A murmuring seemed to permeate the space station's thin air. A disquieting rumble. A fearful hissing. The many Vykeen Guards felt it and they responded in growls and slobber. They puffed out their chests and strutted about in groups, yet their hands shook as they fingered their Multi-tools and cast sideways glances at the darkened couch. The Gek Merchants felt it too! They peeped and muttered and - few as they were - huddled amongst themselves, attempting to hide their anxiety behind preoccupation (alas, the stink they were raising amongst the trading benches betrayed them handily).
Yet Scientist-Entity Kezh, the only Korvax employed in this Space Station - and very happily at that, as he had quite a love for interacting with the organic and was deeply entertained by their oddities- did not. Despite having studied the innards and outers of many a biological creature, it remained far less inclined to submit itself to the whims of 'gut feelings', not that it had much of a gut to feel with. And yes, despite knowing how useful this so called 'sixth sense' had proven to The Korvax's fleshy counterparts' The Korvax Scientist simply disliked acting on things unproven. As such, instead of cowering, it simply remained at its post, tapping away at its datapad and stealing glances at the small figure hunched over on the nearby couches whenever it could afford to divert its attention. The dark shape was familiar, and each time Scientist-Entity Kezh saw it, an excited rumbling thrummed through its circuits and machinery.
Because of course Kezh knew what it was.
A Traveller... The Traveller.
Their Traveller.
The Atlas' favored. The beloved of Hirk. One of the few iridescent beings which roamed from planet to planet, from galaxy to galaxy chasing that which only they could see. They were scarce, like rare jewels - fleeting like a passing breeze. Designated by The Atlas itself, they were almost royalty! and though they were precious - they were likewise fearsome. For indeed, the vendors and the haunts that called Mozath 23D's Station home have all learned to be wary of The Traveller-Entity which graced these parts.
(Weak? Grah! No... injured by battle.)
(The smell of Death clings to it.)
Yes, Their Traveller was surely a fearsome one. According to the Vykeen, it always carried the scent of violence about it (Kezh had tested the air countless times attempting to identify this mysterious fragrence, but the chemical analysis always came up null). According to the Geks, its glare was deeply threatening (The Korvax had never seen The Travellers face, much less feel its gaze).
But in addition to all of these 'gut feelings' The Traveller did carry itself with a certain decorum.
It was silent and stoic. Never speaking but always listening - and listening carefully. It moved with a slow, gliding cadence as it traversed their space station - yet from the very beginning, this slowness was not due to fear or uncertainty. For indeed, it walked about as if it owned the space station itself. As if all it laid eyes on was its to claim and was now in its possession. Kezh, of course, only knew this because some of its biological collogues had complained about this 'haughtiness' and how such seemingly baseless confidence angered them (Scientist-Entity Kezh, of course, took careful note of this - finding it exceedingly strange such a conclusion could be drawn from the cadence of footfalls alone). But of course, none would dare confront The Traveller-Entity. For it was quite intimidating indeed. Scientist-Entity Kezh was well aware of its terrifying feats, as it frequently dragged in all manner of dangerous creatures, artifacts, sentinel parts (that one felt sacrilegious) and outlaws up the ramps to the Guild Desks.
And- to be frank - whilst Kezh's collegues were quite scared of The Traveller, The Scientist-Entity was filled with a sort of burning curiosity towards it. What manner of creature was it that it could accomplish such feats? To - in its one tiny solar ship - blaze out to battle against a squadron of pirates and return unscathed. To go toe to toe against the nesting monstrosities which had slain so many settlers - and to return with satchels upon satchels of wriggling eggs. What was this mysterious quality which caused the biological to fear it? After all, The Traveller was not outwardly impressive - its frame was bipedal and far scrawnier than those of Vykeen Males, despite being of similar build. Yet there was something sharp and jaunt and dangerous about it. One of the Vykeen guards had not so eloquently described it as the biological variant of a particularly spiny fighter-jet.
But of course, this alone was not enough to spark Scientist-Entity's fascination. After all, it was an echo who had walked this world for many generations already. It had studied all manner of venomous creatures, hulking beasts and deadly creations, and not much piqued such a deep interest in him anymore. For indeed, this exceeded the bounds of a simple scientific curiousity, and forayed into something almost illogical. Perhaps it was that odd reflection in its helmet that captured Kezh's attention. The Traveller - like it's breathren (according to the collective, anyways Kezh had never seen a Traveller before) wore a sleek domed helmet about its face, and no matter what light shone upon it - none could see the visage that lay inside - if indeed there was any visage at all. Yet on many occasions when The Traveller swept past, Scientist-Entity Kezh saw a baleful red reflected - if only momentarily - from the sheen in its visor. Perhaps it was the glare of The Traveller itself, seeping through the darkness of its helmet. Or perhaps it was the blessing of The Atlas, or perhaps it was something else... but that crimson light -for good or for bad- struck Scientist-Entity Kezh to its very core and burrowed there.
And ever since The Traveller first arrive 16 sols ago, Scientist-Entity Kezh wanted nothing more than to seize upon this strange being, strap it to its observation deck and learn everything there was to know about it. What a mystery Their Traveller was! Silent and slow, yet gliding and weightless upon its feet! It must be terrifically strong and biological in nature, yet it did not have the mannerisms common to the organics. Kezh had never heard The Traveller speak- but it had heard it breathe or huff in exertion on many occasions, and the sound was interesting because it was unknown. Why did The Traveller deign to speak? Or perhaps it simply could not? Ah-
-kzzt-
Scientist-Entity Kezh flashed its consciousness away from the figure collapsed against the nearby couch as it felt the familiar sparks of overexertion crackling violently behind its faceplate. It flushed its processors with coolant and discharged the built-up static with a noise its biologically inclined collegues had come to associate with excitement, or rather - great anticipation. To imagine the organics had attributed tells even to it! Well, to be frank, they had long ago collectively assigned him a male gender designation, not officially of course - for to flippantly re-designate a Korvax was a highly dishonorable act - but via the slipping of speech and accidental gestures. All of this, Scientist-Entity Kezh found fascinating... but not as fascinating as The Traveller.
-kzzt-
Another discharge, but Scientist-Entity Kezh needen't fear any of the ridicule it's colleagues seemed to pass around so good naturedly. Today, all eyes were drawn to The Traveller - who had wandered in only a few minutes ago per its usual cycle of comings and goings. Whilst it normally unloaded its spacecraft and came gliding up the ramp dragging some terrible monstrosity behind it, today - it dragged only itself. And whilst it often scorned the trading floor for The Guild platform, today - it clung to the railings and limped its way to the set of couches on the merchandise floor - couches normally reserved for the Geks to barter with their clients over contracts. Where previously its cadence had been 'haughty' (truly, Scientist-Entity Kezh couldn't see it no matter how carefully he observed) it now crouched and carried itself with the meekness of a wounded animal. Yet even so, the puffed up Vykeen Guards daren't approach the wounded Traveller. Indeed, they seemed far more wary of it now than while it stood strong.
(The Smell of Crimson rot...)
(Grah-Grah... A rot! It must be eradicated!)
Scientist-Entity Kezh startled at that. How unclouth, to dare suggest the eradication of one of The Atlas' Chosen... and of such a mysterious specimen! And over a mere rotting virus? Well, perhaps the Organics would be more inclined to fear such a thing, but to Kezh, diseases of biological nature were mere curiosities to be studied. Korvax casings were not subject to sickness.
In any case, something had to be done. The Scientist-Entity quickly made its way over to the gaggle of Vykeen Guards and politely requested access to The Traveller. They acquiesced far more quickly than they normally did (The Vykeen seemed to revel in all sorts of ceremonial conflict - even in language - and always never did anything when first asked) and watched warily as it crossed the polished floor towards the fallen Traveller.
-kzzt-
How exciting! Kezh had to discharge its static once more and flush coolant through its chassis as it purposefully rounded the couch - not once allowing its attention to shift from The Traveller collapsed against the armrest. From here, it was very obvious that it was wounded. Aside from appearing entirely boneless where it lay, its breath was far rougher and far more rapid than usual - coming in quick, strained bursts and sounding rather similar to a set of gummed-up air valves. There were several gashes in its exosuit, a few of which a red-rust like colour leaked forth - but tiny motile cilia sprung from the vast majority of them - waving in tandem with each-other as they absorbed The Traveller's fluids and oozed out pus and slime. There were likewise tendrils sprouting from the joints in The Traveller's armour and the seams of its helmet. Indeed, whatever malady The Traveller had been afflicted with - it appeared quite severe indeed. Scientist-Entity Kezh, in its excitement, automatically made to scan The Traveller - but quickly caught itself. Even in such circumstances, it mustn't forget to be polite.
"Traveller-Entity, I wish to run basic biological diagnostics scan. Do you permit?"
A gasp. The voice came out breathy and garbled. It's tone and cadence were odd, but even so the sheen of desperation shone through. A clear fluid gushed from the seam in The Traveller's helmet as it wheezed out a plea for help in Kezh's own language.
"P-please... Requesting help...whatever needs-... a-all permits are hereby...granted."
"Eheu!"
How exciting! Blanket permissions like this were not often granted - and especially not from living, sentient specimens of such rarity and mysterious origin! Clearly The Traveller knew enough about The Korvax culture to learn the significance of permissions, if it had managed to learn enough of the language to grant such permission. Kezh did not anticipate any revocation until the time it had managed to heal The Traveller entirely... but in the meantime, it was free to scan The Traveller to its heart's content. What a fantastic opportunity indeed!
With little further decorum, Kezh hoisted its new subject over its plated shoulders (The Traveller was heavier than Kezh had anticipated, but thankfully its hydraulics quickly adjusted to the weight) and the two of them rapidly disappeared into the bowels of The Space Station.
It became a sick-fic