1:1:4 Brian

Cold. It wasn’t unpleasant but it was a little chillier than they remembered it being. Their room was dark and slumped in the chair in the corner, a concerned Crait. Lore had been awake for a few minutes now, fighting the urge to investigate this ‘Brian’; they needed a moment to acclimatize. In the last twenty four hours they had lost their memories, walked down countless metres of hallways and then found that they had not one but two lovers. They remembered the woman from their dream. Her warmth lingered as they pictured her in their head. They then looked to Crait. Lore couldn’t deny that they looked cute while they slept; but still, the cold heat persisted, if not slightly closer to lukewarm now. A red pixel flashed in the corner of their Breacher’s display. Tapping the button revealed the same message the woman had shown them in Crait’s memory. Find me. Trying not to rustle the paper sheets of their hospital bed too much, Lore managed to manoeuvre their legs over the edge of the bed. They were a short drop away from the first step. That first step was an icy one. The laminate floor was chilling against their bare feet, waking them to the reality of their current situation. They had been stripped to their skivvies and redressed in the medical bay’s standard issue robes. A sports bra, boxers and a thin bib made of polymer was all that separated them from the outside world. Although their current attire still afforded them some modesty, and surprisingly some protection from small energy weapons fire, little care had been taken to protect their feet. They looked down and added another scar to their collection; the toenail on their left big toe was mysteriously absent but Lore didn’t have the time for that now. Their feet had begun acclimatizing to the chill of the floor but nothing could prepare them for the repeated sensation of unsticking their bare feet from the polished laminate with every step they took.

The day shift was yet to start and most of the patients were still sleeping. The area once so full of sound was now ominously quiet, only the faint beeps of the monitors retained. They walked slowly, their feet peeling from the floor with every step. Since they were unconscious or at least dabbling with the notion when they arrived, they had no idea where they were heading to leave only that they were looking for a pair of metal doors. They certainly had time to think. Along with the notions that they were loved, they now had to deal with the fragments of their timeline they just had forced into their amnesiac mind. Hints of their past and potentially their future did little to settle their anxieties. There felt as though there were inconsistencies between the two states. They twitched as they tried to disregard it. They were marching towards their future, leaving their past behind and they were beginning to wonder why. A dream woman told them to. Something felt wrong, like they were doing something they shouldn’t. It wasn’t a taboo feeling more rather a sinking dread. Lore was quiet on their feet moving quickly through the white halls; they had picked up the pace and the squishy sound of their feet had been significantly reduced as their feet began to sweat. There were a few close calls with cleaning staff and errant nurses but they managed to make it to the lift undetected. Pressing the summoning key, it dawned on Lore that they had no clue where they were actually going.

Sixty four buttons. They knew four were redundant but that still left them with sixty floors to search. They took a moment to consider the layout of the building logically. They wouldn’t put the Quartermaster’s office on the ground floor so that left them with fifty-nine and it was equally unlikely that it would be on the very top floor so that made fifty-eight. Lore stood, frozen in thought, trying to logically whittle their way through the floors but, in the end, they closed their eyes and pushed a random button. The lift started moving and they had no idea where they were heading, just that some relaxing muzak was trying to calm down the extremely tense atmosphere.
“Floor Fifty-two. Doors opening.” The dead woman announced.

They were still yet to see another soul. A sign by the lift told them that this was the right floor but without it, they wouldn’t have guessed. As with almost every other floor they had seen, the walls were grey, the floors were grey and the doors were glass. Emerging from the lift, Lore hoped the layout would translate too. As if returning to their bed, Lore followed the path they would have taken on the lower floor. As hoped, they soon found themselves at a helpdesk. There was no-one there. No note, no signs of recent life. Just a bell. With a catlike strike, Lore tapped the ringer.

“Are you lost?” A voice came from behind them.
“Piss off!” They exclaimed instinctively as they peeled themselves from the ceiling, their hands ready to strike again.
“I am so sorry.” He wasn’t tall, and he wasn’t short, but the weight he carried around his gut provided an interesting illusion. Dressed similarly to the doctors, with his uniform only differing in colour, he took a step closer to Lore. “Are you alright? Needing help to get back to medical? And perhaps a pair of slippers for the return journey?”
“I’m fine.” They didn’t look it. The tactical retreat spoke loudly against them; the blood seeping from the freshly re-re-opened scar on their lip chimed in too. “I’m just looking for a Brian? Do they work here?” A palpable tension was created at the mere mention of the name but Lore failed to pick up on it and continued as if everything was normal.
“Brian?” He paused for a moment. “Didn’t think it was that time of the month yet.” He took another break, examining the individual before him. “What do you need with him?” His tone became increasingly suspicious as realisation kicked in. Soon that suspicion became tainted with fear. “Inquisitor?”

“All I’ve been told was to find him.” Lore’s lack of emotion, coupled with their evasion of his question only served to make the man even more concerned.
He checked his tablet, scouring Lore’s file as nonchalantly as he possibly could. “I’ll just be a moment then.” Without breaking eye contact with Lore, he began his retreat. He sidled into a nearby office and drew the blinds over the glass walls.
The soundproofing was somehow disappointingly ineffective yet annoyingly effective as it muffled the sound to such a point as it was recognisable as English speech but anything spoken was entirely indecipherable. Eventually, the man and Brian emerged from the room. Brian’s face dropped as he saw Lore standing there in their medical gown. He had been wearing a jovial smile but that soon vanished as he realised his father was telling the truth. There was indeed a bloodied Inquisitor standing in the waiting room; in fact more so now as another of Lore’s scars had been re-re-opened, this time on purpose as they nervously clawed at their chest.
“Hi…” Brian gulped. Although Lore was nearly a foot shorter than him, their presence made him feel smaller than he ever had. “Sorry, start again. How can I help you.” Brian looked over his shoulder to his father. He was nowhere to be found.
“I was told to find you.” Lore began. “I was also told to ask if your son had won anything recently?”
“Sorry, what?” Brian paused, muttering ‘my son’ under his breath before realising, “My son! Yes, my son has and I am very proud of him.” He breathed a sigh of relief as he parroted the countersign he had practiced and used so many times. “Follow me.” He nodded before extending his arm ahead of him. “I’m sorry but I didn’t quite recognise you. Never seen you so young. It’s a good look.”
Lore wasn’t quite sure how to respond. And so, together, they walked the near silent halls, the only sounds were that of Lore’s feet against the cold linoleum and the clacking of Brian’s soles. While the halls and corridors all looked the same to Lore, Brian seemed to have no trouble navigating them. He walked with a brisk pace, slowing at intersections and when he realised Lore was lagging too far behind.

They soon approached their destination. Brian opened the doors and revealed a circular room with hundreds of shelves, floor to ceiling, set into its walls.
You’re pretty lucky, I was about to go off duty. If the day staff heard you say that…” He shook his head, “big trouble.”
“Why?” Lore had no clue what he was talking about but inferred they should.
“The key phrase. Usage of hidden key phrases, except those expressly mandated or assigned by an active Inquisitor are strictly prohibited. They are seen as ways of concealing dissent and hidden agendas so… they’re banned. Not like this is a ‘hidden’ agenda but still.” Lore had no idea what they’d gotten themselves in for.
Brian removed a sizable ring of keys from his pocket and began fumbling through them.
“If I had known you’d be coming, I’d have a little more to offer you but since your last visit wiped me out, this’ll have to do.” He detangled a key and handed it to them. “You’re looking for L052. Should be about three quarters of the way up.” He said, pointing to the drawer in question before checking the three doors that led into the room.
Lore dragged the ladder across the room to be in line with the area he highlighted, locked it in place then began their ascent.
“Honestly not sure what’s in there. Usually I give out the stuff from behind the counter but… like I said, you emptied me out.” Brian was trying to fill the empty silence.” If I’m remembering correctly though, there should be something in there that’s of value. Crait goes in there a lot so… must be something.”
“Crait?” Lore turned to face Brian. They had reached the drawer marked L052.
“Yeah, you two were really close. Then there was the trial. No coming back from that.” Lore pretended to agree with him as they put the key into the lock. He checked his phone. “Ah, so that’s not happened yet…” He whispered under his breath.

The drawer slid open Brian had prepared them for disappointment but it never arrived. Instead they were pleasantly surprised. Neatly stored within, folded and cleaned as though an artifact in a museum, a black leatherette jacket of similar design to the one they found themselves in when they woke up. Under it, a long sleeved, dark blue-grey top and a pair of heavy duty, navy blue trousers. Everything was so similar to what they were wearing earlier yet the small differences stacked up. The polymer chest piece included with this outfit was colour matched and significantly heftier but there was a new addition underneath. Obviously from a different armour set but one of the same family, two gauntlets; while the primary colour scheme for the suit was blues and blacks, the gauntlets were mostly white with black trims. They didn’t look too out of place but they still felt off. Also unlike the rest of the suit, the gauntlets had not been taken care of with the same level of respect as when Lore picked them up, red sand leaked from between the plate and the glove. Handily, there was a bag at the bottom of the drawer. Wearing the jacket, Lore threw the bag over their shoulder and began filling it with the contents of the drawer. With everything in there, they quickly swept the drawer one last time, to ensure they hadn’t missed anything. There was a click. Their Breacher flashed twice then magnetised to the floor of the drawer. They tried to pull their wrist away but ended up getting more than they bargained for as the bottom of the drawer came detached, nearly knocking them from the ladder. Now stabilised, they removed the sheet and began investigating what it had hidden. In the uncovered box, a velvet pouch and a leatherbound book. As they had never heard about curiosity and it’s relation to cats or at least couldn’t remember, Lore opened the purple, crushed velvet pouch. Time slowed to a crawl as a metal pole began to unfurl; Lore hadn’t even noticed until the metal tip had breached the pouch’s mouth. The silvery tongue licked at their hand prompting them to vigorously discard the velvet. Time stretched as it began to return to normal. Out of the corner of their eye, things could still have gone wrong; the staff had completely left the pouch and was now rocketing towards Brian. Lore leapt from the ladder and grabbed at the staff. As if in complete disregard for the laws of gravity, their backflip dismount from the ladder appeared as if they were rotating around the staff as an acrobat would their trapeze. As of waiting for their cue, they stuck the landing and unstuck time. Their arm outstretched in an attempt to balance themselves, they hadn’t realised they appeared to be offering Brian the book. He opened it and scanned the first page.
“A comprehensive history of the inexplicable. Volume One: The Angel of Time.” Brian glanced up from the book with a look of confusion. Evidently, he had not expected the books inclusion. “That’s new.”
Lore retrieved the pouch and in doing so, realised it was not yet empty. Without looking, they knew what was inside. Despite having no connection, for some reason, it still broke their heart to see the simple black and blue band. It felt heavier than it had in their dream, as if weighted by the loss it represented. But the pouch was still not empty. Wrapped in further velvet, the bag had one last secret. Unfolding the package made Lore weirdly giddy. Their heart burned with joy and happiness, forcing a smile. At first they thought it was a duplicate but after they fully removed it from the velvet, the differences became clear. It was too small for Lore’s hand but only just; black with a purple band, they knew this ring belonged to someone else. Carefully, they returned it, smile growing with the prospect of returning it to its owner.
“I’m coming.” They smiled.
“Here.” Brian returned the book. “If it was in there, you’re probably going to need it.” Lore stashed the book in the bag in one of the pouches not filled by their armour or the red sand the gauntlets seemed to be endlessly leaking. “I’ll find you somewhere you can get changed. Just a minute, need to get locked up.” He gestured for Lore to hand him the key.
They absentmindedly obliged, their mind miles and years away, spinning the rings around their fingertips. The smile returned to their face and all was well. That was until the door opened. Disarray.