Eric Olafson Neo Viking Vol 1 Chapter 3 Union school
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Bredenberg Island was part of a cluster of five Islands close together, known as the Five Clan Cluster. I was just hundred klicks west of the Uhim Grounds and long ago all five Islands belonged to that legendary Uhim Clan. The Uhim’s had perished in the last clan war. Four of the rocky islands were occupied now by the Burgs of individual Clans and the fifth held the third and smallest city on Nilfeheim called Trondheim. If one would draw lines between the five islands you would get an almost perfect pentagon of about one kilometer each side. The Bredenberg Clan was around for a long time but it was not an Old Clan and they established their own Burg on top of the old Harald Uhim Island.
I put the boat down in the water a few kilometers away, I could not really say why but I wanted to keep that a secret for as long as I could. It was bad enough we Norse had fliers but no one really had the idea yet to use them in anger as a weapon. Having Neo Vikings in flying subs would not be a good idea unless there was some sort of control in place. Astrid stood next to me holding the life like mask of Sif.” With something like that you could be Freya again. I miss her and the time we had together. All seems so far away now!”
“Don’t get me started. You girls used me from the start and you did it knowingly. First you took me inside your circle and then I was kicked out without an explanation, only to learn later it was nothing but a trick, but it was stupid of me to begin with.”
She put her hand on my shoulder. “Yes we did and some of us felt really sorry for you, especially Elena. Eric we all had a crush on you and some still do. I wanted to protect you from what we planned to do. I knew Freya became more real every day and you might have joined us and we could not risk that. Our mission was to use you, yes. Our leader says we must use men as tools for our cause as this is the only real weapon we have.”
Her face became fierier. “You of all men should understand how different our lives are. Women have no say, no rights and are openly declared to be second class to men. Your very own mother died because she was traded like a piece of commodity to gain clan alliances and riches. No one asked your mother if she wanted to be married to that brute that is your father. Do you really know what happened the night you were conceived? Do you think she willingly let him in her bed? He was the lord he was the man and there was nothing she could say or do, not even to her own father!”
I could not help but remember how horrible I felt when Harkun tried to rape me during that body switch dream the Old man had provided. Was I a product of such an act? I suddenly felt dirty and guilty. Knowing only too well that she was most likely right. Astrid wiped her eyes.” Do you know why I killed the Bendixen Elder?”
I was about to say something, but she didn’t wait and pushed the accelerator control to zero and hissed.” I will tell you anyway! I must tell you! Maybe then you are not so hard in your judgment against us.”
There it was again. Someone else accused me of coming to a verdict too fast. “Tell me please!”
Astrid was a very fair skinned and she had freckles over her nose, her hair was thin and long, she was not one of those girls that looked pretty when she cried, but I suddenly felt very sorry for her and her tears felt hot as they dripped on my hand. “This old bastard raped me Eric! He forced his stinking body on me when I was barley thirteen! He was an Elder and I the daughter of a Freeman in the house of Bendixen. My father beat me up when I told him what happened and told me it was my fault for making him aware of me and that I should never speak about it! My mother was afraid and asked me to forget! I can never forget and he did it many times! I cannot stand to look at a man without getting so sick I throw up! Eric I hated you for the simple reason you have a pecker! But you showed you could be Freya and the Illusion was perfect I didn’t want to know you were a boy underneath!”
She spread her hands and her tears flowed freely. “What could I have done to prevent it? Father always said I could have!” Her words hit me like knifes, some of what she said where like echoes of my own thoughts. Her words brought my experience as Loki to the surface and the words of the old man that there were many personal hells on this world and I was not the only one with a rotten childhood.
I remembered Raghild’s words and Snøfried speaking of Harkun.
I could not tell if all the tears were hers as I took her in my arms and held her for quite a while as she sobbed and moaned. I don’t know how long we held each other like that but finally she let go and gave me a sad smile. I must look like a bloated Rose fish. We still need to meet the leader I guess. “She kissed me on the cheek and went to the bath room.
It was a more modern burg, no masonry and rock at all, entirely made of Duro-Crete. Instead of open ramparts on towers and walls it had covered corridors with thick armor glass windows. According to Astrid it had no Submarine pen but instead a small harbor had been constructed with massive Duro-crete walls and a wharf. Two Surface fishing ships tied up painted in the Bredenberg Colors of Yellow on Purple. While Nilfeheim had no official time zones and all went by the same universal time that almost fit the day cycle around Bifrost during Shortsummer, here it was just getting dark. The burg looked dark and brooding against the rising darkness of night. I dropped anchors.She put the other cloak around my shoulders.” It is going to be cold outside.”
Out of an impulse I pocketed the little Off-world gun as I left the boat after her and locked it with my code.
We went up the short steep ramp to the actual gate. It opened after she keyed in a security code and blew into a senor hole. To me she explained “Biometric DNA lock.”
The court yard was dark, there were no lights anywhere. “Why is it so dark and where is everyone?”
She answered with a somber tone and almost whispering. “There aren’t many of the Bredenberg family left.
Despite the fact that the burg was only five hundred years old and by design looking more modern than for example our burg, it had an old feeling almost like that of a tomb. I didn’t know why I got goose bumps over my back as she opened the heavy door to the High halls and a draft of musky stale smelling air went past us. The High Hall was dark except for a few yellow and weak Lumi-plates; most of the furniture was pushed to the sides and covered with cloth. Her Heels sounded like echoing hammer blows, my Fanger leather boots made little noise. In all this weirdness I admired her heeled boots and had the urge to walk in heels once more.
Over a flight of stairs we reached the Drawing room and there in the fire place was a small fire of pressed Sea weed blocks. A circle of twelve upholstered stone carved high backed chairs were the dominant feature of the room. There was no one else.
“Wait here!” She asked. Then she put on her white stocking mask and pulled up the hood. She stepped inside the circle of stairs pulled at a cord and bell rang somewhere, then she sat down on one of the chairs.
From the deep darkness of the room behind the chairs a person in a dark red cloak appeared stepped in the middle pulled the cord and sat down in a chair across Astrid. Two more appeared the same and one after the other rang the bell and sat down.
The others wore dark blue, like Astrid. All their faces hidden behind those white stockings. The Red Cloak spoke with a deep female voice. “ The Daughters of Nilfeheim have one more come together to discuss grave matters and to erase the injustice against all Sisters and daughters of this world.”
The rest spoke together.” To the rights and freedom of all daughters daughters we pledge our lives.”
The red cloak waved at me.” Step into the circle. We have a very special guest tonight. The first man ever to step foot in our midst.”
Interlude 9: VIVID DREAMS
Kevin Atkien closed the GalNet Connection and switched of the Dream creator. “Finally!” He sighed and got up to step outside the tiny little balcony on the 432’t floor of Coulter Tower downtown Cork City. The air tasted sweet with a hint of strawberry and grape as it always did when the wind came from the east and the huge Sparkle Bright delights factory occupying most of this large rock plateau surrounded by scorching deserts., but it was night and both suns were on the other side of the planet, not that the four hours of darkness helped much to cool the planet down, but soon the large weather control satellites would be operational and in a few months it would rain for the first time on a planet that had not seen a drop of rain in a billion years. All this was of little concern or interest to Kevin, he was neither a weather control engineer nor did the weather outside have any meaning to his work. He held to the chest high safety railing. He wasn’t afraid of heights at all but being over 800 meters above the ground was still a good reason to hold onto the railing. He watched the light traffic and wished he could get a little time off to go to town and live a little of the real life.
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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...
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...
The masked woman in the red Cloak said.” Welcome Eric, or should I say welcome Freya?” I blushed despite the fact that my secret was no secret here and they probably all laughed as they used me back then, but I tried to concentrate and said. “I don’t care if you make fun of my secret and I told Astrid I am tired of being played and taken for a fool. It was you or one of you who wanted me here to discuss the very serious problems you have. I can leave right now.” She got up from her Chair....
Father, so I was told was still in town. Celebrating the sale of the Tyrannos at the Xchange. Greifen caught me right by the gate after the school flier had dropped me by the gate. He still looked sober and miserable but he grinned as he closed the gate. “Looks like even your Father could not find a bad world about you today. Word is they got a very good price for your Tyrannos and from what I heard they are celebrating at Hogun’s Inn. Many clan Chief and Elders are there. They will drink...
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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...
5004, OTT Outside the bitter cold winds of Longnight howled around the thick Duro-Crete walls of the Burg; but here in my mother’s drawing room it was warm and cozy. The soak-stones glowed warm with Tyranno Oil fire in the oven. I always thought her room was just a bit warmer than all the other rooms and halls. Here in her chambers the gray and drab Duro-Crete walls were mostly covered with velvet curtains and antique tapestries depicting the first settlers, the gods, scenes of great clan...
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(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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The Space bus came out of FTL and approached the blue and white sapphire sphere that was Nilfeheim. I had 6 month before I had to return to the Academy. This was my home world and I was longing to take a long deep dive and feel the fresh cold water all around me, it was of course still Longnight. That I had left Nilfeheim just a little over a year ago was something I could hardly believe. So much has happened since then; it felt I had been gone for much longer. “I wonder how Nilfeheim is...
The commander stood at the window of his spacious office overlooking the lake and jungle with his hands clasped behind his back watching a group of cadets struggling with a heavy wooden log. They had to carry it over an obstacle course and only by working together could this task be achieved. This ancient time tested exercise promoted team work, group coordination and leadership. This exercise had been used by Navy trainers even before the Galactic Ascent on good old Earth. Of course it...
“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...