Moxxi shivered as she watched the metal giant slowly rise from its crouched position. Its supposed "eye" scanned the terrain, gathering and analyzing all the information around it.
"Close your mouth, darling, or a fly might get in."
Moxxi felt a hand under her helmet. She wondered how the man knew her jaw had dropped despite the helmet.
"A second-generation Vanguard-class Titan, they're the best in versatility. This Titan can use any equipment from other Titans. Very expensive and heavy, reserved only for the best." Maxwell felt a wave of emotion seeing such a familiar figure. It reminded him of the days when he'd rush home from school to play Titanfall multiplayer. Life was simple and nostalgic back then.
Standing at an imposing 8 meters tall and weighing 40 tons, the Vanguard was originally painted in shades of military green with orange or metallic gray. However, Maxwell planned to change the colors to avoid associations with certain corporations. Its head had a rectangular visor with a large central lens glowing a bright blue, serving as its primary "eye." There were also smaller cameras for dynamic rear and flank views, though the pilot only had access to the front hub.
"I chose a Vanguard for you so you can experiment with all the layouts of other Titans and figure out which suits your preferences," Maxwell said as he approached the Titan, Moxxi following behind with a mix of curiosity and a tinge of fear.
"If it's such a good Titan, why must I choose another one?"
"I just think every pilot should specialize in one Titan. Jack of all trades but master of none doesn't appeal to me. You'd agree if you'd seen a guy named Viper be an absolute monster in a Northstar." Maxwell explained while gesturing for the Titan to open its cockpit. "Vanguards and first-generation Titans are good for less orthodox, unpredictable, and versatile loadouts. These qualities can catch an enemy off guard."
"Get in. A mechanic like you should be able to assess a Titan's performance more insightfully." Maxwell didn't mind letting her go first since it wasn't BT-7274. Although the Titan session was locked, it hadn't stopped him from seeing the items sold, including BT's SERE kit, which allowed him to use it on any Titan besides the Vanguard.
Maxwell could only imagine how powerful BT would be in a Monarch, a Titan built by the IMC from Vanguard scraps. Its name wasn't imposing without reason, as its evolving core made the Monarch more resilient than the Legion or Scorch.
'DAMN! I need to get stronger fast!' Maxwell would have exited the simulation and gone to Odyssey's gym, but Moxxi needed him here.
The Vanguard lowered its hand and opened it. Moxxi hesitated briefly, but her curiosity quickly overcame her fear. She climbed up, startled momentarily and almost falling as she was lifted to the cockpit. She scanned the interior before entering and sitting in the chair. Surprisingly, it was spacious, and the seat was comfortable, soft, and reclining.
The hatch closed automatically, leaving the interior pitch black until the internal systems activated. Moxxi noticed lines of code appearing in the top-right corner of her visor. A robotic female voice spoke to her.
"PROTOCOL 1: Link to Pilot."
Moxxi's vision became obscured by green lines before normalizing again.
"Neural link established, war engineer Mad Moxxi. You are now confirmed as the active pilot of AS-2713."
"PROTOCOL 2: Uphold the mission. No designated mission. Awaiting orders from superiors."
"PROTOCOL 3: Protect the Pilot. No threats were detected within a 100-meter radius. Analyzing the pilot's health... No anomalies or injuries found in the Pilot."
Moxxi was excitedly bouncing in her seat as a screen divided into four sections lit up, highlighting the hatch from where the Titan opened its cockpit. She had been curious about how to pilot something without being able to see outside. Then she noticed another point.
"HOW DO I PILOT THIS THING?" Moxxi looked at her hands. There was no analog control or steering wheel, only panels and buttons. But as if sensing her doubts, four rings encircled each of her arms.
"Control transferred to Pilot."
"Huh? Oh!"
She accidentally pulled a hand forward in surprise, causing Alpha Sierra to step forward, barely avoiding crushing poor Maxwell by mere centimeters.
"Oops! My bad. Did I hurt you?"
"No problem. My fault for standing so close." Maxwell wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. The simulation had pain sensitivity enabled.
She could see Maxwell looking up and waving at her from outside, a funny sight since she always had to look up when talking to Maxwell because of his height. Turning her attention back to the "monitor," she noticed a miniature of the Vanguard Titan in the top-right corner beside the minimap in the top-left corner. She assumed it was the Titan's Integrity Status, indicating which parts needed repair after battle, a handy feature since mechanics spent more time finding defects than fixing them.
In the upper center of the monitor were two bars, one blue and one white. She wasn't sure what they represented, but Alpha soon answered her question as if reading her mind.
"The smaller white bar represents my shields. When depleted, my armor becomes exposed. The blue bar represents my armor, with the segments indicating its layers. As a Vanguard, I have 5 point armor. Damage penetrating the armor impacts the Titan chassis, potentially causing rapid functional losses."
Moxxi let out a whistle. A Titan could endure so much stress before being destroyed. No wonder Maxwell said Titans were their trump card. Mechs weren't new in their era, she had heard of Vladof's Iron Bears, but they couldn't compare to a Titan.
Moxxi's vision swam momentarily, with a brief dizziness before returning to normal.
"Affinity with Neural Link deepened, enabling weapon usage. XO16A2 Chaingun ready."
New icons appeared on the monitor. In the bottom-left corner were four icons, the largest among them displaying a crescent-shaped bar at 0%, indicating it needed charging. The others showed a blue vortex, a cloud with a lightning bolt, and a small rocket with several red arrows around it.
There was also an image of the XO16A2 silhouette with a counter reading 40/1200, indicating the weapon's maximum capacity and total ammunition.
"Well, I guess it's time for you to test a Titan's capabilities. Angel, bring in an enemy Titan. We'll scale the difficulty gradually."
"Understood. A less intelligent AI will be good for learning."
A Tone dropped from the sky dozens of meters away from Moxxi, an orange dome surrounding it, protecting the Titan as it rose after such a high-altitude landing. Its red eyes locked onto Moxxi immediately, pulling its 40mm Tracker Cannon from its back and firing without hesitation.
*BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM* *BOOOM*
"Alert: Engaging in combat with an enemy Titan. Defensive measures are recommended."
The shots were like thunderclaps. Moxxi could still hear them even with the acoustic insulation of her pilot helmet.
"Uh, crap, what defense? This is an open plain with no cover for something this big." Moxxi bit her lip, tense as she saw her shield bar drop to half.
"Screw it! The best defense is a good offense!" Moxxi lost her patience, pointing her XO-16A2 at the enemy Tone, instinctively clenching her right fist.
*TAAK* *TAAK* *TAAK* *TAAK* *TAAK*
The gigantic shells flew out of her massive weapon, hitting the ground with thuds, and burning the grass on impact.
The Tone absorbed the initial shots but deployed its Particle Wall. The blue shield absorbed the rounds, but its hue shifted to orange as Moxxi emptied her weapon.
Frustrated at failing to deal any damage, Moxxi grew wary as something rose from the Tone's shoulder. Before she could process it, Alpha urgently warned her.
"Enemy Titan locked on. Incoming missiles. Vortex Shield usage recommended."
*SWOOOOSH*
Moxxi didn't have time to think, she pressed and held a button marked with the blue vortex symbol. Seeing the missiles leave smoky trails, she closed her eyes, bracing for an explosion.
After a few seconds without anything happening, Moxxi opened her eyes and saw her Titan's hand stretched forward, projecting a huge blue vortex from the Alpha's palm. It looked like it was struggling, given that the giant hand was visibly shaking.
The missiles floated harmlessly, but this didn't intimidate the enemy Titan, which kept firing, adding bullets to the vortex. The shield began to redden from the strain.
Moxxi knew holding it for longer wasn't a good idea. She released the button, prompting her Titan to launch all the missiles and 40mm rounds back at the Tone, destroying its Particle Wall and partially depleting its shields.
"What is this, telekinesis? Don't tell me Titans have magical powers!" Moxxi stared at the scene, stunned, struggling to believe Titans had abilities.
"It's science, baby. But any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Maxwell shrugged but decided to give her tips, it was her first time, after all. "You should move. Standing still makes you an easy target. Use the Turbo Engines to evade while your defensive ability is offline."
"Easy for you to say, Max! Piloting a Titan feels like trying to write with both hands, my focus keeps slipping!"
"It's not that hard; it's like playing drums. You'll get the hang of it."
"You've played drums to say that?!"
"Tone's making another move, better focus, hehe." Maxwell noticed the woman was enjoying herself, even if she struggled with the controls.
Maxwell turned his attention away from the duel and back to the small girl sitting next to him. He pretended not to notice Angel's occasional glances, she was growing a little bolder.
"By the way, Angel, can you contact the Vault Hunters?" Maxwell rested his hand on Angel's black hair, stroking it gently.
A faint blush rose to the girl's cheeks. Though embarrassed, she didn't ask him to stop.
"Could you be more specific? You know Vault Hunters aren't a single group. Pandora's seen forty-eight Vault Hunters, though most are just mercenaries."
"Huh, I didn't know there were more Vault Hunters on Pandora than those four. Makes sense, I guess. Anyway, I'm talking about the group with the red-haired Siren."
"Oh, the Vault Hunters my father sent me to deceive."
Maxwell's hand left Angel's hair, his claws gripping her small waist, pulling her closer.
"Father?"
"..."
"Can you forget I said that?"
"No."
...
Salt Flats was a strange place.
By day, the heat was so scorching that a third-degree burn wasn't out of the question. By night, the cold was such that mountain peaks accumulated snow.
The planet felt much like Psycho's mind, so chaotic and bipolar that understanding such madness was insanity itself.
On this beautiful night, the sky was so full of stars that it seemed they might spill. Among the rocks, a group sat around a campfire, a bandit car parked nearby, serving as cover.
"Damn, I'm done. Hey, Roland, are you sure there's an Atlas base around here?" asked a thin man with spiky black hair tied up in a bun and a sniper rifle on his lap. A sinister bird was sleeping on the man's shoulder.
"The folks from Hollow Point said there was Lancer activity a few weeks ago," replied a dark-skinned man, turning the skewers of meat over the fire.
"How are they still operating? Isn't Steele dead? Or was that soldier we interrogated lying, keeping us on this planet to finish us off?" A big man grabbed a skewer, devouring it in seconds, looking far from satisfied.
"It's the military, Brick. Even with the leader gone, they still have their lieutenants and sergeants. On a hostile planet like this, dispersing means death to the fauna or Psychos."
"Huh, these pyramid schemes are complicated. Ever thought about what to do after this? I'm thinking of opening a veterinary clinic."
"If it's about what we like, then I'll start a brewery. Then I can drink all I want, hehe."
"Let's be honest Mordecai, you'll go bankrupt in weeks, drinking everything before selling the first batch, hahaha."
"PFF HAAHAHA."
"What about you, Lilith… Lilith?"
The men turned to the woman standing and gazing at the sky. She seemed lost in thought.
"Hey, Lilith, obsessing over the Vault is messing with your head. Come eat something, or hunger will kill you first."
Lilith sighed audibly, her shoulders dropping. Turning, she approached the fire, sitting down, and serving herself some meat, no one needed to know what it was.
"I don't know. I've never thought of doing anything besides learning about Sirens…"
"GRR, my life sucks. And you're no help, you piece of junk."
*Baam*
"OOF, HEY! I'm tied up, you're not giving me any food, and now you're mad at me? Am I really that unlikeable?"
"Shut up, Claptrap. We're only keeping you around because of that blue AI. I regret not throwing you into the Rakk Hive's mouth when we had the chance."
*Sob* *Sob* *Sob*
"But I don't even know what you're talking about! I don't know any Guardian Angel!" Claptrap cried dramatically, hurt more by their words than the unnecessarily tight chains crushing his rusty chassis.
"You didn't have to hit him, Lilith. Now we'll have to bury him so we can sleep."
Mordecai and Brick stood, ready to dig a hole. They seemed used to this situation, it happened all too often.
But before they could proceed, Claptrap trembled, his demeanor changing suddenly.
"Intimidating my favorite robot? Threatening your only source of information? Truly a stupid move." Claptrap's grating voice was replaced by Angel's melodic, familiar tone.
"IT'S HER!"
"You abandoned us after we killed Baron Flynt, you witch!"
"A lot has happened, and much more will happen. You don't know what you're involved in. This is a conflict among sharks, not sardines like you. Still, I have the information you need. Will you listen?"
"Hear you out, only to step into another mess?" Roland's patience wore thin. He should've been off Pandora by now. As a deserter from Atlas, staying on a planet crawling with their soldiers wasn't smart.
"Then why are you still keeping Claptrap?"
"Because he works well as bait."
"Fair enough, Brick. Anyway, I have information about the Vault and the key's whereabouts."
"I can't ignore this, Roland. As a Siren, I feel there's something in the Vault that can help us. It's not just about weapons or treasures; it's something bigger. Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you. I don't trust her."
"Honestly? I'm tired of this. I don't want to trust her, but we're already in the middle of this mess. If there's any chance, no matter how small, to end it, I'm in."
"I'll probably regret this later, but I came to Pandora knowing I might die searching for the Vault."
"Well, well. Looks like we have a deal. Head to New Haven. Once you arrive, we'll talk again." With those words, Angel relinquished control over Claptrap.
"..."
"I WANT TO TAKE A DUMP!"
"Bury this thing already."