1:4:4 Cyenzeit (Part 2)

A lot had changed for them since The Three Year Month; there was a confidence about Luscillus that had not been present the last time Lore encountered them. They seemed more sure of themselves, more sociable. That wasn’t the only change; the two of them were obviously older but they also seemed to have grown into their skins. Lore couldn’t recall ever having seeing either of them outside of their armour which made them into walls. Lore had a mental image of what they would both look like without their armour but neither of them met that expectation; Luscillus was leaner and softer than they had expected, resembling a champion runner more than the weightlifter Lore had expected and Allana looked almost the same as they did with their armour on, impressively muscular but deceptively so. Allana and Luscillus’ skin were both darker in tone than Char’s and they both had white hair which, at first, Lore imagined was due to age but after taking a second look, they soon realised that it had been bleached that way as their original hair colour was growing through. Neither of them had their implants any more. Lore had so many questions for them, so many things they wanted to talk about but they had to stop themselves. They didn’t really know these people or more rather, they didn’t know Lore. Not really. They walked from Allana’s shop back towards the park. Lore still found it somewhat concerning seeing children running around with live and deadly weaponry, acting as though they were at war, but they forced themselves to consider the cultural and biological differences between their two species; what was deadly to a human was little more than an inconvenience to a Quatarrian.
“It’s been a while since the war for you then?” Allana nudged Lore from their thoughts.
Lore shook their head. “I never fought in them. I remember them as if I were, but I personally wasn’t there.”
There was a second of confusion before the Rel dropped. “Cubes. They mentioned the cubes. You know, you aren’t too bad for a clone. Quatarrian clones had a tell but you seem pretty flawless.” Allana diverted Luscillus’ attention from their inspection of Char. “Get a good look.”
They inspected Lore from every angle they could while still walking toward their unknown goal. “You’re right. Apart from the eye, they’re nearly exactly as I remember them.”
“The others don’t seem to think so.” Char joined in. “They thought we were too different.”
“That’s nothing to be worried about. If it weren’t for the differences, you wouldn’t be here. Illia would be in a worse state than it’s in at the moment, Rexel would be Rexel and there would be a whole lot of dead people on Tarthesis. They’re just worried that your shaking up the normalcy they’ve come to expect. They’ve been at this a while.” Allana tapped Lore’s shoulder. They came to a stop outside the tallest of the buildings on the Quatarrian side of New Quatarr. Even though Lore only had a limited experience of Quatarrian architecture, they could recognise a place of worship from anywhere.
“You two just seem to be good at being good.” Luscillus backed their partner’s point.
A second Rel started tumbling through the air in Lore’s mind; a moment of consideration passed as it flipped and began its descent. Ideas aplenty were forming but none stuck out until the Rel dropped for them.
“Different.” Lore muttered under their breath. “Is there anywhere we can go to send a quick message? You mentioning Illia… I want to check in with Tolan, make sure things are alright.”
“We’ve got a comm unit set up in the back office.” Luscillus removed a key from a clip on their belt. “Cross the hall, through the door at the back then down the corridor, first door on the left.” They opened the door, revealing what they meant. The room looked large enough to comfortably seat all of the clones and their Lores and Chars with room for a few guests. Lore started walking across the hall but soon found themselves moving much faster, developing into a canter then into a run. They passed through the door, sprinted down the corridor and then entered the room on their left. There was a chair and covered terminal in the room; Lore cast aside the dusty fabric that had covered the terminal, leaving it draped across the top of the monitor. The door closed and locked behind them, they started scouring their memories for the encrypted comm channel they needed.
“Not been used since the war… Hopefully…” Lore punched the number into the communicator unit then held their breath. They knew if the other Lores knew what they were doing the wooden door would do little to protect them but they also knew that they had to try. The dial tone trilled; the seconds felt like years as they waited for either a Lore to break down the door or the recipient to pick up. They feared neither would happen and somehow that made them feel even worse.
“I know it’s you. Only you know the frequency for this channel so there’s no use hiding your face.” The voice brought attention to the fact that the dust cover was blocking the camera. Lore pushed it aside and sat down. The voice let out a gasp as the face on the terminal covered their mouth. “I’m so sorry… I honestly didn’t mean it. Are you okay?”
“I’m still alive. More than I could say if you hadn’t realised in time.” Lore chuckled. “It’s healing but it’s still a little sore.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t call me to guilt trip me… Not that I mind…” Crait smiled. “What do you need?”
Lore thought for a moment, wondering if they should go through with it. “I propose a ceasefire. I think we need to talk. We meet on neutral ground. We are each allowed one person with us. You hear what I have to say then we part ways.” Lore took a deep breath.
Crait nodded. “Just so there’s no surprises, I’m bringing Tadi.”
Hearing that name was enough to nearly make Lore dry heave. They suppressed their reaction but their face still looked displeased. “Someone else perhaps?”
“Interesting. I didn’t think they’d give you your memories of which Inquisitors you got on with and which ones you hated.” Crait chuckled. “Don’t worry. I can’t stand Tadi either. He cannot eat or drink anything without making a right mess. I’ll probably just bring the new guy. Reminds me of you.”
“I’ll have Char with me. Now where and when?” Lore opened their Breacher and looked for Saturated Points. “Earth’s out of the question.”
“How’s about Dekk Rekkarvik? The bar where we met seemed nice.” Crait had a list of their own open.
“I could do that. When?” Lore started looking into the area’s history. “Twenty minutes after we left?”
Crait pulled a strained face. “That might be a little too soon. Don’t want to saturate too much. There’s already a Saturated Point forming in a few years so then could be good. Third day of The Week long War work for you?”
“I should be free then.” Lore couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I’ve missed this. You probably not so much but I have.” Crait realised they were getting a little too comfortable so straightened themselves out. “Anyway, we’ll have more time to talk then. I’ve got to go, the mister is waiting for me.”
Before Lore could respond, Crait had ended the call. They didn’t know why but the rejection, even from someone they seemed to have a genetic dislike for, still hurt. Lore lowered the cover back over the terminal, unlocked the door, walked down the corridor, through the door and back into the hall where they met up with Char and the group.
“How are they?” Char smiled. Her face turned more serious to match Lore’s. “Not good?”
“I’ll talk about it later.” Lore flashed a quick grin.