Borderlands: Apex Predator

Maxwell stood waiting for the large gate of Crimson Fastness to open, revealing the ready figure of Spyglass.

"Welcome back, sir," Spyglass greeted in its emotionless robotic voice. Its sensors immediately locked onto the bloodstain on Maxwell. "I've detected an injury on your flank. This may compromise your combat effectiveness."

Maxwell simply shook his head, downplaying the concern. "It's nothing serious. The nanites have already closed the wound. It won't interfere."

"Sir, if I may ask," Spyglass tilted its head slightly, its glowing eyes flickering with curiosity. "Which version of nanites are you using, sir?"

Maxwell shrugged. "They're basic models, nothing too advanced."

Spyglass's eyes flashed with a critical tone. "I strongly recommend upgrading to a newer, or at least less outdated, version. Your repair and regeneration functions would be exponentially enhanced, along with eliminating the magnetic weakness."

Maxwell gave a short, carefree smile as he took off his pilot helmet. "Later. For now, how are things here?"

"I have good and bad news, sir. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Start with the good news, Spyglass." Maxwell stretched his body, the tension from the previous battle slowly fading away.

"The ECHOnet has been fully formatted, and all databases were successfully preserved. We've accessed a vast amount of information on Atlas infrastructure and a complete map of Pandora."

Maxwell nodded in satisfaction but raised an eyebrow. "And the bad news?"

Spyglass hesitated for a moment, as if processing the best way to report the situation. "One of the Marvins… seems to have been possessed by an unknown entity while removing hardware belonging to Hyperion. It has requested to speak with the leader of the operation, which would be you. The Marvin has been contained in a secure cell, awaiting your assessment."

Maxwell sighed heavily, massaging his temples. He already had a nagging suspicion about who might be behind this "possession."

"Her, huh? It was only a matter of time," he muttered with his eyes closed. "I just hope Angel doesn't have a daddy complex. I can't let her be used by Jack or I'm screwed. A large part of my systems are based on technology, not to mention my implants and the Titans in the future."

Without opening his eyes, he asked, "And Tannis?"

"Dr. Tannis is at the Crimson Enclave, analyzing the bodies of the Guardians that fell in the previous battle. She's also conducting extensive tests on the technological remains of the Eridians."

Maxwell nodded, still processing the information. "Tell the Marvins to start dismantling the ECHOnet servers and antennas. We're transporting them to Dead Island before Knoxx gets here. With Steele dead, they won't take long."

"Understood, sir. I'll relay the order immediately."

As they walked through the corridors of Crimson Fastness toward the cell where Marvin was held, Maxwell changed the subject. "I want to know how the Underdome is doing. Is the owner planning any events?"

Spyglass adjusted its posture, preparing to give a brief explanation. "The Underdome is running its usual matches, where bandits, Pandora creatures, and mercenaries are pitted against each other in bloody combat. It's a chaotic place but quite popular. However, the only information I could gather is that the owner of the Underdome is looking for a husband. The proprietor is Mad Moxxi, a well-known figure for her violence… and her attractive physique, sir."

Maxwell scoffed. "Moxxi is a classic femme fatale, but she goes beyond that. She's a skilled mechanic. She could be useful in building more Marvins. After I regenerate, I'll look for her, maybe participate in the Underdome to catch her attention."

"Speaking of regeneration, I need some mental exercises. Any recommendations?"

Spyglass nodded. "That's a pragmatic choice, sir. I recommend reaching out to her soon. As for mental exercises, chess is an excellent option. It develops complex strategies and sharpens reasoning skills."

Maxwell gave a slight smile. "I'll consider it, but see if you can find one for me. Let's see if your logic programming is any good at chess."

Finally, they arrived at the cell where the "possessed" Marvin was detained. Maxwell looked at the machine, not noticing anything unusual at first glance. But as he approached, the Marvin turned its head, as if sensing the movement.

A female voice came from inside the machine, soft but laden with authority. "Maxwell Williams. Former pawn of Atlas. Now a deserter."

Maxwell rolled his eyes. Trying to scare him? A good tactic if he didn't already know who it was and if he wasn't the living embodiment of the Revenant.

"Who are you? Identify yourself, or I'll destroy this tin can," Maxwell feigned ignorance. He didn't want to scare the girl. He needed to be seen as an ally. After all, it wouldn't be attractive for Angel to escape one dictator only to fall into the hands of another.

The female voice, undisturbed by the threat, replied calmly. "Interesting. I've never seen a robot like this before. Quite advanced by Pandora's standards."

OK, fuck the cautious approach. Maxwell only knew how to be diplomatic with his weapons, he urgently needed to hire someone to do it. That's what the money was for.

Maxwell grabbed his Kraber from his back and aimed it at the Marvin. "Can you see this thing? I killed a Siren moments ago; I have no patience for games."

"I don't doubt anything, Maxwell, but I'm not your enemy. I'm here to help you. My name is Guardian Angel." The Siren quickly explained, fearing he might pull the trigger. The Marvin was the only thing in Pandora left connected to her.

She could feel various technologies in the man's body in front of her. He was like Wilhelm, a friend of her father who had an addiction to installing implants in his body. Although Wilhelm dreamed of becoming a complete cyborg, she didn't expect Maxwell to follow the same path. No one was as insane as Wilhelm.

"I don't see how a Siren working with Hyperion could help me." Though he said that, Maxwell still holstered his Kraber. "How cute, now I have a guardian angel. Can I call you Angel? It doesn't matter, I'll call you that whether you want it or not."

"You're mistaken, Mr. Maxwell. I'm just an artificial intelligence, and I wonder what makes you think I'm part of Hyperion."

"You can stop the act, Angel. I'm not a Vault Hunter who'll obey the first person who promises me a path to the Vault. My robots removed hardware from Hyperion from the ECHOnet. There was no AI inside, which leaves only a Siren," Maxwell chuckled in amusement. "Get to the point; my time is valuable."

Angel fell silent, alarmed at how easily her father's plans had been seen by a random man in Pandora. Upon realizing her identity had been compromised, she wanted to retreat, but Maxwell didn't seem like he would capture her and sell her to the highest bidder.

She decided to follow the plan for now. It didn't help that she felt curious about how a figure had appeared out of nowhere on Pandora and was messing with everything, from Atlas's plans to Hyperion's.

"You're in danger. With Steele's death—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, Angel, I already knew the consequences of killing Steele. If you want to help me, just keep quiet about what I'm doing here on Pandora, lie to your superior, and I promise I'll free you. Deal?"

Angel stayed silent, her thoughts chaotic.

'He's guessing that I'm a slave to Hyperion and that I'm just helping him to be freed?' Angel concluded that it made sense. Sirens had high bounties and would be used for experiments or have their powers exploited for some corporation's benefit.

Angel felt momentarily scared, but she didn't have much time left and had to make her decision quickly. The mere thought of finally being free crossed her mind. It was quite tempting to finally live her life.

But she knew her father well, and he wouldn't let her go easily. Angel was the reason for Jack's rise in Hyperion; without her, he couldn't stay safe in such a predatory corporate environment.

Deep down, she still loved her father and couldn't abandon him in such a hostile place. She was too good of a soul to do that.

"You know, you seem conflicted, which is bad enough to make me reconsider my offer. But I have an Eridian Guardian supposedly coming after my ass, and I need a Siren on my side. So, let me rephrase."

"Be my double agent for now. Feed your superior with half-truths. Then we'll figure out your freedom problem, okay?"

The Marvin nodded, signaling that Angel agreed to his terms.

"Great, now do me a favor and create new passwords for these ECHOs." Maxwell opened the cell and handed the Marvin a dozen ECHOs.

Angel tilted the Marvin's head in doubt but still obeyed Maxwell.

...

A few hours later, in Jack's private office at Hyperion.

Jack was leaning back in his chair, staring at the feed of a hologram, a frown on his angular face. His heterochromatic eyes quickly darted across the screen.

"Angel!" Jack shouted, running his hand through his dark brown hair. He had been analyzing the latest news from Pandora for hours and was close to tearing his hair out.

"Yes, father?" Angel's voice quickly responded.

"What the hell is happening on Pandora? Steele was killed, the Vault key was lost, and where the hell are the Vault Hunters?" Jack was doing his best not to explode with rage.

This was his chance to boost his promotion, maybe even get the Hyperion president's chair. But that would only be possible with the discovery of the Vault.

A victory against the superpotency Atlas would give him a lot of reputation, not to mention put them on equal footing, with the help of Eridian technology, which was responsible for Atlas's current dominant status.

"Father, the ECHOnet servers were shut down on Steele's command, and shortly after, an unknown individual invaded Crimson Fastness and killed all the Atlas soldiers..." Angel paused, preparing to do something she had never done before. "This person formatted the ECHOnet system and removed my anchor from the server. I was forced to contact this person before I lost total connection with Pandora. In our conversation, I managed to deceive him with a false promise to help him retaliate against Atlas."

"You spoke directly to this person?! Wait! Was it him who killed Steele?" Jack's eyes were frantic; there was too much information to process.

"I'm not sure, father. He refused to give any information."

"..." Jack didn't care much. Someone had attacked an Atlas base and stolen the ECHO server. Killing a high-ranking Atlas officer wouldn't be the last crime this person would commit before the sunset.

"And the Vault, any information? Does this person intend to open it?" Jack's only hope was that this person would open the Vault and get killed by the monster inside.

"Nothing, he didn't mention the Vault. He seems like any other Pandoran and is skeptical about the existence of any alien treasure."

"Good, but Atlas won't stay quiet knowing their commander was killed. There are too many soldiers on Pandora to be left to die. I expect another high-ranking officer to be sent soon." Jack turned his attention back to the hologram, focusing on taking advantage of the situation.

Angel remained silent, feeling conflicted about her emotions. She felt guilty for lying to her only family and something that could only be described as apprehension. Nervousness with a dash of adrenaline?

Angel, however, was no fool and wanted to closely analyze Maxwell's personality before deciding anything. She wasn't a Vault Hunter who would trust the first person to promise help.