"So this is what it was like on the front lines?"

Bento stared out the window of the hovertank. Nearly the size of a four story building, the massive war machine glided over the dunes of Vexra, manned by over a hundred Vox. All across the surface and throughout the several levels of the tank, the robots worked at a multitude of stations, keeping the giant machine running smoothly.

And at the helm of the engine, keeping watch over tubes of glowing oil, was Bento. With temperatures far above 1,000 Kelvin, he could almost feel his armored form struggling to stay solid in the intense heat of the engine room. 

Beside him, a thinner two-armed Vox chuckled, roughly patting Bento's shoulder. "Nah, not really," he answered. "Back on Earth, there was always something to shoot at. It'd get to the point where each tank team would have tallies for every confirmed takedown. Remember, Jav? Delta Nine got, like, fifteen thousand?" Another Vox covered in knives and scratched armor cackled, flipping a sleek sword between his hands. "Yeah, and they painted the thing to look like some kind of hellhound! Ah, the good days..."

Bento would gag if he could, but alas, he stayed quiet, focusing on maintaining the engine's fragile operations, opening up the diagnostics screen and tabbing through all kinds of readings. Jav quickly approached Bento from behind, flicking the back of his metal head. "Hey, sleepy, wake up! We're tryna talk to you!" She laughed again as Bento tensed up, glaring at her. "Cmon, Rand, your friend's weird... I wanna be on top deck when something blows up!"

The thinner Vox followed her close, glancing back at Bento once more before departing. As he adjusted knobs and oil levels, Bento's mind drifted to the past.

For over two decades, he'd worked far below the surface of Vexra, spending all of his life working with metal forging and construction for the Vox Citadel. Entirely finished only a few months after the Vox invasion of Earth began, Bento was spared from service, alongside countless others who built HyprenaVox's grand empire from the dirt. 

Now, just over two years after HyprenaVox's defeat and the arrival of humanity, Bento and the others had shifted to working odd jobs throughout the struggling empire, and today, that included handling engine operations on one of the legendary Skarr hover tanks, alongside his best friend Scorn. 

Scorn emerged from the hall, stretching his four arms as he sat beside Bento. "We're approaching one of the tagged settlements, bud. They're gonna want to see us up there." Bento nodded, clenching his fists tightly around two gray levers, pulling them down to place the engine under a temporary auto-maintenance. "..fine," he replied with a touch of frustration. "But I can't stand it for much longer."

Scorn nodded, and gently held onto Bento's wrist. "I know, but you remember what we're waiting for, right? Things'll change. Just gotta wait for word from V; everyone down under is." Bento's hand relaxed in his grip, revealing a painted V on both of their palms. "Yeah, but waiting is the hardest part. We're surrounded by loyalists."

"We always are." Scorn shrugged, helping Bento stand. "Cmon, this is the last checkpoint. They'll probably just give the humans a look-over before heading back to the Citadel." Without much more protest, they made their way through the maze of halls and roaming Vox, emerging to the piercing light of the twin suns. Atop the dust, covered hull of the tank stood dozens of Vox, with many holding onto the edge railing as they stared ahead. 

Less than a mile in front of the tank sat a small community, filled with huts of scrap metal and tattered tarps, shielding from the scorching heat of Vexra. No more than a hundred humans could be seen among the homes, doing their best to ignore the monstrous hover tank rapidly approaching their location. 

Standing among the crowd near the front of the tank was a towering Vox commander, Kronos. A red cape with golden edges flowed behind him in the gentle wind, his form covered in dents and cuts from the invasion. Many Vox, with Kronos included, preferred to wear their scars like medals than to repair any of it. 

Stopping a few hundred feet before the settlement, the tank overlooked the small huts and camps, with Kronos leaning just a bit over the edge to get a better look at what lay before him. Bento and Scar stood a few dozen feet behind, keeping themselves out of sight. Then, he called out, turning back to face the gigantic cannon of the tank looming above the deck. "Shoot to destroy. They're getting too big to reliably keep tabs on each time, and I'm not in the mood to deal with any extra burdens."

At his command, the cannon aimed down, the barrel vibrating with power as the fuel cells burst to life, glowing bright and releasing waves of smoke into the air. Bento's eye widened in panic, darting between the commander and the cannon above. Scorn remained silent, placing a cautionary hand on Bento's shoulder. "Don't," was all he said as the weapon prepared to strike. 

In a blinding flash of light and a booming eruption, the cannon fired, striking the settlement with a plasma blast that engulfed the entire village in a purple explosion. After the dust settled, all that remained was a massive scorch mark and the smoldering metal remains of the makeshift huts. Bento's body went cold, feeling the oil within his form slow with utter mortification. 

He was immediately taken out of his stupor by a call from the commander. "The one named Scorn," he called. "Approach me." Scorn gave Bento a look of resignation as he nudged him aside, stepping towards Kronos. 

"Tell me," Kronos inquired, "such a display of Vox prowess over the intruders is a beautiful thing, isn't it?" Kronos circled around Scorn, his hands clasped together in mock interest. "We couldn't have any Vox sharing sympathies with humanity, wouldn't you agree?"

Scorn nodded slowly, refusing to even glance Kronos' way. "No, you wouldn't like that at all, I'd imagine." Kronos paused before stepping closer, his towering form casting a sinister shadow. "I wouldn't, yes... but that's not what I asked. I asked you, friend, what you thought of such a matter. I'm more than sure of your opinion on the subject, but... I only thought I'd confirm, so the others may hear of your loyalties to the great legions of HyprenaVox."

The thick tension in the air was near-visible as the other Vox could only watch the scene unfolding before them. Scorn's body trembled almost unnoticeably, unable to fully hide the fear within him. He stayed quiet, remaining certain in his silent defiance. 

In the blink of an eye, Kronos grabbed onto Scorn's upper left arm, ripping it from the elbow down off of his body as Scorn collapsed against the metal floor of the hull, his voicebox emitting crackles of pain while orange oil leaked from the open wound. 

Kronos chuckled to himself and forced open the clenched hand in his grasp, revealing the hidden V painted within. "A traitor on my vessel... an embarrassment more than anything. Look upon his form! None who turn against our father will prosper." With a flick of his wrist, he pulled a painted red revolver from his waistband, pressing the tip of the barrel against Scorn's head.

It took all of Bento's will to not lunge forward. He remained hidden within the stunned crowd, absentmindedly rubbing away the V on his hand with one of his thumbs. He wanted to shout, to strike down Kronos, anything... but he couldn't. Not while Scorn watched him from his position on the ground, lying in a small puddle of glowing fluid, his gaze almost begging for Bento to walk away.

Then it was gone.

With a quick trigger pull, the light in Scorn's eye flickered before shutting down entirely, his metal body collapsing onto the hull with a loud thunk. Wisps of smoke floated from the bullet hole as Kronos sheathed the pistol, shaking his head. "An unfortunate act, but their kind has no place among us." With that, he picked up Scorn's limp form and tossed him over the side, tumbling down into the sand far below.