Hello, world.

[Fl4k]

Lick.

Lick.

Lick, lick.

There was a slight stirring in the sands.

Lick.

"...graaah."

The sands stirred again. A figure was beginning to move. Slow and small movements but still moving. The first thing they saw was a clear, bright sky. It beamed down onto their face, causing them to squint as they were still coming to. They blinked a few times before a familiar face popped into frame, tilting their head slightly at them.

Fl4k sat up slowly. Their pet, pleased to see that their master was awake, began to run around in circles, letting out a series of upbeat barks. The robot looked from their beloved pet then to the surrounding area. They scanned it for, well, anything. Nothing stood out. No sign of their teammates either. Just sand, sand, and more sand. Fl4k stood up and took another look around. This couldn't be the Maliwan Blacksite.

The vault hunter took a hand and pulled out a gray slab from within their coat. The echo device was a little dinged up but still functional. Fl4k went to the mapping system only to be greeted with the message:

[ UNAVAILABLE ]

Strange. They scrolled through the other functions to see if anything else was working. Again, they were greeted with another message:

[ UNABLE TO CONNECT ]

Fl4k lowered the device and looked into the distance. It was safe to say that something was wrong. At this point, the cheerful skag had stopped its song and dance and was now sitting, staring up at its owner.

"Come on. It's time to move."

...
​

The two walked for what could have been hours. Even if a map was unavailable, if the ECHOnet were available they would at least have a clock. The sky remained as bright as before. Eventually, Fl4k took notice of their beast's condition. They didn't need to even need to hear the skag begin to pant before they looked over and asked, "Thirsty, boy?" It was second nature. Fl4k stopped and knelt down, taking off their backpack, and swinging it around. They unhooked the spiked pink bowl that had been hanging from the bag and sat it down. The skag let out a small whine while its owner searched their bag. It was only now that they noticed that a lot of their gear was either damaged or missing. First things first though. Fl4k pulled out a bottle of water and poured it out into the bowl. The skag eagerly lapped it up with its freakishly long tongue. Fl4k watched him for a few seconds before going back to searching their bag. Besides the ever important pet supplies, their wasn't much left. Some ammo, a broken rifle, equally broken shield, and a Jakobs pistol. Taking the handgun out of the bag, the vault hunter gave it a look over. It looked to be in good condition. They looked over at their pet who was done and appeared to be in better condition. For now, at least. There were a few more bottles left should they need to stop again.

Fl4k stashed the gun away inside their coat, reclipped the bowl back to the bag, and swung it back around.

The two had to keep moving.

 

[Fl4k]

So the two walked.

And walked.

And walked.

The robot vocalized a sigh. The fact that they were not painting the sands red right now was beginning to gnaw at them. They were sure that their pet was wishing that they were gnawing on something as well. Downtime was something Fl4k did not like. They needed to be on the move. One second wasted is another second that something could be used to hunt. On the other hand, it was another second something could be hunting them if they remained inactive.

The walking continued on for a bit more before Fl4k glanced over at their pet. The skag was keeping pace, carrying itself with a jaunty spring in its step. He was always a lively one. Fl4k reached a hand into their coat and pulled out a bone.

"You want the bone, boy?"

The skag snapped his head up, eyes lighting up expectingly.

"You want it? Go get it!"

Fl4k wasn't sure how to process it. All of their acquired gear gone. No base to fall back on. Missing teammates. Absence of the other two beasts. It left Fl4k feeling... vulnerable. Maybe not feel so much as come to the conclusion that the hunt could end here and now. They had been fighting for a long time with so many dead. This couldn't be the end. Not now. They were determined to not let that happen.

The skag left a flurry of sand behind it as it raced back to its owner with the bone between it jaws. This was probably the tenth time or so this was done. Fl4k lost count at a certain point while processing their previous thoughts. He parked himself in front of his owner and looked up at the bot with those adorable green eyes. "Good boy," Fl4k said, patting the little scamp on the head. The skag leaned into the action affectionately. Gripping the handle of the bony weapon, they gave it a small tug to which their pet opened up their jaws and let go. There was a layer of saliva on the curved, dull end of it. Most Pandorans would be grossed out that. It was a 'if you know, you know' kind of thing. It never bothered Fl4k.

Countless what could have been hours passed. The two took another break to rest sometime in between there. While their pet had a helping of skag bites and more water, Fl4k stood watch for anything that would come their way. Maybe if the sand were to come alive. That would at least give them something to help alleviate their itchy trigger finger. As they stood watch and looked, they could pick up the sound of something in the distance but couldn't tell what. It was faintly there but constant. They locked their eye out in the direction of the noise and saw nothing. It was better than nothing.

"Come on, boy. Let's go."

Eventually, signs of life were beginning to crop up. A scattering of small patches of grass were beginning to show up. Further up ahead there was a full plains. While bot's best friend went ahead and frolic through the fields, Fl4k knelt down and ran their metal fingers through the grass. A small 'hmm' was produced before they stood back up. It reminded them of the barren deserts of Pandora. Minus the occasional settlements and bandits on vehicles screaming about polishing their axe on your skull. The noise from before was gone and it was back to dead silence. Getting back up, they followed the grassy plains, hoping that something would show.

A small town out in the middle of nowhere was not what Fl4k was needing but it would do. The robot nonchalantly walked into the town with their monstrosity of a pet by their side. The people there reacted appropriately.

"What the hell is that thing?" One man yelled out, pointing at the skag.

Fl4k looked towards them for a few seconds before continuing on. Several small buildings were passed as the bot looked around, receiving expected looks back. Quiet whispers and hushed conversations followed. Searching the town, they were unable to find a fast travel station. They pulled out their echo device again to see if there was any connection but there was none. Stashing the device away, they looked over to a building where one person happened to be do some gardening. As much as they would detest the idea of conversation, they weren't getting anywhere and information was needed.

The gardener had his back to the vault hunter with a thin wooden fence standing between them.

"Hello."

The gardener jumped and turned around to see what looked like a robot covered in scraps. They stood a full head over them and didn't make a sound as they approached. You can imagine how he reacted. Fl4k attempted to calm the person down,

"Do not be alarmed. I am but a traveler. Could you tell me where the nearest fast travel is?"

"Th-the what?" They managed to get out.

"Fast travel," the robot stated flatly, "I am in need of a fast travel station."

Stuttering and confused, he responded with, "I-I dont't know what you're talking about."

Fl4k remained silent for a moment before asking, "Where am I?"

 

[Fl4k]

As much as they may have wanted to go trekking back out into the desert, that was not possible.

Fl4k stood at the edge of the settlement. Motionless and as still as a statue. Arms held casually at their side. The occasional gust of sand brushing against their coat whilst the sun beamed down upon them. Aside from the distant sounds of everyday work, it was quiet. So much so that it felt like time had slowed to a crawl. This moment felt as if it dragged out longer than it should've.

From behind them, their beast stepped up beside them. The skag leaned forward and stretched, letting out a small cry before sitting down. The sand jumped around them as they plopped down. The skag looked up at their master for a moment before looking out into the same stretch of sand they were looking into. Eventually mirroring their actions. He sat alert and on guard. Not sure of what was coming next but ready to pounce at a moments notice.

The bot turned to looked down upon their beast. SIlent and intently, they gazed upon him. He was still on guard duty, watching for any signs of movement. Fl4k's eye brightened slightly

After a moment, the beast looked up to lock eyes with their master. Bright green eyes stared back at each. Fl4k reached down and gave him a few pats on the head.

...

The two remained in the settlement for a while longer. Taking cover in the shade, the two kept a distance between themselves and the others. Maybe the other way around. The guard dog was curled up asleep on the ground. Fl4k stood with their back against a wall. They resorted to people-watching for the time being. It was near agonizing to sit inert like this.

It was unlikely that Ellie had made a miscalculation. Perhaps Maliwan had intercepted the drop pod, stranding them on some unknown planet. A barren planet. One with no signs of anything remotely familiar. From what the one-sided conversation earlier had revealed to be named 'Mesa Roja'. It was connected to some other places as well. They weren't the first one to show up out of the blue like this. Fl4k left the conversation there. They had heard all they needed to.

If they weren't lost then, they were now.

The was little care for the current surroundings. Pandora was night and day from this place. You could step out two feet somewhere and have someone shooting at you. Fl4k was deeply missing that right now.

It was only happenstance that a particular conversation caught their attention. Discussion about the most recent raid. A group of people arriving on some roaring vehicle. They would run amok, stealing goods and threatening citizens. The usual wickedness of man Fl4k was accustomed to. Typical bandit behavior. Taking all they could before tossing it in their buggy and hauling ass.

Fl4k was quick to move. The bot approached the two men wrapping up what they were doing.

"I have heard your settlement has been having trouble. I wish to hunt down these bandits. Where could I find them?"

The two were taken aback at first. They eventually pointed them out in a certain direction. Apparently someways away, there was a camp of them there. When asked about a way of getting there, the bot was told of someone who could help.

"You got a death wish or something?"

A skinny man covered nearly head to toe in clothing sat back in the driver seat of a large buggy. He sounded young. Boots, long pants, long sleeved shirt, and a hat that covered the back of one's neck. Black boots and the rest were shades of tan. From what skin was showing, he had seen a fair amount of sun.

"Look," the man leaned over from the seat to get a better look at the bot, "As much as I'd love to go get shot and bleed out in the sun, I can't afford to do that. I don't have much fuel left in this thing. Those bastards stole what cans I had left."

"Bring me to them. I can assure you they will no longer be an issue," Fl4k stated, rather flatly.

"Yeah, cause robot man and," the driver looked over at the monstrous being standing beside the bot, "... whatever the hell that thing is is going to take out a whole pack of bandits. Sure."

Fl4k stayed quiet for a moment before responding.

"I can leave your settlement then. Alone. Unguarded. Vulnerable to attack."

Fl4k turned and began to walk away, beast in tow.

They got a dozen or so steps away before hearing something.

"... Wait!"

Fl4k stopped, turning to look back over their shoulder.

The driver was now out of his seat, taking a few steps away from his ride.

"Are you serious about this? I really hate seeing everyone around here suffer. I just can't afford for us to get stuck out there... or worse."

"Bring me to them."