Jarvis hesitated, his hand clutching the cold bronze of the door handle, sending chills down his spine. He'd never been in a place like this, especially not to talk to the most important people in the city, perhaps the entire planet.
Jarvis was snapped out of his thoughts as Bento kicked open the doors, not caring much about subtlety. They were greeted by an empty meeting room, with a long table and six mahogany chairs with velvet cushions surrounding it. The place was eerily silent and dark, the lack of windows adding to the staleness. Jarvis grabbed the closest chair and took a seat as Bento found the light switch, illuminating the room.
"The hell?" Bento scoffed, sitting beside Jarvis. "Where's everyone? Oh, if that imbecile downstairs lied to us..." Jarvis checked his watch and glanced at a whiteboard hanging on the wall, with the text "Territories - 28 PM". Jarvis relaxed, his legs kicked up on the table. "It's fine, it's only 27:82. The meeting hasn't started yet, I guess." Bento rolled his eye, miffed that he'd have to wait. "They'd better hurry, I can't leave my scrapyard for so long."
It wasn't long before someone else arrived: another Vox, about six feet in height with a red energy sword on each side of his waist, and a ring of spikes on top of his head that resembled a crown. They seemed a bit surprised to see Bento and Jarvis in the room, but weren't too worried. "I didn't know we'd have guests! Who are the two of you?" The Vox sat at the opposite side of Jarvis, kicking up their legs as well.
Jarvis sat up, trying to look professional. He wasn't sure who this Vox was, but they must be important. "Well, ah... I'm Jarvis, a wasteland scavenger. And Bento here, he owns the southside scrapyard." The newcomer Vox seemed rather cheery, quickly offering his hand to Bento. "Nice to meet you two! I'm Voran, by the way, if you didn't recognize me. Say, Bento... I think I've heard of you. Biggest scrapyard in Grave of the Empire, am I right?"
Upon hearing his name, Bento quickly sat up, excitedly shaking his hand. Voran was a legendary figure among the rebelling Vox; he had led the initial revolution over 15 years ago, and now helped lead the Vox Embracionists faction, located outside of the city where people and Vox of all kinds were welcome. "O-of course, sir, it's my pleasure! I'm honored you've heard of my business-" Jarvis leaned in, clearing his throat to interrupt Bento. "Look, Voran, sir... what we've got for you is very, very important. We came from the attack on Thomas Street."
Immediately Voran's posture turned serious, listening intently to what Jarvis had to say. "Thomas Street? Viktor and I were wondering about that... what happened? The Steel Banner said they lost all communications with that sector." Jarvis sighed, having some difficulty focusing his thoughts, his mind wandering to the casualties. "It was an execution. All of the soldiers sent were killed by... a Mind. Specifically, the Unrelenting."
Voran's eye widened, his hands clasped together nervously. "...you're kidding? The Unrelenting, on the surface? Hell... that big guy hasn't been seen in forever, much less attacked anyone directly. That is... very, very serious news. In a few minutes the other faction leaders will be here, and it's imperative they know about this." Voran glanced between Bento and Jarvis with appreciation and a hint of admiration. "You two should stay. It'll be better coming directly from you."
As if on cue, the doors opened once more, and three more figures entered the room, all stopping upon seeing Jarvis and Bento. The first person, a rough looking man with thick, long brown hair and a hulking beard glared specifically at Bento, as if he had some sort of grudge against the large machine. "Who let these two in? Voran, you'd better explain yourself." The second figure laughed gently, placing his hand on the first man's shoulder. "Relax, Grant. Surely there's a good reason for the intrusion." He walked over to Voran, his long black cloak trailing on the ground, the sharpness of his facial hair and red eyes matching with the black armor and red highlights of the Vox beside him.
The last newcomer, a woman with silky robes and soft, walnut colored skin approached, nodding politely towards Jarvis and Bento and taking the seat near Jarvis. "We should do some introductions, shouldn't we? We wouldn't want to make you both feel unwelcome." Voran nodded, and gestured to Jarvis. "Well, everyone... meet Jarvis and Bento, esteemed metal traders from the southside scrapyard." Bento crossed his arms, feeling proud from Voran's description, though that quickly faded away from the harshness of Grant's stare, who seemed suspicious of both Bento and Voran specifically.
Grant cleared his throat, placing his fists on the table before him, showing his blue steel prosthetic hand, made from sleek, advanced machinery. "Grant, commander of the Steel Banner." Viktor smirked, bowing and gesturing towards himself, remaining standing beside Voran. "I'm Viktor, of course. Head of the Vox Embracionists, at your service." The woman to Jarvis' right smiled warmly, gently placing her hand on Jarvis' arm, her gaze shifting towards him. "I'm Liandra, priestess of the spirit walkers. It is a pleasure to meet you, Jarvis... and your friend, of course."
The warmth of her touch sent a slight shiver down Jarvis' spine, and it took him a moment to recover from a strange feeling he didn't recognize. "Well, uh... so, everyone... we came back from what happened on Charles Street, and we saw everything."
At that Grant's eyes widened, immediately shifting his attention away from Bento. "Charles Street? I sent hundreds of my finest men and women down there. Tell me, what happened? Where the hell are they?"
Jarvis hesitated, his nervousness rising from the sternness of Grant's gaze. "T-they were wiped out entirely. First there were hundreds of Vox out of the sand, and then... the Mind of the Unrelenting. It appeared out of nowhere, killing everything in its way. Nothing was left standing. I-I'm sorry."
Grant fell silent, staring down at the table, his fists clenched tightly. Then he slammed down with his mechanical hand, forming a crack down the middle of the table. "All of them, by the hand of a MIND!? And... and you Vox Embracionists, didn't have a clue that one of the twelve generals was making a surprise visit to *my* city!? I've known you damned machines were hiding something! Why are we even letting your kind in these halls!?"
While Voran simply shook his head, trying to ignore Grant's comments, Viktor was beyond furious. "Enough of you, Grant! I've had it with you and your organization's blatant prejudice against the Vox kind! The rebelling Vox have sacrificed so much for our sake, and yet you imply that they took part in this attack?" Grant stood up quickly, his metal fist crackling with energy. "I ain't implying nothing, I'm saying it straight up! Something's going on, and I just got told that countless good people died for naught! I should kick you all out of my city, so help me-"
"Enough!" Liandra shouted, her voice booming throughout the room. The others instantly fell silent, returning to their seats. "Look at you two, making fools of our leadership. These two fine gentlemen have taken great risk to give us all this information, and instead of pointlessly bickering over this terrible tragedy, we should make sure the lives lost were not wasted." She stood up, walking around the room. "Only through cooperation can we survive in this world. Now, we know what we're up against. It's time we made plans."
Voran nodded, grateful for her interference. "Steadfast as always, Liandra. Now, let's figure this out. If it's attacked once, it's bound to attack again. We need to figure out when and where, and take the mind down before it hurts anyone else." Viktor and Grant begrudgingly agreed, shifting their attention to Voran and Liandra as they began to discuss a plan of attack.