“Diana, I’ll be out here whenever you need me,” Jonah said to the door. The only reply was a heartbroken yowl of Aiko. He could faintly hear Diana crying. There had to be something he could say to make it better. He wasn’t quite sure what happened with the Guardian. He could guess and figured he was right, but wouldn’t be sure until he talked it out with her. After all this time, a little over a week, he wasn’t under any delusion about the time span, he thought they had grown close. It was stupid, he knew, to try and push anything between them. It was selfish in fact, to act like he had any answers at all. She had gotten by so far without him, she could keep going.

He had to say something more though.

“Just know that I’m here for you, and so is Kalyah. Lucy and Coal like you too. There’s no reason not to like you…” he said, trying to be as fair as possible. “It doesn’t matter if the Heroes are horrible, you’re strong without them. They’re just assholes that have lived too long, they like all the fame and power. I mean, Ryul isn’t that bad.” He sighed, running his hands along the surface of the door.

“Blodwyn sounds fucking crazy, but I’ve seen how determined you are. I know you can do it one day. You can do this without them, you’re an actual Hero, because you got integrity and dedication,” he went on, cursing at himself. This is so stupid, I’m fucking stupid, he thought. He couldn’t stop though, more pushing to get out of him.

“Every time you get upset you pull through it, Diana, you’re able to move on. You can do it with this too.” He wasn’t even sure if she heard him, if what he said even mattered to her at all. Aiko didn’t reply this time, but he hoped one of them was listening. “I’ll be out here, okay?” He turned and walked away.

Paying attention to his metal feet walking the tile, he nearly ran into the Paladin, and froze before him. The burly man was speaking to a group of soldiers poking their heads out of the kitchen entrance, the young men eager to know what had happened.

“I don’t know what else to tell ya, call the mechanics, Jameson, we’ll sort the rest out later,” Whittaker was saying, then he turned on Jonah. “Do you think she’ll be okay, sir?”

The frightening visage of the man, with the thorned crown and pitch black eyeholes, stripped the kindness from his question. Jonah swallowed a lump, struggling to find the words.

“Oh, sorry, how rude of me,” the Paladin said and ran a hand over his face. His helm faded away in a shimmer. The thorns shrank in size to the slender circlet around his loose black crew cut. The man smiled, his features were solid like carved wood, high cheekbones, broad jaw, and boldly bridged nose. His dark eyes looked out from hooded lids. Across his tan face was well trimmed stubble that stretched down his strong neck and Adam's apple.

Jonah half wished for the helmet to return. He felt defeated just looking at him. “Yeah, I think she’ll be fine,” he said evenly to the striking man.

Whittaker nodded. “Good, good, she’s lucky to have a sweetheart as caring as you,” he said firmly.

The other soldiers poked out farther, trying to get a better look at him. Of all the people here, he thought.

“Uh, I, I’m just her friend, she’s helped me a lot more than I have,” Jonah stammered.

The Paladin smiled. “She’s lucky all the same,” he said. He beckoned with his gauntleted hand and Jonah drew closer. “I’d say you’re in better standing than you think, my good man. I ain’t seen many men have a princess clinging to them like that.”

The soldiers all snickered, but not at him, as if they were jealous.

Flustered, Jonah shook his head. “She’s just my friend,” he insisted.

The Paladin’s grin grew. “Well, after what she’s been through, she needs some damn good friends,” he stated, turning on his subordinates. “These dumb sons of bitches couldn’t do shit for anyone. They got the damn maturity of a bunch of wild hounds. See, lads, ya gotta be mature like my friend here!” He looped his arm around Jonah’s shoulders. “What’s yer name, my fellow man?”

The soldiers all jeered, waving their hands dismissively.

“Jonah, sir… Jonah, sir!” he said, once quietly, then loudly again on the Paladin’s prompting and subtle shake. There were a couple inches from Jonah being the same height, but he felt so much smaller than him. He felt a chest plate under than man’s coat. On the man's chest were a collection of pins, all embossed with ranks or rewards, he couldn’t tell. They were far more fancy than solid colored bars and stripes. For one, they were mostly carved from stone and inlaid with precious metals.

“Don’t you worry about honoring me, we’re all friends here!” Whittaker said nicely. “I’m glad the princess has picked up a fellow Paladin. A whole lot better than those other snobs she dated before…”

Jonah held up his metal hands. “I’m not… These are mechanical,” he said. “I lost the real ones when I came here.”

Whittaker released him, scanning him with scrutiny. The soldiers stepped out, looking as well. “What form of travel made you lose your arms?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

The Traveler took a deep breath. This is what he had been waiting for in a way, a person outside the ship to care about his existence, his new one. “I traveled here from another world, another planet, it took all my limbs, I’m not exactly sure how,” he said shakily, examining himself. “Apparently it’s the same world as the Machinist.”

Whittaker shook his head as the soldiers gasped in shock.

“Well I’ll be damned!” the Captain hooted. “We got ourselves a goddamn Traveler! Holy shit! I ain’t ever thought I’d be so lucky!” His fellows joined his laughter in disbelief. He bowed his head to Jonah and the others followed along. “An honor, a goddamn honor indeed. Miller, grab the damn camera, let’s get us a picture of this wonder. Is that alright, Jonah?”

He nodded.

The soldier rushed off, there were clanging pots from the kitchen.

“Don’t wreck the place, you damn fool, we got enough to clean up out here!” Whittaker barked.

Jonah was trembling, finding it hard to stand. He had never felt like this. “Am, am I that rare?” he mumbled.

Whittaker grinned at him, voice calmer. “Of course you are, the last Traveler I ever heard of is the Machinist himself,” he said. “No wonder you were with the princess, a rarity like you.”

“Yeah…” he said. This was too much, he felt like he might hyperventilate. The room was getting small on him. His heart was racing as the soldiers came around him, asking a whole host of questions. He had no answers, many were all asked at once. So much time with no one caring about him to so many wondering after every facet of his life. What the hell was he going to say? How could he get out of this? Should he just run for the door? The storm was out there, but it wasn’t much worse than all the swirling voices around him.

Whittaker saw his suffering, tugging back his men from him. They wouldn’t listen and were arguing with him. The Traveler was just as much a wonder to them. They were off of Jonah, but they were still loud, now angry at the Captain.

Then they all hushed and their heads bowed as a fearsome roar filled the entire diner. The army men all stepped back into the walls as Aiko growled, herding them away. Diana took Jonah’s arm, wrapping hers around it. The army men muttered apologies punctated by her title.

“He is a rarity indeed,” she said, smiling at Jonah. There was red around her eyes, hiding partially behind a fresh application of makeup. A strong pressure was in her grasping hand and when her joy faltered there was a clear weakness in her, but she was fast to hide it as she turned to the Paladin. “I could hardly think back there, but I wonder now how a devout of Psyin would not notice some minor anxiety in my dear man,” she said stiffly.

“I apologize, your highness, to you as well, Jonah,” Whittaker said, fists together. “I tried to settle my men, but I should have done better.”

“Is he forgiven, my Traveler?” she asked him.

The way she said it made Jonah weak again, thoughts falling back to the man’s teasing. “Yes, of course, I’m fine,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

She looked at him and thought for a moment, the cords in her throat worked wildly. “Disappointed,” she said plainly.

Whittaker ordered his men away, just as the one came with the camera.

“Come, take your picture,” Diana said, snapping her fingers.

“It’s an honor, miss, to have even seen you two, we can’t bother you any further,” Whittaker said evenly. “We’re especially sorry for your loss, miss, anything you heard we meant with all due respect.”

Her face twitched at the mention of her sister, but she held her composure. “Are you making your sovereign repeat herself?” she asked pointedly. “Come here and take your bloody picture.” She squeezed Jonah’s hand tighter, it was soft enough to give and hard enough to take her desperate hold.

The men all flocked around her, far more reserved than they had been. With a wave of Whittaker’s hand, the camera floated in midair, wrapped in cords of golden spines. He took a place behind Jonah.

Diana scanned them, clearly glad to get some frustration out at the men. “What? Am I not good enough to smile around?” she chided.

Their faces all lightened forcefully.

She laughed, pushing the emotion out. “Happier, happier! You are standing with your princess and a Traveler from another world, not a damn tribunal!” she commanded.

The men cracked up and as the flashed died out Diana pressed her lips into Jonah’s cheek. Sparks of joy popped in his head at the contact. The other men moved away with a chuckle as she laid her head on his shoulder

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?” he asked in a hush.

Her brown eyes glistened in the bright sterile lighting, her breath warm on his neck. “For giving me a reason to leave the dark mire I had found myself in,” she said with a smirk.

“All I did was stand out here and be awkward,” he replied, horribly confused.

“What you said at the door, you silly man,” she said, pulling him close to face her.

“Oh, oh, well that was the truth,” he said with a grin, face as hot as possible. Aiko rubbed up against the back of his legs.

“I am still extremely mad at the Heroes, disgusted,” she hissed low. “I can get past it though, we can. Our allies on that ship of fools.” She met eyes with him. “You have been the greatest one to me.”

He looked away. “Okay, okay, I can’t take anymore,” he said feebly.

She gave him another hug to her body of hard armor. “Whittaker, could I request some food to settle my stomach?” she asked.

“Yes, miss, right away,” the Paladin said.

They gave him an order.

“Come now,” she said, taking Jonah’s hand. “You helped me out here, you must continue in your commitment.” She made her way to the dining room with him shakily following.

“What’s that?” he wondered.

“You said you were here, so here you must remain,” she let him catch up to her shoulder, coiling her arm around his again. “Do you regret your promise?”

“No, I don’t,” he assured her.

“Good.”