Chapter Text
The problem with farming solanium, Pax realised, was that the heat was really not good for him.
Of course, setting up a base by himself on an uninhabitable wasteland of a planet was also not good for him, but that was besides the point. His optical nodes were getting fried again, despite his exosuit's best efforts. It wasn't designed for this. Though to be fair, neither was he. It weakly warned him of an incoming firestorm through the multitude of temperature warning pings already clouding their vision.
They must have overloaded something, because their vision was clouding with neon green little squares at a worryingly rapid rate. They clear their visor with a shake, and worry creeps up their spine when they realise that it's not their visor losing vision. Shit. They're not going to survive this for much longer.
It's at that moment Pax makes the wise decision to abandon the precious fruit, quickly refilling their hazsuit with coolant before jetting back to their pride and joy, Dogawat's Desperation. The slight relief the wind gave them from the raging heat was overshadowed by his still-declining optical health. His vision doubled as he landed in front of his ship, stumbling awkwardly towards salvation.
He unlatched his ship's door with a practiced motion, sliding into his seat with relief as the cockpit clicked shut and a wave of refreshing air blew over them. finally. It looked like the optical damage wasn't going away with the cooler temperature though. He was still able to see well enough to fly, at least. Forthe most part, anyway. Their head was starting to hurt from trying to process the poor quality image, but if they could just get to safety...
It was a blisfully short flight to their newest home, a surprisingly cool cave that they'd excavated in a panic as soon as they landed. They practically sprinted the short distance from the ship landing to their home, and flopped down face first onto their couch as soon as they were close enough to reach it. Their hydraulics hissed in complaint, heat waves rising off of their overtaxed suit. Pax closed their eyes, trying to ignore the vivid green spatter of dead pixels across their vision.
They lay there for a moment, letting their body rest for a moment. The howling winds and the roar of wildfire outside his door was strangely comforting- they were safe in here. The cavern was cool and quiet, like the eye of a storm.
He lay there in silence for a few minutes, until the condition of his optics pulled him from his thoughts. They pulled themself off of the couch, joints creaking in protest. He really needed a checkup with an actual mechanic. Their casing was in a terrible state, not including his ruined optics.
Luckily Pax still had a teleporter here, albeit a broken one. He'd just have to leave it open when he left. Honestly, though, he was fairly confident that nobody would enter even if they were away for a few days. Nobody had even charted this planet yet- not even himself. Who would turn up to a nameless, extremely hostile planet on their own?
Pax clambered up to the ledge their teleporter lived, grateful for the pretty much constant solar power he was getting from the planet. He punched in the co-ordinates by memory, and closed their eyes once more. They took a step forwards, leaning into the strange sensation of being shifted across space.
Their mechanic's shop was the same as ever- the almost-sweet smell of metal and fuel greeted Pax before the eccentric Gek did.
"Pax, my friend! You look terrible! Come, come, take a seat," the WorkGek called. She patted the desk that she was sitting on enthusiastically. "this Gek will fix you up, my friend."
"Thank you," Pax mumbled. They knew better than to ignore her invitation, having been scolded by her enough times. They sit on the chair opposite the Gek, letting her examine his damaged face. She didn't have a name, per se, more a collection of scents and memories (a flood of morning dew on a mountain path, stormy ocean on rock, stale rations and sap entered his sensors. They tried not to breathe too much). The Gek looked concerned for Pax.
"Friend! You've damaged yourself severely. You'll need to rest, do you understand?"
"But-"
"No buts! This First Spawn will only repair you if you promise to respect her work."
"...But I live on a planet covered in fire."
She looked at Pax like he'd grown a second head.
It took some convincing to get her to fix his eyes, and after several negotiations, she agreed to repair him if he promised to stay inside for at least two weeks in order for his eyes to settle. He was only to go outside for emergencies. The procedure itself was quick and painless, simply a matter of unwiring his old eyes and slotting in new and improved ones.
What Pax wasn't prepared for was how improved they were. Everything was crisp and focused, and he even had built-in scanners. They were also much heavier than his last pair, causing his head to droop a little. This... was going to take some getting used to.
It takes Pax a while before he can stand up without feeling dizzy. Whenever he moved too quickly, his vision swam, something that his mechanic had assured him would fade once his core got used to the upgrade. She hadn't let him down yet. It wasn't like he could go anywhere, anyway. He waved goodbye to the WorkGek and slipped through the teleporter back to his home, making sure to close his eyes the whole way back. There was no way he was subjecting himself to that.
He opened his eyes once he felt solid ground under his feet, grateful for the feeling of hard ground beneath...
Hold on.
Something wasn't right.
His vision was still swimming, but he could swear there was someone in his home. They were hunched over in his indoor garden, uprooting his vegetables.
Pax's chest lurched.