Dreaming

Silence. They could see but they couldn’t quite focus. Starting quietly and growing increasingly louder the sounds of conflict rose. The hallway they found themselves in was beaten and rusted and seemed to extend to eternity in all but one direction. Walking where they could led them to the origins of the ever increasing cacophony of violence and death. Faceless bodies littered the corridor’s floors affording the rusted hallway an impure heat. It got warmer before it got colder. Around the exit of the tunnel the body piles began to thin as more and more of the faceless troopers started using it for cover rather than a deathbed. Before leaving the tunnels safety, Lore inspected themselves. Hidden within their standard equipment were two items of note, a black and blue metal band slightly larger than Lore’s middle finger and a metallic tube with some form of pin through the end. Removing the pin unveiled a short staff which Lore seemed to instinctively know how to use. For some reason confident that the staff would provide adequate protection from the inferred horrors outside, Lore ventured out of the mouth of the tunnel.

It took a moment for their foggy eyes to adjust to the extreme change in light level but as they did, time seemed to slow. Lore stood drinking in their surroundings. The scorched earth at their feet still burning with copper green fires surrounding them. Cratered hills and pock marked plains smoking and stained under the binary stars. Pressing towards the nearest hill, hoping for some context, Lore turned and saw the tunnel for what it truly was. Behind them lay a behemoth of metal, a hulking visage; the shipwreck before them must have been over a kilometre long and about half as wide. The sections not buried underground were of the deepest black and angular, built like an ancient stealth bomber but contrasting the darkness was a soaring golden fin. What had slain this titan was abundantly clear. Around two hundred metres from the nearest edge to Lore began a crevice that tore straight through the ship, exposing the soil below.
“Hello there.” Whoever was behind Lore spoke with a soft and disarming voice.
“…” Lore simply turned to face the speaker, unsure or unable to speak.
“We can’t let this happen again my darling.” The speaker bent down to retrieve Lore’s staff before rifling through their bag for their ring. “I’m going to send you back, further than last time. And I am so so sorry my love but this one is going to hurt. Perhaps not physically but the trip will ruin you in other ways. We aren’t going to be apart for long but every second without you seems an eternity.” She began to cry. “It’s likely we’ll lose next time too but at least we’ll be prepared for another run after that.” Her smile was false. “You won’t remember this, well at least not all of this and I’m a dead woman so here goes.” She took a breath in a futile attempt to calm herself. “I loved you Lore. Every part of you, even the parts you didn’t.” Lore felt her pain despite their ambivalence to the figure before them. “They never scared me you know, maybe at first but after I got over the culture shock of meeting you, nothing scared me ever again. You’ve fought long and hard to find yourself so be proud of the wounds you endured along the way.” The woman rested her hand on  Lore’s  left shoulder rubbing it gently. She had an almost identical ring to the one she took from Lore’s bag. It comforted them for some reason. The woman swallowed her sadness before continuing. “Once you’re ‘Home’ take this” She gestured to Lore’s Breacher “to the quartermaster. Make sure that Brian sees you or else you’ll likely be arrested and ask him if his son has won any awards lately. He should give you everything you’ll need.” The speaker grabbed Lore’s wrist and began manipulating their Breacher. “When Brian scans this you should be good to go.” She took a deep breath. “Work quick, trust no one, stay safe and save the universe. Remember that no matter how far apart we are, I will never stop loving you so you better find me quick and make sure I know it’s reciprocated.” The speaker pressed Lore’s Breacher’s activation key. “I love you”. Her voice, her touch, her warmth, all gone in an instant.

Where there once was conflict and death, there now stood nothing. Endless, silent nothing. Looking around, Lore’s initial observations rang true until they noticed their Breacher flashing. Looking down, they opened its interface. Scrolling across its limited screen a small red heart accompanied by the words ‘FIND ME’ before a blinding light engulfed them. The woman’s warmth now completely dissipated, Lore sat bolt upright shivering. They scanned their locale. They were still in the Medical room’s bed. The room was dark and the clock displayed a time of just gone five in the morning. Lore knew what they had to do. The why would come later hopefully, but until then. Brian.