1:2:10 Undulia (Part 5)

The Destiny settled in orbit of Faresis. Lore was a more proficient pilot than they or Char had thought although Char had stepped in a few times to correct Lore’s often slightly wonky courses. Lore scanned the planet, found a suitable landing ground and began tapping the co-ordinates into their Breacher.
“You ready?” Lore waved their wrist.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? It saves us taking The Destiny down and if there’s any trouble, we Breach back up. Wish I’d thought of it on Illia.”
“The Protectorate can trace Breachers you know. Every time you use it on a Protectorate settlement, they get a ping. They’d be on us before we’d even Breached down there.” Char shook her head.
“So why didn’t they come to Illia? We Breached all over the place.” Lore scrolled through their recent history on the viewscreen.
“Illia was built with tech from nearly a hundred years ago. Breachers may have technically existed back then but The Temporal Sciences Guild either didn’t think to put sensors in Celreagaire or they declared it a Fixed Point.”
“A Fixed Point?”
“Some places and points in time cannot be changed without causing catastrophic damage to time. They’re usually the sites of major historical events and disasters like: The Civil war, The Faochite Incident or even small things like The Christmas armistice during Earth’s First World War. The presence of any anachronistic tech or personnel in a Fixed Point could lead major consequences down the road unlike Fluid or Saturated Points where anything goes.”
“I’m guessing that Fluid Points make up most of reality but what’s a Saturated Point?”
“Breachers emit a specific type of radiation which can easily be tracked with the right tech. This works well in most places but some have been visited so much that any new radiation signatures just get lost in the background noise and add to the Saturation. Similar thing happens on planets with high quantities of Tempora. You just can’t track a Breacher there.”
“That makes sense.” Lore flicked through the list. “Quatarr, Cestami V, Sheffield, Cambridge Two thousand and nine and Germany Eighteen Eighty Six to Nineteen Fifty.”
“I get Sheffield but what happened in Cambridge and Germany?”
“Humanity always has its priorities in order; it was always said that if and when time travel was invented, the first thing that it would be used for was the execution of Hitler. I haven’t a clue why he was the only one singled out but…” Lore shrugged. “I’m guessing that’s his life. And I’m not sure about Cambridge.”
“How do you even know about Germany?” Char thought for a moment. “You didn’t?”
“I didn’t. When have I had time?” Lore retorted quickly. “But a version of me did. Hid a cache of equipment under The Reichstag Building. Don’t know if they did anything else but they were definitely there.” Lore looked at the planet below them. “So… Should I take us down then?”
“Nah, I’ll do it. They can’t trace our tech.” She smiled. “Lower emissions and whatever gets out, I absorb.”
They vanished in a flash of white.
Lore was beginning to notice a pattern; their second outer rim planet and yet again, more domes surrounded by an assumedly uninhabitable planet. The disconnect between whatever had been on the planet before and humanity’s addition was jarring. They had appeared close to the edge of the bubble. The landscape outside of the bubble was ashen and scarred. Red dust and a thick fog lingered in the air but the locals didn’t seem to care; unphased by the gas and dust, the meter and a half, spider like creatures that called Faresis home went about their day, because to them, it was just any other day. To Lore however, it was the day they realised they had a new fear. Like with most of the arachnid species on Earth, the Faresisians were indifferent to or thankful for the humanoids they shared their planet with, providing them with further pollutants to feed their atmosphere. Lore and Char headed from the edge of the bubble and walked toward its centre. The grassy paths they walked on were flanked by vast paddocks of long, thin, autumnal seedy flowers.
“Any idea what they are?” Lore gazed out onto the field.
“I think…” Char grabbed a handful of whatever it was, “it’s quinoa. Makes sense, Faresis is a utility world. I’m guessing this is where they grow the protein supplies for The Protectorate’s fabricator network.”
“So all of the meat is vegan?”
“Yeah. They break this stuff down into its base proteins then rearrange those as and when needed. The base compounds in these plants are probably used in most recipes.” Char tipped the quinoa onto the grass and dusted her hand off as they continued to the settlement proper.
It was pleasant in the dome. Not too hot, not too cold. There was a fair breeze coming from somewhere and the suns were shining high in the sky. Lore could have just flopped in the fields, with Char by their side, and enjoyed the calm and the peace but Char disagreed. They had been expecting another Celreagaire but they were pleasantly surprised. There was a pleasing, almost natural transition from field to town as the grassy paths slowly thinned into cobbled streets. Small farmsteads were few and far between and among the first buildings they encountered but soon, houses and shops began to crop up more and more frequently. Despite looking tiny from orbit, the domes were huge; it had taken them nearly forty five minutes to walk from the edge to the first hints of civilisation.
It had a quaint charm to it with its strangely out of time yet timeless architecture. Buildings that wouldn’t look out of place in the countryside of Fourteenth century England peppered the landscape with a network of nearly straight streets connecting them. There was something about the buildings that Lore couldn’t quite put their finger on that was feeding a sense of Deja-vu. It was almost reassuring to see that the locals hadn’t adopted a similar fashion sense to their homes, dressing in a way that paid homage to the time without forgoing modern convenience fabrics or sewing techniques. There were a lot of people in browns or cream. They would stop for a moment and stare as they noticed the strangers walk by but then just walk on with a shrug. They walked a little further until they found something resembling a tavern.
As they entered, it hit them. “Valhelderen!” Lore exclaimed, silencing almost every conversation. For a good twenty seconds after, all that could be heard was the radio in background playing the latest hits of The Protectorate. “This place reminds me of a nicer Valhelderen.” They lowered their voice significantly.
Char was speechless for a beat. “I tell you what, now that you mention it, you’re right.” She pointed at an empty table and gestured for Lore to take the seat opposite the one they wanted.
“I wonder if the two settlements are related? I know one’s human and the other is… Owned by whoever lives there but the aesthetic similarities are interesting.”
A waitress overheard their pondering as he came over to take their order. “It’s a tourism thing.” He smiled. “There’s not much reason for normal folks like you to come visit our end of The Protectorate but new faces every now and then keep the farmers sane so they devised a unique selling point and made the settlement into a pseudo-resort. All of the comforts of normal living while looking and feeling like you’ve stepped back in time. Like time travel but not. Until we invent it, it’s the next best thing.” He turned away before turning back. “So, what can I get you two?”
Lore was about to speak but Char spoke over them. “We’ve had a hel of a journey getting here so two of your stiffest, fruitiest drinks you’ve got. And a lemonade for my partner.” Char watched as the waitress jotted down her order. “Actually, just one of your fruitiest drinks, no alcohol thanks. Sorry if that’s a problem.”
“Not at all, those will be right with you.” He disappeared behind the counter.
“Can’t drink ethanol; my body can’t process it properly.”
“So why did you order an alcoholic drink?”
“Because normally, when you’re this far out, alcohol means a cocktail of THC amongst other chemicals that interact with the brain similarly to ethanol does when broken down but without the ethanol and the hang over but this is a human settlement. Humanity gave it a look but it didn’t go too far.”
“Fair enough.” Lore shrugged as their waitress returned.
“The lemonade,” he tossed a coaster beside Lore’s hand and topped it off with their drink, “and the fruit cocktail without alcohol.” He smiled. “It’s actually quite popular but usually in the summer.” Drinks now served, he span on his heels as if to leave but again, stopped after suddenly remembering there was something he needed to do. “Can I get you started on anything to eat?”
Lore was about to decline but was again interrupted by Char. “I’ll have your spiciest chicken tikka and they will have the same but how it's usually served.”
“So that’s one super spicy tikka and one regular?” He looked slightly confused, not by the heat request but by their choice of meal. Char nodded. “Would you like a Naan with that?” He tried to hide his confusion by continuing as normal.
“Go on, we’re famished.” Char smiled at the waitress then at Lore. He smiled before retreating once again.
Now that she mentioned it, they were starving. They hadn’t really eaten anything but those wonderous ration bars since they first boarded The Destiny. The adrenaline that had been fuelling them had run out and, only now, had they realised their tank was empty. Just like their stomach, their table was lacking in substance; the two of them just sat in silence, listening in to the music.
“It’s seven o’clock local time which means it’s time for the news.” The newscaster started. The time aspect of the introduction was recorded over by a pre-recorded sound bite from another anchor. “This morning’s breaking stories.” Another soundbite from yet another anchor kept the time consistent. “A human colony has been re-discovered in the outer rim, Tiber Walling has officially tied the knot with his long time boyfriend Sandy Fayte and could we be on the verge of a new and faster Jump Drive? All this and more to come but first, long time fugitive and Ex Protectorate Inquisitor Lore has finally been brought to justice. In a press statement given from a board member of The Protectorate’s Military Guild, Inquisitor Crait has this to say: ‘Many have criticised my handling of this investigation and have called me unfit due to my personal connection to the suspect, to them I say as I always have, it’s about time.’ This comes after a thirteen year, Protectorate wide manhunt for The Military Guild’s number one most wanted for parking fines. In other news, a settlement previously believed to have been wiped out by the native wildlife, has sent out its first transmission in nearly thirty years. While the transmission was initially unintelligible due to technological differences, we at RimRadio have been able to decipher a short message from the newest, oldest human colony on the outer rim: ‘…But the Sat’Mach are keeping Celreagaire safe…’ Can’t wait to find out more.”
“That’s a relief.” Lore smiled. “Sounds like things might be alright.”
“Your curries.” The waitress placed the two plates in front of them. “Ah.” He kept looking between the two, near identical meals. “Ah.” He repeated. He had some confidence in his memory but not enough to bet Lore’s tastebuds on it. He swapped the plates before backing away “Enjoy.” He sped to another table.
“What’s this then?” Lore used their fork to push a chunk of ‘Chicken’ to the other side of their plate.
“It’s a curry.” Char smiled. “It’s a human dish. Two cultures from your world came together to make a meal both could enjoy. Spice from the east meeting the palate of the west to create something everyone could enjoy.” She took a bite. “Swap plates.”
“So you took a meal that was purposely made less spicy, spicy?” Lore licked the trace of sauce on their fork. To start, the flavour was rather pleasant but then the spice hit; the flavour faded quickly but the heat lingered. Char swapped the plates over, took a bite of her meal and smiled.
“Believe me, this is mild for a Quatarrian. It’s one of the few human meals that reminds me of home; almost everything we ate on Quatarr was spicy, well, except from our rations which were the blandest things.” She shook her head. “Sorry for ordering for you. You’d have just ordered a ration pack and while you’re entitled to eat them, we’ve got plenty of time to eat rations, it’s not every day we’re going to have time to sit down and properly enjoy a meal.”
“Thanks.” Lore smiled through the pain. They sipped at their drink. The lemonade counteracted the heat near instantly. “You’re right though, I would never have ordered anything like this.” Lore took their first bite of their meal. “Much nicer.”
“Glad you like it, I remember the other Lores liked it.” Char frowned. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to compare. In hindsight, I suppose I’ve never actually been to Quatarr either.”
“It’s fine. I think it was going to come up at some point anyway.” Lore set their fork down. “Now or in a bit?”
“Let’s enjoy some of our meal before we get started.” Char smiled.
And so they did. Ten minutes of silence passed as they enjoyed their curry; the silence was broken after Lore gently scraped the last of their rice onto their fork. “Where did you want to start?” They finished their forkful.
“What do you remember about their relationship?” Char tore a section of her naan before using it to clean the sauce from her plate.
“Starting with the big stuff… Barely anything. From what I saw, they just existed in the same place occasionally doing stuff for each other. I don’t actually know how they ended up as a couple.” Lore shrugged before mimicking Char.
“From what they showed me, Char made the first move. She admired them for their tactical mind and their dedication to fight on the front line. Lore turned them down at first, not wanting to abuse the power their position had given them. They got together a few years later after a raid on a Protectorate settlement.” Char sat back. “They seemed happier after that.”
“Guess I only got the early days then.”
“Where does that leave us then?” Char placed her hand on the table.
“Cards are in your hand, you’re the one in that position of power this time.”
“I think I know what I want but it’s whether you want it too.” She sighed.
“I like you. I really do but… I don’t know how to explain it… I feel like I’m five minutes old. I’ve had two unsuccessful relationships and a weeklong fling crammed into my head and… I really don’t know.” Lore took her hand. “I’ll give it a try but could we maybe take things slow?”
Char smiled. “I’m open to that.” There was a tender silence between them as Char smiled at Lore and they smiled back. “How slow?”
Lore tried to think about what they wanted. Their mind came back blank; they knew how they felt but they weren’t sure how to explain it. “Can we play it by ear?”
Char nodded. “I think I can manage that.”
“Could I get either of you anything else?” The waitress interrupted.
Char and Lore bolted, their hands retreated back to their sides. “That was perfect thank you.” Char feigned a smile.
“I’ll take those then.” He blushed, realising his error and cleared the table quickly. “Any more drinks?”
“We’re alright thank you.” Char reaffirmed. “Come on then.”
“Don’t we need to pay?” Lore dipped their hand into their pocket. The Rel that were supposed to be there, weren’t.
“Not at all. Citizens of The Protectorate eat free…” He narrowed his eyes. “You are both citizens aren’t you?”
“We are.” Char chuckled.
“Thought so.” The waitress shook his head. “Any Rel donated by citizens goes straight to the settlement coffers anyway so we can’t really accept tips.”
“Well, thanks for the food.” Char gestured for Lore to lead the way to the door.
The air outside felt good in Lore’s lungs; although nothing had really changed yet, they felt like a different person. They had been feeling things for Char since before they met her in that alleyway but they weren’t sure what to do about it. Now they had a chance to explore those feelings, almost nothing else mattered. For that brief moment as they inhaled and exhaled, they were at peace; their mission forgotten and only Char filling their thoughts. But as with the breath, the feeling was fleeting. They had to get on. Rexel.