OCtober Day 19: Bailey

You get used to levels of extreme violence on Pandora pretty quickly. I’d bounced between a couple other planets before coming here, and despite everything I’d seen, nothing else quite came close. Something about this place had a unique charm to it. Well, once you looked past the piles of skag guts and the bandit camps.

I’d become aware of the existence of vault hunters through the stories told by locals. Legendary warriors who hunt locked away monsters, seeking the vast treasures they guard. As of yet I’d yet to meet any of the actual accomplished hunters. However, I had been lucky to come across some individuals who had the makings to fill those shoes one day.

Bailey had been the second of this promising lot. After spending some time on Promethea with  the other hopeful, an element defying woman known as Piper, I set back off on my journey. I’d wandered the badlands for some time, growing accustomed to the necessary means of survival. On one solo expedition I decided to check the fallen Helios Station. I’d missed the actual drama leading up to the fall of Handsome Jack, and the whole of Hyperion with him, though I caught wind of stories here and there. 

Upon arriving at the wreckage, it became swiftly clear that nature had come to reclaim it. Stalkers lurked about the entrance. No match for my handy pistol I’d acquired though. Put a bullet in a few of their brains and shimmied on through the entrance. Unfortunately, for the most part my trip turned out to be rather fruitless. Most of the cash reserves and guns had been looted by either bandits, or office workers who’d managed to survive the crash. Although, as I lazily stroked my fingers along the filthy walls, I began to hear a distant skittering.

Or should I say, skitterings?

Cautiously following the sound down a few corridors, I came across a whole horde of spiderlings gathered outside a large, seemingly untouched door. That was, aside from the thick spider webs covering it. Curiously, I reach out to wipe them off. Before I could though, a rough hand clasped around my shoulder, pulling me back. Instinctively, I whipped around and drew the pistol.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that” I yelled without thinking.

“How about you don’t give me a heart attack by nearly wandering into a raid den...alone!” the stranger scolded. Noticing their gun was pointing at the floor, I realised I was likely safe, putting mine away.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t realise there still people around here”

“Me either. Look, water under the bridge” they stated calmly, extending a hand to shake. “My name’s Bailey, what about you?”

“People call me M” I reply, taking their hand. I got a good look up and down at who I was dealing with. They were a tall one, with broad shoulders and a lot of muscle. A strange, high tech black jumpsuit, cracks glowing purple, covered most of the body. Only the face was exposed, and my word, were they beautiful. Dark skin, distinct jawline, elegant purple lipstick and matching eye shadow. Their eyes too were a dark shade of purple. Most of the hair had been shaved down. Bailey kept their body composed like one of a soldier, eyes focused though they spoke sarcastically, mouth contorting with varied expressions.

“So...it’s fairly obvious why I’m here. How about you?” I enquire.

Bailey clicked their tongue, walking past me to inspect the webbed door. With their back turned, I saw something strange. On the back of their neck, a small purplish thing had its claws dug deep into the skin.

“Well, somewhat the same reason as you” Bailey interrupted, shaking a couple spiderlings off. “Came home to loot the place, found next to nothing except the beast hiding in here. If I’m right, it’ll be sitting on a big stack of juicy eridium”

“Exciting...wait, home?” 

“Oh, yeah. Hyperion had me locked up in their labs for a long time. What better way to get back at them by stealing all their so-called hard earned profit?” 

One hand on their hip, my purple companion turned back around. 

“Say, M, how good are you with that thing?” they asked, pointing at my pistol.

“I’d say quite capable?”

Another tongue click.

“Got anything else on you?”

“Some grenades”

They rolled their eyes.

“Alright then, here”

Bailey chucked the rifle they were holding my way.

“Take this, for backup”

“Thank you...what for though?”

“We’re going on a raid, silly. Been looking for someone to spot me on this for some time now. Well, you know, someone that ain’t a spineless office jockey” they smirked, unlatching the SMG off their back to use.

Not one for questioning it, I put my faith in Bailey.

“Try to keep up now”

Pressing a button beside the door, it suddenly creaked. The ground rumbled as the hunk of metal slid open. All of the spiderlings flooded into the room, apparently seeking out their queen. As Bailey predicted, there it laid resting, an enormous spiderant atop a pile of glowing purple stones. Our presence woke it up it seemed, as the half spider half ant thing curled into a ball, barreling head first at us. 

Bailey threw aside the gun. I thought them mad at first. However, eyes locked on the small creature in the neck. It began to unfold, unravel itself across Bailey’s back, legs and arms. When fully deployed, it looks something like an alien exoskeleton, shiny, yet organic. A set of spider leg looking spines jutted out from within, catching the beast still. Clawing deep, Bailey used the chance to pummel it hard with their fists.

“M, this is your chance!” 

Knowing what they meant, I circled around, firing wildly into the beast’s weak spot; the abdomen. Between us, we wrecked it from both ends until it was nothing more than pulp. Bailey took me in their strong arms for a hug.

“Damn, you got the makings of a fine soldier in you!” 

After clearing through what creatures were left, we swept up the weapons loot, plopped down on the eridium pile and began sorting them between us. As we did, I couldn’t help staring at the exoskeleton. Seems they noticed, as Bailey spoke up, unprompted.

“You’re probably wondering how I got this, right?”

“Not going to lie, I’m very curious”

“Well…” they begin, with a tongue click. “I used to be part of Hyperion’s elite force. On one of the research trips they wanted us acting as escort, because of, well…”

Bailey gestures to the pulpy spiderant corpse.

“You know how Pandora is” I joke.

“Indeed. Anyhow, on this trip we found something...weird. Alien. Touching it was...something of a foolish mistake. It latched onto me. You’ve seen what it can do, and Hyperion wanted to use that for themselves”

They cock and fire a gun, testing it on a rogue stalker that wandered inside.

“I’m a living weapon. But I’m not going to be that for someone else’s selfish purposes...only my own” Bailey chuckles, winking at me.

And that, quite possibly, was the most Pandoran sentence I’d ever been told.