The Traveller leaned with its back against the hermetic door and slid to the floor with a long, tired sigh of relief. Outside, the sounds of continued fire could be heard clashing against the heavy door. It made Hadrizahens uneasy.
"...Are we safe?" Hadrizahens asked meekly, fixing his visor light on the door behind the Traveller.
The Traveller nodded slowly. "We are safe."
Hadrizahens relaxed as well, letting the stress on his system lessen as he sat on the polished black flooring of the narrow entrance to the greater base. Now that he wasn't in immediate danger, he felt the hot feeling return to his body. The damages and stresses he had sustained needed tending to.
The Traveller seemed to remember Hadrizahens' injuries at the same time he did. The organic entity suddenly sat forward, a clear concern in its voice. "You are hurt!"
"I-... it's nothing serious… minimal damages." Hadrizahens lied. The thought of a pseudo-deity fussing and worrying over him might cause a secondary system overload. A working class Korvax certainly wasn't worth the time of a Traveller Entity. Not by any extent.
The Traveller Entity didn't seem to know these rules of social standing. It didn't appear to care that it was of far greater import than Hadrizahens, and therefore should not bother itself with Hadrizahens' problems. The Traveller moved towards Hadrizahens, shooing his hands out of the way and grabbing the poor, anxious Korvax by the leg. It didn't grip him tightly, or try to pull at his damaged leg, but it did effectively prevent Hadrizahens from being able to pull away. The Traveller took a long moment to analyze the damage done to Hadrizahens' leg, then it turned its gaze towards Hadrizahens.
"You lie."
Hadrizahens had never felt more ashamed and foolish for lying to anyone than he did now. He couldn't read the Traveller's expression, but he knew that the Traveller thought him witless for telling such a pointless falsehood. It wasn't as though he could get away with his lie, either. Hadrizahens' leg was locked up at the joint; he couldn't walk. The Traveller could see this as well.
"...I don't want to cause more of a fuss." Hadrizahens muttered, telling the truth this time. His gaze was downcast, so he could not see the Traveller tilt its head and soften in a sympathetic way.
"...No entity wishes to be a burden. But you are not. I assist those in need. It is how I am not a burden." The Traveller spoke slowly, as though taking great care in choosing its words. It released its grip on Hadrizahens' leg as it spoke.
Hadrizahens looked up at the Traveller in surprise. "A Traveller Entity? A burden? That's-... illogical. No. The Travellers are a blessing from The Atlas-!"
The Traveller heaved a tired sigh and leaned backwards. Hadrizahens got the distinct feeling that the conversation had become annoying or dull to the Traveller, though he couldn't possibly place why. All he knew was that he had somehow committed some sort of faux pas.
"The Atlas did not send me. The Atlas holds no power over me. I am my own." The Traveller explained. It seemed to sense Hadrizahens' confusion, but its explanation was far from informative. Perhaps sensing that Hadrizahens was going to interrogate it further, the Traveller spoke again. "...I cannot help your damages. I do not know your body well enough to repair."
Bashful, but not at all surprised, Hadrizahens shook his head quickly to dismiss the Traveller's lack of knowledge. There was no reason for the Traveller to have spent its valuable time learning the mechanical makeup of a Korvax casing, or how to repair an assortment of damages done to it. The Korvax casing was a complex creation, and a prized one at that. They held together for generations upon generations of new Korvax iterations to take the place of old, dying Echoes. Hadrizahens himself wasn't entirely certain how to repair his leg, but he didn't need to know personally. He could call upon the collective mind of his people to download what he might need to know. Though it might be difficult for him to reach behind his leg joint to do the repairs himself. The angle was hardly optimal. But he would not ask the Traveller to assist with that. The Traveller was far too important of a being. Besides, Hadrizahens could scarcely imagine what he would do, sitting against the wall of the Traveller's base, with the Traveller's hands all over his leg, working at the delicate insides-... it was too much to even think about. Far too intimate for him to continue generating the scenario in his processor.
"You saved me, that is good enough." Hadrizahens said. "I can do repairs myself, once I return to the outpost."
"It is unwise to leave just now." The Traveller warned gravely.
Hadrizahens wasn't exactly comfortable with spending so much alone time with a holy entity that no being truly knew anything about, but he was inclined to listen to whatever warning the Traveller decided to give him. He was not at all keen to go outside, though the sounds of the Sentinel attack had stopped by now. There was no way of telling whether or not the drones had given up entirely, or were simply searching for their missing quarry… or a way to get inside the base. Hadrizahens shivered at the thought.
The Traveller seemed to notice Hadrizahens' unease. It looked more closely at Hadrizahens, though not judgmentally. "...What happened?"
A fair question, though Hadrizahens had no answer to it himself. As far as Hadrizahens knew, he had not done anything that would send the Sentinels into a frenzy. Sentinel drones weren't prone to unprovoked violence of that nature. Yes, there were instances in which Sentinels had attacked lifeforms, but it was usually due to the lifeform causing damage to the environment that the Sentinels dutifully protected. Even then, the drones would not attack outright. Being logical machines, Sentinels would analyze a situation to determine a threat, scanning the area and the potentially guilty party before beginning countermeasures. None of that had happened. Hadrizahens was issued no warning for his unknown crime. He was walking the same path that Scientist Entity Podoim walked every single day to get to the trading outpost. It made no sense.
"...I don't know. The Sentinels… They just…"
"Went mad?"
Hadrizahens stared at the Traveller in surprise. It sounded as though it wasn't shocked by the behavior of the Sentinels at all. As though this mad series of events was commonplace. "...Yes."
"Sentinels are machine. Their minds computers. They are connected, like the Korvax, but stronger. There is no individual with Sentinels. Only the swarm. When one fails, all fails. There is no one to repair the Sentinels' minds." The Traveller explained as best as it could. The Traveller spoke in broken sentences to explain concepts that Hadrizahens could only imagine were far beyond the grasp of his comprehension with his limited Korvax knowledge. He was in awe of the Traveller's insights, and yet terrified by what it was attempting to explain. It unsettled him to his very core to think about and left him silent for a moment while he absorbed the Traveller's conceptual description.
"You have seen this before?" Hadrizahens asked, looking towards the Traveller for guidance.
"Yes."
"...How is it possible?" Hadrizahens wondered aloud, hungry for more knowledge though it filled him with apprehension.
"They have failed before, long ago. In a time that no longer exists. Outside of this galaxy. It is lost now." the Traveller spoke with a more ominous tone.
Truly the Traveller was a wise being, to have such information of the Sentinels. Words of another world, one that sounded like it was utterly foreign to Hadrizahens. It would have been thrilling to hear about had the Traveller not mentioned that it was "lost". The concept filled him with a dread that started deep within his logic core and worked its way through every system. The heaviness in the Traveller's tone worried him, and he dared not to ask for more information on its fuller meaning. But his morbid curiosity could not be stopped. He feared to know more about the terrible things that the Traveller could tell him, but he couldn't stop himself. "Were you from the lost galaxy?"
"No." The Traveller said with a sigh and a chuckle. The sudden levity put Hadrizahens at ease, pulling him from his dark thoughts of disappearing galaxies and missing civilizations. Even with the relief he felt from the Traveller's answer, he could still sense that there was still tension in the Traveller's demeanor. "I have explored many galaxies and learned many truths. I have seen peace in the Sentinels and I have seen corruption. I do not know what causes the unrest, if it is one thing only. I do know that it will spread. It will no longer be safe here."
Hadrizahens' circuits ran cold. Questions and scenarios started forming unbidden in his mind. Would the Traveller not let him rest his mind? What did the Traveller mean by unsafe? Hadrizahens could certainly imagine based on what he just experienced, but did the Traveller mean that it might get worse? Would it spread planetwide? There were other settlements on the planet, though they were small. The Sentinels prevented the development of large towns and cities on most planets in the known galaxy, but it wasn't uncommon for there to be millions of small settlements scattered over a planet instead. Would they be in danger as well? How would they alert the other settlements? Would anyone believe them about what had just happened? What were they going to do? Hadrizahens felt like his processor was overloading with the sudden flood of questions and probabilities within his mind. It was too much to handle. He felt his systems overheating as the circuits attempted to process the information, while coolant pumped through his casing to prevent the inevitable overheat. His vision was fading beyond a wall of steady calculations, all of which predicted worst case scenario after worst case scenario. He couldn't see-
There was a loud knock at the door, causing both of the lifeforms inside to jump. Hadrizahens leaned closer to the Traveller out of fear, the Traveller reached for its firearm. After a moment of silence, they both relaxed. They remembered that they were safe inside of a locked building. It would take more than a few Sentinel drones to break down the door in such a short amount of time. Perhaps Sentinels did possess the ability to melt their way through a heavy set of hermetic doors such as the ones sealing off the base, but it wouldn't fall in just one loud bang. Even with Sentinel reinforcements, the two lifeforms were still safe inside the base.
The banging sounded again. Three knocks in succession. Sentinels were not well known for using their bodies as battering rams, or known for their strict adherence to social manners. Whatever was making the noise outside the door was no Sentinel. Hadrizahens exchanged a confused look with the Traveller, more relieved to see that the Traveller was just as puzzled as he was. The Traveller got to its feet, putting its weapon away as it walked to the keypad next to the door. A few button presses activated a small screen just above the numbers. Hadrizahens assumed that it was some sort of security camera linked up to the outside of the base. The screen was too small and he at too dramatic of an angle on the floor to see for him to make out for sure if that was what the Traveller was looking at. The Traveller seemed at ease with whatever was on the screen, though. It sighed in relief and pushed a large green button to unlock the door. There was a momentary delay as the computer system read the input and unsealed the door, but the heavy machinery eventually slid open. Hadrizahens deflated immediately when he caught his first glimpse of a Korvax clad in a sick yellow-green color. He had thought the worst thing they might find on the other side of the door was an even greater swarm of Sentinels. He was wrong.
"Greetings, Traveller Entity. It is good to see you returned mostly intact." Scientist Entity Podoim hummed pointedly. Hadrizahens knew that the Scientist identified him. He knew that he was being judged poorly. The only thing that was saving him at the moment was Podoim's sense of decorum. Wait-... what had Podoim just said?
"Mostly intact?" Hadrizahens repeated in confusion. Hadrizahens had not spent a long time observing the Traveller since the first time it had visited Outpost Rugo-395, but Hadrizahens had not noticed any missing limbs or chunks from the body of the Traveller.
Podoim would have rolled their eyes if they had any. "The Traveller Entity is leaking vital body fluids out of a hole in their exosuit."
Hadrizahens stared in shock at the Traveller's left arm, where Podoim was indicating. Sure enough, there was a dark, dirty red stain on the material surrounding a tear in the fabric. The color reminded Hadrizahens of rust, which was striking considering that he was almost completely certain that the Traveller was not a mechanical lifeform. How had Hadrizahens not noticed? He was ashamed to have been such a helpless wreck of a victim that he hadn't even bothered to help the Traveller, much less noticed it's injury.
"It does not bother me. The pain has been taken care of already." The Traveller reassured Scientist Entity Podoim firmly, holding up a hand to quell the passive aggressive remarks. The Traveller seemed uninterested in humoring Podoim's attempts to shame Hadrizahens, which made the young Korvax feel slightly better. After all, the Traveller had given no indication to being injured, or that the damages had hindered it in any way. Conversely, Hadrizahens was unable of standing on his own, much less walking. It stood to reason that Hadrizahens' damages were worse.
Hardly deterred, Podoim continued their verbal assault on Hadrizahens and the situation he had gotten himself into. He seemed determined to properly shame the insubordinate young Korvax.
"Merchant Assistant Entity Hadrizahens has been damaged as well?" Podoim asked, as though it was not obvious to them that Hadrizahens could not even stand. "The young Echo cannot be bothered to maintain their casing? Or, more likely, the young Echo resorted to delinquency and enraged the Aerons?"
It was hard to miss the religious emphasis the Scientist was putting on his accusations, painting Hadrizahens as some sort of heathen for disturbing the balance between the Sentinels and nature. Podoim had even referred to the Sentinels by their ancient name; something that most younger Korvax never bothered with. Hadrizahens had the distinct feeling that Podoim would have preferred Taudi to be present to hear all of this, but had settled for rehearsing just how they would damn the younger Korvax in the eyes of his superior. The Traveller would not understand the importance of the words that Podoim had carefully chosen, but Hadrizahens did. And Taudi would as well. It was hardly fair, nor did it make sense. Why should Podoim bother to put Hadrizahens in an even lower place of favor in Merchant Entity Taudi's graces? Scientist Entity Podoim already commanded most of Taudi's free time, so there was no reason that Hadrizahens could immediately see for them to be so petty… Unless, the scientist was acting self important because there was an entirely different entity to impress. One that, unlike Taudi, was within earshot.
"This was not their fault." The Traveller asserted. It was gentle but very firm while addressing Podoim about this. It made Hadrizahens' internal pistons flutter. No one had ever defended him before. Not even Taskmaster Entity Orzhoku, and Hadrizahens was on good terms with Orzhoku. Granted, that was because Orzhoku knew that it wasn't worth the energy reserves to try to debate with Podoim or Taudi about anything once their minds were set. Even though the Traveller did not know how stubborn Podoim and Taudi could be, it still meant a great deal to Hadrizahens that the Traveller would try.
Podoim's head swivelled to look at the Traveller, scanning it intently. Hadrizahens knew that the scientist was sizing the Traveller up, calculating their next move in response. He could hear the small whirring sound as the scientist recorded notes to their processor. "You cannot confirm this, you were not present."
"And you were?" The Traveller replied quickly. There was a tone of incredulity to his accusation. It seemed to bemuse the Traveller that Podoim was so confident in their assertions.
Hadrizahens watched Podoim's demeanour suddenly take a calculated shift. It went from their usual superior confidence to a casual dubiousness that Hadrizahens couldn't trust any further than he could ignore. The scientist would no longer look the Traveller in the face. There was some amount of deliberate shame in their actions.
Shocked and perhaps appalled, the Traveller stared back at Podoim once it took stock of Podoim's body language. "You WERE?"
"I observed. I am a Scientist Entity and it is my directive to survey and record unbiased…" Podoim hummed, still not looking at the Traveller. Hadrizahens felt a twinge of resentment as soon as Podoim stopped speaking. While it was important to science to remain unbiased, as Podoim had said, he hardly felt as though his own life was equivalent to an experiment. He felt that, even if Podoim disliked Hadrizahens, there shouldn't be a debate over whether or not it was scientifically moral to intervene.
"You observed and did not assist? We were under attack!" The Traveller's voice rose steadily with its clear anger. It seemed to agree with Hadrizahens' unvoiced thoughts.
"Negative. Merchant Assistant Hadrizahens was experiencing corrective behaviors from the Sentinels, then the Traveller Entity engaged the Sentinels in combat unprovoked." Podoim corrected the Traveller with a newfound and intolerably smug confidence.
"Unprovoked-?!" The Traveller repeated exasperatedly, stuttering as it tried to bid an argument through its outrage.
Hadrizahens remained silent as he watched the two entities exchange words. He knew better than to try to stand up for himself when he was clearly in the wrong. Podoim was mistaken; he had not harassed the Sentinels into attacking him. He had, however, snuck out in the dead of night to speak with the Traveller without permission. Taudi would have never granted him such a request, as Hadrizahens had no business speaking with a pseudo-deity. Especially not when Hadrizahens should be recharging so he could function at peak efficiency for the coming work day. Moreover, Hadrizahens hadn't even come up with a plan for once he got to the Traveller's base and had the chance to speak with it. There was no way for Hadrizahens to offer himself a case against his guilt, but he was still grateful to the Traveller for trying on his behalf. They had never had a proper introduction, and yet the Traveller still tried its best to keep Hadrizahens out of trouble. Hadrizahens found it quite chivalrous, even if the Traveller seemed to be losing.
"You blasted a number of the Sentinels to pieces. You destroyed the guardians of The Atlas's creation remorselessly. You are, by some virtue of nature, of The Atlas, yet you destroy its commissaries." Podoim crossed their arms while staring down the Traveller in a very accusational tone. There was a chance that Podoim was simply throwing blame to distract from the fact that they had not tried to help, but Podoim's confidence was so unwavering that it almost made it seem as though the Traveller was in the wrong.
The Traveller was thankfully not under Podoim's manipulative grasp, and saw through their attempts to diffuse their own guilt. It seemed keen to play the blame game just as Podoim had. "Secondary question; why do you watch my base?"
Disturbingly unphased by the incriminating nature of the question, Podoim responded with an uncomfortably equal amount of honesty and utter lack of elaboration. "You are a foreign entity, and you are favored by The Atlas. Scientifically speaking, you are fascinating. Personally, you are captivating. I find observing you stimulating… intellectually, of course."
Rightfully, the Traveller took a moment to process what Podoim had said before speaking again.
"...You flatter me." The Traveller said flatly. It shifted its weight away from Podoim as it spoke, as though it didn't believe the caveat that Podoim had added towards the end. Hadrizahens felt it was wise for the Traveller to make that assumption.
"I was also hoping to trouble you for a biological fluid sample." Podoim added, as though he had not made things uncomfortable enough already.
The Traveller shifted even further away. It's visor was deliberately pointed away from Scientist Entity Podoim, but Hadrizahens had the distinct impression that the Traveller was giving the scientist nervous sideways glances. He wished he could speak up and help the Traveller, maybe tell Podoim to stop being as adamant about whatever "scientific" study he wanted to conduct, but Hadrizahens knew that he had no authority over Podoim and would be ignored. Still, it would be very satisfying to tell Podoim off. There was no reason for the scientist to act so unprofessionally. The Traveller was a revered entity and should be treated with some respect. How dare Podoim be so crass? It boiled Hadrizahens' coolant to think about.
"...I will offer a sample of my choosing if you make a trade." The Traveller spoke after a pause. There was a lilt to its voice, as though it had puzzled out a way to turn things back to its own advantage once again… which was utterly outrageous, because Hadrizahens felt as though there was no need in any situation for the Traveller to give Podoim what they wanted.
Podoim seemed intrigued, as though he wasn't certain that a sample was going to be given up consensually. "Do I get to choose what to trade?"
"No." The Traveller said resolutely. "I have a trade in mind."
"That hardly seems fair. You get to choose the sample AND the trade item? I could just take a sample right now." Podoim said slowly. They reached into their arm cavity to pull out a syringe to prove their point. Hadrizahens sat up more straight in alarm. There was no reason to threaten the Traveller when it was clearly open to bartering. Besides that, he was certain it was sacreligious to threaten a Traveller.
The Traveller was unphased and unafraid. In fact, it almost seemed tired. "I do not wish any ill will, and I have a great respect for the Korvax… but please. Do not force violence upon me. I will respond in kind."
Podoim stopped and stared at the Traveller, the light of their visor tracking the movement of its hand as the Traveller reached to its side. Its hand rested upon the multi-tool resting in its holster and patted it gently. Podoim understood the Traveller's meaning. "What did you have in mind?"
The Traveller then gestured with one hand to Hadrizahens, who was surprised to be suddenly included in the conversation once again. He thought he had been all but forgotten at this point in the verbal confrontation between the Traveller and Podoim.
"I want repairs. Without notifying the trade outpost. I will replace all supplies used."
Podoim's visor flashed yellow in annoyance briefly as they looked down at Hadrizahens. Hadrizahens knew how this must look to the scientist. With a request like the one the Traveller had made, it made it seem as though he and the Traveller had been conspiring to keep Hadrizahens out of trouble with Taudi all along. But they hadn't. There was no such discussion. The Traveller had settled on these conditions all on its own, and Hadrizahens would be a liar in the face of The Atlas if he denied that he was utterly grateful for it.
"...A reasonable trade. It is logical that I would be the one to repair Merchant Assistant Entity Hadrizahens regardless." Podoim reluctantly agreed, clearly trying to sound as though he had not been defeated. "I will not report to the trade outpost. I will require your assistance bringing Merchant Assistant Entity Hadrizahens to the Observatory. Once there, we can discuss your biological sample donation and then proceed with the repairs."
Hadrizahens felt relieved to hear Podoim's consent to the trade. He would be able to avoid getting into a lot of trouble this way. Even if Podoim's repairs were to take a long time, Hadrizahens would still have the chance to come up with some sort of excuse for his absence. There would be plenty of time on the trek to the Observatory for Hadrizahens to come up with multiple excuses, should he need them. He might still get into trouble, but he knew how to stretch the truth for Merchant Entity Taudi in order to lessen their anger. He might just be able to pull off this entire misadventure with only a few weeks of extra chores, which was much better than he could have ever hoped up to this point. The visit to the Traveller had certainly not gone according to plan, but at least Hadrizahens wouldn't have to pay for it as dearly. Besides, extra chores would do nothing to put a damper on his mood now that he knew that he had found favor with the Traveller, especially when Podoim and Taudi had not. Nothing could possibly stop this high now.