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[It was a long trip, but now they're home. Well, what Boxer considers home.

When the two of them step out of the spaceport, there's manmade structure as far as the eye can see, casting them in a world of metal blues and blacks, dotted by the warm lights out of the windows of buildings like someone plucked the stars out of the sky and organized them neatly into their own little stacks.

People mill about in fashionable clothes that look like they're brand new compared to anything on Pandora, and between their feet zip little robots that pick up the light snowfall that accumulates on the ground--but they walk without concern that they might trip or run over the little custodians. The sky is mostly overcast, illuminating the city in light that is easy on the eyes.

Boxer tucks Athena's new scarf around her head affectionately, as if to keep the snow out of her hair. The two of them stick out like sore thumbs in this crowd, but he doesn't seem to care--his spirit even lighter than usual.]

Welcome to Eden-4, Athena.

[Stepping out of the spaceport is like stepping into another universe as far as Athena is concerned; a universe where everything she thought she knew is flipped on its head and nothing makes sense. Above them, buildings tower impossibly high, covered in more glass than could cover an entire settlement on Pandora. She imagines one stray bullet could shatter the whole thing. What will happen if bandits attack? There are no fortifications Athena can see, no squat fortresses or bolted together trailers. It feels like the entire city could come crashing down on their heads at any moment.

And the people-- They’re so clean. Not to mention their clothes: they don’t wear the military uniforms of the Lance, nor the tattered, patched attire of many of Pandora’s civilians. They don’t wear armor. They don’t cover their faces. And they certainly don’t walk with guns at their hips. Athena stares at them as if they’re alien creatures.

And then, as discreetly as she can manage, she takes a step closer to Boxer. His spirits may be high, but Athena, as fearless as she may have seemed on Pandora, is daunted by all this… newness. She tries to think of something to say.]

It’s very… [She can’t even think of an adjective to put it into words. So yes. It’s very. Not a bad description, really.]

Yeah.

[He grew up here, but he can understand how she feels. A new environment can be more intimidating than any fight, because you truly don't know what's at your disposal--or theirs.

Boxer holds out a hand to her, thinking that it might soothe a little bit of her nerves if she was anchored to him. He doubts she'll take him up on the offer, but it doesn't feel right not to give her the choice.]

[Athena glances hesitantly at the proffered hand. It would actually make her feel better to be tethered to the one thing that’s familiar on this planet, but some little part of her keeps whispering that it will make her look weak. Like a little kid. But it would be the strategically sound choice, wouldn’t it? Boxer knows this planet better than she does and with the amount of people in this city alone, it’s much easier to get lost in a crowd than it was on Pandora. And if they were to get separated…

With a small, embarrassed huff, Athena takes the Vault Hunter’s hand. It’s a testament to how much she feels out of her element.]

Where are we supposed to go?

[In return, he gives her a gentle, understanding smile and a squeeze of her hand. No one around here is going to judge.

Actually, they will, but not for the reasons she's worried about.]

The bus stop.

[A humble beginning, relatively speaking to the rest of their adventure today. But to Athena, the bus itself is hardly humble--soft, cushy seats, wide glass windows without a single chip in them, and it's heated! How luxurious! It feels way more secure than any beat-up caravan on Pandora...

or maybe more suffocating, depending on your point of view. Boxer leads her to a seat where she can sit next to the window, and he takes the one closer to the aisle.

There's an older--much older than Pandora would've ever let survive--stuffy-dressed woman who goes out of her way to give the two of them a nasty stink-eye. Boxer gives her a wide grin and a two-fingered salute, which she huffs at before turning back to face the front. The vehicle's interior lighting dims as it takes off.]

[Athena follows Boxer onto the bus, just as amazed by the vehicle as everything else she’s seen. There are no bullet holes in the exterior, no broken windows, and no armored slats on the windows. Stepping inside, it seems more luxurious than most homes on Pandora, to say nothing of how it compares to the interior of most vehicles. She takes a seat next to the window, marvelling at the plushness of the seats before taking a moment to flick at the immaculate glass surface of the window with her free hand, testing its strength. She’s so distracted, she doesn’t notice Boxer’s wordless confrontation until she hears the woman’s angry huff. She turns around just in time to see the woman turn away with a look of disgust on her face. Athena freezes for a moment, wondering if she’s made some mistake. She takes a moment to think of what could have invited the woman’s scorn… and then seems to come to a conclusion, hurriedly extricating her hand from Boxer’s. That was probably it, right? She glances over at Boxer for some sort of clue.]

[He doesn't think anything of it until she takes away her hand, which makes him look down at smile at Athena.]

It's okay. Vault Hunters are a rare sight around here, and not everyone has a favorable opinion about them.

[Then, in a mock-old-woman voice, he leans into Athena and says under his breath:] Oooh, there goes the neighborhood!

[Oh. That makes sense. Not everyone is crazy about Vault Hunters on Pandora either. She fights to keep the grin off her face at Boxer’s antics, glancing over at the woman to see if she can hear him, but she remains oblivious.]

What does she think you’ll do? Are there even any Vaults on Eden-4?

Vault Hunters are mercenaries that kill according to their own judgement. I represent lawlessness in a society that prides itself on its law. Worst part is that they have no legal prerogative over me for what I've done on another planet.

[He shrugs.] Even if there was, no one's looking for it. These people wouldn't stand for it anyway.

[It’s strange to think about. On Pandora, the Vault defined almost every aspect of life, from commerce to religion to attire. The fact that people here can simply not care is bizarre bordering on unthinkable. She turns to look out the window, watching Eden-4’s spotless citizens go about their business.]

If there’s no Vault, what do people do here?

Plenty! Eden-4 produces a lot of art and entertainment. That's why Red lives here. There's also scientific research and development... education... medical care... architecture...

[In other words, a whole lot of what Pandora doesn't have.]

That's why we're giving you the chance to go to school here.

Edited 2016-01-11 21:53 (UTC)

[Athena nods. It’s not that she isn’t grateful. As alien as this place seems to her, she knows she’s being given an opportunity most people on Pandora would die for: the chance to escape the borderlands and find a new life on a core world. She’s just not entirely sure what that opportunity entails.] So schools train people to do all those things? What's it like there? [She imagines it like the training facilities at Atlas, though... better, somehow. At least, she hopes so.]

Yeah. At your age, you'll be given a little taste of everything to find what you like the most. Some general life skills, too. As you learn your aptitude, you'll be able to decide what you want to focus on.

[He seems...very excited about this, despite having a career that did not come out of a textbook at all.]

It's fun. I liked school.

[The old woman is trying to watch the two of them on the sly now, clearly listening to their conversation.]

[Athena seems reassured by Boxer’s enthusiasm. Even if he isn’t really Pandoran, he’s a lot closer than anyone else she’s seen on this planet -- if he could get through school on Eden-4, then it won’t be impossible for her either.]

We had a few lessons at Atlas. Like how to read and-- [She stops mid-sentence when she realizes they’re being watched. She leans over to Boxer.] Why is she looking at us now? [On Pandora, people would have the common sense not to pick fights with Vault hunters, but this woman seems determined to be a nuisance. How did she live to be so old?]

[At Athena's question, the woman looks away in a hurry. In his normal talking volume, he says:]

Don't mind her. She's eavesdropping.

[Boxer places a hand on Athena's head, giving her an assertive couple strokes.]

It's okay--our stop is coming up soon.

[By now, the city atmosphere has faded away into surburbia. White and metallic houses are large and spread apart, and manicured, brilliant blue-green grass lawns are as far as the eyes can see.

When the bus comes to a stop, Boxer stands up and lets Athena go first. As he passes by the old woman, he leans over into her ear, intentionally invading her personal space as he holds out two fingers, digistructing a tiny plastic card between them and holding it out to her. She takes it as if by reflex, but she's clearly uncomfortable about his proximity.]

You ever need someone killed, gorgeous, just gimmie a call.

[The look on her face is horrified as he gives her an overly strong pat on the shoulder, finishing his disembarking. A few in the back let out nervous laughter.]

[Athena takes one last suspicious look at the woman before turning her attention towards the changing scenery outside the window. Without the looming glass buildings, this environment is somewhat less intimidating than that of the city, but no less foreign to her. Fortunately for Boxer, by the time the bus has stopped and they’re disembarking, Athena's interest in what lies outside the bus has already overshadowed her misgivings about the woman and she passes her by without catching Boxer’s none-too-friendly introduction. When Boxer finishes terrorizing the woman and gets off the bus himself, he’ll find Athena with a handful of grass she just uprooted from someone’s yard and a perplexed expression on her face.]

People grew all this? [It had looked so uniform and flat from the bus that she had assumed it had to be something manmade. But no, it’s literally just a ridiculous number of plants cut to the same length and spread out in front of people’s houses. But what’s the point of growing plants if you’re just going to chop them into some weird… carpet… thing? Why is this place so weird, Boxer?]

[He looks down at her with her fistful of greens and he stops himself just short of actually laughing. It comes out as a soft bark of amusement.]

Athena, put that down. It belongs to someone.

[He holds out his hand. Do something else with those hands besides terrorizing people's yards--we've still got a lot of walking to do.]

Grass is useful stuff. It helps prevent soil erosion and makes a soft ground to walk barefoot on. You'll get to try it yourself later.

[Hopefully the groundskeepers are prepared for whatever havoc Athena determines apt to wreck on the gardens.]

People spend a lot of time and money making sure that it's kept short. It's kinda like a fashion thing.

[She gives him a skeptical look when he says the clump of grass “belongs to someone,” but puts it back nonetheless, returning it precisely to the spot she took it from. Boxer's the one who knows the rules to this place, after all, regardless of how little sense they make to Athena. After a moment, she takes his hand again.]

So people plant all of that… so the dirt doesn’t get messed up? [She sounds like she thinks Boxer might be pulling her leg, even moreso when he explains it as a “fashion thing.”] But they’re plants. It’s not like anyone’s wearing them. [And even if they were, it seems like an awful lot of effort just for appearance’s sake.] Why don’t people grow something they can eat? Or sell?

[Good girl.]

To make the ground stable. The weather on Pandora rarely changes--depending on where you are--but the skies can be just short of unpredictable here. Heavy downpours, strong wind--you need every defence possible to keep these expensive homes safe.

Sometimes they do grow more practical stuff, but those are usually in private gardens. You know, so other people don't take them without asking.

[...look this place isn't completely different from Pandora.]

[Well, on Pandora, “home defense” still meant a reliable shotgun moreso than a plot of grass. Speaking of which...]

What about bandits? [She looks at the houses as they pass, taking in the broad windows. All that glass looks nice, sure, but it seems like a structural weakness from Athena’s point of view. It’s why Atlas didn’t tend to have many windows in their facilities. Yet this place shows no sign of damage from past attacks, which means that it has to have some form of fortification.] Are there hidden turrets? Guards? [And please don’t tell her that grass just happens to defend against bandits too.]

[Weeeeeeeeeeelll...

Just kidding!]

In jail. There's...[A pause. How to put it in a way Athena would understand? ] "proper" law enforcement here, kinda like guards. When people break laws they're thrown in a big boring concrete box with a bunch of other law-breakers. Occasionally they take 'em out for a walk or make them do community service. Fancy way of saying they're made to do work for free. Things no one else wants to do but they have to get done.

So, it’s like the brig. [Well, at least if you ignore the parts about community service and occasionally being let out. And if the brigs here hold every bandit on the planet, then they’re probably considerably bigger than those they had at Atlas. Athena thinks on this for a moment.]

No one’s going to try and put you there, are they? [After all, he is technically a bandit according to most corporate law on Pandora, being an unsponsored Vault Hunter and all.] You said the things you did on Pandora don’t count here.

[Probably a lot nicer too. Gotta be humanitarian and all that.]

No, of course not. Everyone knows that the only way to stop a Vault Hunter is to buy the services of a bigger, meaner Vault Hunter, and we don't waste our time on jails or brigs.

Don't need to worry about the former, either. Picked my battles wisely--made sure I didn't piss anyone off who could afford my kind of bounty.

[That earns Boxer another skeptical look from Athena.] You attacked Atlas, [she points out. Then again...] But they don’t like Vault Hunters, so they probably won’t send one after you.

[Don’t mind them, new neighbors. Just a Vault Hunter and a little girl in military uniform discussing the subtleties of paid bounties. Athena ticks through her mental list of other potential dangers.]

What about wild animals? Or corporations? Or... explosive plants? [Surely something has to be dangerous here.]

[He scoffs. Atlas.] I didn't keep anyone alive that could've put me at the scene.

[Believe it or not, Boxer is actually a welcome sight--once they get closer to their destination. There are two kid-aged neighbors--brothers, a bit older than Athena, playing in their yard--that just about lose their minds when they see him, running up to the fence to try to get his attention. "He's back! He's back! HEY, DJ!"

Boxer gives them a friendly wave as they go by, but he doesn't have any time to spare for conversation.]

There are snakes sometimes. They bite, but it's not venomous. There are some rude dogs every so often.