The next and last bounty was the killing of Nine-Toes and his minions at Skag Gully, so I traveled back the way I came. However, as I was making my way there and was going to begin driving towards the skag-infested region, I recalled a certain man who had quite a grudge against one of its most notorious residents.
If I'm going to be entering Skag Gully, I might as well stop by T.K. Baha's place first since I'm sure he'll have some work for me in the area. But that aside, I'm most interested in the man himself because I clearly remember him being quite the prolific weapon inventor and the man behind the unique shotgun T.K.'s Wave. The weapon wasn't particularly powerful from what I can recall, and though I'm unsure if it was an energy weapon, I do know for certain normal bullets don't move or work like that whatsoever. So just those weapon features alone are enough reason to go out of my way to try and recruit him.
I mean, if the guy could create something like that, I'm sure he could do much, much more if he had the full backing of a corporation and its extensive resources behind him. And it just so happens I will be getting my hands on one when they inevitably commit too many assets to Pandora and inevitably lose them. All that said, if the man could catch the attention of a major galactic corporation to the point that they would send a team of assassins to steal his work and kill him and his family, he most definitely has mine because I will without question need a whole army of talents if I wish to accomplish my goals and their growing scope. So recruiting the man before he gets killed off by some local psychos or even assassins would be a wise move, and I think I know just how to do it too.
"Change of plans, Claptrap, we're going to take a stop at T.K.'s place first."
"The old blind guy with the missing leg?"
"Yup, that be the one."
"What for?" He continued his line of questioning.
"He's a valuable asset, believe it or not."
"How so?"
"You'll find out in due time."
"Alrighty, then... DOOO-DOOO-DOODA-"
Ahh, and here we go again with the musical routine... I wish I had a mute button for him sometimes.
Although I found myself growing annoyed by some of Claptrap's more peculiar habits, I knew I had willingly signed up for it when I took him under my wing, so it is what it is. Trying my best to tune out my annoying companion, I retraced my way to the rear gate before driving past it and getting on a previously unventured road. I knew this was the way to T.K. Baha's place because of the time I spent exploring the map, so I headed up it for a few minutes. It wasn't entirely free of hostiles, but after I road killed a few wild skags on my way up the elevating dirt path, the cripple's settlement came into view.
So this is where T.K. lives, huh... Well, it's not much to look at, but I expected that since his place in-game was really no more than a shack and a shed with a bit of fencing around it to keep the skags off the field and at bay a bit.
What entered my vision as I pulled up to the scrap gate and the fence surrounding the property was a small farming settlement that was about an acre or two in size and had a number of simple buildings dotting its fenced-in interior. But that's not all it had to offer; it even featured a field of arid, heat-resistant crops growing about, which were currently getting a misting from a few people who I presumed were T.K..'s people.
Doesn't look like he's doing as badly as he was in the original game.
Honestly, glad to see he was making out better than his in-game counterpart; it wasn't long before I spotted the man himself, and when I did, I immediately noticed he retained all the major injuries his game self had obtained.
Hmm, so he's missing a leg and looks to be blind still... I also don't see a single woman anywhere that could be his supposed wife, so I'm guessing things have remained mostly the same. Meaning he probably still holds quite a grudge against that big skag named Scar who killed his wife and took his leg.
My scan of the place revealed that things were more than likely identical to what occurred in the first title, so I took my seatbelt off and hopped on out and approached the gate. T.K. and his people had long detected their new visitor, but I hadn't started shooting up the place, so a larger fellow who had been tending to the fields approached the gate with a combat rifle in hand, one which had been sitting strapped on his back until my arrival.
"What can I do for ya?" The brutish man asked straightforwardly in a no-nonsense manner.
"I'm looking to speak with T.K. Baha."
"For?"
Sensing a bit of defensiveness beginning to take hold of him from that one-word response, I made my intentions clear before any misunderstandings could arise. "I hear he has some work needing done in Skag Gully and I'm heading there right now, so I thought about swinging by to see if I couldn't pick up a few more tasks."
The man observed me for a handful of seconds as if to decipher my real aims before responding. "If that's all you're here for, I'll let you in so you can talk to T.K., but if you try anything, don't think we'll let ya off easy."
"Noted, but I assure you my intentions are pure. I mean, if they weren't, do you really think I'd be talking with you like this, especially when I'm as well-equipped as I am?"
He looked me over once more, along with my awaiting companion who was manning a literal heavy machine gun, and made his thoughts known. "Hmm, I guess not… Okay, I'll let ya in and bring you to my boss."
After some hassle, I was let in, but before I could enter, the Hyperion trash can sounded. "I get to come too, right?"
Sigh, why can't this little fucker just stay still and behave himself.
"No, I need you to stay with the vehicle, bud."
"But I wanted to come." The clanker complained.
"That may be, but someone has to stay and perform this very important duty, and I know you're just the bot for the job."
"Well, if you put it like that, I guess I'm the only one capable of handling such an important task." The little guy replied, sounding smug.
With the little guy placated... For now, I entered the settlement and started making my way over to the man I specifically came to see. The settlement was a decent size, but it wasn't huge by any stretch of the imagination, so it didn't take us long to reach the porch T.K. was busy relaxing on.
And the moment the brutish fella and I neared the blind, one-legged man, he suddenly sprung into action and whipped out an old-styled double-barreled shotgun he'd been keeping who knows where. "You! I don't recognize your smell. One more step and it'll be your last!"
"Calm down, Teddy. This stranger is just here to see you about those jobs you wanted done."
"Oh, nevermind then." The old cripple said before relaxing and placing his trusty shotgun by the side of his rocking chair.
"Can I approach?" I asked, not wanting to get a shotgun drawn on me a second time.
"Sure ya can."
Having gotten the go-ahead, I climbed the porch steps and approached the old man.
"That's close enough!" His right-hand employee warned sternly.
Nodding my head in understanding, I turned to T.K. Baha next. "So, about those jobs."
"Yea, about those jobs, I suppose since you know about them you know the details for them… Or do you need me to go over them for ya?"
"I know you want some Bladeflower Seeds from the caves in Skag Gully, Nine-Toes dead and gone, and Scar in Skag Gully killed once and for all."
"Good, it looks like you're well-informed, newcomer."
"I am so well-informed, in fact, that I know you fled to this planet with your late wife, Marian, to avoid Hyperion's assassination squads."
Both of them tensed up when I exposed that little bit of information so candidly, but I continued before they could take any hasty actions. "But that's neither here nor there. What I'm really here for is to propose a change to the rewards and pose a question to you, Teddy. Are you alright letting those who set your life on the wrong course go, or are you willing to forsake everything if that means you can take revenge on those who truly put you in this pathetic state?"
The cripple was silent, but only for a few brief moments. "...I presume if you know all that, you know who I truly am and the sort of enemies you're talking about?"
"Of course, you're the genius weapon designer behind T.K.'s Wave and the one the Hyperion Corporation wants dead."
"Correct, so why would you want to bother with an old loser cripple like me who has lost nearly everything, including his own wife and family?"
"Well, the answer is rather simple: I value the genius who came up with that unique shotgun."
"Even still, it's not like I can do jack shit anymore given my current state."
"Your current condition would obviously make it hard to utilize your special gift, seeing how you can't see worth a damn anymore. However, your sight can be restored with enough money, can it not?"
"It can with cybernetic implants, but are you really willing to invest that much in me? I mean, they aren't exactly something normal people can afford." He replied to my counter.
"For you, T.K., I am, but you see, I'm not a charity, and I require some form of return to be made from investment, especially when it requires me to take on such an expensive and difficult endeavour."
"That's reasonable... So what do you want exactly, off-worlder.".
"It's rather simple: I want to recruit you and have you come work for me." I answered.
"In exchange?"
"In exchange, I will restore your sight, your mobility, and assist you in hunting down Skar, who killed your wife and maimed you, and allow you to watch me bring down Hyperion and wipe their existence from history, including those who were behind your fall from grace."
"By my own hands?" He inquired.
"If that's the method you wish it to be done, then so be it."
Teddy sat there quiet as he stewed on my proposal and eventually he spoke. "If you can deliver on even half of what you're offering, I will work myself to the bone for you for the remainder I have left in this miserable world."
Pleased to hear his response, I was about to continue my spiel when he decided to ask a very important question. "I don't know if you'll mind me asking, but for what goals are you truly recruiting me for?"
"Because I plan to shake up the current galactic scene and carve out my piece of the pie, whether the powers that be want to see it happen or not. That said, I'm only just beginning my quest, so I got a long way to go before I can deliver on a lot of what I just promised you. But I can most definitely deliver a certain vicious skag and keep it locked up and subdued until you regain your sight."
"Ohh, since you were talking such a big game in the beginning, I thought you were a serious player in this arena."
"I'm not yet, but my recent feats of taking out the bandit boss Sledge single handily along with the entirety of his compound and his lieutenants Bone Head and Rock-O should speak for themselves."
"Have those assholes been put in the dirt because this is the first I'm hearing of it, Bob?"
"Unless it was very recent, I don't think so." The large farmhand added.
"Well, I would hope so since I've yet to collect it, but if you require proof, I have all of their unique signature equipment along with video evidence of their demise on my ECHO Device." I informed the men before showing Baha's general helper the proof of my deeds.
Once the brutish man caught sight of Sledge's bullet-ridden corpse, he had a whole new level of respect. "He's the real deal, Teddy."
"You don't say... But still nowhere near the level of Hyperion."
"Obviously, but I'm growing fast, and quite a few of those greedy intergalactic corporations are going to mess up and make some poor investments in the not so distant future here, some of which I will be able to take full advantage of when the time comes. I mean, not to toot my own horn, but I'm already on a level that only those at the top of the food chain here on Pandora will be able to match me in battle. And I grow from each bloody conflict I survive, so if I make it to the opening of the vault here in a couple of months, I can only imagine the level I will have reached."
"So you're one of those vault hunters, huh… Are you a siren too, off-worlder?"
Oh, would you look at that, he knows a bit about the vault.
"No, but I have recruited one of them, you could say, and have my eyes on another one who should be arriving in Fyrestone by the end of the month. So I will have some backup for this endeavour."
Things went quiet after that whilst T.K. Baha thought about it all, and before long he made a decision. "Alright, off-worlder, you bring me that bastard named Scar for now, and I will consider it the beginning of our long and hopefully very fruitful relationship. I mean, it sure as shit beats wasting away here on this backwater shithole."
"Great, it looks like we've got a deal."
"We do now… What's your name, stranger?" The old cripple responded whilst he also held out his hand.
Not one to leave a man hanging, I grabbed hold of his much smaller appendage and shook it. "The name's Victor, Victor Colt, but my friends call me Vic."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Vic, and as you already know, I'm Teddy Baha."
"Likewise."
"My you have mighty big hands, even bigger than Bob's." The blind man noted as the handshake came to an end.
"Well, I'm quite the large man, you see." I replied, taking my hand back.
"I mean, I can't, but I believe ya..."
"You're a really funny guy, aren't ya?"
"I try, I try, hahaha-" He chortled.
After sharing a laugh with the old fart, I got ready to leave since there was still a lot to do before the day's end. "Alright, it's been fun, Teddy, but it's time I've headed out and made some progress on that deal of ours."
"It's a shame you gotta leave so soon, but I understand a man with ambition like you can't sit still for long if he wants to achieve his aims."
"I'm glad you understand me so well. Anyways, I'll drop by later when I've accomplished what I needed to… Later."
"Don't go getting yourself killed now."
"I'll try." I said last as I started walking back to my ride.
[ Status Changes ]
Experience Points: +155
Total Experience Points Earned: 135,475 → 135,630
Badass Tokens: 3,129 → 3,142
Vehicle Proficiency: lvl 10 | Vehicle Cooling Speed +10% - Vehicle Damage +10% - Vehicle Handling +10% - Vehicle Shield Capacity +10% - Vehicle Shield Recharge Rate +10% - Vehicle Shield Recharge Delay -10% - Vehicle Speed +10% | → lvl 11 | Vehicle Cooling Speed +11% - Vehicle Damage +11% - Vehicle Handling +11% - Vehicle Shield Capacity +11% - Vehicle Shield Recharge Rate +11% - Vehicle Shield Recharge Delay -11% - Vehicle Speed +11% |
[ Loot Acquired ]
Ammunition: 10,000
Grenades: 25