Keeper Hunter

“Wake , up Gwen,” a familiar voice called out. I must have fallen asleep I could feel a crick in my neck. I rubbed the sore spot. I wasn’t the only one all the others except Copper were doing the same. She had been the one to wake me. Releasing my seat restraints I stood and walked over to the door. Steeping out I found myself in a cavernous hold twice the length of the shuttle and just as wide. The shuttle itself sat in the middle of the hold over a set of hanger doors in the floor beneath it. Surrounding the shuttle were crates of various sizes safely strapped behind cargo nets. A double sized door lead out of the hold.

“Grab your things and follow me,” Vesna said to me.

“And everyone else prepare for hyperspace,” Phedra announced. She turned to Copper. “You’re part of the crew now so let me get you settled in and start training.”

“Yes ma’am!” the others said their attitude different now they were off the planet.

I opened the shuttle’s cargo hold and pulled out the holdall I’d placed there.

I’d left the cases behind along with anything I’d felt too frivolous. I needed to travel light and those things would only slow me down.

Vesna gestured to me. “This way G,” she said to me.

I noted they seemed to call each other by an initial of their names so I’d be ‘G’. I followed while Vesna led the way. A corridor flanked by two blast doors barred either end of the corridor. Obviously the exit doors for ship to ship transport or even ship to station. In front of me were two ordinary doors, which led to a small cargo hold. Vesna walked straight across the secondary hold to one of two doors on the other side. This put us in a short what I could call a room with an exit to the side. Vesna carried on through the side door into another corridor. A door opposite would have led back to the secondary cargo hold if my guess was correct. The new corridor was longer. Vesna continued walking towards two heavy doors towards the end of the corridor. I passed a door marked storage. A second door from it was labelled elevator while a door opposite said stairs. Vesna pressed the button on the door marked elevator. The door opened to reveal a standard elevator. Vesna gestured to me and I entered. The elevator took us to the next level and we exited into another corridor.

Immediately to the left of the elevator was a door and there was a door opposite that had the sign ’stairs above it.

Vesna flicked her hand to the other door. “That’s the bridge.” She made another gesture. “This way.”

We went through a bulkhead door into another corridor. I began to see the ship had been built with safety in mind. There were three other doors to this corridor. Vesna lead me to a door closet to the end of the corridor. She halted in front of it.

“This will be your quarters please keep it tidy we’re not here at your whim.”

“I know how to act, laziness is not tolerated on a Valkyrie ship,” I informed her. “I know how this works.”

Vesna looked at me thoughtfully and opened the door only to be greeted by a scene of chaos. The room was longer than it was wide with two single beds at the far end. Next to the door was a shower and bathroom .Two terminal stations and two lockers stretched along the wall on either side. One of the beds was unmade it’s covers thrown heedlessly to one side. On the other bed was a pile of equipment.

Vesna walked into the centre of the room her hand on her hips and an annoyed expression on her face. “I told her to keep this room tidy!” she grouched. “And I definitely told her that equipment was to be stored in the secondary hold.” Vesna turned to me a resigned look on her face. “I’m sorry about this.”

I could imagine things going forward. “It’s really going to be a long journey,” I sighed.

Vesna shrugged. “Anyway that’s the bathroom,” she said looking at the second door in the room. “I’m dreading to see the state that’s in?”

I said nothing and put my holdall in a storage locker under the bed.

“Look I’m sorry we haven’t really given you a good impression of us. We’re more organised.” Vesna apologised.

“That’s ok,” I said. I’d really been in worse places than this.

“If that’s all I’ll leave you to your quarters. It will take us a couple of hours to reach the hyperspace gate.”

“I thought this ship could jump to hyperspace from anywhere?” I was sure that was the case if this ship, which I suspected was a Systems Trader could do that.

“Normally yes,” Vesna replied. “But to continue to use the privileges Lady Broaden granted us we have to follow protocols.” Vesna made a face. “Besides it saves on fuel.”

I felt I had to apologise they wouldn’t have been in this mess I hadn’t been so eager to get back to the Confederacy. “I’m sorry if I’ve made things difficult for you?”

Vesna made a gesture. “I’m not saying that, at least you’ve made ‘P’ happy. She’s always worrying about Copper.”

I noted she’d called Copper, Copper and not assigned a letter as her name like they seemed to have done to me.

“Look I’ve got to go. We’ll see you later once we’re in hyperspace.”

“Later ‘V’,” I replied and was rewarded with a grin.

“You’re definitely going to fit in around here.”

I was alone I surveyed the scene in front of me and contemplated was I was going to do with the mess on my bed. The locker on my side of the room was empty that was a good start at least. I applied myself to moving the clutter off my bed and placing what could fit in the locker. I found three datapads in the pile. Two drained of charge and the third on one percent.

“What is going in here and why are you touching my stuff?” a voice behind me remarked I hadn’t heard the door open.

I turned to see an older woman and recognised her straight off. She still had her grey hair plaited Valkyrie style. She was even wearing the canvas pants and blue top I’d last seen her in and didn’t have her leather jacket on. This was the last place I’d expected her to be. I’d last seen in the Hall of Elders just before the rebels had attacked it. She was a historian that appeared to think I was Human.

She stared at me a stunned expression on her face. “Wait I know you?” she said. “You were in the Hall of the Elders looking at the carvings. Gwen Hunter?”

Thankfully even with all that happened to me since that day I remembered her name. “And you are Professor Marcella Goodwin,” I replied.

“That’s right.” Marcella seemed to regard me carefully taking in every detail about me. “But what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question?” I said to her perhaps a little too bluntly. The Elders didn’t let just anybody on Alfheimir you had to have enough Valkyrie blood to satisfy their strict entry requirements. I guessed she must be vaihdokas as I was.

“I was here studying local history. Odd that the same things on Alfheimir were happening here?”

I found it odd she’d comment on that.

“I’m just glad I’m going to share with someone I know and not some total stranger” Marcella said.

I saw her eyes widen as she spied my bracelet.

“Now that’s interesting?”

“What is?”

“Your bangle may I look at it?” Marcella asked.

I was worried about her eagerness to see it so with reluctance I showed it to her.

Marcella examined my bracelet closely and even tapped it several times. “I’ve heard of it before but this is the first time I’ve seen one made of kovettunut.”

“Kovettunut?” I asked. It definitely sounded Valkyrie but I’d never heard the word used before. Then again there was a lot I hadn’t been told and I’d lived amongst them.

“Very rare,” Marcella answered thoughtfully. “Only found in one place in the known galaxy and then only in small quantities. Most bangles issued to the Silver Guard are an allotrope of silver almost as hard as iron and difficult to tarnish.” Marcella stared at my bracelet. “But this is kovettunut very few and I mean very few have one made of kovettunut.”

I stared at Marcella unsure what to say but finally my curiosity got the better of me. “Ok you’ve got me. This means?”

“For the Elders to issue you with this means you are someone of great importance?”

I didn’t like the implications of that. “I’m not Valkyrie do I look Valkyrie? I’m only vaihdokas.”

“No but this….”

The door opened interrupting what Marcella was about to say next. Frigga stood framed in the door.

“’P’ wants you on the bridge ASAP,” she said looking directly at me.

I glanced at Marcella. “Ok Professor Goodwin I’ve got to go.”

“Call me Marcella, we can continue this later. We’ve got plenty of time to talk this through.”

I walked out into the corridor Frigga regarded me carefully. “What was that about?”

“Have you heard of kovettunut?” I asked her I figured she’d heard of it being Valkyrie, which I wasn’t despite my blood.

“What now?”

“Kovettunut,” I replied. I tapped my bracelet. “According to the Professor that what this made of.”

Frigga stared at me shocked. “Shit, if that true it’s only given to Clan Mothers who serve the Elders.” She looked at me. “I was certain it was silver but kovettunut is something else.”

“Clan Mother’s?”

“We’ll speak about this later ‘P’ is waiting.”