The Reunion *HF*
By Harbinger
Their images looked at him, across the eons, beyond the veil of death. Inferno was hurtling toward its goal. June Freeson, Thomas Maxwell, Nicole Sandubal, and Arianna Wilson's holograms all had their eyes locked on him. His fingers danced across the keyboard, and he conjured images of his brother and his parents. Then, he brought up the hologram of Admiral Marianne Degenstein. They were all people who had died, that had been close to him. And it was on this New Year's Eve that he would honor their memories. He had ordered DANTE to have the ship's hyperdrive up and running again, and was not disappointed. Most of Inferno was still badly damaged from the Rift, but he supposed it didn't matter. He had performed this ritual every New Year's Eve since he arrived in the twentieth century, and would not skip it this year. 1999 was about to begin, and he had to reach his goal before it did. It would be an hour or so until he got there, and six hours until the new year. The vibrant colors of hyperspace swirled around his viewscreen, and he forced a smile. This night always made him feel depressed, but he thought it was necessary. He could not forget the people he had lost along the way. But this would be the first year that Jennifer Reston hadn't accompanied him. Somehow, he didn't think she would want to be there this year... He cast his eyes downward, his mood slowly going downhill. He stood up, and walked slowly through the battle-scarred corridors of his ship. He passed the remains of NAV-701, his favorite android. Having developed a friendship with the robot, he felt a certain sadness in passing the few bits and pieces that remained. He turned away and continued on his trek. He came to the ladder on deck 12 that led up tower 3. He climbed the ladder to the top, where tower 3 opened into space. He climbed out onto the hull, the protective forcefield of Inferno maintaining the atmosphere for him. The strong winds of hyperspace beat against his clothing, and he clung to the tower. A tendril of blue shot out from the void and spiralled toward him. He reached out his hand to it, and his hand glowed blue as the spiral slowly melted into his palm, dissipating into nothingness. While he knew that the tendril was just an optical illusion caused by the dimensions of hyperspace, he still felt a bit of warmth as he touched it. He walked carefully along the hull of the ship, until he came to his next stop. He opened the hatch, and dropped inside. There, in a mass of wires and tubes, was the temporal core. He saw the tiny point of light that still glowed in the core, the singularity that powered it. While the containment held, the core itself was a total loss... he doubted he would ever be able to replace it. He supposed it was only fitting, that he would be forever trapped in this era. He knew he could always use the Focus, but it somehow wasn't the same. He sighed, and left the temporal core room. Just outside the corridor was the most heavily damaged portion of Inferno. The hull had buckled in several places, and there were many holes looking directly into space.
It had been some time since he had done something like this, but he decided tonight was as good a night as any. He was near the front of the ship, where these ruptured hull sections were, and tapped out commands on the keypad, deactivating the forcefields--but only for an instant. Once he executed the sequence, air gushed out of the corridor into hyperspace. He aimed for the largest rupture, and was blown into the void. As he had expected, his own cybernetics had kicked in to protect him from the vacuum. He hurtled forward, past the front of Inferno, until he left it, too, behind. He was traveling hundreds of times the speed of light, through the endless tubelike stream that was hyperspace. By reaching out his hand, a new stream formed, and he was pulled through it. Inferno flashed past him, on towards its destination. He would catch up to it later. A large wall of red and green approached him rapidly, and he curled up into a ball as he crashed through it. The wall shattered, showering him in beads of red and green light. His skin tingled as energy equivalent to a billion nuclear explosions twisted and spiralled around him. He swung his body upwards, into yet another current. He knew the most turbulent part of the voyage was about to occur. The dimensional rift in Koraxian space. Taking a hyperspatial current through it was dangerous, at best. But he had to use its energies to propel him to his last stop before rendesvous with Inferno. The huge sphere of pure dismal black arrived promptly, signaling his entrance into the dimensional "hole". He closed his eyes as he entered, and felt the gravitational tension pull on his body. The sensation of being torn apart wasn't real... he had to keep reminding himself of that. It was just the effects that intense gravity combined with an FTL field had on a human brain, that was all. The white center of the rift was presently coming near, and he spread his arms and legs for impact. As it got closer and closer, he was moving more and more slowly. The time dilation effects of the gravity, he was certain. Then, he came to the horizon of the white sphere. He was stopped dead, with the colors of hyperspace dancing all around him. An orange field surrounded his body, and he reached out to the sphere. The moment his finger brushed the horizon, he was catapulted at unbelievable speed across the galaxy. He nearly howled as he felt the incredible velocity. Billions of suns flashed before his eyes, nebulae and superclusters screaming through his field of vision. Then, the brilliantly spiralling colors rejoined him, and a greyish field blanketed his body. Directly ahead, he saw the end of his voyage approach. The blue pinpoint was the first indication. Then, his speed suddenly increased, space warped around him, he slowed down, stopped, shot forward again, then the hyperspatial field dissipated. The swirling blue cloud before him was his goal. The Suttle Expanse, it was called. Located in NGC4472, it was one of the few places that ever truly gave him peace. The center of the blue cloud cycled in color, like a color wheel. It beckoned to him, silently demanding that he enter its maw, into its cosmic embrace.
He complied, slowly drifting into the center. The moment his body contacted the rim, he was yanked inside, but not as forcefully as would be expected. It was calm and gentle... not the violent mass it appeared at first sight. He knew his full experience was about to begin. Very few knew the intricacies of the Expanse, but he was one that did know. He fell through darkness, and then landed on cold, hard ground. A circle of mirrors surrounded him, slowly rotating in orbit around him. Each bore the face of one of those he had lost. He smiled, and danced counter to the mirrors. They each looked back at him, and they slowly got closer. The darkness began to fade, and he was being surrounded by a white mist. The mirrors joined together, enclosing him. He reached his arms upward, and the mirrors flashed into nothingness. He felt the energy of the entire universe coursing through his veins, its lifesblood pumping through his heart, and seeping into his soul. Here, there were no demands, no immediate tasks he had to accomplish. He could lose himself in eternity here... without missing a second. He remembered the times he brought Jennifer here... how she loved it. He would carry her through the hyperspatial currents, and then they would be separated once they entered the Expanse. But she always told him how much she enjoyed it, how wonderful it made her feel to experience the entire universe in an instant. It was a joy he had shared with very few... and this year he would do it alone.
He raised a finger, and a yellow beam sprang from it. A galaxy coalesced from the beam, and spun rapidly before him. Then he traced his finger along the edge of the galaxy, stars clinging to his finger. They slowly slid away from view, and he created another. He cradled it in his hands, holding trillions of lives, billions of stars. He gently blew on it, and the sparkles danced away into eternity. Then a new scene appeared. Several trees were behind him, each bearing a different fruit. A waterfall and river were before him, the gentle mist rising into the air. In the distance was a mountain range, with a bright yellow sun slowly settling into it. To his right was a beautiful, pure white deer. Its dark eyes looked at him as it grazed on the lush green grass. He knelt before it, and sensed that it did not fear him. He carefully reached his hand, and petted the delicate fur on the top of its head. Its ears fluttered slightly, but it continued grazing. He smiled, and stood up again. He looked at the water, and took off his clothes, diving into the brisk river. The water was not as cold as he had suspected, but it was refreshingly cool. He swam through it for several minutes before deciding to move on to something else. He put his clothing back on, and walked to the cluster of trees. He took a pear from one of them, and bit into it. The juices ran down his chin, and he savored the sweet flavor of the fruit. He had never tasted something so rich and invigorating. As he finished the delicious fruit, the core vanished into the air. Then, the deer followed, as did the trees. The mountains and sunset dissolved into darkness, and then the waterfall and river.
Then came the last part... the part he cherished most. June Freeson appeared before him, dressed in a white gown, the way his memory always painted her. She approached him, and whispered, "I love you, Robert." She lightly kissed his lips, and wrapped her arms around him. He did the same, and held her in his arms. This was the part he always looked forward to, the part that brought him back here every time. He loved her with all of his heart, and could never let go. He never gave up hope that he could someday have her back... he couldn't. She was the reason he did what he did. The one reason that drove him to change the past. He rubbed her back as a tear left his eye. It was almost over.
She turned to dust in his grip, and a halo of blue came to surround him. It intensified in brightness until he was forced to close his eyes, and he felt a shift. He opened his eyes, and was back in space. Inferno loomed intimidatingly above him, and he slowly floated back up to it. One of the airlocks opened for him, and he entered his ship. The new year had arrived whilst he was inside the Expanse.
...
She wondered if he had felt it the way she had. She wasn't certain how long he had held her, but she knew that it was him. No one else would have done that for her. And while she transported herself back to the Outpost, the Timebender thought one more time about Robert Maxwell, and knew his wish would soon be granted.
THE END