Ancient Hunter

I stood on the bridge at Wulfgara’s side. It had been many weeks since the beginning of my journey. We were nearly at the end, in about thirty minutes we’d be exiting hyperspace. The bridge quiet the past week was a hive of activity. All the stations were crewed. It was at times I thought of the irony of the situation. This ship had taken me from Saros and now it was returning me. Gone was the tension and in fighting of the first trip. The ship was running more effectively without the underlying mistrust. None of the crew wore their Clan sashes. Valkyrie sometimes wore sashes around their waists to declare their Clan loyalty. To wear the colours of another Clan without that Clan’s permission was punishable by death. I had reluctantly seen this happen first hand. Palkkasir pretending that they were Clan Martin and were killed for doing so. Not that they didn’t deserve it. They laid a trap for Miranda but she’d seen through it. I would have seen it had I’d been closer. The Palkkasir all had the tear drop tattoo on their cheeks a dead give away that they were not who the said they were. I didn’t know how but they foregone taking the two tone Clan colours or they had been stripped from them. I’d worn the red and silver of the Martin’s which technically I was. That was a very long and complicated story.

I turned back to the present and the scene in front of me. The crew and their attitudes to me were refreshing. There had been no more mess hall incidents with a Valkyrie serving meals having taken offence to my Alliance team. I had punched her for insulting my team before Runa had intervened. I’d got a hard training session from her which, she had pretended was a punishment. Yet despite the guards she still had been drugged and stabbed with a sword. She would have died I helped save her but I had help from Digger. Who had taken over my body to remove the blade. I also reckon she had help to recover due to my nanobots. Digger deliberately cut my hand as we drew the blade from Runa’s body. With all that blood it was easy to miss the blood I’d shed blood that had nanobots in it. These nanobots were more effective than the ones in the Cell Stitchers. I glanced across to Wulfgara she stood there watching the crew. I had no issues with her. She was a patient teacher and I learned at lot from her. On the other hand I had Gudbjorga who had despaired of my lack of skill with a staff. One thing that had not improved no matter how hard I tried I still sucked big time. I had a myriad of bruises to prove it. She had tried and tried to get to a cause of my lack of progress. I didn’t know the cause. I’d surpassed on other things beating her time and time. Then as soon as a staff was in my hand I became the biggest klutz in the galaxy. That would be over now.

“Are you ready?” Wulfgara asked quietly breaking my chain of thought.

“I’m not sure until I try,” I replied honestly.

“You have it in to be a great captain.”

“That remains to be seen.” I doubted I’d have this chance again.

“I have the utmost confidence in you Gwen. It’s your time to shine. That is the correct phrase?”

“You’re learning,” I said carefully.

“When you stop it’s the time to worry.” She waved to the bridge crew. “You’re in command until we exit.” She sat in her seat.

I took her place overlooking the rest of the bridge. “Yes ma’am.” I’d been practising this moment for weeks under Wulfgara’s tutelage. I licked my lips putting moisture into them and my throat was dry. I was worried I’d muck this up. “Helm ETA to exit?”

“Fifteen minutes,” Fandaran at the helm replied.

“Give me a count at thirty seconds to exit.”

“Aye ma’am.”

I was tempted to look at Wulfgara but I didn’t. I was also acutely aware of the mounting tension. Exiting hyperspace was a dangerous time for any ship. The ship was vulnerable until it shields were restored. It was the same as when a ship entered hyperspace. It was the reason ships didn’t jump in the middle of a battle. We waited the time stretching out seeming like hours rather than minutes.

“Coming up to thirty seconds,” The Fandaran announced.

“Carry on.”

“Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight…”

The lights flicked as we transitioned to normal space.

“Helm, sensors locate our position and scan for hazards.” Standard procedure in this sort of situation. I had no clue where we were.

“Aye ma’am,” the Fandaran at the helm and the Valkyrie at the sensor console said at the same time.

“No hazards detected!” the Valkyrie said.

“We’re in the Saros system,” the Fandaran replied.

I felt relieved by that and a little ashamed. I should have been more trusting with Wulfgara she had done what she had said.

“Comms monitor all traffic,” I ordered.

“Locking onto nearest relay,” Comms responded.

I knew the relays were used for navigation but they also doubled up as comms hubs sending out messages across the galaxy. I wasn’t sure how it worked but you could get a message for here to Earth in almost real time.

“Helm standard speed.” I turned to see Wulfgara regarding me carefully her expression blank. All I could do was salute and say. “The bridge is yours ma’am.”

Wulfgara suddenly smiled. “That was a text book exit. Well done.”

I felt pleased she wouldn’t have said that if I didn’t deserve it. I don’t think there was a word for ‘diplomatic’ in the Valkyrie vocabulary. They had a tendency to say it as it was.

“Take a break we’ll be in orbit in four hours.”

Gudbjorga was waiting for me outside the door to the bridge. “Time for one more session?” I heard the concern behind her words.

“Not really I’ve got to get my stuff together,” I replied.

“I’ll walk you back to your quarters.” She was angling for something.

“Ok I’ll break what’s eating you?”

“Eating me?” She stared at me puzzled. “Oh it’s one of your Terran expressions. Nothing is actually eating me. The Terran’s certainly have a way of putting a point across.”

I was secretly glad she got that. “I meant…”

“I know what you meant,” Gudbjorga interrupted. “Just be careful down there. Don’t make your hunt of this Vanessa an obsession?”

I felt guilty about that lie. I’d told her that but it was far from the whole truth. I did feel bad for not telling her but I was worried she’d hate me. Call me a coward but I liked her as a friend and I didn’t want to lose that. “I just want news. I need to put Solstrid’s soul to rest.”

“Revenge isn’t the end all?” Gudbjorga said sternly.

“This isn’t about revenge it’s about justice. Besides I need to see if Monica and Alicia made it to Saros.” That was another worry of mine. I was kidnapped and taken to Alfheimir. We were supposed to be going to Saros together. It was another thing on my long list of things I had to do. “I will be careful.” I’d learned that lesson the hard way. But if I hadn’t done what I did then Saros could have been destroyed without knowing the source. I wasn’t going in alone I had back up on Saros.

“See that you are.” We arrived at the door of my quarters. “Good bye Gudbjorga.”

“Later, that is the correct expression?”

I smiled at that. “Later.” With that I entered my quarters.