June 14, 2026
2:25 P.M.
Meriff's Office

The elevator arrived at the top, and we all got off. We were actually doing this. What is the Meriff like? Is he young, buff, and powerful? Is he tall? Is he demanding? All of these possible traits of the unknown figure ran through my mind at an intense speed that I couldn't keep up. It made me feel like the room was spinning and I looked at Jack.

All I could say were two words. "Jack....help...." Then, I fell to the ground. Everything went black. I felt something warm and soft under my head. I guess someone caught me so I didn't hit my head.

Nevertheless, I could still hear. Just because I could not see or move, does not mean I could not hear. I hate how, on Hyperion, that is not believed for one second. Maybe if I could sneak out and...I can't. I'm still unconscious and I can't see anything, nor can I move!

I heard a robotic female start to speak. "Warning. Trespassing on government property will result in your immediate death. Thank you." We aren't even trespassing. What is the deal here.

JACK POV

I saw her start to fall backward with her eyes rolling backward. Shit. That is not good. I held out my hand and jumped towards her, my hand sliding underneath her head. Her head hit my hand, and my hand hits the floor. That could've been really bad if my hand wasn't there. She could've gotten a bad head injury. But she didn't so we are a-okay.

An alarm went off and built-in ceiling turrets lowered and started to shoot at the Vault Hunters, Winnaya, and myself. I grabbed her and pulled her behind a wall as they shot at us. God, why is the Meriff being pissy today? All I want to do is talk to him, and he's just making this harder on himself.

"Shoot at the turrets and take them down!" I said, pointing at the soldiers storming the room. I used my blasters on my wrist to take down a few soldiers before I saw Winnaya start to wake up.

Shit. She is gonna be scared out of her mind. I tilted her face to look at mine and I held her face so she couldn't see what was going on. I didn't want her to see the shit show going down behind her. She is already dealing with enough right now. It's not a good idea to put more weight on her chest.

"Just look at me and don't look away" I said, shooting the soldiers around her so she didn't get shot at from behind. I felt her grab my coat and her head dip into my jacket.

Eventually, the turrets were broken and there was a mess of dead bodies everywhere. Literally. Blood was splattered everywhere. I mean, one guy looked like he got a huge ass paper cut across his face. Another looked like his dick got blown off by a pissed off pregnant lady not getting her morning sex like she wanted.

Then, the intercom went off. "Uh, look, no tours today, sorry! Please exit through the gift shop, alright?" There is no god damn gift shop, you jackass, "Err... I'm not – I'm not here! I-I-I-I... I left the building, that's what I did! I'm gone! Look!"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. He's only gonna piss me off even more. I mean, I'm already pissed off because his security buddies tried to shoot my precious girl...wait. She's not my girl, she is a colleague. A friend, nothing more....right? I mean, I kissed her and I fucked her. Does that mean...I like her. God damn it, you stupid fucking feelings.

We approached the office and the Meriff had his office door closed off by a barrier. "Officer! Get that door open!"

The Lawbot appeared finally and rolled up to the control panel. "I don't take orders from civilians! However, as I was already going to do that..." I rolled my eyes once again. If I keep rolling my eyes in annoyance, they're probably gonna fall out of my head.

WINNAYA POV

I followed behind everyone, but still close to Jack. The Lawbot was at a control panel, trying to get a barrier to disintegrate so we could get inside. Jack was tapping his foot, his arms were crossed and he wore a frown upon his lips. I couldn't tell if he were annoyed or pissed off.

"We can talk this out, Jackie – I don't really work for Zarpedon!" The Meriff whimpered over the PA system. Oh lord, just open the door and we wouldn't have to do this stuff.

"Huxter T. Meredith, you are hereby under arrest for violating Elpis ethical code 3110, forbidding unlicensed interplay between – OH MY GOD, you stole my girlfriend you meatbag! OPEN! THIS! DOOR!" The Lawbot stated and tries to roll through the barrier, but fails, "Aaargh... Seereenaaa..." The Lawbot looked like he was going to fry then maybe catch on fire.

Jack cheered. "Ha! Talk about your win-win, that's awesome! Let's move it!"

We all walked into the office and stood around the area to prevent him from leaving the room. Of course, when he saw Jack walking up to his desk, he didn't seem phased by it. He seemed...delighted to see Jack. However, Jack did not feel the same way. I could tell in his eyes.

"Jack, Jackie! Haha, you should have said you were in town! You shoulda said so!" He laughed, with his voice sounding all quick and giggly. I already hated the view of this man.

He looked like he could be a registered offender. His personality says it all anyway. He had gray hair on his head and gray facial hair. He wore, somewhat, "fancy" attire and a monocle rested on his left eye. Registered offender radiated off of him.

Jack walked up to the front of his desk. "I traced the signal that took down our systems on Helios. Guess what? It came from here – your office." The offender jumped in fear, but turned to look at me. I watched his hands move down under the desk. Don't tell me he is doing what I think he is doing.

I start to become uncomfortable, and I guess Aurelia noticed my behavior and stood next to me. I looked at her and smiled. She probably saw the Meriff staring me down like a piece of meat. I tried to hide myself from the naked eye of the man sitting behind the desk.

The Meriff looked at Jack confused. "Signal?" He asked. The Meriff was trying to play stupid with someone who just murdered a security detail to get here

"Sig-nal" He replied, sounding out the the letters. He was slowly getting more angry. He had his arms crossed.

"She made me do it!" The Meriff whined.

"Where did she come from? And please, lie to me. I really want you to lie to me." Jack replied.

The Meriff whines once more. "I don't know! W-What are you gonna do with me?" He's starting to annoy me now. I'm about to smack him myself.

"Pfff, heh, nothing! I was just messing with you! Get the hell outta here." "I've been thinking... there's a way back to Helios." Jack said, but a shot rang out, and then clicking sounds were heard

The Meriff's gun only shot one bullet, and it missed Jack by a couple feet. Jack turned around and looked at the Meriff with his gun pointing at him.

He dropped the gun. "I surrender!"

Jack didn't take that very lightly. Of course, being the person he is...he shot the Meriff. If he would've injured Jack, I wouldn't hold back my anger.

He lifted his blasters and shots rang out. "RRGRGGHHH, I was gonna let you live, you DUMB BASTARD! What is WRONG with you?!" He yelled and walked over to the desk, "Whoooooah! That was... invigorating! Okay, yeah. Where was I – oh, right, my awesome master plan. Taking the fight to Helios is gonna need an army, so – we make one! Head down to Springs', I'll explain on the way. I'm gonna stay here, gonna go through the Meriff's stuff. We're making a freakin' robot army, baby! Hell yeah! Shopping list's simple: some serious combat chassis and top-of-the-line military AI to run them. Word is, Springs is the lady for the AI. Hey Mox, you know where I can build me some kick ass robot bodies?"

Moxxi piped in with her little girl voice. "Since that giant laser's gonna kill, well, everyone, I know who might be willing to scout around for hardware. Lemme talk to them and get back to you." Sometimes, her voice annoys me. Moxxi, in general, can have her moments and it annoys the shit out of any one around.

Jack responded to her. "Since that giant laser's gonna kill, well, everyone, I know who might be willing to scout around for hardware. Lemme talk to them and get back to you." The contact line was cut and it was finally only me and Jack once again. I guess the Vault Hunters left to continue the mission. They were not sighted anywhere in the room.

Jack's body double chimes in on the contact line. "Man, that laser just keeps on going!"

Jack turned to me with a smile forming on his lips. "Now it's you and me. I'm happy now." I couldn't tell if Jack had strong feelings for me or not. He has a weird way of expressing his feelings to anyone.

The clock above us read 3:45 P.M.