Trazyn's hand, just about to merge into the dimensional ripple, stopped dead in midair.
The ripples of spatial disturbance froze as though suspended in ice, then reluctantly dispersed into a few faint motes of light that vanished into the silent air.
His entire hunched metal body "turned" back around with agonizing slowness, his movements almost rigid.
His eye sockets, which seemed to hold sixty million years of stardust, now locked onto the silver-haired figure standing slightly behind Lorgar with her arms folded, utterly at ease, as though fixed in place by the most precise servo system.
All his frustration, all his resentment, all his calculations over losing a surrogate body and his reluctance to abandon the great ship evaporated in that instant like ice crystals cast into the heart of a star.
In their place came an almost instinctive fervor, so unfamiliar that even Trazyn himself trembled at it.
The vocalizer in his throat gave a faint series of clicks, like ancient gears meshing again. He seemed to be clearing nonexistent vocal cords, trying not to sound so eager, so much like a child who had spotted sweets.
"Oh—"
He spoke, forcibly adjusting the frequency of his dry, metallic rasp in an attempt to produce a trace of the courteous tones of an ancient aristocrat, though it sounded especially strange in the deathly silent great hall.
He bowed slightly, placing one hand against his chest while making an exceedingly stiff gesture of invitation with the other, his eerie green gaze "intently" "regarding" Anna.
"My... distinguished, elegant lady, possessed of such... ah, unique charm."
"I am Trazyn, a humble... traveler devoted to preserving the diversity of the galaxy's history and art. Might I have the honor of... making your acquaintance?"
His curious "gaze" passed through Anna's long silver hair and flawless