June 14, 2026
8:30 A.M.
Helios Station

My eyes fluttered open and I only saw the ceiling at first. But, I sat up and I felt a tight grip around my waist. I smiled and looked over, seeing Jack sleeping with his tight grip around my waist. I lay back down and scoot closer to him.

As I observed his facial features, I jumped at the sight of two blue and green eyes looking at me. His grip on me was still as tight as ever. So, I was just stuck there for a long while.

"Good morning, kitten" He said, his voice deep and raspy. This sent shivers down my spine just listening to his voice.

I smiled and caressed his cheek. "Good morning, Jack." I kissed his cheek, and I felt a smile slowly appear on his face due to the movement of his cheeks.

I do not know why, but now that I am talking and spending time with Jack...it's like I am falling in love with him. It's as if Rhys is no longer in the picture anymore. If he left, he must be far away right now. He's probably already settled down with a family and a good paying job, like he has always wanted in his life.

"Did you sleep well?" Jack asked me. I nodded as a reply. He smiled at my response and hugged me, pulling me closer to him.

Of course, I hugged back. I was not going to just be rude about it. Plus, he is being the most affectionate person I have ever met in my life. I am taking a liking to the love and affection he is giving to me. I mean, who wouldn't? Even though he had infuriated Mr. Tassiter, he is still the guy I want in the end of it...oh my god. Do I love Jack?

I looked at Jack. "How are the Vault Hunters doing?" He looked surprised by my sudden choice of questioning.

He tilted his head. "How do you know about them?"

"I was in his office when you contacted him...then he sent me out of his office. I'm probably jobless now" I replied, putting my head down in sadness and disappointment.

His hand held my chin and gently pulled my face to look up at his. "Everything will be okay. I promise."

I looked at him and held his hands. "So, are they okay?" Jack checked the tracker on his watch that located the Vault Hunters to be in Concordia.

"Yes. They made it to Concordia" he smiled. I smiled and hugged him. I don't know why I am doing this, but it's like my mind is controlling my body to do things that I do not usually do to just anyone.

"Let me contact them really quick" he said, but kept me close to him, "Alright, welcome to Concordia, a craphole if I ever saw one. Find a guy named Huxter -- he's ex-Hyperion, runs the town." He hung up the ECHO.

I did not let go of him because I was afraid to. I was afraid that if I let him go, I would never see him again. That his feelings would change in an instant and he would leave me alone.

"Hey, sweetheart, are you okay?" He asked, holding my face in his hands. I nodded and smiled. He smiled back and kissed the top of my head.

He contacted them again. "So Huxter, the guy you need to find, calls himself "Meriff". Like, mayor mixed with sheri-- --it's stupid, whatever. But he might know how to track down the signal. This guy's still pulling down a phat retirement plan from Hyperion, from my division. I'm basically his boss. He's pretty much on the team already."

I tugged on his shirt. "Put it on speaker."

The ECHO communications line was now for him and I both to hear what's going on. I heard an older male's voice speaking.

"Visitors from Helios... Ah. So, here's the thing. Uh -- no visitors today." I heard. Wait, why does he not want any visitors? That doesn't sound right.

"You were one of us -- you stupid-named son of a bastard!" Jack yelled, but I placed my hand on his shoulder and with a sigh...he continued, "I guess... there is one other person who can help us. Unfortunately. Get to the Up Over Bar."

I gave a look of confusion. "Isn't that your...?" He nods in reply and I felt a pang of jealousy flow through me. Why did I feel jealous about his ex-girlfriend? I mean, he and I aren't together so it shouldn't matter...right?

Jack turned on a camera on a Vault Hunter's ECHO to see what they were seeing. "Where's Mox? Oh, waitwaitwait -- hey, you see those two on the dance floor? The tattooed chick and the guy allergic to smiling? Ahh, they're ex-Vault Hunters, go see if they'll help. Haha, finally! Lady luck flips a friggin' face card."

I chuckled at his response. "You're too cute, little programmer."

He smiled back, grabbed my hand, and continued to watch the ECHO camera. "Hello again. Hyperion are losing Helios to Dahl -- we need to stop the signal that's jamming its systems."

I saw two familiar faces as they spoke to the Vault Hunter. "Hyperion, Dahl, is there a difference?" The male said. He was a tale, dark-skinned male that looked like a soldier or a leader.

"We're on vacation. Together" the female said. He was a Siren. I knew she was because she has the same tattoos I do. Jack knows I have them, but Mr. Tassiter does not.

"Yeah. Sorry, but we're out of the Vault Hunting game" he states, trying to sound as proper as possible.

"Too many tentacles" she stated. What does she mean by tentacles?

Jack was upset that he did not get what he wanted. "Go talk to Moxxi. Dammit!" I placed my other hand over his to calm him down. I saw his body let out a relaxing sigh.

Then, Moxxi said something that did more than infuriate me. "So -- Jack sent you, huh? Musta bothered him somethin' awful. No worries, though. It's all in the past. What does he need?" I growl at her statement.

A large hand grabbed my arm. "Her and I are done. Okay? There's nothing to worry about cupcake."

I listened in on the conversation. "Dahl soldiers took down Helios's defenses with a jamming signal. We need to find that signal and shut it down."

Moxxi replies. "You wanna find a signal? Then you gotta put transmitters on the ECHO towers around town. Get up high. Simple triangulation -- they'll find the source, then you can shut it down. Thing is, I don't have any transmitters here. But, that's fixable. First, I need you to pick up some Moonstones mistakenly confiscated by the Customs CL4P-TP. Head over there and I'll update your ECHO. Trust me -- it'll make sense."

Why is she needing moonstones? That doesn't sound right. What if she is taking something with too much value to herself? That's not the best idea to encourage. They just need to turn around and find someone else to help them.

I guess the Vault Hunters found the Moonstones because Moxxi started talking again. "Show the Moonstones to the guy there and you'll get what you need. I ordered a bunch of transmitters a while back, but I've been kinda avoiding this place. That Janey Springs keeps trying to use it as a place to "accidentally" run into me."

I guess they mean the Moonstone Black Market shop. They man who runs it is kind of a creep. He stares at people for uncomfortably long amounts of time...and it's mostly women he stares at. Yet, the funny part is that Janey keeps trying to make moves on Moxxi.

Then, the most disturbing thing is heard through the ECHO call. "... Oh, blimey! You really know how to listen to a bloke's problems, I'll give you that! You sure I can't book you for more, uh, ehhhh.... physical services? I'm a bloody stress volcano right now and could do with the uh, with the um... relief." Who is he talking about?

Moxxi groans and starts talking, but I do not pay attention to anything she says. I just do not want to listen to her...not after how she treated me when I was a younger child. Not how she treated my family when I was only a young girl.

The Vault Hunters found the signal. Then, Jack buts into the conversation. "Well, looks like it's working again -- go shut it down! Uh, also, status update: still having to hide from the stupid soldiers trying to kill me. So, if you wanted to hurry, that'd be cool." He kept the comm on, but he muted our side of the call.

Not much happened during the call, minus running into Moxxi "out of character" and her threatening to kill the Vault Hunters if they told anyone about the run in with her.

As I looked up at Jack, he stared me down. I do not know why, but he never moved his eyes from me. It's only...10:00 in the morning. So, what is his problem with me at 10:00 in the morning?