1:5:6 Agreements (Part 4)

It wasn’t what they had expected; while Quatarr and most museums seemed to favour wide, open spaces, Tarr’Zendwr was relatively cramped. It consisted of a single room, set out more alike to an archive or research centre than a museum, with a large piece of machinery dominating the centre of the space. Lore started to wander, examining the various work stations as they passed them. Each desk they passed was strikingly similar: a small artefact or scaled down replica of an artefact, a mountain of paperwork and a collection of tablets. Lore approached the centre, weaving through the desks. Just before they got there, something caught their eye. Reversing course, Lore tried to remember everywhere they looked, scanning for their reason to return. They were about to resume back to the centre when they saw it. Framed and displayed aside their artefact, one of the desk’s owners had framed a familiar drawing. They approached, looking to see if the owner was about before they inspected closer. The frame was nothing special, a thin metal frame that had been anodised to prevent rusting; the picture within looked as though it had been drawn by a child, a gifted child but it had all the hallmarks of a child’s drawing nonetheless. The paper had yellowed since they had last seen it. They set the frame down. A word had been etched into the skin of the table; it caught their eye because they understood what it said. All of the signs and documents in the room were written in the Quatarrian script but the word on the table, while written in Quatarrian, made use of the Latin alphabet.
“Niwen…” Lore whispered.
“I meant to get that cleared off before anyone else saw it…” A familiar voice came from behind them. “Sorry sir.”
“No need to apologise…” Lore stopped partially as they realised who they were talking to but mostly due to them being engulfed in the other speaker’s embrace.
“Lore! It’s so good to see you here!” Tay’s smile warmed Lore for some reason as they tried to gently and politely pry her off of them. “Oh… Not yet then…” She smiled sadly. “How are you? Where’s Char?”
“She’s been held back by security.” Lore looked back at the desk, glancing between the writing and Tay. “Are you alright?”
She gulped and took a deep breath before answering. “I’m fine.” She lied. “It’s lucky you came today, it’s my last week. I’m off back to The Academy to present my research!” Tay’s sullen look dissolved temporarily as she started talking about her work. “I’ve been writing my thesis on a potential way to revolutionise time travel. If I’m right, I may be able to help cut power requirements by nearly twenty percent and increase stability significantly. That’s why I’m here.”
Lore looked at her confused and scratched their head.
“Oh, sorry, this lab is devoted to studying one of the most important ships in Quatarrian history: The Defender.” Lore’s ears pricked up at her sentence’s end.
“The Defender?” They looked more closely at the machinery at the centre of the room. Knowing the context, they recognised it immediately. “That’s the grappling hook assembly.”
“Yeah it is. It’s still so radioactive that its a danger to even the Quatarrian staff; they’ve got it in a sheath but that still only just brings the ambient levels down to the safe threshold.” Tay removed a Geiger counter like device from her desk. It started ticking as soon as she activated it. “We’re safe at the moment but if the sheath fails, you’ll know.” She mimed the ticking suddenly increasing in tempo and volume before ‘succumbing’. “Don’t worry, it’s completely safe and if not, there’s a secondary safety guard that’ll fall into place the second before the sheath fails.”
“What’s my… What’s an old grappling hook got to do with time travel?” Lore felt something of a connection to the ship but knew it wasn’t their memory.
“That grappling hook, and the rest of its assembly, managed to withstand a planet’s worth of Tempora radiation without shorting. I thought that it could potentially have been useful for making more efficient transport but instead, I found that it was the key to more efficient travel.” She grabbed her notebook and started tearing through it, looking for the relevant pages. When she arrived at them, she stopped herself. “Oh…” Tay’s look of dejection returned. “I can’t show you yet…”
“Why not?” Lore tried to sneak a peek.
“It’s not ready yet… Plus, I think I’m from somewhere in the future relative to you so I’d be breaking certain rules if I gave you future knowledge.” She shrugged. “But I can tell you that my research is probably not of any use to you now.”
“Fine.” Lore sighed. “I’ll just read it when it’s published.”
Tay’s tangerine skin bleached white. “Please don’t.” Tay suddenly flinched. “I’m really sorry but I’ve got to go.” She pulled up her sleeve, revealing an old, beaten, black and red bangle with a metal clasp. She tapped it thrice before vanishing in a subdued flash of white.
Lore looked around the room, half expecting her to materialise somewhere local but she never arrived; instead, Char appeared through the same door Lore had entered from. They couldn’t help themselves but run up to her and wrap them in a tight embrace.
“Woah there! It’s only been half an hour.” Char laughed.
Lore gestured around them. “And I was alone, on an alien planet.” They scoffed. “You alright?”
“Fine.” Char smiled. “It was just a case of mistaken identity. They thought I was my mum. Apparently, military personnel aren’t welcome in the inner sanctum… Or the museum in general.” She looked around. “Anything interesting?”
“This room is filled with bits from The First’s old ship.” Lore started. “Oh, and Tay was here but she vanished just as you walked in.”
“I thought something felt off.” Char moved towards Tay’s desk. Lore quickly moved a piece of paper over the graffiti. “She’s a bit… Strange isn’t she?”
Lore shook their head. “I like her.”
Char shrugged. “Anyway, one of the guards hinted that I should try taking you into the inner sanctum. I doubt we’ll make it in but it’s worth looking I suppose.” Char took their hand and started over to the centre of the room. “The lift should be just through here.”

Hidden by the grappling assembly, a pillar which Char confidently strode over to. She pressed her thumb to one of the moulded elements which depressed with a satisfying click. A whirring sound could be heard within which stopped as it neared them. The pillar parted unveiling a space nearly two metres cubed within. Lore double checked that the external dimensions of the pillar hadn’t changed before remembering where they were. Char gave a reassuring nod before entering the lift. There was only one button which, assumedly, took the passengers to the opposite station to the one they boarded at. Char waited for Lore before pressing the button. The doors closed and the descent began.
“Are you sure this is the right lift?” Lore fidgeted with their sleeves.
Char shook her head. “Not really. I was under the impression that this was the direct line to the Prynn’s office but this is Quatarr… The ancient Quatarrian’s loved a one way system; this might be taking us to the inner sanctum. If it is, then we take another lift from there.”
“What is this inner sanctum? Is it just more of that?” Lore pointed at the lift’s doors to signal their previous room but adjusted their finger as they remembered their descent had already begun.
Char tried her hardest to remember. “I’ve only got the rumours and legends that The Council fed me from their Char’s memories. Apparently the inner sanctum is accessible only to one person and no-one knows who that person is. Most people believe it was placed on Quatarr by Time and, as such, became the catalyst around which all Quatarrian society was built; they say that ‘if Time made it, only Time may enter it.’ Still, shouldn’t be a problem.”
“What’s the plan for the meeting then?” They looked down at their Breacher, checking the time.
“I say we tell the truth and let the threat of Crait’s plan convince them. Should be a piece of cake.” Char leant back on the wall. There was a moment of silence before Char gasped. “Just remembered, the guards at the checkpoint seemed really interested in your necklace. They must have seen it when you went through the scanner. They had a picture of it on the desk.” Char walked over to them. “The mark of Time. Admittedly, it’s not something you see every day.”
“Why not? Surely Quatarr is filled with the mark of Time?” Lore withdrew the necklace from under their shirt. They held it in their hand.
Char nodded. “You’d think so but its actually something that’s only really seen on the black market. Out of respect to the legend, all reputable artists will refuse to produce any kind of replica of the mark… And it’s not something we share with outsiders really either.”
“Strange that it would show up on Illia then.” Lore let go of the mark.
“Definitely.” She smiled. “Look, I know you’re worried, I am too but there’s no need. Behind those doors should be another room and another lift. From there, piece of cake, straight up to the Prynn’s office.” She put an arm around them. “Love you.” Lore returned her sentiment with a smile.
The lift came to a stop and the doors parted. The room behind them was immense. The population of the U-Rail was reunited once again; fully armed and armoured, the other train patrons looked infinitely more prepared than Lore and Char. The doors closed behind them as they stepped into the chamber.
“Ah.” Lore and Char realised they had made a mistake. They looked around but couldn’t see any other obvious lifts or routes out of the inner sanctum.
Everyone seemed identical, save Lore and Char, their uniforms perfect in every respect, their posture correct. Three guards stepped forward, the closer they came, the more impressive the similarities seemed; almost everything about their uniforms was the same, down to the positioning of their identification tags but each wore a different coloured armband: Gold, White and Electric Blue.
“We are the Guardians of Tarr’Zendwr.” The guard with the white armband spoke.
“We have observed you since your arrival.” The golden banded guard continued.
“We have extrapolated your most probable next actions.” The electric blue guard extended a hand to Lore.
“Approach.” They all said in unison.
Lore and Char took a tentative step forward. A circle of light illuminated their feet; the three guards formed a second circle around them.
“We represent The Past.” Gold spoke first.
“Present.” White continued.
“And Future.” Electric blue finished.
“We have been gifted with the ability to sense those touched by Time. None have entered this hallowed space since its construction at the beginning of days.” White stepped back. “It is not my place to grant entrance to you.”
“You have indeed been touched by Time. But many have.” Gold stepped back.
“Your path will cross with its again.” Electric Blue began. “First as servants then to become something more.” Electric Blue stepped back.
“Tell us why you seek to enter this place.” White opened the door behind them. The room ahead was a pitch black void.
Lore looked to Char who looked to them. Neither knew quite what to say so Lore tried the truth. “We’re trying to get to the council chambers. We’re here to save Quatarr from The Protectorate.” They spoke calmly.
“Unorthodox but your candour is appreciated.” The White guard stepped aside. “Should the gates judge your connection true, the way forward shall be open to you.”
“Before you ask, yes: We have taken oaths to tell those who visit only what they must hear. We know it makes us sound ridiculously cryptic but that was Time’s will.” Electric Blue bowed their head. Lore felt the words escape their mouth.