1:5:5 Forgotten (Part 3)

Rage became her. Lore hadn’t spoken since leaving the council chamber; they found themselves locked in with their thoughts and their body on auto-pilot. She tore through the ship like a bat out of hel, her usual golden aura burned with an unseen intensity that ate away at the hull around her. The longer she remained stationary, the more pronounced the effects became; the refined walls slowly melted down, liquid metal pooled around at her feet. She sank briefly into the ore before setting off again. Lore trailed behind her. While Char had been consumed by her anger at The First, The First’s sudden resignation had instead pushed Lore down a spiral to the future. Their mind consumed with planning for every eventuality, for every Lore and Char. Most of their bodies non-essential functions had ceased or had slowed to the point of cessation allowing them to devote as much energy as possible to planning. Like Char, they were wreathed in energy once and still alien to them; while Char burned like the sun, a corona of calming but differently deadly, electric blue energy encircled Lore. As they trailed behind Char, the ship started to repair itself; panels that had been reduced to ore refined themselves and reformed into their original states and the walls appeared to cry in reverse. Inadvertently, as Char destroyed the ship, Lore repaired it. She stormed her way to the War Room. She didn’t even bother with the door, reducing it to rubble with a single touch. The room before her was empty save for the fifty-two chairs and the sizeable table they congregated around. She let out an ear splitting shriek before turning about face and starting her march back to the central foyer. Every Lore and Char that saw them turned and ran in the opposite direction as she stormed through the doors and into the Cyenzeit desert.

Sand became stone became sand until they reached the compound on the edge of Cyenzeit. Her temporal reversion effect was beginning to wane as her aura and attitude calmed. All that remained of her anger was a mess of confused anxiety. Crossing the threshold into the compound, she fell to her knees with enough tears to swamp the desert in her eyes. Lore stopped at her side. They rested a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m sorry.” She stuttered between ragged breaths. “I don’t know why its gotten to me… Like we said, it doesn’t change anything.”
Lore knelt down beside her. “It changes everything. Just not immediately.” Lore’s eye was still glowing blue. “Believe me, it’s a lot but we’ll be fine as long as we’re together.” The light left their eye. “Let’s go talk to The First about it, then we can start planning.” They gave her a gentle peck on the cheek before helping her to her feet. “Do you want to take a moment or are we going to use this? Might be the last chance we get.”
Char wrapped her arms around them. “As much as I’d love to… I think we should probably do this first. Come on.”
They walked through the compound, thankful for the air conditioning; their eyes on the door numbers, looking for The First’s room.
“Odds are on this side.” Char gestured to the left side of the road. “Should be right at the end.”
“Opposite us then.” Lore pointed to their side. “Evens are ascending.”
It wasn’t long before they came to the door, an artificially weathered number one leant crooked against it. Char looked to Lore, Lore looked to Char; neither one knew who was going to knock so they just stood there, staring between each other and the door. Char gave Lore a nod, prompting them to do the honours. Lore pattered on the imitation wood with a rhythmic pattern of four knocks. They waited for a moment before thinking about their own response to a knock at the door. After consideration, they knocked again. The First eventually came to the door.
They peered through the crack. “Oh. It’s only you two.” Upon verification, they widened the door from ajar to obtusely open. “We were expecting the others to come see us first. Perhaps they’re waiting for you to get your turn first. Come in then.”
The pair were virtually pushed in as The First Breached behind them. Once they had crossed the threshold, there was another flash as The First returned. “I can’t say we didn’t expect this.”
“I certainly didn’t.” Charrlene scoffed. “I would have liked some warning.”
The First shut the door then turned to her, confused and surprised. “We talked about it on and off for about a week before the announcement.”
“You talked about it maybe… I have no idea when though.” Charrlene scratched her head. “Hang on… This isn’t another Tarthesis situation?”
“I swear you were awake when we were discussing it!” The First was starting to look concerned. “At least I’m pretty sure. I made sure to keep asking you. Especially since you were so angry about the last time.”
“Either way, what’s done is done.” Charrlene welcomed Lore and Char into her home. “Take a seat. Cup of tea?”
They took a cushion each opposite the ones The First and Charrlene were assumedly using. “If you’re offering.” Char smiled.
The First was still lost in their thoughts, attempting to recall the last week’s worth of evenings for any evidence that they had been talking to Charrlene while she was still conscious. “Hmm…” They gasped before frowning. “Never mind. Maybe you were asleep… I tried to do it as early as possible but stuff got in the way.”
“It’s honestly fine.” Charrlene held out her hand and guided them to the floor. “I’m just glad we’re not in charge any more.”
Lore tentatively raised their hand. Charrlene gave them a nod. “Why?”
“Because now we’re not in charge, no one’s asking us what to do, no one’s asking us about next steps or moving to separate ships, there’s no paperwork to do either. So that’s nice.” Charrlene smiled. “Plus it’ll give the team an opportunity to actually do some good.”
“Exactly. As we’ve likely already said, our plan was considered and well thought out but it lacked the ability to think spontaneously, to consider the moment and what the people of the universe really need.” The First added. “Sorry if we… If I was a little too spontaneous.”
Lore took their tea from Charrlene. “It’s alright. We’re not here to start anything.”
“Not any more at least.” A flash of gold crossed Char’s eyes.
“We just want some advice.” Lore took a sip, scalding their tongue. “Because we know what we need to do but not twenty five of us.”
The First smiled and shook their head. “I assume you’ve told them to stay the course, keep doing what they’re doing?”
Lore and Char nodded.
“Then you’ll be grand.” Charrlene smiled. “Just remember to check in with the research team once you’ve finished with your mission. You’ll need briefing on The Tethers.”
“Wait… What’s a Tether?” Lore and Char spoke in unison.
“Come back in a bit. We’ll explain later.” The First flashed a mischievous smile.
“Ah, let’s not.” Charrlene set down her mug. “They’ve barely touched their tea. They’ve got time to find out the last step.”
The First shot a look of playful disappointment then sighed overly dramatically. “Alright then, fine… The Tethers are a series of devices we designed to bring Quatarr back without destroying the timeline.”
Lore waited a moment to ensure The First had finished before prompting for them to continue. “Might need a little more than that.”
Again, they sighed as if they were ruining a surprise. “They work by drilling into the planet’s natural Tempora veins. Then we open a Breach just above the planet’s surfaces and fire the Tether beams through.”
“Sorry, Planet’s surfaces?” Char stressed the plurals. “We have to do it twice?”
“One team set up on present Quatarr, the other in the past.” The First said it as if it were easy. “The Tether beams connect in the Breach and start pulling. Once both planets are in the Breach, The Tethers are cut and the planets are fired in opposite directions. The Quatarr of the past gets thrown to the present and the present to the past… In theory.” They muttered their last two words under their breath.
“You what?” Lore’s face became stone. “In theory?”
“We’ve only actually ever made it as far as getting the two planets connected via Tether.” Charrlene opened a small box of biscuits and offered them around. “There’s simply not enough Tempora left on present Quatarr to provide the tension we need on the Tether beams.”
Lore and Char looked to one another, the same thought crossing their minds. “The harnesses.”
“Sorry, what?” The First’s confusion became glee. “Hey, I sound like you.”
“The harnesses. Like the one we used to enter Crait’s mind.” Lore started.
“You did what?” Charrlene’s shortcrust finger snapped in twain.
“We can share our powers with everyone and then they can use it to charge The Tethers.” Lore finished the last of their tea. “We’ll just need to make sure everyone’s wearing one before we get started.”
“And with that.” Char finished her drink too. “I’m out of tea too. We best be off.”
“I could always pour you another cup.” Charrlene spoke through gritted teeth. “I’d love to know more about your romp through Crait’s mind.”
“We’ll come back in a bit.” Char started.
“We’ll explain later.” Lore finished before they and Char stood with a smile. “Best be getting on.”