1:5:5 Forgotten (Part 8)

Lore moved in closer and darted around it, examining its face from every angle; every so often, they would make a noise of thought or mumble something to themselves. “Interesting… It it painful for you to be in this sort of environment without that helmet?”
“Not especially.” Ow’oo stepped back from them. “While it is not our natural state, it is one we can exist in; albeit not for long.”
“You are a phenomenal species.” Lore continued their admiration from Ow’oo’s chosen distance. “Such fluidity…”
“Thank… you…” Ow’oo looked around, hoping their Leadership would be somewhere visible to divert attention. Hope appeared. “Ooolow’Owo” Ow’oo waved The Leadership over.
Lore wrenched themselves away from their study of Ow’oo. The Leadership towered over all those who were present; its suit would have been visible over the faux base’s walls. Resembling a fish tank on legs, The Leadership marched over to join them; its footsteps were subtle for its size. Char seemed transfixed on the technology and the materials used to craft such a support unit while Lore was enraptured by the creature within. It shimmered with a pale blue light and, like Ow’oo, seemed to be in a constant state of flux. It came to a stop in the centre of the open space. Pneumatic actuators hissed as it lowered itself to meet Lore and Char’s gaze.
“Owwl’Olowwl Ow’ooLlow.” It looked to Ow’oo.
“Oolow’Owo.” Lore bowed.
“How are you all doing that?” Char double checked her translator was active. She sighed. “Intent filter… Why?”
“The Leadership said: Be at ease Officer Ow’oo. Then I said hello.” Lore shrugged. “Ooo’Loo’O Ll’O O’W.”
The Leadership looked at Lore. Despite how alien its appearance was, confusion seemed to be universal. “If that is your name… Greetings Triplet.” It turned back to Ow’oo. “Is it okay to call them that?”
“If it is their name then it must be.” Ow’oo shrugged. “It may have been a translation issue on my behalf however.”
The Leadership rippled in agreement. “Triplet, please inform us of your people’s reasoning for occupying our planet.”
“They aren’t our people. Sure, they’re the same species as me but we aren’t allies with them.” Lore looked at the base around them. “You’ve gone to great lengths to rebuild their base though.”
“If your claims to not be allied with them are true, why are you here?” The Leadership moved forward in its tank.
“We’re here to make sure you, and we mean no offence by it, don’t do anything stupid.” Char interjected.
Ow’oo and The Leadership’s side flaps opened wide. “You accuse our Leadership of stupidity? Such insolence!”
The Leadership put a tendril to its tank wall. “Steady yourself. She meant no offence, her words were clear.” It paused. “Please divulge what you meant by your statement.”
Char felt oddly on edge. “Umm… Lore…”
“We have reason to believe that you’re going to try and attack this base… Well, not this one but the one on the surface. We’re here to make sure you don’t.” Lore started. “The group that built that base are significantly more advanced than you are. They have technology hundreds of years more advanced than anything you’ve ever seen. Their weapons would have no problems destroying your entire civilisation in a heartbeat.”
“Do you know their motives? How aware of them are you?” Ow’oo took over the questioning.
Lore looked to Char. She nodded before displaying a holographic model of the surface base. “This base has existed on your planet since before your precursor species existed.” Lore swiped the model, spinning it around. “The walls are impervious to damage and ageing and there is a protective field that covers the top so the only way to challenge the people inside would be to directly address them and challenge them. While your pressurised suits are impressive, I can’t help but notice that the entire time we’ve been under arrest we’ve not seen a single weapon.”
“We are our own weapons.” Ow’oo said proudly. “Our bodies, ever changing but their strength and unity remains constant.”
“Can you fight in those suits?” Char spoke bluntly.
Silence.
“I take that as a no.” Char continued. “Their weapons work underwater and at range so even with your natural prowess, they can easily outmatch you.”
“We just want to make sure you’re safe.” Lore smiled. “While it’s admirable that you’d want to rid yourself of The Protectorate, there’s no way you could pull that off.”
“Oh really?” Ow’oo’s flaps punctuated their snide comment.
Lore bobbed their head apologetically. “Really. You have a relic in your central museum, a radioactive stone about this round.” Lore eyeballed the size with their thumb and index finger.
“How do you know of the Nucleation orb?” Ow’oo was back on a defensive footing.
“The Protectorate stole it. Until we stole it back and returned it, you didn’t exist.” Lore tried to sound as sincere as possible but it came across to Char as almost threatening. All of the Toiswuar present looked at each other. Even through their masks, the fear was palpable. “I’m sorry but it’s the truth. But it’s good news.”
“How is the threat of our extinction ‘good news’?” The Leadership moved its suit a hair closer to Lore.
“Because it means we have a common enemy and it’s one that we can fight if we work together. Your continued existence is evidence of that.” Lore gestured to the structure around them.
“That’s assuming we believe you.” The Leadership didn’t seem too convinced in its skepticism. “Why would you fight your own kind for us?”
“Because… Because they aren’t my own kind.” Lore started, they had gone rather quickly from accidentally threatening to intensionally intense. “The Protectorate represent all that I hate. They are led by a human essentialist who can’t see the forest for the trees.”
“Forest? Trees?” Ow’oo shook its head.
“There’s…” Lore tried to think of a way to word The Omega Outcome without sounding insane. “Our scientists found evidence that in the near future, something awful is going to happen. The person who created that fort believes that the only way humanity can survive it is to be the only species left, or close to it; more resources means a greater chance of survival to them. I believe that the more allies we have, the more united we are as a universe, the more resilient we will be.” Lore paused. “We are days away… Relatively speaking... from getting rid of The Protectorate threat. Let us try. Please.”
“You came to our seas… For peace?” The Leadership seemed genuinely surprised. It stretched out in its suit showing the full extent of the Toiswuar body. What Lore and Char had assumed was a body was, in fact a mess of tendrils and tentacles. They more closely resembled a cephalopod than a blobfish; The Leadership’s ever changing form rippled as it extended, looking almost as though it was a liquid, trying to escape the confines of its container. “If what you say is the truth… Then we will halt our attack.”
Ow’oo glared at it. “Leadership, why would we halt on the authority of these outlanders. Their claims are impossible both to corroborate and to believe.”
“And yet. Their conviction convinces me. We have nothing to lose in believing them.” The Leadership stood. “You will have our aid when you require it.” With that, it walked away.
“And I must abide by The Leadership’s ruling.” Ow’oo gathered its helmet before unlocking their bindings. “I apologise for the inconvenience.”
“Not at all.” Lore smiled.
“We understand.” Char passed it her manacles.
Ow’oo held the manacles in its tendril and stared at her. “How did you do that? Were they ever secured?”
“I’m afraid not.” Char showed her teleporter. “I didn’t want to bother you. It wouldn’t close around my wrist.”
“Oh.” Ow’oo returned the manacles to its holster. “I shall return you to the surface once you are ready.”
Char tapped at her teleporter. “We’ll be okay but thanks for the offer.”
Lore glanced at Char’s display. “Just out of interest, what’s your species’ lifespan like?”
“This is my seventh cycle. If I live well, I will live for, at most, seven more cycles before my body’s structure breaks down.” Ow’oo held two of its tendrils either side of its head. “It was an experience most interesting to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Lore and Char returned before vanishing to the future. They reappeared a moment after.
“Sorry, could you make sure your leadership has this meeting transcribed or preserved for future generations.” Lore felt awkward making the request. “And here.” They removed one of their pauldrons. “I’ll be back for this so please take care of it.” They smiled.
Ow’oo’s worry could be seen through its mask. “By those we consider holy… Are you fully in your right mind, are you injured?”
Lore looked to Char, quizzically. “Oh, sorry, it’s just body armour, like your suit but non essential.”
That seemed to calm it down. “In that case then, I accept this duty. May my lineage protect such a charge until called upon.”
Lore ducked their head while Char reset her teleporter. “Thank you.” They vanished once again.

Thankfully, The Destiny was exactly where and when she should have been, Char’s co-ordinates had just slipped slightly. They climbed the stairs from the cargo hold back to the bridge.
“So how did your planet go?” Aloe threw a ball over to Ace.
They caught it then shook their head. “Really easy. Got down there, got it sorted then came back. Can’t grumble, you?”
“About the same. Hardest part was trying to stop Edge and Midpoint from throwing stones at the base.” Aloe chuckled.
Ace returned the ball. “Why were you by the base? None of the ore points were anywhere near the bases.”
“We were just testing our weapons. The rocks were extremely porous so we didn’t want to risk an explosion.” She tucked the ball between her leg and the chair’s armrest then removed her gauntlet and tossed it to Ace. “Good thing we did.”
They examined the armour piece. A gash about as wide as their middle finger formed a channel from the wrist to the elbow. “What setting did you have your weapons on? Concussive blasts?”
She shook her head. “Standard, lowest lethal power setting because that’s what Destiny said we needed. Turned out a wide beamed stun pass was more than enough.”
“Stun?” Ace threw back the gauntlet. “I suppose the stun beams are higher energy.”
“Look alive, they’re back.” Destiny pointed to the bridge doors which Char had been holding slightly ajar. She opened them fully. “Come on in you two.”
“How long have you been skulking about?” Ace raised an eyebrow, chuckling.
“Not too long.” Lore returned. “All sorted?”
“Sorted!” The clones spoke in surround sound.
“No problems to report.” Ace smirked.
Aloe shook her head. “Some teething issues but… We got it done.”
“Glad to hear it.” Char moved to the front of the bridge, assuming her usual position.
Lore returned to their command chair, their Breacher already in the cradle. “Hmm.”
“What’s up?” Char asked.
“I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to figure it out but I think I’ve finally cracked what’s going on here.” Lore connected their Breacher to their wrist before standing once again to continue their thought. “The Protectorate have access time travel don’t they?”
“Yes…” Char said. “That’s part of the reason why we’re in this mess.”
“Well, why not just build the bases before the species develops? They’re virtually indestructible and can handle anything even… Well, just about anything short of a Quatarrian drill.”
“That’s a good point. Why eliminate an entire species when you could just put a base down and leave them alone?” Char concurred.
Aloe shrugged. “Because they can? I imagine having such technology is a great advertisement of The Protectorate’s reach and power.”
“Or maybe it’s a distraction.” Destiny joined the conversation, phasing out of the viewscreen. “It’s moved you away from the main goal.”
“But has it?” Lore took a moment to think about it. “We’ve just made four allies not to mention how helping the Toiswuar is only going to strengthen the Quatarrian Empire in the long run.”
“And we’ve hopefully built back some credibility for humanity.” Char added.
“Exactly.” Lore took their chair. “If anything, they’ve helped us out…”
The viewscreen flashed with an incoming message. Destiny turned around, fiddled with the console and displayed it.
“Just seen everyone’s back where they should be. First payment complete.” Lore read aloud. “Crait.”
“First payment?” Aloe and Ace spoke together.
Char sighed. “They’re still feeling guilty about what they did to your eye.”
“Oh.” Lore rubbed their finger against their scar. For a moment, the pain of the inciting wound returned. “I suppose we better use this ‘payment’ then.”
“What?” Char looked at them confused.
“Destiny, how hard would it be for just me and Char to Breach back to Quatarr?” Lore started adjusting their Breacher.
“Any particular date?” Destiny back-pedalled into the console. She started manipulating the viewscreen, displaying Quatarr as it looked in the present. “From here, the least intensive route is to three days before destruction.”
“Perfect.” Lore tapped the date in to their completed co-ordinates. “Here’s to hoping.”
“Sorry, why are you doing this again?” Aloe scratched her head.
“If we bring Quatarr back, they’re not going to be ready for a human dominated present. We need to make sure they can adapt to a present where they’ve been absent for nearly a thousand years.” Char moved over to Lore. “We also need to make them aware that some utter teapot has had their run of the universe for the last thousand years so the universe is looking a fair bit more human than it should.”
“Ready?” Lore stood.
“Ready.” Char took their hand.
“See you in a bit.” Lore tapped their Breacher. Agreements.