Changing Times

Brick wall. It had been a week and a half since their wedding but duty called. At the request of The Protectorate, Lore and Char had been overseeing a temporary transition of power on Illia but what had been slated as a quick in and out mission swiftly devolved into hell.
“You’re asking too much!” The Chancellor rose from his seat.
“Is it too much to see that all citizens are treated equally?” His rival joined him.
Char looked to Lore then to the scene before them. She opened her arms as if to offer her partner the floor.
“Look, we know we can’t force ten years of legal changes overnight but we can make a start.” Lore began. “Kendra oversaw the Serenity Point station for the last three years of the experiment and while I can’t say I completely agree with her appointment, she is exactly the person to help lead Illia back to the present.”
“She was part of the problem. The voters won’t like that.”
“The voters aren’t even aware of the experiment.” Her hand and face were in alignment.
“What if we tweaked the conditions of the deal?” Char looked to both parties. “Rose will remain as the public face of this administration but Kendra will take over as your aide. She’ll help you spin the necessary policies into more… ‘Agreeable’ ones.”
“I know every change that should have happened in the last ten years. With me at your side, we can make my knowledge of history look like foresight. Trick the voters into thinking Illia’s still on the cutting edge.” Kendra began to sit. “With a bit of re-branding and some sneaky law passing, anything is possible.” She smiled. Chancellor Rose smiled.
“Aide. Not Shadow Chancellor. Not successor, aide.” He reiterated. She nodded.
“Well, now we’ve reached some sort of consensus, here’s a list of policies that need enacting in the next two years or Illia will remain blacklisted.” Lore slammed the list into the table. “Sorry. New arm.” They awkwardly cleaned up their mess with their remaining hand before trying again.
“You want all of this done in two years?” Rose scanned the prerequisites. “End discrimination against ‘The Nulls’. Reintegrate The Undercity into the colony. I mean really?”
“We’ll have it done in one.” Kendra removed the list from Rose’s hands. She too skimmed the list. “One and a half.” There was a nervous smile crossing her face.
“You just need to be showing progress. Get most of it done and make the colony look the part and we can remove the blacklist.” Char looked at them apologetically. She didn’t envy Kendra or her position.
The two parties shook hands and, in doing so, put an end to the conference. Char and Lore waited for them to leave before speaking. Doors shut and Char was on Lore’s lap like a shot.
“Well, that’s finally over.” She kissed their cheek. “Honeymoon time I think.” She smiled tightening her grasp.
“I’m sure whoever this is has other plans.” Lore waved their Breacher which had been vibrating since the word honeymoon left Char’s mouth. “We’re here.”
“Good time?” Charrlene sounded hurried. “We’ve got a bit of an issue.”
“Well, we’ve just finished up here. What’s going on your end?”
“Talks between The Protectorate and The Quatarrians have been going great. Both sides have been making real headway with the formation of The Alliance but there’s a definite cultural divide.”
“And the problem…?” Char gestured for Charrlene to move on.
“Ah yes. Well, Brian has found something rather strange in the Drekuur Expanse and he wants you two to check it out.”
“Why us?” Lore’s pout would put a child to shame. “There are twenty four other Lore/Char pairs to choose from.”
“He says you two have to go because it’s probably your mess, again. Your Breacher was tracked to the Drekuur Expanse, go sort it out.”
Lore couldn’t argue with that. They nodded and accepted their mission. Wishing the new leadership of Illia luck, they boarded The Destiny and plotted their course. She seemed empty without the clones milling around the garage but the silence was golden. Lore sat back in their chair as they synchronised their Breacher to The Destiny’s engines. Char took the chair next to them and held their metal hand. With a slight whir and a flash, they were orbiting the planet from which the Breacher’s signal came.
“A cursory scan of the planet reveals that the signature does indeed match that of your Breacher but is slightly shifted.” Destiny displayed the relevant information on the main view screen.
“Shifted? How?” Char moved forward in her chair.
“There are signs of decay coming from the Breacher’s tempora crystal. This Breacher, while matching Lore’s, is older.”
Nodding, Lore’s head jolted. “Take us down then Destiny.” Lore waved their hand after giving the order. It was something they had seen themselves doing in one of their memory cubes and they were almost glad they didn’t do it when the ship was fuller.
“Being here brings back memories.” Char looked to Lore then out of the view screen to the planet below. “We’ll be landing near our old place. Still got the key if you wanted to swing by.”
“I might like that.” Lore smiled. They carefully tightened their grip on Char’s hand. It was only a subtle change but it took a great deal of practice to make sure her hand remained in good condition.
Now planet side, the three of them decided to split up. Destiny chose to visit the spot where the signal had first appeared while Lore and Char went to check out their old home. Their official excuse wasn’t much better than curiosity and nostalgia but they went anyway. The streets brought back mixed feelings for Char. While she had been on the run, they were where she met the love of her life. Strolling hand in hand, it was nice to get a little alone time. There it was. Standing exactly where they had left it, their old home. It wasn’t anything fancy but it did them. As they approached, they realised something wasn’t quite as it was. The door chime hung askew. First Contact.