Time After Time

It was strange. It was like visiting their first school after years away. Familiar, yet there were constant reminders that they had changed and developed yet this place they once called home, this place that had moulded them, had changed very little. They didn’t feel like strangers but they didn’t quite feel welcome. Something was slightly off. Rhy’fel led them through the trenches, towards their base of operations. Lore recognised almost every face they passed; people who lived to see the end and people they knew were not long for this universe. The trench opened up to a recessed camp. Metal plating covered the edges, providing an overhang for the foxholes. The opening was near empty, three officers sat polishing their weapons.
“Rhy’fel! How long have we till this cycle begins again?” Silus holstered their pistol.
Rhy’fel looked to their Breacher. “Twenty minutes.” They paused. “Ah yeah, found these skulking in The Guardian’s ruins.”
“Lore.” Silus jumped them. “Woah there, way too close.” They twitched and nearly headbutted Silus.
“Uncanny.” Silus continued their examination. “They’re exactly like you were.” Their eyes followed the rough contours of Lore’s shoulder. “Almost.” They lifted the prosthetic. “Interesting.”
“Allana, and this is my partner Luscillus.” She smiled up to the significantly taller figure beside her, then extended her hand.
“Good to meet you.” Lore smiled. “We’re here to help, hopefully.” Lore’s smile faded slightly. “So, what are we looking at?”
All four of them took a deep breath, holding it till they couldn’t any more. Allana’s lungs failed her first.
“Fine, I’ll tell them. The war hasn’t been going well. This was to be the deciding event. Rhy’fel theorised that the war could be won in twenty eight perfect days.” She was about to continue but Lore stopped her.
“Twenty eight? It took us twenty nine perfect days.”
Rhy’fel gave a sheepish look. “It must have taken me an extra day to work out the idea of creating a timeloop.”
“So you just one shotted the first day?” Lore was somewhere between impressed and horrified.
“Not my finest hour. We were decimated.”
“What about the day two reinforcements? They had to have helped.” Lore was desperately looking for silver linings.
“Our reinforcements were late to arrive so couldn’t join us after we activated the Looper. But we managed to stop the majority of their troops from joining the fray.”
“That’s rough.”
“We’ve been only just pulling through.” Allana tossed a holographic emitter to the floor. It displayed a series of casualty reports. “After losing ten percent of our forces on day one, we had no choice but to play it close to the chest. We’ve been taking less than one percent casualties since then so…” Allana shrugged.
“These are some impressive numbers, given your opposition.” Lore had to double take at their day five results. “We never got it quite this low. Someone always seemed to break something.”
“That’s the thing with near immortals, we get reckless sometimes. Rhy’fel and the East’s new weapons made us rethink everything.”
“Day ten… Now I see why we’re still here. Your dwindling numbers combined with their new reinforcements and weaponry…”
“What reinforcements?” The three of them spoke in unison.
“Day ten was when you, we, expanded the area of the loop. We needed the extra firepower?”
“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, no matter what the apparent benefits, I’m not risking any more lives on this war.” Rhy’fel’s face reddened.
“But without those troops, the stalemate will last indefinitely and this universe will fall.”
“If we let them in, we double our enemies forces.”
“And if you don’t, the best you can hope for is halving your own.” Char reached into her bag. She removed her arm cannon.
Luscillus, Allana and Silus pulled their weapons. “Slowly now.” Char held the cannon out.
“This is what tomorrow would bring if you expand the boarders yes, but with it, an unexpected advantage.” She began. “While these cannons are more powerful than the standard pistol or rifle, they carry their own drawbacks. They can only be fired from a stationary position and they drain their user so much that they’re basically human for up to twenty minutes afterwards.”
“Still. We can’t risk the increased numbers. An advantage like that would be nice but too many would die for it.” Rhy’fel’s tone indicated they wanted the conversation over.
“Fine, we’ll keep the boundaries and look for another way.” Lore’s mind was beginning to race.
“Ten minutes.” Silus went back to polishing their pistol. That conversation was clearly over.
Piper dragged their parents over to the side. “It’s not a bad idea but we probably shouldn’t tell them.” It was clear neither of them had any idea what plan they were referring to.
“Which plan?” Lore smiled.
“Both but in the short term, the cannon one.” Lore nodded.
“Care to bring me up to speed?” Char waved as if to remind them that she still existed.
“We’re going to distribute Rejuvenator Cannons to the east.”
“That sounds like a terrible idea.” She hesitated. “Actually… It could work.”
“The bigger weapons will inspire overconfidence and once we oversaturate their ranks, their army will be literally killing itself.”
“Bit morbid Piper, bit morbid. But accurate.” Lore looked to their Breacher. “We’ll hold an advantage for at least three days after first introduction, then they’ll work out what we’ve done. Five days later, we’ll be in the same position.” Lore grimaced.
“You do have a plan for those five days though?” Lore shrugged. Char’s uneasy look didn’t get any easier. A Counterintuitive Attack.