I checked the tethers anchoring me to the metal hull, and then checked them again. I never experienced a drop before, but I knew what to expect.  

I dangled from the side of a flying fortress in a closed hanger. We called them pillow forts, massive steel behemoths that provided support when Oxenfree ventured out into the unknown.  

I watched the others, seekers like myself. Many engaged in conversation as they swayed in the air. Their visors were up, showing their smiles as they laughed at each other's casual jokes. It was like they didn't know what was about to happen, the fight they were expected to win.

I tried to ignore the chatter while I checked the tethers again. As a member of Oxenfree, I knew to be prepared for anything. I inspected my rifle, then heard a familiar voice call my name. 

"Killjoy," Poe said, walking at an angle across the hull. 

I heard her tethers rattle and scrape from above as she neared. I found it hard to muster a reply. I looked up at her and nodded, my thoughts focused on controlling my breathing.

Poe looked me over, unsure of what to think. "First time with the away team, huh?" When I nodded again, she let out a fit of laughter. "Picked one helluva day to transfer. Where's your battle buddy?"

The words stumbled out, but I finally managed to speak, "Don't have one."

Poe straightened herself up, her back hitting the hull of the fort with a thud. "The hell you don't," she said. She reached into one of several pockets. She pulled out a black permanent marker, removed the cap, and started drawing on the side of my helmet. 

I pulled away for her and glared. "what are you doing?" 

"What? This ain't the military," she replied with wide eyes. "Now hold still, or you'll mess it up." She turned my head away. "How's Jamie? She good?"

"Yeah, a little moody, but still Jamie." I said. I could hear the marker squealing as Poe continued her work. 

"How far along is she?" Poe asked. 

"23 weeks," I replied. I knew what Poe was doing, and I couldn't thank her enough. The questions were calming. I felt relief, even if only for a moment. Thinking of Jamie always made me feel better. 

"Good, congrats again. Kids change you." 

"That's what I keep hearing," I replied.

Poe capped the marker and placed it back in her pocket. "Okay, I'm done. Take a look" 

I took off the helmet to see the finished product and found a smiling face staring back at me. I laughed and shook my head before putting the helmet back on. "A smiley face? Really?" 

"A dead smiley face, did you miss the  X's for eyes?" Poe replied. "If you're rolling with the away team, you're gonna look the part. With a call sign like Killjoy, I thought it'd be appropriate."

I looked at her gear and admired the various additions she made. Her helmet had a raven drawn on the side. Her looked faded, the logo sanded away and replaced with the word "Nerf" in permanent marker. 

Each of the seekers made additions to their look. We all shared the same gear, with the same military aesthetic, but each made the look their own. 

I felt vibrations in the hull as the fort's engines sprang to life. I looked down, the ground slowly moving further away as the fort lifted into the air. 

Poe laughed and gave me a playful punch on the shoulder. "That's our song. Time to go. FYI, you might wanna lift your visor."

I turned to her and cocked my head. Was there a problem with my gear? I looked around. The other seekers still had their visors up. 

"It makes you dizzy when you pass through, especially if you're not used to it." She explained. She looked to the ground below, and back to me. "Where we're going, the air is breathable. I'd hate to see you lose your lunch in the middle of a warzone, but I ain't your mom. You do you." 

I hesitated. In training they were quite adamant about leaving the visor down. A deafening roar echoed off the walls and ceiling of the hanger. I straightened myself against the hull, my eyes fixed to the ground below. I saw faint hues of multicolored light originating from under the fort. My heart started racing. 

A border of light emerged, clearing the exterior of the fortress In a perfect square. My body tensed up, every muscle locking up in anticipation. 

A woman's voice came from the intercom, "Splash pad cleared. Gate open and stable. Prepare for multiversal drop. 10-9-8-7-6…" The other seekers cheered and hollered, many counting along with her, "...5-4-3-2-1…" I reached up and lifted my visor, my eyes fixed on the portal below us.

I heard the engines shut off. Time slowed to a crawl. The pillow fort dropped, air rushing past me as I fell. The border of light rose to meet me. When it flew beyond my field of vision, the hanger walls disappeared. I saw an open, evening sky. I saw trees, and faint lights scattered about the woodland below.

The engines kicked on, slowing our descent. I heard Poe scream a battle cry as the tethers released their tension. I heard gunfire as I fell several hundred meters to the ground. Poe cackled with glee at my side. 

The tethers slowed the fall as my feet made contact with soft earth. I hit the ground running, slowed to a stop, then took a knee on instinct. I raised my rifle and searched for a target. 

I exhaled a lung full of air, only then realizing how much my body swayed. Dizzy wasn't the word I'd use to describe the feeling. I felt like I was going to pass out. I felt nauseous, disoriented. 

I saw muzzle flashes all around me. I stood up and tried to run, only to drift to the side and fall back to one knee. My head cleared, a slow process only made worse by panicking. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned my head grasping for the knife at my side.

Poe stared back at me, her face hardened. I took a deep breath, the nausea fading away. I nodded, and Poe smiled.

She gave me a pat on the back, screaming to be heard over the sounds of war, "Good boy. Eyes up." She reached for my face and forced my visor down. Chatter from the radio chimed in and out as I raised my rifle once more.  

I took note of my surroundings. I stood in a field of tall grass. the pillow fort hovered directly above. The sun was setting, the last rays of twilight drifting beyond a treeline in the distance. 

Poe followed me as I moved forward. We weaved through the grass, and soon came upon three targets. It was hard to see in the fading light, so we lowered the tactical optics over my eyes. Even through the visor, the goggles gave a pristine view of our surroundings.

We inched closer to our targets, choosing a stealthy approach to avoid drawing attention. I rotated the lenses from night vision to thermal. Their bodies lit up in orange and red.

I turned on the device on my arm, a hard light emitter. Poe circled around our targets and did the same. This was our bread and butter, our special ingredient. The same technology used to create portals to the multiverse rested in the palm of a seeker's hand. 

I felt mechanisms prime under steel plating, when the time came to act, I pressed a button on my palm. A series of jointed, mechanical arms bent and shifted. Around my wrist and fingers. High intensity LEDs sparked as the arms positioned colored lenses of glass to catch the light. 

The light passed through, and condensed into several multicolored beams. When crossed a specific way, it formed a geometric shape. I rotated my wrist, cycling through preset configurations. The beams adjusted, and time slowed.

I watched each target move in slow motion while I stood unhindered. I pulled my knife from its sheath, and darted forward. My first target didn't even see me coming. I stabbed wherever I thought the most damage could be done.  

They weren't human. While bipedal, their eyes were slanted and thin, their skin a bright, oily pink. Their jaws opened along a vertical seam, revealing rows of jagged teeth.

The second creature tried to react, caught in the process of reaching for a gun. Poe attacked the third target as I walked forward and drove my knife into the creature's chest. 

I imagine they died before even realizing it. The distortion in time returned to normal. We were already moving forward by the time the bodies hit the ground. 

As we reached the treeline, the sound of gunfire grew louder. These creatures, whatever they were, intended to fight regardless of our advantage.  

Poe and I rushed to flank a large group firing into the woods. We separated to cover more ground. I came across a group of four, selected a new configuration while the first set of LEDs recharged.  

The light flashed, and I felt myself pulled forward through a rectangular portal, not unlike the one from before. One moment I was a safe distance from the enemy, and the next I stood just a few feet away.

 I raised my rifle, aimed and pulled the trigger. The bullets tore through them. Their fearful roars died out as they collapsed. 

I activated another configuration, casting the light over my rifle. Time distorted again, rewinding time around the gun alone. I felt the gun twitch and click, gaining weight as each round phased back into the mag. 

When the gunfire died out, I returned to the pillow fort. I arrived in time to watch it drift to the ground. A ramp lowered and several seekers walked out carrying crates of equipment.

A man stood at the edge of the ramp watching me and the other seekers as we ran to meet him. The man's name was Harry Graham. At thirty-five, his salt and pepper hair made him look far older. The wrinkles on his bearded face didn't help, either. In between smiles and boisterous laughter, his eyes fell. His face scowled when at rest, a sadness buried deep behind his steely blue eyes. 

Harry was the founder and head of our organization. He looked up from the file in his hand, smiling at anyone who passed by. I saw the reverence on their faces. 

When he spoke, he did so by looking over the rim of his glasses. "Seekers. I have some very good news." Harry said. The man couldn't sit still. Something had him antsy. "Earlier today I confirmed that my son is somewhere nearby. Were finally going to bring him home."

I expected the seekers to cheer. I waited for them to hoot and holler, but the only sounds I could hear were hushed whispers. We were all in shock. Michael Graham disappeared two years prior. Oxenfree was founded for the sole purpose of finding him. It's like discovering you're about to fulfill your purpose in life.

Harry couldn't stop smiling. "Now, we need to get this right. I'm personally selecting the team for extraction. The rest of you will focus on support and reconnaissance." He stopped and opened the file in his hand. He flipped through the pages and read off a list of names, "Poe and Riot, you're going so don't wander off."

A few seekers clapped, another cheered. Poe smiled and nodded, "Wouldn't dream of it coach."

Harry returned the smile and looked back to the lost. "Toby "Killjoy" King," He said, looking at me. He chuckled and closed the file, pushing his glasses up. "I'm afraid to ask."

"The name? Carried over from my time in service." I replied. "In training, they haze you a little, just harmless pranks. I got really good at avoiding them. Simple as that."

 "Ah," Harry began, nodding as he approached, "Do you have kids?" 

I shook my head. "Not yet. Expecting though."

Harry's face softened. "Congratulations. I know everyone says it, but it changes you. You're in for a wild ride."

I nodded, grinning from ear to ear as I replied, "Yeah that's what they say. Wife's due in March. I always wanted kids."

"I did too. I may need you on this one. You up for it?"

I cocked my head. "I wouldn't be here otherwise."

"We don't have many former marines, especially from the Raiders. I could use you." I nodded, and he addressed the group once more, "If I called your name, follow me. Otherwise, contact Marco for assignment."

Harry turned on his heels. He led us through the complex and stopped at a briefing room. "Go on in. I'll be back shortly."

The room had a massive screen, a podium, and nearly twenty cushioned seats. I sat down, and took off my helmet. Poe sat to my left. Riot held a hand out to shake before sitting on my right. 

"Killjoy. I like it. Are you new?" He asked. 

I shook my head, "I transferred from the home team."

"Why in the hell would you do that?"

"Benefits were better." I replied. 

Riot laughed, "They aren't that good. You have a kid coming, man."  

Seekers had much lower life expectancies on the away team. I knew my excuse was flimsy, at best. To be honest, I wasn't sure why I transferred. It offered a once in a lifetime opportunity. Maybe I wanted to take it before settling in as a parent. 

The door opened and Harry walked in with a woman behind him. The moment I saw her, I felt anxious. Something about her seemed off, like she didn't belong. She was blonde, save for a few gray hairs. Wrinkles lined her face, and she had the same steely blue eyes as Harry did.

The similarities didn't stop there. Everything about her resembled him, from the way she walked and talked to her laugh. She stood behind the podium flipping through notes. She even looked over the rim of her glasses like Harry did. 

"This is Harriet Graham," Harry said. "She will be part of the extraction team as well. She's the one who tipped us off in the first place."

Poe covered her mouth as if to hide the smile, "Is that you, coach?"

"She's my multiversal twin from port 4598." Harry replied. 

"Sorry, but she's prettier." Poe said.

The woman spoke up, her eyes never leaving the podium, "To avoid confusion, I'll be adopting a call sign. Mother seemed appropriate, so let's use that from here on out."

We nodded in reply. Harry activated the screen mounted on the wall. We saw a map of the local area. Several points of interest were marked with red dots. 

"These are the potential locations where Michael is being held." Mother said. She pressed a button on a small remote and a picture of a young boy appeared. "We don't know much beyond that.  Remember this face. We don't know why, but they seem to have several children locked away. They are all a top priority."

"Closest location is designated Alpha." Harry added. "When we clear it, provided the objective isn't there, we move to Bravo, and so on."

Mother nodded. "The fort needs to stay here for the time being. No air support. We've brought a leap frog drone that will assist, not to mention support from the other seekers."

"We move in one hour."

Mother shook her head and looked at Harry in disbelief. "One hour? That's too soon. You need more information. You have no clue what you're getting into."

"Fine, two hours. Make it happen."

Mother let out a sigh and crossed her arms. "Harry."

"No." Harry's clenched his fists, his voice almost a growl. The sadness he tried to hide poured forth. His tone shifted to reflect his desperation, "I'm so close."