1:3:10 Blue (Part 5)

Lore still hadn’t opened their eyes. After Crait’s attack, them becoming whatever The Paragon was and their short journey through space, they could have barely kept them open if they had. They fainted. After what felt like hours but was, in reality, almost ten minutes, the most intense feeling stirred them from their slumber; it felt as though their skeleton had been returned to their body after a long, muscle-less workout, an intense fatigue that was almost completely quelled by the relaxing feeling of being home. They felt as though they were crying or at least they had while they had slept, leading to their eyes being held shut by something thick and sticky. At first they assumed it was some sort of eye mucus. They rubbed their left eye free then instinctively placed their finger into their mouth. Metal. They didn’t even open their eyes, they didn’t want to. They had no idea where they were and no memory of how they had gotten there. They remembered Crait punching them in the face and they remembered Char helping them up but after that was a blur of colour and light. They hadn’t really moved, save for their hand, but they felt as though they should. They propped themselves up against a nearby wall, still without opening their eyes, and took a deep breath. They touched their hand to their eyes again. Given what they remembered happening, their face felt weirdly numb. A crust of sorts was beginning to form on the gelatinous layer of blood that had encased their eyes. They could hear someone coming. Whoever it was, was close but not in the same room just yet. Lore knew they had no chance at fighting them in their current state but removed their staff nonetheless. Even blinded, they knew it wasn’t the staff Crait had given them but the one they had been given by Brian. They felt for the pin to engage it and aimed it away from themselves; they may be blind but at least they didn’t feel entirely defenceless. The door slid open and Char only got to take one step across its threshold before Lore had fired their staff into her gut.
“Bloody Hel!” She shouted through spluttering coughs.
“Char?” Lore bounced to their feet but lost their balance and returned to the floor, skipping across the floor like a stone across water. “Ow.”
“Are you alright? You’ve been out for a bit.” Char knelt down and held their hand. She looked over their wounded face. “I’m so sorry. Crait really did you in didn’t they?” She was about to touch the side of their face but Lore intercepted her hand before she could.
“No.” They whispered. “Not yet. Please.”
“Okay.” Char stood up and took a step back. “You’re in a private room on The Vengeance. Take all the time you need. There’s a bed, a sink and a fabricator if you need anything. I’ll tell everyone to keep away.” She feigned a smile in the hopes that it would raise her own mood. Char took one last look at Lore before leaving. The door closed behind her and all she wanted to do was tear it open again and wrap herself around Lore. It was too much all at once: First Mauve dying then Lore getting hurt like that and now having a fleet of ships and pilots to look after. She crumpled against the wall and cried silently. On the other side, Lore apprehensively moved their hand back towards their face. They picked at the clot that covered their eyes. It felt so heavy and thick on their face yet so thin to their fingers. Using their nails, they gently picked at the edge closest to their left eye. It began to peel up with little impedance. A spark of optimism lit in Lore’s head, hoping to become a flame as they peeled away at the blood. Apart from pulling at their eye lashes and brows, the first half came off easily, stoking the spark with hope. The bridge of their nose dampened it slightly as they felt some resistance but after some rubbing, they realised that they had just reopened a part of the wound from their glasses’ frame being forced into their face. A little bit further and they encountered even more frame damage on their brow ridge. Two wounds re-opened, they got to the last part; the part they dreaded the most. Throughout the entire process, they had felt nothing. Their entire face was numb. With the entire scab removed, they got themselves ready for the big reveal. Slowly, they opened their eyes. The fluorescent lights stung as they transitioned from darkness to light. Their vision was unfocussed and blurry but they attributed that to the lack of glasses. They didn’t notice it at first but it became quickly apparent that they had a significant blind spot; they had no vision in their right eye and with that, the spark was extinguished. They tried blinking again and again but there was no change just a gritty feeling as their eyelid scraped over their eye. Lore scrambled to the door control and sped out of the room. Char was about to say something but Lore ran off before she could. Slowly, she followed them.
“Char? Char?” Their voice became increasingly worried with every repetition.
“I’m here.” She tried to smile but that façade fell away as soon as Lore turned to face her. “By the gods.” She felt bad for reacting but their face was gushing blood and their eye was filled with glass and polymer debris. “Come on, let’s get you to a doctor.” She tapped at her wrist.

They materialised in familiar environs but found them in an unfamiliar state. Tolan’s office was filled with humans, cowering and terrified. Lore and Char stood out immediately as the only ones without their bodies firmly pressed against the floor. The whole room rumbled as something, not so long started, continued above them.
“What in the hel is going on?” Char pushed herself and Lore into a crouched position to better talk to anyone who would listen.
Most of the room’s occupants just looked at her funny and shook their head. “Ain’t you that golden chick from the holos?” One eventually returned. After their revelation, there was some mumbling between the floor dwellers.
“Maybe?” Char wasn’t too sure herself of what exactly had happened during their last visit to Illia. “Look, what’s going on and where’s Doctor Tolan?”
“Doc’s on the surface trying to clean all of this up.” Then they remembered.
“Oh.” Char’s voice was so soft her utterance was nearly impossible to hear over the mumbling and rumbling. “We need to see them.”
“I’d say you do.” Another voice joined the conversation. “And sort this out. Your mess, you clean. Not them.”
“So where are they?” Char repeated.
“The old Military Guild outpost now piss off.” With that reception, Char and Lore thought it wise to heed their words and so vanished with a tap.
It was night on the surface but still the combat raged on. The once pristine station could have been on Rexel given the recent redecorations. “Tolan.” Char screamed. Lore didn’t seem to bothered by their injury but inside they were freaking out. They couldn’t feel the pain which helped them maintain their calm but its absence and the lack of eyesight was more than enough to worry them. Char gestured for Lore to stay put before she began running around the building, tearing open every office and cupboard looking for Tolan. She hadn’t been gone long before the signs of conflict became more apparent; the walls around them appeared to breathe as impact after impact bombarded the building. Char’s wails still, somehow, managed to pierce through everything.
“I’m coming, I’m coming. Someone better be dying or dead because I’m…” They realised who they were talking to. “What’s happened?” Tolan rushed into action.
“It’s Lore.” Char beckoned them towards Lore.
“I’d guessed but what’s happened?” Tolan tried their hardest to keep up.
“Crait.” Char said it as if it should be obvious. “Shattered their glasses.”
Tolan looked surprised. “That was star ship grade glass. What did they hit them with?”
“Their fist.” There was a moment of silence as she finished. Tolan didn’t know whether to believe her or not.
Lore was almost exactly where Char had left them, spinning on the spot, looking around and blinking with their good eye. They wanted to apologise but didn’t quite know how. “I’m… so…”
Tolan cut them off. “Bloody Hel!” They charged at Lore and began their examination of their eye. “How are you so calm?”
“It doesn’t hurt that much. It’s a little uncomfortable when I close my eyes but nothing too bad.” Lore shrugged.
“Nothing too bad.” Tolan couldn’t reconcile what they were hearing and what they saw before them. “If I was in my clinic, I probably couldn’t give you your sight back but I did have some implants somewhere.” Char searched her device’s history and got ready to jump them back.
“No.” Lore spoke calmly but there was something in their reaction that only became apparent as they continued talking. “Remove the shrapnel and stabilise the wound.” Their tone went from calm to incendiary rather quickly and the looks on both Tolan and Char’s faces made that very clear. “Please.”
“Are you sure? I’m not going to sweeten it by lying but if I do that here, that eye is going to be dead weight; useless. I could remove it…” Tolan wanted to continue.
“No. I’m keeping my eye.” Lore snapped. “Please do what I’ve asked if you can.” They tried to calm themselves but they just couldn’t.
“Fine. I’ll see what I can do.” Tolan ushered Lore to a chair. “Char could you grab me that medkit please. It should have a set of tweezers.”
Char followed their finger to a small slate box with a large white cross. She quickly scanned it before throwing it to Tolan. “Hold on, I think I saw something on The Destiny that could help.” She looked back and saw Tolan stand ready. “Actually, try and clean it up a bit, I won’t be too long.” She vanished.
Char’s sudden appearance was a surprise to everyone but Destiny who had turned her chair to face her. The ship was stationary. Outside an abandoned Simplicity being picked at by The Syndicate ships, like crows to a corpse, dismantling it. The Rexian fleet was just waiting, watching.
“Where’s Lore?” Destiny looked back at the viewscreen. “Fleet needs instructions.”
“Lore’s down for now.” Char choked. “They’ll be back.” She took a minute. “I’ll talk to the fleet but we’ll be idling around here until Lore gets back.”
“You want some time to prep or are you alright to go now?” Destiny hovered her hand over the communications button.
Char sighed then flickered. “Ready.” She had gotten a piece of paper from somewhere. She walked to the centre of the ship and straightened herself up. Destiny opened a channel.
“Whole fleet’s listening…” Destiny cued Char. “Now.”
Char took one final breath before beginning. “I’d like to begin by saying a few words in honour of Mauve: I may not have known him for very long but, from the little time I spent with him, I learnt a fair bit about such complicated man. His life was shaped by a series of events all in favour of a single mission. Every moment of his existence, he was preparing for a day yet to come, a day when the universe would need him. You all listening to me, that hulk out there, both are evidence of not only his preparations but his devotion to this mission.” Char looked back down at her notes and took another breath to stabilise herself. “He knew that sometimes, there are reasons behind the Time’s actions and, while we may not know those reasons, it’s essential that Time gets its way. His time may have come to an end but the impact of his actions will be felt for centuries to come. Mauve may not be the only one of us who will make the journey to Yr Anfarblich Tird but he will be waiting to greet every one of us who joins him. The Protectorate is gone for now and Crait is regrouping giving us a moment to grieve but it won’t be long. We will be making preparations to rendezvous at the edge of the Johned Nebula soon but, for now, take your time, remember Mauve and breathe. It’s over for now.” She hadn’t realised she had started crying until Destiny closed the channel and Char’s face filled the viewscreen.
The clones gave a respectful nod and sat there waiting. “Did you just wing that?” Magpie looked impressed.
“That took me nearly two hours to write.” Char handed over the script. “Destiny, I need a regenerator. Have we got one or do I need to fabricate one?”
“Check Lore’s cupboard. If we’ve got one, it’s in there.” Destiny pointed to the locker in the corner of the bridge.
Char wasted no time and virtually teleported over to it. She scoured it and eventually found what she was looking for. “Thanks.” And with that, she vanished back to Illia. “Got it.” She tossed the device at Tolan. Despite their newfound disability, Lore plucked the device from the air before it could collide with Tolan’s face. Two of the three of them stood in shocked silence.
“Okay then… Let’s get you cleaned up.” Tolan was surprisingly calm for a doctor operating on someone in the middle of an active warzone. The whole building shook yet Tolan remained still. They had almost cleared Lore’s eye of debris when they thought it time to pose a difficult question. “How do you want it to look?” They paused. “Right now, because of where the glass penetrated, you’re not going to be seeing anything out of that eye but you do have a choice as to how it looks. If I leave it, you’ll have cloudy spots where it was damaged and eventually, the whole eye will cloud over; I can completely cloud it over now and save you the time or I can heal the top layer giving the appearance of a working eye.”
“Cloud it over please. If it doesn’t work, it may as well look like it doesn’t work.” Lore still sounded so calm.
“Okay.” And with a swipe of the regenerator, it was done. They now had one grey eye and one milky white one surrounded by a cluster of small pock mark scars.
“I think I have a spare pair of glasses in your prescription somewhere in my bag. Never know when you’re going to show up.” Tolan dove into their rucksack and removed a small, green case. “I can set them up for you if you want.” They started tapping away at the lenses, configuring them for Lore’s left eye.
“Thank you.” Lore sat themselves up. “Do you know how long the numbness is going to last?”
“With any luck, when the shock wears off, you shouldn’t feel much. It may feel like you’ve been backhanded but you should be fine.” Tolan handed them the glasses. “Good luck.”
“Thanks again.” Char reached out to hug them.
“You know, if you’ve got time, we could really use whatever you did the last time you were here. Things are crazy at the moment.” Tolan paused. “But take some time to properly heal first.” Tolan returned her embrace. “It was good to see you.”
“Shame the circumstances.” Lore shook Tolan’s hand. “With any luck, you’ll barely have time to miss us.” Char tapped at something just outside of their peripheral vision and suddenly they were back on The Vengeance. As they vanished from Tolan’s view, the night became day much too quickly; a golden stream poured through the window. The fighting slowed to a stop. Tolan smiled.