Keeper Hunter

By the time Frigga had returned Copper and Phedra has joined us. Frigga was carrying what looked like a combo between a rabbit and a pig about the size of a small dog but certainly larger that a rabbit. I didn’t know what type of animal it was I was unfamiliar with the local fauna.

“This good enough?” Frigga said trying to hand the dead creature to Vesna.

A single clean shot to the head had killed it. I was impressed with Frigga’s skill.

She waved it away. “I’m not touching that. You can cut it up and wrap the pieces around those trackers.”

I was glad I’d been hardened by my time with the Valkyrie, otherwise my face would have been as green as both Copper and Phedra’s were.

Frigga quickly did her gristly task wrapping meat around the small disk like trackers. The larger tracker she stuffed into the remains of the carcass.

“That’s done so what’s next?” Frigga asked. I could see her half smile at Copper’s and Phedra’s discomfort.

“We take this to the river and throw it in.”

Intrigued I followed the procession to the river. A low concrete wall edged the river topped with a chain link fence. The only openings were to ruined bridge and a concrete pier lined with a metal barrier. Copper shivered on seeing the river.

“Too many bad memories,” she said quietly.

“Ok Frigga throw that into the water,” Vesna ordered.

Frigga threw the first piece it made a splash as it hit the water. Suddenly a spiked dorsal fin raked the surface and then disappeared. Frigga threw a second chunk of meat the fin reappeared followed by a length of silvery scales. It was huge almost the length of a ground car. With a quick flash of it tail it was gone.

“Sharptooth,” Copper said with some feeling.

Frigga continued throwing meat into the water the first Sharptooth was joined by others each fighting for the meat. Frigga threw the last into the water and walked back to the shuttle.

“How about we push that into the water as a final ‘Fuck you’ to the Terrans?” Frigga jerked a thumb to the ATV.

“No,” Phedra said to her with a glance at me. She must have been classing me as an Imperial. “We’re done and we should get out of here.”

I climbed into the shuttle noting its standard configuration. It had four seats that backed the cockpit and six seats opposite flanked by two doors. One door led to a tiny toilet and the other an equally small kitchenette. Phedra slipped into the cockpit and sat in the pilot’s seat. Vesna took up the navigator’s seat the rest of us seated ourselves in the passenger cabin. My gear and that of Copper’s had been consigned to the hold, which couldn’t be accessed from inside the shuttle. A design fault in my eyes. I snapped on my seat restraints automatically while the others followed. Copper sat opposite me her head against the cockpit wall looking unhappy. I could live with that better her unhappy than dead. Claudia must have been aware of how unhappy Copper was.

“At least this way you can’t be drawn into the Terran’s Machiavellian schemes,” she said to Copper.

“Machiavellian?” I asked. I’d heard the word before but never understood the context.

“Machiavelli have you ever read the ‘Prince’?” Claudia sounded shocked that I hadn’t.

“Can’t recall if I had,” I had the feeling I was about to become the butt of a joke.

“Oh boy we’ve got a live one here!” Claudia put her hand to her head and feigned a headache,

“CL don’t start that now it’s a long flight back,” Frigga told her with a shake of her head.

Further talk was abruptly cut off as the shuttle’s engines rumbled into life. In my mind eyes I could envision the process of taking off. Things I’d done hundreds of times before. The shuttle rose from the ground and tilted at an angle in preparation to launch. I had to admit it was different to way I’d been taught and had used. I had thought that they would take off straight and carry on going vertical until we escaped the planet’s gravity. There was a not very subtle kick in the gut and the power was transferred to the main drive. I felt the artificial gravity increase as the planet’s pull faded.

Claudia pulled out a datapad and was taping on the screen. Frigga leaned back in her seat her eyes half closed. I knew it was a pose the set of her body said she was alert and ready for action. I could feel her lidded gaze upon me. I knew this was going to be a long flight. I decided to opt for Frigga’s stance but closed my eyes and settled down. There was nothing I could do here and I needed the rest the activities of the last few hours were starting to take their toll of me.

“Glenda, Gwen?” Copper spoke softly.

I opened her eyes and regarded her carefully. “Yes?”

“I know what you did for me and I’m grateful,” Copper said hesitantly.

“I sense a but in this?” I replied none other the others were looking at me directly but I knew they were listening.

“It’s just that I want to do things my own way. I don’t like choices being made for me.”

I leaned forward the seat restraints preventing me from leaning further. “Oh like the way the Empire was using us as bait not caring what happened to us. Did they give you that choice?” I paused my eyes on her. “Or did you conveniently forget about all those trackers in your gear. You’ve been under constant surveillance.”

“But none were found in yours?” she countered bitterly.

“True but not by the Empire.” I said. “The Valkyrie Elders have been keeping tabs on me.”

Frigga’s eyes shot open. “You?” she sounded surprised.

“Yes the Elders have been keeping tabs on my family because of my blood.”

“You wear the Silver but you talk like a Terran?” Frigga told me.

“Because I am.” I stared at Frigga, a typical Valkyrie and there was me I might only be vaihdokas but I’d done a lot for the Elders. “My great grandfather was pure Valkyrie.”

“How is that possible?” Frigga interjected. The twitch of her lips told me she wanted to say more but was holding back. This was one of those things you didn’t talk about to those not of the blood.

“The Valkyrie colony he was on was attacked. He was picked up by a passing Imperial ship and taken to Earth.”

Frigga looked confused. “I don’t understand?”

Claudia had put down her datapad and was watching us with intense interest. “Interesting,” she commented.

“Why didn’t his Clan pick him up?” Frigga asked.

“There was no others of his Clan they’d been virtually wiped out.” Which was the one thing I couldn’t get straight. Miranda had tried and failed.

Frigga went pale. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” I told her truthfully. “Any other survivors were reabsorbed into the parent Clan.”

Frigga stared at me her lips moving trying hard not to reveal too much to the non-Valkyrie. “Why do you not look Valkyrie at all?”

“You’d have to ask the Elders about that. They hid his DNA. I would have remained ignorance had I not gone to Alfheimir. I was returning a bracelet belonging to my friend Solstrid.” Even after all this time it still hurt to know how she had died. What I was finding difficult was the Elder’s ability to hide a person’s DNA. It was way beyond anything the Empire was capable of.

“We’ll speak of this later,” Frigga announced cutting off the conversation.

“How about we discuss it now?” Claudia demanded.

“It’s a Valkyrie matter ‘C’,” Frigga glared at her. “And you are not!”

“Well that’s bloody obvious,” Claudia said staring at me. “You look Human on the outside but my glove says otherwise.”

“What exactly does your gauntlet say?” I questioned her.

“Oh that’s a medical matter.” She turned back to her datapad.

It was definitely going to be a long journey. I had noted Copper had said nothing just kept it to herself. She’d had heard most of what I’d said before.

The shuttle rumbled on.