Infinite Horizons

Tek shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight as she stepped out of the old IPF jumper. She clanged the door shut behind her and winced at the metallic groan. Jarna must have given her the skezzing worst jumper available. Tek blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the light. Peering up into the sky, she squinted at the large sun that was almost directly above her. She could also just barely make out a smaller sun, further away, to the east. The people of Earth-49 called the big sun Helior and the smaller one Lira. Her notes had told her that much, at least, but they hadn’t mentioned the fact that Helior was significantly closer to the earth than the sun she was used to at home.

With a sigh, Tek pushed a button on her communicator to lock the jumper, and set off across the large concrete pad she’d landed on. Earth-49 was one of the Earth’s in the Upper Hundred that had a jumpport, which was nice, though she’d seen much better. In the center of the port was an enormous silver bubble-like structure. As she approached, she could tell that the silver was some sort of material that seemed to reflect the sunlight. Or perhaps it was a giant solar panel, judging by the electrical wires running all around it.

For a moment, she found herself thinking about Grit, as she always did after they crossed paths. He seemed better than he had been the last time they’d met, though their conversation had been just as one sided as usual. Maybe he’d found a purpose, instead of just meaninglessly jumping across universes. Part of her wished she was that purpose, but the other parts of her forced that thought down deep as she reached the port entrance. This wasn’t time for emotions, but for action. Besides, hadn’t she just sent Grit back to Earth One and likely some jail time? That was one way to slam a door on a relationship. Then again, with the little that she knew about his current partner, maybe he’d thank her in the end.

The big double doors at the entrance slid open with a whoosh of air as Tek stepped in front of them, and she gratefully entered the climate controlled building. There was a large number of people inside, scurrying between counters and escalators. In fact, it felt just like a busy airport back home.

“Change, ma’am? Anything you can spare?” a man said in a raspy voice to her left as he gripped her wrist. With a start, Tek yanked her hand out of the grasp of a man lying against the inner wall and holding a cup out in her direction.

“I’m sorry,” she replied, “I don’t have the right currency.” She moved quickly towards the row of gate attendants in front of her, only glancing back at the beggar when she’d put some distance between herself and him. Unnervingly, the man was staring right back at her, though he quickly averted his gaze when their eyes met. Tek shivered as she approached the counter.

“What can I do for you, ma’am?” the counter attendant asked, pulling Tek back into the moment.

“Yes, um, I’m trying to get to Lockwood,” she said, and the attendant nodded as he began typing. Almost immediately, something printed out of a box to his left and he ripped it off to hand to Tek.

“You’ll be at Gate Five, boarding in three minutes. You’ll have to hurry,” the man said, pointing towards one of the many escalators leading down below the main floor. Tek thanked him and quickly hurried in the appropriate direction. As she reached the escalator and glanced back, she saw the beggar from the entrance standing at the counter she’d just left, with a phone to his ear. Both him and the gate attendant turned to look in her direction, just as the escalator dropped her far enough to obstruct her view. Tek shivered again. At least she knew that she was correct on some level. Something weird was definitely going on here on Earth-49.

The subway train zipped her underground until it reached Substation Brussels, which was essentially a miniature version of the station she had just left. Tek took a deep breath as the train doors opened. She hadn’t seen the homeless man try to board the train, but she was still concerned about a potential threat. It didn’t help that she was the only one getting off at this station. Stepping out onto the concrete pad lining the track, she thought she knew why. The station was filthy. There were a couple of other people waiting for trains, but otherwise the station seemed empty. Tek carefully stepped her way around the trash and moved quickly through the dingy hallway into the main station lobby. She kept a nervous eye on the hallway, but nobody else came through before the train arrived. She boarded with the others and found an empty car to sit in. Twenty minutes later she reached Lockwood. The ride had been nice and calm, almost putting her to sleep. Tek yawned as she stepped out onto the Lockwood platform, or she might’ve noticed that the platform was completely empty. Instead, she shook her head to try and wake up, and headed down the hallway.

Tek finally realized something was off as she stepped into the hallway towards the main port and it was completely dark. She paused for just a moment, then reached for her weapon in her side holster. She was a second too slow, as a large figure materialized out of the darkness and swung a giant fist towards her head. Tek ducked under the blow just enough to take it on the shoulder blade. The force of the punch still knocked her to the ground, and her gun skittered into the dark hallway. The giant grunted and turned back towards her as she scrambled to her feet.

“Who are you?” Tek yelled. “I work for the IPF! Stand down now and -” she cut off as the man cocked his hand back for another strike. Feinting to the right, Tek dodged left and dropped into a roll. The punch missed, and the force of it knocked the man off balance. He grunted angrily again and lumbered towards her.

“I am an IPF detective!” Tek tried again, finally having whipped out her badge before realizing it wouldn’t be visible in the dark. She turned and glanced down the hallway. There was a circle of light at the end where it opened up into the main lobby. Tek looked back at the approaching giant and then sprinted towards the lobby. She could hear thunderous footsteps behind her, and just as she was about to scream for help, two shadows appeared in the hallway entrance. Stifling a surprised scream, Tek pressed her body to the wall and cautiously began to edge her way back the way she’d come. She could hear the giant coming closer, and she hoped the darkness was enough to obscure the fact that she’d stopped running.

Suddenly an arm wrapped around her chest from behind, while a hand simultaneously covered her mouth. Tek reacted instinctively, throwing her head back at her attacker. Instead of hitting flesh, the wall seemed to disappear and Tek was yanked backward. She landed hard on a body, and there was a muffled curse before she was shoved off to the side and landed on cold cement. There was a soft click, and then rope lights flickered on. Tek could see that she was in a tunnel of some sort. A tall woman was getting gingerly to her feet. She was wearing shorts, and the rope light illuminated her skin, causing Tek to gasp. It was purple.

“Y-you…you’re Raeyen!” Tek exclaimed and the woman shushed her.

“Yes, and you’re about to be dead if we don’t move,” the woman replied in an angry whisper. “They know you were in the hallway; they’ll find this tunnel soon. Follow me.” The woman turned and ran down the tunnel. Tek blinked, then quickly recovered herself and raced after the Raeyen, head spinning with the discovery of another member of her race.

By the time Tek sank into her unexpected savior’s couch, she felt her train ride had happened days ago. After racing down the tunnel, they had journeyed quite a ways down the train track, pressing themselves against the tunnel walls when trains passed. Eventually they’d reached a sort of nook in one of the sharper turns, and they had settled there to wait. Sure enough, flashlights and loud voices had eventually come up the track towards them, though the hidden cleft they hunkered down in was not discovered. Eventually, the other Raeyen had led her out of the train tunnel and through the back alleys of the city to a small home. Tek was exhausted and confused, so she sat quietly for a moment with her eyes closed as her host bustled around the tiny kitchen.

“I’m Tek,” she said finally, opening her eyes. The other woman paused briefly to look at her.

“I know,” she said. “We knew you would be coming here eventually after Staner was found dead.” She sounded happy about that.

“Obviously those other bastards didn’t know who you were,” she continued, happiness replaced by anger. She glanced at Tek. “Or maybe they just didn’t care.” Tek frowned.

“I’m sorry, who is ‘they’?” she asked. “And for that matter, who are you?” The Raeyen stared at her briefly from the kitchen, then turned back to her cooking.

“I’m Ren,” she said over her shoulder. “Ren Z’Nora. And ‘they’ are the Harvesters. They’re traffickers.” She was quiet for a moment, then swung around to face Tek.

“Wait. The IPF doesn’t know about the Harvesters?” she asked, glaring. Tek shook her head, and Ren made a growly noise in the back of her throat. The lines in her skin glowed a deep purple for a moment. Then she shook her head and turned back to angrily tossing something in a pan. Tek stood up from the couch, forcing herself not to groan like an old woman, and cautiously approached Ren.

“Why does that make you angry? There is much in the multiverse that the IPF is not aware of,” she said as gently as she could. Ren flinched at her closeness.

“The IPF doesn’t have to know everything,” she replied bitterly. “But you would think they might be interested in the destruction of an entire race!” Ren set the pan down on the small kitchen table with a crash.

“Especially one as important as the Raeyen!” she exclaimed as she wiped up the spill from the pan. Then she took a deep breath and gestured at the thick stew-like concoction she’d made.

“Eat,” she said. “You need it.” Tek hesitated, but she was starving, so she sat down and ate gratefully.

“So then, why did you rescue me?” she asked around a mouthful of surprisingly good stew. Ren frowned at her. Tek was beginning to think that was her face’s natural shape.

“You’re a Raeyen,” Ren said with a shrug. “Believe me, I was tempted to let you be taken. I thought it would force the IPF to come looking.” Tek raised an eyebrow at this, but Ren didn’t seem to notice or care.

“But you saved me anyway,” Tek prompted, and Ren nodded.

“You’re a Raeyen,” she said again. “And I was overruled.” Tek covered her surprise by taking another bite of stew. So, there was some sort of resistance group in Lockwood. She wondered how many other Raeyens were a part of it. Her spoon hit the bottom of the pan and she realized she’d eaten the entire stew. Ren took the dishes from her, still wearing a frown.

“Thank you for helping me,” Tek said as the other woman cleared the table. For a brief moment she thought Ren might not respond, but then she nodded and her glare seemed to reduce by a fraction. Tek watched as she rinsed the dishes in the sink. Ren was taller than she was, but still had the lithe body type that was typical of a Raeyen. The intricate lines in the woman’s skin were much more active than Tek’s. Right now they seemed to pulse with a deep purple. It seemed that anger rarely left Ren.

“Are there more Raeyen here in Lockwood?” Tek asked, her mind returning to her original purpose now that she’d been fed. Ren froze at the sink, then turned her customary glare on Tek. After a moment, though, she sighed.

“You really don’t know anything about what’s going on here, do you?” she asked, and then sighed again when Tek shook her head. Ren leaned back against the counter, her glintscars fading to a more constant violet.

“The Harvesters want our lumina,” she said. Her normal glare was gone, replaced by sadness. Tek’s mouth dropped open.

“But the lumina is what fills the glintscars,” she protested. “It’s with the blood in our veins, it’s part of us!” Tek was surprised at the fervor of her voice. For good reason, though, she thought. The lumina was essentially what made one a Raeyen. Ren was nodding sadly at her.

“Which is why it’s illegal to harvest lumina from a living Raeyen,” she said. Tek started to nod. Of course it was illegal to harvest something from a living being.

“But, why do they want it?” she asked. As far as she knew, the lumina didn’t do anything special, other than provide an outward expression of emotion. Which was often more unhelpful than anything else.

“It cures phase drift,” Ren answered. Tek frowned. The term was familiar, but she couldn’t place it. The sadness in Ren’s face deepened.

“Temporal Distortion Disorder,” she said. “Lumina harvested from Raeyen is made into an injectable shot that you take prior to jumping.” Tek was stunned. Temporal Distortion Disorder had only recently begun to show up on Earth One, likely because most Earth One jumpers had specialized protection. The disorder initially affected the victim’s mind and sense of time, but it quickly progressed as an aggressive form of brain cancer. As far as Tek knew, there was no cure.

“Raeyen are…immune?” she said slowly, and Ren nodded.

“Scientists are excited to learn what other uses lumina might have,” she said, sarcastically, as if she were quoting something. “Of course, they haven’t yet found a way to use lumina that isn’t taken from a living Raeyen.” The glare was back in Ren’s eyes, but this time Tek shared the feeling.

“This has to be stopped!” Tek exclaimed, again surprised at her depth of feeling. Ren looked at her in surprise, but then nodded approvingly.

“Well, that’s why we agreed to save you then,” she said. It looked like she was about to say more, but there was the sound of a car door closing from outside. Ren tensed immediately.

“I’m supposed to bring you to a meeting tomorrow,” she said, looking worried towards the front door. “No one is supposed to be here tonight.” Tek joined Ren in the kitchen.

“Maybe it’s for the neighbors?” she suggested, but then the sudden pounding on the door eliminated that possibility.