The Adventures of Goryx and Xyrog

     “Here we are again, just you and me bud," Goryx gave the Blue Nedler perched on his shoulder, tentacles wrapped around Goryx’s antennae, a vigorous scratch under its left ear. Xyrog, ever-present and loyal, nuzzled against his neck, the Nedler's soft fur a comforting presence in the sterile environment of the shuttle. The two of them were in one of the many small spacecraft owned by the Kreludoran Research Unit for close-space travel between Neopia, Kreludor and the Virtupets Space Station.

     The shuttle was a marvel of Kreludoran engineering, its sleek design a testament to years of technological advancements since the Resistance era. Its hull was lined with a special alloy developed in the aftermath of Dr. Sloth's invasion, capable of withstanding both extreme temperatures and minor meteor impacts.

     "You know, it really wasn't my fault," Goryx grumbled, his antennae twitching with frustration. "I'm not sure how they expect one Grundo, whose job isn't even remotely related to security, to be able to patrol an ENTIRE meteor crash site. Plus," he lifted a finger into the air for emphasis, "I know for a fact that Lex let someone slip by just last week."

     The technicians who were normally responsible for patrolling Meteor Crash Site 725-XZ were in training all week. The junior scientists from the Research Unit had been given the job, under the watchful eye of Chief Grundo Scientist. Chief, as everyone called him, was an imposing purple Grundo with a penchant for running his hands through his bright yellow hair, making it stick out every which way. It gave him an aura of slight madness, which he enjoyed.

     The memory of yesterday's debacle at Meteor Crash Site 725-XZ made Goryx wince. It had been Goryx's second shift on patrol. A few hours into the shift, bored out of his mind, he caved and took out the components of a small project he had been working on. He was attempting to modify his personal tablet so that it could attach to his space suit. It would give him two free hands during any space walk missions. If he could get it to work properly, he might even be able to convince the Chief to upgrade all the space suits in the research unit. He had been so engrossed that he failed to notice the young Chomby tourist slowly skirting around him and heading straight for the meteor.

     "A Disco Chomby, for Space Faerie's sake!" Chief had screamed at him later in the Kreludor Cafe, his small spectacles threatening to fall off his nose. He waved a large chunk of meteor in Goryx's face, "You're lucky all they did was poke it with a stick!"

     Now he was on this shuttle with Xyrog on his way to check on one of the comms satellites. Space repairs were normally something for the technicians to handle, but as they were all off for the week and Chief had been looking for a way to reprimand Goryx, it was now his job. The satellite had been playing up in recent weeks, broadcasting random snippets of historical media into homes across Neopia.

     Though this job was supposed to be penance, Goryx didn't mind much. He enjoyed fixing things. He was one of the best mechanical scientists on the moon if not all of Neopia, or so his parents always told him. Their faith was backed up by his reputation amongst Training Academy graduates and current trainees. Goryx was an aspiring mech-science specialist at the Kreludoran Research Unit, having passed the final exams of the Space Station Training Academy late last year. During his time at the Academy, he had won all three years of the Space Weaponry challenge and set the new record for fastest build, beating the previous record held by one S. Zarex.

     Back in the present, Xyrog gave a little huff. Goryx shrugged, "I know, I know I should have been paying attention and not playing with my tablet. But look," he grabbed the offending device and a space suit from the lockers, nimbly attaching the tablet to a cradle he'd built into the left sleeve. "Now I can have both hands free when we're working out there," he nodded out the porthole to the wide black expanse of space.

     "Anyway, as long as we keep the stopover at the Space Station brief and get this satellite fixed up by afternoon we should be back on Kreludor in time for tonight's Gruundo performance. The last time I saw them was when they toured Brightvale, believe it or not." Though a Grundo, Goryx was a citizen of Neopia, having lived in Brightvale for most of his life.

     His birth parents had been Resistance fighters, casualties in the fight to stop Dr Sloth's invasion of Kreludor. The Resistance had been a brave group of Grundos who fought against Dr. Sloth's tyrannical rule, risking everything to protect their lunar home. They had staged daring raids on Sloth's bases, sabotaged his evil machines, and helped evacuate civilians from danger zones. Goryx's parents had been key members, known for their skill in repurposing Sloth's own technology against him. He often wondered if they would be proud of the path he had chosen, using science and technology to protect and advance their lunar home.

     He had been placed in the care of the Space Adoption Agency for three years, until a family of Gnorbus had adopted him. His parents, a teacher and mechanic, had brought him to Neopia to live in the quiet outskirts of the peaceful kingdom of Brightvale. Life in Brightvale had been a stark contrast to the lunar landscapes of Kreludor. The kingdom's rolling green hills, dotted with quaint stone cottages and majestic castles, were a far cry from the sterile, high-tech environments Goryx now called home.

     He had had a lot of time to himself as a kid, as one of the few Grundos in Brightvale he was a bit of an oddity and outcast. While Brightvale prided itself on its pursuit of knowledge, the focus was often on ancient tomes and magical scrolls rather than the cutting-edge technology that fascinated young Goryx.

     The local children, with their fur, feathers, or scales, would sometimes stare or whisper when Goryx passed by. Some were merely curious, but others could be cruel. 'Moon boy,' they'd call him, or 'Sloth's leftover.' The words stung, driving Goryx further into his solitary pursuits.

     It was in his family's workshop where Goryx truly felt at home. His adoptive father, a skilled mechanic, recognized Goryx's aptitude for machinery and encouraged it. Together, they would tinker with clockwork mechanisms and simple engines, Goryx's nimble Grundo fingers proving adept at manipulating tiny gears and circuits.

     Seeing that he was lonely and missing home, but unable to afford trips to Kreludor, his parents gifted him a Nedler for his tenth birthday, whom he promptly named Xyrog. The arrival of Xyrog had been a turning point. The little Nedler, with its alien appearance and unwavering loyalty, gave Goryx a companion who understood him in a way no one else in Brightvale could. They were inseparable from the very first day and though Nedler's technically didn't speak a language Goryx swore he could understand Xyrog's various whistles, growls and purrs. Tinkering and his Nedler had been the saving grace of his lonely school years, as well as the love from his quiet but doting parents and protective older sister, Yarla.

     The Kreludoran Research Unit, housed in a gleaming dome-shaped building at the heart of Kreludor's capital, was the pride of the moon. Its scientists were responsible for groundbreaking discoveries in space technology, from improved life support systems to more efficient fuel cells for interplanetary travel. Goryx had dreamed of joining their ranks since he was a young Grundo, poring over scientific journals and spending countless hours tinkering with discarded tech parts. The Research Unit was also tasked with ensuring Kreludor had the scientific means to put a stop to any future threats to the moon. After years of pestering, his parents relented and allowed him to enter the Training Academy on the Virtupets Space Station, where he had spent the last three years.

     The shuttle had entered the short-signal comms of the Virtupets Space Station and was being hailed by HQ to begin docking. They had to make a quick pit stop at the station to pick up the recent files and codes for the satellite, which were stored offline for security. The satellite itself was another five hours out, currently orbiting over Mystery Island.

     Out the left porthole, the Virtupets Space Station loomed, a massive structure of gleaming metal and pulsing lights. Its central hub, a sphere crisscrossed with walkways and docking bays, rotated slowly, maintaining artificial gravity for its inhabitants. Surrounding the hub, a complex array of solar panels and communication arrays stretched out like the petals of a mechanical flower. Goryx never failed to be awed by the station's size and complexity.

     With a dull metallic clank, the shuttle sealed onto the docking bay. Goryx grabbed his jacket off the back of the pilot seat and headed towards the airlock and into the bustling space station hangar.

     The hangar was thronging with Neopets, a carefully orchestrated chaos -- many transiting between Kreludor and Neopia, others on a historical tour of the Virtupets Space Station, intermingled with bots hauling crates to and from the bays up on the Supply Deck. The public speakers crackled with a droning voice intermittently, advising Neopets of ships leaving or arriving, and warning travellers to take care of their belongings.

     As Goryx walked through the bustling hangar, he marvelled at how much the station had changed since its days as Dr. Sloth's stronghold. Now it stood as a symbol of interplanetary cooperation, its halls lined with plaques commemorating the brave Neopets who had fought to liberate it.

     A harried Cybunny bumped into Goryx, continuing on without bothering to apologise. The request papers for the satellite's data slipped out of his hands onto the floor, leaning down to grab them he heard someone shout his name…

     To be continued…