1:3:2 Runaways

Staring. Despite the crowds, despite the fog, their eyes were unflinching. Like a deer in headlights, they froze. Lore and Char made their way over to them. Char placed her hand on her pistol. As they got closer, their target thawed and began advancing on a side street. They vanished into the fog for a moment, their soot stained skin blending with the carbon in the atmosphere. They turned a corner and stopped. Lore and Char nearly walked past them but stopped just shy.
“It’s you.” Lore looked them up and down.
“Who’s you?” Char tried to see if she recognised the scrawny streak of carbon dust cowering in front of them.
“You never saw the photo did you? They started everything on Illia.” Lore shook their head.
“Blue?” Char surmised.
Blue nodded. “How was Illia?” As with their eyes and lungs, their voice was completely unaffected by the atmosphere. “I heard there was a coup.”
“Seemed like everything was going well when we left.” Lore sounded proud of themselves.
“When was that? Last I heard, Illia’s under quarantine after Celreagaire was attacked by radicals from The Conglomeration.”
Lore just scoffed. And checked their Breacher. “It’s been what, eight hours? If that? Even if we completely screwed up, there’s no way they could have raised a coup worthy of quarantine in eight hours.”
Char didn’t look too sure. “We didn’t really check to see whether we had actually succeeded. We sort of just intimidated them and handed a hostage over to a radical group then left.”
The glimmer faded from Lore’s eyes as reality hit them. They didn’t say anything.
“What were you doing on Illia? How did you even get there?” Char spoke in Lore’s place.
Blue just held up a tablet. It was similar in design to Lore’s but was significantly older and more beaten up; despite the years of use it had obviously seen, it was still in serviceable condition, with clear care been taken to keep it in working condition. “Snap.” They waved their tablet. “It’s been in the family for nearly forty years now. Story goes that some stranger in a massive helmet dropped it off at my grandparent’s house. First thing it told my Granddad was to get to the clinic. Nan was at work when her water broke so she didn’t have to go far but thanks to the tablet, Granddad got to watch my mum being born. A few more good predictions and my family started taking its word as law. Saved both of their lives a few times, crossed paths with the big helmet person (turned out it was you). Even managed to introduce my Mum to my Dad. I literally owe my existence to you so, I suppose, anything you want, you got it.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.” Char fumbled the tablet from Lore and held it up. “We were told to find you. Guessing you know what happens next?”
“Why don’t you need a mask?” Lore broke their silence. Char hadn’t considered their question.
“First, haven’t a clue. Second, to help my Granddad with completing his tasks, you gave him a gene that made his lungs able to adapt to any atmosphere. It got passed down to me.”
Their tablets simultaneously updated. Lore and Blue checked to see what it was. “’Discuss the plan.’ What does that even mean?” Lore looked over at Blue’s. Their tablet said the same. Blue had a grin on their face.
“Come with me. You’re going to love this.” They waved their hand and started walking away.
Lore and Char waited a moment. Lore took out Midpoint’s communicator. “We’ve met ‘them’ and we’re following them to discuss next steps. Follow our signal but keep your eyes peeled.” Lore stowed the communicator away but tapped the talk button thrice in rapid succession. It began sending out pulses to the clones. They began walking down a narrow alley. Char turned to Lore and gave them the look but it failed to escape her mask.
“So, how long was your Granddad gone then?”
“Sixteen years. Said they only came back because the tablet told them to.” Blue’s candour ate at Lore’s stomach. “He told me all about his adventures. When he handed me the shredders, I couldn’t wait to see what he’d been talking about. He missed most of my mum’s life but he came back to look after me… So there’s that.”
“What happened to your mum?” Lore wasn’t sure if their guilt would allow them to stomach the answer.
“She died giving birth to me. With Dad already dead, Sky had been doing most of the work but they couldn’t take over for both. Then Granddad came back.”
“I’m sorry.” Lore whispered.
“Not your fault. We’re kinda in the same boat. I’m guessing you didn’t make these.” Blue waved their tablet. “They’re the one I’m annoyed with.” Blue jabbed at their tablet then stopped at the foot of a tall office building.
They tapped their tablet to the door handle. It unlocked with a gritty clunk as the pins and gears ground against one another. The doors yearned for oil, screeching their loudest as Blue parted them. The lighting was triggered by motion sensor so the room remained black until Blue crossed the threshold. Flickering to life, they revealed a familiar yet still annoyingly drab foyer. Grey floors, grey walls. Lore had to take a moment before they continued. They locked hand with Char, their breathing deepened.

The room instantly cleaned itself. Cobwebs and mould ceased to exist and years of damage caused by the acidic air repaired itself. Blue moved out of focus as the room continued to change. Out of focus figures began to populate the room, all of them facing towards the lift, pointing at the closed doors. One of the last pieces of the puzzle slid into place. The faded UEP insignia on the wall was returned to its former glory and, with that, the scene began. The lift trilled as the doors slowly slid open. Disrupter shots rang out.
“What is this?” Char couldn’t or wouldn’t let go of Lore as they tried to get a closer look at the lift.
“It’s the past.” Lore was trying to mask their anxiety at what they were seeing. “This is a Protectorate building.”
“I got that but what are we seeing?”
“We’re somehow watching my escape. Look.” Lore pointed to the corner of the lift carriage where their past self had cowered.
Char was at a loss for words as a half-dressed Lore walked past them. Lore watched in similar stunned silence. Their past took out their pistol and smash the window, breaking the illusion and returning them to Rexel.

“Hello?” Blue was basically standing on their toes. “You two want to let me in on whatever you two were seeing?”
“I haven’t a clue.” Lore closed their eyes as if to reset their vision. “Lead on.”
Blue nodded. They made their way to the smog eaten desk and slipped their finger under the terminal monitor and removed a data key. They inserted it into an adjacent port. The outer doors screamed closed and clicked locked. A door to their left silently unlocked and opened itself. Through the door, a room briming with tiny cubicles; each desk was less than a square metre and caked in a thick veneer of dust. Char couldn’t help herself as she passed by, running her finger along every desk, leaving her mark. She shook off the dust. The room appeared to be much bigger than they had first expected. It seemed to go on forever however, the illusion was soon shattered. As they neared a wall, they noticed that the walls were in fact not further back but were actually layered with monitors that were surprisingly still functioning. The room shrank in an instant as they realised the trickery.
“That’s not a static image.” Char dusted her hands off again. She watched as the dust fell from seemingly nowhere on the monitor.
“There are cameras hidden everywhere. They edit any personnel and most moving objects to keep up the illusion of a joint workspace.  Sixty or so years ago, when this office was used, the monitors used to show the feed from another office on Earth. That feed was cut when my Granddad was told to use the building for a base.”
“Your planet’s expansion timeline is a bloody mess.” Char shook her head.
“Time travel’ll do that.” Lore removed their face mask and gave Char a knowing smile. “After the three year month, and the destruction of Quatarr and its empire, there was a huge power vacuum. Humanity had barely made it to the moon so the Temporal Sciences Guild went around staking claims.”
“There are some human outposts that are nearing a hundred years old. This outpost was built in two thousand and four. They only used it for a few years though.” Blue looked around. “Ministry saw to that. The Protectorate were getting a little big for their boots.”
“Time travel.” Lore said simply.
“That’d certainly do it.” Char shook her head.
Blue unlocked a second door, it opened to a set of stairs. They started their descent. Two floors down, they alighted the stairs and entered yet another office. This one was less cramped but was still just as dusty. Blue zigged and zagged between the desks. They led them to another set of stairs and started their ascent. Lore and Char looked at one another; they weren’t sure but they were certainly beginning to suspect that they were being messed around. It didn’t help that Blue kept consulting their wrist as they went. Three more stair cases and three more offices before they reached something old yet new.
“We’re back where we started.” Char moaned like a child. “I can see where I ran my fingers on the desks.”
“Door’s on a timed mechanism… For safety…” Blue squinted at the digital mirror and tapped it four times. A person sized section slid into the floor, revealing a lift. “I’m a pickpocket, I don’t get much input on the sciencey stuff.” They ushered them in. “Going down.”
The lift began its journey. They travelled for what felt like forever until the lift jolted to a halt. The doors parted.

An empty black expanse. Blue flicked the light switch. Its click rang out in the darkness as the lights warmed up; it echoed throughout the room giving the impression of a truly enormous, empty space. Their estimate was half right. As the lights brightened, the room came into focus. It was about the size of the square they had met in and was completely packed with small, escort style vessels. Hundreds of single crew ships, window screens layered with a thin mist of dust. One ship caught Char’s eye; hidden in the field, amongst some of the larger ships, a golden fin sailed. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She double checked what she was seeing and, although it wasn’t much, she was certain. She wanted to know how they came by it and she would get her answer by any means necessary. Her rage bubbled within her but when she turned to strangle Blue, they weren’t there. Neither was Lore. She looked back at the ship; she was almost alone in the room. Two golden sails on an angular, black hull sat in burnt orange sands ahead. “Vengeance.” She whispered. As the word hit her ear, the world returned to her.
“You’re familiar?” Blue smiled through gritted teeth. Char didn’t. She dropped her mask, making sure they saw her expression.
“How is that here?” She spoke flatly, most certainly angry but, for the moment, a simmering rage.
“Granddad found it. Well, the tablet told him where to look but he hauled it back and he fixed her up. She’s a chatty ship, don’t understand a word she’s saying but she’s ours.” They spoke to Lore.
“It still has its original AI?” Char looked ready to run. There was a glisten in her eye.
“I think so…” Blue shrugged.
With that, Char bolted. She ducked and weaved her way through the shipyard, pistol in hand. As she did, she removed the tubing from the magazine of her pistol and returned it to its holster. Tube in hand, she continued running. There it was. Smaller than she remembered but still, most definitely, the same ship, The Vengeance; she made her way to the docking staircase and inserted the tube into the port beside the airlock. It flashed gold twice before holding a solid green. The airlock opened like the aperture on an old camera and the ship hummed to life.
“You took your time.” It spoke in Quatarrian. Although she herself had never personally heard the language, it was as if her genes yearned to speak it. “I have been awaiting rescue for the last twelve years, four months and twenty one days.”
“Twelve years? Quatarr was destroyed hundreds of years ago…” Char frowned.
The Vengeance’s AI paused for a moment. “It has only been twelve years.” She scanned Char’s wrist. “Your device’s chronometer indicates that the current year is Two thousand one hundred and thirty five…  Cross referencing… You are indeed correct. I amend my statement: I have been awaiting rescue for one hundred and sixty two years.”
“I’m afraid I’m not who you think I am.” Char gently stroked the console by the airlock.
“You are Knight Aramund’Zeyah. Second Quartermaster for the Eighth legion. Later reassigned to the Third Medical Legion. Last recorded posting was outside of the city of Tarrquu. Or at least you appear to be.” Char motioned to hush the computer despite none of her companions speaking Quatarrian.
“Are you the original AI?” Char looked around at the ship. It was a respectful patchwork of new, original and old parts cobbled together to restore rather significant damage that the outer hull seemed to effortlessly hide.
“I am.” She responded bluntly. “I remember the incident.” Char blushed.
“Don’t tell me they know about it.” Char crossed her fingers.
“Not yet.” A video began to play. Char looked younger than the woman on the screen as she watched a version of herself frantically scrambling around a toilet that was rapidly flooding the bathroom. Char looked over her shoulder to make sure she was the only one seeing it. She turned back in time to watch as her predecessor slipped over and kicked the door open. The water flooded out of the room; the camera followed the water as it trickled throughout the ship. “I don’t know why you are embarrassed by this. Is it second hand? You are not in this video. Although you share similar DNA, there are key differences.” The video cut away and a display of Char’s DNA appeared. A standard Quatarrian quadruple helix rotated slowly on the screen. A second strand appeared beside it. “This is you, this is them. There are minor differences but enough for me to declare you a different person. Judging by your reaction, you share her memories. It’ll be our secret.”
“Thanks Jo’Tastia’T.” Char turned back and disembarked The Vengeance.

The others caught up.
“It all you remember?” Blue grinned.
Char tried to hide the increased blood flow to her face. “Never seen this ship before in my life.”
“Well, she’s the flagship of our fleet. Welcome to The Hole.” Blue gestured at the ships around them. “We’ve got close to fifty combat ready or at least space worthy ships with nearly twice as many pilots.”
“I do hope you didn’t force them to take that ludicrous route to get here. It might get a little tedious and certainly unsafe if you’re getting down here in a hurry.”
“Most pilots didn’t get to come down here until they have: already pledged their ship and their life to the fleet, completed three missions for the group and helped in the repairs of two ships.”
“So there is an override to the time lock yet you still messed us around. You knew we were coming.” Lore waved the tablet.
“I knew you were coming. I wasn’t sure if you wanted… Her… seeing all of this.” Blue had all of the subtlety of a knife to the spine.
Lore once again removed their mask. They stared at Blue in disbelief. “I barely know who I am, barely know what I’m doing here and at the moment, I trust Char infinitely more than I trust you. Plus, I didn’t even know about any of this.”
“It was your idea…?” Blue gave Lore a look as if they had been drooling. “You even named the unit. Your Valkyries. You designed Sigyn and Sif.” Blue pointed at two blue and black shuttle sized fighters.
“I’m not them, remember.” Lore gestured with their tablet then grabbed Midpoint’s communicator. “I’m just calling Ace. Need all our assets together if we’re going to plan.”
Blue looked visibly distressed. “More people?”
“Take it from the top, explain it like I’m a child, what have we got and why are we here?” At that moment, Lore and Blue’s tablets updated. Issues.