1:5:5 Forgotten (Part 5)

“Gods, it feels good to be back in open space.” Destiny rolled the ship with glee. “It’s almost better than…”
“Don’t you dare finish that!” Curve shouted from the back of the bridge.
“Fine.” Destiny sighed. “Let’s get this show on the road then!” They accelerated to as close to the speed of light as she could in a fraction of a moment before the K.A.D.S. kicked in, transporting them half way across the galaxy, in the opposite direction. “Woah! Yeah! Now that’s what I call travelling!” Lore and Char didn’t seem too sure about Destiny’s sudden change in demeanour. “What?”
“You just seem rather… Excitable…” Lore was careful with their words.
“Even though I’ve had an incredible few days on The Razor, it’s really nice to be back in space. I didn’t realise I was so claustrophobic.” Destiny materialised to stretch her arms.
Curve smiled. “Glad to see you’re happy.”
“Where’s Paraultis?” Char transferred her map to the viewscreen. “We’re still almost five minutes away.”
Lore inhaled through gritted teeth. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you… I thought it wouldn’t be the best idea to just appear in a Protectorate stronghold. Plus, Destiny seems to be enjoying the trip.”
“Hopefully Crait’s made their ‘no kill order’ public knowledge.” Char turned to face Lore. “And hopefully they know what our ship looks like.”
“I’ve scanned the planet and the area around it. There’s nothing there. No ships, no satellites, nothing.” Destiny shared her findings. “And there’s only a handful of people on the planet’s surface.”
Aloe wasn’t sure where to look. “Are we in scanning range of the other targets?”
“All of the other planets are in similar states. It’s rather strange that they’re not better defended.” Destiny appeared beside her. “You’ve got nothing to worry about.” Aloe didn’t even flinch. “She’s good.” Destiny looked to Curve and gave her a suggestive smile.
“No.” Curve was blunt in her shut down.

Paraultis waited below. Seeing it in person was oddly different to looking at its image on the viewscreen; it seemed so large. The majority of the planet was covered in oceans with only a small landmass that had been taken over by The Protectorate. Lore rolled the marble they had taken from Crait in their hand, wondering how something so small could impact so many lives; wondering about the power they held. Their vision started to blur then triple, ghosts of the past and future invaded the present. Phantom sirens wailed in unison with their communications unit, both trying in vain to get their attention. They closed their eyes but the visions persisted. The noises grew louder and the visions started to sear themselves into their eyes; orbital stations screaming for their attention from across history. Every muscle in their body tensed to the point of near breaking. Char’s glow appeared beside them, her hand on their shoulder, and washed away both future and past, leaving the present in focus. They looked down again on the planet and saw only their target.
Char nodded and mouthed at them. “You alright?”
Lore returned the nod. “Char and I will leave the other planets in your capable hands.” They removed their Breacher and set it down in the cradle. “I’ll leave you my Breacher since the other one went ‘missing’. If you do find the other one, don’t let them touch.” Lore scoffed. “Destiny’s got the plans so just do what she says and you’ll be grand. Meet us back here in five minutes.” They got up from their command chair. “You’re in charge Ace, good luck.”
“Hold on!” Ace grabbed at Lore’s wrist. “That’s it? Destiny has the plans, good luck?”
“Basically.” Char shrugged before turning back to her teleporter to finalise the co-ordinates. “See you in five.” Grabbing Lore’s hand, she finished the sequence and together, they vanished.

Char’s teleporter didn’t afford them the same protections Crait’s Breacher once had. Within moments of arrival, they found themselves drowning. Their body screamed out once more, tensing and relaxing their muscles as their body began an instinctive battle to stay alive. Char gracefully propelled herself towards Lore; she grabbed at their collar before tugging their hood over their face. She held them still, calming them; her own lungs merely and barely tolerating the water themselves. Once they were connected again, she bashed her wrist against her side, sending them to the nearest safe point. Gasping. A silence not broken since Crait’s first incursion was shattered once more as the two of them lapped up the ocean air as though any breath would be their last. They savoured the experience, thankful that their inability to breathe had only been brief.
“Thank you.” Lore spluttered.
Char just slapped their back and tried to laugh, what came out was a sound not dissimilar to the cry of a distressed pig which only prompted her to continue it further.
The pair remained on the stony beach long enough that the water on their skin had dried and formed a thin, mineral crust. Lore stretched their arms before pushing them into the shale; a sharp stone jabbed into their palm sending them into a panic.
“By the Gods!” They exclaimed. “Bugger.”
Char tried to get up but the loose surface did little to help. She scrambled about, eventually managing to stand and trip her way to Lore. “What’s wrong?”
“Empty hands.” Lore fell back. “Ouch!” They grabbed a handful of stones then slammed them immediately back into the beach. “I’ve cocked up.”
“Woah, woah, woah.” Char fell beside them. “What’s up?”
“It’s gone… The marble thing.” Lore showed her their empty hands. “I had it in my hand before we left…”
Char put an arm around them. “Where might it be?”
Lore shook their head and shrugged.
“If we had your Breacher we could probably get closer to a definitive location but I guess my teleporter will do.” Char showed Lore her wrist. “Hmm. Isn’t that a coincidence.” She smiled. “It’s right where it’s supposed to be.”
“Lucky.” Lore sighed in relief. “Next steps then.”
“Next steps.” Char got up. “Let’s see when things get rowdy then.” A holographic line appeared above her teleporter. Lines and dots splintered off of it at various points with labels in Quatarrian explaining what each meant. Lore grunted as they lifted themselves back off of the floor. By the time they were standing, the timeline was complete. There were four points that stood out; the first had only a couple offshoots, similar to the last but the two in the middle were a mess of interconnected lines and circles. Char expanded the timeline, adding a third dimension which revealed the true complexity of the central points.
“Right…” She pointed to the first notable event. “That’s us here and the other branch is Crait. I’m going to guess these two represent the major incursions between the Toiswuar and The Protectorate.” She zoomed in on the first event. “Okay… If I’m reading this correctly, this is the first time the Toiswuar walked on the land. They must have seen the walls and tried to attack them.”
“What happened?” Lore squinted at the hologram as if it would make more sense through their focussed eyes.
“The incursion group was decimated at least.” Char bobbed her head indecisively. “It wasn’t a complete loss either way.” She scrolled to the next event. “This is when The Protectorate realised the Toiswuar were a real threat. Something happened here that meant that they sent in The Inquisitors.”
Lore nodded. “Which one do we prevent then?”
“I’m not sure…” Char mumbled to herself, flicking between the two events. “We could try the first and if all else fails, we still have time to avoid the massacre.”
“Fair enough.” They took her wrist. “Just this time, don’t bring us underwater. Actually…” Lore unhanded her and quickly donned their hood. “Okay, let’s go.”
Char pecked the mask, smiled then activated her teleporter.

Not a lot had changed. Despite thousands of years passing, the outer Protectorate walls looked exactly the same as they always had. The composition of the beach had softened slightly with the once sharp shale being replaced with softer, tumbled pebbles and coarse sand. Char scanned their surroundings again. A network of underwater and subterranean structures appeared.
“Strange, there’s no links to the surface.” She scrolled the map to the surface. “I think it would be the best for us to enter here. That way, we’re unlikely to be seen immediately.”
Lore nodded. Their thoughts were all over the place, considering every possibility of their upcoming meeting. “Ready when you are.”
The tunnel was wider than the map made it look. Dim lights took what little sunlight made it down to them and amplified it so as to maintain good visibility. Char’s teleporter had been so smooth that, initially, Lore hadn’t realised she had activated it. It wasn’t until their ears popped that their mind caught up with them. They pegged their nose and blew to complete the procedure. They returned their hand to Char before starting their walk towards what Char thought to be the main area. The tunnels existence were a good indication that their plan had worked as such; not just because the tunnels indicated sentient life but also that the floors were panelled with metal. Smoothed stone walls supported sheets of glass, metal manacles securing them together. There was a serene silence about the place, even their footsteps seemed kilometres away. They walked for a while, revelling in the beauty above every so often, before they eventually reached a junction.
Char brought up her map. “That way.” I think.
She stepped forward and called the lift. Sirens blared, shattering the silence. Both of their faces shifted immediately to one of almost childlike worry, as if they were just moments away from being scalded by a parent. They considered running but found themselves unable; the metal grating below had sunk the moment the lift had been called, cementing their feet in a layer of waterlogged silt. They could only wait.
“This is… Less than optimal…” Lore tried to lift their foot. “Nope. That’s not moving.”
“I forgot about the sand traps.” Char shook her head. “Actually… I don’t know if I knew about them in the first place.”
Lore squirmed in their shoes. “I think I did…” They closed their eyes. “Hang on…” They tried to turn their ankle slowly but found it impossible. “Never mind… Maybe...” They tried turning it the other way while lifting their heel only to find themselves leaving the trap. “Oh.” They stepped onto the quicksand softly, tapping its surface to see if there were any harder areas. They stretched as far as they could, reaching solid ground. “Try twisting your heel about your toes, lifting slightly as you do.” Lore’s tone became immediately colder. “Go on then.”
Char followed their advice. “Wow… I wasn’t expecting that.” She had more luck finding stable land. She was able to comfortably press the entirety of her weight onto her free foot, levering herself out of the sand. Now free, she grabbed Lore’s wrists and pulled. “Where’d you learn that?”
“Haven’t a clue. Must have been a muscle memory or something.” Lore shrugged before kneeling to empty their shoe of any renegade sand grains. “Heads up.” Lore nodded to the lift doors.