Broken Chains

Nothing mattered. The staring, the clouded helmets, Lore didn’t care about any of it. They barely knew their child but something snapped within them. They also knew rather little about this warlord but that didn’t stop them stomping through The Armless Cave with a passion. Char had started to lag behind as Lore continued headstrong into the crowds.
“Can you slow down for a moment?” Char jumped the last few metres to catch up with them. “What has gotten into you?”
“THEM!” Lore’s raised voice threw Char off. “They attacked her, they caged her!” Lore plunged their staff into the ground. “I’m going to find whatever warlord did this and…”
Char was at a loss for words. “Did she say anything about this warlord? You weren’t together for that long so not much I’m guessing.”
Lore nodded. “Not really, just that he’s a warlord. And he doesn’t like Quatarrians.”
“Well, that narrows it down.” Char spun around. They had escaped the thick crowds of the main streets and now found themselves in a side area. There were only a handful of people surrounding them but their newfound visibility did little to help them identify where they had gotten themselves and how to get back. “And now we’re lost.”
“Not yet.” Lore pulled the Rexian cube from their bag and pressed it to their forehead. They were still for a minute before returning to reality. “Ok, nothing useful. Could you ask for directions.” They sighed as they returned the cube.
Char made her way to the nearest local and started asking her questions while Lore nosed around the alley. The walls seemed to breathe with the breeze from the oxygen recyclers. The reason why became apparent as Lore got closer. The walls were about a foot away yet they could travel no further. Between them and the actual alley walls, a second wall made entirely of crates. While the cube didn’t contain any of the local language, the crates had been imported from somewhere that had been included.
“Supplements for Health, Frekkissarren Air. Nine hundred times fifty.” They scanned a couple of the other nearby crates. “Frekkissarren? Why would any colony need this many antibiotics?” They spoke under their breath.
“This way.” Char pointed away from the way they came. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, just a hell of a lot of antibiotics.” Lore looked to Char confused. “How can the way out be that way when we came from the opposite direction?”
“Who said anything about getting out?” Char smiled and held out her hand. Lore accepted.
They must have passed another three hundred crates before they left the alley, a number Lore doubled after remembering the other wall was also lined with crates containing the same drug. The alley opened up to reveal a small square. It was empty save for a single metal tree stood at its centre. Lore tightened their grasp on both their staff and Char in anticipation. A dozen faces surrounded them. They were quickly shrouded in mist as they advanced. Lore span Char behind them as they flourished their weapon. Now back to back, they waited for the group to attack. Nothing. A thirteenth face entered the fray and kept a respectful distance between himself and his troops, who offered a similar courtesy to Lore and Char.
“Bold of you to welcome death.” He smiled. “Few alive on this rock who have the balls to come to my house and try and get to me.” His tone was calmly intimidating. He showed full control of the situation. “So, let’s talk.” He waved, separating his men’s ring into a horseshoe as he advanced on Lore and Char. As he got within a metre, his visor too misted up. Lore cocked their head as if to start the cogs turning in their mind. “So, I’m guessing this is about me taking one of your people captive.”
Lore was about to speak when Char cut them off. “Exactly.”
“I thought I was doing you a service. Thing’s a freak.” Lore could have domed his helmet in but stayed put.
“A freak?” She shook it off. “We’re here to bring her back to Quatarr for a proper debrief.”
“Debrief. I don’t like that word. Spies in my city is a no-no. And debriefing that thing isn’t what you want.” He shook his head. “Tell you what, since your people and mine have an equitable history, I’ll give you back your spy but I need something from you.”
“Could have guessed.” Char whispered just loud enough for Lore to hear. “Name your price.”
“We’ve held this city since before the first of the human attacks but recently, the Vakrael have shown their true colours. This is neutral ground but they insist on starting new fights. I want you to go to wherever they’ve taken my son, Erzar and get him back. Once you’ve done that, the slave thing is yours.” He nodded. “Seems fair.”
“Of course.” Char smiled and extended her elbow. The Warlord did the same.
“I recommend your eunuch bring something bigger than a stick into battle. The Vakrael are proficient at range but even deadlier close up.” He whistled, his men bolted into formation and marched back into the base ahead of him.
“That went better than I thought. Guess the news travels slow in space.” Char checked her Breacher. “Never mind, hasn’t happened yet.”
“What?” Lore was thinking of Tay trapped in her cage and if they could figure a way to get her out faster.
“My people and the Emraeh had a rocky first contact. Not unlike humanities except we didn’t try to hunt them to extinction. We developed a relationship based on mutual favours. Tit for tat. But in three years’ time, Emraeh intelligence will find evidence that we’ve also been working with the Vakrael too.”
“What’s your relationship with them like?” Lore crossed their fingers.
“Fantastic actually. We should be able to walk in there and ask for The Warlord’s son and go.”
“Good. The quicker the better.” Lore began their march back to The Destiny, Char trailing slightly behind.
“Stop. I know it’s important to you that we get Tay back for some reason but what about why we actually came here?”
“I think Tay came for the same reason and if she’s from the future, she might know something we don’t. Plus she’s got a head start.” Lore twitched, while hiding the truth wasn’t technically lying to their wife, it still felt the same. They knew they had to, to make sure there was still a Tay to save, but it didn’t make it any easier. Unexpected Allies.