Tewkesbury

Familiar. Like Lore, The First remembered the last time they were in the cafe as if it were yesterday. They waited by the entrance, holding the door for another patron, while scanning the tables; Crait was there, waving them over to the corner. For a moment, they were replaced by a thirteen year old version of themselves. The First nodded and approached the table apprehensively. There was a cup of tea and an iced coffee on the table; Crait slid the tea towards them as they sat.
“Splash of milk, two sugars.” They took a sip of their drink.
“Thank you.” The First slipped their jacket off.
Crait relaxed. “Tell me, how long after I messaged did you procrastinate arriving?”
“I didn’t.” The First took a sip, scalding their tongue.
“Oh.” Crait looked surprised. “Thank you.” They reached into their jacket pocket; they placed a familiar CD case on the table. “I finally listened to it.” They ran their finger along the edge of the case before opening it and removing the inner booklet. “You want to know what I heard?” The First shrugged. “Rap. It was seventy three minutes of rap music. I had it analysed, every test you could think of ran on it and… Nothing. It wasn’t too bad but there was nothing to do with the Faochite.”
“So how did they know where the Faochite were?” The First took the booklet and scanned it themselves.
Crait scoffed. “That’s the funny part. Becoming the Director of The Guild opened my eyes to a few things. We knew where the Faochite were because we sent the mission logs back from the future. The person we met here, wasn’t even Faochite; she was just another human rapper but the leadership knew she’d be here and that she’d hand us the CD so they sent us to meet her.” Crait paused. “I sent that information back. I told us about The Faochite plot, I told us about The Faochite terrorist, I gave them the bomb. It was all my fault and I didn’t put two and two together until it was too late.”
“I’m so sorry.” The First reached over and rested a hand on Crait’s shoulder. “You couldn’t have known.”
“It wouldn’t have happened if you stayed. You always were the smarter one.” Crait shook their head.
“Is this why I’m here?” The First returned the CD booklet. “To talk about The Faochite Incident?”
“Do I need an excuse to see my friend?” Crait returned the CD to their jacket.

The Hologram stood beside them as Lore watched The First and Crait sit in awkwardness. “They sat like this for a while… It was debated as to whether we should cut the memory down a bit but… If they had to live it, everyone else has to see it.”
Eventually, Crait broke the silence. “Fancy something stronger?”
“I don’t drink.” The First looked confused.
“I do. Come on.” Crait got up and gently led The First by the hand out of the cafe and towards the nearby pub. It was like stepping back in time, the pub looked as though it hadn’t been renovated or redecorated since the nineteen forties; the whole place smelt of cigarettes and hops. They found a booth in a dark corner of the pub, sidling around the table on the elderly, green leather chairs. Everything about the place, despite its age, seemed built to last and, unlike the cafe, the table didn’t rock as they tried to get comfortable. Crait took the menu from centre of the table and scanned the drinks options.
“What are you fancying?” Crait nodded to themselves and passed The First the menu.
The First didn’t even glance at it before setting it down. “Just a tea please.”
“Right, I’m hoping I can order at the bar because I don’t have my phone on me… Well, at least one that would work now.” Crait vanished for a few minutes and returned with an amber red drink in a tall glass and a small teapot and mug. “There you go, I’ve got you milk and sugar too.” They dipped their hand into their pocket and removed a small container of UHT milk and a handful of sugar packets. The First made their tea while Crait sampled their drink. “That okay for you?”
The First nodded. “Thanks.”
There was a silence between them for a while. The First, again, scalded their tongue. “Do you remember the day of your trial? I do. I nearly tried following you. I had The Oracles trace your co-ordinates and I had a ship ready to go. Then I found the box. I saw the future and I knew I couldn’t let it happen.”
“What do you mean?” The First and Lore shared identical looks of confusion.
“I saw you. I saw you travelling the colonies, causing chaos; I saw you burning humanity’s efforts, wiping out our people and the aliens we were co-existing with, to save one planet. You said that you were travelling under the banner of peace but you used the Flad, Citrius, as a distraction, you turned those people against The Protectorate. It was a massacre.” Crait shook their head. “I saw the chaos, the heartbreak you’d bring and, I knew that I had to stop you because no-one else would.”
The First picked their jaw up off the floor. “You mean those people humanity had been subjugating for decades? The species you simplified because they got in your way?”
“That was your fault too. You forced us into an impossible decision. You destroyed humanity’s supply lines, our resource hubs, we either made new ones or tried to rebuild. We simplified a handful of species but saved millions of humans. Not mentioning our allies.” Crait took a drink. “None of this would have happened if Quatarr hadn’t threatened us.”
“What?” Lore and The First spoke in unison.
“After the trial, I went to Quatarr to try and negotiate a mining contract and peace treaty. They, for a time, allowed us to mine but they never trusted us. One day, our Oracles informed us that The Quatarrian Empire were close to deeming The Protectorate a threat. They were going to wipe us out. We fired first.” Crait drained their glass. “We could stand together as equals, save the universe… I love you. But you won’t.” They stood. “So… I suppose, I’ll see you on Quatarr. Can’t wait for the fireworks.” And with that, Crait left.
“I’m sorry.” Lore and The First whispered. The pub fell away to the white void, ready for the final memory. New.