1st Ω [Action for New Bark Town/Video]

[kissmyaspis]

[Action; New Bark Town]

[Fresh green grass. A breeze that carries no hint of smog or pollution or any other manner of nastiness in the air. People happily walking around unarmed and seemingly unworried over the potential of being jumped or mugged even in broad daylight.

This was not Pandora.

Not that it took any of these observations for Athena to conclude that something was very wrong. Just the feeling of the sun on her face as she drowsily awoke earlier (ugh, Janey was right, she was starting to lose her edge) was enough to send alarm bells blaring through her head. After all, her and Janey's place in Hollow Point wasn't the worst, but it was far enough away from the cave entrance that they don't really get much sun. That put Athena instantly on alert, and she practically bowled "mom" over before she could even open her mouth and instinctively grabbing the pack - she didn't even care whose it was - by the door and heading outside.

So here she was now, pacing in the middle of town like an angry kraggon, looking for anything familiar... but there was nothing. She couldn't even see Elpis's broken surface in the sky, so there was no way this was Pandora. One of the Edens, maybe...? But which one, they were all better than Pandora, so she couldn't tell by just one glance in one town...

Okay... okay. She had to find her bearings. She could do that. First, check the pack for anything that could be of use. Pulling it off her shoulder and tugging it open, Athena began sifting through the contents; food, a change of clothes (pfft, like hell she was going to get rid of her armor in an unknown location), what looked like some basic medical supplies, a... red and white ball? That catches her attention.

She set her bag down so she could examine the ball more closely. Round, one button on the middle... some kind of robot? At first glance, it reminded her of Gortys before she had been activated, so maybe if she pushed the button...

And then she promptly dropped it as the ball burst into light, every one of her battle instincts flaring to life as her brain screamed grenade! But damnit, she had no guns, no shield or sword....

Wait.

Sword?

Okay... yeah. That was definitely a sword floating in front of Athena. Staring at her.]

What the...

[She reached out to grab it by the hilt, but surprisingly enough, it dodged out of the way of her hand! Frowning, Athena tried to grab it again. And again it dodged. Her frown then morphs into a full-blown scowl, and she lunges for the thing.]

Argh-- get back here!



[Video]

[OKAY EVERYTHING'S UNDER CONTROL, EVERYTHING'S COOL. Except... not. So when the video flickers on, the rather annoyed, severe face of a young woman can be seen front and center.]

I'll give whatever dirty lowlife responsible for this ten seconds to identify themselves before I start hunting them down. Believe me, you don't want that.

[There's a pause, and her frown deepens if that's even possible. This... kidnapping, or whatever it was, had happened in her home. Said home was crappy, sure, but it had been damn secure. Athena herself had made sure of it. So if whoever-it-was had been able to get her without a problem, then the other occupant of the house could possibly be...]

Springs. As soon as you see this, echo me.

[She doesn't sound worried, but the edge in her eyes fades a little, and she reaches up to run a finger along a gleaming silver ring hanging from a chain around her neck. She blinks, realizing what she just did, before she practically shoves the ring under her shirt and out of view.]

If anyone can direct me to the nearest fast-travel station, the information will be much appreciated. [There's a pause, and the curious eye of a Honedge peeks on-screen with a gleam of curiosity. The woman glances at it, scowls, and pushes it away from the camera.] Also, the nearest gun vendor.

[Because this isn't the first odd creature she's seen so far, so she's not taking any chances. If she can't have Xiphos and Aspis, or at the very least any of her more advanced guns, she'll have to make due.]

Finally, if anyone familiar to me is viewing this, I will update my status as soon as I find my bearings in this bizarre town, and we can arrange a meetup then. Until then:

Athena, out.

[Click. The video finishes.]

Comments

[kissmyaspis]

Money. Powerful alien technology. The money you could make off of selling said powerful alien technology.

If you can understand why people go treasure hunting, then you can understand why people become Vault Hunters.

[thatwasours]

So the aliens just buried their treasure and never came back for it?

[kissmyaspis]

More or less.

They left behind plenty of guardians to protect their vaults, and all the ones that I know of have big, terrible monsters that guard the entrances to the vaults.

Only three have been opened so far. I've been involved with two of them, and the payoff was definitely worth it.

[She wasn't there for the opening of the first Vault on Pandora, and the one on Elpis didn't exactly leave behind any good memories, but, well... she and Janey haven't had to worry about money at all since they returned from helping Rhys and Fiona with the Vault of the Traveler.]

[thatwasours]

The big, terrible monster wasn't enough to deter you after the first time around?

[kissmyaspis]

The big, terrible monster was just part of the fun. What's the point of a big reward if there's not a big risk to go with it?

[thatwasours]

The reward's the point.

There's enjoying the thrill of necessary risks and then there's just chasing danger for no reason.

[kissmyaspis]

Well, there is a reason. Everyone just has their own.

The first time I did it, I needed money. I needed to eat. There weren't really many options I had when the only skills I have revolve around fighting and killing, so I accepted a job that would have had me set for months, at the very least.

The second time... well. I wanted to repay a friend for helping me.

[She'll just leave that one there. Any further and she'd be getting into personal territory.]

[thatwasours]

[he wants to say that's an excuse and it's not that hard to learn new skills, because boy, is he tired of that excuse from home, there were twelve year olds learning skills to help them succeed off the battlefield, but--]

What could your friend have possibly done to equal facing down a giant, deadly alien?

[kissmyaspis]

[... Of course he'd ask. Right. She can still not give away too much here, right...?]

She helped me salvage the one positive thing I have going for me in my life.

[The ring on a chain around her neck. A note in her original post calling out one person specifically. If he doesn't get it then, she's not going to explain it again.]

And also... she's a friend. I had to.

[Because... that's what you do when you have a friend, right?]

[thatwasours]

[of course he would. he's digging for information of the events surrounding the Vaults.]

Admirable. So what, then, you killed the thing and split the loot, everyone taking an equal share?

I'm surprised no one got shot over it.

[kissmyaspis]

Everyone fought equally, everyone gets an equal share. We all understood that. Some people may think we're no better than bandits, but Vault Hunters can be reasonable. Depending on who you're hiring.

[Plus, there's this thing about this "conscious" stuff that's been growing inside her over the past few years that makes her uneasy at the thought of killing those idiots that had edged their way close to her.

But like hell she'll tell him that. She's already said too much. Damn Janey for making her sentimental like that...]

... Some of us did call dibs though.

[thatwasours]

...'Dibs' works for freelancers?

[kissmyaspis]

It does when you're not just a group of mercs with a common cause. Sure, we were all professionals in one way or another, and we were doing it for the money, the glory, and the loot. But most of us were... well. Friends, I guess.

[The word still feels odd on her tongue. She's had companions, comrades in arms, acquaintances.... but never friends.]