1:3:10 Blue (Part 1)

Silence. It was as if the vacuum of space had penetrated their hull; not a breath, not a sound, nothing. Char stood on the bridge, unblinking, unable to tear her eyes from the light that filled them. Plasma fires raged before them, a cloud of debris slowly parting from its centre. She just stood there, unable to stop looking but wishing she could, wishing she could do anything but just watch. She wanted to turn her head, to check on her fellow crewmates but her body prohibited her from doing so. All she could do was watch. Eventually, even her eyes grew dry. It pained her immensely, but she couldn’t stop it. Her eyes closed themselves.

There was a shudder as the ship broke through Rexel’s upper atmosphere. The smog lingered as they entered Rexel’s orbit and trailed behind them as they moved towards their target. Simplicity waited for them, alone. Their numbers only increased as more and more of The Syndicate’s ships joined their formation but still, Simplicity remained motionless, unflinching. A fleet versus a single ship seemed like and already decided contest especially given the pedigree of the ships and commanders on both sides but in reality, it looked more alike to an elephant and a cloud of gnats. Syd and her ships bolstered the rear as they tentatively pressed forward; The Destiny, The Vengeance and Mauve’s ship formed a wedge as they retook their lead.
“Incoming communication.” Jo’Tastia’T snapped Char from a strangely sad trance. “It’s The Destiny.”
“Put her through.” Char dried her eyes. She hadn’t even realised she had been crying.
“Bloody hel! Wish I had installed that backdoor while I had the chance. I didn’t realise the whole ship’s lined with mesh; it’s one massive Faraday cage.” Destiny’s tiny face barely filled a corner of the monitor but her presence and volume more than made up for it.
“So how do we get back on board then?” Char looked around to see what she had at her disposal. A pair of orphans, a pistol with a single shot, a gaudy gauntlet and her transport device. “Hmm. I could just jump aboard, so how do we get you on board?”
“We’d either need to penetrate that mesh somehow or I slow down the download by using a lower band carrier wave.”
“How long would the slow download take?” Char monitored the distance between the fleet and Simplicity.
“About four minutes.” Destiny winced. “Give or take.”
“Get started now then. We’re a minute out from our effective weapons range, minute and a half from standard comms. I reckon I could keep Crait talking for three minutes at least.” Char smiled. Part of her knew that wasn’t going to happen but still she started to think about ways to distract Crait. Char set The Vengeance’s engines to idle, letting their inertia carried them closer to their goal. She paced up and down the bridge, muttering to herself. Sky and Blue silently prepared the weapons.
“At least we don’t have to worry that the calibration hasn’t been reset in nearly a hundred years.” Sky whispered.
“Hate to break it to you but that means that the guns haven’t been fired in a hundred years.” Blue returned. Sky’s smile faded quickly as she frantically began an emergency diagnostic.
“I can get us aboard but how do we get everyone out?” Char stopped and asked the room.
“Well, if we’re all together then you can get us out?” Sky flitted her eyes between Char and the monitors.
Char shook her head. “If Destiny’s right, they’re keeping the clones and Lore separate.”
“Lore’s got their Breacher don’t they?” Blue looked at Char as if the answer was obvious.
Char gave a sheepish nod. “They should do.”
“Then you go after the clones, Destiny goes for Lore.” Blue shrugged.
There was a moment of umming and arring from both Char and Sky. “That would work in theory but Destiny’s body is with the clones already and Lore’s being kept… That’s it!” The siblings looked at her expectedly. “Lore’s being kept on a ship. Destiny downloads herself to her body, disables the chronometric sensors, I jump aboard, get Lore, steal the ship and we’re home free.”
“And the clones?” Blue reminded her.
“Ah.”
“Could you and Destiny swap places? You go pick up Lore, make sure they’re alright then Destiny steals the ship and you jump to the clones and get them home that way.” All eyes in the room were on Blue.
“That… Could work.” Char looked at her monitor. “Did you hear all of that Destiny?” Char realised she hadn’t closed the channel properly.
“Sounds good to me.” Destiny responded but there was another voice overlaid with hers.
“Mauve?” Sky accused.
“You do realise that this is an open channel for the command ships.” He chuckled. “I think I’ve got a way to get you your window.” Mauve looked down at the tablet beside him. It remained empty. No orders, no information, no nothing.
“I’m going to talk to them.” Char sounded resolute. Somehow, she knew exactly what she wanted to say and somehow, she knew she wasn’t going to get to say it all.
Simplicity loomed before them. The largest ship any member of the fleet bar Mauve had ever seen.

Lore looked up at Crait from their bed. The new memories and context they had been given painted them in a slightly different light but that paint wasn’t thick enough to blot Crait’s misdeeds. They smiled at one another; Crait’s smile was entirely genuine, unlike Lore’s. Crait bent down and picked up the rest of their under armour. They slipped their arms in then zipped it over their athletic frame. They stopped just shy of the middle of their torso before unzipping it entirely. Crait opened up the jacket and shook it out, freeing a rouge sock that had become lodged accidentally. The scars under their pectorals had healed well but there was still some redness. Lore couldn’t help but stare. Crait smiled, winked and then finished zipping their under armour. They turned around and glanced at a nearby terminal.
“Your missus is outside.” Crait stretched. Lore didn’t react, not because they were trying to maintain their cover but because they didn’t realise they were talking about Char. “Never mind. It’s not important. Come on, get dressed. Although… I do like the view, I think what I’ve got to show you is just a little better.” Crait playfully threw Lore their clothes. Lore quickly donned their usual outfit but noticed something was wrong. What was once blue was now gold, mirroring Crait’s new look. “You’ve always looked good in black.”
Lore changed their underwear then started getting dressed properly. Even though it was only a change in colours, everything about their outfit felt wrong.
“Oh… Gold suits you.” Crait drooled.
 They sucked up their discomfort and followed Crait into the ship proper. They navigated the dingy corridors of Simplicity, following colour coded conduits towards an unknown destination. Crait was beaming as they ran their finger along the blue line they were following. It didn’t take long for them to reach the line’s terminus. There was a heavy scent of chlorine in the air as the corresponding blue door slid aside. The room behind it was similar in size to the hangar they came from and was officially designated as such but there was no space for a ship; a swimming pool filled the space instead. Something deep inside them just couldn’t help themselves. They stood there smiling. “We probably didn’t need to get dressed.” Crait patted Lore’s shoulder.
The Destiny, The Vengeance and another ship they recognised but couldn’t name were heading towards them. Lore could see them, they knew they were coming for them. Crait removed their hand and suddenly, Lore was back by the pool.
“Are you sure we’ve got time?” Lore opened their jacket, as if getting ready to take it off.
“Why wouldn’t we?” Crait joined them.
“Come on then. I’ve not been for a good swim in ages.” Lore stripped to their skivvies then lowered themselves into the pool. “Get in here, the water’s lovely.”
Crait smirked. They too stripped down. The fluorescent lighting reflected off of their pale body, the shadows highlighted their thin, sinewy musculature. Crait slid into the pool beside Lore and snuggled up to them. They waited a moment, enjoying the closeness before talking again. “You were right, this is lovely.” Crait span Lore around to face them before they started a slow waltz through the shallow end of the water. Their dance concluded with Lore, once again, in Crait’s arms. Crait locked themselves around Lore and pushed off from the wall, propelling them further down the pool. The floor fell away as the water deepened. It took Lore a moment to realise the change but as soon as they did, their grip on Crait grew tighter. Crait realised this and simply reassured them with a kiss as they paddled backwards and further into the deepening waters. Crait came to a stop in the far corner of the pool and perched themselves on one of the ladder’s rungs. Crait ran their hands around Lore’s shoulders. They paid closer to attention to the scarring that adorned them. “You never mentioned where these came from.” Crait lowered their hand to just over Lore’s left breast. “They bled like no wound I’ve ever seen; especially this one.” They ran their finger over it.
Lore pushed themselves into Crait. The whole situation felt weird but they were growing strangely comfortable in their discomfort. “I don’t know. As soon as we got to the medlab, they just opened up.” Lore shrugged. They went to kiss Crait but they were rejected.
Crait pushed Lore off of their lap. They hoisted themselves out of the pool and watched as Lore flailed in the deep water. Crait just stood there, shaking their head. “You know… You almost had me. Again.” Crait waggled their finger with a chuckle. “I’m good but, unless I properly scrambled your psyche, you’re lying. Get yourself dried. Your partner’s about to knock.” Crait sounded disappointed. “Shame. The water was nice.” They mumbled under their breath.

The Destiny was the furthest away from Simplicity but Destiny was the closest to boarding. Char and Mauve had a minute and a half to fill to distract Crait from their soon-arriving stowaway. Char slaved The Destiny’s engines to The Vengeance’s, bringing both ships to a stop just inside of communication range. Mauve’s ship stopped just ahead of his allies. Char was about to open a channel when she found that Crait was already trying to do the same for her.
“Right on time, they’ve just finished getting themselves dried off.” Crait’s smirk filled The Vengeance’s viewscreen. “You also left some of your rubbish in one of my hangar bays but since that rubbish is a group of terrorists, you’re not getting them back.” They leant back in their chair. “But you knew that already so why even bother talking to me?”
“I thought we could end our conversation from earlier.” Char began. “I wasn’t in the best of shapes but now, I’m feeling much better.”
“Glad to hear it.” There was something flashing red in the corner of Crait’s eye. The light reflected off of them alerting Char and Mauve too. “It would seem we have an intruder on the line.” They shook their head. “Using a friendly call to launch a cyber-attack, now that’s rude.”
Mauve took one last glance at his tablet. Before Crait could finish their threat, he slammed his ship’s accelerator to the floor. Its engines wailed to life as they tore through the fifty thousand metres between them. Both sides had plenty of time to react but so few actions to take. The Vengeance and her crew just watched as Mauve built speed. Simplicity similarly did nothing. Char, Sky and Blue stood there, glued to the viewscreen as Mauve became a blur. It took him nearly ten seconds to close the gap. A thousand metres left and suddenly, his ship came to a halt. An invisible force plucked it from space and held it motionless. It lessened its grip and saw that Mauve was determined to crash into Simplicity. Crait smiled as they used the tractor beam and Mauve’s own speed to drive the small vessel into their own hull. Mauve’s ship hit the four pointed star of Simplicity’s fore in the centre: a perfect hit. And aided by Crait’s tractor beam, he hit harder than his ship was even capable of, accelerating him significantly beyond even The Destiny’s highest sub-Jump speed.