Somewhere on the planet of Pandora, a world known for its dangerous wildlife, roving gangs of outlaws, and hellish terrains. A young woman in a form-fitting, blue catsuit fully zipped up. Greyish-white gloves cover her arms just below the elbows, and calf-length combat boots in the same color. Her belt is brown with two ammo pouches on the right side. Two metallic orbs, each the size of ping pong balls, are attached to her belt. One orb glows blood-red, the other light blue, with a single ring of energy circling them. She wears a hooded cape that coordinates with her gloves and boots. A combat knife is strapped to her right thigh, secured in a sheath.
The final piece that completes her look is a wolf-like mask that covers her entire head. The mask's lifelike appearance, with its white fur and piercing blue eyes, leads some to mistake the woman for a hybrid creature or even an alien. Remarkably, the simple rubber mask can mimic her facial expressions, allowing others to discern her emotions even while it's worn.
Beneath the mask's realistic exterior, advanced technology is integrated. A basic HUD displays her ammunition and grenade count, and the eyes provide thermal and night vision capabilities. This integrated technology also enables her to wear the mask for extended periods without discomfort upon removal.
Raven, the woman's name, is of nineteen years of age with fair white skin, shoulder-length black hair, green eyes, and lips adorned with black lipstick, waits patiently for a train at one of the numerous Hyperion train stations scattered across the planet. In Raven's gloved hand is a Hyperion business card that was given to her by an employee from the corporation some time ago. Despite already having read what was written on the piece of plastic. She couldn't help but lift the card and gaze down on it.
The card reads as follows: Are you in search of glory, seeking answers to mysterious questions, looking for a meaningful challenge, or simply desiring to set off on a grand adventure for enjoyment? Then look no further and become a Vault Hunter now and help Handsome Jack find the second Vault on Pandora and become a hero! All Vault Hunters will be handsomely rewarded by Jack himself once the Vault has been found and opened.
Within her chest Raven can feel the excitement building up. Since childhood she always wanted to become a Vault Hunter after hearing the stories from her dad about the legendary Vault. Telling her that contained inside is anything you could ever want in life. But in order to retrieve whatever was stored inside you had to defeat a giant vault monster that also resided within.
Even as a kid, Raven didn't believe her dad about there being a monster inside the Vault as it didn't make sense to her. Wouldn't the monster just destroy the treasure while trying to free itself? Regardless of that it didn't stop the then child from including the monster into her pretend games with her parents. While not ungrateful at given the opportunity to find the Vault. But Raven isn't quite sure why Handsome Jack chose her to help him find it. She was barely into her second year as a mercenary and is still considered green in the occupation.
However, that doesn't mean Raven isn't lacking in skill. She can definitely hold her own in a CQC fight and is quite proficient with most firearms. But she has found herself in sticky situations that she was barely able to get herself out of.
"Perhaps one of my recent jobs caught his attention," Raven suggested. Suddenly, the blaring sound of a train horn echoed from afar. Looking in the direction where it came from. The train rounds the bend and begins to slow down.
Several train cars pass by her till the train came to complete stop. The door to the car before her opens up and with no hesitation she steps right on inside. The moment Raven entered the train it started to move again. But also, she saw that she wasn't alone in the train car. Four other people were already inside waiting to be dropped off at the same destination she was now heading.
The young woman wasn't too surprised by this as she did expect there to be at least a few Vault Hunters who boarded the train before her. She also knew she would be fighting alongside Vault Hunters for the foreseeable future when she accepted the job. The four individuals all looked at her with various facial expressions, well, save for one that is.
A man of average height, around 5'9" (the same as Raven), had short brown hair and wore a short-sleeved brown shirt with a skull patch on the left sleeve, green pants, and steel-plated boots. The military rank insignia above his left eye indicated his affiliation with a military organization. He regarded Raven with an expression of muted surprise, trying to make sense of what he was seeing but not wanting to show it to the others. This was an expression the masked female was accustomed to receiving, though usually, people did not try to hide their reactions. Not wanting to be rude to the new teammate, she gave him a small smile and waved. He nodded in acknowledgment and returned his attention to his own affairs.
The second man stands 5'4" tall with a muscular yet stocky build, but he doesn't seem bothered by his stature. Raven can tell just by looking at him that he could easily rip her into pieces without much effort. He is the most casually dressed of the group, wearing an orange t-shirt over a white tank top, blue jeans secured by a belt with a prominent skull and crossbones buckle, and standard brown shoes. His face is adorned with an impressively groomed beard and his hair is styled in a distinct fashion. A band aid crosses his nose. Compared to the other man, his expression appears more stoic.
Raven said to him, "Hello there." The man responded in a gruff Truxican accent, "Hola Loba." Tilting her head curiously, Raven echoed, "Loba?" He clarified that it was the Spanish word for female wolf. "Oh, I guess that makes sense to call me that," she mused.
The other woman in the train car asked, "Are you actually some kind of... humanoid alien wolf?" Raven's blue eyes widened as she focused her attention on the woman. With a slightly shaky finger, she pointed at the woman's exposed arm. "Are you... a real Siren?" Raven inquired, her voice tinged with a mix of curiosity and caution. Like with the Vault, Raven had heard stories about the Sirens.
Stories of how they are powerful women that wield supernatural abilities one can only see in fiction. With some saying they can kill you with just their brain. The Siren stands at 5'7" tall. Her outfit consists of a yellow, grey, and black shirt with a single long sleeve covering her right arm. A glove adorns her right hand, and she wears a pair of blue and grey pants paired with yellow and black shoes. Grinning confidently, she flexes her arm, and for three seconds, her blue tattoos glow before fading. "I'm sure that answers your question. Speaking of a question that still needs answering."
"Right, sorry. To answer your question, no, I am not. What you see is a mask—a very convincing mask." To further prove it, Raven pinches her right cheek with her index finger and thumb, stretching the face of the mask.
The Siren nods her head and then asks where she could get one as she would love to have fun confusing people by having them think she's a human/Siren/animal hybrid. "Sorry," Raven replied, lining the mask up and smoothing out any wrinkles. "This was my payment from a past job and as far as I know. This was a one-of-kind mask they made."
"I would say that's an odd form of payment/But I have no room to talk/I had gotten weirder payments in the past." Finally said the last occupant in the train car. The man, or at least Raven wasn't quite sure, spoke in a husky voice. He was clad in a form-fitting black and grey suit and pants, with a large red zero emblazoned on the left side of his chest. Complementing the suit was light armor that provided basic protection for his shoulders, underarms, knees, and ankles. Concealing his identity, though not in the same way as Raven, was a grey helmet with a long black visor.
"Did... you just speak in haiku?" Asked The Siren. Wanting to be sure she heard him correctly. Nodding his helmeted head. "That I did/Don't pay too much attention to it/I'm... inconsistent with it."
"Just as long as you don't speak in riddles. Communcation shouldn't be an issue." Said the brown-haired man who finally spoke for the first time since stepping onto the train himself. Now that all five of them were chatting with each other and would be working together for however long it will take to find The Vault. Raven proposed that they start with introductions and share their reasons for seeking The Vault.
The brown-haired man spoke first. "The name's Axton, and I'm after The Vault for fortune and fame."
Next, the Siren introduced herself. "I am Maya, and I seek The Vault to unravel the enigmas of the Sirens - their origins, their purpose in the cosmos, and the process by which I became one of them."
The helmeted man went after her. "People call me Zero. I was told finding The Vault would give me the greatest challenge of a lifetime." When asked why they call him Zero, he simply displayed a red hologram of the number.
The short man followed. "My name is Salvador, and I'm after The Vault because I think it will be fun."
Axton seemed baffled by Salvador's simple motivation, a sentiment shared by the others. "Really?" he asked. Salvador grinned excitedly. "Of course, amigo! From what I was told, danger surrounds looking for The Vault. That's more than enough of a reason for me. Plus, there's the bonus of killing a shit ton of bandits along the way."
Now being the last one to explain her reasons for searching for The Vault, all heads turn in Raven's direction. Clearing her throat, Raven tells them her name, but before she can even say what her reasoning is for seeking The Vault. The sound of something falling to the floor catches everyone's attention. Lying on the floor of the train is a blue sign with the image of a smiling Handsome Jack welcoming the Vault Hunters. When looking up to where the sign was hanging from. In its place is a new sign that is instead red, and the new image of Handsome Jack has a more sinister smile.
But just then at the end of the train car. A door slides open and walking through from the connecting car are a pair of tall, yellow robots with a single red glowing eye. In each of their hands is a gun. "Handsome Jack says, 'It's nothing personal.'" One of the robots said in a deep voice. Both drew their guns and opened fire on the Vault Hunters.
In a split-second reaction Salvador opened the side door and JUMPED OUT of the train! A train that was still moving at very high speeds! 'Is he crazy?!' Raven exclaimed in her head. Zero, with impressive leg strength, jumped straight upward and went through a hatch in the ceiling. That left Raven, Axton, and Maya alone with the robots.
All three decided to run down the train car in the opposite direction to gain some distance. During their run the ladies heard more gunfire coming from behind them. They concluded that it was likely Axton firing back with his own weapon. Given the loud bangs echoing through the confined space with each shot, the gun he used must have been a big one.
Just as Raven and Maya neared the end, the door on their side of the train car slid open, unveiling additional robots. Way more than the previous two on the other side. Before either of the two could do anything a single rocket suddenly flew pass between the women and crashed right into the side of the connecting train car ahead of them. Resulting in a large explosion. Both women shielded their faces from the shrapnel by covering their faces with their arms.
Raven moved her arms away only to see some of the robots survived the rocket explosion and one of them was marching right toward her. It took the opportunity to swing at her with its arm. But she swiftly ducked under it and in one quick motion she unsheathes her combat knife, lunges forward, and stabs the knife right into the robot's single red eye. Sparks erupted as Raven withdrew the blade, only to thrust it back in again. After the second stab Raven and with all her strength she pushes the machine away.
This caused it to stagger backward into another robot. In response, it shoved its counterpart aside and proceeded to advance. However, its progress was halted as the yellow robot found itself suddenly enveloped in a sphere of purple and black energy, causing it to levitate a few feet above the ground.
Astonished by the sight, Raven glances back and notices Maya with her arm raised. Tattoos glowing and a similar, but smaller, ball of energy being held in her hand. With a grin on her face, Maya gestures to the left, sending the robot flying in that direction. It crashes through the wall, leaving a massive hole behind.
Not a second later Salvador swings himself through the newly created hole and from his SDU (storage deck unit) he pulls out two assault rifles and rains down a hail of bullets onto to remaining robots. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS SO MUCH FUUUUUUUUUN!" He excitedly bellowed. The short man got so caught up in the moment he points his guns up toward the ceiling while still firing them. After a few seconds he was able to calm down, but his smile never left his face.
Throughout her short time as a mercenary, Raven had never seen anyone wield two large weapons in each hand so effortlessly without the assistance of cybernetic enhancements. And to be completely honest, she found it to be pretty cool and she made sure to voice it for Salvador to hear. "Thanks, Loba. And even though I didn't see it as I was hanging on for dear life outside the train. You handled yourself quite well." Hearing this coming from the short man made Raven smile a little.
Drawing her HVY340.3 S&S Munitions Shattering Machine Gun from her SDU. Raven proposes they seize control of the train and force it to stop before it arrives at its unknown destination. Everyone agreed to the suggestion and began to either reload or arm themselves. Axton switches out his rocket launcher for an assault rifle and Maya drew a Maliwan SMG and judging the small blue lights on the gun it uses the shock element.
Axton was next to suggest they get into a tight formation with Salvador taking point (much to his delight), Raven and Maya at the flanks, and Axton at the rear. Once everyone was prepared, they burst into a vigorous sprint.
Both the Hyperion robots and the armed human staff were no match for the four Vault Hunters. Salvador pretty much mowed down anything in their path, the other three hardly had to anything. The only time they did fire their weapons was when Salvador had to reload.
Eventually though, the four did make it to the locomotive where the control station is. The only thing that was keeping them from taking control of the train was a locked door. Axton and Maya flanked the sides while Salvador stood his ground in the middle, Raven followed the Commando and Siren's example and stood off to the side. Right on time Zero jumped down from another hatch in the roof right behind Salvador. In his right hand is a long sword with the edge of the blade glowing a blue energy.
Raven would've asked him what he had been doing but knew this wasn't the time. Noticing that everyone had arrived, Axton kicked the door open. Inside the room lay something entirely unexpected by either of the Vault Hunters. Bombs. A ridiculous number of bombs. But the eye catch is the induvial sitting on a chair in the middle surrounded by the bombs.
Slowly the person in the chair turns around to reveal themselves to be Handsome Jack. But upon closer inspection it was clear this wasn't Jack, but instead a puppet made to look like him. "It's cute you all think you're the heroes of this story, but you're not." Said the puppet, "Welcome to Pandora, kiddoes!"
The last thing the Vault Hunters saw and heard was a bright flash and a thunderous boom!