Assaults

Sand. Lore had already emptied their boots twice and lamented their future after seeing how far they had yet to travel. The skies above them slowly darkened as the twin suns were eclipsed by the Rexian and council fighter ships.
“Do you remember when we first met?” Char turned to Lore, slapping their hand as they ducked to empty their boots once more.
“Barefoot in an alleyway? Hard to forget.” Lore laughed. “Most people forget their earliest memories but hey.”
“I lied.” Char interlocked her fingers with Lore’s. “I told you my name was Charlotte but that’s a lie.”
“Well, seems as the cubes called you Char, I assumed you didn’t like it but…” Lore shrugged. “To be honest, until Charrlene, I’d forgot.”
“I thought you deserved to know. Amongst my people, our true name can only be heard or spoken by close family. You know, parents, partners and children. If we survive this, how would you like to learn it?” Char spun herself before Lore and collapsed on both of her knees. In this one fluid motion she had also managed to slip Lore’s Reaper Ring from their finger. She held it out.
“Well, I can’t exactly say no. I need that.” Lore feigned annoyance. “If you’ll have me, I would be honoured.” Char slid the black band back onto Lore’s middle finger to the applause of both Charrlene and their Quatarrian guide.
“See darling, that’s how I would have done it.” Charrlene elbowed The First playfully. “They thought it would be a good idea to propose during a film.”
“It was a film about rings!” The First hit back.
“Evil rings! I mean seriously, what sort of an impression does that give? Here’s a film about an evil scientist destroying a planet using its impossibly dense rings. Will you marry me?” Charrlene huffed. “Still, great honeymoon choice. One hint, cats!.”
There were three officers waiting for them at their anchor points. Accompanying them, a small legion of troops. Before Lore could call out to them, the shorter one ran over to them.
“Well, it’s never a good sign when you show up, let alone ten of you. But it’s still good to see you.” Allana smiled, locking them in a tight hug.
After a rushed reunion, they spread out. The First handed Lore a designation beacon. They demonstrated how to use it by pressing the central button then tossing it to the floor on their mark. Moments after the device hit the floor, a six metre dart began its descent from The Razor’s low orbit. The dart fell, mostly unaided, using its thrusters only to stabilise its descent before it buried itself deep into the sand. Of the six metres that fell, only two remained above ground. There was a groan and hiss as the metal expanded into its final form. The flush dart’s tip resurfaced in four parts, forming a ring of metal around the central spire. After watching the operation, Lore and Char walked the few remaining metres west to their marker. They followed suit, dropping their designator and waiting for the anchor to fall.
With the last anchors in place, all they had to do was wait. While the anchors were ready in the past, they also had to be present in the present. The skies grew darker still as new ships approached Quatarr.
“They’re here.” The First called over to Lore before speaking into their Breacher. “What’s the situation up there?”
“We’re outnumbered three to one.” Aloe started. “They seem to be ignoring us though.”
“We’re still waiting on the present team. Stall them.” The First waited for a moment. “Shoot to disable.”
“What was that?”
“You need to disable their ships then board them.”
“Are you sure about that?” Aloe was shouting over the mic.
“Yes. Do it and that’s an order.” The First lowered their Breacher. “You’ll see in time.” They smiled.
The Fleet began to move. Despite their advanced age, the majority of the Rexian ships were able to keep up with and even outflank The Guild’s fighters. Green and purple plasma was exchanged affording those on the planet below a most interesting display.
“New orders from The First. Shoot to disable and be prepared to board.”
“Are you mad?” Ace replied, manoeuvring their ship between the wreckage of a Rexian freighter. “Why?”
“Orders are orders.” Aloe tried to remain strong to her leader’s belief but had to pause for concern.
With the new directive acknowledged, the fleet switched tactics. Their once green bolts were replaced with what appeared to be focused lightning strikes across their enemies hulls. With every downed Guild ship, another ship left the fight, only to begin another.
Ace’s crew were among the first to successfully disable and stun their foe and were preparing for the second stage of their assault. Helmets on, the crew departed the airlock. The ship they had boarded was strangely claustrophobic with low ceilings but wide walkways. Their enemies approached, crouched and hunched, with their hands up in surrender.
“Ace to Aloe. What are we supposed to do with prisoners?”
“Prisoners?” Aloe repeated.
“Yeah, we’ve just stormed a ship and they straight up surrendered to us.” Arrow’s voice joined the conversation.
There was a moment of confused silence as more commanders joined the call with the same issue. Ace dipped their head as if to say sorry. The enemy pilot nodded in sympathy. Eventually, Aloe responded. “So, just got off the comm with The First. Give them your ship.”
“Really?”
Ace gestured to their docking bay and threw the ignition card to the new owner. Confused they both went their own ways. The two conjoined ships split leaving Ace and their clones aboard a deactivated and cramped vessel. Ace made their way towards the cockpit to further investigate the importance of these vessels. It quickly became clear. Once the ship was reactivated, Ace signalled the fleet.
“They’re landers. Once you’ve captured your ship, press the big red button and aim it at the planet.” They strapped themselves in and slammed their fist against the button. They blazed past the battlefield and towards the planet, watching the remains of their cobbled together fleet burn up and fall apart in Quatarr’s dense atmosphere as The Guild members pursued. Reapers.