Eric Olafson Neo Viking Vol 1 Chapter 3 Union school
- 2 years ago
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I had returned to the Pillar burg after my fateful meeting with father and had bought me a used but decent Opel Blitz flier at the flier garage in Isen. The mechanic knew me well by now and made me good deal. I still didn’t know his name. Everyone in the small City at the southern Pole called him, “The Mechanic” and that’s what the sign read over his business. The Opel was red, but then he didn’t have many color choices for me to choose from. Very expensive models could change their color on demand pressing a button, but not the fliers on Nilfeheim. The flier was a medium sized four seater with enough cargo space for all of my needs and it was fast and I could make the trip in an hour. I could have gone to the school at Isen, but I wanted to end my school year in my school. Two month had passed since the Old man had left and I felt free and without real problems. We had a new teacher, a thin guy named Mr. Smithers and he was less stern then Walters but even more demanding.
Then Adolph Lindbergh invited me to come to Halstaad Fjord and he said all Submarines of Nilfeheim would be there.
It was like a fair. Up and down the wharf at Oslo Plaza the boats and submarines of the clans were tied up. The Inns and Restaurants had set up tables to sell snack food and the norse men strutted in their finest and decked out with weapons up and down the wharf. It all started with Adolph calling the Boat manufacturer on New Sweden. The boat company promised to send a team of technicians and then other manufacturers did.
Silver Falcon Boats, New Sweden Maritime and Greifswald Werft Corp, these three companies made most of the boats and subs found on Nilfeheim for the last 500 years and they brought their newest models along and put up show stands. Several banks had representatives here to discuss leasing and loan options. The Friesenheim clan did not waste the opportunity and had set up a big open sided tent showing their wares and harpoons. Sword smiths, Fabric weavers, Net makers and Tackle Shops, they all participated and of course Uncle Hogun had his grills out and did brisk business selling Finner roast, Blue Finner Steaks and Ale.
I had taken the Old Man’s boat to the event as I thought it would not hurt to have it checked out as well.
Even though it didn’t take me three weeks to get to Bifrost island as the boat could go much faster as the Old man had it go when we went to his rock.
It still was a long trip and when I arrived the event was well underway. Even though the my sub was the last and I found a spot way down the row, it did stand out as it was bigger and looked very different than the hunting boats with their Harpoon gun turrets on the bow. A bunch of kids gathered as the hydraulics lowered the gangway to the wharf. I smiled as I could hear them arguing what type it was, as I had the same problem not so long ago. Yet it felt as if it was a lifetime.
“What kind of boat is that?” One of the boys wanted to know as I stepped off.
“It is a Poseidon IX –Multi Mode Fast Attack.”
“I never seen or heard of any sub like that.” He said rippling his nose as he looked up to me.” It doesn’t have any clan colors and is all black.”
“It’s a very old boat.”
His face dropped a little and said to his friends.” It’s old! Let’s check out the new ones again!”
They ran off but two men, clearly Off-Worlders wearing blue coveralls came over. Both were clean shaven and had short hair. The taller one held a PDD in Clipboard mode and the shorter one carried an Image recorder in his left and he had a dreamy smile on his face as he stared at the sub. “What a beauty. A real Poseidon Multi Mode probably surplus of the Markan World Wars.”
The taller one said.” Is this your boat, Sir?”
“Not yet but I take care of it.”
“Can we take a look inside and check it out? I am Sid Winslow; Chief Engineer of the Greifswald Werft Corporation, Holstein Planet and this is Piotr my assistant.”
“That’s what I came here for. I thought it would not hurt to have it checked, considering its age.”
“It still is a SII military grade product and legendary!”
The two disappeared inside the boat and I was certain it would be a while, the smells coming over from the food stands were enticing and I wanted to say hello to Uncle Hogun and perhaps eat a Blue Finner Steak.
The boats and subs were tied and arranged by Alliances so the Olafson boats were next to the Lindbergh boats, the Oseberg and Peerson boats, to my surprise the Elhir boats as well. The three green and yellow Steiner boats had the Olafson flag tied over the bows.
Uncle Hogun was busy cutting portions of a Fangsnapper roast.
“Can you cut me a piece with as much crust as possible?” I asked and he looked up dropped the sword sized butcher knife and gave me a bear hug that squished the air out of my lungs.” Eric!”
He actually kissed me on the forehead and then said.” I haven’t slept right since that night we talked! I am so sorry.”
I returned the hug and said.” It all worked out so it seemed. I got my own burg and boat in the process and was able to meet father without one of us being dead.”
“Yes that is something. I hardly believed it when I heard it.”
“I am holding up the line Uncle Hogun. Business comes first we can talk later.”
He shoveled me such a big piece of roast on the plate, I needed booth hands to carry the weight and grinned. “We do that.”
It was nice sitting on a table without a care in the world with a nice piece of meat and fresh Nilfeheim bread and watch the milling and going about of the crowd at the wharf.
I saw father standing by Adolph, the Peerson clan Leader and the Elhir Chief. Three Off-Worlders talking to them. Father turned his head and saw me then raised his hand and motioned me to come. The crunchy crust of Fangsnapper roast was always my favorite and Uncle Hogun had given me plenty, but it suddenly tasted shale again.
All my life I feared him and I realized I still did, even after our last meeting. I left my food and walked over. Father had his arms crossed above his chest. Adolph and Gunnar Peerson (the Elder) nodded. The Elhir clan chief turned to face me and actually offered me his underarm.” Eric, Son of Isegrim stand and witness what the Engineers have to say!”
They wore dark blue Coveralls with a yellow cross on their chest pockets, representatives of New Sweden Maritime and one of them looked at his PDD and said. “As I said before the boats technically sound and surprisingly so as there was no maintenance done, at least none that makes any sense. We made a list of things that need to be done, like uncovering the escape hatch and fixing its handle. Making sure the blowout valve is marked, but we could find no reason why these men suffocated. However we found an advanced GalNet capable PDD. “He held it up. “This is a SII-Comm Mark 6; it should have worked even on the bottom of the ocean. I will contact SII and have it examined.”
Adolph shrugged.” What will that do?”
I said. “To have the one piece of equipment fail, in this case the boat is possible, but that two pieces of equipment that are independent of each other fail is very unlikely. Unlike the boat the PDD is very new and very advanced I am sure it has some sort of diagnostic tool and records failures and problems.”
“You are a very fortunate father, Isegrim!” to the Engineer he said.” Do what it takes I pay for it!”
“We will!”
“How much will it cost for you to overhaul my boats and make them safe again?”
“Hard to say but I estimate about 20,000 per boat plus parts.”
Adolph nodded.” Let it be done! I don’t trust my engineers anymore! They are useless!”
I said to the Off World Engineer. “What would it cost to have our engineers or young men who like to become engineers trained to do the right maintenance?”
“That I can answer. We offer training camps for that purpose. It’s 1600 per person but space bus ticket and 2 weeks lodging included. It’s of course free for anyone buying a new boat.”
Father spoke.” All Olafsons Engineers will be sent there!”
Adolph actually began discussing with them what a new boat would cost and what he would like it to do.
Mr.Flensburger was now gone for a week and we had a new teacher. Mr. Walters was his name and he was much different to the jovial and gentle Mr. Flensburger. He was stern and had a no nonsense approach. This Monday morning, right by the main doors I saw Yngve Lofdahl waiting for me. He had a busted; bleeding lip and his left eye was swelling. Like me he was wearing a fur vest over a linen tunic that reached halfway to the knees, linen breeches and boots. Usually he always looked like he wore...
The weeks to summer break went by faster than I liked. Mr. Walters came into class this morning and said after we greeted him. “Tomorrow will be your last day of school and you have three month to prepare for the next year. Everyone in class will advance. While your grades and results have much room for improvement, they are satisfactory. Today I want to ask if you know why we keep time the way we do?” He pointed his finger at Yngve.” You will not speak.” Since Mr. Walters gave positive...
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5004, Year Isegrim stood at the bar in the Xchange cafe, watching through the large windows into the large warehouse, as his men unloaded the last crates of Flicker fish and Fangsnapper meat. The door opened and along with a flurry of snow flakes and a gush of cold wind Leif Elhir stomped in, cleaning his heavy boots over the snow grate. He looked around to see who was there and then he noticed Isegrim. “I see the winds also dragged in the steward of the Ragnarsson riches, running errands...
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I did clean the boat and the basement. The Old man made me recite the poems while I was doing it and made sure I read them before I went to sleep. I became a steady visitor of Isen Landsby. Not only to get Cleaning supplies but also the clear liquor, he liked so much and mixed with everything. Today I used a shovel to fill a garbage bag with things so rotten and decomposed I did not want to know what it was before. The basement as he called it was underneath his burg, accessed through a trap...
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Non Union ships wanting to do business in Union space have to stop at one of these Checkpoints that dot the imaginary border between Union and Free space to get Customs clearance and a transponder code. While civilian ships could freely enter Union space, they could only land on Union Worlds with the proper Customs documents. Detected warships of other civilizations would result in a border alert and cause an immediate response from the fleet. Checkpoint 96 was a small ice planet with a...
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The Bowels It could have been any Maltyrian but I was certain it was Galmy. At the same as I said her name I realized she would not recognize me. She still had these inhuman big eyes and that translucent complexion. Her hair was the same midnight black as I remembered. She said. “You know me, Captain... ?” Her eyes scanned over my uniform blouse looking for my name tag. “Captain Olafson?” She was out of uniform so I could not see what rank she had attained since I seen her last. “Yes I...
We entered the outmost orbit of the Dover System ten hours before the deadline. Har-Hi who stood next to me sighed. “I wished it would have taken longer. This is what I am born for, to be aboard a ship and roam the stars’”. I felt the same way and agreed with him, saying. “Me too.” The doors opened and Wetmouth stepped through, taking her seat behind the small science station at the rear of the bridge. I observed Har Hi who acted as the OPS officer of our little crew dedicating sensors...
(List of Characters) Eric Olafson – A teenage Neo Viking leaves his home world for the first time. To travel and eventually to join the Union Navy Elena Olafson – technically a cousin to Eric, but since she was adopted by Eric’s father, she is now known as his sister. Isegrim Olafson – The current clan chief of the Olafson clan, and Eric’s father Lothar Olafson – Eric’s half brother The Ancient – aka Elkhart the Keeper. An old man claiming to have forgotten to die. Officially he is the...
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“Have we been hailed?” Harris shook his head.”No not yet, but the sphere is transmitting genuine Union Transponder Codes.” The screen changed and a hooded Narth became visible. The Comm. Officer looked at his console and shrugged. The Narth spoke. “This is the USS Narth. “There was a pause and the Narth moved his shrouded head as if he was looking at someone then he nodded and said.” One hopes to be forgiven, by the one who has command. One was uncertain of the correct address. It is the...
When I came around, I was still lying under that purple thing. The armed and fully armor suited men were close now holding their weapons ready pointing them at my friends. The bearded dark skinned man wearing a battle suit of unknown origin argued with Cardwell. “I want you to open those Translocator storages now. We do not have much time.” Cardwell barked back and pointed at me. “I told you that two command codes are needed to open them, the only one able doing that was killed by your...
Swybar lounged in the comfortable chair behind the conference table aboard the Red Dragon. Soon the requested supplies would arrive and make him a very dangerous man. The table was laid out with a light dinner. Both of his associates had joined him and both of them had been very respectful and lauded his genius. Swybar loved it when others realized just how smart and resourceful he was. Even the disguised Kermac treated him like an equal, as it was proper. He was no fool however and knew...
The orange haired woman took the mirror thing from her face as I left the Admirals office and she leaned forward over her desk. “There is a washroom right over there.” I gave her a thankful smile. After I had freshened up I asked her.” How did you know I needed to go?” She smiled.” I am Cheeka and I come from Phantas. “She said that as if it would explain everything. Her purple eyes sparkled amused and she added. “Phantas is an old Terran Colony, much like Nilfeheim and we all have Psionic...
Green Eden appeared to be a beautiful green, white and blue sphere. From space it looked as inviting as any garden world. The transport descended through moderate clouds and approached a heavy forested land mass. We landed on a simple dirt field that had been cleared in the jungle. At the edge of the dirt field I saw a collection of primitive looking buildings made of wood. There were no machines, no robots, no ships or vehicles and no one waiting for us. Someone from the flight deck...
According to the time displayed on my PDD it was aready 10 am. The large view ports displayed a sunny serene mountain scene with a large lake dark gree forests and snow covered peakes. Dawn was sitting at the dresser and brushing her hair. I watched her doing it. I had made love to a woman for the first time in my life and it was a wonderful, glorious feeling and she was gentle and without many words had showed me what I had to do. For the first time in my life I did no longer feel like a...
I woke from a dreamless sleep and I was glad of that, the most recent events were not the stuff that made pleasant dreams. I rubbed my eyes, the sleep inducer of my seat had been turned off and that meant we were close to the next destination. After arriving on Palomino, a pleasant garden world. I stayed in a hotel for a week, and did some thankfully uneventful sight seeing to pass the time. Seven days ago, I had boarded a space bus and after a short layover at Corri-Door (This time I...