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

Irie

Present Segment: Timeline (B)eta

Purple eyes shot open. She woke with a start, alarmed first by the soft bed beneath her rather than the jagged, ragged stone she expected. The next alarm was the other half of the bed where her other half usually lay. Where was her wife?! She launched from her bunk, peering out the nearest window. A red giant glowed in the distance. I-18919L. She knew the name only because it was the same star they'd been suspended by for almost a week. Warp-drive was the best and worst feature of the Notus starship (also affectionately known as the Turtle for its shape).

The ship was large and powerful enough to warp-jump, but it took so much energy and fuel that it could take days just to mine the resources necessary for one jump. That was what the red giant was for, though it was still slow-going. Then the warp-jump itself might only take minutes. Ah well. Such was the life of a Space Ranger for Solestar Enterprises. Except... Even though the scene was familiar, something felt... wrong.

Her bare feet padded softly against the cool, smooth floor as she made her way down the long, winding halls of Notus in only her pajamas. It was surreal, even though it was familiar, and should've felt mundane. Slowly, though, more and more memories trickled back to her, as if they were loading into her brain. Something clicked the moment she stepped into the cafeteria.

Matthias Matheson and Luna Kade! The leader and deputy of Notus sat side by side at the head of the cafeteria, at the longest table, discussing missions for the day, before the morning announcements. The rest of the highest-ranking Rangers ate beside them.

"Irie! Hey! Irie! We're over here!" Over the general din of a starship cafeteria, she heard a familiar voice call her name right as she was pondering how familiar her leaders' names were—though something seemed... off... again.

Irie...? It was like she was struck by a lightning bolt. Irie! Th-that's... that's ME...!

She looked over her shoulder and her brain instantly knew the names. "Chloe, Petros, Jax, Eileen, Gage!" They all look younger! But where is...?

"Attention all Notus Space Rangers!" Matthias' voice echoed across the cafeteria, powerful enough that he could speak and project without having to yell or raise his voice. "The missions for the day!" The cafeteria fell silent, everyone leaning forward in anticipation.

By the time Luna took over the announcements, Irie's mind had just begun to wander, when—"Strike, an ex-Boreas Space Ranger, has also been sighted among their lot!" He was referring to a roaming, roving band of brigands and rogues stalking the stars. The Thieves of Infinity. They were, in essence, space pirates. Hearing the name made Iris feel as if she'd been struck.

Ex-Boreas Ranger gone rogue?! You gotta be kidding me! There was a lot left Irie had to relearn, but hearing Strike's name brought back a chunk of her memory. Timeline Alpha, and Timeline Beta. Strike being an ex-Boreas Ranger was true in Timeline-A too, although she hadn't joined a band of marauders and mercenaries after fleeing Boreas because of a coup! Instead, she fled to Notus, changing her name to Storm. Perhaps Storm's interference in the antechamber were what led to her changed fate in Timeline-B.

Oh, Storm... It should've been me...! Irie lamented. She hated to think that they—once lovers, wives, partners, and equals in everything—would now have to meet as rivals on different sides of a battle. But what else could she do? Would anyone believe the story of the antechamber and everything that preceded it from Timeline-A? There was no confirmation, but Irie implicitly knew that no one except her remembered that timeline.

And honestly, with how hard it is for ME to remember anything, I don't think I was supposed to either...

The thought sent a chill down her spine, but before she could ponder it further, Matthias barked the orders to move out.

ooo

"Howdy, partner! You ready to fly?" Barking at Iris from the doorway of her bunkroom was Rowdy the Rackus, an alien species of wolf-headed snakes with chicken legs and insectoid-like wings. Even more exuberant than their looks, though, were their personalities. They were known across the universe as being some of the friendliest, and most agreeable, helpful species time had ever seen. It was both a strength and a weakness. The strength was obvious. The weakness, though, was that a Rackus could get along with anyone.

As the dark joke went, for every Rackus that would support a creature or opinion, there were two more that would support every other possible creature or opinion. Irie slowly remembered that she'd slain almost as many Rackuses as she had saved or fought beside. Just as many Rackuses had been pets and friends as had been enemies and would-be killers. Rowdy, of course and obviously, was the former.

Xe was a diplomat on xyr home planet (or rather, diplomat in training). Irie had come to visit, something of a dignitary in her own right, and Rowdy practically latched xemself onto her at the hip, and the rest was history. In xyr chicken-like claws, Rowdy wielded a long, metal, robot claw/grabber. Irie, meanwhile, grabbed her trademark gold falchion—which she named Fallon—and her handcannon—which she named Titan.

"Time to go Thief Huntin'!" Rowdy declared, rhythmically beating one of xyr claws with xyr weapon, growling grimly. Irie couldn't help but smile. Her stomach was still in knots at the thought of facing Storm—or Strike—in combat, but Rowdy was impossible to stay serious around, or to take seriously, even when xe was really trying.

"Let's go," she agreed, then they made their way from the Notus mothership to one of the smaller, sleeker battleships that would take them to intercept the path of the Thieves of Infinity, and of Strike. Matthias sent coordinates to the battleship, so no steering was required, and before long, the Rangers reached their destination. Time slowed down, and all was silent as Iris and her fellow Notus Rangers jumped, soaring through the vast vacuum of space from their battleship to the long, flat airship/airstrip waiting below.

The moment they were close enough, the gravity devices of the airship caught the Notus Rangers, pulling them the rest of the way down to the ship. The devices could also trap oxygen and other gases, allowing the ship to have an open top. The Thieves of Infinity were already waiting.

AN: To keep the timelines separate, and because I want to, characters will get new names.

For the sake of simplicity, though, location names will stay the same.

Ex: Iris and Storm are Irie and Strike, but Solestar and Notus are still Solestar and Notus.

Also, Rackuses are creatures I invented in a middle school bio class because I was bored and doodling, so it's nice to FINALLY give xem a real appearance in something (yes xe uses neo-pronouns).