Rifts Ch. 01

Rifts – A Strange New World

The Present – Loon Lake State Park, near Cecil, Wisconsin

"Thank God, this is the last day of the field expedition," thought Donna, as a she wiped the sweat from her forehead and brushed the straw blonde hair from her eyes. It was a miserably hot summer in northern Wisconsin and tall old growth trees could only do so much. They may block out most of the sun, but the humidity was still high and she felt horrible. She was going to need a dip in nearby Loon Lake, to cool down this evening.

Known professionally as Dr. Donna Bell of the Wisconsin Office of State Archaeology, she had been leading a preliminary dig of a newly discovered Native American site at Loon Lake State Park. Work was being conducted to expand the park facilities for the campers and other visitors, when the excavators unearthed the remains of a tribe that had inhabited the area in the distant past. All work came to a grinding halt and the Department of Revenue started screaming bloody murder that tourism was going to suffer.

Donna's supervisor came into her office two-weeks ago, just as she was leaving to depart on a much-needed vacation. Her urged her to delay her fun in the Fijian sun, to do the prelims and plot the site, so the state could proceed with the construction project. The one consolation was she was hoping to catch the full solar eclipse later that afternoon, as she was at the Lake swimming.

Her and her team packed their bags and their equipment and headed into the boonies. She loved camping, but two-weeks was pushing the limits. She was looking forward to some proper food, a proper shower and proper bed – not necessarily in that order. She frowned to herself as she worked, classifying the remains the team had uncovered and remembered how pissed-off Kevin had been when she told him, their vacation had to be delayed.

Concentrating on her work, she admitted it had been a very productive exploratory dig. They had located the remains of a large village that appeared to be centered on an elevated structure. Donna knew there had been Mound Builders in the area, but she had thought all of their locations had been mapped-out and that the local Menominee Tribe weren't among them. She smiled at herself, at the thought of this significant feather in her 32-year-old hat. She was already planning for a more complete study, when she returned from vacation of course.

She tried to concentrate again, but was just too damned hot. "Fuck this," she said out loud, "this can wait this after we get back to Madison!" She set the artifact back on the field desk and got up from the camp chair. The heat and humidity had reduced her to a single-minded thought – get cool!

She had sent the rest of the team into the nearby town to take a break from the heat. She decided she was going to take a break, as well. The thought of jumping into the cool water of Loon Lake was too inviting on such a miserable day. As she walked the short distance to her dome tent, she was already pulling off the sweat soaked tank tee-shirt she had been wearing. She stripped-off the khaki shorts and then removed the sports bra she had been wearing and it felt good to free her ample breasts from the constricting attire in the present heat. The clothing came off like a second skin and was soaked with sweat. Naked except for her lace panties, she began looking for her bikini when she noticed that it had begun to get darker, very quickly.

"What the fuck," she thought, "I thought the eclipse was supposed to start later in the afternoon."

"Shit," she exclaimed frantically looking for some type of clothing, as it quickly became pitch black. As she was desperately searching for a flashlight, the ground started shaking violently and she screamed in surprise as the tent started collapsing around her. She tripped over her camping bed as a multitude of things piled on top of her, as the ground heaved and swayed. She found her Buck knife, opened the single blade and slashed an opening in the tent. She dropped the knife and with all the strength she could muster ripped a hole in the synthetic fabric. It took every bit of strength to get onto her knees and she began extricating herself from the tent

At that moment with a roar, Donna was bathed in the light equal to a million stars and vanished.

*****

120 P.A. (Post-Apocalypse, the approximate year is 2396) – South of Northern Gun Territory

Zha-Ying thought to himself he had lived a very good life, in this strange new world. In many ways Earth – as he learned this place was called – was like his native Palladium. The flora and fauna was much the similar, but was also inhabited by many strange, exotic and deadly beings. As a Lizard Mage, he had dedicated to seeking the limits of his abilities in magic. The cataclysm known as the Exodus had brought him and many other races and creatures here, from his home world. This was at the end of the Rifts War, some 40-years previous.

He had found that not only his magic ability but also his mental abilities had exponentially expanded. He used in innate serpentine abilities at subtlety and influence coupled with his arcane mastery and psychic abilities, to cement his position as the crime lord of Hex-Arcana, a free zone city built on the ruins of some place the humans had called Dallas.

The denizens of the down-unders of Coalition States massive city complexes quaked at the mention of his name. That same name also heard a great degree of influence among the rulers of those same complexes. The power he wielded had made possible many exotic pleasures. He had also lost count of the number of times he had been challenged by rivals and young upstarts.

He shrugged his shoulders and the long robe he had been wearing billowed silently to the ground. Underneath he wore a set of the best micro chainmail armor credits could buy. It was black in color with composite armor plates. It covered his strong reptilian body. The armor could easily stand up against most energy weapons and reflect the concentrated heat of all but the most powerful lasers. He slipped off the gloves and tucked them into a belt pouch. He flexed his clawed fingers, knowing they would need freedom to do the work that was soon coming.

He crossed his arms and surveyed the night sky. He was standing on a hill and it was a moonless night. To the North he could see the lights of Northern Gun. The purveyors of some the best weaponry in this strange world. Glancing into the sky, he could see and sense the ley lines above his. They looked like gossamer filaments of a spider web. These were conduits of magical energy that crisscrossed the planet, which he drew his energy from. He thought to himself, "Yes. This is the place his meditations had shown him."

He tilted his reptilian head and closed his eyes, letting the breeze play across his scaly features. He thought he could hear the approach his opponents. They would have the best equipment and weapons as well. As a master of many games, he had come here on this particular night to set in motion the ultimate game that he would use to settle several outstanding scores and one or two debts, that even someone of his position had accrued.

His meditations had told him, his time was drawing near.

*****

Five Kilometers to the East

"Dagger-Two to Dagger Lead, target acquired and locked."

Dagger-Two was the advanced scout, for a four-man hit team. The pilot and his compatriots in crime were astride Coalition MK1 Skycycles. They were sleek, fast and at lower speeds they were extremely quiet. Dagger-Two also appreciated that the Mk1 was also heavily armed with an array of missiles and particle beam weapons. His employers had pulled some big strings with Chi-Town's suppliers, for an off-the-books purchase order. It was painted a mat black and blended perfectly with the moonless sky.

"Roger Dagger-Two," he heard a female voice over his helmet sound system, "Execute Delta and await my instructions."

Three clicks to the rear, Dagger Lead saw on her radar display the pips indicating Daggers One thru Four splitting into two pairs, to bring them on opposing attack vectors to the target. She did a quick scan of his heads-up display (HUD). Ley Line and Nexus activity was fluctuating, but well within safe parameters. Other than her team, no other units were in the air and paints of the surface search array were showing nothing significant on the ground, other than their target. "No witnesses," she thought and wryly smiled.

Dagger Lead, toggled a control on her flight control yoke and calmly purred, "Dagger Actual, this is Dagger Lead. We are in position and ready to commence the operation."

Within seconds a raspy voice replied, "Dagger Lead, this is Dagger Actual. Execute. Obliterate the target!"

She confirmed the order and toggled hers comms set. "Daggers strike. I repeat Dagger strike," she said as she flipped a switch and the lower weapons bay doors retracted, to reveal the barrel of rail gun.

As a chorus of affirmatives were heard she activated the targeting rectile and centered the cursor on the target and within seconds she began hearing a chirp as the targeting system was acquiring the target and calculating a firing solution. Just ahead, to the north and south a brilliant ripple of flashes appeared in rapid succession as hundreds of miniature missiles were launched. Over her sound system, Dagger Lead heard the flurry of, "Hits away," sounding from her team. That's when all hell broke loose.

*****

Each skycycle had been fitted to carry a payload of forty high explosive mini-missiles. They screamed from their rails and closed the distance of two click in a matter of seconds. Zha-Ying saw this and an instant before they struck him he raised his arms with fingers spread wide and spoke the word, "Clipeum."

A dome of luminous energy instantly appeared around him. The magic shield was immediately engulfed in the hail of missiles, each exploding with the force equivalent to 100 kilos of TNT. The noise was deafening and the ground shock with their impacts. In his mind's eye, he tracked the targets. The shield had absorbed the energy of the explosion and he body now served as a conduit for it.

"Percutiens!" he shouted over the echoing concussions of the missiles and two massive bolts of energy shot from his hands, lancing across the sky to engulf two of his assailants. On impact the skycycles and their pilots disintegrated.

"Shit," cursed Dagger Lead at this turn of events. She knew a Lizard Mage was powerful, but she had hoped the volley of mini-missiles would have done the trick.

"Evasive maneuvers," ordered Dagger Lead and shouted into her mike over the thunderous den, "All Daggers, evasive maneuvers. Wheel around and make a second pass. I'm trying to attain target lock."

Glancing again across her HUD, Dagger Lead saw her flight control began fluctuating. "What the fuck," she exclaimed. Then she saw the cause. The Ley Line and Nexus Sensor was beginning to spike, just as the tone for target acquisition sounded.

The following events seemed to happen simultaneously. Dagger Lead shouted, "Target lock! Firing," as she depressed the trigger on her yoke. Her Mk1 lurched and a tremendous sonic boom sounded, as a massive bolt of orange energy spat from the rail gun's tube.

At the same time Zha Ying, waved his hands and screamed, "Patentibus!" Six gossamer thin lines in the sky that crossed directly above him flared to blinding brightness, to reveal an opening. At the same instance, the sonic boom struck the hill top and he was engulfed by the bolt of energy from the rail gun.

Dagger Lead's eyes went wide as every control on her sky cycle started short circuiting. Over the static on her headset she heard the other members of the attack team shouting, "Nexus opening! Electro-magnetic pulse! I can't hold it!"

Dagger Lead wrestled with the controls as she turned to port to avoid crossing the hilltop and entering the open nexus. Her eyes came up from her flickering controls, just as she saw Dagger Three was on a collision course with her. The skycycles each flying at several hundred klicks smacked together, disintegrating in a huge fireball. The pilot of the last sky cycle, cursing and screaming also failed in his attempt to escape the massive pulse of energy. He struggled with his controls as the MK1 corkscrewed to the ground and impacted into the trees.

*****

As the explosions echoed across the countryside and the nexus point closed, Zha Ying struggled to look up from where he lay, crumpled on the ground. His armor was all but untouched, except for some dust. As he tried to move, he knew his body was another matter entirely. The concussive force of the rail gun had shattered most of the bones in his body.

As his vision began fading he saw that within arm's length, the body of a female human lay. As his voice became raspy and gurgling from the blood that was rapidly filling his lungs, he cackled in laughter. With the last of his strength he reached a clawed hand to her, grasped her ankle and with his last breath said, "Translatio."

*****

On a hill to the east concealed by trees a hulking green form said, "What was that Runner? Grond is scared."

Grond was an ogre and he had a frightened look on his face. He looked down to a large mountain lion next to him, which was sharing the concealing underbrush with him. The lion looked to him scornfully and Grond said, "Sorry, Runner. Grond will talk quieter," bringing a big finger to his lips, motioning that he would be quiet and making a loud shushing noise.

He glanced over at the hill in the distance as the dust continued to settle and drift away on the breeze and said, "Grond hopes Pink is okay."