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UNAROSHI
There is a whirring sound, and presently a voice speaks, mechanical but, if given a personality, sounds very much like a typical 80s Valley girl.
"Like, state your name and business, okay?"
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SAKER
Saker hops into the hole and descends into total darkness. She falls for quite some time, but can't quite exactly keep the track of the specific time. However, when she eventually lands, her wind powers ensure it is a less uncomfortable landing than expected.
The problem? There is no light here either.
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MAXINE, SHEPARD, MIRA, GUNROD
Mira and Gunrod introduce themselves in their own fashion. "Affirmative," responds the vocoded voice.
Shepard is mid-way through the word "lightly", however, when Saker leaps into the hole. There is a mechanical roar.
"RELEASE," commands the voice.
A giant doorway forms directly inside the room, high almost as the vents, and the remaining four back away. A massive mutant mechanoid stands in the doorway, and behind it is a smaller droid. In some universes the smaller droid would resemble a stock T-900 with blue accents. However, that figure, and pretty much everything around them all if not for Mira, is only made real visible by the towering figure in front of that droid. Though completely mechanical, the bigger figure looks like a praying mantis with a head shaped like a hammerhead shark. It appears quite beefy for such an insectile form, and its metal coat shines; great pods containing vivid orange light arc across its limbs, neck, and head. Its red eye lights search the party, who appear unnerved, and then scans over the hole. The figure doesn't go to the hole, but its eyes continue to tilt downwards until they almost disappear inside their sockets. Then they eye the party again; its forelegs raise and rub together, while its four other limbs, lined with several large spikes, stay grounded.
"You stand before Avarice," the figure drones in its vocoded voice. "Know that I am the personal judge of all sentient beings who arrive on this planet without reason.
"You may wonder that your untimely arrival is not to your liking. Your distaste will be settled by the fact that whomever arrives on this planet is sent to various places inside of our base of operations, and it has always been this way. You may call it 'breaking and entering'. We call it unwelcome meddling. Therefore we must take such strict measures. It is not we that decides who gets sent where, so be satisfied.
"The point you may be looking for is that we machines have been looking for a certain figure or figures to help proceed with our goals. You may ask what these goals are, but we shall not inform you of their specifications until much later. If you meet these goals, consider our gratitude to aid you in sending you back wherever you came from."
Avarice's glowing eyes seem to narrow.
"However, I must inquire about your ruthlessness, and about a missing organism and its departure down that shaft. We were not aware of the passage's presence. Speak."
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