Blood War 1: Last Stand of the Legion: Rift (8 page)

LYTEN SYSTEM

RIFT

YUTY CITY

CIVILIAN SPACE PORT

Istas stepped out from underneath the warmth of the passenger canopy. She closed her eyes and took several long deep breaths of the stark cold air. Even
under the warmth of her ankle length cape she shivered as the icy air filled her lungs. How wonderful she thought. It had been fifteen long winters since she had returned to the planet of her birth. Rift's stark cold beauty still thrilled her. She pushed the hood of her cape back and let the cold wind blow her short, fashionably colored grey hair. She closed her huge brown eyes and breathing deeply of the crisp cold air. Her beautiful face was calm as she let herself take in the smells of her home.

The other passengers hurried past her into the terminal. Istas pulled off a glove and knelt down. The cold wind cut into her hand.
The cold felt like home. She reached down and scooped up some of the reddish sand that had collected on the landing pad. It was fine as dust and was blown from her hand as soon as she picked it up. Rift her home. Rift her heart, the burial place of her umbilical cord and her people believed her birth, so Rift was forever the center of her being. By burying her umbilical cord on Rift it represented the transition from the nourishment of her mother to the nourishment that Rift would provide her. She had come home.

In the distance
, across the flat arid landscape she could see Mount Ahzeth rising above the horizon, its summit covered with snow in stark white contrast to the pink cloudless sky. Ahzeth, the largest of all the volcanoes on Rift, had always represented the danger and splendor of her home planet to Istas. Rift, her home and her heart, its cold harsh beauty had shaped her. She relished being home again even if her mission was a dangerous one both for herself and Rift.

The terminal and the port's out buildings were the only visible structures above ground from horizon to horizon. As was the custom on Rift
, they were constructed of the hard red stone of the mountains. It was part of the respect any Riftian had for their beloved home planet. To live in harmony with Rift was the only way she allowed anyone to inhabit her environments. Fight her forces and you would pay the price.

The other passengers from the ship hurried past her as they moved into the warmth of the passenger terminal. The arrival of Aeas produced a huge flurry of activities even at Yuty, Rift's largest civilian port of entry. The starship Aeas remained in high orbit above the planet
. Tugs and barges lifted off in the distance to unload its packed cargo spaces. Others moved to service the starship, the arrival of a starship created a flurry of activity in any port.

Istas took another last
lung full of the cold air and then strode toward the passenger terminal. Despite her diminutive size barely over five lengths, the other passengers took notice of her and moved out of her way as she moved through them. It was not just her beauty that demanded their attention, but the animal-like grace of her movements. The hard set to her face added an air of mystery and even menace to her presence. Not being a recognized human breed only added to her isolation. None of the other breeds would be seen socializing with what they considered a Rift mongrel. Yet her beauty and obvious warrior training only added to the mystery surrounding Istas. It had gone just as she had planned. The word would go out from the observers at the terminal that she had arrived.

But she must be careful
there were forces at work that she did not understand. When the Supreme Mother of the Anjin had given her this mission she had not told her who or what these forces she had been sent to fight were, only that her mission was protection. Istas would be told more once she landed.  So not knowing who or what she was facing she had to be careful until her enemies had been identified. They could be anyone. It was a situation Istas was familiar with; in fact most of her missions were thus. The port would be a good place to cause someone to disappear. A disappearance would hardly be noticed in all of the comings and goings.

She paused before going through the official Identification Area and scanned the crowd in front of her. Nothing in her training caught any nuance that would alarm her, normal people
performing their normal functions. Then she saw a young mother with a boy and a girl. Her Triad mates stood on either side scanning the crowd. It was the first Triad Istas had seen in many years and it was the absolute sign that she had returned home because you saw Triads nowhere else in the known worlds.

Rift was the only place in all the human planets that had developed a Triad marriage relationship. Rift was such a harsh environment that the first settlers were losing mothers and children at a rate that would not sustain the new colony. It was determined that a new human reproduction configuration was needed. The original settlers of Rift were united in their belief in living in harmony with your environment
, and not changing it to suit your needs, which had proven so disastrous on so many planets. It was determined that a third person was needed to raise children - a man, a woman and a female. The women were engineered to be able to ejaculate their eggs the same as a man. The man would impregnate the female with his sperm. The woman would impregnate the female with her egg. The female would carry the child and be protected by the man and woman of the Triad. It had worked. It had saved the new colony. Being a female was considered an honor and it was a privilege to carry and raise the young. Istas was a female but had never had the honor of carrying a child since she had become an Anjin. Her family had been Anjin's for generations; it was what she had been bred for and it took precedence over any child bearing or family. Someday it would be her turn but not now, not in her prime as an Anjin.

The woman
was a typical Rift of her sex; she stood over six lengths and was muscular. Her blonde hair was pulled tight to her head and hung in a long braid down her back. Her arms were crossed as she scanned the incoming passengers. The man too was a typical Rift male at almost seven lengths and powerfully built with long hair braided down his back and his beard held by gold rings down his chest.

The mother
, like Istas and most other Rift females, was only five lengths in height. But instead of being petite like other women, she was muscular and moved with the grace that training gave someone. Then the man mate looked directly at Istas. She met his eyes and softened her facial features. She let her cape open to expose her figure in the skintight black pantsuit that was ideal for traveling or fighting. His features changed subtly but enough to let Istas know that it was lust that was driving him to scan the crowd and not a mission. Then she saw the female lean down with real concern when one of the children started to cry and she knew they were harmless. She and two partners had used the same cover on an assignation assignment some time ago. You did not have the luxury of caring for the children or indulging in sexual fantasies during a mission, which could disturb your focus.

Istas
moved easily through the official identification checks. Given she was a native and had used her real identity, it was not a matter of who she was but what her real purpose for her visit was that produced the danger.

Her baggage had been shipped directly to her Inn
where she was staying, so she simply caught the first tube transport to the Inn. It was the most expensive Inn in the city and was built into the top of the Rift that gave the planet its name. For an extra fee you could have a room that overlooked the Rift's huge expanse. She could afford the extra money and Istas had booked one of those rooms.

Istas had seen the rift, from which the planet had derived
its name many times, but when she walked into her room it was as if she were seeing it for the first time. The Rifts' size and beauty simply took her breath away. She slowly walked to the window, unable to take her eyes away from the sight. The Rift stretched for three thousand miles across Rift’s surface and at it deepest point was four miles deep. The Inn had been built into the cliff at the Rift’s deepest point. Her room therefore was afforded the best view of the Rift on the planet.

The canyon stretched as far as she could see in both directions. The colors were startlingly red, pink and black in the
growing light of the morning sun. Ledges on the walls were changing colors and the light moved slowly upward toward the horizon. Villages and cities dotted its walls on every available ledge. Their buildings were built to blend in with the walls of the canyon; only their lights gave an indication of their presence. The sky was a deep pink with currents formed by the winds interaction with the rift. Eddies swirled through the canyon blowing sand into light red clouds. A large sand twister was beginning to form as the warm air of the surface and the cooler air of the canyon mixed together. It grew larger and larger as the difference in temperatures mixed. Finally, it was almost a thousand feet high and a deep red and black with debris from the canyon. It hesitated then spun off down the canyon blowing sand and debris everywhere.

Thousands of lights glowed warmly in the Rift
’s walls as residents began their mornings. When Rift's system had been chosen as the Fleet Anchorage it had brought a massive influx of off-worlders to the only place you could live on the planet.  The small towns and cities of old Rift had grown into the three thousand mile urban center of the planet. Clear transport tubes crossed the Rift’s width for as far as Istas could see; connecting one part of the mega city with another. The floor of the canyon had been left in its natural state in respect for the natural beauty of Rift. So while sitting in one of the most elegant surroundings on the planet, Istas could still take in the natural beauty of her heart, and find some peace after so long away. She had so longed for this view. In great peace she sat cross-legged at the window and watched the sun slowly rise over the rim. Its light was casting a warm orange glow to the canyons floor as it rose.

Istas unpacked hurriedly
as she did not want to miss her chance. For the first time in many, many years she would be able to perform her bathing ritual in the sunrise of her planet, just as she had been taught in her youth during her training. She had spent a huge amount of her own money to assure she had a room with a morning vista. She did not know when she might be able to return home again.

She solemnly took her clothes off and stood naked facing the sun as it began to appear over the red and pink landscape.
From her vista at the top of the Rift Istas could see the Great Plains that stretched to the horizon in an unbroken empty space. It was beautiful in its starkness.

She took deeper and deeper breaths until she felt the power of her body slowly come alive as her enhancements activated. She bowed
, then slowly began to move through her various attack and defensive moves. Her moves slowly becoming faster and faster until she was moving with the speed and power she used in battle. She paused, breathing heavily, her naked muscular body covered in a fine sheen of sweat.

Then bending her legs slightly
, she sprang upward. She arched her hands backward causing the crystal blades embedded in her wrists to extend. She drove them into the red stone of the ceiling and hung there for a moment before slowly pulling herself up parallel with the ceiling. She arched her toes backward and the crystal blades in the balls of her feet extended. With a sudden snap of her ankles she drove them into the red rock of the ceiling. She hung there by the crystal blades that had been embedded in her body during her training, savoring the feeling of power. Slowly she began to pull herself up and down with her arms. The muscles in her arms flexed with controlled power under her perfect skin. After twenty-five pull ups, she retracted the crystal blades in her wrists and hung from her foot blades. She slowly curled her body up until she could touch her toes with her hands then slowly let herself down. Up and down she went until she was breathing heavily. She retracted her foot blades and flipped to the floor.

She sat crossed legged on the
floor closed her eyes and let her breathing slowly return to normal. Her skin glowed with sweat and the flush of her exertion. She took slow deep breaths until her killing power gradually relaxed and her body returned to normal. To reach inside yourself each morning and find the power that resided there was critical to her survival. She would need all of her power if she were going to survive this mission.

Istas stood and walked into the bathing room. So much had changed since she had left her home planet. Just the fact that she could afford a bathing room with her lodging was a measure of just how far she had come. She had not had a private bath until she had left Rift. Water was too scarce and expensive. There had always been a communal bath with the water shared among the families living together. Now she could afford a private bath. She ran the water into the tub until steam filled the room. Slowly she slipped into the water letting the heat gently release the tension in her muscles. She closed her eyes letting the warmth ease the tension from her muscles and her mind.

Just as she stepped out of the bath there was a quiet tone from the door. She slipped into a robe and checked the security video; it showed a hotel employee holding a clothing bag. She opened the door and took the bag from the employee. He bowed and handed her a slip of paper. She tipped the boy and closed the door. She placed her thumb at the corner of the paper and it immediately glowed brightly. It said