"Finally, back home." Maxwell smiles, seeing the Odyssey in the distance. The mothership was quite far from Triton Flats; its landing site was chosen to be remote, yet close enough for Core extraction and operations against outlaws. A few Marvins could be seen making repairs to the hull.
"I wonder how Knoxx is doing in the search for the Siren." Without waiting, he leaped from the metallic palm of BT. His knees flexed at the exact moment, easily absorbing the fall.
As he looked up, Moxxi, still seated on the Titan's other arm, gave a teasing giggle.
"Catch me, Max?"
"No, get down like a normal person."
She had jumped anyway.
Maxwell stepped forward and held her firmly, her body falling perfectly against his. The impact made him spin half a turn.
"Are you a child, Moxxi? Your antics have been getting more dangerous."
"And miss the chance to see your reaction?"
She teased, sliding her fingers across the collar of his jacket before springing out of his arms. Maxwell let out an amused sigh and straightened his coat as BT opened the cockpit behind them.
The cockpit hatch opened with a soft hiss of steam, and the white light from within revealed Angel sitting along with Claptrap. BT gently tilted its metallic hand to the base of the compartment, the enormous fingers forming a stable platform as it smoothly deposited them on the ground.
"Woah… it's so big." Angel couldn't help but be charmed. She had only seen the Odyssey through cameras, and now, standing before the colossal structure, words seemed too small to express what her eyes were seeing.
"That's what she said."
Angel glared at him with a narrowed gaze and gave Maxwell a light punch on the shoulder.
"Hey!" he complained, laughing. "Go easy with those punches, girl. Do you want to tear my arm off?"
"If it were cybernetic, maybe."
"Touché." Maxwell smiled, but inwardly thanked himself for having the girl by his side. Angel would be his perfect nemesis, as most of his system items were technological.
"OK, let me see if I got this… This is my new base? I get my own seat in the command room? OH! OH! CAN I decorate it with posters?!"
"Negative, unit CL4P-TP," BT cut off the cheeky robot's delusions. "As a dedicated constructor in the public service area, the original service of your production line will be more acceptable. Namely, opening doors and cleaning bathrooms."
"HEY!"
Moxxi laughed heartily. "Oh God, he's getting smart!"
"Good humor, friend. But take it easy, BT, that's Angel's favorite robot."
BT had genuinely managed to elicit an amused snort from Maxwell.
Claptrap was nearly in tears; he was being bullied by another ROBOT!
As they approached, the security system detected their presence in the blink of an eye. Several turrets locked onto their targets, waiting for the slightest hostile movement to open fire.
"Identification confirmed," BT announced. "Defense system recognizes Ouroboros signature. Docking permission granted."
Puncturing BT's words, the systems returned to watch while the ship's lower bay doors slowly opened, revealing the internal hangar.
"Home sweet home," Maxwell murmured, looking up with a mix of pride and fatigue. Turning to the Lancer Assassins, he waved. "For now, return to your quarters and get some good rest."
With a military salute, everyone dispersed. The girls seemed to have been waiting for this, as they immediately scurried off toward the bathroom without hesitation. Minerva sighed, giving Maxwell an apologetic look before following her subordinates.
"Have a good night, pilot."
"Same to you, buddy, see you later."
"If you need me, you know where to find me." Moxxi gave Maxwell a kiss on the cheek before walking away.
Being alone with Angel, Maxwell felt a little more at ease, unconsciously relaxing his tense shoulders.
"Sooo… do you want to take a tour of the Odyssey, or go to sleep?" Maxwell turned his attention back to Angel.
Caught off guard by the question, Angel was silent for a few seconds, but before she could answer, someone else spoke up.
"OH! You asked me?" Claptrap's shrill voice cut through the pleasant mood.
"How did you sneak up here?"
"But… I never left?" Claptrap replied, confused. Had Maxwell ignored his presence for the second time that day?
Angel hid her smile with both hands, not wanting to hurt her best friend's feelings. Turning, she answered without hiding her enthusiasm.
"I know every corner of the Odyssey, but I still want to see it with my own eyes," Angel moved forward and boldly grabbed Maxwell's hand. "and with you accompanying me."
"A few more sweet phrases like that and we'll be married before the year is out." Maxwell picked up Claptrap. He was going to take the little robot with them too. He wanted to see if the little thing was carrying the H Source or not. "Alright, where do you want to start?"
"Let's go to the Command Bridge! We have to install Felicity into the Odyssey's systems." Angel actually started running, albeit quite clumsily, tripping over her own feet a few times. She dragged Maxwell through the corridors, showing that she knew the Odyssey well.
In fact, it wouldn't be a lie to say she was the only one who knew more about the mothership than everyone else present.
The reinforced door to the Command Bridge opened. The air inside was cooler, saturated by the constant colors of the monitors and holographic panels.
The main display took up almost the entire front wall, projecting real-time images and data. Profiles of criminals and outlaws of Elpis paraded across the screen, most with a large red seal stamped over their eyes: DEAD.
Knoxx stood before the central console, hands clasped behind his back. Several uniformed soldiers occupied their posts, monitoring communication channels and orbital traffic. When they noticed Maxwell's presence, the atmosphere stiffened. One by one, everyone stopped what they were doing and saluted.
"At ease, soldiers."
Maxwell returned the nod casually and moved closer. Angel, beside him, observed everything with silent curiosity, the spotlights reflecting on the subtle tattoos on her skin. Claptrap rolled a few feet behind, trying to look important.
Knoxx approached with firm steps. "Operations against the outlaws have been successfully concluded, sir. Losses were minimal, we had a few injured on our side, but none fatal."
"Good work, Knoxx. I knew I could count on you," Maxwell nodded, satisfied. He would review the system credit gains later.
"And the Siren?"
He asked without harboring much expectation. By this time, he imagined Emily's mother would have fled the moon a long time ago.
Knoxx straightened his posture.
"It's done."
The answer came dryly, but Maxwell noticed the slight inflation of pride in the Knoxx's chest.
Maxwell blinked, not immediately understanding. "No problem, it's difficult… Wait. What? You actually found Emily Swan?"
"Affirmative, sir. We have already arranged the proper quarters for the mother and daughter."
Angel looked toward Maxwell, surprised. Was there another Siren on the Odyssey besides her?
"And how was the first contact?"
"Considerable tension. The mother, Annie Swan, believed we were Dahl forces and attempted to flee. We had to incapacitate Annie after she shot one of our men. If you wish, I can show you the BodyCam footage of the soldiers involved."
Maxwell took a deep breath. His gaze hardened for an instant, but soon softened.
"There is no need, Knoxx. I believe your words." He gave Knoxx a few firm pats on the shoulder. If any of the soldiers had done anything improper, he believed Knoxx would deliver the due punishment.
"Excellent work. Take a few days of rest, you deserve it."
"Thank you, sir. But for now, I would postpone my leave, the recent activities were necessary to appease the boredom of our troops."
Knoxx nodded and stepped back half a pace, returning to a posture of rest.
Maxwell stepped aside, ready to introduce the Odyssey's new faces.
"Angel, this is Knoxx, my right-hand man and the man who keeps everyone on track."
"Knoxx, this is Angel, a powerful Siren and the girl who helped me at the beginning of my journey when I was nothing more than a solo merc with a head full of plans."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Knoxx." Angel tilted her head politely.
"The pleasure is mine, miss Angel." Knoxx returned, a little intrigued to see the young woman beside his superior, noticing a certain closeness between the two.
"And last but not least…"
"Me?" Claptrap got excited, but before his thoughts could properly form, Maxwell took Felicity out of the ECHO.
"And this," he said, raising the small module, "is Felicity. She will help us with navigation and any spatial conflicts."
"That's a rare find. These AIs are extensively trained by corporations; it's a miracle that the data hasn't been corrupted and she's willing to serve another corporation." Angel held out her hands, excited, receiving the device with care.
Angel approached the main terminal and plugged in Felicity. The blue glow of her tattoos began to pulse beneath her skin, her Phase Shift activating. The panels reacted immediately, several lines descending like a cascade of text and numbers that only a machine could understand.
Felicity's face appeared on the screen; she looked confused but quickly adjusted. "What a wonderful place. Given my pathetic status next to Bosun, I expected to serve even a small vessel, but this has exceeded my expectations."
"Welcome to the Odyssey, Felicity. For now, you haven't received full administrator permissions yet, at Maxwell's request." Angel delivered the news with an apologetic face.
"No problem, I understand the responsibility of managing such a massive vessel." Felicity didn't seem offended at all. It was necessary for her to demonstrate competence if she wanted to be part of the corporation.
While the two talked, Maxwell was deep in thought, looking at Felicity.
'Could I create a personalized simulacrum body for her? It would be cool to have Felicity walking around looking like Tanya the Evil.' The mere thought brought a playful smile to Maxwell's face.
Turning to Claptrap, Maxwell now wanted to know if Tassiter had really transferred the H Source to this specific unit. It seemed like a foolish move, but everyone had their moments, so he wouldn't judge.
"Angel, could you run a scan on Claptrap for me?"
Angel, who was concentrating on the connection with Felicity, looked at Maxwell. "Do you suspect he's infected with some Malware, Maxy?"
He shook his head in denial. "No. Claptrap might be carrying a large amount of sensitive Hyperion information. Something Tassiter might have hidden."
Angel didn't think much of Maxwell's strange request and did as he asked. Focusing on Claptrap, the blue of her tattoos pulsed again, sending waves of Phase Shift that penetrated the robot's chassis.
To her surprise, she found something she had never noticed.
With a silent click, a small hidden compartment opened on the side of Claptrap's chassis. Inside it, there was a cylindrical object with a shining core at the center, pulsating with a faint light.
Claptrap blinked his single eye. "Wow! What is that? A secret candy? I don't remember that!"
"It's nothing special, Claptrap, just a hard drive with family photos."
"Oohhhhh, makes sense."
Maxwell briefly inspected the object before storing it in his ECHO. It would be better to take a look later.
"I believe we are done here. Let's go, Angel, we haven't visited all the decks yet." Maxwell grabbed Angel's hand, waving to everyone before leaving.
"Hey! Wait for me." Claptrap cried out as he rolled after the pair.
"What was that thing?" Angel couldn't resist and asked about the strange object that was inside Claptrap.
"H Source. It has all of Hyperion's information. From projects in various areas like weapons, space stations, and vehicles."
"Is that really necessary?" Angel could understand that the content was valuable, but he already had the Titans and the Odyssey.
"Definitely. There is no limit to knowledge, especially military, the more the better."
"That… Is a bit exaggerated."
Maxwell shook his head in denial. He had some time before they went to sleep, so it would be good to give her a piece of his mind.
"There is a principle in nature that almost every creature knows; it's called the survival of the fittest." Maxwell raised his index finger, continuing the explanation. "The animal that wins has to grab, bite, kick, and punch. But the animal that doesn't, becomes another creature's lunch."
"A company is an animal that is trying to survive. It's striving and fighting just to stay alive." Maxwell frowned, knowing he was in a spiral. "I must continue to grow. Ouroboros must continue to grow."
"I just wonder where all this is going to lead us." Angel wanted to verbalize her own concerns about that kind of vision, but there was a time and a place. Right now, she just wanted to forget about everything and enjoy the moment, at least once in her life.