"That was stressful."
Bento watched as the four faction leaders left the room, talking amongst themselves about the plans of attack. Jarvis could only nod, his gaze focused on Liandra as she closed the door behind her. Bento nudged his shoulder, giving him a knowing look. "I'm betting it wasn't so stressful for you, was it? Hmm?"
Jarvis glared at Bento, pushing his hand away. "Don't even start. Let's just go back home... I've had enough insanity for one day."
Bento shrugged, following Jarvis as he left the room, heading down the elevator once more. As they exited the Mark of Peace, the guards gave them a nod and let them through, returning once more to the bustling, dust-filled marketplace. Things were busy as ever, even hours later.
Before Jarvis could go anywhere, someone pulled him aside. It was Voran again, leading Jarvis to a secluded corner behind some crates of metal junk. "Hey. Got a moment?" Jarvis glanced over at Bento, who was busy wandering between stalls selling gadgets and tech of all sorts. He scoffed, turning his attention back to Voran. "Yeah, I suppose I do. What's up?"
Voran leaned back against the crates, his arms crossed as he looked Jarvis up and down. "We're gonna need all the help we can get with this... taking down a Mind isn't child's play. Are you willing to join us? I've heard you're quite the sharpshooter."
Jarvis' eyes widened a bit, surprised by an offer like that from someone of such high status in comparison. "Really? I'm sure you could do better than a scrapper. Besides, I've never even been beyond the Passenger Wastes-"
Voran was quick to interrupt. "Being a scrapper doesn't lower the value you could bring to this effort. I've heard plenty of how almost half of the metal Bento's scrapyard sells comes from your hunts alone; you have some serious marksmanship. With the loss of so many soldiers, the Iron Banner won't be quick to send more to die... so we need everyone we can get." He punched Jarvis' shoulder playfully, seeming somewhat excited. "You've got this, alright? We're gonna take down a Mind!"
Before Jarvis could retort, Voran had already ran off back to Viktor, leader of the Vox Embracionists. As the two vanished deeper into the market, Jarvis could only watch, somewhat stunned. His day had taken quite the turn, that's for certain.
Later that night, Jarvis lounged in his sandspeeder's makeshift bed in the cargo hold, staring up into the sky; the superscraper overhead provided respite from the scorching suns, giving him a chance to finally get some rest after such a long day. All his mind could do was go through the events of the day over and over again: watching the Unrelenting destroy an entire army, meeting the faction leaders themselves, and suddenly being at the front of an effort to take down a Mind.
In just a day Jarvis had gone from being a nameless face among many to being known and considered valuable by one of the most influential figures on the planet, and Jarvis had a feeling he'd never get used to it.
A series of taps on the speeder's rear window jolted him out of his thoughts, but he relaxed upon seeing Bento standing outside, waving. "Hey! Got room for another?"
Jarvis quickly opened the back and Bento climbed in, sitting in the trunk beside Jarvis' bed. "So, Jarvis... got something you wanna talk about? You were pretty quiet on the way back." Jarvis sighed, holding his helmet in his lap, tracing his fingers along scratches on the visor. "Well, after we left the building, Voran pulled me aside saying he wanted me to help take down the Mind of the Unrelenting. It's just... this is happening so fast. Out of nowhere I'm thrusted into meeting with the literal faction leaders talking about killing one of the biggest threats there is!"
Bento laughed, a scratchy, metallic sound emerging from his voicebox. "Yeah, you can say that again. Never thought I'd be part of such a big deal event, but... I always knew something like this would happen. To you, I mean."
Jarvis turned to face Bento, a look of surprise on his face. "Me? Seriously? What gave you that idea?" Bento fidgeted with his metal fingers, looking down at the floor of the speeder's cargo hold. "Well, it's just, ever since you, you know, when..." He paused, taking a moment to consider his words. "What I'm trying to say is that you're, well... special. Always have been, since day one. You learned the trade quick, and ever since you were a toddler you've been an eagle-eye of a sniper. Nothing gets past you, and I'm not surprised that Voran saw it too."
A faint smile creeped up on Jarvis' lips, scooting a bit closer to Bento and patting his shoulder. "Thanks. I don't think I'd have become half the man I am if it weren't for you, you know. You taught me everything I use." Bento grumbled, opening up the cargo door and jumping out, kicking up some sand as he landed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm great, I know. Get some sleep, kid. We've got the whole world waiting for us tomorrow."
Jarvis watched as Bento walked away, scoffing to himself. That pile of scrap always had trouble talking feelings. "Oh, totally. We've got some great days ahead of us, don't we?" With that, he shut the door and tucked himself in, doing his best to sleep before the shade ran out.