The Claptrap in charge of opening the way to New Haven was green with a white stripe across it's middle and just as badly maintained as any I had seen so far.
"I've received proof of Mad Mel's demise! Claptraps everywhere will rejoice! Please wait while I enable access to New Haven." the little robot said gleefully before rolling over to the keypad and punching in the code to let us through. We got back in our vehicles and drove into the dimly lit tunnel which was surprisingly clean.
"I'm transmitting to inform you that I've made a decision I think you won't like. As administrator of New Haven I am responsible for the well being of it's citizens. And in that capacity I must keep the road to Sanctuary closed for now. Baron Flint's tribe and that infernal contraption of theirs are out on the salt flats and I don't want citizens getting killed trying to get past them." A woman's voice came over the echo as I drove through the tunnel.
'I don't get it, why would we give a shit about getting to Sanctuary unless there is a key fragment there?' I pondered genuinely confused.
I was quickly snapped out of my thoughts however as a wave of putrid hot air hit my face and shot up my nose causing me to dry heave for a moment. It fucking stank to high heavens like someone had straight up dumped several landfills worth of garbage in one location and them set that shit on fire. The moment I drove out the other end of the tunnel I discovered that that was almost precisely what the fuck had happened. Trash was piled up as far into the distance as I could see with some of those piles literally being on fire.-
The vast majority of it appeared to be metal as I saw as we followed the dirt road leading to New Haven. There was enough OTHER stuff however for the place to smell absolutely rancid which the burning piles of refuse didn't help with at all. There were a few windmills made of metal scrap turning here and there across the vast piles of garbage and about halfway to the town we drove under a makeshift bridge over the road that lead to a small shack that was on raised metal supports.-
Soon we drove into town and I could say without hesitation that the place was a dump.
"Listen to this Mud dwellers. Skipping all the details that would confuse the lot of you. I have concluded that the Vault is more than likely genuine. In addition to that fact, which has probably burned a hole in your brain, the Vault can only be opened once every two centuries and that time is about to arrive." Tannis broadcast across the entire echo system of Pandora as we stepped out of our vehicles.
No longer distracted I got a real good eyeful of the town. The "wall" around the town was the same shoddy scrap metal crafting as I've seen all over the bandits places. The buildings were at the very least actually made of concrete and decent architectural designs if a bit basic. They were all without exception however rundown and shabby looking. To the direct right of the entrance to the town however I immediately spotted a runner in pieces and scattered mechanics tools and car parts. From there a man covered in grease stains and dirt with a ball cap, cargo jeans and a vest over a shirt was walking over.-
He flat out ignored us to look over my bike from front to end while nodding and frowning at different parts.
"Should have built a new motor from scratch, this one ain't quite right for something with two wheels." he said with a familiar voice.
"I did the best I could with what I had without making the whole thing from scratch. Even went as far as to refresh the parts for the engine to improve efficiency." I said with a shrug.
He nodded "She's a beaut no doubt about it, just missin that extra something to maker her perfect you know?" he said and it was my turn to nod.
"Yeah not much originality in her at all, just a mix up of an original with some small improvements." I said tapping the guns.
"Don't you worry a bit, now that she's here ol' Scooter will see her right. Not that theres much to fix though." he said with a grin.
"Proper introductions then, Alexander Drake, Siren, Vault hunter, Ultimate predator. I go by Alex though." I said with a grin of my own as I held out my hand.
"Scooter, Mechanic I guess?" he said as he shook my hand.
{Human
Lifeforce: 1,171
Traits: [Clever mind-Uncommon grade]- 2,000 units, [Mechanical Savant-Epic grade]- 32,000 units, [Mechanical Engineering expertise-Rare grade]- 7,000 [Athletic body-Common grade]- 1,000 units }
"Oooh now theres a right treat. Don't mind if I take a copy of those traits of yours do you?" I asked eagerly as I saw [Mechanical Savant] and a rare grade version of [Mechanical engineering expertise].
"Er, no?" he said confused until I did exactly that. "What in heck was that!?" he demanded as he tore his hand back after I had copied that most juicy of traits.
"I copied two traits of yours with my siren powers. You agreed to that after all." I said and he looked at his hand oddly.
"This ain't gonna give me like turbo herpes or anything right?" he asked worriedly.
"Fuck no, if anything you are now healthier than you were before you shook hands with me. Happens to anything I copy traits from, well that isn't dead that is." I said with a chuckle.
"How's that work anyways?" he asked curiously.
"To simplify it in a way you'd get easily it's like sending a burst of nitrous oxide into an engine, makes it burn fuel a bit better for a short time." I said and he looked enlightened.
"What traits did you even get anyway?" Lil asked curiously.
"[Mechanical Savant] and a rare graded [Mechanical engineering expertise], once I integrate them I'll have the same innate knack for machines that he does, maybe slightly stronger." I said pointing my thumb at scooter.
"You can copy something like that?" Scooter asked astonished.
I nodded "Anything that has a trait for it present in somethings body yeah. For the [Mechanical Savant] trait though I'm pretty sure it's genetic rather than skill." I said frankly.
"You two can talk later, we need to get settled in first." Roland said seriously.
I couldn't disagree with that and left my bike with Scooter as we headed towards the marker in the mini map. The marker took us to one Helena Pierce, a stern woman with a heavily disfigured face. I mean like straight up fucking two-face looking level of disfigurement. Besides the side of her face that looked like it had been introduced to a cheese grater she was decently attractive. Her face was smooth and round and she had brown hair tied back to keep it out of the way. She was dressed in a tan jacket and khaki pants as we walked into her office.-
"You've got some nerve Vault hunters, strutting into New Haven like the world owes you something. Well I've got news for you. You pull your weight here or you die." she started to say before I interrupted her.
"Drop the nonsense and tell us what you want already. The whole power play grog shit is not needed, none of us care." I said bluntly.
She glares at me for a moment "Fine then, the last electrical storm knocked out power for New Haven and we need someone to flip on the generators again now that they are fixed. That's where you come in." she says before sending us the quest details.
We split up to each grab one of the five generators with me taking the one on the roof of a building in the middle of the town. I noticed that nearby was a shop that had Marcus's logo outside it in a holographic image. While the others flipped their switches I walked into the shop to see what was up. The place was dirty as was expected of anything on Pandora but the selection was not small at all. Guns of every variety and corporation were available on display.
___________________________________________
https://www.pa treon.com/user?u=81578854#:~:text=pa treon.com/pa treon_loskro
_______________________________________________
Alexander Drake
Lifeforce: 591,366
Integrated Traits: [Gun expertise-Uncommon grade], [Clever mind-Rare grade],[Enhanced senses-Epic grade]X2, [Omega body-Rare grade]x4, [Supreme armored hide-Epic grade]X2, [Bone regeneration-Uncommon grade], [Corrosion resistance-Uncommon grade], [Energy projection-Epic grade]x4, [Superior vitality-Epic grade],[Flame breath-Uncommon grade],[Regeneration-Epic grade], [Disease resistance-Epic grade],[Amphibious lungs-Uncommon grade], [Thermal sensing-Uncommon grade], [Water resistance-Common grade],[Active camouflage-Epic grade], [Eridian engineering expertise-Mythical grade], [Efficient lungs-Rare grade]x2, [Fire resistance-Epic grade]X2, [Elemental body(fire)-Legendary grade], [Shock resistance-Epic grade]X4, [Energetic sustenance(shock)-Epic grade]X2, [Radiation resistance-Epic grade]X3, [Energetic sustenance(radiation)-Epic grade]X2, [True omnivore-Rare grade], [Biometallic bones-Epic grade],[Elemental body(shock)-Rare grade]X3,[Quick thinking-Rare grade], [Hyperflexibility-Rare grade], [Strong circulation-Epic grade], [Minor spatial awareness-Epic grade], [Buzzaxe expertise-Uncommon grade], [Siren(Phaselock)(Altered)-Mythical grade], [Pugilist expertise-Uncommon grade], [Adrenal rush-Rare grade], [Mechanical engineering expertise-Uncommon grade], [Gunsmithing expertise(degrading)-Common grade]X3
Stored traits: [Fire resistance-Uncommon grade]X5, [Omega body], [Supreme armored hide], [Powerful vitality], [Energy projection-Epic grade], [Minor regeneration],[Gun expertise-Uncommon grade],[Elemental body(Corrosive)-Rare grade], [Corrosion resistance-Rare grade],[Mechanical engineering expertise-Uncommon grade], [Mechanical Savant-Epic grade], [Mechanical Engineering expertise-Rare grade]