Erica Olafson, Journeys of the Tigershark (Vol 9, GC 35)

by Vanessa Ravencroft

Copyright© 2019 by Vanessa Ravencroft

An Erica Olafson tale in the Galactic Chronicles Universe

(Volume 9, GC 34 )

Description: An Erica Olafson tale in the Galactic Chronicles Universe (Volume 9, GC 35 ) Journeys of the USS TIGERSHARK by Vanessa Ravencroft (c) 2019

Tags: Minimal Sex, Ma/Fa, CrossDressing, TransGender, Fiction, Military, Science Fiction, Extra Sensory Perception, Robot, Space, Paranormal

Published: 2019-07-22

Updated: 2019-08-18

Size: ≈ 150000 Words

Foreword

The Year is 5026 (Old Terran Time ). The Milky Way Galaxy is teeming with life and sentient species. Earth is now known as Terra and part of the United Stars of the Galaxies, a multicultural mega civilization that by now stretches across two-quarters of the Milky Way Galaxy and has a foothold in the Andromeda Galaxy. There are over 5030 distinctive member civilizations calling themselves members of the Union. The United Stars Space fleet protects this mega civilization against external threats.

Erica Olafson, born as Eric on a cold world called Nilfeheim raised under harsh conditions of a very traditional inward-looking society of Neo Vikings left her planet to fulfill his dream to become a Starship captain.

Erica stands 199 cm tall and weighs almost exactly 90 kilos and some say she moves with the same purpose and grace as a Nubhir Wolf.

Like everyone from Nilfeheim she has a greater tolerance to freezing temperatures and is able to stay submerged underwater for a very long time because of gills and eyes that are adapted to see well underwater thanks to a second set of clear eyelids. His muscles are denser than that of a standard human, allowing her to swim longer and deeper. Due to those abilities, she has great endurance and is much stronger than she looks.

She loves fish, has a very clear sense of honor and hates unfair situations. Even though she doesn't like to admit it, she carries the same short temper of her father and is more often than not ready to face a challenge with fists or weapons.

She now is aware of the entity inside her, a dark god that grows in power and independence.

Pursuing escaped pirates and criminals she and her truly unusual crew of individuals, she ends up in the Leo II dwarf galaxy and manages to end a terrible threat to the civilizations of the Milky Way galaxy.

While doing this, a network of ancient gates was activated.

Together with her truly unusual crew she once again added new members to her crew and to the Union.

Now Captain Erica Olafson, the USS Tigershark, and its crew are returning to the Milky Way galaxy and a new mission.

Prelude

The United Stars of the Galaxy, commonly referred to simply as the Union is a multicultural society that started out, a little over three thousand years ago.

It all began with three human societies. The Sarans who acted and looked just like the ancient Egyptians that built the Pyramids; their rebellious sons that adopted ancient Rome as their role model and the humans of Earth, now commonly known as Terrans came together, united under common laws and goals in the year 2220.

The very next day the young Union received its first member, the amphibious non-human Ult.

Now 2806 standard years later, in the year 5026 (Old Terran Time), there are almost 5000 member societies, with representatives gathering in the majestic and impressive construct known as the Assembly Sphere on the Unions central planet, Pluribus Unum.

Representatives and members from as far as the M32 galaxy met here either in person or telepresent via the marvelous Avatar technology to discuss all those issues and problems a huge mega society might have.

Individuals of the smallest Union species were no bigger than a corn of rice, while the biggest one, a sentient galactic nebula measured several light minutes across. There were beings that lived inside stars and had no physical body; others resembling giant pizzas crawling over the superdense metallic helium of a Jovian supergiant.

The truly gigantic Bandrupo and the small fuzzy Holdians; the Petharians, native to a planet where liquid magma was as common as water on a garden world.

The beautiful Delicates from the distant Large Magellan cloud, resembling a skilled artists dream who tried to combine the most beautiful woman with butterflies, chiffon veils and colorful paradise birds and somehow succeeded. All these and many more were just examples of the diversity of this mega society.

Here on Pluribus Unum, the heart of this mighty and diverse Union. The representatives of Union members and Union citizens came together in a place known far beyond the Union as the Assembly Shere.

From the outside it represented itself as a majestic hemisphere, it's apex at 6,400 meters.

The Assembly, however, was a perfect sphere, meeting the ground at its equator and extending another 6,400 meters below the ground.

Seven trillion cubic meters of internal volume, the walls lined with alcoves, almost 19 million. Of which a little over two million were occupied.

The United Stars of the Galaxies had done away with presidents and ministries. With politicians and political parties. It was governed instead by its citizens.

It was a bold idea and it kept evolving and changing, as galaxy-spanning mega civilizations went. The Union was still young.

When ministries faded away, councils took their place. When leaders and presidents were abolished, new institutions developed.

While everyone agreed, the Union had no official leadership. Some individuals had percolated to the top.

There was Mothermachine, the largest sentient AI in the known universe. She was the originator and leader of the X101 Sentmacs.

There was the Klack Queen, unchallenged ruler over all that was Klack. Trillions of ant-like insectoids with advanced technology and a vast empire.

The voice of the Pan Saran emperor had great influence over the voting results, and so it was the case of Saran Queen.

While Terrans had no prominent leader, the immortal Admiral of the Fleet McElligott was a prominent figure.

Of course, there was Admiral Stahl, also an Immortal and also of Earth, and while he was among the most beloved individuals, he was not a member of the Assembly.

Chief above all was the Narth Supreme. The vast majority of all Union citizens considered him to be the unofficial leader.

While this entity firmly rejected this and insisted to be nothing more than a Union citizen. When the Narth Supreme suggested something, it always received nearly one hundred percent of Union-wide votes.

Other institutions developed, like the Grey Ghosts. Chosen guardians of the Union's secrets.

---

The friendship of a representative of a small and unimportant world called Nilfeheim, a Saresii leader and the Narth representative created another one of these organically developed Assembly institutions. These three became known as the Wisemen of the Assembly, as their counsel and opinion on all kind of issues were often requested and almost always applied.

Egill Skallagrimmson, the representative of Nilfeheim disliked that prominent role. He resented the fact that the suggestion of the Ult, making the Wisemen a real institution was overwhelmingly agreed upon and even received a Union-wide vote of over ninety-eight percent.

The former hermit of Nilfeheim had just entered the Ring corridor through the President Enroe door, the East entrance to the sphere. Each door of the sphere had a name, this one had been named after the first president of the Union and was used to officially open the sphere after its construction had been completed.

There wasn't an office of president anymore of course.

It was still early in the day. Union clocks showed the beginning of Five Hour, early. Which translated to 8:33 am in Old Terran time, but he was a true child of Nilfeheim, rising early was a cultural habit. To him, this was already halfway into the day.

Not that there was any set time he had to be at the Assembly. The institution was in session around the clock. Many representatives chose to attend when the docket list of issues discussed and voted on, were important to them.

Egill, however, liked settled routines. He arrived at the Assembly in the morning and stayed there for a full workday.

He did not have to commute very far either, not that the idea of a far commute was the same on Pluribus than it was on Nilfeheim. He knew people who traveled over 1000 lightyears twice a day to work here. Transmatter Tunnels and space trains shrunk these unimaginable distances to trips that lasted minutes.

His elaborate and very luxurious apartment, located on the top floor of the Erik Ragnarsson tower in the old Saresii district about twenty klicks from the Sphere.

That a once small company founded by Eric's grandfather on Nilfeheim had grown into a company that could afford to purchase an entire building standing on the most expensive real estate ground in the known Universe, gave attest to the business acumen of the late Erik Ragnarsson. While Elena was not his granddaughter by blood, she had taken the reins of that company and did so with the same tenacity and talent for business.

Egill's usually grumpy face displayed a fine smile as he thought about that most beautiful young woman. That he held a keep-warm carryout bag filled with Nilfeheim style fast food was of course part of the reason he was thinking about that gorgeous, raven-haired sister of Eric. He instantly corrected his thoughts. Eric was no more. She was Erica.

A deeply shrouded being was stepping out of thin air and joined him entering the Assembly Sphere.

Egill held the bag close to his chest."Your timing is impeccable, probably smelling my food."

"One can not smell food telepathically and one has been to the 'Hungry Viking' and obtained an ample supply of Fin Stew. One is particularly fond of Fin Stew."

"You turning more Neo Viking every day."

"Then one succeeds in this endeavor. One's godchild is on his way to Pluribus."

Egill fished for a Bacon roll in his bag."Hogun is coming?"

"No, Freydis has decided to visit. Narth Eric wishes to see Narth Prime."

The Nilfeheim representative found what he was looking for, unwrapped the bacon bread and took a bite."Why come here then, this is Pluribus."

"Freydis can not visit Narth Prime, she will stay with you while the Narth Supreme takes Narth-Eric to Narth Prime."

"Odin's beard. Do you have anything that does not require the word Narth?"

"One has this container of Fin stew."

Egill rolled his eyes."Smartass." Then he said."The Narth Supreme himself will take the little Olafson to that place of yours?"

"Yes, Eric-Narth will receive an increase of his psionic abilities and instructions."

"Well, no better place to do all this."

"One thinks so too. And Eric is not gone."

"Were you snooping in my mind again?"

"One merely checked if you purchased Fin Stew and noticed."

"I know it makes little sense to a Narth, but Eric has decided to be a woman. That's a huge change in human terms. I am still proud of her, but I can't help missing the old Eric. I know Tyr did something to make him feel that way."

"Our friend Alegar feels this way and so do many, but the white Tyranno did more than that and Eric is not female. He will eventually separate from Erica."

"What?"

"The essence, the mind of Erica was placed in Eric's body at birth. Tyr is an agent of the Rule if you will, aiming to restore the Rule to the strict division of duality."

"I think you need to explain this in more detail."

"The Narth Supreme will be here to give you this explanation in a more adequate detail than one is capable of."

Egill sighed."Fair enough."

Just then they both were almost stampeded by a crowd running away from something.

Alarmed the Nilfeheim man stopped a Saran."What is it? Some kind of attack?"

"Isis help! The Y'All are here in force!"

Chapter 1: Earth

It turned out we did not return to our homeport, Richter 4. We received new orders just as we returned to the M-0 galaxy.

A Commodore of Fleet HQ and with all the necessary codes and credentials had appeared on our screen and transmitted new orders.

According to him, the Admiral of the Fleet was busy and gave him the necessary instructions. The man was a tall Andorian and told me quite openly that he disagreed with the Admiral to contact a little destroyer himself anyway. His name was Commodore Haraka and he said."I have no idea where the USS Tigershark came from so suddenly, but you are assigned to the 124th fleet and will proceed to Christmas Base and stand by for new orders." He terminated the call, but not before saying: "Richter Base? Ridiculous every one knows, there is nothing really there."

We did manage to reach Cherubim and she laughed at our predicament, then she said."The transfer is temporary for sure and even an oversight perhaps, but the Admiral of the Fleet did indeed transfer the Tigershark to the 124th, God only knows why he thinks the Tigershark is going to be good as a regular fleet unit, but he is the highest authority in that regard. Nothing I can do and the 124th isn't the First." She still seemed amused."No worries Richard will ask about you soon enough."

Only a week had passed since we got these new orders. The Tigershark was traveling just a notch under red line towards the distant Spinward sector.

I had just come off watch and leisurely proceeded to our Den for a bite to eat and a cup of fresh coffee. We just returned to Union space and there was nothing on the scanner horizon concerning us.

As always there were people there.

With a screech, Fafnir untangled himself from Alice who had apparently played with our mascot and it winged across the former hangar. The black dragon-like thing had again grown in size and it took quite some effort to hold it.

After a few scratches and Alice complaining, with a laugh, about the not so little beast's loyalties. Fafnir wormed himself out of her embrace and flapped back and divebombed the pretty, big-eyed girl sitting on the floor. She said between pearling laughter of delight, as the thing tried to lick her with its long black tongue. "Everyone loves Fafnir, but he is truly loyal to one person, and that is you."

I grinned back while I made my way to my accustomed chair."Naturally, this is my SHIP and I am the captain."

O'Connell did not fail. Not that I had any idea how she actually did it. She appeared right behind me with my ugly skull mug filled with steaming coffee.

Moments later our Elly chef came in, carrying a big platter."Just on time captain. I have roast beef, just as good as Fangsnapper, I promise."

"I am certain it is so, Mr. Eeeryt."

I began eating a few moments later and nodded."It is indeed so, delicious."

Only now did our chef move and tooted."Thank you, captain, I have cherry-cobbler in the oven. Old fashioned made from scratch and baked."

"If I find some room, I have a slice."

He left in a busy fashion, almost running into Har-Hi who came along with Krabbel.

My XO and my navigator came to the table and helped themselves to food.

I looked across the table."It is good to have you back, Mr.TheOther."

"There are plenty of Drones now, to replace me, captain. All of them eager to serve this ship and you."

"You didn't just say that, right?"

"Captain being lost in that construct, I never lost hope or confidence you would come for me. I am a Y'All, part of the fiercest foe the Union faced, but here aboard this ship I am TheOther and have friends.I..."

"Oh shut up, TheOther and eat. That roast beef is excellent. Of course, we don't give up on friends."

Har-Hi scooped himself an extra helping of mashed potato and said."What is still on my mind, do you remember that Pepino, Plostrak? Wasn't he with you? Whatever happened to him?"

TheOhter stopped piling meat on his plate. "I glued him to the deck plates of the Traa, his ship and..."

Har-Hi ate a spoon of mashed." ... and?"

An arm-long worm, most of its head covered with gravy appeared over the rim of the table."Heeze forgoz ... Pepinoz Plostraz, shipz and everyzin ... boomz!"

TheOther despite being a Y'All looked troubled and embarrassed."He was a criminal perhaps, but I talked to him. The Pepino didn't ask to be created and then declared waste."

"Theyze noz evenz gooz to eaz, Meeze eatz everyvonz. Pepinoz bleeh." The worm sticking a big piece of meat in his teeth covered maw."Cookz ze meatz izz gooz!"

Our chef came back, carrying a covered pan."That thing there spends all his time in the galley and eatz ... danged no I start ... I mean eats all the food waste. I don't know where he puts it."

"Wanz Meeze to showz you. Ize notz gooz and stinz."

I almost choked on my food."Should I ask where he gets rid of stuff?"

Wheeze spread his thin arms."Waz noz eazy zo finz darkz placez."

Har-Hi just had mashed potato coming out of his nose as he turned even redder than he usually was."TheOther I think you need to get your worm friend toilet trained." Then he burst out laughing. "Lez hopez our Captain or anyone else steps into ... well dark corners."

Circuit came in, and while he had a never-changing face, he was not happy."Can someone tell me, who used Service crawl space 56-12 for a bathroom?"

I burst out."Ize donz knowz."

SHIP chimed in."Sorry to interrupt, but Fleet Command just hailed. We are to change course for Earth. It appears Admiral Stahl gets married and you are invited, Captain."

It was never really loud in the Sphere of Assembly, but there was always a din of voices and always someone's voice amplified speaking about some issue.

Right now, one could have heard a Condo-mouse sneeze, all up in the most distant alcove. It was dead quiet.

A column of Y'All warrior drones was stomping in.

Egill counted and whispered."There are at least 250 of them."

"Incorrect there are 260 and there are 44,732 more outside."

"They are all armed and in full armor! Why isn't First Guard doing something?" A Saran representative said.

Egill answered."Because it is Admiral Stahl leading them in, and they are on the docket."

The Saran pulled up his PDD and flipped through the list. "A delegation of Yahha Al is supposed to make a membership request ... Yah-ha Al ... Y'All?"

The Saran turned as he wanted to say more to the old man from Nilfeheim, but Egill was gone.

The Neo Viking reappeared in his Alcove along with the Narth. Alegar was already there.

"What is going on?" Egill asked as he sat down.

"The Eternal Warrior is about to speak," Alegar answered.

The Speaker of the Assembly, the same size reduced Avatar of a Bandrupo had just given Stahl the permission to address the Assembly.

The Admiral said."Citizens of the Union, I have just returned from the Leo II galaxy and while there are certainly more challenges and enemies beyond our horizons. I am here to report to all of you, the Y'All source has been found and eliminated. There will be no new invasion."

The Y'All threat had been a looming one, and the very reason for so many projects trying to find the reason for the invasions and somehow stop the next one.

While almost everyone was confident, the Union would be victorious. The cost of such a war was unimaginable. The Y'All created a terrible path of destruction before.

The Wurgus rep rose from his seat, these gifted sun engineers sacrificed their own sun to stop the Y'All.

"We were confident that it will be you, Eternal Warrior that finally ends this looming threat. These ... these Y'All with you, are prisoners of war?"

"It was not me, Patriarch Kurusun. The place, the Crucible that churned out the Y'All and their hardware has been destroyed. It has been found and destroyed by a great hero and her unequaled crew. Due to restrictions placed on me by my superiors and by necessity I can not reveal her identity at this point."

He pointed at the wall of Y'All warriors behind him."These are not prisoners, these beings have assisted us to put an end to this terrible threat. These are not Y'All, as this is a name that has been given to them by others. They are here to ask to begin their PUMA process and I am their official Union citizen advocate and mentor."

The first Y'All standing right behind Stahl now spoke."Yes, we have been your enemy, but not of our own free will and none of the drones standing before you have been made when the last war ended.

It was a sentient machine who created us and it was the ones that built this machine that gave us orders. We were not allowed to feel, to think or to ask.

Beings of this galaxy possess a device to issue a call. This call has been issued to summon us to do their bidding.

The Call can no longer be answered. The Crucible and He-who-guards-the-Crucible have been destroyed. The receptors inside of us that made us fighting slaves have been eliminated.

We are free beings without a home, as our place of origin no longer exists. There are 45,000 of us. All the others have also been destroyed. We are not the Y'All anymore, perhaps never were. We are Yehaa."

The X101 representative said."We have been forced to fight against our will. If the Union rejects your application, you will find a home among us."

The Blue representative asked."Who was it that issued that call?"

The Yehaa said."The callers were a society known to us as the Kermac."

That statement caused an uproar and the call request board before the speaker was lighting up with thousands of requests.

Admiral Stahl made a gesture to calm down and it worked, the shouts ebbed away and the representatives sat down.

The speaker gave Mothermachine the opportunity to speak. She had established herself as an avatar and she said."What our representative has said is the sentiment of the X101 indeed. I extend our invitation and welcome the Yehaa on any of our worlds as honored guests until the PUMA progress can be completed."

The Wurgus still standing."We lost much by the hand of the Y'All. Yet this was before the Wurgus became Union. It is perhaps a new tradition, especially when compared to the history of this galaxy, a proud Union tradition is never the less. A society or an individual accepting our laws is welcome, whatever might be in the past is not a point of consideration in the Potential Union Member Assessment process. To us Wurgus, the word and the endorsement of the Eternal Warrior mean more than the recommendations of any commission. I hereby call for a vote right away, let these Yehaa become members. They are homeless, let us provide them one."

The speaker's board lit up again with many requests and Utchat, the AI tallied them."The Assembly of all agrees with 92 percent and calls for an Imminent Union Wide."

That meant a GalNet call went out over Channel one to summon Union citizens to cast a direct vote. A Union-wide imminent was technically the highest form of law.

The entrance of Y'All caused a large number of citizens to follow the events inside the Assembly dome anyway. The vote came in and it was decided right there and then to admit the Yehaa right away, with a vote tally of 93 to 7.

The speaker officially welcomed the newest member, and just then, from the entrance to the inner sphere and across the hard light bridge to the FOCUS, a meter-long worm scurried in and its voice was amplified as it looked up to Stahl."Youze finized wiz zhe Yehaz? Wheeze waitz andz wheeze gez hungriz."

We had arrived in the Sol system, like most Union citizens we had followed the proceedings at the Assembly.

TheOther was quite emotional for a Y'All and kept thanking me, our self-elected passenger the Wheeze worm was also pleased that his kind had been accepted.

"Wheeze veryz happiez. Attianz Zinol meatz, Porsthirz Glokurz anz Ericaz Surztrömmiz" the worm made a pleased sound."Anz ze pulze maggez iz zoo gooz."

Narth said."They had their culinary welcome just yesterday. They cleared out thirty-eight percent of the Assembly and for entirely different reasons than the marching Y'All."

"You have culinary specialties?" I asked.

"Nooz, Wheeze eaz everyzing. Wheeze noz cookz zings, buz Wheeze goez to Assembliez telz Meeze theiz samplez from ozer."

Narth voice had a strange undertone."The Narth representative reported that the Wheeze mixed the most pungent dishes of several cultures together, creating an entire new odor. A smell that caused the Narth representative to experience a new corporeal reaction, the expulsion of previously consumed food called emesis."

Shea laughed."He threw up?"

"Yes, not a recommended activity while wearing a hood like this."

I still felt very amused when I gave Shaka orders to follow Sol traffic control and land our boat on Armstrong port, Luna. There were no spaceports on Earth itself.

We were still early for the big event, so I had given my crew a few days of shore leave.

This was the Sol system, its third planet was without question one of the most beautiful worlds. Except for Shaka, none of our human crew-members called Earth home, neither did I.

But like the first time I had been here, there was an unexplainable connection that trains descended all those generations of separation. Here, the atmosphere, gravitation and everything else felt simply perfect.

There was no need to keep a watch on a military port on Earth's moon, but regulations required a manned bridge at all times for a ship I service regardless of where it was.

So I remained aboard. It was eerie quiet. SHIP was still there, but her Ego center was gone along with her new Avatar body.

The Computronic now acted much like any other AI system, impersonal and machine-like. SHIP was like a child that was never outside and enjoyed her freedom greatly and even though she could be at a hundred locations at the same time, she defined her Ego center just like any other being.

As strange as it might sound for someone not acquainted with the setup of my truly unique ship, for a purpose the AI of the ship was currently not here.

Stahl was still busy on Pluribus, and I was certain with things a man about to get married. Something I was about to do myself, but I wanted to do that once Eric had separated from me.

I had put up my legs and held a cup of coffee, while I kept an eye on the general board that combined the major duty readouts such as engine status, internal security, navigation, and helm systems. Helm was deactivated just as Navigation. There was virtually nothing to do. Har-Hi had taken Krabbel, Mao, Hans, TheOther, Xon the gray prince and the Golden on a tour of Earth following an invitation of Shaka. The main viewer showed the mostly empty landing field of this relatively small and little-used port. I had selected traditional Nilfeheim ground music and was about to open a book on my PDD, Shea had recommended to me when I had a distinct feeling that something or someone was watching me. I turned to look around the bridge but I did not see anyone. Yet my back hair was standing up and as I could have sworn I saw something move just outside of my peripheral vision. I knew Orthbeer was not aboard. He had joined Ak Fective and Two-Three and went to the most famous zoo of them all, Venus-Zoo. "SHIP seal the bridge." The Computronic responded to my verbal command and the heavy Neutronium plated security shutters slid across the closed Bridge access points. The bridge was now hermetically sealed. Even though there was nothing I could see or hear, I was now convinced something shared the bridge with me. "Ship scan bridge for life forms." "Scan complete. One life form detected." I was about to relax and think that it had been my nerves that played a trick on me, something touched my shoulder...

Chapter 2: The Robe

I jumped out of my seat. I was, except for the .45 I always carried unarmed.

I pulled my old gun and swept the room. There was nothing.

I commanded. "Show yourself!"

There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"SHIP mute all equipment."

Now it became so quiet I could hear my own breath. There, by the science console something insubstantial distorted the duty station for a mere moment. Something or someone cloaked shared the bridge with me. "Last chance whoever you are Show yourself." pistol flew halfway across the bridge and my right arm stung with pain.

I jumped forward and ducked behind the seat of the tactical station. Simply not to remain on one spot, something whooshed through the air and hammered with force into the side of my seat, whatever it was dented the armor plating that encased the outer layers of the command seat.

"SHIP connect me to..."

Something hit me hard against the left cheek, I could hear the cracking of a tooth and pain exploded into my mind, then the entire Communications console was ripped out and tossed into my direction.

I noticed an egg-shaped, fist-sized metallic object rolling from apparently nowhere across the floor, Assuming it was some sort of explosive device. I mustered all my strength and jumped over the navigational console, the device emitted a deafening sound and the exposed skin of my face felt as if a thousand needles hit me at the same time.

The lights went out and every indicator light and screen went dark. It was some sort of Tech Stop grenade and it had neutralized every system on the bridge. Now I had no chance to call for robots or help.

The strangest thing was that I could feel Narth, yet I was unable to reach his mind. Whoever was here had Psionic powers. Oh, how I hated these!

The right thing to do would have been to reach the Command seat and activate the emergency evacuation. The seat could be placed under strong shields and could be ejected, but this was my ship and I would not run and abandon my ship, not that there was a big chance the seat systems would still work. I was kicked again, and so hard into the side, I was lifted off the ground, it was the fact that my apparently thin leather suit was lined with Ultronit mesh that saved my life.

This could not go on like this. I closed my eyes in pain, but as I did it my almost forgotten new sense kicked in. I could feel the environment and now I could detect two human shapes and this time I was able to evade another kick and grabbed the kicking leg to pull at it with all force I could muster. I screamed as whatever made these attackers invisible also burned my hands, luckily my hands were covered with the thin leather gloves that were part of my outfit and that saved them from being more seriously injured and for the first time I heard one of them speak.

"Yes fight us that will make this even more fun!"

I was hurt badly but if they thought I would roll over and die they had picked the wrong girl. Whoever these attackers were, they were sophisticated enough to circumvent all security measures of both the Tigershark and the Union spaceport.

They were shielded and armed and had tech that was at least as sophisticated as the latest Union tech. The voice sounded distorted but the language was Union. One of them grabbed me by the hair and knelt before me.

"Now that we have your undivided attention, we have questions for you and you will answer them. Since it seems you are able to resist our psionic probing we must use more primitive methods. Frankly, I prefer those anyway."

Now the other one came close and said. "Your tech is impressive, but what is it compared to the achievements of the UNI?"

I said nothing, but my mind reeled. The UNI were supposedly extinct even before the Saresii ascended. It was they who created the AI that infiltrated the Crucible. It was them who gave the Kermac that calling device and the means to control the Y'All.

I remembered the Dualix mentioning the UNI while I was in the Cave of Things.

The one holding me by the hair said." We know a lot about you, my dear. We know you have been Eric Olafson and you were born on Nilfeheim."

They pulled me to my feet and he threw his hand across my face both with force and with the stinging heat of a force field that singed and burned my skin.

The force of the blow must have broken my jaw as the pain of it was even greater than the burning sensation.

Then one of them held up a little device. "I am the First Son of Darkness. I am the chosen one to inherit the Power of the Dark One. Not some nitwit of a planet of nitwits.

He played with the thing and said, snickering in an utmost arrogant and evil way. "This is an ancient Saresii device, so much more refined than the crude Neuro rippers.

It causes the purest form of pain both physically and mentally."

I spat blood towards the shimmering shape I could see while I kept my eyes closed and said.

"Take a number then, you are just another clown claiming the Dark One."

"You won't be so cocky in a moment. Let me demonstrate what the Othmor does to a human."

I instantly experienced the same sorrow and helpless agony, I did the day my mother died. At the same time, it felt as if I was doused with boiling oil. Before my inner eyes, I saw in vivid clarity father whipping mother to death.

I could hear her cries and I could see her bloody hands reach out for me, her lips forming my name while the steel cable tore the skin of her beautiful face.

Somehow through my tears and pain, I saw the outline of my tormentor and he laughed. "Now my dear, you see what this thing can do. There is no getting used to it. It magnifies your greatest sorrows and your deepest pains."

The other shape said. "After we are done with you we will go to Nilfeheim and kill the infant and everyone on that planet. We know why the Narth representative takes so much interest in that child. He is the real one, the promised one. Not you, you are just sick and demented.

Your little nephew won't live to come into his own and you have been used by these cursed hooded interlopers to collect the tokens of power for him.

Now tell me what did you take from the Cave of Things and where is it?"

I was out of my mind thinking that beings like this were out to get my nephew. Uncle Hogun with all his strength would stand no chance.

If they could infiltrate the Tigershark while sitting on a Union military port, they would have no problem reaching Nilfeheim.

This fear for my nephew knotted my stomach, but through all this amplified pain and sorrow I remembered my ring...

A new voice spoke. "You have been banished from Narth Prime, now you are agonizing a force that is beyond your masters. No shield of Saresii or UNI design can keep out the one that is the Narth Supreme." I opened my tear and blood blurred eyes, noticing that my eyelids were burned, despite the darkness a black-robed figure hovering a few centimeters above the deck plates, outlined by an aura of yellowish light and two glowing eyes.

The shimmering outline, the one who called himself First Son of Darkness laughed.

"Splendid now I have you in my hands as well. I was your equal when I was on Narth Prime so long ago and that is why you sent me away. Now I am many times as strong as I was back then and I uncovered these UNI cocoons at the bottom of the Shafts of Knowledge. Surrender Narth Supreme surrender. I am Supreme now." The shape held up the Saresii Device and pointed it at the Narth Supreme.

"Take me to the Center of Narth Prime or suffer as no being has suffered. I desire what you keep from me there."

"One is no longer as distant from the motivations of corporal beings as one has been when your visit was granted. You are but the copy of a mistake that one should have corrected long ago. You are nothing; your so-called powers are the same to Narth as a single photon is to the light of a sun. Yet in your foolish quest, you have stirred what should have slept much longer.

So I will obey your command and take you where you want to go."

The Narth Supreme ignored the two beings and it looked as if they were suddenly frozen and said to me, holding out his held his gloved hand. "You too must come as well, your true self stirs much too early." I was still hurting and why I suddenly had the Ax in my other hand I could not tell, but as soon as I touched his hand, the pain subsided.

With the easing of the pain, I heard my brother's voice. "The body we share is still mortal, sister. The Narth Supreme will be punished like they all will be tormented."

"I trust him. He came to help and save my life."

The Narth Supreme did not hear my inner voices. "No time shall pass for the world, so you do not disobey your rules and leave your ship unguarded. No force can make you do these things anymore, you must want to come with me freely. Do you trust the Narth Supreme?"

"I shared the Huhgavh with Narth and through it, I know that you are trust incarnate. I am not yet separated from what Eric will become, but the Dark One will not be the same he was."

He sounded pleased. "There is yet hope that the third way will prevail. Come then with me to Narth Prime, suspend all human limitations and thoughts and simply follow my step."

Narth Prime was over 890 light-years from where we were, but what was space or distance to the Narth Supreme?

I simply followed him and the bridge of the Tigershark was gone.

I found myself in a perfectly spherical chamber of perhaps 200 kilometers diameter, the walls were smooth and gray and there was no visible light source anywhere and yet I could see'

Two men floated in the air about ten meters in front of me.

They both were inside pale shimmering blue fields of Energy.

The Narth Supreme was right beside me and he said. "This is the very heart of Narth Prime and the reason this world was made is right there before us.

One of the men inside those blue energy cocoons yelled elated and said. "Fear of pain and fear of my retribution has made him obey. He floated towards the center. Now witness the birth of a God and bow before your new master."

The Narth Supreme ignored the man and said to me. "Here in the very heart of Narth Prime is what we keep for many eons. Entities of great power, beings with a hunger for godlike powers like this mad man, the ones that created the Y'All and those who sent them they all have searched and for what is here."

He pointed at a black shroud, very much like the ones the Narth wore. Unlike the robes worn by the Narth however, this one had the hood attached. It was not a mask with eyeholes, but an open cowl. The garment was utterly black with a faint shine. It had long voluminous sleeves.

The Narth Supreme said. "Because of this robe, we Narth chose to wear garments of similar style. This is how many civilizations envision a personified death might appear. This image is subconsciously associated with death and the very anti-force of life by almost every sentient beings.

This is how the Guardian of Earth appeared to the humans of Earth, but all are only copies and approximations. This, my child is the shroud, the garment of the Dark One."

To me, it was just a piece of clothing, nothing particularly fashionable. Nothing Erica would want to wear. Something I associated with Narth, not with me. Yet all the pain I had felt before, all the sorrow of this nightmarish experience dissipated and Eric inside me cheered in a triumphant way.

It looked so familiar, it was not for anyone else to keep or search for. It was not for the Y'All or the Uni. It most certainly did not belong to this buffoon, this creature, who caused me so much pain. It did not belong to anyone but me. It was mine!

Without knowing how I bridged the distance and reached the garment before the Blue shielded man did. I knew it was mine as I knew my right arm belonged to me. I clearly saw and felt my ring. I shed the female garments with a mere thought.

It belonged to me and it engulfed me like liquid, like thick smoke and it felt as if I stepped into my own skin. What need did I have of blasters and space ships?

My belt girded the shroud and my boots were on my feet.

This time Crea, her impotent minions, the Lords of Light would not face servants and shadows but Darkness Supreme, the anti-force of life. Creation and life caused chaos and uncertainty. Death was peace and order.

The shielded man yelled. "It is mine, you cretin. Feel the agony".

He held out the device and activated it while his companion released some sort of weapon beam. Neither had any effect on me.

With a mere thought and a fraction of my will, I drained all the energies out of their primitive devices and the two men floated now fully visible and recognizable in the air.

Claw-like hands formed out of thin air before them. No more substantial than smoke or fog, and they penetrated the chests of these men like ghostly whisps.

I could feel their fluttering hearts, touched their frightened minds.

The First Son of Darkness looked like a fish on dry land as he tried in utter panic to get a hold of the smoky nothingness that penetrated his chest.

I said, not recognizing my own voice. "Those who dwell in the deepest Nether regions shall lament thy fate, thou hast raised my anger like nothing that lived in all the Omniverse. Tormented till all times end shall be thy fate."

The men screamed and begged. "I have raised a church in your name. Have mercy."

"I have no need for the meaningless utterings of meaningless creatures. Thy agony, however, will amuse me."

"The black flames, please keep them away, do not cast me down there, please. I will worship..."

The men withered away and while their bodies crumbled to dust, their tormented voices could still be heard as they slowly faded away and fell silent.

The Narth Supreme said. "There is no doubt; there is no one else coming after you. The Prophecy is true, the Nnnth predicted it and the Arth feared your coming. You are the Dark One and that is your garment."

"This is so."

"You have not yet united all the tokens that are needed for your ultimate resurrection. I know the day you will make the decision is soon at hand, the decision all creation waits for untold ages to be made. I raised my ax and said. "Silence, the Narth are formidable and noteworthy yet all that is Narth combined in you is nothing to me. You too must perish as all that denied my coming must succumb to my vengeance."

"What about Shea? Will you kill her too?" I wanted to brush that question aside, she was just an insignificant life form, nothing more than a minuscule spark but I could not.

I said. "I love Shea."

"What about Har-Hi?"

"He is but a speck. Yet, he is my friend."

"Would you slay the one you admire most? Would you kill Richard Stahl?"

"He may live."

What was I saying? "Brother, will you kill me?"

"Of course not. You are human but you are so much more. We are two, but we are also one."

To the Narth Supreme, I said. "Admiral Stahl is the Eternal Warrior. He is our admiral."What about your friend Narth?"

I looked at the Narth Supreme."I do not understand it all, but what is the Dark One is Eric. I am Erica and until Eric finds all his things, we are stuck together. I am the unborn twin sister, my own body has been buried." I shuddered. "Odin help, that sounds even creepier spoken out loud."

I lowered the cowl."What I am trying to say is that Eric the Dark One and I are not the same, but we will never be completely separated."

With a gesture, I returned my ax into its alternate cylindrical form. "As for your question, Narth is beyond friendship he is my brother.

We shared the Huhgavh. I have not figured out exactly who he shared it with, but I am certain there may be a spark of the Dark One."

"Your answers to one's questions show that there is hope."

"There is."

He actually put his hand on my shoulder. "You are the Dark One, Eric. You are the devourer of worlds and your final incarnation has such omnipotent powers that even Narth cannot comprehend. You are the vessel of a God, a dark and angry God, who seeks revenge on those who tricked him and divided his power into twelve pieces Even the combined might of all the powers that opposed you, could not truly destroy you. Why the authorities that decide such things had you reincarnate as an easy to anger Neo Viking is a question one was unable to ascertain. The decision that you would be reincarnated on your world called Nilfeheim was made many eons before you were born.

For this, an Old spirit descended upon Nilfeheim and became one with a native life form there. He became Tyr the white Tyranno Fin.

He watched over your family and made sure all pre-requisites were in place when you were born, he also placed Erica's essence in the same mind.

Tyr planted Erica in you, to temper your anger and hoping it would give you the love for life only a woman can experience because every woman has the potential of becoming a mother."

Tyr is a friend, but he is an agent of the Rule. The rule that is broken, wants to be restored. Restored to the strict division of duality.

But there are other prime concepts and entities that want different outcomes.

There had to be guides and teachers so Egill and the Ancient Keeper were given long lives, to play the roles they did.

That your mother perished by the hand of your father was perhaps not foreseen."

"Who gave Tyr the right to implant anything?"

He still had his hand on my shoulder. "The term God is often used lightly, usually by those who do not understand the motivations and ways of entities on levels above their own. One who is Narth is older than most and yet Narth is still a life form and is far from knowing the answers to all your questions. No entity Narth is aware of knows what will happen in the future. The Arth that is now part of the Nnnth, made the prophecy by overhearing god-like entities, understanding very little of it. One has a much better understanding of time than humans, yet one does not fully understand it.

There are certain waypoints that must be reached and can be predicted, but what happens in between and how they are reached is unknown. There are no such waypoints predicted for the time after you made your decision."

"Can I not simply make this decision now and get it over with?"

"Do you know what decision it is you have to make?"

"No."

"See."

"I have to ask, if Eric is going to be such an evil force, should kill myself?"

"You have a fragile human body, as it just has been demonstrated, and it can die before you come into your own, but the Entity known as the Dark One cannot be killed or destroyed, and without you, as a vessel, there would be no decision and all that is will end. Narth would prefer you remain right here, safe and untouched by the dangers you face, however it cannot be you must go your way. Your friends, their friendship and love; experiencing the life of both male and female will be the factors what one believes will shape you and will all influence your decision."

"I don't feel very dark and I never pictured myself, well Eric as a villain."

The Narth Supreme sounded amused as he said. "That is why there is hope and a chance the Rule will be restored."

"How long do I have, as a human I mean?"

"Time has different meanings to entities like you; maybe tomorrow, maybe ten or a hundred human lifetimes, maybe in a Universe yet to be born. Humans of Earth have an old saying one finds very useful: Live by the day as tomorrow is promised to no one."

I sighed and said. "What about the damaged bridge? How I can prevent any other UNI to simply appear on my bridge. If you aren't around the next time I mean."

"One will rearrange the molecules and matter and restore what has been damaged to the state it was before.

"While Uni-Technology is formidable, the Tigershark's TransDim shields cannot be penetrated by it. These agents of the Church of Darkness had infiltrated Lunar base because they had friends there.

The energy cocoons and weapons they recovered from the Shafts of Knowledge

I am also a Grey Ghost and will initiate measures to improve security in that regard. I will also inform the necessary authorities, to make sure this incident stays classified. That you are the Dark One must remain hidden from all. There are entities that seek to prevent your resurrection."

---

The Narth Supreme had restored my bridge and bade me farewell.

I made a Log entry regarding that incident and sealed it with RED-RED-RED protocol.

The Auto-Dresser restored my suit and I returned to the bridge, resuming my watch duty. This time, however, I kept my belt. Narth Supreme's re-assurance was comforting, but having my ax and sword within reach was even more so.

I was just about to activate the PDD to read the book Shea recommended when the Narth Supreme appeared out of thin air.

"I understand it is custom to ask for permission to come aboard." I got up and said. "Permission granted, are there any more intruders?"

"No, Erica. One is here to officiate the matrimonial ceremony. One has been asked to seal the bond between Richard Stahl and she who is known as Alycia Lichfangh."

"Isn't that still a few days off? I was under the impression, the Admiral is still at Pluribus."

"This is the Sol system. Pluribus is minutes away utilizing the fastest travel options. He insisted on working until the last moment."

The Narth-Supreme added, clearly amused."One of these amazing Terran aphorisms, perhaps states it best. The Eternal Warrior has a case of Cold Feet."

I could not help but smile."He has been single for a very long time. Despite all his reputation, he appears to be quite human indeed."

"That he does." Changing the subject he said. "I am here because it was mentioned that one guest of honor was still missing and so one has offered to fetch you."

"You know I can not leave the ship."

An alarm tone came of the Communications panel and I said to the Narth Supreme. "Please excuse me as I must attend to this."

"By all means, Erica one was expecting this."

I opened the channel and Stahl appeared on the main viewer.

He wore his finest Dress Uniform and he said. "I guess the Narth Supreme is already there.McElligott assigned a trustworthy Officer, temporarily to the Tigershark to stand Bridge watch while you are gone, so there is no excuse."

I had to unseal the bridge for an access request and Lieutenant Marcus stepped off the left I.S.T.

He saluted me and handed me his order chip."Lieutenant Marcus reporting Captain Olafson. I have orders to take bridge watch of this vessel."

I greeted him, inserted his order chip and checked his MITI so the Computronic would accept him and then I gave him the Conn."

He took a seat in the command chair and said.

"I knew you would end up with your own Command faster than anyone I ever knew. I am quite proud of the fact you went through your final Midshipman year under me."

I thanked him and said."I am surprised you recognize me like this."

"Not a day goes by either Captain Harris or the Old man himself speaks about you, and your change was expected, it was part of your personnel file, I had access too as your instructor."

The Narth Supreme stepped next to me and said. "Open your mind as there is a big step ahead of us. I can not teleport us if you don't want it."

He took me by the hand and the bridge vanished It was replaced by a green meadow and a picturesque village surrounded by majestic looking mountains. The air smelled fresh and the single yellow sun in the sky had a particularly pleasant light and warmth. The gravitation felt perfect and I knew I was on Earth again.

We stood on a paved lot before a wood and stone house that had the word Hotel written on the façade itself. The rest of the words I could not read.

The Narth Supreme said. "Even though you are three thousand years and many light years removed from this world it is fascinating to see how this world affects humans. Your metabolism, your inner clock, your very DNA has been shaped here."

I have been on Earth for a short time before and I can only agree. This is the planet our ancestors left to settle on Nilfeheim."

"To us Narth just another world yet it brought forth a sentient species that is perhaps the most fascinating of them all."

"Where are we exactly?"

"The bride insisted on celebrating this memorable moment at the place where the Admiral was born and one was told, that in matters of matrimony the wishes of the bride are to be obeyed."

Shea came out of the door. She wore a peach-colored gown and her blond hair shone like pure gold in the war sunlight.

Her angel-like face wearing a smile and she said. "Come, so we can get you ready as well."

I turned to thank the Narth Supreme but he was gone. Shea took me by the hand and pulled me along. I had never seen her acting so uninhibited and girlish.

"Oh, Erica isn't it all so romantic. I had no idea we would take part in this."

"I am surprised as well." Was all I could think of saying.

The doors of the house were all of the kind we had on Nilfeheim. The manual ones, there was no high tech in sight anywhere.

She led me into a sunlit room. Elfi was already there as well, wearing an identical dress to Shea and she too looked simply gorgeous.

Alycia Lichfangh the exotic-looking beauty stood in the middle of the room in a dreamy bridal gown with much lace.

The woman that stood next to her doing something to the dress was Deepa. She too wore the same gown as Elfi and Shea.

The bride said. "I am glad you came, Erica. My future husband and I wanted you to do us the honors and be the ring bearer."

I said. "I am privileged and fortunate to be asked to participate in such a manner in this momentous event, but I am still new to all these female things and I have no idea what a ring bearer does."

She smiled and said. "I know and no worries you will do fine."

Shea said. "This place has no Auto Dressers so we better get you ready. The Ceremony is scheduled to take place in only two hours from now."

As the girls fussed about me and I dressed into one of these peach colored gowns that, the rustle of dresses, the scents of lotions, perfumes. The giggles and innuendos, the chatter about hair and jewelry and the cooing about flowers, jewelry, and fashion accessories; was of so little substance.

Yet I began to understand it all, the separation from Eric was no longer just a feeling but a fact. I felt amused by his puzzlement.

As I pulled the long silky gloves up over my elbows and looked at myself in the looking glass, I said silently to him."I have been confused and suppressed for a long time, brother. Maybe there is something about being female, that can not be understood by even a Dark God."

His silent response amused me for some reason as he said."It appears so indeed."

Shea clipped jewelry to my ear lobes and whispered in my ears. "You look ravishing and dead gorgeous, and yet you have been so quiet. Is something the matter?"

I said to her. "No not really, it is a profound occasion and I am thinking about us too."

She kissed me with incredible tenderness on the cheek. "You think too much about these things. I haven't heard you really laugh like you did when we were midshipmen.

I know you going to say you are responsible and a Captain and all that. Right now however you are not, you are just a very beautiful female in a nice dress about to witness the wedding of someone you respect and love."

Elfi said. "She is right you know. Remember how you laughed at Krabbel's jokes when we first met? You haven't done any of that lately."

"That is not true. I laughed at Wheeze's antics."

Silently however I had to admit they had a point. That still terrifying aspect of my sudden realization that I was indeed two persons; that one of me was destined to be something dark and evil, beyond human understanding; was something quite sobering.

Right now however I decided to take their advice.

And before any more could be said it knocked and Deepa who was known to the others just as a friend of the bride opened the door.

McElligott entered. He did not just wear his kilt but from the looks of it, the entire costume of his ethnic background. Complete with a matching sash and beret like hat. His chest was decorated with real medals, not the ribbon display kind.

He said with a dreamy smile. "I realized just now, that I never get too old to enjoy such a lovely sight. You all look terrific and you, my dear general Lichfangh transformed from a commanding woman into a truly lovely bride."

She curtsied in a demure way and thanked him.

He then clapped his hands. "I came to fetch the bridesmaids. They need to go right now. The ceremonies are about to start."

Shea and Elfi left. He held out his arm and the bride took it and as he escorted her out the door, he turned and said. "Deepa, Erica. You two need to hurry, your flier is waiting outside." Deepa instructed me one more time what to do and then we too went outside.

I asked Deepa. "Should I not rather been here in Uniform?"

"No sorry, you are a maid of honor."

I saw the bride and McElligott climb into an open animal-drawn wheeled contraption as we entered a flier.

After a very short flight, we entered a temple-like building with beautiful colored windows that depicted some sort of story about a man, a white bird, and crosses.

There were rows of wooden benches and before them a raised platform with a table and a big cross symbol. For some reason, they had also attached a man on that cross.

I found it very strange to see the image of a man who seemed to be tortured in such a central position. Deepa guided me to the first row and we sat down. There she explained to me that the bride wanted a wedding in the traditions of Stahl's old home country and that we were in a church.

I noticed Krabbel hanging from a thread in the back and he was silently talking to the gray Nul prince who was here as well. They had brought in special chairs so Hans and TheOther could sit as well and still they towered over everyone. I noticed TheOther wore something like a tux and was actually kneeling and had both of his hand pairs folded in a particular fashion.

Har-Hi sat right behind me and leaned forward. "I had not expected to be part of this. This is quite a historic event and that the Eternal Soldier invited us here is truly an honor."

I whispered back. "It is indeed. I had no idea we would until a few hours ago."

He said. "My father is supposed to come as well to the banquet later and Shaka's father is here."

Circuit leaned over a balcony above us and waved and then pointed to a contraption with metallic pipes and talked to another X101, I recognized as the Avatar body of Mother Machine.

SHIP was also up there and listened to whatever Circuit was talking about. The Machine behind them looked like some sort of multi-barrel rocket launcher.

A tough-looking bunch of Marines sat across the aisle. I was certain they were members of the Steel Gauntlet.

Captain Harris was there and many more beings I did not know.

I did, however, recognize Gwen Hallow the JAG prosecutor who was also a member of the Coven. The empty seat next to Har-Hi was suddenly occupied by Narth and he said.

"It will begin soon. This is the first time the Narth Supreme is doing something like that, but then he is very fond of the Admiral."

Har-Hi hissed at Narth. "Where have you been?"

Narth held up a leather-bound black book and said. "They have provided reading material in the back of these seats and I never read anything more illogical, thus I visited a human called Pope but he fainted as I appeared and wanted to ask him about A pamphlet in the back praises him as a subject matter expert.

I was told he never saw a Narth before."

Har-Hi snickered. "I think you should call before you make such unexpected visits, besides I read some of this and it is quite funny. There is one guy who stuffs all sorts of animals into a boat because it rains."

Whatever Har-Hi said to Narth next I did not hear as the rocket launcher in the back suddenly made music. I had to admit it wasn't bad at all and sounded somewhat like Ult harmonics without the gong beats.

Even I was surprised as I saw the Narth Supreme appear on that raised platform, he did not wear his usual black but a completely white robe and there was a faint glow emitting from him. Now I saw the Admiral getting up and stepping up before the Narth Supreme. He was not wearing Navy black, but a dark blue uniform with a white belt and golden buttons. His ribbon display appeared to be analog and made of real ribbons. He looked every inch like a Marine.

Now the music changed and it was a beautiful melody. From the back of the temple, the bride appeared chaperoned by McElligott who glowed with pride and a big smile on his old face. Elfi and Shea walked behind the bride.

While Alice and Warner marched ahead spilling some kind of white and red pieces of something on the red carpet that lined the center aisle.

Alycia then went alone up to Richard Stahl and joined him before the Narth Supreme.

Deepa poked me and whispered take the pillow with the rings and get up there and do as we told you."

I had almost forgotten and tried to remember what it was I had to do. I was quite nervous and didn't want to do anything embarrassing, but Deepa gave me the thumbs up and it seemed to be alright.

The Narth Supreme said. "Through the young Narth that found friendship with Eric, one has learned many things about emotions and values such as friendship, honor, and love. We Narth are revered by many as wise, as beings full of powers and answers to the mysteries of the Universe. We found solace in observing a star being born and we have seen the very center of the galaxy. Yet we have forgotten that affection and love are also powers of incredible magnitude, now we are re-discovering what we have lost. Before us stands a human man caught up in forces and events that made him see more, experience more and live through more hours of hardship, sorrow and the ugliness of war than perhaps anyone, yet the Narth Supreme recognizes the steady foundation and the love for truth and living a righteous life by example. Admiral Stahl has earned the respect of friend and foe and also of all that is Narth.

Before me also stands a woman who lived in another universe, played with forces she did not understand and was punished to live as a monster in the nether worlds.

Shen=, an entity of great might abandoned her ways to rescue a wounded man and follows him ever since. They could not be more different.

Yet the unexplainable power of true love united them and through this symbolic act, this customary human event, they bind themselves to each other.

In doing so, they share each other's essence to become a new symbiotic unity, two distinctive individuals yet also one. So he who is the Narth Supreme asks thee..."

The entire affair went on a little while longer and both Richard and Alycia answered his questions with 'I do' and were declared husband and wife.

They took the rings from the pillow I was carrying and I noticed that unshakeable Admiral Stahl was ever so slightly trembling as he lifted her veil and they kissed."

The banquet that was planned did not happen. Just after the happy couple walked out into the sunshine to meet the few reporters and newsagents who were informed about this otherwise privately kept affair, a Commander with a serious expression on his face rushed up to McElligott. The Old Admiral talked to Stahl and then the newlyweds talked to each other and Stahl addressed their guests and us. "Sorry to cut these festivities short, but yet another Ancient gate has been discovered and it is spewing unknowns attacking the Union Klack Corridor. Several well-established Colonies are destroyed and more are in imminent danger. It apparently involves an alliance with the Shiss, we must assume full-scale conflict. Due to the gravity of this situation, I have to cut short and postpone these festivities for my bride and me. The civilians among you are welcome to eat and drink. All fleet and military personnel please report for duty, it looks the Shiss and Unknowns gave us to war for a wedding gift.

Someone near me said. "Boy did they pick the wrong day, Stahl looked pissed."

Chapter 3: Christmas Base

Lord Lumis sat brooding on his throne as he listened to the latest report Mircael delivered standing below the golden steps that led to the Seat of the Righteous, occupied by the chosen of Crea.

"Champion of light, it is I Mircael the Brilliant who must again be the bearer of news that might not be well received."

The man, who existed in spite of the will of the One behind it all, removed his gauntlet covered fist from his chin and straightened in his golden seat. "Speak then, Mircael. It is about Lathrop my rival, is it not?"

"Yes, mighty stalwart it is. The self-proclaimed Son of Darkness, the one called Lathrop has been slain.

It is a gene clone copy of his that tries to become the Dark One."

"Foolish of course, the Dark One will not incarnate in a clone copy. Therefore you wasted much time, chasing the wrong leads. We know the Dark One has already chosen a vessel and reunited six of the Tokens."

The Lord of Light got up. "I must travel to this star isle, face and slay that creature before it can reunite all tokens. Yet where do I go?"

"I told you before, mighty Paladin. There is a union of sentient species..."

"I know, the one you said the Narth and the Coven are part off. Something I still find hard to believe. Maybe your sources are as wrong about that as they were about this Lathrop being the one."

"Chosen Son of light, we had no guidance. Our most wise leader found it necessary to remain in the Upper Realms, while the Dark One found its vessel."

"You are safe because I am in need of you. However, your criticism will not be forgotten. Now, tell me more."

"It is good you will remember them, I am sworn to the light."

"You insist on your story that the Narth and the Coven are part of a larger society? The Narth do not accept the refugees from the Nether-Worlds. Besides Malag and his spawn must have reduced the Coven witches to a few survivors. Have their hideaway been found?"

"The Malag has been slain, the Coven Hunters have been destroyed. The Narth alcove at the Assembly is right next to the alcove of the Coven. The Eduk and the Saresii have welcomed the Coven just as the Narth have done.

Narth agents strengthen their intelligence services. There are whispered rumors that the Narth Supreme has allowed the Nnnth crystals to be accessed and Nnnth technology has been shared."

Uritel another knight of the light approached the high seat of the chosen one. "Lord of light. I have returned from the spiral of stars after speaking with our agents. Mircael speaks true, the Union of societies is not an empire. It is not a kingdom, but it strong and solid. They defeated the Y'All, the Piostla, and many others. The Dark One is already here, his vessel walks among them, reunited with seven tokens already."

"In dire times, dire measures must be taken. I shall travel to the Stronghold of the Fallen and consult with Saeth the Highfather of the Brotherhood. You, Mircael will find the Urd and press for information. These old spirits might know where the Dark One has found his vessel."

--""--

My crew and I had returned to the Tigershark and readied for liftoff, when the Admiral of the Fleet himself contacted us, still wearing his traditional highlander costume. "Captain Olafson, please proceed to your original destination, Chrismas base, and the 124th."

"Aye, Sir. We have a destination, and orders to be attached to the 124th?"

"Not attached, what a silly idea, just using their base. It is about the Ypeherix. You will meet with Dr. Mark Members who has become the Science corps matter expert on these enigmatic creatures."

"Sir what about the Shiss and the Unknowns?"

"The First Fleet is on its way. So am I, and twenty full number fleets. 96th to 100th are there already along with the very recently Nul turned Union fleets. Girl, there are so many battleships and combat units responding there isn't much room for your fish. The Tigershark for all its power isn't meant for full-scale battles."

He held up his hands to keep me from saying anything and added. "I read the report and seen the visuals of you fighting the Y'All, your big friend made me watch it three times. I am not questioning your ability to fight when you must, but that was and is not the reason the Tigershark exists. Besides your ships hull is just repaired not fully restored.

Christmas Base has a shipyard with the capabilities to do just that."

"Commodore Haraka's orders then are no longer valid?"

"These are my orders. Sorry, Captain Olafson. Like it or not I am in charge."

"Just checking, Sir."

"Good speed, Captain Olafson."

He disconnected and I said to Krabbel. "You heard him Mr.Krabbel. Lay in a course for Christmas base."

--""--

Calia Lethra lounged relaxed in the comfortable Vari-Matic seat of her space ships' little lounge and had watched a Newscast on GalNet One, the Union's main News Channel. Her elegant little Sports Ship was speeding towards Togr, the home-world of the Togar.

The ship was currently in Quasi-Space and the oversized ISAH Pods propelled it with many times the speed of light via this trans-dimensional layer between real space and HyperSpace where faster than light speeds could be obtained without the tempo-spatial limitations of real space.

She was a Togar female, member of a proud and ferocious feline species ruling over a sizable empire in the Upward Sector of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Soon her ship was soon to leave Union Space and traverse into Freespace and after another 430 light-years would reach Togar Space and the Planet High Togr, the, and center of the Togar Empire.

Like most Union citizens, she was following the events unfolding near the Union Klack corridor; technically not a corridor anymore since the Nul had joined.

Two colonies had been attacked and destroyed by unknowns, apparently aided by the Shiss. The unknowns turned out to be Shiss as well, led by a renegade named Hazzzock.

A sizable fleet of Shiss warships had been engaged near Balmung of all places.

The other news dominating the channels was the recent engagement of the Eternal Warrior and the Commandant of the PSI Corps, Alycia Lichfangh.

Calia was one of the few Togar that gained Union Citizenship. She was the commanding officer of the American Spirit, the private space-ship of Alex Enroe, the president and CEO of Enroe Industries.

Alex was her employer, but he was also her friend.

Enroe Industries was the only Union entity that did business with the Togr empire, Alex considered to be a friend of the queen herself.

Calia Letrah landed her elegant little ship near the estate of her family. It was almost 2000 Gorth from High Togr, the capital, and almost twenty Gorth to the next neighbor.

Out here at the southern edge of the Golden Savannah, nature was still unspoiled and just the way it was many thousands of years ago when the Togar did not fly among the stars to fight and conquer.

Calia was as proud as any Togar of their achievements, but she realized how much the Union had changed her way of thinking and looking at things.

Her mother and three of her siblings came running and she saw her father and her brothers in the back waiting for the females to allow them to join.

The Letrah family had neither been very influential or rich until Calia worked for Enroe Industries. Now they could afford this sprawling home complex, with servants and six square-gorth of private land.

Her ship was a brand new sixty-seven-meter Enroe Colt III. Designed to be a toy to the super-rich.

As the commanding officer of the American Spirit and a friend of Alex Enroe, she received a very generous salary and this ship as a present.

She pressed the contact of the cargo door and waved the kids and the family close, the men also. "I have a load of fresh pork, Lots of tuna and a ton of bacon." She yelled and waved them close.

There was nothing Togars loved more than Terran style bacon, except perhaps Terran style Tuna fish.

It was served in small portions to the very rich and influential families in expensive eateries.

She probably could have purchased a nice villa in the Vughtr quarters of the Capitol for the revenue of her cargo if she decided to sell it.

She managed to get home only every other year or so, because Togr was far and the trip was, despite her fast ship not without risks. She had to fly across pirate-infested Freespace, and on more than one occasion was fired upon by Togar ships, as she reached Togr space.

Of course, they were supposed to hail, but Togar usually fired first and rarely if ever hailed. Some were openly jealous and would not hesitate to blow her little ship to bits to get to the cargo and the fine tech it contained.

Togar tech was crude and primitive compared to Union standards. She always managed to outrun them.

That the little ship had a high powered FLT Quon Plasma Cannon, six HEL torpedoes (a miniature version of the famous and feared LOKI torpedoes Enroe Industries manufactured), and was equipped with the finest Union shield technology was, of course, another reason she always managed to reach Togr unharmed.

The Enroe Colt was magnitudes faster than anything the Togar or pirates had.

Officially she was under the Queen's protection and much of the cargo in the other hold was for the Queen herself.

While Enroe Industries was officially doing business with Togr, doing the actual trade was difficult. Corporate ships of Enroe delivered the wares to Pandenom, a world just 25 light-years in Freespace and Togar ships picked it up. Enroe did not want to make it too obvious they traded with Togr. While there was no Union law prohibiting this kind of trade, the general public was not too fond of the Togar, mostly due to the unfortunate and well-known practice of Togar buying humans to eat.

Pirates usually had no quarrel attacking a single Togar ship either, so battleships had to be sent along, making the traded wares quite expensive.

Her mother greeted Calia who was the oldest daughter of the pack.

"Have your claws and fangs dulled slaving for those meek and weak humans?"

Her mother could not make up her mind if she should be proud of her daughter or ashamed, so her greeting was no different than usual. She did enjoy the gifts and the wealth that came with them and kept the insults to a limit.

"Some of the humans I know, could rip you to bits and before you had time to roar, mother."

It was no boast either. She had seen Union Marines fight; however, the average human had no chance against a Togar female who could take on a Shiss and win.

Of course, this was a moot point. Neither the Togar nor the Shiss, stand any chance of survival if the Union really went to war.

The feared Nul, perhaps the only known civilization that would at least cause some damage, had in a quite surprising move, joined the Union only recently.

And now even the legendary Y'All or whatever was left of them were Union members.

She had seen the images of the latest space battle. The Shiss had attacked with everything they got and were slaughtered, it wasn't even a real fight.

Whenever she was thinking about these things, she remembered the young man, Eric Olafson who had taken command of her ship and defeated a Dai battleship. Sometimes she wondered whatever happened to him.

He most likely had graduated Academy and perhaps advanced to Luitenant, serving aboard a battleship.

There were great warrior species out there: the Dai, the Shiss, the Nul to name a few. But Humans and especially the Terrans were not just warriors they were soldiers and in the end, Soldiers always defeated warriors.

Her mother ripped open a sealed pack with bacon and stuffed a handful of slices into her maw, then said.

"I have seen humans they are weak and easily slaughtered."

"You have only seen slaves, tied up, naked, spirit broken colonists, kids, and women.

You never faced a real Terran. Our queen who is a strong and capable fighter respects the human who is my boss."

"The queen played with him, she considers him a fancy little pet. It is a disgrace that my own daughter, a warrior born is subservient to a human and even worse he is a male!"

"It doesn't stop you from eating the bacon or selling my gifts to live in luxury."

The banter was interrupted by the high pitched noise of approaching fliers. Only important families and the nobles had fliers.

The ones approaching were large and armed and bore the sigil of the Queen. She counted seven and the first one bore the banner of the queen herself.

The Queen's flier landed close while the six others landed in a semi-circle behind.

Ever since the trial of the Innocent white daughter of the Light spirit, the queen was quite aware of the fact that there was a growing danger to her life.

The ruler of the mighty Togr Empire herself stepped down and approached.

Calia and her family knelt and lowered their heads, paws stretched upwards to show devotion, obedience and that there were no weapons.

Tobaia the seventeenth approached Calia and said. "Rise and face your sovereign."

Calia did. The queen had not come alone.

Two steps behind her was an all-black Togar female with glowing yellow eyes. Black Togar were very rare and usually in the service to the Goddess of Togr.

This one was no exception, she wore the hooded robe of the High Priestess.

The Queen was among the largest females, her fur was of rich golden color that at places was turning grey around arms and legs and along her nuzzle.

The queen showed interest on Calia's ship. "You have a new one again? This one looks quite fast."

"Yes, your majesty. It accelerates at over 890 north per second and I made the trip from Union space to Togr in only sixteen days."

The queen sighed. "My engineers tell me that our fastest ships accelerate to 300 north. Humans always seem to excel in these matters."

"Your majesty, I brought you gifts. The finest Tuna, something called Sardines, delicious honey roasted ham and of course bacon."

She reached into a pouch she had on a strap across her shoulder and held out a glass jar with a blue lid. "This your majesty, is called Caviar and comes from an exclusive fish farm on Terra itself. Mr. Enroe sends this and a case with 100 more jars as a personal gift to you."

The queen opened the jar and scooped a mass of dark grey fish eggs with a clawed finger, sniffed at it and then tried. She squeezed her eyes closed and then licked her chaps. "Convey our thanks. It is a delicacy like no other."

The priestess stepped forward. "Your majesty there are Togr delicacies just as good as any the humans have. Should the sovereign of our glorious empire not lead by example?"

The queen held out the jar. "Sample this, priestess and say what we have that compares."

The Priestess reluctantly tried, it was clear that she was unable to pretend it was not good and she said. "It is decadent and designed by Humans to make us dependent."

The queen waved at Calia's family. "Remove yourselves, we have need to speak to Calia."

They watched as Calia's mother and her sisters were running back to the dwelling and Calia wondered with a growing sense of alarm what this was all about.

The priestess was the one speaking first. "We decided to use you. You are a Union citizen after all."

Celia's neck-hair was standing up. "Use me?"

The queen gestured towards the dwelling. "Your family will be an incentive. Their welfare, their very lives depend on you now. We are your queen, but we are aware that our commands and wishes might not have the importance and gravity they should have to you."

"What is this all about? I am a visitor, not a subject."

The priestess snarled. "All Togar are subjects, it is not your decision that makes it not so. A criminal, traitorous, blaspheming renegade has fled our justice and avoided her due punishment by fleeing and hiding behind Union borders."

Celia knew of course what they were talking about. "The White Fur?"

The Priestess spat. "A pretender, bleached fur. Offspring of a mangy criminal! She must be executed for her crimes."

The queen said. "Are you not Togar? This criminal has created much unrest and her existence threatens Togr. She must be unmasked for what she is in public and drowned as it must be the fate of such insidious crimes."

"What threats could the offspring of a mangy criminal pose to you, mighty queen? Especially if she is so far away?"

The priestess clenched her claws. "Consider the fate of your family! Consider your own life. Do not anger her majesty with questions. You are a simple mind and you are to obey. Bring the White Fur here. Your family will rise in importance and exist in safety, defy us and every one of your family will be drowned after being declared traitors."

--""--

Shaka dropped us out of Quasi-space. "Rudolph's Star and Christmas Base right ahead, Captain."

"To what directional plane are you relating this statement?" Narth wanted to know. "If straight ahead is a line of direction drawn from the bow of this ship to Rudolph's Star, we are not aligned correctly."

Shaka made a defeated gesture. "I stand corrected, Sir."

I smiled at that and said. "What kind of place is Christmas Base?"

Shea looked up from her console. "It is a GWC 4C, a very cold planet with a narrow equatorial strip of more moderate temperatures, but perpetual rain and snowstorms. It is home to the 124th, which is a full number fleet, thus this is a sizeable base. Bigger than Richter and unlike our home base very busy."

Circuit sitting behind the engineer controls in the rear, instead of being in engineering said. "Advanced Armor and Hull development; it has a small dockyard here as well."

"That makes me wonder." I said."Why would they put this so far beyond consecutive Union space?"

Circuit answered. "Christmas base might be quite distant to Upward, but you know the Homestar of the Camogi isn't too far, they are the best nuclear chemists, being sentients based on Nuclear chemistry themselves."

Hans chimed in. "Besides this is sensitive research and the further away it is from main traffic, the easier it is to know who is coming and going.

"Alright then, Elfi announce our arrival and ask for docking instructions."

--""--

Three hours later I found myself face to face with the Commandant of the 124th. He was, much to my personal dismay, Thauran. I had sworn to myself not to generalize and judge a being by race or origin. But this Admiral lower half made that very difficult.

"I am your commanding officer and I care only about the official orders, not what you think or want, Captain Olafson. Your ship is damaged and orders from Fleet Command are to have it fixed at the docks of the AAHD. Your Chief Engineer and his team will stay with the ship and receive additional training there."

He sat behind a wide desk in a spacious office with mustard yellow carpet and floor to ceiling viewports over a wind-swept landing field and endless planes of snow beyond. He played with an order chip between his fingers and stared at me out of cold disapproving eyes. He had not offered me a seat and had me remain standing. "I expected you much earlier. Commodore Haraka gave you very specific orders. Why did you find it necessary to take a side trip to Earth? Never mind answering. You are an acting captain according to Commander Haraka."

"Sir, I was ordered to..."

"I did not give you permission to speak. According to this, you are a Midshipman. What shenanigans did you pull, perhaps wiggle those boobs in someone's face and obtained the permission to transfer a damaged piece of unregistered hardware to AAHD? Well, Midshipman Olafson, the gravy train ends here, you are assigned to the USS Braden. There you will assist Master Chief Hwenro in environmental until we can figure out how to send you back to the academy or drum you out of the Spatial Navy. We don't really need failures like you. Never graduated after all this time, what has the Academy come too?"

He shook his head. "This never happened when I was there."

"You did not graduate from Newport by any chance?" I asked.

"Ah I see, excellence is recognized. Of course, I am and I told you to be silent. Wasting my time already." He had never put the order chip I had given him into a reader but kept playing with it. Then he tossed it into the recycler.

"You are dismissed, midshipman. I have a good mind having you scrub a corridor for being insolent and pretentious."

He snorted. "Acting captain, pah! A midshipman. No wonder, it all makes sense now. You, not showing up on any lists."

"Sir, please contact the Admiral of the Fleet."

"Just so you know, I have you investigated by JAG. I have an idea of how you bypassed so many rules, slept with any officers lately, bimbo? Who was your commanding officer and why did you become acting captain?"

"Admiral McElligott made me acting captain."

"Commodore Haraka told me about that. This is all very serious, you should not take this lightly."

"Oh I am taking all this very seriously, it is you I am taking lightly."

I raised my voice. "Computronic, identify Olafson, Erica. Service Number 1082320-O-5434"

"Identification verified. Voice, Menta and DNA patterns match ID implant data and Central Personnel Data. Personnel data classified."

"Priority Contact request, McElligott, Admiral. Day Code Iced Tea."

"Requestor on priority direct list. Switching to secure direct."

It took mere moments and McElligott responded. "Captain Olafson?"

"I am under arrest and in the brig of Christmas Base. Admiral Taros has stripped me of my command and assigned me the Brender as a shuttle pilot or something. How many more times am I going to be arrested and harassed because you fail to inform those half baked pencil necks about me?"

"What are you talking about?"

I gave him a full account and added. "If you wanted me here and strip me of my command, why this way? What action of mine made you decide not to tell me and have me treated like this?"

"I ... I gave Commodore verbal orders, he must have misinterpreted them and added his own. I deal with him."

"Misinterpreted? Admiral McElligott, I respect you. If you think I am that stupid just say so. This phenomenon of self-absorbed, self-righteous pieces of Nubhir dung infesting this navy stinks to high heaven. He did not misinterpret anything. You tell that Andorian that I have challenged him and will send him my gauntlet. He may choose any weapon and the place, but by Thor, I will be there. If he fails or ignores this, I will ask my uncle to have me address the assembly and re-issue my challenge while standing on the Focus."

"You are getting more like Stahl every day, first he threatens me with the Assembly and now you."

My anger felt suddenly less and there was a sense of deep pride. "He did?"

"Never mind that. Admiral Taros are you there?"

The Thauran was not so arrogant and self-centered anymore. "Yes, Sir."

"Who is the Admiral of the Fleet?"

"You, Sir."

"Are you certain?"

"Absolutely, Sir. You just made me Commandant of the 124th a month ago."

"So Commodore Haraka is not, right?"

"No."

"Captain Olafson handed you an order chip of mine. Why are you ignoring my orders then?"

I snickered. "Because he never even bothered to check it. He is a Newport graduate, Admiral McElligott."

The Thauran reached for the collar of his uniform. "I assumed they were just written duplicates of Commodore Haraka's orders."

With a friendly tone, McElligott said. "Please insert it in your reader. This action will not only verify the orders given but the identity of all the ones the orders are for. As you know of course, as every single member of this navy."

The Thauran changed into a very pale shade of blue. "Sir, I misplaced it."

"He tossed it in the recycler," I said crossing my arms.

McElligott said. "This is very serious. Destroying Order chips and disregarding protocol. You are to vacate this office. It is the office of the fleet commandant, which you are no longer. You are assigned to the USS Braden, to the environmental until JAG can finalize your case."

"Sir, I am an Admiral!"

"Not much longer, Mr. Taros. You are welcome to resign of course."

I said. "Not so fast. He belittled me and insulted me and that while we both wore uniform. I challenge you Mr. Taros. Chose your weapons and the location, now!"

"I do not understand why a lowly midshipman has the ear of the Admiral of the Fleet unless my accusations of sexual favors offered in return for advances are true. A tall blonde and an old man..."

McElligott got red in his face."This is ... Erica, kill that bastard or I will!"

Taros laughed. "I will best you, woman. I am a master with the rapier. I trained with Master Millieu. And we fight outside. I am used to this snow world!"

He was not bad, I had to admit in a mediocre sort of way. I pulled the rapier out of his chest, as he dropped to his knees. A thin line of blood trickled from the side of his mouth. "How?"

"You challenged a Neo Viking from Nilfeheim to a swordfight in the snow and you wonder why? Go ask whoever you meet next why this was certainly the dumbest idea in your life."

A little later I met the new Commandant, a Battlegroup commander had been asked to fill the position. The new Commandant was a Maggi Sauron and he said. "For whatever it is worth, Captain Olafson I thank you for what you did. Now I understand the Admiral of the Fleet is standing by to speak with you. Please use the office as long as you need."

He saluted and left, while the McElligott established a hard light avatar. "Did you slice him good?"

"I think he lives. The medics were right there."

"Good."

I said sharper than intended. "This phenomenon of self-righteous, self-important bureaucrats in positions of power in our navy appears to be an epidemic. I don't even understand why someone like him wears the same uniform I do."

"As I said before you sound more and more like that idol of yours. He basically used the same words before he wiped the floor with Gaylord but I can not dismiss either critique easily."

"Gaylord, who?"

"Another admiral who at first refused manual labor, he is digging like a mad man right n..." McElligott stopped himself and cursed. "Sweet mother of god, now I am explaining things to you. Good heavens, where did he find you? As it may be. Captain Olafson, I will try to clean up our navy a little better. The Tigershark is grounded until she is space and battle-worthy again. Your brilliant engineer and his department will stay with her to learn how to fix that hull and get the tools to do it. Give the rest of your crew two or three weeks shore leave. You, Ms.Schwartz, the Dai and the Narth go find Dr. Makers and get up to date on that phenomenon about those shattered worlds. Another garden world turned volcano just a week ago."

--""--

Har-Hi thanked the Klack waiter for the beers. We both sat at a table next to large viewports that overlooked the same windswept landing field, just a few levels below the Commandant's office. This officer's lounge was almost completely deserted.

He raised his glass. "Maybe it is the fact that we jumped pretty much every normal line and that we have not been exposed to what the navy really is, but we sure met a fair number of tools. Newport eh?"

I nodded and reached for the other glass. "Yes, I somehow could tell the moment I walked in his office. O thin you might have a point there."

"Well, then there is the fact that there are literally billions of officers and enlisted that never seen or talked to the Immortals. Heck, I remember there were officers aboard the Devi who never seen Stahl. I think that is also a factor. We are exposed to the highest levels and that makes our view of things different. I don't think that Admiral you just ventilated, ever even considered that you really know the Admiral of the Fleet. I doubt many will ever believe me that I was at Stahl's wedding."

He tapped my glass with his and drank.

I did the same and drained it. Ordering another, the glasses were ridiculously small. "You know I think you have a point there. We would not have been to Newport in the first place."

The waiter placed more beer before me and said. "You're captain Olafson right?"

"Yes I am, why?"

"The base is abuzz, Ma'am. Somehow you managed to get him replaced. Pardon my Klack, but he was a rancid royal drone. Everyone hoped for the Maggi, well the Maggi Sauron we got now."

I simply nodded. I didn't want to discuss fleet business with a civilian employee.

Har-Hi apparently had fewer inhibitions. "He wasn't well-liked?"

"He wasn't here long enough to be really hated, but he made sure that this would change. Anyway, I got guests in table eight."

I drained the second glass, belched and wiped the foam of my lip.

Elfi who was just arrived said with an elfish grin. "Captain, that was not exactly ladylike."

"Well, princess not everyone was raised in a royal palace or as a girl. I am still getting used to the female side of life. Besides I am a child of Nilfeheim, we praise Odin for a cold beer with a thundering belch, male or female."

She rolled her pretty eyes."That you are from Nilfeheim we know, your latest attest is still kneeling in the snow outside."

"He died? I thought the medics were right there?"

"Yeah to diagnose his demise. From what I understand no one really feels all that sorry."

Har-Hi shrugged."I was at a banquet in Nilfeheim, and Eric's sister is a sight to see. There were women and maids, daughters and wives but the term lady might have been misplaced."

"Hey! We have ladies on Nilfeheim!"

"Yep and one of them drank a dozen Dai Warriors off the bench and sliced off a hand and two ears while not spilling a drop of her beer. Not so long ago."

Elfi laughed and sat down, waved for the waiter and ordered one herself.

We just started to relax when Roghor came to our table. "Captain, I can't find Jolaj anywhere. Cateria sent me to ask if you might know where she is."

Chapter 4: Dispersed

"No I don't, but I gave everyone shore leave including Cateria." While I said I had a strange feeling about that and tapped my PDD."SHIP, do you know where Ensign Jolaj might have gone?" "Yes, Captain. She was summoned, along with Dusty to the Personnel office of this base."

I got up, tugged at my sleeves and said to Har-Hi."I don't like this. Why would they be summoned while neither Cateria nor I were informed.?"

Har-Hi got up as well."Let us go to that Personnel office then and find out."

After the local Computronic gave us directions and we found the next Intern Base Transport access, I called SHIP again."Why weren't the XO, the CMO or me informed?"

"Sorry Captain, but you are not the Captain of the Tigershark anymore. I am breaking all kind of rules speaking to you, I am so glad you are calling."

A cold fist grabbed my stomach."I am not?"

"Sorry, but you have been transferred to the USS Braden."

I slowly counted to ten in old Norse, forcefully stopping my hand from reaching for the Ax. Then I called the Admiral again."Sir, I am relieved of my command! Transferred to the USS Braden. What is going on?"

McElligott gasped and checked something on a terminal of his."That bastard, that goddamn bastard!"

He looked up."I failed to revoke Admiral Taros rank. He and..." He stopped in mid-sentence and actually yelled."Have Commodore Taraka, report to my office now."

That was a preview of Erica Olafson, Journeys of the Tigershark (Vol 9). To read the rest purchase the book.

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