Horizon IV
The hatch hissed as it sealed shut behind Commander Lea O’Hara. The silence of space wrapped around her, broken only by the rhythmic hum of her suit’s life support system. Before her floated the orbital research station Horizon IV, its burned-out hull a tragic testament to the golden age of space exploration.
“Lea, are you ready?” Control’s voice crackled in her ear.
She glanced at her chest, where the $TIME device blinked steadily against the fabric of her suit. “As I’ll ever be,” she said, taking a deep breath.
This wasn’t just another mission. She was leaping twenty years into the past to intercept a disaster that history had marked as inevitable. The destruction of Horizon IV had not only claimed three lives but also derailed experiments that had promised a carbon-neutral energy breakthrough. The ripple effects of that loss had reshaped Earth’s future, leaving scars that still hadn’t healed.
“Activating now,” she said.
The stars warped, bending and stretching until they disappeared into a bright void. When the motion stopped, the Horizon IV looked pristine, orbiting a younger Earth. Lea marveled for a moment at how different the planet looked—bluer, unspoiled. She hadn’t seen this version of her home in decades.
But there was no time to linger. The disaster was minutes away. She fired her suit’s thrusters, gliding toward the airlock. Inside, the hum of machinery and faint chatter over comms greeted her. It was surreal knowing that no one on board had any idea their lives were about to change—or that she was here to ensure they didn’t end.
The cascade failure would start in the oxygen processing unit. She navigated the cramped corridors, her heart pounding in her chest. The relay was exactly where the historical records said it would be, buried behind a tangle of pipes and panels. She had just pried the access cover free when a voice startled her.
“Who are you?”
Dr. Grant stood frozen in the junction, his shock mirrored in his wide eyes. In all the records she’d studied, Grant had been hailed as the lead researcher of the Horizon IV project.
“No time to explain,” she said, kneeling beside the relay. “I’m here to save your lives.”
He stepped closer, his gaze darting between her and the relay. “What are you doing to the system?”
“Stopping an explosion. You can thank me later.”
The relay was charred, sparking dangerously near a gas line. She swapped it out for the spare she’d brought. The faint sound of escaping gas faded. Her HUD flashed green. The station’s systems stabilized.
Grant’s voice wavered as he asked, “Who sent you?”
Lea met his gaze. “Let’s just say it’s someone who couldn’t afford to lose you—or your work.”
The $TIME device vibrated, signaling her time was up. With a final look, she said, “This conversation never happened,” and pressed the button.
She was yanked back to her present. The Horizon IV was a ghost station now, long since decommissioned, but its legacy had shaped the future she lived in. A better future—one that millions never realized they owed to her jump through time.
And that was exactly how it should be.
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