Lastland AU: Lost Memory, Lost Time, Lost in Space

An Embarrassing Epiphany

[Time skip]

In the days and weeks to come, Strike stayed at Notus, not just because of her prisoner status, but because she'd grown to genuinely care for Irie, even though she couldn't always identify—let alone understand—what she was feeling. One such example happened when the duo found itself at Boreas, of all places. In a true show of the interconnected nature of the four space stations of Solestar, Irie and Strike were Notus Rangers at Boreas for a conference hosted by their friends at Zephyros, including Weston, Cipher, and Specs.

"So, Strike, are you enjoying the food?" Irie asked over dinner the night before the main presentation.

"Yes. It satisfies me."

"Anything in particular you like?" It was the same in every starship, but Irie was trying to make small talk, just to see how Strike would reply.

"So long as it sustains me, it usually does not matter." She shrugged, and Irie gave a soft, disbelieving laugh.

In the past, I would've thought she was being sarcastic, but now...? Awww, it's kind of cute... The girl had to hide her smile behind her hand, knowing Strike would be self-conscious if she saw it. The only time she could laugh freely was when Strike excused herself to the restroom.

"I haven't seen a date that awkward since Petros and I's first!" A hand grabbed Irie's shoulder.

"Chloe! Jeez!" Clutching her heart, Irie whipped around. Chloe smirked down at her, dark blue eyes framed by a pale face and long, orange locks. She was Irie's childhood best friend, and another Notus Ranger attending the Boreas-based Zephyros conference. Her boyfriend, Petros, though, was unable to accompany them. As a Medic as well as a Ranger, his duties kept him at Notus more often than the average Ranger.

"D-date...?!" Irie looked at the tile floor self-consciously, pouting while Chloe continued to tease her. Ugh. I don't know what I want more. For Strike to come back right now so Chloe leaves again. Or for Strike to stay away until I'm sure I'm not blushing anymore!

The purple-eyed girl crossed her arms, still stubbornly refusing to look into Chloe's dark blue, teasing gaze.

"Hello, Irie." Strike's voice was low and smooth and Irie jumped, having scarcely even noticed Chloe's departure as Strike returned. Exactly as she predicted, while she stuttered and Strike asked her what was wrong, Chloe sat a few tables away, smirking.

I cannot WAIT to tell Petros, Jax, Eileen, and Gage!

The only reason Irie was spared most of the humiliation that could've come from Strike was Strike's inability to recognize social cues. She could recognize that Irie was uncomfortable, but for better or worse, she couldn't understand why, and after Irie reassured her a few times, she decided to shrug it off, and it helped Irie do the same.

ooo

The next day, the three women sat side by side in the clean, white Boreas auditorium, accents of red around the stage and seats.

"We have been mapping the brain in attempt to create visual images of thoughts as they occur!" Cipher began, hovering across stage in their glowing chair as usual. Brain mapping technology was not new, but the type they and Weston were trying to achieve was. Specs flapped after them.

Weston joined his partner on stage, clicker in his hand, turning on the large screen behind them both. His and Cipher's glasses flashed, then the lights of the auditorium dimmed. Weston's companion—a three-headed robot hound he named Cyberus—walked across stage after him, joints whirring and metal feet clacking quietly the entire way. It was another example of a robot with a random principle despite its coding.

Weston and Cipher actually built each other their companions, and Cipher had wanted Cyberus to be Astro. It came out Blazar, and Weston loved it just the same. Now, its tail swished as its head whirred and rotated, like it was trying to help him and Cipher present.

Irie leaned forward interestedly. She hadn't come along just for the educational credit for her Ranger career. This conference in particular was about mapping the mind, brain and memory, all topics relevant to her ever-present quest of restoring her friends' memories of Timeline-A.

"Who would like to assist us in demonstrating this technology?" Weston gestured to a chair by the side of the large screen, wires connecting the two to a helmet that hung suspended directly above the chair.

Cipher met Irie's purple eyes through the crowd. "Ooh! Irie! Hello! Would you like to?"

"Wait!" Strike grabbed Irie's hand without thinking, scowling. Irie whipped around, eyes widening in surprise. "An untested machine?!"

"But—" She wanted to say that Cipher was her friend, but she knew Strike would only scoff and say it was hardly a valid reason to trust the device.

But what am I supposed to say? Irie had already started to stand up. Before she could say anything, though, Strike stood up and brushed past her.

"Oh? A friend wants to go instead?" Cipher and Weston both raised their eyebrows in surprise.

"I guess!" Irie tried to play along, dazed as Strike laid down in the reclined seat, allowing Weston to hook her up to the screen.

Cipher, meanwhile, turned to the tablet propped up in its stand on the armrest of their hoverchair. Already, images were loading...

The first reel that Cipher streamed to the big screen was fairly standard and expected, battle scenes and training montages, close-ups of weapons and armor. As Weston moved the scanner/cursor around Strike's brain, though, the images changed.

"Oh, my...!" Cipher was unable to stop the latest image before it popped up. They tugged the brim of their flat cap awkwardly and looked away as best they could while still trying to turn the tablet, and its streaming connection, off.

"Woah!" The rest of the auditorium gasped, laughed, clapped, covered their eyes, went dumbfounded, looked embarrassed, and more.

"What?!" Strike demanded, sitting up, struggling to angle her head so that she could see the screen better. When she realized what she was looking at, she gasped in horror, humiliation, and outrage. "Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!"

"I'm trying!" Weston struggled behind her chair while Cipher frantically pressed the screen of their tablet. At last, Strike ripped herself free from the chair and the helmet and the wires, storming out of the auditorium, ignoring anyone that tried to stop her. A small part of her was angry and hurt that she didn't hear Irie's voice among the pleading chorus, but she refused to look over her shoulder. What an embarrassing epiphany!

All the while, Irie was left staring at a large, blank screen that Specs finally managed to turn off. Her mouth and eyes were wide, and she was completely numb and deaf to Chloe right beside her, trying to shake her awake and talk to her.

Sh-she... wants me? Moments ago, she'd seen herself and Strike locked in a warm, passionate embrace, kissing. What once was a scan of the brain became a scan of the heart. Onstage, Cipher could be seen shaking their head as they hovered over to Weston.

"See?" they muttered. "This is why I don't get that stuff!" And Specs squawked softly in agreement, hovering after them.