There Really Ain't no Rest For The Wicked.

Scouting The Siren

Roland gave us a new mission to go and bring Lilith (his girlfriend apparently), back to sanctuary. Apparently she has not been heard from in a while and no trace of her ECHO can be picked up. Shes held up somewhere in Frostburn Canyon, surrounded by bandit camps. I knew this wasn't gonna be easy, but Roland decided to send the whole group, so we had that to our advantage.

On the journey ahead we decided to take a bandit technical to save ourselves the trouble of wasting ammo on the way there. Gaige had decided to drive us the way there, as Zer0 sat in the turret control seat, while the rest of us sat in the back.

I looked beyond the pandoran snowy climate, lost in my thoughts about Jack. I had anticipated for him to call again, it's begun to be a habit that I shouldn't be expecting anything good out of it. Axton caught my attention by saying my name.

"Hey, need to keep your head in the game if we're gonna do this successfully okay? I'm anticipating a lot of bandits when we arrive, so I need to make sure you're listening and ready for this." he explains. He gives me a look of determination and seriousness. A look that says that this is not open for discussion and only for agreement. I nod my head.
Maya looks over to me and nudges my arm. "Dude, you okay? You've been out of sorts all week. This isn't like you." I look over to Maya. She shows a face of genuine concern.
"I've just been struggling to sleep properly as of lately, that's all. I'll be okay for the mission." I reply. I wasn't lying. It's been rather hard to sleep in fear of everything going on between my secret conversations with Jack. I just hope that whenever I go to tell the group about it, they won't immediately resort to murdering me.

"SLEEP IS MURDEROUS!!" Kreig exclaims. Axton shoots him a look of irritation, but disregards his statement. I know Axton means well. He's just a natural born leader, trying to keep the group in order. I can respect that, but his bold and out forward personality is part of what worries me to tell him. I'd just assume this has to be something that I can reveal once our personal connection grows a little more.

I snort at Kreig's comment, and bring my fist up for a bump. "Right on, brotha'." I say amusingly, smiling at Axton. Kreig stares at my hand for a moment, seeming confused by the action.
"You gotta raise your hand and punch hers, gently." Maya says to Kreig. He seems to understand this simple gesture, and fist bumps me back. "You got it, tough guy!" Maya praises. Maya seems to be really fond of Kreig. In a sense that hes just a lost puppy in need of guidance. Its a thought I can't help but smile at.
"How long until we arrive?" Salvador asks, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Not too long from now, just bout' a few miles more." Gaige responds from the front seat.
"Good. I'm feeling a little trigger itchy." He says. We all seem to have that in common at the moment. It's been a good bit since our last group mission together, and we all seem to be at our best selves as a team. The rest of the way is silent, until Zer0 alerts us. "We have arrived at our destination."

Gaige stops the car at the entrance of a cave. We all hop out of the car, preparing ourselves. "Okay, so we go in as a group guns blazing basically. Watch each others backs, don't die and kick ass. Got it?" Axton says. We all agree, as we can consider ourselves amateurs at this point.

It goes down just like Axton said it would. Nobody died, except for a crap-ton of bandits, we kicked hella ass, and were progressively making our way to Lilith's last known location. The mysterious woman, which we learned her name was Angel, has been helping alongside the original vault hunters too long ago. She leads us to our goal, we can be considered an ally based on what Roland says. Gaige and I run up along a hillside, when she asks, "What do you think Lilith is like?" Giage asks. I consider this a moment. I hadn't really thought about it. "If she's anything like we've heard, shes a siren, like Maya." I reply. "Shes one of the original vault hunters that opened the vault many years ago."
"I heard that shes a powerful siren. More powerful than anything I can do." Maya caught up to us a moment ago, and joined in on the conversation. "Wait, hold on a second." I stop running in my tracks, Gaige and Maya following suit. "Have you ever met another siren?" I ask.
"Uh, no to be honest. I never really got the chance until this mission." Maya replies. How has she never met another siren?! I mean, I know they aren't common, but still! "Well, how do you feel about meeting one?" Gaige asks excitingly. She comes closer with a grin on her face. "I guess it's gonna feel weird. Seeing my markings on another soul." Maya admits.

It never occurred to me to ask that question to her before. She's lived most of her life being worshipped as a "god" but had never met anyone with the type of power she holds. Sometimes I don't like the thought of Maya not being the only one that understands what type of power she has.

I place my hand on Mayas shoulder. Maya looks at my face, with a neutral expression. "I'd say it's gonna be a good experience. And I'm sure she can teach you a couple tricks too!" I say enthusiastically, trying my best to support the situation.

We eventually enter upon a base inside a cave, met with several screen monitors with hidden cameras around the area we explored. There was a moment of no chaos. No source of sound except for the ambience of Pandora's harsh winds.

I decide to walk around the area and examine various things which caught my eye. The rest of the group decided to do the same, for if anything can lead us to the location of Lilith, it would be helpful. I poke around in some lockers and come across a tainted purple glow. My first instinct told me it just just eridium. I was right in a sense, but somethings looked off about it.

"Hey guys, take a look at this." I say, calling whom ever was interested to take a look. Gaige and Axton came to look. I set the box on the floor.
"That's eridium..." Axton says quietly.
"But it's in pieces?" I say back to Axton. Gaige picks up a piece in her hand and examines it with a pocket microscope.
"It's eridium nuggets. I suppose more of its potential energy can be used when it's not refined." Gaige concluded.
"But...what would anyone use its power for...?" I asked, puzzled. "I can't see anyone using non-refined eridium other than to sell it on the black market." Maya walks towards the commotion and her face turns of one of amazement the moment her eyes see the glowing purple form.

Without speaking nor hesitation, her hand motions towards the eridium, her siren tattoos illuminating as her hand comes close in contact with the glowing purple mineral. "Maya, don't-" I try to warn before we're startled by the sound of clashing metal. We stop in our movements to find the source of the noise. Axton grabs his gun from off his back, and readies himself for fire.
"It's coming from the vents!" Gaige exclaims, summoning her robot to her command. It sounded like something big was to come. Whatever it was, we were prepared to fight.