“We don’t have much time!” Ethan shouted.

 

Smoke stung Leena’s eyes and throat. Blaring alarms filled the compound. Her hands muddled frantically over the control panel. Where is that button?

 

"We need to go!" Ethan tugged at her arm.

 

"One more second," she bellowed.

 

There! Leena lunged at the button with the wiggly cross that opened the confinement doors. The crew’s freedom. A second siren blasted over the top of the first as Ethan dragged her from the room.

 

Two steps into the hallway, and the roof collapsed. Chunks of rock licked with flames descended all around them. Mission failed. Crushed and blinded, Leena pressed the abort switch in her palm.

 

* * *

 

Leena bolted upright sucking air into her lungs. The smell of smoke and burnt flesh still singed her nose. The blue light of the holo-screen was a balm to her frayed nerves.

 

"Another failure." Chief Science Officer Dante sat on his chair next to the medical cot, his usual stern expression focused on her.

 

"Yes." Leena squeezed her eyes shut. "Resistance on entry caused a fire. By the time we released them, the building was collapsing." She swallowed back bile as she thought of Ethan trapped under the rubble.

 

Dante stared at her. "Your time signature is becoming increasingly unstable. You may not get another shot before it degrades entirely. Get our people back."

 

She sighed and lay back down. As her eyes closed, she heard the familiar thrum of the machine.

 

Initiating attempt thirteen.

 

* * *

 

Stumbling through undergrowth, Leena tripped and caught herself with her hands. She groaned and pushed herself onto her knees.

 

"I know that look," Ethan said quietly, kneeling beside her and offering his hand.

 

"It doesn’t work. Resistance on entry caused a fire. By the time we released them, the building was collapsing. We need a new approach."

 

A yell from their allies seized their attention. An explosion to their right flung dirt and branches at them.

 

"Come on!" Ethan shouted into her ringing ears, dragging her to the left.

 

They crashed through thick mauve trees. Strange azure plants clutched at their limbs. The jungle stifled the panicked screams of their allies.

 

They stopped in the silent depths of the alien jungle, panting and grasping their sides. Sweat soaked their clothes.

 

"This hasn’t happened before,” Leena huffed. Her mind raced to understand. How did they know we were here? Can they detect the time fluctuations?

 

“I wish we’d never come here,” Ethan muttered.

 

“Can’t explore new worlds from the ship.” Leena leaned into him.

 

“What kind of paranoid species imprisons people just for making contact?” he grumbled. His arms captured her, and she pressed her palm to his chest, allowing her eyes to close for a few precious seconds. She’d been as shocked as everyone when the message came in, demanding they leave at once, that their diplomatic team would not be returned.

 

“We can’t abandon them here. They’re family.” Saying it out loud helped to steel her resolve. A resolve born while holding little Bekesy as she cried herself to sleep when she was told her dad was taken. The reason she’d volunteered for the time jumps.

 

* * *

 

The pair crouched in the undergrowth along the tree line. The wall of the circular structure loomed from the ground like a moss-covered mountain. An impenetrable fortress for the first three attempts.

 

“I see three,” Leena whispered, motioning with her finger. “Usually there’s only one.”

 

The native species was tall and bulky. Their maroon-scaled armour plating was a biological feature with rows of curved spikes sticking out to create unique circular patterns along their surface.

 

“I’ll draw them off. You get us in.”

 

Ethan was gone before she could object.

 

“Typical,” she muttered. She ignored the pang of worry that crept through her chest and instead took her laser dagger from her belt.

 

A strange sound rang from the other side of the clearing.

 

Intrigued and suspicious, two of the patrolling aliens walked towards the sound. Their auditory tentacles undulated through the air on high alert.

Silent footfalls across the cobalt dirt had her behind the third guard in an instant. Jamming the butt of her blade against its neck sent a percussive force that knocked the alien out.

 

She lifted her hand to push the panel with the squiggly cross when she heard a thud behind her.

 

She ducked. Spun. Blaster unclipped and primed.

 

The second guard collapsed at her feet.

 

Ethan grinned, stepping around the inert bodies. “Admit it. You missed me.”

 

Leena smirked and holstered her blaster. “Took your sweet time.”

 

* * *

 

“We’re nearly out of time!”

 

Alarms blared and Leena gritted her teeth. They were so close. She pushed open the door to the control room and raced to the panels. Her hand slammed down on the button with the wiggly cross.

 

“They’re free! Let’s go!”

 

They raced through the monotonous circular halls like rats in a maze. Weapons primed, they followed the route Leena had memorised, the sound of pursuit pounding after them.

 

As they reached the outer rings of the fortress, Leena could see their crewmates moving ahead, their movements stilted and uncertain.

 

“Keep going!” she screamed.

 

Bolstered by her words, Ethan pushed ahead to join them. He shouted encouragement, and she saw the hope glimmering across their faces. Her muscles were on fire. The time-jumps had taken their toll on her fragile body. The team ahead shoved through the doors to the outside, the scout ship waiting to rescue them.

 

They’re not going to make it, Leena realised. Listening to the boots thumping right behind her. The device in her palm itched. This could be their only chance.

 

A flash of regret hit her like lightning. Will Ethan ever forgive me? The race of memories across her mind made her heart ache and bolstered her courage. He will live. They’ll all live. She thought of Bekesy. It’s worth it.

 

She turned in the doorway, activated the scorcher grenade on her belt, and smirked at her enemy.

 

“Time’s up.”