Querl's hollow. Or not, perhaps he's just too overwhelmed to tell. The last few weeks have been illogical enough to warrant a sensory mistake like that, even if it is a failure on his part. But where the light humming of electrons moving in perfect order and machinery working efficiently used to be there is nothing. This new, biological body feels foreign to him.
From time to time he can feel stabs in his abdomen or a dry pain in his throat but those feel distant, even if he knows exactly what they are and how to solve them readily. Salu, as foolish and forgiving as ever, told him he would get used to it in time. He doubts that, coming to the conclusion that recent events and his emotional state will not go over well with the rest of the Legion. So he leaves.
He travels to RTY-65, an intergalactic junction orbiting Jupiter. The junction is far from the most welcoming place in the galaxy but it lets him be anonymous, a big advantage for someone who has just tried to destroy the entirety of the known universe. Querl never enjoyed much public positivity but several planets are calling for his head due to the disaster with Brainiac, laying low seems like the best alternative if he wants to keep it for another while. RTY-65 is the perfect place for that, thousands of sentients and hundreds of tons of cargo passing through it each day makes it easy to blend in.
He stands in a waiting hall and stares up at the holographic timetable flickering in and out above him, scanning it for suitable departures while trying to look like he knows what he is doing. Querl has no idea where he should be heading, the logical answer is as far away as possible but that also means exposure. Another alternative is to head for one of the less pristine but nearer planets, at least a few of them should be ignorant enough of recent events to let him slip by. There are two departures to such planets, one to the sultry Bo'har with it's dense forest and one to it's colder, more densely populated twin Kva'har. Neither of the planets are known for their law abiding population or will to work together with the space police, and both of their flights depart in less than four Earth hours.
He could head to either of them, work in someone's lab and dodge the radar until it stops being necessary. Which would be about never, if his assessments are correct. If nothing else it is a viable plan for the near future. As for the planets, Kva'har's dryer climate would certainly prove to be less problematic for anything mechanical and it would be easier to blend in in one of the planet's large metropolis. He has not seen them in person but files on the planet state that they're massive, housing up to 16 million citizens per city. They seem like the perfect place for him, a place where he can do away with his ancestor's influence and perhaps even live a nearly normal life. Whicch would be a pleasing outcome.
He buys his ticket and has to half sprint through the junction to make it to the spacecraft on time. It's docked at the far end of the junction, swaying dangerously as each passenger boards it. There is rust along the ancient ship's joints and the raw, metallic smell makes Querl nauseous as he boards the ship and makes his way to the front. He sinks onto a chair clad in frayed fabric and leans his head against the window, staring out into space.
The ship leaves the dock with the screeching of metal against metal, making an uncomfortable yet not directly painful sensation travel up Querl's spine. He sinks further into his seat, knowing fully well that he should be used to the sound. It should be as familiar to him as breathing to a human but for some reason it's not, not any more.
He gets a last glimpse of Earth as they depart, the shining planet shrinking away until it is all but invisible. Invisible for biological creatures with standard or lesser sight, of course. In an attempt to ignoring the nasty, clenching feeling in his chest he looks down at his hands in his lap, dragging one set of fingers over the warm, smooth surface of the opposite hand. Biological creatures like him, that's it.