon, Elpis. Once a symbol of Hyperion's imposing control over the planet, the space station served as a reminder of atrocities of the company's former tyrannical president. Blake naturally wanted to steer the company in a more benevolent direction upon replacing Handsome Jack. He'd been fairly successful in the few months since becoming Hyperion's president.

Still, Blake had his concerns about the Vault Hunters and the Crimson Raiders. He wanted to gain their trust in the hopes of making peace with them. So far, he'd gone largely ignored, save for the jobs he offered every now and then. Hyperion was on better footing with the Raiders than when Jack had been in power, but Blake was still far from his goal.

He wanted to keep a watchful eye on Pandora, hence why he installed an array of satellites to monitor activity on the planet. Blake particularly wanted to keep tabs on the Crimson Raiders, though not for any malicious reasons. If they were planning on mounting an offensive on Hyperion, he wanted to know about it. He had even gone so far as to send an agent or two into Sanctuary to act as his ears, since the orbital satellites obviously couldn't get that kind of information for him.

It had been almost a week since Blake the Vault Hunters the mission to salvage the malfunctioned satellite, and they had yet to deliver the data bank from it. The positioning beacon within the black box showed it was in Sanctuary, but that raised the obvious question: Why hadn't it been returned yet? Blake had his suspicions, but he wasn't concerned. If the Vault Hunters found a way to access the data it contained, it would only reveal a truth which would have arisen at some point or another.

Blake sat in his office, formerly Jack's office, his fingers gently rapping against the desk. He was expecting an important call from a potential client soon. He had struck several deals with minor companies, offering monetary support or labor in exchange for funding. Since Hyperion changed hands, Blake nearly shut down the production of Eridium. This pleased major shareholders, as they wanted nothing to do with the alien element after Jack's obsession with it, but it naturally caused a sharp decline in revenue. The deal Blake was hoping to make with his new client might get the company some much-needed support.

The telephone rang. Blake snapped out of his momentary daydream and quickly picked up the receiver. "President Blake speaking," he said curtly, as he did whenever he answered calls.

[Blake, sir, it's Morrison,] the voice on the other end said. [I know you told us not to distract you, sir, since you were waiting for an important call, but… I think you'll be interested in what we've got.]

Blake groaned as he rubbed his temple. Morrison belonged to the team that monitored the satellite array, as well as other defense systems aboard Helios Station. "What did you pick up, Mr. Morrison?" he asked, making no attempt to hide his disinterest.

[I… I think it's best if you saw it for yourself, sir,] Morrison said. [I can't exactly describe it over the phone.]

"Very well," Blake sighed. "This had best be worth my time." With that, he replaced the receiver with a dull thunk. He was reluctant to leave his office, as his client may call very soon, but whatever Morrison had found was important enough for him to ignore a direct request. The president strode over to the Fast Travel Station and entered his destination: the Defense Hub. In a flash of blue polygons, Blake vanished.

He materialized within a large, somewhat-tall room. One wall was completely overtaken by a screen, which was split into many different sections, each one depicting something different. Two rows of computers, with each one occupied by a worker, sat towards the wall of screens. A modest refreshment area resided in one corner. Morrison approached Blake from that area, a cup of water in hand. The Hyperion employee wore a yellow shirt underneath his black blazer. A modest beard adorned his round face. "Blake!" he greeted. "Glad you could stop by."

"Just show me what you've found, Morrison," Blake droned, forward as ever.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" Morrison quipped with a smirk. He turned and snapped his fingers a few times. "'Hey, Jenkins! Put your feed on the big screen. Show President Blake what you picked up!" The obese man known as Jenkins pecked at his keyboard, and the screen shifted from many different feeds to a single large one.

What appeared was a live image of an area of distant space. Just the edge of Pandora was visible in the bottom-left corner. Stars twinkled in the background. It seemed like any other snapshot of space. What was out of place, however, was a purple-pink speck of light close to the center of the image. "Enhance it, Jenkins. C'mon," Morrison prodded. The man complied, and the image gradually zoomed in.

The pink light solidified into a blurry object; the observation camera's limitations prevented any further enhancement. The object looked thin and broad, like a flying wing. It was wrapped in an aura of pink light. Blake squinted slightly at the image. "What is that?" he thought aloud.

"That's the thing," Morrison said, turning to face his superior. "We have no idea what this object is. What's really weird is that we only noticed this thing a few minutes before I called you. It doesn't have a scanning signature – even our most advanced tech can't detect this thing. We can only monitor it visually, at least at the moment."

Blake nodded as the man spoke, his hand lightly gripping his chin. Despite only seeing the object for a minute or two, the president of Hyperion had his suspicions on what it could be. He didn't like the possibilities. His brow furrowed slightly as he thought. "Keep an eye on it," he finally said, "and notify me if there are any significant changes." He whirled around to leave, but stopped after taking a few steps. "And Morrison?"

"Yeah, boss?" the man said.

"Keep this little… observation… between us," Blake instructed without turning his head. He strode towards the Fast Travel Station, entered the coordinates for his office, and blinked away. He grumbled as he returned to his desk. "Jack… What else could you have caused?"

A/N: Another chapter, more questions (I hope). It seems the Seraphs are on their way home. If you're wanting some violence, you'll get it eventually, I promise. As always, feedback is much appreciated!