Star Force: Rift

  1

  December 13, 4834

  Seyjan System (Bozse Region)

  Ninatro

  Lina Rando walked back from the service counter in the Liquids Emporium carrying a tall, skinny tube filled with a starburster over to one of the many small tables in the privately owned drinks café located along the main promenade in the fourth largest city on the planet filled with a mix of Humans, Calavari, and Dojsin. Another 18% of the population was a mix of basically everything originating from several Axius planets in the system, but Ninatro was technically a Dojsin planet.

  They were one of the first races annexed from The Nexus after the initial Rim Region, with the Bozse Region sitting on the border of the Devastation Zone on the spinward side. There was a good chunk of lawless systems between them and the official Devastation Zone where Star Force hadn’t chosen to expand into, but Bozse was the only other region close to the destroyed systems and was seen as next on the conquest list for the V’kit’no’sat along with the Rim Region.

  Lina sat down, her exposed breasts bobbing a bit within the two rings of her corset, drawing a few fleeting glances from the other Humans in the Emporium, but they didn’t linger. Her outfit was gaudy, but nothing too uncommon, making her stand out enough to draw momentary attention, but just as quickly be lost to thought…which was her intention. Drawing looks then being dismissed was a good way to hide in public, and her tight red corset that transitioned into loose, flowing white material that covered her arms had everything on her upper body from neck to waist concealed save for her breasts, accenting her living accoutrements in a nice holiday theme that a fair number of others in public were reciprocating in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

  That top, coupled with her miniskirt and tight, candy cane-stripped boots that came up above her knees, certainly made her eye candy for the Human men, but the other races didn’t seem to care too much, though her color coordination drew some approving looks from them. Her hair was even dolled up to match, having been grow out all the way down to her butt in a medical station two days ago and weaved together in a brain that reached to lower back with a strand of white, green, and red hair twirled together then bobbed off with a red orb on the end.

  Even her exposed nipples had been genetically altered, one so that it was colored green, the other red, though it wasn’t a look the Arc Commando usually went for. Occasionally she’d walk around completely topless with a pair of loose shorts on, but oddly that didn’t draw as much attention as being half clothed with her breasts exposed. The framing was somehow more eye-catching than just her natural skin, and really she didn’t mind. It was a nice style to have, though she preferred a full uniform top or nothing at all.

  Lina was only 836 years old, but other Arc Commandos had told her that back in Star Force’s earliest days girls showing their nipples in public had been taboo…but not for the guys. That made no sense to her, for both guys and girls had nipples. It was the same body part, so why should one have to be hidden and one ok to reveal? She’d been even more flabbergasted when the elders told her that women would expose their breasts but cover their nipples, which made even less sense. Guys didn’t have breasts, but they did have nipples. Why not hide what they didn’t have and show what they did?

  But taboos were like that. They existed for no reason and were reinforced by public pressure. A ‘do as your told and don’t think about it’ approach that Star Force had gotten rid of long ago. They had rules, of course, but ever rule had a reason…like wearing underwear in public areas such as this.

  Bras didn’t count, because the reason for the underwear minimum was to catch loose body fluids. Her breasts weren’t producing any milk so no worries there, but nudity hadn’t been banned in Star Force for as long as she could remember, with several Human males within view on the crowded promenade wearing full body suits that were entirely see-through.

  Lina glanced at them as they passed, seeing their hairless crotches compressed within the suits and enjoying the view, for guys that were not physically fit usually didn’t go for the clear clothing. Most of the Dojsin didn’t either, but on occasion you’d see one of the lanky bipeds with their apple-sized reproductive orbs revealed. It wasn’t a turn on for Lina, but it was rare enough to draw attention anyway. There were so many non-Human races within Star Force that she didn’t think most people knew what all parts they had.

  But Lina wasn’t here to gawk, rather she was here on business as she sucked out of a straw the starburster that contained the maximum legal concentration of caffeine allowed in vendor drinks. Star Force versions usually contained no caffeine at all, which was why a lot of people favored the starburster and others that they could only acquire with credits from work, making places like this a hangout for the more motivated citizens while the lazies concentrated in areas where some Star Force outlets offered free food and drinks.

  Lina drank her starburster slowly, needing to hold this position for a while. She was hoping to catch a Rylenian passing through here, but the Arc Commando didn’t want to be obvious about it…hence her festive garb that attracted a couple of male passersby to sit down and chat with her, which she welcomed. It helped enhance her cover, and her telepathic skills were good enough that she could talk with a person in front of her while mentally scanning others in the area.

  And the conversation made her drink last longer, extending her stay long enough for three Rylenians to come and go, but the fourth one that arrived and sat down at a table without a drink was the one she wanted.

  She shifted her mood to one of elitist offishness, discouraging males from more than a quick flirt and keeping them at enough of a chilly distance that they didn’t try to sit down and chat her up. She couldn’t handle the distraction now, for she was heavily digging into the Rylenian’s mind. It wasn’t one that she was too familiar with, and Lina was having some trouble making sense of it, but it was obvious that this one was waiting for a contact, so she had some time.

  Eventually the four legged, feathered ‘totem pole’ was joined at his table by a Bavu. The two made some casual conversation that Lina knew was just for cover, for it was more pointless than usual chit chat, then the Bavu got up and went to the counter, coming back with a pair of drinks that were not palpable for Humans. When he gave the Rylenian his drink, the Rylenian slipped him a data chip. It was subtle and easily missed, but with Lina in both their minds they practically advertised the transaction before it happened.

  The two sat and talked a bit more, then the Rylenian excused himself and shuffled off, leaving the large, bald-headed Bavu alone at the table.

  Lina waited until the contact was well away, then she got up and headed back to the counter with her now empty drink. She passed behind the Bavu and gently touched the back of his neck with her fingertips and the small wire protruding out from her baggy right sleeve cuff.

  “Hey baby,” she said, feeling her fingertips go numb as the stun charge bled back through the Bavu’s skin and into hers, but she still had the rest of her hand functioning as she got an affectionate grip on the back of his neck and swung around beside him, leaning down to give his big head a kiss as she tipped his head back and kept his body from falling out of his chair.

  She rubbed her face against his as she got his body positioned appropriately, then after some decent acting said her flirty farewell, leaving him sitting upright in his chair with a muscle hold command jammed into his mind. His three eyes were fixed and unblinking, but otherwise he looked normal as Lina got herself another starburster and headed back to her original seat, patting the Bavu on the head as she went by and rejoined the sea-like crowds, losing herself again while keeping an eye on the Bavu’s table.

  She sent a telepathic ping to the security team nearby, and a few minute
s later two uniformed officers arrived and nonchalantly picked up the Bavu, one under each arm, and carried him out of the Emporium…but Lina had the datachip in her hand, not needing to scan it to know its contents.

  It would be valuable data from mid-level Star Force officials, acquired through a variety of means, some of which included bribery, and was being passed through a number of intermediaries that Lina had been tracking for over two years. The Bavu was new to her, which was why she’d had him picked up rather than the Rylenian.

  Leaving him free might draw in some additional contacts, for this spy network operated in cells knowing that Star Force could read their minds if captured. The few true traitors within Star Force had been dealt with already, and those that had been unwilling dupes were now clued in to the threat and the security breaches sealed, but there was no way of knowing how many more there were.

  Nothing too vital had been known to be stolen yet, but they were still getting information that was not available to the public and funneling it to outside parties. Lina had guessed where it was going, but the arrival of the Bavu was her first link back to the V’kit’no’sat, for they were a race from coreward of the Devastation Zone that was a known associate of their enemy.

  Bavu traveled everywhere, so their appearance here wasn’t too unusual, and it made for good cover for V’kit’no’sat spies. The fact that the Rylenian was handing over data to one told her that it was going through probably its last intermediary, and with luck the interrogation of the Bavu would tell security where the V’kit’no’sat handoff would be taking place.

  It was progress, but rooting out this spy network was extremely hard given how many trillions of people were roaming around Star Force territory that weren’t part of the empire. Planets like this one were free access to outsiders, despite the looming threat of V’kit’no’sat invasion. Star Force was simply too much of a communal nexus for travelers to ignore, and while Star Force handled it all well, there were too many people and too few Archons and Mavericks to effectively sift through them all.

  That was one reason why the Arc Commandos had been created. Their combat skills were a prerequisite, but their specialty was going where others would not. Seeing the cracks in the empire and knowing how to move through them and hunt others who were doing the same. As valuable as Lina was on the battlefield, her work identifying and eliminating these information breaches was more important, and if she could spare an Archon the duty and let them go to the battlefield, so much the better for Star Force.

  Her job done for the moment, Lina lingered in the Emporium liberally sucking on the drink now that she didn’t have to stretch her stay here. Her mood altered to ‘I want to be alone’ to discourage more than momentary flirting as she waited out any potential surveillance of the location. The odds of that were rare, but she liked to be thorough and leaving immediately would give away her involvement in the arrest.

  Lina was also scanning minds, looking for odd reactions but finding nothing out of the ordinary. Security taking someone away was rare but not unheard of, so the reactions of mild shock were expected. Others didn’t care so long as it didn’t involve them, and Lina couldn’t pick up any other contacts in the area. A pity, for if she had that would be another thread to follow in what was such a complex web that there were an estimated 200,000 or more known spies throughout the Bozse and Rim Regions.

  This was no small operation, and she and the others hunting them needed to find them all…or at least eliminate their sources of information. If they wanted to just roam around listening to the public news feeds they were welcome to, but they were finding ways to worm into stuff that was restricted to Star Force workers only, giving the enemy or other interested parties a more complete look at how Star Force operated than they cared to let their opposition know about.

  Lina was halfway through the second starburster when the privately owned news channel with an anchor wearing a similar ‘bare breast’ tunic to Lina’s was pre-empted by the main Star Force news network with a priority override. There was breaking news concerning a mission to the Core that Lina hadn’t known about that had the V’kit’no’sat allowing Star Force to pass through with several Uriti so they could make contact with the Hadarak.

  Lina’s red and green eyebrows raised in shock. She’d never heard of any joint efforts between the two empires before. Rather, the V’kit’no’sat were continually trying to eradicate Star Force in any way they could, but as she continued to listen along with virtually everyone else on the planet as the activity across the entire promenade suddenly ground to a halt with everyone finding the nearest display screen, the fully clothed Star Force news anchor revealed that due to the Core mission and the information sharing on the Hadarak that resulted from it, a temporary truce between Star Force and the V’kit’no’sat was now in effect and would last 243 years.

  Lina knew why that number was what it was, even though no one else did. It was a V’kit’no’sat ‘Sarma’ and not some random amount of years. That small fact aside, the idea of a truce immediately drew skepticism from her, though apparently not from everyone else, for a huge roar of approval swept the promenade that was tepid compared to the emotional surge was she picking up telepathically.

  It was so deafening that she had to shut down her general Ikrid scan, but the sound of cheering in the multiple racial forms continued for minutes on end even as the news anchor cautioned that the agreement was contingent on the V’kit’no’sat honoring the deal and there was no way to know whether they would or not.

  But to the citizenry it didn’t matter. For this moment, at least, the war was over and they didn’t have to worry about the next attack landing on their head.

  To Lina it meant a great deal more, and if true would give Star Force some badly needed breathing room to rebuild their fleets and strengthen their border defenses. What she couldn’t understand was why the V’kit’no’sat would allow them this.

  The news anchor went on to explain that, saying the information on the Hadarak was valuable enough to them to be worth the pause in the war…which the anchor insisted would resume after the 243 year period. The war was not over, only paused, but the people didn’t seem to care one bit. Most of them had been born after the war started and they had never known anything other than defeat after defeat after defeat…but now there was going to be no more fighting, for a while, but to them it probably seemed like forever.

  A Calavari beside her bent over and kissed Lina on the forehead, then clapped her on both shoulders with his big hands and picked her up out of her chair like a rag doll.

  “Did you hear that!” his low, booming voice asked in clear enthusiasm. “The fighting is over!”

  “I heard,” she said with a cheery smile, letting him manhandle her in his glee, though her smaller frame was quite capable of kicking his ass even without her psionics if needed. “But they’ll be coming back later.”

  “Not for 243 years! That’s a lifetime!”

  “For some,” she said, with him finally letting her down to her feet with her head level with his chest.

  “You don’t seem happy, Human. Why not?”

  “We won’t be safe until the V’kit’no’sat are all dead. If they agreed to this, it has to help them in some way.”

  “If it didn’t help us, the trailblazers wouldn’t have agree to it…would they?” he argued, knowing he had a good point and smiling broadly with it.

  “True,” she admitted.

  “So be happy. This is good for us.”

  “You’re right,” she said, stepping up on a chair and giving him a friendly kiss on his big lips. “It is good.”

  “Then dance!” he said, starting to clobber the floor with his heavy feet in rhythm with the other people around them that were slowly all syncing up. She didn’t know where it had started, but soon the entire promenade was dancing in place and singing a number of different songs.

  Lina laughed, deciding to go along with it and stepping up on top of the table so she was final
ly standing taller than the Calavari along with several other Humans and smaller races that were up on the other tables. She started dancing with them, throwing in a lot of old school moves the other Arc Commandos had taught her, and quickly became the center of attention within the Emporium as everyone else starting to match their movements to hers.

  Lina knew this wasn’t the end of the war, but it was huge news…and the Calavari was right. If the trailblazers had agreed to it, then it was a good thing. How good was unclear, but it meant the border colonies wouldn’t be getting attacked in the near future. How long that would last, who knew, but for now they were technically at peace.

  Lina knew the distinction in that, but the crowd didn’t and their enthusiasm was infectious. Given that she didn’t have anywhere else to be at the moment and security would be handling the Bavu interrogation, she decided to stay and dance on the table top, throwing gestures to the others and getting many back as they all celebrated.

  For now, at least, the war was over. How long that would last…no one knew, nor cared about at this point. The perpetual dread hanging over Star Force was now lifted, with uncertain hope replacing it.

  But at this point, even uncertain hope was a victory beyond all victories, and that wasn’t lost on the Arc Commando who began enjoying herself thoroughly through the multiple-hours long spontaneous celebration that soon spread across all of Star Force territory. Making it, arguably, the largest dance party in galactic history.

  2

  February 19, 4840

  Alamo System (Uriti Preserve)

  Warden 8 Station

  Riley-038 stood in an observation deck onboard the Star Force-only station as fleets of visiting ships watched at a closer, but still safe distance as the carrier vessel from the Knights of Quenar arrived. The trailblazer wasn’t needed for any immediate operations, for the Wranglers were handling them as usual, but now that the V’kit’no’sat war had been paused and most of his peers had moved away from the Devastation Zone to the far Rim where Star Force’s other wars were still ongoing, he was one of the few that had remained to patrol the region, as well as to keep an eye on the all-important Uriti.