Into the Rift by Cynthia Garner

Chapter One
    S irina lan Maro set a small plate in front of her cousin and smiled to see him start in on the slice of chawberry pie. He ate with the same gusto as when he was a youngster. She took a seat in the dining alcove and cut into her own piece of pie.
    Her living quad consisted of sleeping quarters, a central living area that could double as a guest room, a small scullery, and a dining alcove. She’d been allotted this quad once her conscription with the Talisian global security forces had been fulfilled. Ten years she’d been out, ten years of making a living by doing some of the same kind of work she’d done in the service. Only now she did it as a private citizen, providing security consultation to local enforcement officers.
    Sirina looked at her cousin. His normally verdant skin seemed pale, a sure sign he was agitated about something. His eyes kept straying to the row of still images she had on her small workstation in the main living area.
    She leaned over and put her hand on his, halting the motion of him scraping the last swirls of pie filling onto his utensil. “Natchook, what is it? What’s wrong?”
    He pushed away from the table and walked to where the pictures were. He gazed at an image of their squad in their tan desert uniforms. The four members of the elite team stood straight, arms around each other, wide smiles curving their mouths. With his index finger he traced the features of the other woman in the group of four, and sadness pierced Sirina like the bite of a giant pincer. Yura lan Xarchai, her best friend and Natchook’s wife.
    She and Yura had grown up together here on Avasa, a colony of the much larger planet Talis. As such, they had been second-class citizens, conscripted into service in defense of their ruling planet. Natchook, who was part Talisian, had already served for five years by the time she and Yura joined.
    Shortly after their arrival in the service, Yura and Natchook had fallen in love. They’d been allowed to marry and serve in the same unit. Three years later, when Sirina’s brother, Kester, was drafted, he, too, became part of their squad.
    Kester at first balked at the idea of serving as a combatant. The last place a pacifist like her brother wanted to be was in the armed services. But the longer he served, the more he came to appreciate the discipline he learned. It helped him control his compulsive behaviors. That there had been peace between the planets also helped, so his anxiety-induced disorder was easier to handle. His constant access to a behavior modification expert hadn’t hurt, either.
    After Sirina and Yura had satisfied their requisite eight years, they’d been released from service. Natchook had taken his retirement soon after. Kester, enjoying the regimentation the security force provided, had decided to make a career of it.
    They should have all lived out their lives happy and healthy. Only it hadn’t gone that way for Yura. Three years ago, after a lingering illness, she had died. Sirina still missed her, though time had softened the pain, and she knew Natchook missed her, too.
    “Kai Vardan is responsible for Yura’s death, you know.” Natchook picked up the still image and stared down at it. Sirina knew he had eyes only for his deceased wife. “Someone should make him pay. Someone…” He trailed off, his jaw flexing as he tried to control his emotions. “Someone needs to kill the bastard.”
    “Are you crazy? No, someone does not need to assassinate Kai Vardan.” Sirina stared in shocked horror at her cousin. She knew he blamed the Talisian leader for what happened to Yura, but this… this was insane. “What would make you say that? Have you heard something?”
    His gaze darted to her before he again looked down at the image. “I haven’t heard anything. I just think it would do everybody a big favor if someone did.”
    Even talking about the assassination of a world leader was treasonous. “Look, I realize you’re upset, but this