Author's Note: This series is an on-going work I started posting on tumblr a while ago and now decided to publish here, as well :) it is not strictly necessary to have played Borderlands to understand it, but I'll gladly answer any questions which might come up :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Sadly.

Tales from the Borderlands: The Beginning

Jesus. This planet is a dump.

Anyone else might have had saucier words to describe said planet, but not even in her thoughts, Michiru Kaioh would use them; she was all grace and elegance as she got off to the bus which had taken her from the space ship's landing port to this sorry excuse for a town, every inch the successful treasure hunter she had set out to be when her family's money had begun to run dry.

Ignoring the others who had gotten off the bus with her, she glanced around, frowning at the sorry state of what the driver had claimed was a town called Fyrestone; it more looked as if a bunch of people just had built a few houses randomly and then had come up with a name, but she figured that it was as good a starting point as any in her search for the vast treasure this planet was supposed to hold.

"You got onto the wrong bus, girl?" one of the residents called out as she approached, a rough, obviously uncultured man, perhaps one of those who had been working the mines before the company had decided that it wasn't worth it and had left, without bothering to take the men and women they had hired – or, as rumour had it, bought from prisons all over the galaxy – along; he smirked around the crudely made cigarette in his mouth, eying her unabashedly, taking in her clothing and weapons, his eyes lightning up at the latter.

Probably already trying to calculate how much he can get for them, Michiru thought to herself, raising an eyebrow, even though I doubt he realizes how much they are really worth.

Her father's misfortune and mismanagement with money had forced her into this life, into hunting for treasure on planets like this dump called Pandora; her talents had been recognized before all those business deals had gone sour though, and her weapons were the one thing she hadn't let her family sell.

She came from a family which had been on top of the world back on their home planet, for several generations, and which had raised her accordingly, had taught her to be elegant and graceful and poised at all times; she had lived in luxury for most of her life, had been taught the violin and the piano and all things a woman of her status had to know.

And she was the deadliest sniper her home world had ever seen.

"Get back on that bus and go back home to your mansion, little girl", the man mocked her, moving away from the wall he had been leaning against and giving her what he perhaps thought was a threatening sneer, "before you run into the wrong kind of person. Not everyone here is as kind as me."

"How good of you to point out that your behaviour is considered kindness here", Michiru gave back, her lack of fear and the way she smiled at him, the way a shark might smile at a small fish just before devouring it, to her satisfaction clearly making him uneasy, "for I would have missed it otherwise and would have thought you're simply being rude and condescending."

"Whatever", he snarled after a moment, seconds during which she was sure he had tried to figure out if she just had insulted him or not, "hand over your valuables and leave, before I decide to point you out to some of my less friendly buddies. They haven't seen a pretty girl like you in a while, if you know what I mean."

The gun was in her hand before he even realized she had started to move; she waited long enough with pulling the trigger to see his eyes widen, then she fired, and he yelped as he stumbled back, the cigarette which had been hanging from his mouth the whole time blasted into nothingness, his lips tingling where the bullet had passed by, just a hair's breadth from tearing them off his face.

"I did not miss, if that is what you think now", Michiru told him pleasantly, while the others who had gotten off the bus with her laughed and mocked the man, "I know exactly what I am doing. I won my first sharpshooter competition when I was six. Would you like to find out how many of your toes I can shoot off before you pass out from pain and blood loss?"

The only response she got was that he stared at her for another second – before he turned and ran, the laughter of the small group following him and making him move even faster, a small, satisfied smile curling Michiru's lips as she holstered her gun again. Six other people had seen her demonstration of skill, and if each of them only told one other person, it would be enough for the tale to spread quickly; and it couldn't hurt to gain a reputation before moving on from town to what the guys on the bus had called the Badlands, not with all the unsavoury characters trying to make a living there with robbing travellers and treasure hunters like herself.

For now though, she'd be content with finding a place to stay for the night; the only bar of the town was a good starting point for that task, she figured, and, shouldering her small pack of supplies, she made her way there, the building easily identified by the picture of a beer bottle the owner had nailed over the door.

As she pushed the door open, heads turned, several eyebrows wandered up, and talk died down to silence; she took a moment to glance around, then walked up to the bar, pointedly keeping her gaze fixed on the barkeep, a surprisingly young, blonde woman who boldly held her gaze.

"What can I get you", she asked without much preamble as Michiru sat down on one of the bar stools; she glanced at the glass the blonde was cleaning, holding back a grimace at how dirty the cloth she used for the job was, then looked up at her again, making sure to sound neutral and even a bit friendly when she replied. "Bottled water, please. It doesn't have to be cold."

"Smart choice", the blonde replied, moving to the old and somewhat dingy looking fridge behind her, Michiru feeling a bit better about this establishment when she opened it though and it was surprisingly clean on the inside, "one should only drink bottled water here. Water from the wells might give you diarrhoea. The explosive kind."

"Thank you for the detailed mental image", Michiru dryly replied, making the barkeep laugh; she opened the bottle, then put it down in front of her, not bothering to add a glass, and told her "two dollars"; this seemed a bit expensive to the sniper, but she paid without comment, raising an eyebrow when the barkeep immediately spoke on after she had pocketed the money.

"So what brings you here? Let me guess", she started, while the other patrons in the bar picked up their talks again, clearly having lost interest in her, "you're one of the treasure hunters. Looking for the legendary vault which will make you rich beyond your dreams."

"Perhaps", Michiru replied, not wanting to give too much away, "would you know where I'd have to start looking?"

"Perhaps", the blonde mimicked her, smirking when she raised an eyebrow in response, "but I'm not sure why I should tell you. There are many like you, you know."

"I'm well aware of that, yes", Michiru cautiously replied, not sure where this was leading, but figuring it would end with her having to pay the blonde for her information, and perhaps end up getting told some useless urban legend which would take her nowhere; the barkeep smiled at her again, as if she could read her thoughts, then leaned forward on the bar, lowering her voice conspiratorially to make sure no one else heard her.

"Tell you what", she mumbled, the low volume of her voice prompting Michiru to learn forward, as well, making them look like a pair of conspirators, "I'll help you out for free, but you'll need help to get around here, and I'll only help you for free if you hire my buddy for that."

"That will depend on how capable your buddy is", Michiru shot back, raising an eyebrow at the blonde, "and, if they are useful, how much of a cut they will want."

"I'm sure you can settle something", the barkeep smirked at her, then picked up one of the ECHO-devices Michiru had heard of, but never had used herself; she pushed a few buttons before she raised the device to eyelevel, winking at Michiru was she waited for the connection to be made, something which apparently happened not even ten seconds later, evidenced by her speaking up again, at the device this time. "Haruka, it's Minako. Get your butt to the bar, I've got the most awesome deal for you."