Hit

Orange. Lore and Char were both sporting the same, orange jumpsuits as they ran through a labyrinth of concrete walls. The Hologram appeared beside Lore. “Welcome to Sade. Lore and Char’s first mission together.” There was a look of confusion on their face. “Ah, yes, Char’s pink in this memory. She’s in disguise.” Lore found a window and peered out. A frozen wasteland spread for as far as they could see, planets and stars loomed low in the sky, clear as clouds. “This is the only human habitable location on the planet; it’s the planet’s namesake too. The only thing on this planet is this prison. A detention centre for those who had challenged The Protectorate but more specifically, those who knew who and what The Temporal Sciences Guild really were.” A pair of double doors swung open. The room behind them was octagonal in shape and, to start, appeared to only contain seven cells and a central guard post; it quickly became apparent that the room was much larger. Lore looked over the railings and saw the extent of The Guild’s paranoia. Fifty one more levels sat below them.
“We’ve got maybe ten minutes before the actual plumbers appear.” Lore moved in closer to Char as their run became more of a speed-walk. “Left or right?”
“Left.” Char nodded as she crossed the bridge to the centre of the panopticon. “Alright.” She nodded to the guard before setting her tool bag down. “We’re here about your toilets; apparently, they’re not flushing properly.”
“It’s more that the waste is being directed into the output of the coffee machine.” The burly man replied. Char immediately eyed his ID card.
“Old school I see.” Lore looked around the control tower. “No external connections, wow. Must get lonely here.” They looked between the two guards. “Maybe not…” They winked.
“It’s not all bad I suppose. We’re only here three months and the inmates don’t even move. Suspended animation or something.” The Burly guard moved over to the control panel to access the cameras. “Time just ain’t moving for them. They still would think it’s their first day… If they could think.”
“Nifty.” Lore was starting to enjoy playing the wide eyed fool. “We’re going to need one of your ID cards to test the coffee machine and the toilets. The one’s they gave us only open the doors to get here. Can’t be trusted to make our own drinks.”
The Bespectacled guard removed their card from their belt. “Here. He’s had his coffee for this hour.”
“Which was tainted with piss.” He shook his head. “Honestly, one coffee an hour with a broken machine makes me wonder if we’re not prisoners too.” He laughed.
“Right.” Char grabbed her tools. “We’ll get straight on it.” She led Lore down the stairs. “This is way too easy.”
“I know.” Lore made sure they were definitely out of earshot of the guards. “I’ve got to be one of The Protectorate’s most wanted by now yet, we were able to swan in here in bright orange jumpsuits?”
“What was that Earth saying? Lets not look at this gift horse’s mouth and just take the opportunity.” Char dropped her tools as loudly as she could. “Okay then!” She made sure to say it loud enough that the guards above could hear. “What’s going on here then?”
“Well, I can see the problem.” Lore said, examining the back of the machine. “Problem number two is that we aren’t really plumbers…” They removed several metal poles from their toolkit and started screwing them together. “How many can your… teleporter carry?”
“I can take a maximum of twelve not including myself. What about your Breacher?” Char tapped at her wrist.
“Seven, me included.” Lore paused before nodding. “Yeah, seven. Only problem is that, with the Tempora exchange, as soon as I activate it, it’s going to set off alarms.”
“I’ll clear the top levels then, as soon as the plumbers get here, you start on the lower ones.” Char pulled her pistol and its tube from her bag. “Ready?” Lore nodded.

They climbed the stairs. Lore went right, Char left, shooting her guard while Lore span around theirs with their staff, striking various points on their body before dealing the knock-out blow. Char took her guard’s card and slid it into the console, temporarily disabling the cameras; Lore used theirs to bypass the firewall’s notification system and insert a virus.
“How have these people managed to conquer most of the known galaxy?” Char scoffed.
“Overconfidence and complacency makes enemies of us all.” Lore gave her the signal as the first floor’s seven cells opened.

Char vanished then reappeared beside the confused and weary occupants. “Link hands!” She called out. She counted and ensured everyone was making contact before disappearing once again, taking the seven prisoners with her. She returned on the second level and waited for Lore to open their cells.
Time sped up slightly as the cells and levels started to empty. They managed to clear three levels before the alarm sounded. Lore opened the fourth and fifth levels simultaneously before Breaching down to the fifth level to retrieve their prisoners.

Their ship was orbiting Sade. They had managed to rescue forty seven prisoners. Not as many as they had wanted but enough for them to make a start. Warning sirens started to blare as the prison sent out distress calls warning against Lore and Char’s ship. Unseen by their sensors, Lore and Char took their new crew back to Rigel.

“Hats off to them, that’s one incredible trick.” The news anchor held her false smile for a pre-approved amount of time before her face dropped. “And now, breaking news: A break out at Sade correctional facility has been escalated from a prison riot to a terrorist incident after an explosion destroyed two thirds of the facility. Here with more…” The feed was shut off. Lore and Char looked at each other with the same three letters on their minds. Run.