Waking the Angel: A Mindlord Novel by Igor Swann by Igor Swann

PROLOGUE The universe paused. Somewhere a nerve was being harassed and generally mistreated. It slowly gathered its attention from several nearby galaxies and focussed its cosmic essence on finding the reason for its discomfort. This event was not a singular occurrence. Every so often, it experienced niggling irritations creep up the central nervous system of galaxies. Lately it had become a habit. Still, after the excitement of the beginning, and at this advanced state of being, very few things made the universe sit up and take notice. Time in itself remained a quite hypothetical reality to the universe, but things tend to start and end, and this universe was somewhere in the middle right now. Hmmm, I have picked up a few more light-years around the waist it seems, imagine that, the distracted thoughts rumbled through the ancient synaptic web as it noticed its expanding expanse with disdain. Old memories briefly overpowered the hunt for the annoyance as it fondly reminisced on a time when it was the centre of attention on the canvass. It burst onto the scene with a big bang and quickly became the envy of all the other universes. It had a plan. It was going to do things right. i

This universe would not repeat the mistakes of the others and let itself slowly slip into eternity. Nevertheless, fate is patient and time is relative with destiny being inevitable… no one would take that bet. Now a few billion years down the line it had become just another cranky old universe with an expanding waistline. Now there were other young idealists, with seemingly balanced creations on the canvass. Losing a few galaxies around the waist seemed to become impossible as time went by, time being hypothetical of course. It cringed at the thought of having to use black holes to maintain some semblance of dignity and a semi respectable tuxedo size. When did it all get away from me? The universe slowly turned its attention from the memories as its irritation mounted, but only for a moment before slipping away again. It still headed towards the annoyance. Sentient life, what every universe desired, and he had in abundance. Why, he never understood. They were a nuisance and needed constant supervision. The torment he endured from the prattle of the other universes with first time newborn sentients usually ended in a galactic heartburn, without the prospect of an antacid tablet. ‘Ooh you know what my sentients did now? They invented fire,’ ‘Mine are developing legs,’ and ‘My sentients are developing advanced interpersonal communication skills.’ ‘They are?’

‘Yes. The female chatters incessantly while the male clubs himself to death.’ ‘Wow!’ The universe continued its search. Since these sentient life forms came to be, the neighbourhood has gone to hell. It was not sure where hell was anymore. It felt quite certain it was in one of the galaxies off to the right. Of course, after the sentients evolve, then the gods move in with their demands. Do this; create this; and destroy this. It never ends, simply never ends. It found the source of its irritation. The universe sighed, them again…

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WAKING THE ANGEL A Mindlord Novel

IGOR SWANN

Waking the Angel

CHAPTER 1 He dove for cover, landing heavily on his dislocated shoulder mere fractions of a second before the shrapnel started to whistle over his properly battered body. He tried hard to remember what madness drove him to set off in aid of this unwilling damsel in distress. She obviously did not pay much attention in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How to be a proper damsel in distressâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; class. He thought that he portrait the role of a hero on a white horse quite admirably. Being a little more appreciative of his efforts would be nice. Fine, they might both be in a spot of bother currently. However, she could show a touch more gratitude, since he did save her life, quite frequently following their introduction. Now she had disappeared and he could feel consciousness slowly slipping from his grasp, which in all honesty might not be the worst of the two possible endings he envisioned. He was quite sure of a couple of things. Firstly, that the tank like vehicle called a Reaper heading his way was a serious chunk of metal. Oversized spike tracks, and with turrets and gun barrels all over the place it appeared overdone. Every modern art criticâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worst nightmare and they could really have done something different with the light fixtures. Nevertheless, who ever designed this monstrosity wanted to make sure that if it did not rip you apart with its awesome firepower, the mere sight would cause you to rather just give up

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and go away. Far, far away, quite convinced you forgot to turn off the stove before leaving home and maybe you should go check. Others, after a hasty glance in its direction, might simply die from fear. Another more comforting thought very clear in his mind was his resolute confidence in his training and by popular belief making him one of the most lethal beings in the universe. He should know. He was there. At this moment, his extensive training made him keenly aware of one important detail. He would shortly be the unfortunately deceased, previously most lethal being in the universe; and he is most definitely here. As he slipped from this reality, his thoughts took him back to only a few short months ago. To a time, he would like to refer to as living in blissful ignorance. The universe made sense then; it was something romantic way up there. Stars were what got him into intimate moments on a hilltop with a bottle of wine and a blanket. Damn genes, he thought angrily. He would have happily lived and died of natural causes by now, preferably intimately on a blanket, with a bottle of wine, under the stars. To avoid more confusion our tale needs to start at a different point in time. In the beginning, No, not that beginning, but rather a beginning we find in the memories of the unconscious human.

Waking the Angel

It was a dark and stormy night… No? Oh well, so much for that good old cliché. In fact, it was a quite pleasant evening. Birds were merrily chirping away in the lane of trees next to his favourite bench. Dogs were walking their owners. People seemingly without a day job were picnicking in the park and pigeons were defacing statues without fear of arrest. Everything from a distance of more than 20 feet seemed tranquil and serene. He often wandered to this bench when he needed time to reflect on a particularly taxing day. Feeding the pigeons calmed him. He stared absentmindedly at the brochure in his hand, which he grabbed from a pretty girl distributing them outside the gym next to his office building. He was not entirely sure why. On the front scribbled in bright red letters the words, ‘A great way to get fit’. He felt it should rather read, ‘A great way to get a fit’. He poured over the wonderfully relaxing things you can do such as stretching classes, swimming, running, exercise bikes, core stabilization, circuit and free weights. He expected to read wheel balancing and alignment on the next page. Placing the folded brochure in his pocket, he sighed deeply. The people in the picture looked too depressed. I do not need a gym to feel that way; I just need to wake up in the morning, he thought. Today weighed particularly heavily on his mind. He endured a tax audit, which was, as expected, a disaster.

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Moreover, well, let us just say a substantial pile of other problems, very much inconsequential to what his genetic code had fated his life to become. As in right about… …tick… …tick… …now There were no strange lights in the sky from previously unidentified flying objects, a glowing beam surrounding him, or aliens politely requesting him to ‘Take me to your leader earthling.’ He was there and then he was not. *blink* Life seemed to be doing fine without him. A few pigeons were annoyed since their waiter inexplicably vanished. However, having the attention span of peanut, this lasted only the time needed for them to spot a statue with less than adequate poop graffiti. He awoke in excruciating pain. Something that resembled giving natural childbirth to a porcupine crossbred with a full-grown gorilla; and it was stuck. It carried through every receptor in his nervous system. Every single one competing to get to the brain first, and inform it that the problem was in its sector and it had damn well better do something quick. His brain however had other concerns.

Waking the Angel

The burning desire to form a thought, which was contrary to popular belief, not, ‘where the hell am I’ but rather, ‘where in hell am I’. Of course that would have been his thoughts if he had any control over even a single neuron in his cranial cavity, and in fact was his first thought when he found one. Screaming seemed the next logical direction to progress in, but that also required reflexive mental activity, and a faint recollection on the general vicinity of his vocal cords. The torture ceased abruptly, after what he could only surmise to be days… thirty-three seconds to be exact. They were there, surrounding him, staring at him with their large almond eyes imbedded in those pale grey thin faces. They looked exactly like the government said they would not look even if they did exist, which they did not, you silly conspiracy theorist person. ‘It’s all just weather balloons and stuff, so let that be the end of that. Tea with crumpets will be served in the reception area, but be forewarned, there are balloons in there, so please do not panic.’ One of the expert weather balloon pilots surrounding him screeched. He had no idea which one. They were not using sound. The scream was inside his head. The words were like a tsunami, rolling in from the ocean and his mind was a pebble in its way. It smashed against his mind, again, and again.

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This time he did scream, cradling his head in his arms, pleading for the sound to stop. It stopped. A voice came, soft and smooth, a playful stream full of apology and comfort. The tone your boss would adopt and cause you to panic uncontrollably, because the next words from his mouth were going to be ‘unfortunately due to downsizing…’ ‘We apologize for your discomfort. I did not mean to shout but we could not be sure the procedure succeeded and you could hear us. I am Qren and we are the Ark council. The pain you experienced was a side effect to the procedure used to unlock those parts of your mind you humans do not use. This was necessary to release your telepathic abilities. If you wish to address us simply think a word or sentence and then direct it at the recipient.’ They stared at him. He stared back. It spoke again. ‘What is your name?’ The words were robotic. They had no feeling behind them, simply a statement of facts. It was a script perfectly memorized, and seemed alarmingly well rehearsed. He could think of nothing to say or everything to say but nothing made sense. ‘Sweet angel of mercy’ seemed to pop up, and somehow out because a buzz went up around the room.

Waking the Angel

They seemed to engage in conversation with each other but he did not understand the language. Qren spoke again. ‘You are ‘Sweet Angel of Mercy’? Strange… we acknowledge you Sweet Angel. What is Mercy? May we call you Angel? Good!’ Too tired to argue, and far too angry to care what they called him, he simply sighed in hopeless anguish. His brain hurt, and raced. It was too powerful and fast. He could not lock onto his own thoughts. He designed light refracted super computers, re-indexed the National Library, and negotiated peace treaties between India and Pakistan at the exact same moment in time. He also levitated an urn type object on the other side of the room for no apparent reason. His mind now calculated how long he could last before his bladder explodes. The answer made him extremely nervous. Angel became a passenger while his mind drove. His mind, obviously way over the legal alcohol limit, drove a Ferrari over the Alps with a large red letter ‘L’ in the rear window. Qren spoke again, ‘it will be a while before your consciousness accepts your mind, so they may again be in harmony. We will depart and return when you call.’ They left silently, as if floating. Their long grey robes concealed any movement made by their limbs, if they had any limbs. He made a few attempts at grabbing hold of a passing thought, missed by a country mile, gave up and went to sleep. He left his mind to solve world hunger, or perpetual motion or whatever else it was working on currently.

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The next conscious period arrived. He had no perception of time, his brain chirped in with ‘7 hours 32 minutes 12 seconds and 42 hundreds of a second since your last conscious state.’ He took his mind’s word for it. It waited. The realization hit him like an Acme anvil in a cartoon. His mind was not playing dodge ball with him anymore. It was a dragster revving on the start line, just looking for an excuse to throw him the finger and thunder off in the distance. Angel approached cautiously like a kitten stalking a bird for the first time, slowly, carefully, not to scare the bird away. Having chosen an ostrich for this life altering experience might have been slightly overoptimistic, but what choice did he have. His brain carefully observed his every move from the corner of its third eye. It seemed to come to a decision, smiled inwardly, and to Angel’s great surprise, moved over and presented him with the driver seat. Angel understood that this came with a promise to be a real pain in the ass back seat driver. For the first time he could examine his surroundings, while it presented not overly much to examine. Whoever decorated this place was on a tight budget, with the imagination of a coconut tree, and not a very bright one at that. It was a dull grey, it radiated dull, shining dull from every corner of the room. Wow, I must get the number of their interior decorator, he sarcastically thought.

Waking the Angel

They obviously did not fully comprehend the minimalistic approach to decorating. The grey urn he levitated being the only aesthetically enhancing aspect to the room. Great, a toilet, they thought of everything, he sarcastically remarked. Now if he could just remember how this walking thing manifests again. His mind refused to help since it was too trivial a request. He lay stretched out on a slab made of a substance his mind could not interpret, and it tried desperately. Angel could not remember ever feeling this helpless and alone. He wanted answers, especially to Why me? He had a thought, I wonder if they can hear me. The door opened and the alien choir walked in. He now noticed one of the creatures’ robes was a shade of grey darker than the rest. His mind calculated the exact frequency of light that would cause this deviation. After they took up position around the table, Qren’s voice broke the silence. ‘Well rested Angel?’ His mind calculated the angle of the incoming thought and surmised it to come from the darker robed figure. It was the first semi useful information his mind produced. Angel; he had no desire to fix this mistake, the less they knew about him the better. Angel formed a response and pressed the send button. ‘What the hell do you want from me? Where am I? What are you? Did your decorator die painfully? Is there any chance of a drink? Or an automatic rifle perhaps?’

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He stopped his mind short of giving them the calibre, projectile speed, firing tempo, muzzle velocity and serial number of the required weapon. Qren’s silky voice entered his mind again, ‘We mean you no harm.’ ‘Is that right?’ Angel interrupted sarcastically. Qren continued unabated, ‘Your abduction was due to a hopeless situation which required a drastic solution. You were the only suitable candidate in age and genetic makeup. Your predecessor met with an untimely demise. He was involved in an unfortunate strata-surfing accident involving a meteor1.’ ‘The normal procedure of infant seizure and training could not be employed and was not scheduled to commence for quite some time. This necessitated the procurement of an adult human. This is a regrettable and ill-fated arrangement to be sure.’ Angel stared ahead blankly; confused would be an understatement of galactic proportions. Predecessor, Genetics, Are they mad? Is he mad? Where was that drink? His mind also tried to make sense of this, and seemed bemused. It made no sense of it either. His brain shrugged and continued to calculate the amount of nose hair needed to fill the room. Qren’s voice droned on. 1 Strata surfing required a space suit, a long board, a strata sail and a whole lot of guts. The fact that he managed to sail into a meteor seemed quite suspicious at the time. It is not easy to overlook a million tons of rock coming straight at you.

Waking the Angel

‘We were fortunate to find a single male possessing DNA sequence TNFR-12, the gene necessary for successful mind transformation.’ Questions swam in Angel’s mind. He knew he had an exceptional IQ, but why did they need him? Their technology seemed far more advanced than anything he could hope to imagine. They were obviously a superior race, and what did they mean by predecessor; and where was that damn drink! Qren must have intercepted part of the thought. He started to convey a completely different information package. ‘We are called the Ark. We are a race who travels the universe in search of technology we may incorporate into our way of life, or we might get lucky and find a new seafood restaurant.’ Qren felt proud of his joke, he was almost sure he got it right. Humans appreciate these things. Angel’s mouth did not even twitch and Qren continued, slightly offended in an emotionless kind of way. ‘Even though we possess some of the greatest engineers in existence, we do not posses what humans call imagination or creative thinking, the reason why we need to accumulate ideas from other species.’ ‘Many millennia ago we came upon the mind enhancing technology. The origins were indeterminable. It was found on a remote planet close to the edge of explored space, abandoned by an ancient civilization.’ ‘We experimented with the device, but found that our own neuron structure was insufficient to be enhanced using this

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device. We conducted tests on all known species but none had an adequate neurological network.’ ‘Hey, take a breath,’ Angel projected. Qren ignored him and continued. ‘Centuries passed and our civilization became stagnant. Having accumulated and enhanced all available technology, we were desperate for an engineering challenge.’ ‘Is there a point somewhere?’ Angel projected. ‘Information came to us from a deep universe explorer of the existence of your planet.’ ‘Dispatching a research party, news returned that your minds were compatible. Unfortunately all initial attempts failed as humans could not control this transformation and lost their sanity.’ Angel had a revolting image projected into his mind. He could sympathize with those unfortunate enough to be ‘liberated’ by the alien technology. He remembered how close he had come to losing control of his mind. He then reminded himself of the fragile truce he currently had with his mind, and silently wished that he could lose his mind... or rather part of it. Qren continued without pause, ‘determined to find a solution our research team, by coincidence or by fate, transformed a human child who did not become insane. Many more years elapsed before the discovery of the illusive gene.’

Waking the Angel

‘From there it was a simple matter of reconfiguring our scanners. We continued to probe from our ships hidden in your moon’s shadow and selected infants with the gene.’ Though fascinated by this he was now also realizing the gravity of his situation. Without the help of his mind, he noted with disdain. His mind was off calculating all possible protein sequences. They must need me for a think tank of sort, an imagination for their engineers. My body hooked up to machines, with wires and pipes running from me. My intelligence drained. I am going to become a living thought machine. I am going to be intravenously force fed vegetables… ‘I hate vegetables!’ he screamed. The chill shot down his spine, and cold sweat was dripping from his forehead. His mind returned briefly to see what all the commotion was about, decided it was unimportant, and went back to its DNA splicing and constructs. Perceptive as ever Qren hastened his retelling, ‘do not fear Angel. You have not been brought here as a prisoner providing creative stimulus for our engineers. Perhaps I need to clarify who your predecessor was.’ As Qren’s words unfolded in his mind, Angel felt an unimaginable fear tightening around his soul… he preferred the pipes and wires!

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CHAPTER 2 Sweat flowed freely from her brow serving only to accentuate her striking beauty. She was tall, slim and graceful; a trait shared by all her brethren. Her precise movements sent ripples through her toned and slender muscles. An air of aristocracy surrounded her like a fine swirling mist. Her auburn skin glowed with its own light. This was a side effect of a life on a radioactive planet, to which her kind had adapted. In fact, her race was now immune to this unseen killer. This remarkable quality of Elheimr deterred many would-be invaders and served to protect her people. Elheimr had another unique property, where its gravity would cycle between four to nine times the gravity experienced on earth, making it impossible for most species to visit the planet in its upward cycle. Even though most of her kind became docile and inactive near the top of the gravitational cycle as it was currently, the extraordinary energy required to exercise in this gravitational field only made her more determined. The girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ears pointed sharply upward, as did her eyebrows and eye corners. Her eyes were uncannily large and one solid colour. Her iris was dark platinum, no pupil or sclera was present, and the shape was that of a teardrop. Her raven black hair sprayed majestically and hugged her form as she performed an intricate, and to any knowledgeable observer, quite deadly manoeuvre.

Waking the Angel

It resembled a flowing seductive dance more than movement designed for precision killing. She was El, a race of explorers and warriors, a curious and intelligent people who imagine their kind to be superior beings. Repeatedly she performed the routines. They were completely stored in her muscle memory, available as reflex actions to any threatening situation. Of course, if no such situation presented itself she was sure to create one. She handled a strange weapon in the form of a curved metal alloy staff, bent in the centre and towards the ends again in the opposite direction. The end points of the staff were fashioned into blades like those used on sickles, difference being the sharp shark teeth-like protrusions on the outward facing side of the blades. This was an awesome weapon of almost unrivalled destructive capability when compared to any equipped on a single person. In close combat, the El could deploy, twirl and move the blades at speeds that suggested that there were no blades. An assumption with severe continued existence limiting implications for any would be assailant. A simply thought would activate an energy shield, which would form between the two blades. The shield is able to stop any projectile, blaster or small arms ion cannon fire. Gripping the centre of the staff in a bow-like fashion and tapping the centre of the shield released a devastating energy bolt. A bolt powerful enough to obliterate light armoured vehicles and in their expert hands even disable the heavily armoured Reaper. What made this weapon so impressive was that it required no reloading. The bow-staff siphoned organic energy from any source

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in the vicinity. This made the El untouchable in woodland or vegetation-rich environments. ‘Princess,’ someone started to say. ‘I’m busy,’ she rasped in a voice that would on her death make the devil wonder if he had come at a bad time. ‘But…’ he tried again. He got no further. ‘You have one word left, and then you will hold your tongue and leave. Any words following that word and you will hold your tongue permanently…’ malice dripped from her perfect lips, mixed with a fair amount of sweat, ‘…in your hand, do not ignore this warning!’ she added. She did not break her stride or falter on a single movement. ‘Meeting,’ the nervous voice said in haste. ‘What meeting?’ <Silence> ‘Are you deaf?’ she snarled. <Silence> ‘Enough you insolent fool!’ she growled, ‘you may keep your tongue. Give me the message and go!’ An urgent voice continued, ‘My lady, we have news from the Ark council, a replacement has been found. You are summoned to attend an emergency senate meeting.’ He ducked just in case. Sharin gave a sneer of contempt and her eyes appeared even darker than usual.

Waking the Angel

‘Who do these Arks think they are summoning me, SUMMONING ME? What little respect they bestow upon an El princess.’ Forced into a truce with the United Galactic Empire, or UGE for short, because of the inferior El numbers and the growing threat of the Taur, the repulsive alliance was born from necessity. She hated the Vanir, the UGE name for humans, even more than she hated the rest of the races. She had to admit that they might be mentally superior. No El was worthy of mind transformation, as was the case with all other UGE member races. Only the Vanir, the despicable vile Vanir were worthy. She spat at the thought as if hoping that this would remove it from existence. Since her ambassadorial appointment, her duties forced her to suffer the indignity of consorting with these unworthy UGE species, accepting them as sentient, and actually pretending to listen when they speak. How revolting, she thought. She spared only a fleeting glance at her messenger before setting off towards her wing of the palace. The fury radiated from every graceful stride. The messenger shared most of the princess’s attributes with the most notable divergence being his blue eyes and blond hair. The characteristic features of the previous rulers of the El, before the current House of El, overthrew them. He displayed the same ageless quality of their kind, which made an estimation of their age quite impossible.

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The other variation to this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;El-kindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; theme was dark green eyes and red hair, but these features were the mark of commoners and workers. Royalty, such as the upset princess, came endowed with the dark platinum colour eyes and midnight black hair. He intently followed her departure, not sharing her unbridled hatred for other species. He could only shake his head, a reaction that would have found him separated from said head, had certain platinum eyes observed this. Kainen quickly scanned the surroundings for such eyes, but it was a futile exercise even for the El-sight. His people were near invisible surrounded by forestation, and his home world was one large shimmering radiating forest. The cities seamlessly weaved into the trees, with most structures built either in or around them. This was not surprising since the trees provided the energy that sustained their way of life. Kainen walked back to his quarters, now quite focused on an even more vexing problem, what was on the menu for dinner.

Waking the Angel

CHAPTER 3 His senses dulled. Angel would give anything to feel something; even the temperature in the room was dull. His mind hit his hand on the table. ‘Bet you felt that,’ it said as Angel yelped. I have to escape, he thought, there must be a way off this… whatever this was. He had managed to convince his mind to let him use the urn a few minutes earlier. The only reason his mind agreed was so Angel would stop his incessant moaning, and so he could accidentally hit Angel in the privates when he levitated the urn towards him. ‘So are we going to escape or what?’ his mind asked, shortly after Angel discontinued his contorted pose in the foetal position. ‘How exactly do you propose to do that?’ Angel returned the thought, feeling quite silly speaking to his mind. His mind had told him to sing if that would make him feel better but after the first few bars, his mind cut off his control to the vocal cords. ‘Won’t they know what we are thinking?’ he asked his mind. ‘No, they seem to be able to read what is in your conscious mind, and I can control that,’ it smugly stated. ‘They are under the impression you are thinking about cutting your toenails in the shape of animals.’ ‘Okay, so how do we…’ what am I saying he thought, we? He was referring to himself in the plural. ‘Oh god, he was going to end up in an asylum.’

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He gathered his thoughts again, ‘how do I open that door?’ ‘Leave that to me,’ his mind said as he walked Angel over to the door. It opened. ‘How did you do that?’ ‘Simple, when those things walked in it projected a thought at the door, and told it to open. I used their brainwave frequency and did the same,’ his mind explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and Angel must be the biggest idiot for not thinking of it himself, which he in essence did but let’s not confuse the issue. ‘How do we proceed from here?’ he asked. ‘Well walking would be my first choice, but you may run if it would make you feel better,’ his mind answered sarcastically. ‘Fuunnnyyyy,’ Angel replied. ‘We need a disguise, so let’s open a few rooms and find one.’ He walked down endless deserted corridors and visited countless abandoned rooms. The fatigue enveloped him and he did not even think to use stealth anymore. Finally, he found a room with an unused grey cloak. ‘Good now we find a way off this ship,’ his mind ordered. ‘I should have figured we are on a ship of sorts,’ Angel replied. ‘Nooo… you think?’ his derisive mind replied. ‘I sensed a faint tremor when we accelerated, thus I surmise our present course will take us to the back of the ship. I also judge that to be the place they would keep any smaller ships since it would be easier to launch ships from the rear.’

Waking the Angel

‘Makes sense,’ Angel thought wearily. He listlessly embarked on his journey to the back of the ship. ‘Why did I not wear walking shoes?’ Angel groaned, painfully aware of the blisters forming on the soles of his feet. ‘Yes, I can’t believe you did not know you would be abducted by aliens today,’ another mocking thought came from his mind. An alien blocked their path. ‘Leave this to me,’ his mind’s overconfident thought came to him, as Angel shrunk back into the hooded cloak praying the creature do not pay close attention to his unusual shape and height. Angel could feel thoughts leaving his brain. A few moments later, his mind returned. ‘We need to turn left at the next corridor and then continue another 100 yards to the docking bays.’ The door slid open silently. ‘Wow,’ Angel thought while his mind whistled. It was huge. Ships lined the hull as far as he could see. ‘Well, pick one so we can get out of here,’ his mind suggested urgently. ‘Why the rush all of a sudden, and why am I getting worried?’ Angel thought back. ‘None of your business!’ his mind replied, ‘now move it!’ ‘You gave us away when you spoke to that alien, didn’t you?’ Angel smirked. ‘Would you move already!’ his mind ordered. ‘No, you tell me what you said,’ Angel delighted in this opportunity for payback. ‘That’s it. Move over I’m driving,’ his mind replied.

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They ran to one of the ships, and his mind ordered it to open. ‘You know how to fly this thing?’ Angel asked. ‘I am the most intelligent life form in the universe,’ his mind replied smugly, ‘how hard could it be?’ Angel sat in front of the command console. ‘Where the hell is the on button,’ he heard his mind thinking aloud. Angel heard the faint sound of the ship’s access door opening. His heart sank. Moments later Qren floated in accompanied by guards. ‘We have followed your progress on the ships monitors. Highly impressive,’ he remarked before continuing. ‘We unfortunately cannot allow you to leave. Please understand the future of the known universe could depend on your cooperation in fulfilling your destiny.’ ‘And if I refuse to cooperate?’ Angel asked fuming. ‘That is not an option you would wish to consider,’ Qren suggested without a hint of malice, ‘the guards will escort you back to your quarters. Please remain there until we reach our destination. Thank you.’ ‘We’re screwed aren’t we?’ Angel asked his mind while they were ushered back to their quarters. ‘Yep,’ his mind replied indifferently.

Waking the Angel

CHAPTER 4 ‘Victory!’ the cry echoed along the cavern walls bouncing off into the distance. ‘Care to wager another ounce of Zellion brother?’ the warm deep voice asked, ‘you still have much to learn about the game of Digs, but you will in time.’ Two small black beads stared out from under bushy eyebrows at the one who made this statement before replying. ‘Yes brother dearest, but who could foresee a fate card destroying my number one shaft?’ ‘Ah, as the saying goes putting your coal all in one bucket. No contingency plan, which was admittedly a brave move, but foolish.’ ‘Let us not forget that this youth has cried victory before.’ ‘True brother, very true, and what a famous victory that was.’ ‘It will not be the last,’ a determined voice came from the younger player. ‘That I do not doubt, and I look forward to the day it will be a regular occurrence.’ Brom proceeded to reset the pieces and shuffle the fate cards. He loved this game. It gave him endless satisfaction to out-mine his opponents, and none except for Kirom once, has ever tasted the sweetness of victory when playing him. His only regret was cheating to let his brother win. He dealt a fate card from the bottom of the deck. He already knew what it would be; a plague card that wiped out half his own workforce

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and left key areas severely weakened. This took careful planning and positioning without his brother realizing what he was doing. Kirom had won, and he did not stop smiling for a week after, while Brom pretended to sulk. It was necessary. He had to keep his brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interest in the game. Adequate playing partners were hard to come by. Even in the Universal Digs Championship, none came close to challenge his skill. The thought seem to amuse Brom and he let out a thundering laugh that shook a few crystals loose from the ceiling. One particularly large crystal unceremoniously dropped on his brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s oversized foot. Kirom swore and bounced off into an unlit tunnel. It took a while for his curses to die down in the distance. A disappointed older brother watched him depart. Brom was looking forward to testing out a new strategy he was working on. As he returned his gaze to the board, he only now noticed the large gist1, perched on the playing field, twitching his nose at Brom. Brom held out his hand and the gist scrambled on. He touched the creatureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s head lightly where he knew the hidden recording dot resided.

1 A furry little rat creature. However, he had a much more relaxed temperament and was a heck of a lot faster. They created their own tunnel structure in the Dwar maze and trained easily, thus they were the preferred carrier of information, since radio waves did not travel well in these ore-rich caverns.

Waking the Angel

A monotonous voice arose from his hand, ‘Brom, Grand Master Dwar, your presence is hereby requested for an emergency senate meeting.’ Brom immediately grasped the meaning of this, the Vanir has been located. ‘Excellent,’ he thought. He loathed being on the surface, too much fresh air. He missed the damp musty smell of his beloved caverns, tunnels and shafts when he was unfortunate enough to be off-planet. Topside Nidavellir was completely devoid of life. Acid and sulphur pits covered its entire surface and one gigantic electric storm fully describes the planet’s weather patterns. This was one planet where the weatherman had an easy job. He could predict the weather curled up in bed 10 miles underground. The Dwar were a stocky, hairy race turned so by evolution from living underground. As miners and traders, they were well known. Their cities frequently visited by offworlders seeking a trade agreement and a chance to lay their hands on the precious metals and minerals only the Dwar seem to be able to get hold of. They were rich, rich beyond the imagination even Angel now possessed. They loved their underground dwellings, so much so that they decorated the inside of their interstellar cruisers in the fashion of their caverns. Stalactites and stalagmites were painstakingly ‘grown’, and all the ships were equipped with burrowing tools so that they do not physically land on a planet so much as inside a planet.

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The race hierarchy was simple. You had miners and captains, masters of mines, masters of planets and him, Dwar Grand Master. He gave the gist a few scraps from those left on the table. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Off with you now little one,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he commanded. He picked up his gigantic hammer, and set off to pack. In peacetime, they banned the use of these hammers on the surface of any habitable planet. It had a tendency to cause devastating electric storms, not unlike the ones raging on Nidavellir. This was due to the build-up of electromagnetic energy in the hammer core enabling the hammer to cut through solid rock or metal like a hot knife through butter. It did not only shatter the rock. The hammer in fact ripped apart the strong and weak forces holding the atoms and molecules together. This would release the electromagnetic energy that binds the electron to its nucleus, which the hammer absorbs and use to recharge. The hammer would direct the rest of the energy away from the user and this energy subsequently collect in the stratosphere. In a very short time, the energy builds to such magnitude that it creates the electric storms. Precise prospecting was the Dwar creed. The few Dwar that were unlucky enough to hit a uranium or plutonium deposit were never heard from again, neither was the planet. Bromâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hammer, a particularly powerful example, needed only a few blows to cause a super-storm of continentally devastating proportions. The name of this hammer was Mjolnir.

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Mjolnir, handed down from generation to generation always belonged to the Grand Master Dwar. It was the most exquisitely crafted tool in the entire Dwar Empire, and it was the first. All other hammers were fashioned from it. Mjolnir was the symbol of Dwar power.

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CHAPTER 5 A freezing early dawn broke on Arken. It would be another 2 hours before late dawn, and the rising of the second sun with an orbit far closer to the planet, providing most of the heat. Angel rubbed his chest as he aimlessly sauntered down the endless corridor. He arrived on the planet three days ago and since been allowed to wander the palace grounds unescorted. No one bothered him and he felt invisible, almost as if he was back at work, only here he did not have to pretend to be working. Still he wished he could wake up. He stared at his own reflection in one of the palaceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mirrored walls. It was still his face staring back. Angel was tall at almost six foot four inches, and had a decent enough bone structure. Angel had a naturally athletic build, even though fitness was not one of his main concerns, he maintained a semblance of a decent shape. His dark hair, and grey blue eyes that had a constant naughty glint to them, along with his wellchiselled face and broad shoulders made him a very attractive man indeed. Even the scar running from the corner of his right eye about half an inch down his temple just made him appear more handsome in a rugged way. He had never believed himself an attractive male specimen but he received constant compliments and attention, which should have given him a clue. Confused and lonely he kept walking.

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Walking gave him something to do, something to dull the longing for home. He missed earth, his bench, the pigeons, even the tax audit would be welcome relief from this nightmare. He had so many questions, most of which he did not want answered. A large memorial stone drew his attention and he ambled across lethargically. A strange hieroglyphic language covered the stone. As he stared at the writing, the symbols started swimming in front of his eyes. Here we go again, he sighed. His mind was at it once more. Qren had told him that it would take months before his mind would feel like part of him. Apparently, he still controlled his mind, only it operated at such an enhanced level of processing, using so many previously unused sectors, that it felt as if detached. His mind had found a cryptic puzzle and it would be damned if it would let this go by unsolved. 12.23 seconds later, it had very disappointingly cracked the cipher. Sulking, it returned to a state of complete and utter boredom. <Sigh> Angel gaped at that which his brain had revealed to him. How could this be, he wondered. Carved on the memorial-stone were the surnames of some of the most renowned forward thinkers in earth history, stretching back thousands of years. He slowly read the latter ones he recognized. ‘… Einstein, Newton, da Vinci, Alexander, Michelangelo, Freyr…’

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That last name rang a bell, but he could not place it. Angel shrugged, confident his mind would come up with an answer shortly, and indeed, he did not need to wait long before his mind head-butted his consciousness out of the way and started chirping. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;137 hits found on Freyr, to narrow the search, please supply more parameters.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; When none was forth coming, it got back to calculating the angle between the two suns and the second they would overtake each other. He made a mental note to ask Qren about these carvings and the Arksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interest in the greatest minds of his planet. They already possessed the knowledge of the gene long before any of these men were born, and the transformed humans were much more intelligent, he thought, with his freezing limbs now mostly forgotten, he walked on, quite puzzled. He noticed the ion trails of a few personal cruisers arriving during the course of day, but did not pay them much heed. He had more questions than answers in any event, and had no enthusiasm for compounding his confusion. The revelation Qren imparted on him while en route to Arken was too profound. There were also a few other insignificant little details, such as standing on a planet a zillion light-years from a place he really liked to call home, looking at an alien sky, surrounded by beings that did not exist a few days ago. Then finally coming to the realization that this represents only the tip of the iceberg and he was certainly in for a few more surprises.

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He walked to the gardens on the other side of the palace, kicking absentmindedly at anything unlucky enough to be in the path of his foot’s pendulum. I am only one man, one insignificant man, how can they expect this of me, how can they expect me to command galaxies, countless races, and lead them into war. ‘Why me!’ he screamed. He fell into a brooding silence. Angel tried waking from this nightmare every chance he got. His mind has even helped on occasion, thinking of clever ways to shock him back to reality. Angel was sure his brain was only doing this because deep down it had a nasty homicidal streak.

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CHAPTER 6 Teral stood on the bridge of his battle cruiser, a gigantic spaceship. He calmly gave orders while a battle raged on the view screen in front of him. The raiders, mostly Taur bombers and a few fighters, were attacking from all sides, but held at bay by his cruiserâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heavy shield and directional turrets. He had been hunting this raiding party for weeks. They slaughtered settlements on more than a dozen worlds, and some he could only surmise to be for sport. These settlers had no valuables or commodities that would be of interest to the Taur. He inwardly smiled a wry smile, as he watched the murderous fools taking the bait. They were so gullible, but then again, dangling the seemingly unescorted Imperial Battle Cruiser as lure, how could they resist? He even gave them a few added incentives. The broken ion trail of a crippled ship and taking his forward defensive array off-line, something he knew their sensors would detect. True, they might stand a measly few percent chance of taking her but he was counting on this greed. Why would they not want to return home as heroes having destroyed the flagship of the Aesir. The raiders pressed on in the attack and Teral let them get close, he wanted to draw them all in.

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Some were still hanging back, tentative, careful, not trusting their luck, but more and more joined the attack after seeing the apparent success of their brothers. Everything was going according to plan. Nearly there, just a few more, a few more, he thought to himself. He wanted the two Taur capital ships within range. They must not get the opportunity to escape, he thought. That’s it, ‘Commander, give the order for the corvettes to decloak and commence fire,’ Teral barked. The Aesir were the only race whose ships had this ability, except for one other very special craft. The cloak was not so much technology as it was magic. The result of Aesir mages seated in the hulls of the corvettes plugged into a thought amplifier. This enabled them to generate a huge magical field around the ships, which made them invisible to any observer or sensor. This however presented one serious problem, since for anyone inside the field there was no way to observe the outside either. This necessitated one decloaked ship with a senior mage onboard to mind guide the cloaked ships. The development of this strategy took many years, and many ships. They were flying blind and kept on crashing into each other, quite embarrassing really, but the captain of the ship only had a few seconds to feel embarrassed about their manoeuvring skills. Teral tapped his mindcom to broadcast his orders to his ships, ‘bring the forward array online, all stations fire at will! Launch all squadrons! Destroy them! Destroy them all!’

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He sat back in the command chair with pleasant thoughts spiralling in his mind; did this scum really think the imperial battle cruiser would travel without an escort? How simple-minded they must be. At least he will have revenge for his people’s needless deaths. The mindcom projected thoughts as voices directly into Teral’s mind and he was listening with satisfaction. He kept switching wavelengths, listening in on stations across his fleet. ‘Forward array is on line, commencing fire.’ <Click> ‘Corvette Astor in position, decloaking.’ <Click> ‘Alpha squadron completed flanking manoeuvre, commencing attack.’ ‘Delta 3 and 4 break left, on my command… go,’ ‘What the heck is that Taur doing? He is going straight into the cruiser, must be Mino’t, sleep tight baby.’ <Click> ‘Oh shit, oh shit oh shit; get him off my tail… AND STOP SHOOTING AT ME!’ ‘Sorry, I thought you were the one, who looked like he knew how to fly.’ ‘I’ll fly this thing up your big ugly butt, asshole.’ <Click> ‘WHO IS CONTROLLING TURRET 4? Tell the idiot to shoot at the moving things; he can’t hit the pretty little lights from here!’… ‘Yes, I mean the STARS MORON!’

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‘HE FORGOT HIS GLASSES AT HOME? Get that C^@%$ off that turret NOW, and eject him through the airlock… of course I was kidding, eject him through the refuse disposal, we’ll give his family a medal later.’ ‘He’s your friend? Just send him to his quarters for Odin’s sake, and choose your friends more carefully in future.’ <Click> ‘Bring the Corvette round.’ ‘No, the other way idiot, never give your flank to the enemy.’ ‘What is wrong with you? Are you auditioning to be a bus driver at the old age home? I saw that!’ <Click> ‘Alpha three to Alpha two, I am on three, you?’ ‘Stopped counting at 10,’ ‘Bull.’ ‘No really, last one was named Trac’y; she was a really hot waitress at Blongs on Keras2.’ ‘Idiot,’ <Click> ‘Sigma 1 you break left and I’ll go right, we’ll box him in.’ ‘No, your other left, F*****, oops sorry my mistake, did not see you were inverted.’ <Click> ‘Corvette Brondir Turret 7 acquiring target, target in range, target locked. Firing plasma cannon…’ ‘Sir, do they have battle cruisers?’ ‘No?’ ‘Then that’s… oh shit!’ <Click>

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Teral watched as his cruiser and the corvettes rained a barrage of plasma, ion cannon fire and an assortment of missiles on the murderous trash. His fighters outflanked them and his corvettes formed a corridor of death trapping the entire marauder fleet. He hoped they have some idea of what his people felt before dying, hopelessly awaiting death. His people, the Aesir were a peace loving society of mages, who embraced combat training only as a means to defend themselves. Renowned as entertainers they were a flamboyant race with magic being to them what air is to humans. They were shape shifters; able to take on the appearance of almost anything they touched. Though they could not duplicate intricate machinery or complex cell structures, in outward appearance, they were perfect replicas. In their natural state, they had no prominent features. Their ‘skin’ and eyes appeared dark blue in colour with a metal-like sheen. They have no hair, nails, or any orifices. The Aesir assimilated food by phagocytosis. This means the outer layer of the skin, with the magic field surrounding it, constantly attracts ‘edible’ particles, which the ingested through the cell membrane. Their preferred means of communication like the Arks was mental telepathy. Although, when taking the form of an entity using any other means of communication, they would use this instead.

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The commander’s voice interrupted Teral’s thoughts, ‘sir, they are running! We got at least 68 of the marauder ships, including both Taur capital ships. There were only a few casualties on our side. Your plan was a resounding success, congratulations sir.’ ‘Your congratulations are premature commander,’ Teral thought, ‘they will all die today, every single one. Send the fighter wings after them, and I want an account of every Taur ship’s destruction,’ and to be sure he added, ‘did I make myself clear Commander?’ ‘Crystal sir,’ the Commander turned on his heel and left. Teral was not blood thirsty by nature, none of his people was, but after seeing the mindless slaughtering of the Aesir, his people, his blood, something snapped inside. Now he wanted vengeance and he wanted blood to flow, the blood of the Taur. Today he will cleanse this vile smudges on the universe’s floor. He had the soap and brush, and he was not going to stop scrubbing until it was spotless. The mindcom beeped in his head, ‘Speak,’ he commanded. ‘Sorry to interrupt Sir, but we just received an encrypted deep space transmission from the Arks. You are required to attend an emergency senate meeting,’ the nervous voice squeaked, ‘shall I respond in the positive?’ This did not amuse Teral in the least. He savoured these moments of retribution but alas duty called. He took a minute before answering. ‘Do so.’ He still did not recall his fighters until he was sure he destroyed all remnants of the Taur raiders. Only then did he order their departure for Arken.

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Teral relaxed in his chair even though a terrible sense of foreboding plagued his thoughts. The Taur had become more organized, deliberate and arrogant. It felt as if some force controlled them, gave them courage. He could sense an evil mastermind behind their movements and it was not their current leader Kraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;st, who would start to photosynthesize if his IQ fell by one point. No, something was wrong, very wrong. His cruiser gave a faint shudder as the massive hyper-drive engines came online and propelled them towards Arken.

Waking the Angel

CHAPTER 7 It was not until nightfall that Angel had a chance to catch up with Qren. He took up stride alongside the leader of the Arks, and continued to examine the face of his abductor. Qren seemed oblivious to Angel’s presence. He did not wish to interrupt, sensing a great weight on Qren’s shoulders as even the alien’s expressionless face displayed concern. They walked together for a while in silence before he felt Qren’s voice enter his head. ‘Did you have a pleasant day my lord?’ This startled Angel. He was not ready to accept such a title. ‘Please Qren no more, I need time,’ he shook his head and turned to leave. He was in no mood to get into a debate on this absurd subject. Qren would not understand. How could he without an imagination. He was about to turn and leave having completely forgotten why he wanted to see Qren in the first place, but got a reminder from his now manically depressed brain. It could not find a single thing worth dissecting and exploring. It has even calculated the atoms in Angel’s body, but got frustrated when Angel had a coughing fit and kept on throwing off his count by expelling atoms. It bing’ed politely and said, ‘Meeting with Qren, Subject: Stone carvings, 5 minutes overdue.’ Angel pulled a face at his mind.

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‘I came upon a memorial stone today listing the last names of earth’s geniuses. What does it mean?’ he asked. ‘Who told you what was written on the stone?’ Qren asked with genuine surprise. Qren seemed concerned and Angel took this as being something that is not because he has done something right. ‘No one, I read it, or rather my mind did,’ he answered in earnest not knowing if he should lie or not. Qren took a moment before replying. He was surprised at how efficiently Angel’s brain had developed. Breaking the cipher so quickly was truly unimaginable. He did not feel the necessity to inform Angel of this small detail, but rather gave him the information he requested. ‘Oh? Well, to answer your question. The names on the stone are not those of whom you are thinking. The names were those of the UGE Lords, but to explain this I need to start with how and why.’ Angel’s mind jumped into an armchair, ‘popcorn check, ears clean, check, storage cells, check, reception… testing… testing… check; Okay WE’RE READY,’ it announced. Qren seemed thoughtful as he started to explain, ‘I did not fully explain the gene’s occurrence on the ship. Please bear with me and all will become clear.’ ‘Damn another long lecture,’ Angel thought. At least his mind might get off its suicidal streak for a little while. ‘The gene is only found in the male of what you call twin brothers, two males born from the same female in the same birth. The gene would only be present in one of the twins, never both,

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and rarely occur more than twice per generation. We were lucky in that your generation had two occurrences.’ ‘This however is not the case with the female of your species. The gene could occur in a single birth and occurs more frequently. Unfortunately the mind transformation on females has a more physical effect.’ ‘The transformation machine seems to focus not as with the male on the central nervous system but rather the somatic nervous system. That is the motor neurons connected to the muscle and external sensory receptors. This makes them more agile, faster and stronger. They develop enhanced senses and it seemed to augment what you call their sixth sense as well.’ Angel quietly thought how dangerous this sixth sense enhancement would make them. No more going out with the boys, slipping away to go play golf, flirting with the secretary… men would become slaves. What horror. ‘This does not however mean that there is no significant increase in intelligence, but it would solely make them comparable to the geniuses of your world, which does not meet our requirements.’ Again Qren took a moment before continuing, it seemed he was about to divulge information that he was not comfortable with. Something he did not agree with completely but partook in as a necessity. ‘At birth we would take the gene bearing twin from the mother and bring him to Arken. The current UGE Lord raises him until he

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is ready to take over as the new UGE Lord. Humans age very slowly on Arken, as you will experience yourself. Therefore we had ample time for the new lord to reach maturity and be fully trained before accepting his position.’ ‘Thanks Qren, but this still does not answer my question on the memorial stone,’ Angel said. ‘I was getting to that. The names you saw on the memorial stone were those of the twin brought to Arken. The name of the earth family was given to our ruler, though you are correct in assuming they were also the last names of your earth’s greatest minds, the twin brother left on earth.’ This made no sense to Angel; he had no twin brother. His father disappeared right after his birth. His mother had skilfully avoided the subject whenever he approached it. He froze… it was as if someone hurled icy water into his face. A memory peeked thoughtfully into his consciousness. Could this be the secret, his mother would not tell him? He had a twin brother and his twin lives with his father? He was surely going to lose his sanity. This is madness, all madness. Deep down Angel felt it was true; he had to believe it was true. He had a brother. He believed in a lot more, in what exactly he had not decided yet, but as soon as he did, he was definitely going to believe that too. Hallelujah. Angel’s mind on the other hand was on a completely different train of thought.

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A train heading in a completely different direction and moving at break neck speed. Mind link, a link between twins, it thought. Could it be that the genius of the transformed brother on Arken had somehow filtered down to the twin, enlightening him in some cosmic twist of fate? Stranger things have happened, especially to it, especially in the last couple of weeks. Angel hastily said goodnight before Qren had a chance to throw another curve ball into the mix. He had had enough. His mind blown so many times it felt like a hopscotch team having a game in a minefield, and they were not doing particularly well. That night disturbing visions marred his dreams. It seems his mind now equipped with the knowledge of him being a twin, searched for the mind link. It seemed to have found it. Visions came and went. Apparently, his mind was struggling to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tuneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; into his brotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s consciousness. The images were distorted; a horror movie created by a demented mind. You might find the same thing if you gave a monkey a video camera to play with at a nightclub. He woke in a pool of sweat. Overcome with nausea and a splitting headache, with his thoughts haunted by the images of what he assumed to be his father or a 1942 Dracula movie. Sitting up and desperately wishing to remove the meat cleaver from his cranial cavity and he assumed that an aspirin would be as difficult to find on this planet as a decent steak dinner or a flight home.

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Angel slowly got out of bed, and struggled towards the bathroom. His was the only quarters equipped with this feature since the Arks had no need for brushed teeth or combed hair as they had neither. The room had a shower, one of the few pleasures he still enjoyed. It had hundreds of directional nozzles covering 360 degrees and from his head to toe. The water massaged his aching body and slowly he could feel the tension leaving him and his headache dissipating. He stood there for what might have been half an hour. Quite a number of times he told his brain to shut the <some choice French words> up. His mind was acting like a 5 year old kid on a road trip ‘Are we there yet… are we there yet,’ only it was complaining about boredom. He heard Qren speaking inside his head, ‘Angel I sense you had a difficult night for which I am truly sorry.’ It would have felt as if he meant it if he had actually paused before continuing. ‘There is unfortunately a matter of great urgency that needs to be attended to. There is a senate meeting scheduled for later this morning and you would be the reason. I would ask you to remain in your quarters till an escort arrives to collect you.’ Angel did not care, he wanted to be alone, and staying in his quarters would be a welcome relief. He also had an excuse now not to take his mind for a walk. His room was comfortable, decorated in a number of earthy colours, which he accidentally chose while examining all the switches in his room. This was calming.

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The human who created this room spend a lot of time ensuring it resembled the world he never knew. A world he only saw in his dreams at night. Drapes adorned the windows and the lampshades had designs on them, matching the duvet covers. The floor covered in a thick soft rug and the walls were a cream colour at present. It had a distinct 1930s feel to it. It was easy enough to change. Turning a dial next to his bed changed the room colour scheme to shades of blues or greens. They provided him with clothes, which were nothing more than normal slacks and plain cotton shirts, clean underwear, socks and comfortable shoes. He felt sure Einstein’s twin had a hand in this too, well either that or they raided an old age home last time they visited earth. He sat down at the foot of the bed, absentmindedly staring at the clock next to his bed. ‘Why do these aliens have the same notion of time as we have on earth?’ he asked his mind curiously. ‘If you hadn’t noticed a second here is almost 1.76 earth seconds, and a day is synchronized to the sun’s movement around Arken. They used this same model on earth to express days, hours, minutes and seconds. I have to deduce that the concept of time on earth must have originated here, and filtered down through the mind link,’ his mind surmised in a half-hearted tone. Angel sighed. He had hoped his mind would be able to reinitialize the mind link with his twin but from what he understood on his minds mindless babble, it could only be useful if his brainwaves were in delta around 1.5 to 4 cycles.

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It explained that this was the reason for the distorted pictures. As soon as Angel became actively involved in what he saw, his brainwaves increased to a theta state where it was not possible for his brain to keep the connection. Angel stood up and slowly walked to the bathroom to get a glass of water, where the tap handle broke off in his hand. He examined the handle perplexed. It really looked like a solid enough metal. His mind whistled, and then added sarcastically, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;That was a great trick. Do it again! Do it again!â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Waking the Angel

CHAPTER 8 A noticeable tension prevailed in the council chambers, something which resembling a rap concert from the brothers in the hood at a Ku Klux Klan convention. ‘What do you mean it will take years, I thought he was supposed to be the most intelligent being in the universe?’ Princess Sharin, Ambassador to the El coldly exclaimed. Qren frowned, as much as an expressionless face could. ‘He must learn our lore, adjust to his new mind, be trained in combat and in our technology, vessels and weapons. This takes time. Our previous leaders were raised from infants,’ he patiently explained. It was no use and he was getting Sharin even more upset. ‘How is he adjusting so far?’ Grand Master Brom of the Dwar asked genuinely concerned. Qren shrugged. ‘As well as can be expected, he still needs to clarify many things in his own mind.’ ‘When will training commence? Will he be able to handle the physical strain?’ chirped Sharin, annoyed that someone dare speak while she was interrupting. ‘When he adapts to his new nervous system, we will commence training. The mind transform has enhanced his synaptic pathways and motor neurons to such an extent that he is most probably not only the most intelligent, but might well become the most powerful UGE Lord ever,’ Qren quoted.

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‘This is not the normal reaction to the procedure, but we never use the procedure on adult males. He has reacted quite differently to what is observed in infants.’ ‘This physical transformation will take time unfortunately, we have been monitoring him and his muscle mass is slowly increasing, so is his speed but he might not have noticed this yet,’ Qren continued. Teral seemed troubled. ‘What if he cannot be controlled, you have already mentioned he cracked the cipher on the stone in seconds. This took his predecessors weeks to break down.’ This also concerned Qren. The Arks used the memorial stone as a final test when the students were ready to become the UGE Lord. They placed the stone in the square for the new UGE Lord to study. When he broke the cipher and wrote his own name on the stone in the code, there was a party of galactic proportions with lots of dancing, drinks, and crowns flying all over the place. ‘We don’t know yet, a lot is new in his situation. He needs to deal with a cerebrum that has somehow managed to disconnect itself from his consciousness, becoming a voice in his head.’ Qren knew this happens to some extent in the infants they abducted. They noticed the infants kept talking to themselves just after the transformation; they learned to speak several languages in a few days. It was always just one side of the conversation that was audible as if speaking to something else in their heads. Unfortunately, the Arks could not hear or rather mind read the other voice since it was not in the conscious mind. This lasted a week at most before the two combined into one.

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‘You might see the consciousness as what he remembers his mind’s abilities to be,’ he continued. ‘The other voice is all his mind is now capable of. The consciousness actually does not understand how to control this new power so it has given it a personality and kept it separate. It will only gradually accept it and become one, when it realizes the change is permanent.’ The others now shared his concern. What if they have a ruler, whose decision-making abilities do not lie within his genius side? What if he did not consort with his new intellect and made emotional decisions? Sharin was as always the first to start throwing her toys, preferably not her bow-staff as it might cause a few heads to roll. ‘The El will never stand for this! We joined this alliance and subjected ourselves to the rule of the Vanir because of their superior standing. The El will never be subjected to an inferior specimen.’ She gave a satisfied smile at the murmur of approval from the 10 junior senators that were not part of the head. She always had them eating from her hand, after all she was El; they were inferior. There were only six chief senators namely herself, Brom, Teral, Qren, the Vanir, and Noone. Nobody knew anything about Noone. His origin, what race he was and how old were secrets he kept hidden from everyone. All they know is that he has the wisdom of the ancients and he was responsible for the creation of the alliance, before even the great grandfather of Sharin was born.

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He brought the knowledge to understand the mind transform device. He also found the Vanir gene and he discovered strawberry ice cream. He was brilliant. He refused to carry a name. They called him ‘no one’, which over many generations and millennia became Noone. Nobody knew what his face looked like because of the dark grey hooded robe he always wore. His face remained cast in a shadow deep within the hood. Only when he looked directly at you could you see two glowing orbs inside the darkness of the hood. Some speculated it to be two torches he has strapped on his head for reading. The other 10 senators comprised of races, which either were colonists or ungoverned. They were numerous in number but too scattered and poor to exclude them from the protection of the UGE against the Taur. Brom spoke up, ‘you forget princess that we are on the brink of war. You have heard Arch-Chancellor Teral’s recount of the battle. The Taur are openly aggressive and do not share the respect for the alliance they had in the past. For some reason they are under the impression we can now be beaten…’ Teral broke into their minds, ‘our spies have heard rumours of a force that would destroy the alliance. However, it is a wellguarded secret, known in only the top Taur circles. Our spies cannot infiltrate this war council because they possess a scanner, which can detect our cell structure.’ ‘Our long range scout ships have found massive fleets being readied in the far sectors of Taur space. Not enough to take on the combined strength of the UGE but if they managed to divide

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us we would make easy targets,’ the concern in Teral’s thoughts clearly audible. ‘So what you are saying is if we do not accept this Vanir, and keep the alliance under him we are doomed?’ Sharin made this a statement less than a question. She was ready to withdraw the El from the alliance a few moments ago but now doubt clouded her mind. If this were true, the El would not survive. The El was the most powerful race along with the Dwar. No one knew who would win an all out confrontation between these two UGE races, and no one was keen to find out. That is except for the punters, who have on several occasions attempted to initiate a confrontation accidentally. The reason the alliance was successful was the introduction of the Vanir. Nobody would willingly be subject to the rule of the El. Especially not the Dwar, who has always felt the El was colonizing planets, they saw first. By a UGE decree, Dwar may not mine a planet if there were already colonists on the planet. However, they could continue mining, if the introduction of colonists happened after they started mining operations. Unfortunately, for the Dwar, prospecting takes time, and once a race registers a planet with the senate, that race was responsible for the planet’s inhabitants and upkeep. Due to financial constraints, they can only register once they have struck ore, and by then the El had jumped in and registered the planet, if there was ample forestation on the planet. The converse was also true.

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No El would agree to the command of the other inferior species. The Vanir was the only exception. He was superior in intellect, but did not belong to their worlds. There was no chance of bumping into another Vanir in a pub who would tell them they are not allowed in the VIP section or make them feel they need to buy the drinks so they could ‘fit in’. The El would submit to his rule, while he did not make a mistake in judgment. No Vanir ever did… to date. The only other option was Noone. He however refused to rule since by his own admission, he was no ruler, and reluctantly the others had to agree. Even though he was a brilliant advisor and spoke with the wisdom of the ancients, he did not have the presence of the Vanir to rule. He had dignity, and he could make mistakes. No, the Vanir would have to do. The only mistake ever made by the Vanir, was the loss of the symbol of Vanir power many centuries ago. Each race had a symbol in the form of a weapon. The Vanir had a sword. This caused some division in the ranks of the UGE and caused a few of the member states to go rogue or neutral, as they liked to call themselves. This was a huge blow to the UGE as they presented a sizable part of the UGE defence strategy in the outer rim planets. Sharin sighed, bowed her head slightly, and with a weary voice said, ‘so Qren lets meet this protégé of yours.’

Waking the Angel

Qren waited and silently prayed for this conclusion. He gave a nod to his guards who promptly left for Angel’s quarters. Angel was playing noughts and crosses with His Worship the Lord of the Brain Elite as his mind referred to himself now or LOBE to his friends. He reluctantly allowed Angel to call him that as well. Angel was deep in thought and LOBE was getting irritated because Angel was just randomly putting down X’s, even when he was playing noughts. LOBE vowed if it happened again he was going to start a migraine. Angel laughed until his belly ached. ‘That’s it, I’m leaving,’ LOBE said. ‘So where would you be going then?’ Angel asked still laughing. ‘Hmmm forgetful are we, you have been driving too long I see. Shall I remind you that you are only in control because I allow you to be, and because I had more important things to do,’ LOBE said without malice, but Angel could feel the smile burn into the back of his head, from inside his head. ‘Okay, okay, let’s just play, shall we? Have you had any luck in figuring out why I could break the handle that easily?’ Angel asked, trying hard to get off the previous subject. LOBE started an explanation in his professorial voice, ‘I have analyzed our nervous system and have deduced that the transformation did not only affect me. Our motor, inter and sensory neurons seem to be multiplying exponentially. The synaptic clefts have decreased in size. Dendrites branched extensively. The neurotransmitters changed in composition and

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increased in density. Action time has decreased from the normal range of 0.5 and 1 millisecond. It is now less than a nanosecond.’ ‘Protein absorption has increased dramatically and hypertrophy is occurring without resistance,’ LOBE smugly answered. Angel was NOT impressed. ‘English please!’ he replied irritably. ‘LOBE talks to muscles quick-quick. Muscles get biiig. Angel strong like bull, run like deer, leap tall buildings in a single bound,’ sarcasm dripped from LOBE’s medulla oblongata. ‘Really,’ Angel asked. ‘No.’ Angel felt like strangling him, or at least cutting off the oxygen supply to LOBE for a while. A knock at the door placed a damper on his plans. He made a mental note, Suffocate LOBE, and walked over to answer the door.

Waking the Angel

CHAPTER 9 Angel gingerly entered the great hall as his ushers took up position on either side of the doors. Again, he could see an unmistakable human influence. The dĂŠcor of the chamber was in the fashion of the Michelangelo ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He stood in front of a half moon shaped table with the top six chairs and that part of the table forming a dais. The seats were more like thrones than chairs. A low hum came from the members of the senate. They were obviously talking, those who had vocal cords, but he could not understand them. He tentatively walked into the middle of the half-moon. A court attendant placed a small piece of metal behind his ear, and it seemed to be absorbed into his skin, because when he felt for it, there was nothing there. The hum started to become words, and the words became sense. Angel felt like a racehorse on parade, and judging by the buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reactions as he scanned the room one by one, they thought he was an old plough horse. Revise that, a crippled old plough horse. No rather a blind and cripple old plough horse. Fortunately, Qren choose that moment to speak distracting his survey of the council, for the next person his eyes would turn to would have been Sharin, and if he saw her face, he would have felt like the rotting broken tooth of the aforementioned plough horse.

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‘Lords and ladies of the senate, may I introduce to you, Angel of the Vanir,’ he turned to Angel, ‘Angel this is the Senate of the United Galactic Empire.’ Qren began to introduce the senate indicating each as he presented them. ‘Firstly we have Arch-Chancellor Teral of the Aesir, next to him, Brom, Grand Master of the Dwar,’ for a moment Angel felt he heard something strange, but dismissed it as a misunderstanding. Qren continued, ‘Noone of the Ancients, Princess Sharin of the El.’ This time there was no mistake, he had definitely heard Elf, and he heard Dwarf when Qren introduced Brom. He had seen the words El and Dwar written on the memorial stone, but when Qren pronounced it, the wave coming into his brain made an ‘F’ sound while it withdrew. He started to laugh and walk around the room, looking under tables, behind potted plants, curtains, chairs, even examining some of the junior senators. This must be the most elaborate hidden camera show ever devised. He was on to them now. What did they do to make his mind react funny, see things, hear voices? It was most probably some designer drug that will wear off in a day or two. What would they want him to believe next? Kidnapped by aliens was far-fetched but now they wanted him to believe there were Elves, Dwarves and whatever Aesir and Noone were?

Waking the Angel

He expected to find Godzilla, King Kong and Barney the Dinosaur playing destructo-monopoly1 in the closet. ‘So where are the cameras?’ he asked, ‘great acting though, you had me going there. Wow, I thought the alien abduction was real. What a relief,’ he gave a mock applause. Sharin reacted so quickly that it was almost impossible to see her move. Angel felt something thin, cold and obviously deadly push against his neck. A faint trickle of blood dripped on his shoe. ‘You dare mock an El Princess,’ she spat. The venom in her voice clearly audible, no mistakes this time, she was great at making a point. Angel believed some more. ‘This is real?’ he stammered, ‘You are Elf and he is Dwarf?’ ‘We are El, Vanir, El not Elf,’ her icy voice could freeze an erupting volcano, if it had enough guts to erupt while she spoke. ‘On earth you are called Elf your greatness,’ Angel stupidly replied. He felt foolish and very scared. ‘What made him say that?’ he wondered, ‘they look like elves, but that was coincidental was it not?’ ‘Elf, how could Vanir know about the El or Dwar for that matter? Neither race has ever been to Vanaheimr. The Ark are the only ones who know, or care,’ Sharin sneered, ‘where that primitive planet is, and they have no means to communicate with

Destructo-monopoly is where they start with the hotels and houses and then destroy them as the game progresses.

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the Vanir except after he has been successfully transformed, where after he is the UGE Lord and never returns home,’ she spat. No one else he knew could make ‘lord’ sound like ‘he who washes my feet, with his tongue.’ This made no sense to Angel. Their descriptions fit perfectly into what he remembered from his fantasy novels, and a little hobby he had on Norse mythology at university. LOBE’s voice rose inside his head, ‘Freyr, Vanir, Elf, 1 hit,’ he was pleased with himself. LOBE proceeded, after imitating a drum roll. ‘The god Freyr was the bravest and strongest of all the gods. A great leader, he was of the Vanir, a tribe associated with fertility and prosperity. He was the god of the Alfkind or Elven,’ he paused for dramatic effect. ‘He lived in Vanaheimr. Swedish royalty still believe that Freyr was one of their Ancestors,’ LOBE was on fire, and did not intend to relinquish the floor. ‘Freyr is second only to Thor in popularity in Iceland, and one of the three most popular mythological gods of all time. The third being Odin.’ Angel understood. It made so much sense, even to him; insanity rocks. Angel remembered. However, the concept, what it would imply was unbelievable. Angel believed. He wanted to speak privately to LOBE but it came out audible to the entire senate, ‘Freyr was the first human ruler right?’

Waking the Angel

To his surprise, the senate responded, and a nodding of heads around the room confirmed this assumption. Angel shrugged. ‘Well what do you know,’ he whispered to LOBE and continued audibly, ‘he had a twin sister on earth.’ Disbelief was as thick in the room as marijuana smoke at a Bob Marley concert. The sweet smell of success, but he had LOBE to confirm everything, and he knew Norse Mythology, now that LOBE allowed him access to the memories. It was definitely a sister. LOBE nodded. Angel felt his brain move inside his cranial cavity. Qren interrupted, ‘it is true,’ he announced. ‘He was the first and it was an anomaly.’ ‘He was the only male gene-carrier whose sibling was female. We still do not understand how, but the anomaly has never resurfaced.’ Angel continued unabated, ‘a twin sister called Freyja, whom he was mind linked to.’ He could see the puzzled expression on their faces. He smiled, how could they know? The mind link between twins was an unobserved concept, even if one of the infants experienced the mind link while he was here, he would not know what it was and assume it a dream. He and LOBE had had long conversations on the subject after LOBE became aware of this strange phenomenon. ‘So the twins have a mental link? Like telepathy?’ he had asked LOBE. ‘Yes, only much stronger and over an almost infinite distance.’

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‘But won’t brainwaves fade and dissipate after a while. Aren’t they just energy and waves?’ Angel wondered, ‘I mean they were communication over zillions of light-years?’ ‘How do I explain this to a halfwit, actually more like a fraction of a halfwit,’ LOBE patiently replied while snickering. ‘It is as if the souls are connected by a ‘cable’ on a different plane of existence where distance and time does not matter, they communicate through this cable.’ ‘Oh!’ was Angel’s only disappointing response. Irritably LOBE continued, on… and on… until he realized Angel had probably nodded off after ‘oh!’ Growing in confidence Angel continued speaking to the senate, but first he gently pushed the blade away from his neck. Sharin did not object, and he started pacing, as she returned to her seat. ‘She saw what he saw through the mind link they shared,’ he paused to catch his breath and savour their expressions. ‘I assume your Freyr was closely befriended with the El?’ Angel asked. Again, the spellbound nods greeted him. He had unearthed a crucial piece of this mystery. ‘Now Freyr’s sister on Earth or Vanaheimr as you call my planet, dreamt of strange worlds filled with El. She dreamt of the one whom the El saw as their ruler and friend, which she misinterpreted as a god. She did not recognize the Vanir as being an earthling or her brother for that matter. She just assumed he must be of some deity race worshipped by Elves. She called this

Waking the Angel

race Vanir, but you confirmed now that Vanir were in fact your word for human.’ The faces in front of him were filled with fascination and he was not about to disappoint them. ‘She must have had suspicions at some later stage that Freyr was related to her in some way, because in some later records they were mentioned as siblings as well as husband and wife. Marriage between siblings, especially royalty was not frowned upon then.’ Qren gave Angel a knowing look. Was it because he was doing well? No, there was something else! He knew a lot more than he let on. The story might not be as straightforward as Angel thought it to be. ‘Mental note,’ Lobe chipped in. ‘I think so,’ Angel remarked before he continued. ‘These were probably just a tail added to the story, but the mind link between some twins could be very strong. So strong, that if one experienced pain, love, sadness so would the other. This closeness between the two was most probably misinterpreted as a union between them.’ ‘You see Freyr’s life here became the basis for a belief structure created by Freyja on earth thanks to the mind link which is shared between twins.’ ‘The mispronunciation Freyja got was the same one that I had when Qren mentioned your races. El and Dwar when thought transmitted sounds like Elf and Dwarf.’ The story of Freyja had a few unexplained sections he had not sorted out yet.

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It did not quite fit completely into his retelling. She was apparently the chief of the Valkyries and a goddess herself. He kept this to himself not wanting to confuse the issue, but he felt there were more to this story and he felt Qren had at least some of the answers. Angel accidentally caught a grumbling thought from the ArchChancellor of the Aesir. He could see Teral did not enjoy his race’s exclusion. Angel thought hard and took a chance. ‘In most earth tales of glory and honour, there was a great friendship between Vanir, El and Dwar. They were always travelling together on quests and adventure. However, the party was never only three; there is always a fourth member, the mage or wizard. This wise and powerful mage was a key figure, without whom there would be no victory.’ He was looking intently at Teral and saw he had hit a good nerve, a faint twitch as Teral’s head moved. Angel felt confident to throw the final dice. ‘The party of four forms the basis for earth’s mightiest tales. No story is complete without all four. Against the four, fearsome armies would fall and unthinkable legions conquered. No one could stand against the four when they stood as one.’ He saw Qren smile; he was becoming quite proficient in seeing someone without a mouth smile. He knew he had won a small battle, but a very important one. Brom was the first to shake his hand. Sharin and Teral followed close behind. Noone paused a second to whisper one word in Angel’s ear, ‘congratulations.’

Waking the Angel

The rest of the senate all followed suite and the celebrations began. Qren seemed the happiest of the lot. The weight on his shoulders, Angel sensed the day before, was gone. ‘Happy?’ Angel projected. ‘Ecstatic,’ Qren responded.

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CHAPTER 10 Guival tried to walk with as much confidence as possible, or at least as much as his new form allowed him. He was afraid, deadly afraid. He had just disembarked the Taur cruiser and his next obstacle was customs. ‘Next,’ the gruff call came from the officer. ‘Cru’t, bound for Evergal’t,’ Guival lied. ‘And what is your business in our capital, Cru’t?’ came the curt question from the customs official. ‘Trade agreement, Zellion imports for the military,’ Guival replied without hesitation. The official handed him back his documentation and ID badge. ‘Next!’ he barked. The Aesir spy shakily walked off with his heart pounding in his throat. He turned the corner to leave the spaceport and go into the busy street. Only now did he heave a sigh of relief, knowing this was the easy part, but still traumatising. He impatiently waited for the rail-train to come. It was a dark and desperate city; there was no hope left here. The wars were all that mattered, for these were people driven by the sword. They fought for fun, and killed for pleasure. He took a seat in the back, uncomfortably trying to push all the limbs and horns into the space available.

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There are three subspecies of Taur. Guival decided on the easiest form of the three namely the Mino’t. The Cen’t and Sa’t’s leg configuration were difficult to master, although he was quite proficient in imitating both the other species. The Mino’t however, as specie had the combined IQ of a rock, therefore none of the other two species took much notice of them. They also stood about 10 feet in their hoofs and had an enormous build. They were the muscle of the organization. It was the easiest form to travel in; only other Mino’t would intentionally get in your way. None of the species had hair on their body, although all three species were subject to this dull brown pigmentation from head to toe. All three races had growths on their foreheads, which seemed to increase in size and number with age. The size varied from species to specie, but a Taur could have as many as six horns. The strangest part of these races was below the waist. Their legs where more like bended spikes, broad near the top ending in a sharp hoofed point where their feet should be. Both the Sa’t and Mino’t had two spikes. Both these races’ knees constantly bent, like a kangaroo. The Mino’t’s legs bent to the front like most earth animals; however, the Sa’t’s knees bent to the back, similar to a grasshopper’s hind legs. The Cen’t was the only one of the species with four legs spaced around their body almost like a horse-crab’s legs divide by two.

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Both the Cen’t and Sa’t had very sharp noses, their mouths when closed showed no visible slit, but could open as wide as a human’s head and seemed to break open to their sharp pointed ears. This would display hundreds of razor sharp triangular teeth when open. The Sa’t also had a sharp chin, which resembled the beard of a Billy goat. The Mino’t faces although similar in discoloration had a jaw line that protruded forward like most earth animals, closest would be the bulldog. Their noses were flat, snout like and they had a much larger mouth housing many more teeth. The Taur’s most intimidating feature however, was their eyes, which were black as midnight. It gave the impression that someone gorged them from their skull. This happened quite frequently in any event, when their hands were busy and their eyes were itchy. The Mino’t and the Sa’t were probably the closest relatives, where the Mino’t had the brawn the Sa’t had the brains. The Sa’t’s chosen professions included science and engineering also serving as advisors to the Cen’t. The Cen’t were born leaders, they were also born killers and brilliant strategists. The Mino’t mostly guard things and carry things. It is advisable though to refrain from calling the Mino’t stupid to their face, or you might find their face around yours and that would be slightly detrimental to your health or soon to be lack thereof.

Waking the Angel

Together they lived in harmony, except when they were killing each other, and this was as it happens quite often, mostly when they could find no other living entity to slaughter. However, this interspecies killing had no racial motivation; there was no discrimination, they would kill anyone presumed to be alive. ‘You see I was there, he was there, then he wasn’t so much there anymore, shit happens,’ is the general answer in an interrogation afterwards. In the central war room, not far from where Guival nervously sat on the train, a brainstorming session progressed quite splendidly. This involved the Sa’t braining, the Mino’t storming and the Cen’t wondering who they would kill first. Kra’st, supreme commander of the Taur forces, got their attention by gently tapping Gungnir his spear, through the nearest Mino’t’s heart. The session came to order. ‘Have we located our target?’ he rasped. An old Sa’t with fading brown skin named Tri’st answered. ‘We have my lord.’ ‘The fleet is ready?’ Kra’st’s question came with a hint that he had better hear what he wants or else. ‘Within the week my lord, the last crawlers and reapers are being loaded as we speak,’ came the answer from his second in command, Alra’st. Alra’st was an anomaly through inbreeding; he had the intelligence of a Sa’t and the body of a Mino’t. A Mino’t with a brain was someone you did not want as an enemy.

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‘Good, good,’ Kra’st rubbed his hands in anticipation of his glorious victory. ‘Has our spy in the council been briefed? He knows the schedule, and what he must do?’ ‘It is his plan,’ was what Tri’st wanted to say, but he did not reach this grand old age by being stupid so he simply answered, ‘yes my lord he was fully briefed before we lost communication.’ After the last UGE Lord’s ‘accident’, Arken blanketed all unauthorized communication. Kra’st knew this but he was quite proficient in asking the same questions repeatedly. This usually had the desired effect, since somewhere, somehow, someone would roll an eye or sigh or maybe blink... for one final time. ‘We intercepted a few communications but they were encoded by a new Kasparov encryption. We have not been able to decipher it,’ Tri’st continued, ‘it does appear to be only random chatter, and the UGE seems to be oblivious to your master plan my lord.’ Kra’st was pleased, extremely pleased. He dismissed the meeting and sidled off to his command centre. He had a much more important meeting to attend to, and he had good news to report. Meanwhile Guival had reached the base of the command centre tower. He saw no way in. The tower had only two entrances he could find, both heavily guarded and equipped with scanners that could detect his Aesir cell structure.

Waking the Angel

He made himself comfortable at the burro-house across from the tower. It felt hopeless; despondence crept into his now bulky constitution. He might as well go home. There was nothing else to do. His thoughts drifted back to his briefing. ‘We need to know why they are amassing that fleet,’ his superiors had informed him. ‘They are planning something huge and it will not be something nice, they will probably not be delivering Freymas1 gifts to everyone.’ Guival understood the gravity of the situation, but what was he to do, WHAT? Hours passed slowly. His mind had gone numb; probably from the terrible stuff, he was drinking to look inconspicuous. A delivery truck from Desm’nd house of pastries pulled up alongside the tower. A panel in the tower wall slit back to reveal a Cen’t foreman with a clipboard2. He had four Mino’t with him and they started unloading the cream buttons. Guival stared at the scene without much enthusiasm. ‘Buttons as ordered, 10000, counted them myself. Feel free to check.’ ‘Oh I will,’ the foreman smiled. He revealed two Sa’t counters sitting behind him.

1 Freymas was Christmas for aliens. 2 Apparently pastries and clipboards are another universal truth found everywhere in the universe along with rocks and ice.

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‘Good, good,’ Desm’nd said but he was worried, he ate 10 of them on the way over. ‘Er, wait,’ he said urgently, trying his utmost not to perspire, ‘I just remembered, I forgot a batch in the oven. Silly old me, damn my bad memory, I’ll just go and get it shall I,’ Desm’nd nervously concluded. ‘Tsk-Tsk, can you believe it. That is such rotten luck. Maybe I should just remove that forgetful head. It seems to only get you into trouble?’ The Cen’t foreman sardonically replied. ‘No, please sir; I am quite attached to it. It has been with me since my unfortunate birth. It is the only thing my mother ever gave me,’ Desm’nd visibly shaken, could feel his bladder control adversely affected. ‘Here’s what we do, your next delivery is next Cen’tday right? So let’s say a little extra would keep your head in the same universe as the rest of you,’ the foreman said with a wry smile, ‘I would be happy to return it to your mother on your behalf.’ He loved buttons and now he was getting them free. For weeks now, he has been tortured with accepting these deliveries, since Kra’st took a liking to them as well. The few he has been sneaking on the side, was just not doing it for him. ‘Okay, I’ll just be getting on my way then,’ Desm’nd hurriedly announced and disappeared. Guival overheard the conversation even though it was more than 300 yards away. He was Aesir and after all, they were thinking very hard while trying to outwit each other. The thoughts were clear in their conscious mind, and he accepted them gladly. Guival could see a plan forming.

Waking the Angel

He needed to disguise himself as a button… No, that was not it. He paid for his burro. Even his altered form could not stomach this disgusting Taur drink. The waiter was kind enough to provide him with directions to Desm’nd house of pastries but it was too far to walk. He hailed a sky-cab and they made their way through the city. Guival confidently strode into Desm’nd house of pastries. The unfortunate owner sat behind the counter, thinking hard on how lucky he was to be alive. Guival smiled inwardly, ‘good, you just stay frightened.’ He informed Desm’nd that the foreman requested that he help him ‘remember’, and the Foreman wanted a 1000 buttons for this service. Desm’nd still thanking his incredible luck did not even think to ask for identification. ‘Yes sir, no problem sir,’ he muttered a response. A thousand buttons was worth a lot less than his life and it is not as if Kra’st actually paid him. The next week Guival spent enjoying pastries and ordering Desm’nd around. It was not often that a spy gets pleasure from his job, and he loved it. Cen’tday arrived, and he helped Desm’nd load his truck. ‘I will accompany you back to headquarters,’ Guival instructed Desm’nd. ‘Sure, sure, whatever you say.’ ‘And be very careful what you say. No one must know about the extra buttons.’ ‘You are only to answer direct questions and the foreman will pretend not to recognize me,’ Guival concluded the briefing.

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This plan was masterful if he did say so himself. Desm’nd had complete deniability when the rest of his plan goes into action. Shortly after Desm’nd’s truck pulled up at the tower and Guival helped to unload the pastries. He now wore a Desm’nd house of pastries uniform. They finished unloading the last batch. As Guival walked back with the guards, he patted his pockets and found he accidentally dropped his keypass and therefore will not be able to get out the gate. Guival appeared furious with himself. Stuff like this always seems to happen to him. He tapped the nearest guard on the shoulder and absorbed his form definition. An Aesir needed physical contact to learn the structure of the person they wished to shape-shift into. Guival put on his best, please help me sir, I am stupid face, and started begging. ‘Would you help me look for it sir, I am so clumsy?’ ‘Whatever, where do you think you dropped it,’ the guard replied, glad to finally find someone even more intellectually challenged than himself. ‘I remember now, I heard something roll behind those crates. I took no notice then, but now I think it’s the keypass,’ Guival replied. ‘Let’s go,’ the guard ordered. The guard peered under a crate and Guival pretended to look with him. He lifted the guard’s blaster seamlessly and fired, putting a peephole as big as a large coffee tin through the guard’s face.

Waking the Angel

Good thing I absorbed his form before this, otherwise I might have had a little trouble explaining the ‘see through’ head, he thought. Hurriedly he took off his uniform and transformed into the guard, every so often peering over the crates in case uninvited guest were in need of a welcome. He then proceeded to dress the guard, swearing at how difficult it is getting pants on those spiky legs. Guival walked towards the front door. ‘Spy!’ he yelled at the top of his lungs, and started shooting his newly liberated blaster in arbitrary directions. The other guards rushed towards his position, dodging his wild blaster shots while trying to get him to stop shooting. ‘Will someone please shoot that idiot!’ one of the guards shouted. Guival stopped hurriedly since getting his head blown off was definitely not part of his master plan. ‘I found him trying to sneak into the tower,’ Guival informed the oncoming guards desperately pointing in the direction where he knew the carcass lay. The foreman with Desm’nd had come over as well to investigate the commotion. The foreman bravely walked over to the crate where he found the faceless corpse wearing the house of pastries uniform. ‘You dare bring a spy into the tower,’ the foreman scowled at Desm’nd after surveying the scene. Desm’nd was confused. ‘He said you sent him, to make sure I remembered our deal,’ Desm’nd blurted, now visibly shaken.

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‘Outrageous how did he know about our deal,’ the foreman suddenly realised what he said, ‘I mean WHAT DEAL?’ ‘You tell me,’ Desm’nd said, ‘I am as confused as you.’ ‘I AM NOT CONFUSED, GET OUT, OUT,’ he screamed. ‘As for you, you made that mess, you clean it up,’ the foreman told Guival. ‘Take him to the incinerator,’ he ordered Guival. ‘Sir, yes Sir,’ Guival replied. Inwardly he was smiling from ear to ear, and outwardly, he could if he wanted to. He dragged the corpse into the turbo-lift and pressed the basement button carefully avoiding the scanners, which would detect his cell structure. Guival unceremoniously dumped the guard with the ventilated brain into the incinerator, and returned to the lift. He caught a final whiff of the steak in the oven and pressed the button for the penthouse suites. A lone guard stood outside the top floor exit, violently picking his nose. It was in there and he was going to excavate it. Guival stood in silence waiting patiently, trying to maintain the mystified look on his face. As the guard took notice of him, Guival pretended to be very confused. He looked around bewildered, not understanding how he got here. ‘What do you want imbecile,’ the Mino’t guard commanded. ‘Is this the kitchen?’ Guival asked completely perplexed. ‘NO MORON, you need to press 10 not 100.’

Waking the Angel

‘Oh… how many circles after the little stripe is that again? I always get confused,’ Guival was relishing this ruse. ‘Er, let’s see,’ the guard counted on his fingers, ‘One. Now go. Lowly kitchen guards are not allowed here.’ ‘Okay but how many is one?’ he innocently asked. The guard sighed, and held up his middle finger. Guival hurriedly shook the guard’s hand, mindful he took the hand not involved in the nose excavation, but displaying immense gratitude for his assistance in this quite perplexing situation. He shook it long enough to absorb the gold digger’s form definition, and use his mind suggestion. The guard being Mino’t did not give him much mind to work with. The Aesir magic was strongest when in physical contact with the target. He suggested to the guard’s heart that it would prefer to stop beating since it was mistreated anyway; I mean, just look how overweight your owner is. After transforming into the guard and then dragging the now slightly deceased to the nearest room, Guival heaved him into the incinerator shaft with a slight grunt. These Mino’t were damn heavy. The shafts were something Kra’st had installed in all the top floor rooms. It was far easier to get rid of bodies this way, otherwise they would just litter up the room. ‘I mean it is only good manners. Someone might trip over a body and injure himself,’ Kra’st had explained to the architects.

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After about a 3-hour search he was ready to give up. He was fast running out of rooms, and it was probably almost time for the changing of the guard. He entered a huge office. It had slightly more decor, meaning more blood splattered adorned the walls. He started searching through the cabinets. Guival discovered, under some very unimportant documents, minutes from a meeting held a couple of weeks ago. He sighed heavily as he began to scan through the entire useless scribble. The Saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t scribes were thorough, with no consideration for unfortunate spies needing only the summarized version. There were notes on a few Taur that Kraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;st accidentally killed because they forgot to address him as lord, they gave him bad news, or they breathed unevenly. These minutes were probably the closest thing to a remembrance or eulogy any Taur could hope to receive. He read the last sentences of the minutes and it shook him down to his core. He suddenly understood the reason for the deserted command centre. This cannot be true, this cannot be true, he repeated to himself, over, and over, as the colour drained from the rest of his face.

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CHAPTER 11 The next few weeks Angel spent studying lore, weapon and ship schematics and statistics as well as the races’ strong and weak points. LOBE thrived. He was as happy as a fox in a henhouse. ‘Know your enemy and know your allies. Use the strength of your friends against the weakness of your foe. Study your opponents with as much fervour as you would your assets,’ Noone had told him. Noone was his mentor and Angel was fast becoming quite fond of the old, well, Noone. Qren placed the physical training on hold until his body’s transformation was complete. The physicians could only guess as to how long this would take. Angel already measured three or four times the strength of any of his predecessors and was infinitely more agile. His unchecked strength posed an increasing danger to those around him. He could barely touch something without breaking it. He made a pact with LOBE to calculate the strength needed for actions taking into account his transformation rate, and then apply the correct grip pressure. LOBE happily approved. This gave him something useful to do, but he often purposefully miscalculated to cause Angel embarrassment. He would miscalculate the speed at which Angel walked and let him run into a wall at speed.

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During dinner, LOBE had him crush a full Zellion alloy wine goblet. This metal, the hardest and scarcest material known to, er, alienkind, were sometimes found in the bow plating of some ridiculously expensive space cruisers to protect the most sensitive areas. Sharin was not amused when the spray caught her in the face, almost causing an intergalactic incident. She seriously considered attaching Angel to the bow of her cruiser as a figurehead. Sharin volunteered to organize his combat training. She was by her own humble admission the most qualified instructor, and NOBODY was going to dispute that. Except maybe if you were a long way away, like in another galaxy, and you were dying from an incurable illness, preferably before she reached you. Sharin did not hold a grudge forever; she would die eventually. She revelled in the process of creating a program to torture him, designing it in such a way to inflict the maximum pain without disabling him permanently. The princess even summoned a few more students, not wanting to waste her precious time on a single individual. She carefully selected these students from her black book of ‘people I’d really like to kill but might need an alibi for.’ She anxiously awaited the start of the training. Every day she visited the physicians to ascertain the extent of Angel’s progress. She had so many surprises for Angel. Angel on the other hand was quite oblivious to the dark prospect surrounding his future.

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He found his predecessors intriguing and lost himself in the archives for days on end. Angel scanned the page on the hollow projector in front of him. The UGE Lords know as Aristotle 384 BC and Archimedes 287 BC. How did he know they would be there? He swiftly flipped through the UGE Lord profiles. It was the latter lords, which he knew more about that were of more interest. He found that ‘Da Vinci’ who was born in 1452 had a reign that was quite short. He contracted a rare disease and the Arks abducted the newborn twin brother of Michelangelo Buonarroti to replace him. Da Vinci survived long enough to pass the sceptre on to his young protégé. The latter names read: Da Vinci 1452 Buonarroti 1475 Galilei 1564 Newton 1642 Gauss 1777 Einstein 1879 Kasparov 1963 On every occasion, almost a hundred earth years passed between abductees. He looked at the last name that was his predecessor, Kasparov. He would have loved to meet him. His twin was an amazing man, and drawing the chess match with the super computer Deep Blue was astounding.

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The accomplishments of the Vanir Lords were equally impressive. They designed the jump drive. This reduced the journey to earth from months to mere days. They frequently created weapons of mass destruction. However, they also invented useful technology, which could transform a planet from uninhabitable to a paradise, namely the planet-shaker. Buonarroti had a thing for architecture. He spent most of his time on architectural designs and more efficient construction techniques. Better living conditions and effective use of energy were paramount in his constructions. He did a lot of research on climate control and structural support for unstable planets, especially those hollowed by the Dwar. Galileoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brother seemed to spend his days on war tools, but not so much weapons. He was interested in the hull constructs of the alien ships, and did many useful calculations on the constellations. He discovered how to plot jump points accurately, which were crucial for long-range exploration. He developed most of the modern sensors and long-range scanners. Newton and Gauss continued to build on the discoveries of Galilei but Newton focused on energy sources and jump-drive technology and later expanded into shields when a technician accidentally dropped a spanner on his head. Gauss preferred weapons for his field of study, making the ships and weapons of the UGE far superior to anything the member states could even hope to imagine.

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This had the desired effect. The unfriendly races were not prepared to take on these devastating fleets. Einstein was a pacifist. He, like his twin on earth, was more interested in small things. He did a lot of research on the races’ cell structures, magic fields etc. He attempted to duplicate the effects of their special properties. In the end, he created enviro-suits that could withstand any planet’s atmosphere. He accidentally discovered the technology for the tachyon cannons as well. This was an incredible weapon, which affected a glorious fireworks display, and went to show it was not only magic that could make things disappear, permanently. Kasparov was a brilliant tactician. The strategies he devised both defensive and offensive were simply awe-inspiring. He reorganized planetary defences for optimum effect and created attack formations and fleet compositions that would obliterate armadas 5 times their size. Angel hoped LOBE could compete; he sure as hell could not. ‘The moon is made of cheese,’ LOBE smirked sarcastically. At night Angel’s nightmares continued. He saw many glimpses of earth, but could not keep up the willpower not to get involved, which caused the visions to start to fade as soon as they appeared. Angel’s consciousness overruled all LOBE’s attempts to keep him from becoming actively involved.

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Angel suspected the only reason why LOBE was so helpful was so he could watch TV. However, they were both curious as to current events back on earth. LOBE had the patience of a 4 year old with Attention Deficit Disorder. ‘Concentrate you moron,’ and, ‘it’s amazing you can focus long enough to get the food from your fork to your mouth,’ or, ‘hey! You remembered not to breathe and swallow at the same time. Impressive,’ the abuse continued. ‘It’s a damn good thing I look after bladder control.’ His nights were not the only torment he endured. Training now filled his afternoons, and for once Sharin was happy. She started him off very easy, stretching classes to make him supple and flexible.

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CHAPTER 12 Dear Diary, Yesterday afternoon I attended a stretching class… stretching class my ars#$#. Sharin is the devil incarnate. The dungeon master thought up these positions which I have aptly named the ‘precarious pretzel’ the ‘cranium cracker with jam’ the ‘dying stick insect cha-cha’ and the ‘Oh god, I cannot feel my toes, oh sorry, I thought this was my leg I am holding’. Here is what I do not get, which part of, I am a 33 year old, 93.72 kg MALE did she not understand. ‘Straighten your back’ … ‘point those toes’… ‘Look up… I said look down’… ‘Sit erect. Oooh; you are a big boy aren’t you; I did not mean do that, idiot! Sorry, I meant Lord Idiot.’ ‘Hook that leg under the other one… now put your arm around both of them grabbing your ear… no, your other ear… yes, that is it. Now push your head through that hole. Not that hole, and yes, that is your own fat arse you are staring at… I said straighten your back, you useless sack of wasted skin!’ ‘I don’t care if you’re stuck! Breath in deeply; now relax and wave your other arm gracefully around your head!’ I had flashbacks of my grade 2 teacher. She was cross between a Doberman pincher with rabies, Bigfoot with dandruff and the Mac Donald’s Clown with mad clowns disease. Only longer teeth, and

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bigger feet, with redder hair. ‘Please don’t hurt me anymore, I swear I won’t misspell ‘Beaujolais’ again, just stop hitting me, please.’ I swear I actually saw the back of my own head at one stage while I was trying to untangle my legs, which I knotted behind my back… or somebody else’s back. I felt confused and delirious. Next to me an El girl cried, she looked like she might have lost a limb but I could not be sure since none of her limbs were in a position I could recognize from 1st year anatomy. There were a lot of limbs and ears and other stuff laying around the room, most of it not attached to anyone. In the front of the class, an El lay unconscious. She landed quite heavily on her head after Sharin told her to wave her arms gracefully. Dropping out of the handstand first should have been slightly higher up on her ‘to do’ list. Another nice young El (she smiled so sweetly at me when I walked in, told me her name was Laidin), now wandered aimlessly through the class, speaking to an invisible fruit bat. Now and again, she would just start screaming hysterically and run into a wall. My heart bled for her, her heart bled over everyone else. Gripped in terror and surrounded by complete madness, I ran, fell really hard, unlocked my leg from behind my neck, got to what I assumed was my feet, since they were below what I hoped was my

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knees and ran, and ran. They found me trying to board an offworld freighter going to dump waste into the sun. The end; diary entry day 1 LOBE took it upon himself to keep a diary of the training. Angel could not decide who was more thrilled, LOBE or Sharin. LOBE swore these were an actual account of events. Angel suffered a severe concussion in the latter part of his initial training, and did not remember any of this. Later when LOBE showed Angel some extracts of the more interesting entries, as he referred to them, Angel had to laugh. LOBE actually had a sense of humour. LOBE said he wrote them from Angelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s thoughts for complete realism, with a little creative license because Angel was simply boring by nature. Angel had to agree this would be what he thought.

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CHAPTER 13 Dear diary, Satan’s girlfriend is forcing me to do all these ‘fun’ things. Today the elves and I found these disassembled space cycle things placed in the training facility. They were unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. One of the elves explained that according to the ‘wise and beautiful Princess Sharin’… aargghhh, it was currently not fully assembled. We need to finish construction and he offered to help me, but LOBE insisted he did not need any help. I started my work to the best of my somewhat extraordinary engineering ability. LOBE was getting to be his bossy self so I ignored him. Eureka, I did it; it was a work of art. Mostly abstract modern art with a hint of da Vinci, a pinch of Van Gogh and a healthy dose of Picasso; but art nonetheless. After I carefully examined my creation, I got the distinct feeling something was missing. You know that little thought that sits in the back of your head, and makes your brain itch, where you cannot get to it to scratch… oh yes, that would be LOBE. Right the engine… engine... engine. Were the heck did I put it? Oh well cannot blame a guy for trying, finally I was ready to go… If I were thinking at all, my quarters would have been a good

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direction. LOBE wanted to see what would happen next so I stayed. This is the last time I listen to that freak. Old Demon Spawn walked in and took up her place in the front of the class. She greeted us with a smile that could make spring blossoms bloom ecstatically on weeping willows, in a blizzard. All the laughter and chatter died down, you could cut the tension in the air with an ice cream scoop. I got very nervous. She started some music device and these funky El tunes filled the hall. They were soothing. I felt even more nervous. I don’t exactly remember when I lost my will to live or precisely when I forgot I had a will to lose. Hallucinations filled my mind, laughing hyenas, and nasty little blue midgets with cold noodle whips, hot leg waxes, natural childbirth, and a big black guy called Bubba trying to force-feed me a shaved poodle. I felt the poodle transform into cool blissful liquid. I lay flat on my back next to my study in abstract art. I stared into the face of another much more pleasing work of art, a beautiful golden haired Elven girl. Laidin. Her bike stood next to mine. She squeezed water down my throat and smiled sweetly… she understood… I saw it in her eyes. They

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were the eyes of someone with uncontrolled suicidal tendencies and it dawned on me, we were going to die! I recovered slightly. I could feel my strength returning, mostly due to panic and pusillanimous fear. Could the next 20 seconds be worse than the first 20 seconds? I could not see how. I was young, naïve. I had a mind like a steel trap, although thoughts usually manage to skilfully avoid it. Sharin would not break me with her pathetic intimidation techniques. I used to be in Special Forces… we know things! One thing I did know was earth’s gravity was a fraction of Elheimr and even on the lowest resistance setting; I was struggling not with strength but with sustaining energy to my muscles. Okay, that is how LOBE explained it. I inadvertently lost my manhood somewhere, which put me wholly in touch with my girly side. Tears were streaming down my cheek. I was bleeding profusely, from hitting my ankles on the pedals, my knees on the handlebars and my head against the ground. Pain was my friend, it kept me conscious… it reminded me I was not fortunate enough to be dead yet. There is no record of rest of my experience in hell, because my soul left my body. LOBE wanted to go along but his fortunate attachment to my brain was one small consolation, I suffer, he suffers. The soul left shortly after discovering the next routine was in fact called climbing with resistance (and I have always had a resistance to climbing unless it was out of the gutter the next

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morning). Meanwhile the soul felt that no way could the real hell be worse than this, and it needs a vacation anyway. It switched off the lights before leaving. My soul returned with a simmering Pina Colada and a nice crispy tan. It took a while for him to recognize the crumbled mass of bones, blood and flesh as that which it had inhabited earlier, in a better time, a better place… before the time of the wicked witch of the North. LOBE felt since he was only a few weeks old and not ready to start decaying in some casket somewhere that he would convince the soul to give me a second chance, being a loyal soul and all, and well frankly the brochures might have been slightly misleading. ‘Come to hell for a truly amazing vacation you’ll never forget, no welcome is warmer than ours’, was truly amazingly forgettable and you would pray to forget soon, hopefully by dinnertime, or by the latest next Tuesday (it WAS a very optimistic soul). It also thought ‘No idiot would be stupid enough to try something like this a second time, right?’ and ‘Obituaries did not usually start with ‘dear diary’, did they?’ It was also quite convinced hell might freeze over in the foreseeable future (intelligence was not one of its more marketable qualities) The soul’s second mistake was its belief that the vessel spread on the ground was still recoverable. That it could still use some of the limbs, eye lids or still had some degree of bladder control. Put it this way, if the soul was playing monopoly, it was bankrupt and

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parked in jail with no get out of jail free cards… and he was pretty sure this is NOT how gin rummy is usually played. LOBE decided that now was as good a time as any to start a clinic for the Para-psychiatric treatment of traumatized souls, and maybe he should order me a wheelchair and a straw. The end; diary entry day 2 Reports of more frequent raids surfaced, mostly occurring in sectors of Aesir space. Teral returned to the warpath. He had taken a massive fleet with him this time, under the flag of the UGE. Dwar and few other smaller races along with the Aesir made up the fleet. The El had a number of similar problems, and their fleet left to liberate one of their border planets, which was under siege by the Taur. Teral sat on the command deck of his Imperial Battle Cruiser deep in conversation with Brom. They were planning on how to patrol the sector when they got there. The Arks supplied four Dreadnaughts1, immense warships with the firepower to destroy entire planets. The only ships that were bigger, of which there are only 2, and not present in this fleet were each as large as the earth’s moon. 1 If you compare a Battle Cruiser to say an aircraft carrier then Dreadnaughts would be ‘aircraft carrier’ carriers and then some. It is rumoured to be large enough to hold Sharin’s shoe collection (she is apparently related to Keira Knightley) but as an unfortunate bystander who wishes to remain nameless and not headless told us ‘nothing can be that big’.

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Their massive hull held mostly capacitors and generators to power its wide-angle ion cannons. These cannons were each as large as a Corvette and could fire a beam that could destroy Teralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire fleet in a couple of sweeps. It took four Dreadnaughts to tow them into position, which was a slow and tedious process. These ships, aptly named Darkmoons, were under direct control of the UGE, and if needed, dispatched to orbit the capital planets of two feuding races. This was to protect the race from invaders, but mostly from themselves. The Darkmoons would destroy any fleet attempting to attack or leave the planet. They have never needed to destroy a fleet since everyone knows better than to mess with these two behemoths. The deployment of the Darkmoons around Elheimr and Nidavellir occurred on more than one occasion. This still made Qren smile when he thought of Brom and Sharin having to kiss and make up so they may take back control of their planets. At this moment both were in Aesir space, orbiting two uninhabited planets in the hot sectors east and north, next to Taur space. From there they could easily deploy with a lot of effort anywhere on the border. It was not as if anybody could steal them, no armada could get close enough. Teral surveyed his current fleet.

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The Dwar contingent consisted of 12 Corvettes and 3 Battle Cruisers along with 200 long-range bombers and fighters, all state of the art, fitted with the very latest technology. The Dwar were rich and they like to parade it around. He himself had 8 corvettes and 100 long-range fighters. That was as much as he could spare without weakening his optimum defence strategy according to Kasparov. He was the most vulnerable as he shared an eastern and northern border with the Taur. The armada was starting to reappear from the jump and decrease speed. Brom and Teral had spent the whole trip discussing strategies. ‘I suggest we split the fleet into 4 equal parts and keep fighters in reserve,’ Brom suggested. ‘I concur, we will place the fighters 1 jump behind the main fleets, in range of all 4 attack groups,’ came Teral’s thoughts. ‘The movement of the Marauder fleet or fleets seems to be random. I can find no specific pattern or direction,’ Brom cursed. He expected this. They wanted the element of surprise, and did not want an armada waiting for them at their next victim. ‘We should send one group to the last attacked planet. Maybe if we are lucky my mages can expose an ion trail, which would give us a general direction and hopefully a trail to follow. The rest I feel should go to each of the planets in the sector most likely to be attacked next.’ Brom agreed that Teral’s idea was sensible.

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‘We should look for planets with a large enough colony, but a small defensive grid since these seem to be the planets favoured by the raiders,’ Teral continued. Brom was examining the holo-image of the star map. In this configuration, the map displayed only the planets with the population density and defensive capabilities next to them. ‘There are unfortunately from what I can gather about 7 of these planets in this sector. We can probably ignore Tramor, since it is a Dwar mining colony and too difficult for the raiders to flush them out without a long and costly siege of the planet,’ Brom commented. He was confident in his people’s ability to survive. They were hard assed and hardheaded. You needed endurance and patience to outwait a dwarf; and the ability to get very, very old. ‘Do you suggest we further divide our forces?’ ‘Not the main attack force. We would need them all once the hunt begins, and we will not have planetary defences to aid us like the other groups,’ Brom suggested. ‘Agreed,’ Teral added approvingly. He was very happy to have Brom along on this mission. Their long-standing friendship made them brilliant strategists when combining their experience. They rarely disagreed. Brom spoke up again. ‘This would leave most of our attack groups without dreadnaughts, which slow them down immeasurably and would make them almost useless as reinforcements. That is unless you plan to have a day long battle, when we find the scum,’ Brom smiled knowing how much Teral wanted to extend the torture on the murderous Taur.

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‘True my friend, the groups led by cruisers can reach us at maximum burn in less than an hour and the reserve fighter group in less than 15 minutes.’ Teral ignored the comment about the daylong battle, but was supremely pleased with their plan. Teral picked up his mindcom and spoke to his ship’s communication wing. He relayed detailed instructions for the deployment of the fleet. ‘Let’s hunt,’ Brom said, and slapped his friend on the back, unfortunately for his size his slap landed on Teral’s ass. ‘Oops, sorry,’ he blushed when Teral gave him a look of disapproval.

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CHAPTER 14 Dear diary, Today the queen of the damned took us to a swimming pool. Olympic size my foot, unless the Olympians are 14 feet tall. You could barely see the far end. This was obviously built by someone without any sense of dimension and who has never laid eyes on a swimming pool. I examined the gear. A nice shiny silicone form fitting swim cap (recycled implants), blue tinted goggles and a skin-tight swimsuit. The ones with a short leg that looks like the 1943 female bathing costumes without the frills (banned in 1944 for causing too many drowning of male swimmers). Of course, the list would be incomplete without the bright orange inflatable arms. She presented those to me herself. Why did these things look so familiar? Off I go, extreme swimmer, ready to make waves and break records. Who were these sissy swimmers I saw on TV anyway. Lap 1 to 10 went relatively without incident. I started in lane 3 and ended up in lane 7. I struggled a little with the turning, got tangled in the swim lane ropes once on turn 4, luckily I had a knife with me (I was taking no chances with Old Demon Spawn organizing these events). I banged my head on the pool floor on turn seven (stroke of luck that I stayed conscious. I forgot you only make one summersaulty type move thingy), and got all the skin taken of the top of my feet when I hit the tiles around the pool on turn 9. I had

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a little problem once with the breathing when I forgot to turn my head to the side before I inhaled, so I looked like a walrus humping an imaginary friend for a while. However, other than that the first ten laps went as well as might be expected. I was concentrating very hard on my form (and the form of Laidin the golden haired El in the lane next to me, her tail fins were glo-ri-ous). Admittedly, I got confused between the butterfly, doggy paddle and freestyle a couple of times (so I invented the new drowning praying mantis style, which was a great hit with the El on the side of the pool). Actually, I was concentrating a little too hard on my form and I forgot to check my battery levels. As luck would have it, the battery gave out half way through lap eleven. So there I was half way through and absolutely no energy left. I decided this was it, a character defining moment in life. I could shout for help, I could wave my arms (trying hard to remember the international signal for I’m in deep $%#%^#, or I need a double martini on the rocks… and where were the Baywatch chicks when you needed them). I could scream like a girl … but I decided NO … NOOOOO, I’ll die with the little dignity I have left. I felt my lungs burning, I saw the water close over my head (or it could have been the water in the goggles. I remember wondering if I could still swap these goggles for ones with orange lenses. I also realized I would be dead in a few seconds and it might not matter anymore). I rue the fact that I forgot to inflate my inflatable arms. I saw the light grow dim. The water was streaming into my mouth. I remembered it tasting a little salty with just a hint of chlorine, and wondered if someone balanced the PH level in the pool. I also wondered how many of these bastards urinated in the water. I

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saw a pornographic movie flash before my eyes. I realized that this must be my life then, I wondered if there was enough time to watch my whole career or if it would be only a highlights package. Every fibre in my body was screaming for sex … er… I mean air, I felt myself sinking … sinking …down, ever spiralling downward. I felt my knees hit the bottom with a thud. I was already kneeling so I prayed. He answered with a cramp… no, the mother of all cramps, if you took the greatest cramp on earth, this one would be its great aunt. The pain caused me to extend my legs. Relief flooded over me since the water was only chest deep <sheepish grin> Okay, I tried to drown again to watch the end of the movie, but no luck. I walked back to the other end of the pool, still keeping up appearances while moving with perfect free style form in my upper body or my version of perfect freestyle form. I pushed myself out of the pool; fell on my face because I could not feel my arms anymore. I slithered the rest of the way out, with as much grace and dignity as was possible in this situation. Realized I had slithered out of my costume. Slithered back into the pool, found my costume, found the ladder, calmly walked to my towel, slipped on a wet tile, twisted my ankle, scraped my knee, dislocated my jaw again, gathered myself and limped to the changing room. The end; diary entry day 3

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New understanding dawned in Angel’s mind. He remembered reading in his old fantasy novels that there were light and dark elves. The light elves were blond with blue eyes, and the dark elves had black hair and black eyes. Apparently, the commoner El, with Green eyes and red hair did not have an opinion on their alignment, probably neutral elves. He understood why an earthbound observer would classify the El royalty, judging by Sharin’s magnificent personality, as dark elves. Her creation of a torment procedure that was so similar to the one used on earth was uncanny. He thought that alien torture would at least have some imaginative elements to it. A thought wanted to break through into his consciousness, ‘aargghhh’, if he could only get hold of it. Angel jumped up as if he was sitting on a hot coal. ‘Speedo, swimming caps, Goggles, Exercise bikes, Stretching Classes, the dimensions of the swimming pool? It was as if someone saw a…’ He started to run to the door, thought better of it and slowed to a walk. ‘It is a good thing there are no old age people with walkers around. They might get angry at you for holding up the traffic, and where are you rushing off to anyway?’ LOBE quipped. ‘Wait and see, it is something I found before you were born, and I think Sharin has it.’ He got to her office after what seemed a good few hours of careful shuffling and cursing.

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He noted with a smirk the Princess Instructor printed on the door. It was unlocked so he quietly sneaked in. He had no other way of going in at the speed he was moving. He did not even have to search for it. On the table was the brochure from the Gym next to his office; the unholy relic he had had in his pocket when he arrived on this godforsaken planet, and she was using it to torture him. The bitch, Angel cursed. He and LOBE walked back to his room in silent contemplation. Angel was furious while LOBE was amused. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;So you gave her the whip to lash you with, how ironic.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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CHAPTER 15 By the time Angel arrived at his quarters, he had already lost interest in the subject and started to wonder about something completely different. He could not figure out why he was struggling so much. He was under the impression that he had almost unlimited strength and speed. ‘Well since you have been sitting on your fat ass for the past couple of years, guess what, you are unfit!’ LOBE explained ‘I would not be too worried about it. Our body seems to react to outside stimulus by reconfiguration,’ LOBE concluded. ‘What is that supposed to mean?’ enquired Angel, trying to focus but he was so tired that it was an exercise in futility, mainly because of futile exercising. ‘Body see, body do,’ LOBE laughed. Angel sighed. ‘Our cell structure in the muscles is adapting. Our body seems to have realized that it has gone a little overboard in generating muscle cells.’ ‘So what,’ Angel remarked, yawning. He could not keep his eyes open. He wished LOBE would get to the point, but knowing LOBE that point would be far off. He might as well catch forty winks and with a bit of luck wake in time for the punch line, but he also knew LOBE would pound his brain until he listened. ‘Well it’s reconfiguring the excess cells and increased water retention in the muscle. Almost exactly half of them have been

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slowly changing in construct. They now resemble photoreceptor molecules and are pairing with the normal muscle cells in a kind of symbiotic relationship.’ ‘Seen any matches I can put in my eyes?’ Angel commented despairingly while free falling onto his bed not bothering to undress. ‘The mitochondria inside the muscle cells have also increased. They are used to make energy called ATP for protein and aminoacid synthesis in case you were wondering.’ ‘I wasn’t, but please continue professor.’ Angel was fading fast. ‘The photoreceptors I mentioned previously are commonly known as Chlorophyll,’ LOBE paused for the gravity of this remark to hit Angel. It took a while. Angel sat bolt upright, ‘I’m going to turn green?’ he exclaimed very worried. Green, little green men, he was going to become a human alien. Although he had to admit, he did not notice any of the other races being green. He wondered where humans got that notion. ‘No, unfortunately not,’ LOBE appeared genuinely disappointed, ‘but these cells are absorbing the Carbon dioxide excreted by the muscle cells. Together with the H2O and the photosynthesis effect, they are producing oxygen and glucose. The oxygen feeds the paired muscle cell, and the glucose converts to glycogen and is stored. This is used to create ATP which turns chemical energy into kinetic energy, when the muscle needs it.’ ‘All I heard now was Blah-Blah Blah-Blah Blah-Blah’

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‘It makes the muscle contract when needed,’ LOBE explained irritably. ‘Oh, I understand. See I am a good student.’ He was begging the sandman to come. ‘Yes, your body has created its own self sustaining power generator. When the process is complete, it should in theory, never get tired. That is if you have enough sunlight and water,’ LOBE remarked teasingly. ‘Maybe you should go plant yourself in the garden somewhere,’ he smirked. Too late, Angel had dropped off. At least he slept better now, which pleased LOBE no end. Angel was so tired he immediately went into Deep Delta sleep and LOBE could activate the mind link. Just in time for the discovery channel, LOBE thought. He loved the fact that Angel’s twin regularly watched the Discovery Channel. This gave him all the information he needed with which to pester Angel. Days turned into weeks and the training became more gruelling, but as every day turned into the next Angel found it became easier. The bond between him and LOBE was also growing stronger and LOBE allowed him into more and more areas of the mind. It was fascinating. He was like a small kid walking into a palaeontology museum. LOBE played the part of curator with more than the required gusto, since this was his domain after all.

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‘This part of the mind was last used 28 years ago. It was one of the oldest specimens on language absorption, I uncovered. This cavern, we expect, used to house a sizable creative thinking centre and memory storage array that seem to have gone extinct shortly after the parties at varsity commenced. It would have been fascinating to see this as a living…’ his voice trailed off genuinely dejected. Angel’s latest body enhancement process had stopped and he was now getting the hang of his new strength and speed. He learned fast and studied hard. The library had many books on fighting techniques and stances and LOBE helped him perfect them and store them in muscle memory. LOBE wanted to kick Sharin’s butt as much as Angel did. ‘Okay, okay, let’s start again. Left foot forward, right back and twist slightly… good, now place your weight on your back foot, and position your centre of gravity. Fine, now use your right arm to steady yourself and bring the blade up in a wide arch… NO, NO, NO, snap your wrist… Okay back to one,’ LOBE’s voice droned on and on. He also studied Kung Fu and Jujitsu on earth. Although he was never a brilliant pupil, he knew the theory behind it. His new body took to these techniques like a duck to water. He knew this gave him an edge that would serve him well. He was revelling in it, vowing to wait until he had perfected every move before using it on Sharin. His studies into the races were keeping him enthralled. The El and their bow-staff he was quite familiar with having felt the flat of the blade on numerous occasions.

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The Dwar and the Aesir were just as interesting. He found references to the incredible hammers of the Dwar, and their ability to break down molecules and atoms and absorb the energy. How they cause electric storms and the symbol of power called Mjolnir. ‘Dwar Thor Mjolnir 7 hits’ LOBE interrupted. Angel gasped. He never realized that, as Freyr was the God of the elves, that you could link Thor to Dwarves. The amazing hammer Mjolnir, The hammer was the key! He remembered Brom asking where Mjolnir was. He forgot he left it in the restroom, and went ballistic. I mean, it is not as if anyone could steal it, nobody but one of his kin could lift it, he had thought to himself after seeing Brom’s act. He at least knew that much about the hammer. Wow. Thor and the amazing hammer Mjolnir. The thunder god who was able to control lightning and thunder with Mjolnir, Angel thought. Was he a dwarf? They seem strong enough, but Brom is very intelligent, and the description of the bright red haired Thor was as strong as an ox and almost as smart. Maybe he was a friend of the Dwar or simply their god. He would need to ask Brom when he next saw him. He wondered about the other races, the Aesir could they be linked to earth mythology as well? He had read previously that they were shape changers. He knew most of their customs and he knew they were entertainers and great magicians. ‘LOBE, do you have any reference to shape changers in Norse Mythology?’

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‘As a matter of fact Loki the trickster god was a shape changer,’ LOBE answered. ‘Yes!’ thought Angel, ‘he fits the profile. Entertainer, shape changer, and magic user.’ ‘Odin was also a great magic user and was said to be related to Loki,’ LOBE continued. ‘So Odin and Loki are both Aesir?’ Angel’s curiosity reached boiling point. He had so many questions for Brom and Teral, such as did they have ancestors called Thor and Loki in the time of Freyr? He did not want to wait. He jumped up and rushed to find Qren. He would know. Qren was missing in action, and he sulkily went for a walk in the garden. It was a beautiful day outside. He walked along the garden path that followed the contours of the castle. Amazing birds flew overhead in all colours and descriptions. He had never seen so many birds in one place before, here or earth. One particularly large bird caught his eye. Shinning blue and shimmering in the sunlight it resembled a falcon. It glided over the castle and he tried to follow its flight as far as he could. The bird disappeared over the castle roof. In the window, right below where it disappeared, something drew Angel’s attention. The figure only appeared for a second, but he could have sworn it was a girl.

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Not an alien girl, she looked human. He knew that that was impossible so he dismissed it without another thought and kept walking. The amazing garden clearly displayed a distinct human influence. This must have been where his predecessors came to ponder their plight. Flowers as large as hubcaps and as small and frail as butterfly wings, painted in all colours of the rainbow surrounded him. Oval flowers looked as if covered in lace, with the most amazing blend of pastel colours. Trees covered in blossoms, shrubs and bushes all beautifully kept. Some shaped like animals and others like birds. It was a little Garden of Eden, and the one place where Angel could feel a little happiness. ‘What are we doing LOBE?’ Angel asked suddenly feeling quite drained, ‘why are we here?’ ‘You walked here?’ LOBE replied. ‘NO! I mean HERE!’ Angel screamed, frightening the birds away. ‘So you can become lord of the United Galactic Empire,’ LOBE answered without emotion. ‘I know why I am here! I want to know, why am I here?’ Angel was frustrated. ‘Why am I going to fight some aliens’ fight for them? They kidnapped me, took me from my home and everything I knew, changed me, and now I HAVE to fight for them, why?’ ‘Because your life has meaning now,’ LOBE softly explained with an unnerving compassion. ‘BECAUSE MY Life has meaning now…’ Angel’s voice trailed off. LOBE was right.

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He knew that something was missing in his life since he left Special Forces, a long time ago when the earth was still young, or he was still young, all that matters is, it was a lifetime ago. His life had meaning then. He was fighting for a cause, and he was protecting lives. It might not have been his cause, and he would never know the lives he was protecting, but at least his death would have meaning. He would have died protecting souls. Sure, this was different. He did not even know if they had souls. These were not his people. Asked to lay down his life, die for creatures that were not human. They came to earth to abduct and enslave for their own purposes. Nevertheless, in the end that did not matter. He had a cause, he had beings in danger and he was the only one who could save them. He had a purpose again. His life had meaning!

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CHAPTER 16 The days kept their monotonous routine and Angel still had many questions and very few answers. Not only about Thor and Loki, but also since Mjolnir the Hammer exists, then what about Gungnir the mighty spear of Odin, questions leading to yet more questions. Qren suggested an off world excursion, to experience more of the universe first hand. Angel happily agreed. He rushed off to find Laidin. ‘Laidin I have permission to go off world. Let’s go have some fun,’ he excitedly imparted when he found her reading in the garden. ‘Sounds great but I have to study, my friend,’ Laidin said looking into his grey eyes. The look of utter disappointment on Angel’s face was too much for her to bear. ‘I guess it could wait a while,’ she sighed. ‘Great! Qren has been gracious enough to lend us his cruiser.’ Uncertainty crept over his face. ‘But where will we go?’ he asked. ‘Leave that to me,’ she said with a glint in her eye, ‘I think the City of Dreams should do just fine.’ ‘The City of Dreams, I like the sound of that,’ Angel agreed eagerly.

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The city was in a word, enormous. It covered the entire planet. It was a medley of dazzling lights and glittering signs. The magic hung as thick as fog over the city. Sounds of laughter and pleasure beckoned them to join in the festivities. The city invited you to lose yourself and that would not be difficult. Some who entered a decade ago are still looking for the exit. It would take years and years of exploration to visit only a hundredth of this magnificent city. ‘Wow, this place is amazing!’ Angel remarked in wonderment, his nose pressed tightly against the shuttle view port. ‘Yes, this is the capital world of the Aesir. Its real name is Ásgarôr, but because it has become such a huge tourist attraction, visitors like to refer to it as the place dreams come true,’ Laidin said smiling. ‘Ásgarôr, as in Asgard, the home of Odin,’ Angel asked bemused. ‘You sound surprised,’ Laidin laughed, ‘is it because another part of your earth mythology is true?’ Angel ignored her, distracted by the sights from the city of dreams below him. Sigh, men! Laidin thought giving Angel a moment to focus his attention on her again, before continuing. ‘They understand the art of entertainment. You would find more races and species here than in the rest of the universe combined. The origins of some were unclear even to the most ardent of scholars. Most probably bred here and mutated through all the residual magic,’ Laidin explained. ‘Hmmm sounds like New York on earth,’ Angel commented.

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‘You have a place like this on your planet?’ she asked perplexed. ‘No not really. I would not even try comparing anything I have seen in my sheltered life to this,’ Angel replied grinning. They landed the shuttle on one of the millions of platforms in the city. Being that the craft was a UGE Imperial shuttle they could have used a VIP platform but Laidin did not want to attract attention. They both wore hooded cloaks, as per Laidin’s suggestion. No reason to stand out in this crowd, even though that might be impossible. They walked down the street or more precisely Laidin walked while Angel stumbled. He was falling over everyone because his eyes were never on where he was going. Laidin had never before heard anyone say ‘WOW’ so many times. ‘Here we are,’ she said, ‘a retreat favoured by El.’ Plants were growing everywhere and it looked like a nursery left unchecked for a million years or so. Elves sat on tree trunks and in branches of trees, happily talking and drinking. ‘We are safe here,’ she said as she pushed back her hood. They walked up to a bar and she ordered them a couple of drinks. It was sweet like honey. ‘Nectar of the gods,’ she explained. ‘Do not drink too many, they pack a punch and could leave you hung-over for a week,’ she grinned. They spent the rest of the evening chatting away. Angel told her about earth and their customs, the diverse races. She showed

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extreme interest in his stories on Norse Mythology, and how it relates to the truth, he now knew. ‘So we are gods on your planet?’ Laidin asked curiously. ‘There are few who still believe in the legends and worship the gods of old. The myths are still well known and makes for interesting bed time stories,’ he said. Laidin told him of Elheimr. ‘Sounds almost exactly like how it is described in our fantasy novels,’ Angel remarked, ‘although it is a city, not an entire planet!’ he added. It was getting late and they decided to head back to Arken. The city was as busy this time of night as when they got there. Street magicians were performing incredible magic. Angel kept on looking for the wires until Laidin told him that they are using true magic and not illusion. The duo walked up a small street since Laidin was tired of being hustled. Angel felt a little tipsy. ‘Did you enjoy yourself?’ she enquired. ‘Oh, I am going to,’ a gruff voice came from behind them. They turned around to find five burly creatures grinning stupidly at them. They tried to go in the opposite direction, but five more vagrants blocked their passage. I am about to be mugged, and I am not even in New York, Angel nervously thought. LOBE spoke into his mind. ‘Why are you worried? This is your chance to test out your new abilities. Just don’t hurt them too badly,’ LOBE joked. He was right Angel thought.

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He has been looking for an opportunity like this for weeks now. He had even tried to pick a fight with some of the students that were bullying an El who had trouble keeping up with the program, but they just walked away. ‘Stand back,’ Laidin ordered. ‘Not on your life,’ Angel replied with determination. Laidin sighed. ‘Okay back to back; and go for the ears and knees, which are these scum’s most vulnerable areas.’ They started to dance. The adrenalin pumped so hard Angel could hear the ringing in his ears. He lifted his leg and side kicked left and right at the nearest two heads. One head flew into a wall followed closely by the body, the other spun around twice before it sagged into a crumpled mass. Yeah baby, he thought, this is going to be fun. The thugs seemed a little less sure of their strategy and decided to draw their weapons. Laser whips that could slash clean through you, long thin poison blades and shock batons that could put down an elephant appeared in their claws. Laidin dispatched one of her opponents with a short punch and threw a second into his friend impaling him on a poison blade. ‘I guess he got the point,’ Angel smirked. The dance continued. Angel and Laidin had now circled away from each other, each using the wall as a cover for their backs. The whip screamed at Angel’s head. He ducked, or rather, he was there and then he was not.

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The thug’s head exploded into the wall before the whip had even reached the place Angel’s head occupied moments before. ‘That’s what you call opening a can of whip-ass, or rather canning the ass with the whip,’ Angel explained to no one in particular. He felt a slight electric current prick the hair in his neck. He immediately jumped into the air and made a back summersault landing on a platform 16 feet above him. Two thugs both holding stun batons stared up at Angel. They looked at each other, and then looked back at him. It took a fraction of a second, but Angel had disappeared, except for his shadow, which seemed to have problems keeping up with him. ‘Here I am gentlemen,’ he said from behind them. They turned quickly batons swinging but all it made contact with was each other’s jawbone, obviously with a little intervention from Angel. The shock batons discharged and they lit up like Christmas trees with their boots starting to smoke. ‘Hey, it’s a shocking remake of puff the magic dragon,’ Angel managed another corny remark. One burly gentleman that was sneaking up behind Laidin, found his feet not in contact with the ground any longer, and in one movement Angel threw him to the end of the street. ‘He could have applied for his pilot’s license after that performance. Too bad he did not stick the landing though, might have lost points there.’ Angel’s mind must have been infected by this place, Laidin thought, he speaks no sense.

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Laidin jumped and did a spinning kick aimed at one of the two bouncers in front of her; almost removing Angel’s head as well, if he had not ducked in time, but she did make contact with the target. The enemy slid on his backside until he hit the wall and lay still. After her foot made contact, Angel caught it. ‘Hey baby; want to go for a spin?’ he asked, and shoved her leg in the opposite direction cleanly breaking the other distinguished gentleman’s jaw. A confused Laidin lightly touched down. Peace returned to the street. ‘Hmmm that was fun, let’s do it again,’ Angel kidded. ‘Let us not,’ Laidin scolded giving Angel an angry look. Laidin’s unease grew. In all her years of coming here, she had never had an experience like this or even heard of anyone having a similar experience. This appeared premeditated. They walked back to the shuttle and took off in a hurry. Angel’s face creased with a deep frown; he obviously had something on his mind. It felt like a fog lifted and he could think clearly again. ‘Laidin, would you keep this between us? If you tell them they will never let me go off world again, and this was the best night of my life.’ She hesitated but agreed. ‘I do not like it but I do not have to, I suppose the choice is yours,’ she said.

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‘Thanks… One more thing, please do not tell anyone about what you saw me do tonight. It’s a surprise,’ he gave her a sneaky grin. ‘The corny stand-up comedy with the terrible jokes?’ she asked sarcastically. ‘Especially not that!’ he smiled sheepishly, ‘I think I’ll leave the nectar of the gods, to the gods from now on.’ The weekly evaluation day arrived, and with this Sharin’s chance to humiliate him. He had been holding back the previous 8 weeks not using his speed, strength or reflexes. Last week he had to fight Laidin and he definitely did not want to hurt her. She was his only friend and the only one who seemed to care whether he lived or died. They did a few monotonous haphazard manoeuvres together before Sharin halted proceedings, claiming utter boredom. No, he wanted Sharin, and today was his big chance. He was supposed to be the teacher’s punching bag for the day. LOBE brimmed with delight at the prospect. He unlocked it all, and a little bit more even Angel was not privy to. Sharin started off by demonstrating a few attacking manoeuvres with the bow-staff before she called Angel up, an evil grin played across her face. ‘Even though I am not presented with a challenge, I will attempt to show the effectiveness if these techniques,’ she sneered. She hit, he blocked, effortlessly. Her face contorted in a mix of confusion and contempt.

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She hit again, he blocked, and then, ‘accidentally’ swept her feet from under her. He stayed rooted to the same spot the entire time. She furiously looked up at him from the flat of her back. Sharin flew up, twisted and sent a flurry of attacks in his direction. She moved at speeds that made the rest of the class look in opposite directions trying desperately to follow her movements. He just stood there pretending to yawn and with only one hand on his staff blocked every one of her deadly assaults, his feet still unmoved. Sharin charged, her eyes on fire, her muscles taunt like a racehorse. She desperately attempted to put the wooden training blade through his intestines. Angel moved and instantly became a blur. Her confused stare stayed rooted to the spot where he was supposed to be. He tapped her on the shoulder with his bow-staff. ‘You’re dead,’ he whispered into her pointed ear, his mouth inches away. She spun around, unfortunately for her, Angel’s bow-staff had already been repositioned and had inexplicably ended up between her legs; she ended up on her bottom again. Sharin flipped up but again found her legs not where they were supposed to be for her landing and she landed flat on her face; Angel’s bow-staff completing the graceful arch that caused the accident. He pushed her face down in the dirt with the end of his bowstaff. ‘Do you concede,’ he demanded.

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He took her grunt as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;yesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, but it could have been something about his mother. Laidin sat with a huge grin on her face while the rest of the class appeared gripped in unimaginable fear. Sharin did not bother to dismiss the class before storming off. The El seemed confused and too afraid to move in case the class was not over, or that Sharin might notice them. One El tried desperately to camouflage himself behind a blade of grass and another imitated a shrub. Only Laidin jumped up and hugged him. She was as pleased as punch.

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CHAPTER 17 Brom clearly felt Teral’s disappointment. They had picked up the ion trail with the help of his mages. They followed the ion trail for 2 days until for no apparent reason the trail changed direction. This mystifying turn of events had flung the two leaders into a serious deliberation. They could not have known he and Brom were following since they were pursuing cloaked by his mages. The trails lead into Taur space in a straight line and judging by the ion radiation at maximum burn. They were in a hurry to get back. Why were the Taur recalling their troops? Teral thought. ‘Shall we follow?’ Brom asked. ‘No, that would be futile. We do not have the numbers to compete should we run into a border patrol and they summon reinforcements.’ ‘You are right, we would never catch a raiding party at maximum burn in any event, and even if we did we would be in Taur space and we would be sitting broadwings1,’ Brom thought back equally disappointed.

Stupid alien ducks, that cannot fly and cannot run fast either. This was a blessing since they always run towards the threat instead of away. Only reason they have survived this long is that they taste worse than their manure.

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The communications officer broke into the two leaders’ thoughts. ‘Sir we picked up a signal beacon on the low frequency band, it seems like one on our spy network,’ he said into the mindcom. ‘What is the origin?’ Teral asked. ‘A small mining colony, Kend’d4 just inside Taur space sir,’ came the reply. ‘Do we have any spies scheduled for pickup?’ Teral asked. ‘One second sir, I’ll find out.’ An intrigued Teral patiently waited for his communications officer to verify their schedules. They do not usually welcome spies back, though they would if they ever came back. The work was deadly and the danger pay was tremendous when successful. It could cripple most small races entire entertainment budget. However, spies had a 100% success rate in not being successful or returning from active duty, therefore, they have unfortunately never had the pleasure of actually paying out the danger pay. Nevertheless, by cleverly omitting this point from the recruitment brochure, new spies were still conned into a short life of service. The mindcom beeped again, ‘we have only one spy deployed sir. This is not his scheduled extraction, but he might have uncovered something. He is the best we’ve got,’ thinking better of completing the sentence with... left. ‘Set course commander, we might as well do something useful on this tour.’ Brom seemed concerned, ‘what if this is a trap?’

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‘We have to take the chance my dear friend,’ Teral answered, ‘he might have information on why the Taur is amassing that fleet.’ ‘You are right, we must take the chance. That fleet has been bothering me incessantly,’ Brom replied with a grimace. He did not know what to make of these new developments in Taur behaviour, but knew it would not be pleasant. This might well be a trap, but they needed the information badly. ‘I wish I knew what suddenly made the Taur so brave. Have they found an ally somewhere, or found some artefact of great power?’ he thought aloud. That was unthinkable, but they had been doing a lot of deep space exploration, far beyond normal scout missions, he thought to himself. ‘We will hopefully soon find out,’ Teral answered.

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CHAPTER 18 Angel woke with a scream stifled on his lips. LOBE eventually got the hang of tuning into his brother’s thoughts and was doing so at his convenience. He watched events on earth through his brother most nights, and it was quite pleasant really, since his brother had an exceptionally ordinary life. His brother often visited their father at the old age home, and Angel loved to listen in on their conversations. Tonight was different and Angel was terrified. Cold sweat flowed from every gland in his body. He ran madly, ran to find anyone who would listen. Angel screamed for Qren, Noone, Sharin anyone. The halls seemed endless. He ran. Around a corner and another, nothing. Where did Qren sleep? He ran past some guards and stopped long enough to get directions. He ran on, still shouting in his mind for Qren. ‘Where are we going,’ LOBE yawned. ‘What? You saw the vision,’ Angel barked. ‘What vision? I did not start a vision?’ LOBE remarked. Angel ignored LOBE. He knew what he saw. He burst through a door and ran into a mystified Qren. They both lay sprawled across the floor. ‘They’re there,’ Angel screamed in his mind.

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‘Who’s where,’ Qren enquired calmly. ‘They, THEY, the things are on earth, your things,’ he was so messed up he could not remember what they, the Taur, were called. Qren understood, ‘the Taur?’ ‘Yes the Taur, they have invaded earth,’ Angel stammered. ‘Please calm down my lord, tell me everything,’ Qren tried hard to appear calm but he was also feeling panicked. ‘That is everything. My brother was watching TV and the bulletin came on about massacres. An alien race had invaded every major population centre, and they were killing everything in sight. They had pictures. It was the Taur, there is no doubt.’ ‘Do not worry my lord, we’ll think of something, we’ll do something,’ Qren answered at a complete loss. He did not even bother to wonder how Angel knew all of this. ‘WHAT, what can we do? By the time we get a fleet there the planet will be destroyed, did you not hear me they are there.’ Angel continued at a frenetic pace stomping around like a lunatic. ‘How could you let this happen? How could you let them find earth? How could you not know this was going to happen? Why did you not leave us alone? You caused this, you caused this,’ Angel shouted turning red in the face. Sharin and Noone came rushing in as well. Qren quickly gave them the run down. Sharin was furious but Noone seemed somehow deep in thought. ‘We have failed,’ Noone proclaimed.

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Angel felt like geysers about to erupt, even LOBE seemed sympathetic, since he had hoped to see earth one day. Anyway, he had grown attached to Angel and he hated seeing him this way; the fact that he had no choice in his attachment to Angel was beside the point. Sharin and Qren just stared blankly in front of them, trying hard not to make eye contact with Angel. Qren feeling guilty for his planet’s destruction and Sharin feeling something, which could have simply been a stone in her shoe. Noone on the other hand seemed distant, as if he was figuring something out, something that did not seem to fit properly. If the Taur had moved a fleet through the earth jump gate, they would surely have known. He turned to Angel and asked, ‘was there anything strange about the vision, contorted vivid colours, names spelt backward, or reversed. Movements that was too quick?’ ‘Now that you mention it, yes, this vision was different to all the others. All the words in the vision appeared backwards. I noticed that when the vision started, but so what?’ he did not understand why that was important. ‘There is time!’ Noone exclaimed. ‘What?’ All four of the others said in unison, okay of course LOBE and Qren thought it. ‘There is time,’ Noone said again. ‘No there isn’t. They are there and they are killing us. Did you not hear the words that are coming out of my mouth?’ Angel said again, mouthing the last few syllables irritably.

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‘They are not there yet,’ Noone said calmly, ‘what you saw is the future.’ ‘How,’ Angel asked frantic. ‘I noticed this in your predecessors. There were some strange readings from them at certain stages through the night.’ ‘When I interviewed them through hypnosis and using a mindprojector which showed me the images of what they saw. I found they saw glimpses of the future, especially very traumatic situations which seem to come into their mind from somewhere.’ Noone continued, ‘I then found out, from studying text collected by the Arks from earth, that you humans have what is called a soul, it is in you but not part of the body.’ Noone seemed distant as if even now he was trying to make sense of this phenomenon. ‘This soul can leave the body and explore. You see, because time is bound to the physical universe, things with dimension, weight etc. we have to travel with time.’ ‘Okay, so,’ Sharin asked. ‘Well these Vanir soul entity travel on different planes where time has no meaning. It can travel forward, backward and sideways in time. It is not bound to time like us,’ Noone paused as if puzzled. ‘I have yet to find the use for the soul. I have no idea why Vanir have them.’ He snapped out of the daze he seemed to have fallen into when Angel spoke. ‘So it’s like our God, who can listen to everybody’s prayers at the same time and knows how the earth is going to end,’ Angel asked.

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New understanding seemed to dawn on Angel. His mother being a devoted Christian had subjected him to his share of church services. ‘Now I understand what it means that to him a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. Time has no meaning in that realm,’ Angel remarked quoting the bible. ‘Anyway,’ Noone said, not appreciating the interruption. ‘When the soul has seen something very traumatic the thought sometimes filter through to the mind, but the thoughts are distorted, and usually things are reversed in the visions, such as names etc.’ ‘So I had a vision of a vision I was going to have in the future?’ Angel asked perplexed. ‘Now this is real sci-fi,’ LOBE giggled in Angel’s mind. ‘That sound like the description of a dream to me. He is studying the Taur at the moment, his mind may have fabricated this,’ Sharin remarked. ‘True, it could be a dream as well. We won’t be sure until it happens, but can we take that chance?’ Noone asked. ‘No!’ Angel cried out, ‘We definitely cannot! But if I saw the future, and if it hasn’t happened, it is going to,’ he continued, killing Sharin’s thoughts. ‘Not necessarily. What you saw is one possible future and in this case the most likely one,’ Noone explained, ‘but that can be changed, the past is irreversible but the future is a series of possibilities.’ ‘So how long do we have?’ Sharin demanded.

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‘I do not know. I shall have to place Angel under hypnosis and on the mind-projector and hope he has seen something useful in the vision, something we can establish a time line from.’ Qren spoke for the first time, ‘then I suggest we do that immediately.’ ‘We will speak further when I have more,’ Noone advised, ‘in the meantime Qren send out communiqués. We need the Senate here now. Angel, follow me.’ He spent almost an hour interviewing Angel. When Angel woke, the questions were already forming, as his eyes were still flickering open. ‘So how long do we have? Did you see anything useful?’ ‘I am sorry Angel, there was nothing I could use to deduce a timeline from,’ Noone apologized. Angel left feeling dejected. He wanted action, and he wanted it now. However, first he wanted an aspirin, in the form of whiskey. He found Qren in deep deliberation with Sharin. ‘We need to call in our forces now,’ Qren told her. ‘But that could take weeks. We do not have the time. In any event, we have no solid evidence. It could just be a dream. How are we going to convince the UGE to bring in all their fleets on a, what did Noone call it? A soul flight,’ Sharin sneered. ‘It’s like asking them to believe in the Walker-monster1. We will be laughed out of the senate,’ she concluded. 1 The boogie monster’s evil stepmother with hairy legs; she scares boogie monster.

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They saw Angel approach and stopped talking. ‘You are not going to do anything,’ Angel remarked, it was a statement more than a question. Qren spoke up, ‘we are my lord. We will do everything possible! We will fix this!’ He had heard enough. He turned and headed back to his quarters. ‘How did he hear us?’ Sharin whispered when he was out of earshot. ‘Super hearing,’ Angel’s distraught voice drifted in from the distance. Sorrow overcame a beleaguered Qren, how could Sharin have been so heartless. He made a decision. He would send his fleet no matter what the senate decided. He made a few calls. The first was to the Admiral of his fleet. ‘Admiral I need you to assemble our entire fleet, they must be ready to deploy immediately. I shall explain later, it is imperative this is done with the utmost urgency.’ The Arks were no fighters. They did not possess the fortitude for bravery and heroism. Fortunately, their weaponry and technology were astonishing and they relied on this as a deterrent, instead of actual fighting skills. The dreadnaughts were the property of the Ark. The Darkmoons, even though the UGE senate would deploy them, belonged to the Arks as well.

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You would generally not attack the Arks and hoped to return home triumphantly. You might however get a standardized automated note of apology afterwards. The Arks were nothing if not polite. Qren sat deep in thought, how could they have allowed this to happen. Unbeknownst to Qren, Sharin did something completely out of character. She brought her forces to full combat readiness, and called up all available El to active service. To an outsider it might look like she had gone soft. Some might say she actually cared about something. Careful observers would have noticed the glint in her eye.

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CHAPTER 19 Teral and Brom sat in stunned silence in the huge conference room aboard the Imperial battle cruiser. They had heard the story from Guival, and read the minutes from the meeting. The end of the known universe had begun. ‘We need to get to the senate,’ Brom said quite unnecessarily. Teral was already thinking into his mindcom, ‘convene the senate immediately.’ ‘Set course for Arken. Maximum burn and I do mean maximum.’ ‘Get all fleet commanders on conference mindcom,’ Teral ordered. ‘Get mine as well,’ Brom added. ‘Call up all the reservists, get them all fitted and battle ready. NOW, NOW, NOW,’ Teral barked at the unfortunate lieutenant who just happened to be bringing afternoon drinks. A few seconds later the message came back from the communications officer, ‘the senate is already convening sire, they request your and Lord Brom’s presence. The message came flagged as priority black.’ Both Brom and Teral knew what that meant. The entire universe was under threat. Teral wanted to tell the senate immediately but he could not take a chance and tip off the enemy thereby hastening their journey to earth. He could speak to his commanders; tell them to battle ready his fleet, without giving them information that would alert the Taur.

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Minutes later both Aesir and Dwar fleets were on full alert, and he dispatched the fleet with him to join the armada. Only the Imperial Battle Cruiser continued on to Arken. They arrived at Arken that same morning. The rest of the senate, already there, were deep in conversation. Nobody except the Chief Senators knew what the big commotion was, and the rest were speculating to their hearts content. However, not even their most ridiculous fantasy flights came close to the gravity of situation. Qren called them to order with Angel sitting among the Chief Senate on the dais. ‘We have called this meeting because Angel has had a vision of the future.’ He nodded at Noone who proceeded to convey the events of the previous evening, as well as his hypothesis. At the end Sharin added, ‘it might also be a dream, and we need to decide if we are going…’ she did not finish the sentence before Brom forcedly interjected. ‘That was no dream,’ he boomed. Blank stares met the leader of the Dwar, and a cold one from a certain raven headed princess. ‘We picked up an Aesir spy, Guival. He is waiting outside and will confirm Angel’s vision,’ Brom said while he turned to the Guards. ‘Summon Guival.’ Guival stood on the same spot Angel did a few weeks earlier staring nervously at the stark faces around him. ‘Members of the Senate,’ he began.

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‘We all know the Taur had been amassing a fleet for unknown purposes,’ but an irate Sharin cut him off. ‘Yes, yes get on with it,’ she spat, politely informing him to hasten his retelling or else. Guival hurriedly continued. ‘I managed to infiltrate the Taur tower, and found minutes of a Taur war council that contained disturbing news,’ Guival rambled off as fast as his entertainer mind could form the words. ‘The minutes had the following lines spoken by Kra’st, we will cut off the head of the hydra and burn the wound closed so another head cannot grow in its place’ He passed copies of the minutes to all the senators. ‘Lord Teral and Grand Master Brom deduced the same as I, the death of Lord Kasparov was no accident. There is a spy on Arken and they did not know about Lord Angel because of the information blanket. However, the fleet left for Vanaheimr, or earth, almost a week ago. To burn the wound closed.’ The council sat dumbstruck. This was not what they had expected. Angel first to recover, the desperation clearly audible in his voice, spoke the words on everyone’s minds. ‘They left a week ago. Then my people are doomed,’ Angel said feeling the life drain from his body. Noone ignored him. ‘We need to bring the fleets on alert immediately. I suggest we combine the Chief Senator’s fleets as our main attack force, and have the other senator’s fleet serve as border protection.’ ‘From my estimates using the Bifrost jump point, compared to the Taur fleet movement with partial jump points and having to

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do most of their journey on ship power on the space curves, I estimate we must leave within two weeks to beat them to earth.’ ‘How long will it take to alert your commanders?’ Noone enquired. ‘My fleet is being assembled as we speak,’ Qren announced, very proud of himself for his foresight. ‘So is mine,’ Brom said. ‘Mine too,’ came Teral’s voice. ‘The El fleet is on full alert as well,’ Sharin commented in a way that would suggest she had the same motives. All the chief council turned to stare at her. They did not know what surprised them more, the spy’s news, or this. ‘What?’ she demanded irritably. They all suddenly pretended to be busy. Brom intently studied his nails. Teral saw a dirt spot on the roof. Qren found a wrinkle on his never crease tunic, and Noone desperately tried to determine the taste of his pencil. Only Angel looked at the council with amazement and gratitude. They were anxious to help his people. They were rushing to go help the earth, even Sharin. ‘Thanks Princess,’ he murmured. She smiled at him, in a friendly way for the first time, or he was almost sure she did when he tried to recall the moment a nanosecond later. It might also have been a very evil grin. ‘Thank you all,’ he smiled. ‘Then all that remain is, for the rest of the senators to get their fleets ready,’ Noone continued.

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‘I shall undertake to deploy them when they are assembled.’ ‘The chief council may continue to form the plans for the battle of earth,’ Noone concluded. The meeting disbanded in haste.

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CHAPTER 20 A confounded Angel ambled back to his quarters, ‘LOBE I did not understand any of that. If the Taur fleet left a week ago, how are we able to take two weeks to prepare and still reach earth before them?’ ‘I figured you did not,’ LOBE thought, ‘I’ll try explain. Space is not linear but rather curved, similar to a piece of cloth folded many times, or more accurately, like a Japanese fan. Normal time flows with space curves, following the contours of the fan.’ ‘Are you following me so far?’ LOBE asked. ‘Yes, yes, space is a Japanese fan, go on,’ Angel sighed. ‘You take the fan and open it up, fan it out, and then make marks at both ends of the fan. We then imagine one is Arken and one Earth. Then you measure the distance between the two points. Even when folded the distance between the points will not change if measured tracing the outside of the fan’s surface. Are you keeping up?’ LOBE asked suspiciously, wondering if Angel was keeping up. Angel nodded. ‘Now fold the fan and press a needle through the fan’s blades connecting the two dots, measure that distance between the points going through the hole.’ ‘The second is a fraction of the first.’ ‘Uhuh,’ Angel acknowledged. ‘Jump points. They are holes through space folds. The one to earth that is in this sector, connects this fold with earth’s fold. Therefore, travel time to earth is the distance through folds, not

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along them. In the case of earth, it would take weeks instead of years.’ He could see lights flickering in Angel’s eyes, from the inside. ‘The Taur do not have a hole that goes directly from here to earth. They have to, if we take the fan example again, jump to say the third fold, and then they need to drive along the outside to say the seventh, before they use a hole to the ninth. I think you get the picture now.’ ‘Yes thanks,’ Angel acknowledged, ‘you need a special engine to travel through these gates. This was developed by one of the UGE Lords. A Taur spy later stole it, which is a shame. It would have given us a huge tactical advantage,’ remembering having read about it when he was studying his predecessors. ‘Bifrost,’ Angel jumped, ‘Noone said Bifrost.’ ‘Yep,’ LOBE acknowledged, ‘the legendary Bifrost Bridge that connects Asgard and Midgard in Norse mythology.’ ‘Wow,’ Angel breathed, ‘so the jump gate is the bridge.’ ‘Congratulations captain obvious,’ LOBE sneered.

Angel decided to take a stroll in the gardens. This used to calm his nerves and help him think straight. His route took him past Qren’s quarters where he saw a shadowy figure exit and slink down the hallway. ‘Do you think,’ he started but LOBE interrupted before he could finish. ‘Yep, follow it,’ LOBE commanded. The figure moved like lightning but Angel had no problem keeping up. He moved silently and kept the figure in visual range.

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The figure scanned its surroundings to make sure there were no observers, before entering Noone’s room. Angel sneaked up to the door and listened. He could hear the mysterious figure going through Noone’s personal belongings. Angel silently opened the sliding door. The figure looked up at him in horror. A mask of sorts covered its face making it look like an evil ninja from some bizarre TV show. It vaulted the table and bolted for the door, but Angel reacted faster. He launched himself at the fleeing shape and in a single deft movement clambered onto the sprawling intruder, twisting the fugitive’s arm painfully behind its back. ‘Now let’s see who is hiding behind mask number one,’ he scoffed. As he reached for the mask the interloper twisted, and with expert precision hit him solidly in the ribs. He was not expecting this and had no time to counter. The pain blinded him and gave the assailant enough time to get to his knees and kick. Angel flew several feet through the air and landed heavily against the desk, sustaining a heavy blow to the head and just barely stayed conscious. By the time he gathered himself the figure had made its escape. ‘Damn,’ he said and got groggily to his feet rubbing the bump on his head. ‘I suggest we keep this little episode to ourselves,’ LOBE remarked sorely, ‘we don’t want our mission delayed because of a spy hunt. Anyway I don’t want to hear Sharin’s remarks on how, The Amazing UGE Lord, got beat-up by a lowly spy.’

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That evening, Qren visited Angel and found him nursing the bump on his head. ‘What happened to you?’ Qren asked. ‘Shaving accident,’ Angel snarled and added in a much kinder tone, ‘what can I do for you Qren?’ ‘My lord how much do you know about the mythology of Freyr.’ ‘Enough. Why?’ Angel sensed a story coming, his thoughts returned to the day in the senate meeting. The day when he was first introduced, and how he sensed Qren knew more than he let on. ‘Assuming not enough then?’ he added smiling welcoming the opportunity for a distraction. ‘Walk this way,’ Qren suggested. Angel walked that way. ‘Hey this is not as easy as you make it look,’ ‘Was that an attempt at humour?’ Qren asked. ‘Sorry,’ Angel pretended to look embarrassed. They walked to a hover-platform, which gently skimmed off after they took their positions. ‘In your mythology, there was a gift given to Freyr. A mythological ship; a very special ship, which folded up so he could carry it in his pocket and never ran out of wind for its sails.’ ‘How do you know that about our mythology? You have cable TV and you have been holding out on me huh?’ Angel grinned. Qren did not answer but simply continued with his story, ‘anyway; this ship was called…’ ‘Skibladnir,’ Angel interrupted before LOBE could. The platform came to rest in front of a large building.

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‘Yes she was called Skibladne or Skibladnir as you rightly pointed out.’ Qren pushed a button and two massive doors silently swung open. ‘My lord may I present the lady, Skibladne.’ Angel stood frozen, his mouth hung unashamedly open. It was the single most beautiful thing he has ever seen. LOBE gave a wolf whistle. ‘What? No comical banter?’ Qren asked in mock surprise. Skibladne, twice as long as a modern Airbus A380, it was sleek, and beautiful to behold. The design resembled a SR-71 Blackbird but with its three massive angular engines on the rear seamlessly flowing into the nose, with an angled intake at the bottom of each wing. The curved wings branched out from almost next to the command section. It was resting on three skids that resembled claws folded flat at this moment, and the command centre was visible about a third of the distance from the nose to the tail. Skibladne shone with platinum coloured undertone, and she was simply breathtaking. She radiated grace, stealth, agility and an attitude, which unmistakeably stated, you are welcome to try to mess with me, but be sure that breathing is not an attribute you wish to possess in the near future. Qren kept on explaining, and Angel kept on answering with, ‘Oh my god.’ ‘The most exclusive personal cruisers for the ultra rich had some bow plating over its most critical systems made from Zellion,’ Qren explained, ‘the hardest and lightest material known

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in the universe. It was also the scarcest and most expensive. To build a complete ship from it was inconceivable,’ Qren continued. ‘And I assume she is?’ Angel asked. ‘Yes my lord. Skibladne is made entirely from Zellion.’ It was a marvel of modern alien engineering. Every single advancement and piece of innovative technology imaginable was inside. Every race brought its most prized ancient artefacts, and it meant great glory to the race whose ancient technology became part of the lady. The ship’s power source was donated by the Griff, a poor race who had very little to give. The energy source was the Griff home world’s main source of live, an ancient artefact of unimaginable power. They were also a proud race and part of the then, newly formed UGE. They were not going to disappoint. No one knew which ancient race left it there, but he was not telling. It was inexhaustible, and not even the Arks when powering all their technology from it, could consume more than 10% of its power output. The member races, to show their gratitude for such a magnificent gift, built power plants on all the Griff planets, and in addition sent them agricultural and mining equipment. This elevated the Griff to an economically stable if not prosperous race. The Griff never forgot this show of generosity, and afterwards they formed the core of the humanitarian, or rather alientarian, drive in the UGE. ‘They supplied, the sails that were never without wind,’ Angel thought to Qren. ‘Yes my lord. That is what your mythology says.’

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All the Vanir Lords who inherited Skibladne kept on tinkering with it. Shields, navigation equipment, jump drives, ion engines, and adding weaponry far enhanced, beyond even that found in planetary defences or on Darkmoons. The obvious reason being the immense power source they had to play with, but mainly because Skibladne was theirs. This power source was also the reason Skibladne could cloak like the Aesir ships, but without magic. The speeds Skibladne could fly at were quite ridiculous, which was why Skibladne was built from Zellion. Any other material would simply disintegrate at that velocity. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This was of course before one of your predecessors invented shields, now she can travel as fast as you can imagine,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Qren explained. This ship was not only the fastest ever conceived but the deadliest. Some reckon she is the only thing that can take on a Darkmoon and win, but no one who has ever seen a Darkmoon was going to put any substantial bet on that. It had one more amazing feature, one that made it legendary. Its real hangar was not so much a place as a universe, dimensionally removed from ours. The ship created a tear in dimensional space and moved into it. This was the combined effort of scientists and engineers from all the races, and with substantial aid from ancient technology left behind on various planets. Whichever lord owned Skibladne at any moment in time, would carry a DNA coded beacon in his pocket. Whenever he needed Skibladne he could call it by activating the beacon, and the ship would appear wherever he was.

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Losing the beacons of course presented a real problem when on a road trip and calling AA roadside assistance because the vehicle was sort of in another dimension and that implied their mindcom was as well. On the other hand, there is no AA support on say any planet not named Earth; so no worries mate. Due to the forgetful nature of the UGE Lords, with the most prevalent excuse being, ‘oh I must have left it in my other pants,’ the beacon design later changed to reside on a wristband. With the beacon tuned to the ‘TNFR-12’ transformation gene, it meant only someone with the gene and the beacon could call Skibladne. ‘Fold it and carry it in his pocket, apt description,’ Angel smiled a smile that almost encircled his head. Now it is mine, Angel thought with a satisfied grin playing across his face. If Angel thought this was where his surprises would end this evening he was in for a very big surprise. ‘Can we take her for a spin?’ he asked Qren. ‘Why would you want to do that?’ Qren enquired with a puzzled look on his face. ‘I meant can we fly her,’ Angel corrected himself. ‘Yes my lord, she is your ship, you can do with her as you please.’ ‘You command the ship mostly by thought, and as I said she is tuned to the transformation gene so she will listen to you,’ Qren explained, ‘just ask her to let you in.’ Angel did and the hull of the ship exposed stairs that lit up and led into her bowels. It was as beautiful inside as out.

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There were 10 fully fitted luxury cabins inside, along with a kitchen, and a state of the art conference room. There were more rooms but he could not immediately deduce what function they performed. In the rear of the ship, he came upon a sizable hangar with two hover-bikes of a design Angel had not yet seen on the planet. Then there was the crown jewel, namely, the command deck. This was magnificent, Six high back leather seats stood around the deck. Each one positioned in front of some command console, tactical and engineering, weapons, shields and scanners, and the pilot and co-pilot seats, where he and Qren took up positions. ‘I cannot show or explain to you all her capabilities. Much of what she is capable of is frankly beyond me. I am sure she will inform you in due time.’ ‘Fly now, talk later,’ Angel said. ‘Think of your training and then tell Skibladne what you require of her. You may give one command that would mean multiple things to her, like ‘take off’ would mean, do checks, start engine, lift off and retract landing gear.’ Angel thought hard, and then relaxed as he heard the massive engines come to life. It was the sound of distant thunder, continuously rolling in. ‘Your predecessors liked the sound but if you wish she could run in complete silence.’ She lifted off the ground a couple of feet and retracted her landing gear. Angel told her to leave the hangar, and she shot off like a wild mustang begging for the taste of freedom. ‘Yahoo!’ Angel cried, his face frozen in a grin.

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‘When you fly she will be in tune with your thoughts, you do not have to give explicit commands. She will sense when you wish to accelerate, slow down, turn, stop, etcetera. She will not perform a manoeuvre, which is beyond her capabilities, or would endanger her or you. If you become incapacitated and she cannot sense your mind anymore, she will fly directly here, or the nearest UGE ship.’ ‘Your crew will unfortunately need to give manual commands, or use the consoles. You are the only one whose thoughts she will accept... or anyone else with the transformation gene,’ he quietly added. This took Angel by surprise. ‘Yes, but I am the only one carrying the gene who knows about Skibladne, right?’ he asked puzzled. ‘Well my lord. That is not exactly true.’

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CHAPTER 21 The war room was abuzz with a quite heated debate. ‘I am not forming the reserve,’ Brom said, ‘let Qren form the reserve.’ ‘What do you mean I am not in command of this mission,’ Sharin forcibly interjected. ‘I am by far the most senior and I AM EL,’ according to her that settled it, but only according to her. ‘Well I have the most experience with Taur battle tactics. I have been hunting them for many years,’ the quietly commanding thoughts from Teral entered their minds. ‘Yes but have you ever faced a Taur armada?’ Sharin gave a snide sneer. ‘I am not heading up the reserve!’ Brom boomed again, highly agitated. Angel did not pay any attention to the volatile deliberation. His head swam with thoughts of Skibladne mostly, but also very much with what Qren had told him afterwards. LOBE cut in. It would seem he did listen. ‘You better become a lord real soon your graciousness,’ he noted sarcastically, ‘or we are never going to get off this rock.’ ‘What? Oh, what do I know about war tactics LOBE?’ Angel asked. ‘Everything, you studied it for weeks and you have me,’ he said with a fierce thought. ‘So what do you want me to say?’ Angel asked. ‘Tell them this…’ LOBE proposed.

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It was brilliant. ‘Lord Kasparov could not have done better,’ Brom remarked and everybody agreed. A content band of leaders left to go organize their troops, give them stirring pep talks, hoist a lot of flags and say a lot of, ‘some of you might not return, but the rest of us will remember you while we drink ourselves silly, don’t worry you won’t feel a thing. We will be the unfortunate ones left with the hangovers.’ At last, Angel had some quiet time to reflect on Qren’s words from the previous night. Apparently, Freyja’s gender was not the only anomaly in the story. Angel had guessed correctly, when he thought there were more to this tale. Freyja also had the gene. After her brother, Freyr’s transformation, some of it seemed to have filtered down to her. The mind link became stronger and stronger, she and Freyr became like Siamese twins, attached at the soul. The link between Angel and his brother only seem to be active when he is in delta sleep, and with a lot of interference from LOBE. The link between Freyr and Freyja were continuously active. They could communicate through it, and see through each other eyes. They both kept it well hidden, although Freyja spoke of everything she saw. Neither knew where the other was. The Ark did not initially tell Freyr where he came from, and since he was the first, Arken did not have any record of earth. Freyja only saw the world of the gods through her brother’s eyes.

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It was only when they were both well into their twenties that they invited Freyja to Arken. LOBE started to quote from a book Angel had read 15 years ago. ‘Freyja was said to be a beautiful sorceress who could fly in a falcon's skin and some traditions state that on her arrival in Asgard she taught the gods the spells and charms of the Vanir, her true name is not known...’ ‘Was this the new power she possessed, or the soul link? Did she explain to the Ark how it worked?’ Angel wondered. ‘The falcon skin sounds like a spaceship,’ LOBE had observed. ‘Freyja's greatest treasure was the Brisingamen necklace. The Brisingamen necklace was crafted by four dwarfs with such artistry that it glittered like a constellation of stars in the night sky...’ This meant nothing to either LOBE or Angel. It was not apparent from the tale Qren had told them the previous night. ‘She was the keeper of feminine magic; Unleashing magical forces were like breathing to her. Freyja was an exceptional warrior. She was skilled at the form of ecstatic, consciousnessaltering and sometimes malicious magic called seidhr…’ Qren explained this to Angel. Her visit to Arken included training in combat and full mind transformation after which she became very powerful.

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Except for her mind, her body reacted much the same as Angel. Her reflexes and speed became unmatched in the UGE, and even her brother took many a beating. She gained the power to block thoughts and project anything she wished directly into the subconscious of another mind. The victim would believe whatever she suggested. She used this to seduce or destroy. She could play with anyone’s emotions and feelings twist and turn it to her heart’s desire. The senate decided to return Freyja to earth because it would be too dangerous to keep her on Arken. They told Freyr under a brainwave scrambler so the mind link would not project the thoughts. Freyr even though distraught, agreed that she could destroy the UGE if she was turned. She had the ability to subject a mind to her will, which was an incredibly dangerous skill to have running wild on your planet. Freyja employed this ability on numerous occasions with increasing incidents. She was a feminist and believed woman should be elevated and assume positions of power, which in itself was not a problem, but this was not a case of fighting for equal rights, she wanted the men to bow at her feet and worship her. They came up with a brilliant plan. ‘She is patroness of women who attain wisdom, status, and power, since the Valkyries had been ordinary women, then priestesses, and after being Valkyr became Norns, the Great Goddesses who weave the fates and histories of people and of nations…’

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They requested Freyja to recruit other females with the gene, unlock their powers and create a small tactical army on earth. They would be the protectors of earth. She felt this was a wonderful opportunity, for she was homesick, and longed to return to earth, not having lived on Arken from birth like Freyr. They gave her a scanner to find females with the gene, and a copy of the mind-transform technology, which they managed to duplicate with some measure of success. It was not as thorough as the original alien artefact, but it could still turn her army into semi-super humans, with skills far surpassing that of their kin. She was pleased with this since her army would have powers inferior to her, and she enjoyed the thought of being the most powerful female in the universe. Freyja received a small fighter, called gyrfalcon customized to her specifications with a little help from Freyr, before she returned to earth. After her return to earth, Freyja created an amazing underground army of female warriors, which she kept secret from the world. She called them the Valk’r. They were her daughters she felt, she created them, and she was their mother. The Valk’r did amazing things, always from the shadows, but deeds that transformed earth’s history and stopped many wars. Even more than they started, since an apt description of the Valk’r would be a promiscuous society and men will be men.

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Freyr1, his human name, given to him by Freyja, often travelled to earth in Skibladne to visit his sister. Freyr fell in love on one of these trips with a Valk’r called Gerd. Together they had a son called Fjolnir who later became a Swedish king; hence, the Swedish believe that Freyr was an ancestor of theirs.

1 Freyja heard her brother called ‘lord’ by the UGE and took this to be his name; Freyr directly translated means ‘lord’.

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CHAPTER 22 This story of the Valk’r formed the basis for the first part of Angel’s master plan. He would travel to earth and bring the Valk’r out of hiding. The earth is going to know of the existence of the alien races in any event. There was no reason for the Valk’r secrecy anymore. The second step would be to inform the world leaders of the approaching threat. He thought Skibladne would serve as a great persuasion tool in case, or rather when, they do not believe him. He could just imagine their faces when he let the ship of legends appear on the Whitehouse lawn or the Palace of Westminster. Guival was to accompany him in human form. If the need arose, he could transform, being an added incentive for them to believe him. There was one more addition to Angel’s team needed for the plan to succeed. First, another short story needs telling. In Freyja’s old age, she retired feeling unworthy of leading the Valk’r. She gave the reins temporarily to her deputy Brunhild who became the most well known Valk’r of all time. She was a mighty warrior and fought bravely for the Valk’r way, and she was the only chief of the Valk’r who was not from the house of Freyja. Freyja was married to a man called Odur with whom she had a daughter, who she called Gersemi meaning ‘dear bijou’.

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Her choice of Odur was no accident. She had scanned earth for a male carrying the gene, assuming through normal genetics the gene would pass to the next generation. She did not intend to let the leadership of the Valk’r leave the family. She was correct in her assumptions, and Gersemi carried the gene like her mother and father. Gersemi accompanied Freyr to Arken where she was mind transformed with the original artefact. She would be Freyja’s true successor. The tradition of the successor came into being. The successor would return to earth on her 24 th birthday. She would then receive 1 year of intense training on the Valk’r way from the current chief, before taking over the chieftainship. The successor tale had a twist however, where a year before her return she would seduce the current UGE Lord and to bear a child from him. This child was always female1. The girl born from the union would remain on Arken, and become the next Valk’r chief when she reached the prerequisite age. 1

For a male to carry the gene, neither parent would have the gene. When the gene occurred in a male, the offspring would always be twins, where only one twin would have the gene. This would maybe occur twice in a generation. There were no rules for the gene forming in females, but to ensure that a female would definitely carry the gene, both parents had to have the gene. The offspring would always be female, when both parents carried the gene. Accidental female gene carriers happened frequently from single parent or neither parent carrying the gene and after their discovery recruited into the secret Valk’r order.

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Ark science made the process less crude, with the artificial creation of the next Valk’r chieftain in a laboratory on Arken, by using samples from the current UGE Lord and the soon to be Valk’r chieftain. When Qren explained this to Angel, he suddenly remembered the girl he saw in the palace window. ‘She’s here right?’ he said. ‘In the palace, I caught a glimpse of her, I think.’ ‘True’ Qren replied, ‘She is here. She will accompany you back to earth since she is your only link to the Valk’r. Although she is too young to be able to find them, they will find her, so be prepared.’ ‘How old is she?’ Angel asked. ‘She is now 8 of your earth years. Her name is Gemmi,’ he continued, ‘But do not be fooled by her young age. She has a genius IQ, and she has been educated in most combat techniques. She has already acquired all the abilities of her predecessors to a lesser degree,’ and, he sighed, ‘she is also an extremely headstrong child.’ ‘Oh no, just what I need’ Angel thought, ‘a mental midget with an attitude.’ ‘I shall teach you a technique that will shield your mind from her; or else she would manipulate you as she wishes,’ Qren seemed genuinely concerned. ‘Good, I have had enough women on earth messing with my mind,’ Angel retorted. ‘Heed this warning my lord, she also carries the gene, she can control Skibladne if she wishes to do so,’ Qren added.

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‘Great,’ Angel’s sarcastically remarked, ‘now she can steal my ride as well. This is going to be a fun trip.’ He turned his thoughts inward to LOBE, ‘you up for babysitting a hell’s angel?’ He went straight to voicemail. Angel walked back to his quarters, wondering what happened to LOBE. He had tried talking to him for a while now but without success. Due to their departure being so close, he could not worry about that now. In a different part of the palace, two other travellers were also hard at work preparing for the journey. ‘I am taking Loser along,’ Gemmi screamed. ‘No young lady, you are not,’ the adamant guardian refused to give in to the child’s demands. She could see the frown on Gemmi’s face, and knew she was concentrating hard on twisting her mind into a pretzel. ‘NO, stop that this instant.’ Gemmi’s face relaxed, ‘but he is just a baby Gerbit1, he won’t harm anyone or get in the way.’ For some inexplicable reason this Gerbit formed a mind link with Gemmi or she with it. It never left her side, and would 1 Gerbits are small blue monkey like creatures, intelligent and mischievous, also completely un-trainable and uncontrollable. They are immune to magic. They have one other attribute displayed when they got angry. They could shape shift, and their alter egos are fearsome enormous creatures. It could rip off your head while playing with you, not that the alter ego was the playful sort but it would try putting it back on for the rest of the afternoon.

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protect her to the death. This made Gemmi’s combat training cumbersome indeed. Thankfully, it also listened to her, so when she eventually explained to it that she was not in danger it went off to go swing on the ceiling rafters, quite content. The guardian stood fast. Gemmi’s mouth went, ‘okay, I’ll leave him,’ but her thoughts went, ‘there is no hope in hell he’s staying here.’ The keen observer would have spotted a twinkle in her eye, but the guardian was not a keen observer with her back turned towards Gemmi. In yet another part of the palace Guival continued his packing with the excitement of a girl at a 75% off clearance sale in a shoe store. He was going to see earth, and he was not going to have to infiltrate anywhere he would most likely leave with a blaster hole or be submit to torture… ignorance was bliss.

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CHAPTER 23 Angel felt the pressure grow with every passing moment. They needed to leave soon to mobilize the Valk’r and earth’s defences before the main armada arrives. He managed to have one last consultation with Qren before saying goodbye. ‘My lord, do not be concerned, Skibladne knows the way to earth. She has been there many times. Simply tell her you wish to go there. We have loaded her cargo bay with all the weapons, scanners and technology she could carry for the governments on earth to deploy.’ ‘Thank you my friend. Be safe and god speed. My world is counting on you,’ Angel had said with a lump in his throat. The rest of the senate all came to say farewell to the UGE Lord. ‘You have only been with us a while my lord, but you have stolen our hearts. We will stand by your side till we draw our last breath,’ said a very sincere Brom. He echoed the sentiments of the rest of the crowd gathered there. Sharin, refusing an inferior race to outclass her farewell, said something to this effect. ‘Never fear the El is here,’ but nobody heard, since Angel completely by accident, started Skibladne’s engines with a thought. He boarded Skibladne with Guival and Gemmi; both of the latter were nervous being on the ship of legends for the first time. A dark shadow followed them onboard, but it was only there for an instant, then it was gone.

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The hatch clicked close. The three quickly stashed their belongings in their quarters, before they took up position in the chairs on the command deck. Guival took care of tactical, shields, engineering and communications, while Gemmi controlled scanners, sensors and weapons. Angel felt proud of this move. Give her something to keep her occupied, something important and she will be out my hair. Angel flopped down in the driver seat, and gave Skibladne the command to take off. After one last wave to his friends, he simply told her, ‘Earth please my lady.’ Skibladne accelerated to a speed that squeezed every bit of air from their lungs, or more accurately his and Gemmi’s. Guival had no breath to take away. It felt as if someone had tied a rope to their hair and was now trying to extract their skull through their mouths. Guival simply touched a floor panel, and now looked up at them as part of the floor. Skibladne showed no mercy, as she kept on accelerating. They broke free from Arken’s atmosphere, and the pressure started to decrease. Angel swivelled his chair to face the rest of his intrepid crew, slowly looking them over. ‘Ehem,’ Angel cleared his throat. ‘This is your captain speaking. If I may have your attention please, thank you,’ Angel said. ‘You, the fearless crew of the lady Skibladne, were chosen because you’re the best of the best. Our mission is vital to the

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continued existence of all the member races of the UGE and in fact the UGE itself. The mission has a potential survival rating of 2%. We do not expect there to be any survivors, but they will remember us as heroes. They will sing songs about us. They will compose ballads and tell their children of the brave adventurers Angel, Guival and Gemmi who gave their lives so that they might live.’ He saw their eyes widen. Not so cocky now Gemmi, he thought. Angel laughed ‘Nah just kidding,’ he continued, ‘what we need to do is get hold of the Valk’r and bring them out of secrecy. That is where you come in Gemmi. You are the beacon that will bring them to us. Guival you will need to absorb a human form definition. Then we, that’s me, you Guival and you Gemmi will need to convince the heads of all the powerful nations to get battle ready for the fight for the continued existence of the human race.’ He finished with, ‘After that Gemmi you may choose to stay with me, or join the Valk’r, and Guival you may choose to stay or join the Aesir fleet which then should have joined us.’ They just kept on staring at him as if he was speaking Russian with a Japanese accent in the Central African rainforests to Pigmies. ‘Would you just repeat that last bit again,’ Guival asked. ‘Which part?’ Angel asked Guival. ‘From ‘Ehem’,’ Guival answered. ‘You’ll be fine,’ Angel laughed. ‘Just follow my lead. Remember this is an alien society to both of you so be as inconspicuous as possible. That means Guival you do not change shape, and Gemmi you do not get people to take

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off their clothes and dance naked in the streets. Is that understood?’ They nodded their heads like two little kids, both with a very evil and quite disconcerting glint in their eyes. ‘When will we arrive at our destination,’ Gemmi asked in a formal tone, an, I’m bigger than I look wê wê-wê WÊ wê tone. ‘Best estimate, 4 days. Skibladne is about three times as fast as the quickest ship in the UGE fleet. We left just before the Darkmoons, which should enter earth’s orbit with their 8 dreadnaught escort in about 14 days.’ They stared at him yet again. ‘If you keep on staring at me like that I am going to get really self conscious,’ Angel smiled. ‘The Darkmoons are going to earth?’ Guival asked. ‘Yes my friend, they will orbit earth. We wanted them to orbit earth’s moon but we could not quite decide which would orbit which. Even though a few small fast fighters could still get through, an entire occupation force cannot.’ He tried to read their faces. ‘Happy?’ Angel asked. ‘Very,’ they replied in unison. ‘Okay, I’m going to lie down for a while,’ Angel remarked wearily. ‘You kids play nice now that you are here.’ Again, the nodding of heads ensued. ‘Can you keep a secret,’ Gemmi asked Guival when Angel left the bridge. ‘Sure, what is it, wait let me guess; it is the Gerbit that slipped into your room as we left?’ Guival projected a grin.

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‘You knew? And you did not betray me?’ Gemmi asked with her brow wrinkled. ‘Naturally young lady, I am a spy after all. It’s my job to notice things,’ Guival added, ‘but your secret is safe with me Gem.’ Gemmi looked at Guival as if she just found the most wonderful person in the world, someone who actually understood her. She liked him a lot. Angel she did not understand. She could sense he was powerful, much more powerful than she was. Probably like Loser compared to his Gerbit alter ego. She decided she was definitely the cuter of the two of them. He was at least a zillion times stronger than Kasparov. She did not like Kasparov; he was too uptight. However, it seems as if Angel was doing his best not to accept his power, but at the same time, he knew he needed it all to succeed in his destiny. She came to a decision, I to help him. She wondered if he would be okay with her Gerbit. Sure he would be. She could tell Loser to listen to Angel and Guival. If they see he is good, they would probably not be mad at her. Gemmi quickly ran to her cabin to free Loser. He jumped on her shoulder and they ran back to the command deck. Guival who knew what vicious monsters they could become tentatively approached the blue monkey like creature. He tried his utmost not to upset the little creature. ‘So does he get angry much?’ he asked Gemmi. ‘No not at all, only when someone is nasty to me, but as soon as I tell him we are friends and just pretending he calms down,’ she said with a playful smile.

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‘Although it’s difficult to put the person back together again afterward, but Loser won’t attack him anymore,’ she joked. Guival gave her a horrified look. ‘I’m kidding,’ she laughed. ‘Loser let me introduce Guival, he is my friend,’ she placed emphases on the friend part, ‘Guival this is Loser, he is my best friend in the whole world.’ Gemmi looked like she wanted to hug everything in sight including the chair. The Gerbit walked up to Guival and extended his arms, Guival tentatively extended his as well and Loser jumped into them. He quickly scampered onto Guival’s shoulder and hugged him, his tiny face pressed tightly to the cheek of the blue metallic Aesir. Guival projected, ‘thank you,’ to the Gerbit. He was sure he got a warm feeling back from the monkey, as if to say, ‘you’re my friend now.’ Guival was dumbstruck. ‘He spoke to you, didn’t he,’ Gemmi remarked. ‘I saw the look on your face, and yes he can speak, but not in words. Loser uses feelings. After a while you can understand him quite well,’ she explained. ‘It’s my fault really,’ Gemmi gave a shy smile. ‘We became friends from his birth, and I was very young then, probably 5.’ ‘I did not know how to control projecting feelings then, and he picked up the trick. Gerbits are very smart you know,’ she kept babbling. ‘So now he can do what I taught him. Like project emotions and attach a thought to it so you can know what he is saying. He

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understands you very well, ask him to do something,’ she told Guival excitedly. Okay thought Guival, but this is stupid. ‘Loser, fetch me a toothbrush please.’ A confused emotion came back from Loser that felt like, ‘what the hell do you want to do with a toothbrush? You have no mouth.’ Gemmi started to giggle hysterically. Guival tried again. ‘Yes, well, climb on the captain’s chair and then do a back summersault with a single twist.’ Up, summersault, one twist… this was amazing. ‘Wow,’ he projected, ‘you are an amazing little guy aren’t you.’ He was careful not to say creature or animal in case the Gerbit thought he was human or something. Loser chattered excitedly. A big commotion in the command centre woke Angel with a start. He found Gemmi sitting in front of two furry little creatures. They were playing a game where she was trying to find out who was Loser and who was Guival. Angel cleared his throat, but there was no anger in his voice when he spoke. ‘So we have a little stowaway,’ he paused, ‘now which one of these two do we throw out the airlock I wonder. They both look the same to me. Gemmi maybe you can tell me which one is the stowaway.’ Gemmi looked up in fear. She could give up Guival but she liked him, and Angel would be mad. She could never give up Loser.

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Angel saw tears well up in her eyes and her bottom lip quivered. She contemplated using her mind trick but sensed the potent protection around his mind. If she let her consciousness flow into his, she might never return. Angel examined the distraught faces in front of him. He had a very good idea what thoughts were flashing through Gemmi’s mind right now. Angel decided to end their suffering. ‘So, are you going to introduce me to your friend? Or are we going to be strangers all the way to earth?’ he asked with a naughty. She beamed and hugged him, ‘thank you Angel,’ she screamed happily. ‘He is my best friend in the whole universe. His name is Loser, and we would die if we had to be apart.’ Angel switched to his best Captain’s voice. ‘Well he is a part of the crew now, and needs to take up his responsibilities the same as everyone else. He will be in charge of bringing the Captain’s coffee.’ Angel almost fell on his back when the little Gerbit halted in front of him and saluted. Angel, stunned, saluted back. The Gerbit ran off to the kitchen and returned with a cup of coffee. Angel took it as if he saw his mother’s ghost, God rest her soul. ‘Thank you,’ he stammered amazed. Guival who had subsequently returned to his usual form, projected to Angel, ‘careful my lord he can understand every word you say, and he can speak through emotions. He is no ordinary animal, and I have a feeling he is going to be quite a useful addition to this crew.’

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‘Amazing,’ Angel breathed. ‘Good thing he could sense your emotions when you made the comment of ejecting him,’ Guival added. ‘Why?’ Angel asked. ‘Let us simply say, there are not many things in this universe a UGE Lord needs fear. An angry Gerbit needs to be near the top of that list.’ Angel did not fully understand and Guival did not elaborate. Gemmi danced around with Loser, as happy as a mouse in a cheese factory. Angel felt the joy spill into his troubled mind. He was cheerful for the first time in ages. He liked the crew. They were the nicest team he could have wished for, and if you forgot their outward appearance, they were probably the most lethal as well. They were in close proximity of the Bifrost jump point when the communication consol beeped. What is the matter now? Angel thought. ‘Two ships of our starboard bow,’ Guival remarked. ‘Establish contact,’ Angel commanded. ‘My lord, the pilots of the ships identified themselves as Laidin of the El and she had Kirom of the Dwar accompanying her,’ Guival relayed the message. Guival seeing Angel’s mystified expression misinterpreted it as not recognizing the names, ‘Laidin is head of EL intelligence and Kirom is of the Dwar royal family,’ he explained, ‘both are trustworthy.’ Laidin, his friend, was the El’s chief spy. How was that possible? She trained with him.

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They pulled alongside in two fighters. Laidin piloted an El fighter and Kirom in a small Dwar fighter. Angel could see from the design they were no ordinary fighters. They were both exquisite pieces of alien technology. Laidin piloted a golden ship, which was in stark contrast to the midnight black Dwar fighter. Both, though very different, would cause every Trekkie and other sci-fi nut to drool incessantly. Angel had never seen fighters that looked like this and he had studied every fighter configuration in existence. How did they manage to intercept Skibladne? That was impossible was it not? ‘They are asking permission to come aboard my lord,’ Guival patiently reminded Angel. ‘Huh? Sure, of course,’ Angel returned from his reverie. Angel opened the hangar bay doors with a thought. ‘Please welcome them aboard,’ Angel commanded.

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CHAPTER 24 A gorgeous golden haired elven girl stepped onto the command deck. A dwarf accompanied her. However, like Brom and unlike any other dwarf Angel had seen, this one had bright red hair tied in a smart ponytail. He sported a neatly kept goatee wrapped in a piece of leather. He was taller than all the dwarves he had encountered before, standing around 5’2’ in his impressive boots. The duo’s most noteworthy features were the bow-staff on Laidin’s back and, Angel could not believe it, was that Mjolnir strapped to Kirom’s back? He fondly hugged Laidin and they exchanged cheerful smiles. Laidin smiled when she noticed Angel staring at Mjolnir. ‘Yes my lord that is Mjolnir with Kirom and this is the Bow of Odin. Grand Master Brom asked Kirom to come, and Kirom asked me to join him. Brom was a little upset about this of course,’ she smiled at Kirom. ‘But he agreed when he heard that you and I were friends. He asked us to tell no one, and he presented Kirom with Mjolnir. Kirom is Brom’s brother, which is why he is able to lift the hammer.’ ‘Your majesty,’ Angel curtsied. ‘My lord,’ Kirom acknowledged. ‘So here we are on our secret mission,’ Laidin laughed. Angel’s confused look reappeared, ‘What mission?’ Laidin attempted an explanation.

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‘Brom and Teral suspect there is a mole close to the senate. We found top-secret information leaked to the Taur, which could only come from someone in the council. It was done so covertly and with such skill that none of our counter intelligence operations have been able to locate the source,’ she continued. ‘Teral and Brom wished us to secretly join this team so we may assist you in this vital mission. We anticipate that the mole would find a way to inform the Taur of your journey, and we expect that they would be quite unprepared to deal with the addition of both Odin’s bow and Mjolnir.’ ‘That makes sense, my lord,’ Guival said. ‘I know Laidin and Kirom, and bar Sharin and Brom, there are none that can fire a bow more accurately than Laidin or create a more skilled pinpoint storm than Kirom,’ he smiled a devilish smile. ‘Most would agree that Laidin is the far superior archer, but not where Sharin could hear them.’ Angel nodded, he knows of the devastating power of Mjolnir, which can create an electric super-storm with hundreds of lightning strikes per square mile. He however, had not thought of Odin’s bow still being around. Would it not be in the possession of Sharin if it were? He kept this to himself, not wishing to offend Laidin. According to the mythology he knew, it was able to fire 10 bolts with every shot. Hmmmm, Angel thought, legends and fantasy have the opportunity to become reality. The Human, the Dwarf, the Elf, and the Wizard with the bonus of a Valkyrie and a shape shifting

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monkey off to save, not the kingdom, but rather the entire universe. He smiled at the thought as he ordered Skibladne into Bifrost. It took a while before he had the chance to catch up with Laidin. They crew kept themselves busy with unpacking and sorting out their cabins. He hesitantly knocked on her cabin door. ‘May I come in Laidin?’ ‘Of course my lord,’ she answered. ‘There are a few minor details I am still unclear on,’ Angel stated. ‘I thought there might be my lord.’ ‘Why were you training with students when you are head of intelligence of the El?’ he asked. ‘I was hunting the mole my lord,’ she explained, ‘both Sharin and I felt this would be the perfect cover for me. Joining a bunch of inept students would not draw any unwanted suspicion to an El wandering about asking questions.’ ‘Inept? And why did you not ask for my help?’ Angel felt a little hurt, ‘you knew I could not be the mole, and I would have gladly kept my eyes and ears open. I was allowed everywhere and nobody paid much attention to me?’ ‘I know my lord, and I wanted to ask you, but Sharin refused, and I had to reluctantly agree. We could not put your life in danger. You are too important to the continued existence of the UGE.’ He understood, though he was still not happy with the reason. Angel smiled awkwardly, ‘well I am very happy to have you along on this trip my friend.’

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‘I am happy to be here my lord, good friends are hard to come by, and even harder to keep in the lives we lead.’ Angel was curious about one other thing. ‘If you do not mind me asking, how old are you now?’ ‘I am 212 earth years my lord, still quite young for an El,’ she smiled. He sat down hurriedly. The numbers made his head swim. He sat talking with her for a while longer while she unpacked a few last things. He heard that they did not actually intercept Skibladne. She and Kirom had left earlier and waited for Skibladne to arrive at the Bifrost jump point. She confirmed Angel’s suspicion that they would not have been able to catch the ship of legends if they needed to chase her. She moved a jacket into the closet when both their eyes fell upon something Angel recognized. Laidin tried to cover it but it was too late. Angel had seen the mask. ‘It was you!’ he screamed. ‘Yes my lord,’ Laidin said in an apologetic voice. ‘You threw me against a table,’ he said accusingly. ‘You had my arm painfully twisted behind my back my lord,’ Laidin defended herself. ‘What were you doing there?’ Angel asked with burning curiosity. ‘I was searching for the spy. My research had narrowed my suspects to either Qren or Noone,’ Laidin explained, ‘I was trying to find evidence of their guilt when you surprised me.’

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‘I apologize if I harmed you my lord, but I had to escape for I would not have been able to adequately explain my presence to the authorities without breaking cover; and that was not an option,’ she concluded. ‘I guess it makes sense,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘but no more lies and no more throwing me around.’ ‘I swear on the honour of Queen Sif my lord,’ Laidin said in earnest. Angel winked and they left to get something to quench their thirst. The journey through the jump point proceeded quite pleasantly at first. Angel reassigned posts, with Kirom on tactical, shields and Engineering, Guival on Communications and Laidin on weapons, scanners and sensors. Loser, showing an amazing proficiency in the Kitchen, and Angel appointed him mission cook. No one knew where he acquired this skill, but the food was excellent. That is if it actually made it to the table and Loser did not get hungry on the way. Gemmi explained that he loved to hang out in the kitchen of the palace and steal food when the cook was not paying attention. They all agreed that food was not all he stole. He stole the cook’s recipes as well. Gemmi transferred to co-pilot, an opportunity she relished. ‘I am second in command now,’ she told Loser with great pride, as they danced around the ship. Angel grew extremely fond of the little blond girl. He assumed she was a handful on Arken because no one trusted her, and treated her like a child.

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From Angel’s experience, she was anything but. She understood his explanations immediately and handled Skibladne like a pro. Guival and Gemmi became thick as thieves and they endlessly chatted about some arbitrary nonsense. He sometimes called her mam, which scored him another million points or so. Angel had an interesting discussion with Kirom on a symbol of power given to the Vanir. ‘In our culture, each of the UGE members has a symbol, or rather a weapon that serves as a standard for that race to unite behind,’ Kirom explained. ‘Similar to the flag we use on earth. Each country has a flag that serves as the symbol for that country,’ Angel remarked. ‘Yes my lord. The Dwar has Mjolnir; the El has the Bow of Odin and the Aesir the spear Gungnir. Likewise, each of the other races in turn has a symbol they chose,’ Kirom continued. ‘Teral does not carry Gungnir does he?’ Angel asked. ‘No my lord, their symbol was lost a long time ago,’ Kirom clarified. ‘Another thing I was wondering about was why Laidin has the Bow of Odin and not Sharin?’ this has been bugging Angel for quite some time. ‘Sorry my liege, but I do not feel that is my tale to regale you with. You need to ask Laidin,’ Kirom stated with a naughty glint in his eye, ‘mine is on the symbol of Vanir power.’ ‘Please continue my friend,’ Angel smiled. Kirom cleared his throat. ‘The Vanir symbol of power was in the form of a sword, named the Sword of Freyr.’ Kirom began.

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‘I’ve heard of it!’ Angel yelped, ‘in mythology the sword could fight on its own.’ ‘The sword has micro receptors in the hilt,’ Kirom said with a dreamy look in his eyes. He seemed to be quite fond of exotic technology. He had begged his brother to send him on this mission so he may be able to experience Skibladne first hand. Kirom continued. ‘This allows the sword to bypass the somatic nervous system and get signals directly from the brain. It uses an electromagnetic push-and-pull effect to then do what the brain suggested before the muscles in the arm could respond.’ ‘Amazing,’ Angel said, ‘so it actually seemed to fight on its own.’ ‘Yes, it was again ancient nano-technology built into the sword, and we have not been able to duplicate it. There is no way, even for modern technology, to receive a signal from the brain and translate it into electromagnetic energy before the muscles in the arm can react,’ explained Kirom. ‘In a skilled user’s hand, someone with an extremely quick mind, like the UGE Lords it could deflect blasters or any projectile weapon’s shots with great ease.’ Kirom continued speaking as if he was talking about his one true passion in life. ‘The blade’s edge is only a few atoms thick and made from a Zellion alloy, which is the hardest material known in the universe. The swords protection comes from its own shield, which gives it a striking bluish glow. This means the sword can never go blunt. It also enabled the sword to slice through virtually anything save maybe a Zellion hull or an energy shield, with very little effort.’

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‘The scabbard was just as impressive. It was part of the sword, living in the hilt. You would position the sword on your back and it sensed that it needed to deploy the scabbard, which would then wrap around it and your chest. By grabbing hold of the hilt again the scabbard would instantly retract and the swords energy shield would active.’ ‘Do we have any idea where it is?’ Angel asked Kirom since he had absorbed Kirom’s excitement and was now just as eager to find it. ‘Freyr had a close friend and confidant, an El named Skirnir or Skern as we called him. He often visited earth serving as a messenger between Freyr and Freyja. Freyr tasked him with presenting the sword as a wedding proposal to a certain Valk’r, but the sword never arrived. Skern stole the sword. There is a strong belief the sword is on earth, but we have no records or current rumours on the sword’s whereabouts,’ Kirom said. Angel could see he felt truly sorry for the loss of such a wonderful piece of history. ‘So the loss of this sword is what caused the UGE to split?’ Angel asked. ‘Yes my lord, many of the minority council members were unhappy about the amount of power the El, Dwar, Ark and Aesir had, and was simply looking for an excuse to rescind their membership. They however feared retribution from the other member races who would classify them as traitors, if they did not remain part of the UGE. When the symbol of Vanir power disappeared, they used this as an excuse to break off from the UGE, claiming that the UGE Lord was not fit to be in control. That the UGE was fallible.’

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‘I see,’ Angel’s brow creased, ‘so it might be in our best interest to recover this artefact.’ ‘True my lord, very beneficial indeed,’ Kirom smiled broadly, he hoped Angel might come to this conclusion. Guival was a master storyteller and he held the crew’s fascination for hours with his retellings of UGE history and glorious battles. He also loved playing pranks, placing a spell on Kirom’s hammer Mjolnir to make it invisible. Since no one could lift it but Kirom, he believed he was going insane and physically turned the ship upside down looking for the hammer he misplaces. In another episode, Guival used magic to change the properties of Laidin’s facial wash. She walked around with little horns coming out of her face for a day. Gemmi’s food came alive and ran off at dinner, scaring her half to death. He was careful not to anger Loser. He preferred his head where it was, and it did not help at all that Gerbits were immune to magic. Angel got the worst of Guival’s trickery. He woke up one morning with his head facing backwards. He had a nice view of his ass the rest of the day. It was, needless to say, frustrating trying to walk backwards. Every time something happened Guival seem to disappear, and could not be found until the magic wore off. The crew grew tired of this tomfoolery and Guival got a severe reprimand from Angel.

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He promised to be good, but Gemmi decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. One morning as Guival woke he found an enormous Gerbit standing over his bed, the saliva dripping from its mouth, gigantic fangs exposed and death flashing in his eyes. Guival gave a bloodcurdling scream into the minds of the crew. They rushed in and saw the scene. Gemmi had installed a hollow projector next to Guival’s bed and it was now projecting an image of Loser in, don’t you wish you were somewhere else now, mode. The laughter did not die down for a long while after, leaving Guival feeling like an idiot. Guival kept quiet and his behaviour was proper for a while. This lasted until breakfast ended. He and Gemmi made up, and the friendship was as thick as ever. Unfortunately, they teamed up after that and things got considerably worse. Angel confined both tricksters to quarters until they reached earth. Guival’s personality intrigued Angel, somehow reminding him of someone he knew from Mythology. ‘Skibladne, do me a favour and analyze Guival’s DNA, if you can. Give me a genealogy report on him. More specifically tell me if Loki was an ancestor of his.’ #confirmed. Guival is a descendant of Loki# Skibladne answered. Angel jumped. ‘You can talk?’ he asked. #of course my lord# Skibladne answered in a metallic drone.

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‘Wow,’ Angel exclaimed before wondering, ‘I would have assumed with all this amazing technology your voice would be more like one of those GPS devices we find on earth?’ #I could synthesize any vocal pattern perfectly my lord. Your predecessor preferred I spoke with a more robotic voice# Skibladne answered. ‘That’s interesting,’ Angel answered. #Do you wish me to change my synthesized voice patterns# Skibladne asked. ‘No, I think I like it this way, thank you,’ he answered. He then thought about what the ship previously mentioned about Guival. So that explains it all, Angel laughed, he probably cannot even help himself. He is a descendant of the trickster god Loki. It is in his genes. Angel and Laidin kept busy in the replicator room preparing the crew for the long journey ahead. They designed black jump suits made from a comfortable material that looked like something Angel saw in a superhero movie. He designed insignia that were artistic impressions of Skibladne, which also doubled as mindcom devices, a concept again borrowed from the movies he loved on earth. Belts with the same clasp insignia and comfortable stylish boots completed the outfits. Though not original ideas, they were functional and looked great. Even Loser got an outfit.

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When Angel put the little outfit in his small hands and two small tears ran down Loser’s cheeks, the crew could not help but feel moved. They could feel emotions of happiness and gratitude flowing from the little creature in waves, washing over them and spilling from their eyes. All he ever wanted was to belong somewhere and not be just another nuisance. A tender smile played on Angel’s face and he fought hard against the emotions projected by the little blue creature, threatening to expose him as a big softy. Angel saw Kirom turn away, obviously to hide his feelings. An emotional dwarf, Angel thought, who would have thought that possible. Loser ran to Gemmi’s quarters and a few minutes later returned wearing his jump suit. Although it was the wrong way round and his arms were through his suit’s legs. He jumped on every crewmember’s shoulder and gave them a big hug. Gemmi took his hand and led him to their room. She showed him how to put it on by dressing herself and from that moment on, there was no way for them to get him to take it off. Towards the end of their journey through the jump, Angel experienced fear, which he last felt when he had the vision from his brother. It was late afternoon when LOBE came into his mind. ‘I have calculated and recalculated every possible scenario, taking into account, every possible jump point location, flight plan, and burn speed, which could be incorporated by the Taur.’ ‘LOBE, Buddy, you are back. I thought you had deserted me.’

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‘No, I was just busy and I could not afford to lose concentration and make a miscalculation, especially after I found the mistake,’ LOBE said. ‘What mistake, what are you talking about?’ he enquired due to a quite disconcerting urgency in LOBE’s tone, and because LOBE had not made a single sarcastic remark yet. ‘Noone made a mistake in his calculations. We will reach earth only about ten days before the Taur, and they would reach earth 11 hours before the Darkmoons and four days before the UGE fleet. If we assume they follow standard operating procedure and they do advance reconnaissance and scout missions while they set up a base of operations...’ LOBES voice trailed off. ‘Then what,’ Angel asked frantic. ‘We will still be without a fleet,’ LOBE said. ‘I hope there is a, but, coming,’ Angel remarked. ‘If they do not pick up the Darkmoons arrival, which is doubtful, we might have just enough time to put them in place before their full strike on earth is launched.’ A visibly upset Angel conveyed the news to his troops. ‘I cannot understand how Noone could make such a mistake? He would never make a mistake like that,’ Guival observed obstinately. ‘Trust me Guival, LOBE and I did a detailed study of the star charts before we left, and this is the quickest way that the Taur could move undetected.’ Angel looked at them in turn before adding, ‘we are in big trouble!’ To show them the validity of LOBE’s calculations he called up the star charts stored in Skibladne onto the view screen. He

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proceeded to plot the course with the help of LOBE, each step showing the time it would take to complete. LOBE also plotted all the other most likely routes. The longest of all the unlikely routes would still place the Taur fleet there three hours before the Darkmoons. The team agreed that the route LOBE chose is the same one they would have chosen as well. No one could offer up even a far-fetched explanation for Noone’s miscalculations. They started examining their options. ‘We do not have any way to contact the Darkmoons and speed them up while they are in the jump. Signals cannot be beamed into a jump because there is no space to carry the signal,’ Guival made a point which was already obvious to everyone except maybe Loser, but since he did not show any visible enlightenment, nobody was sure. ‘When we exit the jump we can contact the fleet, but even at maximum burn, they will still be four days behind the Darkmoons,’ Kirom remarked. ‘Our only course of action is to convince earth to mobilize their entire defence initiative against something they do not believe exists,’ Angel continued. ‘I do not see how we can achieve this, but if we do the Taur might be in for a few small surprises.’ ‘Earth has developed a nuclear missile arsenal that could destroy the earth a thousand times over and they can be fired at orbiting vessels. We have planes, which even though they cannot leave earth’s atmosphere, travel at twice the speed of sound and are all

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equipped with missiles that could bring down Taur fighters and bombers. That is if they could penetrate the shields. We have nuclear submarines that can launch warheads from the ocean floor.’ ‘But how,’ Laidin asked, ‘from the last Ark reports, you were still decades from such technology.’ Angel smiled, ‘humans evolve more rapidly than other species. They seem to be in a hurry to go somewhere. We might even surpass the Arks in technological know-how in a couple of years,’ he said proudly before he added gritting his teeth, ‘if we don’t destroy ourselves first, and make it past the next couple of weeks.’ ‘I just hope the cargo Skibladne is carrying will tip the balance somewhat in earth’s favour,’ Laidin solemnly added. One ship with supplies did not give much hope against an armada but it did raise their spirits somewhat from suicidal depression to sombre hopelessness. Even Guival seemed to have lost his appetite for playing pranks on the crew. Angel started working on the crew’s disguises since he was the only one that knew earth styles. Skibladne had an advance database on earth fashion, but somewhat out of date, and he had to make a few alterations to her suggestions. Hiding the crew’s alien heritage became quite a challenge. The twins, since Guival had decided to absorb Gemmi’s form definition, which obviously gave Gemmi endless enjoyment, became an exercise in futility. Their demands were endless.

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He created a little rucksack for Loser, with breathing holes and ‘windows’. This was after a massive debate on whether Loser should stay on board Skibladne or not. Apparently, ‘not,’ was the only acceptable answer. The bulky weapons were even more difficult to disguise. LOBE came up with the solution. They reconfigured the teleportation chambers on Skibladne to be remote activated with beacons. The weapons placed inside would be teleported to the heroes on demand. Angel also created Zellion alloy gauntlets for the crews’ left wrists. These housed an information database, scanners and guidance equipment as well as the beacons tuned to the teleport chambers. His had the added functionality of placing Skibladne in the hangar dimension. Angel was impressed. The crew looked spectacular, especially Laidin. She looked like she walked off a runway at a Milan fashion show. They would have looked even better if they could just keep from making faces and stop pulling on the clothes. ‘The blouse is scratching me.’ ‘The boots are too tight.’ ‘My top is suffocating me.’ Even Loser found a reason to complain. There was no place to store his emergency food supply in the bag. Angel gave up and went to look for a rope with which to hang himself.

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The plan of attack was an even more complicated affair; nobody knew how to approach this. ‘I should probably start with America, Britain, China, Russia and the EU. These are the largest superpowers on earth,’ Angel explained but after seeing the blank stares, he decided to give them an overview and a brief history on earth. ‘Our main objectives are twofold. Firstly to find the Valk’r,’ he paused, ‘Gemmi that will be your and Laidin’s responsibility,’ and seeing the look on Loser’s face added, ‘and yours Loser.’ ‘You need to convince them of the threat and mobilized their forces.’ he took a breath and continued. ‘I am sending you, Laidin, because I believe these Valk’r are quite partial to females. I have asked Skibladne to return to the place it landed last time Freyr visited earth, and that should hopefully place us near where the Valk’r headquarters is.’ ‘Yes my lord, it will be done, and I shall look after her well,’ Laidin responded, followed by a slight altercation in which Gemmi wanted to know who exactly would be looking after whom. Angel gave her a sharp look and turned to Kirom. ‘You my friend have a very special mission, which could be quite tricky. I need you to locate the Sword of Freyr, the symbol of the UGE Lord’s power. I don’t know why but I have this gut feeling we are going to need it soon.’ ‘The Valk’r might have archives or ancient scripts that might give you an idea of where to start looking.’ ‘No problem my lord,’ he said with a glint in his eye. ‘Be careful with your fighter, if it is seen it will probably be attacked. You will travel with the ladies till you have an indication on a starting point for your search,’ Angel remarked.

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‘As you wish my lord,’ Kirom smiled. ‘Then that leaves just you and me Guival. We have the tough job of convincing the nations.’ Guival said nothing. ‘We might start with America and go alphabetically. We need to get into the Whitehouse, the home of the ruler of America.’

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CHAPTER 25 The anticipation Sharin experienced made her thoroughly hyperactive. She summoned crew on a regular basis for sparring contests, mostly bitterly disappointed because they rarely lasted more than a few seconds. The two days since she left Arken felt like two weeks had passed. ‘Are we clear on our mission parameters,’ Teral asked in their last mission briefing. ‘Yes’ Sharin sighed, ‘I take a third of the fleet and enter Taur space. Working from the outer stronghold, I destroy all hard targets such as ammo dumps, refuelling stations, orbital stations, minefields, ground defences, manufacturing plants and mines, patrols and security outposts. Then go to Evergal’t and destroy the command centre, as well as all other military installations.’ She revelled at the thought of this command so much she did not even attempt being condescending. Until she added, ‘would you prefer I spare Kra’st’s outhouse as your holiday home?’ ‘Good,’ Teral remarked ignoring her. ‘Brom and I shall take the rest of the fleet to Earth. There we shall await the arrival of the Taur and hit them into last Cen’tday.’ ‘They will never expect it, it is a masterful plan. I wish I could see Kra’st face when he sees the armada and the Darkmoons waiting for him,’ Brom smiled with glee. ‘I wish to take only my fleet. It should be sufficient to take on a few defenceless planets,’ Sharin suggested, or rather demanded since this was the same thing in her world.

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Both Teral and Brom quickly agreed since neither felt comfortable with her abusive self in charge of their people. She would probably just use them for suicide runs or target practice. ‘Noone will organize the border patrols and scout missions,’ Teral confirmed the rest of the battle plan. ‘Qren will act as command central and coordinate the separate missions. I think that is it. Good luck my friends, and good hunting.’ Sharin stood on the command deck of the Royal El Cruisers, a beautiful, fast and deadly warship. She designed it to perfection, her prized possession. Admittedly, she stole a number of ideas from Skibladne, and she was furious when the El council refused her the right to build the entire ship from Zellion. However, not even she would dispute the fact that Skibladne was the crown jewel of the UGE fleet and a culmination of the technological supremacy of all the UGE races. It was damn cool as well. The fleet she commanded stretched as far as the eye could see and with the El-sight, she could see pretty far indeed. She had 360-degree view screens on her command deck from where she could ensure nobody stepped out of line. Sharin hated not to be able to see everywhere at once, and what she saw made her very happy, and even more hyperactive. Battle Cruisers, numerous Corvettes and thousands of fighters and Bombers littered space, and they were hers to order about, all hers.

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You could not get the smile of her face with a crowbar, even if you did forget to call her Princess. You would still lose your head obviously, but she would be smiling while removing it. She intently studied the star-map on the giant holographic image projector that featured in the middle of her command deck. A round flat structure which when activated would project anything she asked above it in three dimensions. It currently displayed a planetary system map of Taur space, and the rest of her commanders nervously stood around the holomap hoping she would not direct any questions at them. She zoomed in on the border planets carefully analyzing the statistical data she had on each, while creating a summary of the number of hard targets available on these planets. Sharin ensured the planets with many red dots remained in her target list. Not that she was selfish, she just likes to blow things up, and okay, we are not kidding anyone, she was a certified egomaniac. She fitted enough weaponry onto her fighter to blow up herself and half the galaxy. It was like placing a chimpanzee in charge of a steamroller at an exotic china exhibit. Her crew painted, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;shoot at me and die,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; on the side of her ship, and this was no joke. Sneezing near the ship was strictly forbidden and punishable by expulsion, from the airlock. Any enemy that would want her as a trophy needed to ensure they were shooting from the next galaxy wearing welding goggles.

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She left very little standing on a planet. A few mountains might survive if they managed to look inconspicuous and not too menacing. Most planets surrendered even before her cruiser got into orbit, other planets would surrender on principle even if they had no life forms inhabiting it. Even allied planets surrendered. ‘Better safe than not around to be sorry,’ they would say. Her cruiser currently attempted to find parking around the first of her little experiments in urban renewal. It bumped a few communication satellites out of the way and squeezed in between a relic space station and a freighter. She blew up the freighter for suspicion of it carrying something. It was a good bet since after all it was a freighter. In any event, it was blocking her view of the planet. She blew up the space station because she could. The planet surrendered. The inhabitants destroyed everything on the planet that Sharin could find threatening or offensive. This included The Passions Lingerie Emporium, since everyone knows the Princess despises frilly stuff. ‘Mother Father!’ she swore when she noticed the explosions all across the planet. The next planet did not surrender in time, mostly due to Sharin accidentally blasting a hole in the communication console with her sidearm while cleaning it and no one noticed the smoke signals the planet tried to send up. Accidents do happen. The fleet separated and the attack commenced.

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The first targets were any communication centres and the defence grid, followed by anything that made a large bang. She even took out a few enemy trees that were trying their utmost to bloom white flowers and wave them as a flag. They were not doing too well and she picked them off just in case there was some covert plot by the trees to attack from the rear. A maniacal laugh filled the mindcom. Her wingmen, the poor sods who drew the short straws and could not think up an illness debilitating enough to get them sent home, or could not get reassigned to the suicide bombing runs against planetary defence grids, were keeping their distance in the event that she got bored and started shooting at them. You got a medal just for flying with her, mostly presented posthumously. She shrieked as something else went BOOM!

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CHAPTER 26 On board the Taur Imperial Battle Cruiser, Kra’st appeared in a foul mood. The endless wait, while they were en-route, got to him. We should have fought our way open to the earth jump point, he thought to himself. If not for the damn alliance he would have, but they suggested secrecy, no surprises. He reluctantly agreed to it, but this felt like shooting fish in a barrel. ‘Is the fleet ready?’ he asked Alra’st agitatedly thumping his spear, Gungnir, on the floor. ‘Yes my lord, ships are outfitted with full payload and are fuelled, pilots are on standby. Ground attack forces are on full alert. Our scouts and reconnaissance forces are prepped and ready to roll.’ He had this little rhyme memorized by now. Kra’st kept on asking the same question, and even though it was driving him insane, it was better to repeat the rhyme than to surgically remove a spear from his skull. ‘Shall we go over the battle plan one more time,’ Kra’st interrupted his thoughts. ‘If you wish my lord,’ Alra’st secretly wished Kra’st would trip and accidentally fall on Gungnir, but that was not likely to happen. Cen’t warriors do not accidentally trip often, only accidentally on purpose when trying to explain an unfortunate death. ‘Oops I tripped. Can you believe my blade went straight through his skull? You know, I was just examining my blade for rust, and

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this crack in the pavement appeared out of nowhere. What a freakish accident, so very unfortunate.’ Nobody questioned the fact that the cracks in the pavement were painted, and that nobody knew what rust was. ‘I wish,’ Kra’st gruffly replied. ‘Yes my Lord,’ Alra’st continued. ‘I shall lead the reconnaissance mission to Vanaheimr, with your polite invitation, as soon as we leave the jump point.’ Thank god he thought. ‘The rest of the fleet will set up base and do long range scout missions while we let the planet know we are here. We will give the planet three days to organize a defence so we may at least have some sport before you destroy it.’ ‘Good, good, that’s very good,’ Kra’st sneered. Alra’st did not share this enthusiasm, but he did not raise his concerns for fear of his life. He felt sure that the alliance was a farce, so did Tri’st. Unfortunately, neither knew anything of the mysterious alliance Kra’st has formed except for what he told them, and what he told them sounded extremely disconcerting. ‘What do they have to gain by helping us?’ Alra’st had asked Tri’st. ‘The question should be what is going to be their objective after they help us. You do not start a war and sit on the sideline if you have no other agenda,’ Tri’st answered. ‘How do you know they are on the sideline? They may be UGE and part of this war already, helping us from the inside. Or they pretend to help us, lure us away from home and destroy us here, while our planets are unprotected,’ came Alra’st’s deeply troubled response.

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‘I don’t think Kra’st would leave our planets unprotected if he was not sure the alliance was real,’ Tri’st said but Alra’st did not need a degree in psychology to know Tri’st was as unsure of this as he was. ‘If you are right, at least they will keep our planets safe while we are here?’ asked Alra’st hopeful of some comforting thoughts. This situation bugged him from the start. They left their home world unprotected, but Kra’st had insisted they need the entire Taur fleet. According to Kra’st, they needed to withstand an armada from the UGE if they should arrive in aid of the puny planet. The alliance agreed, and that was the end of that. This was not Kra’st’s idea, Alra’st felt sure of this. They planted this in Kra’st’s soft brain. ‘I wish I knew. It is all just speculation, but if we have a UGE armada waiting for us, then we know they played us. There is no way they could have found out about our plans, except from our mysterious spy in the UGE senate. What better way than two fleets destroying each other far-far away from home,’ Tri’st had said. ‘If they are as powerful allies as Kra’st said, why don’t they just destroy the UGE and be done with it.’ ‘I don’t know but if you think about it what does a Tre’nt 1 do when it is threatened? It runs for its hole. It is very difficult to

The Tre’nt described as a warthog like creature, shy and retiring and quite the pacifist. That is until you threaten its little ones. They would retreat into their holes dug in solid rock, and you would be extremely brave to continue with the capture effort. Their armoured hide and razor sharp barracuda like teeth would

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flush it from there if you want to capture it alive. It is also quite dangerous to put your hand down the hole, since it would most probably not be there on the return journey. You will also need to destroy the hole to get to the Tre’nt and its babies,’ Tri’st explained, ‘but if you can keep the Tre’nt from its hole a child can capture it.’ ‘So you think they are making us destroy each other so they may take our and the UGE planets intact? To what end? To avoid a long battle,’ Alra’st asked perplexed, ‘what is the meaning of this?’ ‘That my friend I do not know,’ Tri’st replied, deep concern clearly audible.

deter even the most avid hunter. Whatever you place down the hole generally remains down the hole.

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CHAPTER 27 Silence remained, and a lot of it, deafening silence, as thick as fog. The crew begged for it to stop. Brom and Teral sat looking at each other in shock, neither wanted to speak first, both wanted to believe that they misheard the UGE Lord. The Echo of Angel’s voice still haunted their thoughts with the horrifying news. ‘Noone miscalculated, the Taur will arrive 4 days before you. The earth will not survive.’ ‘What…’ Brom started and stopped. ‘How did…’ Teral tried not getting much further. ‘Should we…’ ‘We were…’ ‘It is…’ ‘The…’ ‘They must…’ Some of the crew, overhearing this very insightful conversation, slowly formed the suspicion that there might be something amiss. ‘Sirs, I have ordered the ships to maximum burn and we will be entering the Bifrost jump point any second. We deployed the mines as ordered and they entered the jump 5 minutes ago. We will not be able to keep the fleet together, but some of the faster ships might reach Vanaheimr to give it some protection,’ a concerned fleet admiral relayed the current situation. ‘If anything survives that long,’ he added softly, absentmindedly staring at his boots.

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Teral, thankful for his admiral’s presence of mind, ordered his fleet commanders assembled. Brom initiated another conversation with sentences exceeding 2 terms… mostly. ‘Something’s wrong,’ Brom exclaimed. ‘I know,’ Teral agreed. ‘Noone miscalculated?’ Brom’s puzzled reply came. ‘I know.’ ‘Our entire defence is deployed in different universes; because we believed the Taur fleet going to earth was the only threat.’ ‘I know.’ ‘What if there is another Taur force, waiting for us to leave our space. One we missed on the scouting missions?’ asked Brom. ‘I know.’ ‘What are we to do?’ asked Brom, quickly adding, ‘and if you say, I know, once more I’ll pummel you.’ ‘I don’t know,’ Teral said and then quickly added. ‘The dreadnaughts and most of the older cruisers won’t even be in time to pick up the ion trails of the Taur. We might as well leave them here.’ ‘I agree. We should stick with the corvettes, the fast cruisers and the fighters.’ ‘Let Qren deploy the dreadnaughts and cruisers around all our strategic planets,’ an uneasy Brom replied. ‘But, I still smell a gist.’

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CHAPTER 28 The intrepid adventurers chose the cover of night to make their approach to a remote location in Sweden. It appeared as an old abandoned ruin that could have been a temple a few thousand years ago. They had built the temple into a mountain so that it almost seemed to be part of the mountain. Only a few walls and pillars still stood although in a bad state of disrepair. The team, after Skibladne made such a soft landing that they wondered if she had actually touched down or if she still hovered in mid air, disembarked and began to explore the ruins for some clue as to the whereabouts of its ancient inhabitants. Darkness enveloped them and the crew felt uneasy walking through the haunted ruins. ‘I wish I could see more clearly,’ Gemmi complained. ‘No problem,’ Angel said feeling dim-witted for not thinking of this earlier, ‘Skibladne, some light please,’ he flashed a thought to the lady. The area lit up like a football stadium, completely blinding the crew for a few minutes until their eyes got use to the intense light. ‘Ah, the light of my life,’ Angel quipped. ‘Yes, that was pretty bright of you my lord,’ Guival joked in turn, not to be outdone; he was the entertainer after all. ‘I wish I knew what we were looking for,’ he added. They searched the ruins for quite some time before Laidin’s keen eyes found the ancient runes obviously left there by the Valk’r, since the language was that of the Arks. Angel stared at her in amazement, since the carvings were no more than a sand

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covered nondescript stone set in the floor. It seemed to be newer than the surrounding ruins. The crew carefully dusted the stone so not to damage the fragile lettering. The clue appeared to be a riddle of sorts. He who seeks the lady’s brood From her gown in heaven’s womb the monument ensued and guide became a tomb. Bounty of the Gefion thief The sovereign will reveal Inside the ladies grief beware the stone of teal. Her weep the veil Her fury the shroud In halls of pale the call will sound No sense will serve the path to expose Sightless Valk’r of silent nerve follow the odourless rose. When cast a thought with gift life brought, from fire of the mind the cry lead that all Valk’r must head.

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They stared at each other in confusion; this meant nothing to any of them. ‘Okay we must figure this out,’ Angel stated the obvious. ‘We know this riddle is meant for the returning Valk’r leader, so she must be able to follow it and get to the Valk’r. It should also include information and directions only a Valk’r raised on an alien planet could follow.’ ‘Well we know, He who seeks the lady’s brood, means finding the Valk’r since Freyja often referred to the Valk’r as her children,’ Gemmi suggested. ‘We could probably surmise we are looking for an Island, since according to mythology Gefion stole an island from Sweden,’ Angel remarked after a brief conference with LOBE. ‘Now we have, from her gown in heaven’s womb, what in heaven’s name could that mean?’ Kirom asked. ‘Freyja directly translated means the lady. Freyja’s gown is a star constellation which today is known as Orion’s belt,’ LOBE stated in his most overbearing way after liberating Angel’s vocal cords. ‘So we are looking for an island under Orion’s belt?’ Gemmi asked. ‘No, I don’t think so,’ Laidin said. ‘I think we need something else to show us the way to the island, a sovereign of sorts.’ ‘Any ideas,’ Angel asked. ‘This is your planet, remember?’ Gemmi reminded him.

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‘Okay, okay, I assume we built a monument from Orion’s image that is supposed to guide us and it is now a tomb,’ Angel shared his thoughts. ‘Probably, but let us get Skibladne’s assistance on this issue,’ Laidin interjected. They all bundled into the command centre on Skibladne. ‘Skibladne, do you have any information on a monument built on earth in honour of Orion,’ Angel asked. #negative my lord# she answered. ‘What now?’ Gemmi was worried but Laidin suddenly had an idea, ‘Skibladne, do we have anything on earth that resembles Orion’s belt.’ #Affirmative my lady, the pyramids at Giza were built in the exact configuration of Orion’s belt# ‘Great,’ Angel exclaimed before he added. ‘It is long believed that the pyramids were not built by the Egyptians but by aliens, and later converted to tombs by the emperors of Egypt. So what are we waiting for, let’s go!’ Skibladne set off at speed. Minutes later, they hovered over the pyramids at Giza. ‘Well I don’t know much about the pyramids,’ apologized Angel. ‘I do know the pyramids are supposed to be aligned to true north. I know that a blade hung from the Great Pyramid will never go blunt; it is rumoured to sharpen. The other thing I remember is that the Great Pyramid is rumoured to have a strange energy emanating from it.’ ‘Unless we are expected to fly true north, I don’t see any help there,’ Kirom retorted. ‘Now what,’ Gemmi enquired.

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‘Now the pyramids must show us the way to the island,’ Guival answered in a mysterious tone. ‘And I know how.’ ‘Do we need to find the energy source?’ Gemmi asked. ‘No, but I like the way you think little one. We do not need to find it only use it,’ Guival explained. The others looked at him curiously. Guival walked over to his communications console and started configuring his instruments. ‘Got it,’ he exclaimed after a few minutes. ‘The coordinates are hidden on a communication band this world has not been able to detect yet. To them it will look like an energy signature,’ he smiled self-importantly. ‘You have to be in close proximity to the pyramid to detect it, but when you have the right equipment it is easy,’ Guival explained. Angel called up a map, but no island appeared at the coordinates. ‘Sorry guys, there are no islands recorded in that area,’ Angel sounded despondent. A permanent, thick, very unnatural fog covered the area to which the coordinates pointed. This was clearly visible on the satellite image Guival found when he commandeered an earth weather satellite. ‘It is there all right,’ Guival said, ‘a wall will hide what is on the other side, but that does not mean there is nothing on the other side. It is a simple illusionist trick.’ ‘So that’s why there are no islands recorded there, because it is cloaked. Maybe that’s what ‘inside the ladies grief’ means,’ Angel

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exclaimed and then added something he remembered from studying lore, ‘Gefion was also rumoured to be another name used by Frigg.’ ‘You mean the wife of Odin?’ Guival asked. ‘Yes. She must have brought the technology to cloak the island, and then gave the island to Freyja.’ He understood now how Gefion managed to steal the island. She did not pick it up and walk away with it. She simply cloaked it in this mist and hey presto, one standard size island stolen. Angel decided that it was time for them to go their separate ways. While he and Guival continued on their quest, Laidin, Gemmi, Loser and Kirom would continue in the fighters to find the Valk’r. Kirom stared into the unyielding veil below them. The mist seemed foreboding. It made him feel uneasy. The composition of the fog, according to his fighter, contained trace elements found only on Arken. Laidin intently studied the scanners, which did not give proper readings. It seemed the mist not only confused the senses but sensors as well. ‘We already know the mist is unnatural, so is it possible for you to pinpoint the origin of the mist?’ Gemmi asked. She flew with Laidin and Loser slept peacefully in her lap. ‘I am, just bear with me for a tick,’ Laidin responded still intently studying her scanners. Kirom’s mindcom came alive. ‘Kirom, change course to 12 degrees North by North-East, and hold course for 12 seconds at current speed. Then we need to descend into the mist.’

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The soul-destroying fog enveloped them like a blanket, Her fury the shroud, Kirom thought. Laidin’s voice interrupted his thoughts. ‘We are about 2 miles from the source.’ The mist broke suddenly and a small island came into view below them. All around them, the sombre mist swirled and formed a dome of clear air around the island. It appeared lifeless, since the mist blocked out the sun no vegetation would survive. Laidin hated this place. This is no place for an El, she thought miserably. The barren rocks looked disfigured and evil. If somebody accidentally stumbled onto this place, it might be more preferable to take on the mist. ‘It is better to die out there than die here,’ they would say. ‘We are here,’ Kirom stated the obvious, ‘so let us see if we can find any clues from the rest of the riddle.’ ‘Angel thought, her weep the veil, meant a waterfall of sorts. Let’s see if we can find one,’ Gemmi suggested. They did not have to fly far before they saw a huge dark waterfall tumbling from the mountain, and they found a place to set the fighters down. The closer the better was the entire group’s sentiment.

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CHAPTER 29 Angel and Guival had problems of their own. How were they going to get into the Whitehouse? ‘Let’s blast a hole in the side and walk in,’ Guival suggested in jest. ‘I have better idea,’ Angel smiled with a gleam in his eye. At about four in the morning, they touched down in the American capital. Both were dressed in their earth clothes and Guival had transformed into his Gemmi alter ego. They stuck their com-badges onto the inside of their jackets before leaving Skibladne. ‘We might as well find an all night diner and have coffee and maybe get breakfast,’ he told Guival. Angel sent Skibladne into the next dimension and walked off into the cold night with Guival. It felt good to be home even though the smell was quite putrid. Strange how he never realized it before, but admittedly after getting used to the pure air on Arken this polluted place would test the olfactory senses of any alien nose. What a wonderful smell. He looked up, and all the stars were in the right places; he was home. He smiled happily but said nothing. They walked only a little while before finding a diner. Both ordered coffee since Guival had now developed a taste for it, after Angel introduced it to him in a role-playing exercise. The four hours they waited before putting their plan into action dragged past. They kept themselves busy with working on the

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plan’s detail, and Angel explaining to Guival the customs of earthlings. The strange customs of these earthlings intrigued Guival no end and he asked many questions on the behaviour he observed from the few people that visited the diner. ‘Why do they put their fingers in their noses?’ he asked. ‘That is a disgusting habit, my friend. Cleaning your nose with your finger is socially unacceptable.’ ‘Why is than male staring intently at the front of the female behind the counter?’ Guival seemed perplexed, ‘I sense he finds it stimulating?’ ‘Er… Yes staring at the breast of females is stimulating to most of the males on this planet,’ Angel awkwardly responded. ‘It is also really bad manners to stare like that, and it would get you slapped more often than not.’ ‘Why do they give her that paper before they leave?’ Angel felt a chill shoot down his spine. Shit! We have no money, he thought, why did he not think of that? ‘We are in trouble Jen,’ the name Gemmi chose for Guival. ‘We need that paper to pay for the coffee, and I don’t have any.’ ‘Would you mind if I liberated some for us? I noticed the female keeps placing it in that silver box,’ Guival responded pointing to the cash register. ‘How will you? Oh, I forgot. I think this situation is desperate enough, go ahead.’ They ordered some more coffee and Guival lightly touched her hand as she picked up the empty cups.

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A little while later the waitress headed for the restroom, and Guival followed but only to the door where he quickly transformed. He casually walked to the cash register and took a few notes. A quite obnoxious patron sitting across from him, who had been troubling the waitress since he arrived, reached over and grabbed Guival’s breast. He uttered a distasteful laugh followed with, ‘what big titties you have gorgeo…’ His sentence ended abruptly as the slap rang across the diner. Angel, who inconspicuously observed to restroom for any sign of the returning waitress, sat bolt upright when he heard the slap ring out from the counter. He unfortunately forgot to mention to Guival how hard human females slap, and therefore the patron now sat propped against the wall, approximately 10 feet from where his coffee was getting cold. When Guival returned to his seat he had transformed into Jen again, and a few dollars lined his pocket. The waitress looked confused, the patron looked concussed, and Angel looked constricted, as Jen was now a con. They paid and left in a hurry, with Guival still not understanding why they needed to go that urgently. ‘Did I do something wrong?’ he enquired from Angel. ‘Well you just slapped someone straight into another blood type remember? We do not have time to answer questions when the cops show up,’ Angel answered. ‘But he asked for it and you told me to.’ Angel could not argue with that logic. He kept quiet and proceeded to hail a cab.

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‘Whitehouse,’ he instructed the cab driver. Qren sat staring at the mindcom. Teral’s news left an icy grip on his heart and his blood boiled. His normally unflustered composure was something of the past. ‘Get me Noone,’ he screamed telepathically at the guard, who raced off completely forgetting military protocol. Thoughts rushed through Qren’s mind, Noone, his friend and confidant. It is impossible. There had to be a mistake. There is no way that Noone could be a spy. Noone helped them so much. It was mostly due to him that the UGE is what it is today. He remembered how many hours they spent together just talking on nothing in particular and how they tried to challenge each other in mind-battle, a favourite game on Arken. How Noone fussed over him when he contracted a virus from an alien artefact he had studied. Noone is his friend. One of his commanders returned a few minutes later. ‘We are unable to locate Noone, sir,’ he exclaimed. ‘He seems to have gone off world. His cruiser is gone and he did not submit any clearance documents.’ Qren felt sick to the pit of his stomach. It is true, he thought. He did betray us; betrayed us all. To what fate did he doom the people that cared for him, and why, WHY? ‘Send out every scout ship we have available. I WANT HIM FOUND,’ Qren projected. Only Noone has the answers he thought to himself, like the recipe to his favourite gruel for instance. Qren felt angry and alone, more alone than he ever felt before.

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CHAPTER 30 The four heroes tentatively left the protection of the fighters. Gemmi of course felt this was her show so she ran off ahead, followed closely by Loser. Circular stones of all sizes left the embankment and seemed to pass in front of the edge of the waterfall before continuing to the opposite river bank. Gemmi started playing hopscotch and Loser stayed on her heels one stone behind. ‘STOP!’ the word thundered off the mountain walls as Kirom screamed at the top of his lungs. Gemmi froze and Loser dove for his rucksack. ‘What?’ Gemmi asked irritably when she recovered enough composure to speak. ‘The riddle, remember the riddle, beware the stone of teal, he said, while Gemmi and Loser jumped back to where the other two were waiting. Kirom took a large rock and threw it onto the seventh stone, which appeared a bluish-green colour. Immediately all the stones vanished. The rapidly flowing river would have cut them to shreds on the sharp rocks all the way down to the ocean, if they were traversing the stones. ‘Thank you,’ Gemmi mumbled. They approached the stones, which had subsequently reappeared, with less gusto and a lot more respect. A new obstacle hindered their progress. Neither Kirom nor Gemmi could make the jump from the sixth to the eight stone.

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Kirom suggested Laidin go on ahead, and they would wait for her. ‘I do not think that is the answer to the problem,’ Laidin remarked. ‘The words of the riddle, when cast a thought with gift life brought; I think that means Gemmi needs to activate whatever acts as the Valk’r beacon.’ Gemmi beamed. She was important. ‘How are we going to get her across then? I think I can throw her but if the wind gusts, or if I misjudge the distance she will be killed,’ Kirom speculated. They sat there in sullen silence, but looked up startled when Loser suddenly began chattering wildly. ‘What’s wrong?’ Gemmi asked with deep concern in her voice. However, Loser took up position a way off clearly concentrating very hard. The others stared in amazement. They had never seen a Gerbit transform except when he attempted to hit someone senseless with that someone’s own arm. Loser gradually became 10 feet tall with arms and legs like tree trunks. His muscles rippled as he moved towards Gemmi. He looked like King Kong up close and personal, way too personal for the others’ liking. They would have preferred to see this with Loser behind bars in a Zoo, and by the look of things, preferably bars made of Zellion. Laidin and Kirom backed away slowly. They did not intend to take chances. Gemmi smiled as Loser gently picked her up as if he unsure of his own strength and did not wish to hurt her.

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He effortlessly jumped from the first stone to the eighth and then jumped once more disappearing into the waterfall. Laidin and Kirom exchanged fleeting glances before Laidin followed. Kirom reflected on the world around him as he sat alone in the strange place, wondering what complication he will need to overcome in his quest for the sword. He relished the challenge. In his minds-eye, he could see himself holding the sword. How he victoriously presented it to Angel and how the UGE came together because of his ingenuity and bravery. For once, he would be the hero and not his brother. He loved his brother, but had always lived in his shadow. Brom bested him in everything they shared, and Kirom knew that his brother was the obvious leader of their people. Nevertheless, just once, just this one time he would like to be the one holding the microphone on centre stage and not as a backup singer.

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CHAPTER 31 ‘The Whitehouse my friend,’ Angel gestured, ‘the seat of power of the American people, one of the most powerful nations on this planet.’ The two figures stood on the pavement watching the cab disappear in the distance. Angel kept only enough money for the trip here and the tour. He left the rest to the waitress who probably thought she had hit the jackpot in tips. Angel surmised they would be off in Skibladne no matter what the outcome of today would be, so there was no reason to keep the rest. They entered the Whitehouse and joined one of the tour groups. The tour operator’s voice droned on, and it felt like ages before Angel gave Guival the signal to wander off. Guival slinked down a number of passages until he assumed he had placed enough distance between him and Angel. He took a moment to put on his lost little girl face, before his purposeful, aimless wandering commenced. He did not get very far before he was intercepted by a Secret Service Agent. ‘And where would you be going young lady,’ he asked. ‘I’m lost sir. My daddy is with the tour group. He is going to be so mad,’ Guival stuttered in a quivering voice. ‘Well, let’s just go and find him, shall we,’ the agent said. ‘Thank you mister, thank you so much.’ Guival’s appreciation was unmistakable as he grabbed the Agent’s hand before walking off with him.

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‘Sir, is this your daughter?’ a voice behind Angel asked. ‘There you are! I was looking all over for you. Don’t ever do that again, do you hear me?’ he shouted at Guival who imitated Gemmi to perfection. With a whimpering lip and tears welling up in his eyes, he stared up at Angel. His race is after all entertainers, and this was his bread and butter. ‘Sorry daddy. Thank you Mr. Policeman.’ ‘It was my pleasure little one. Just be careful okay, the president is in a very important meeting, so there are a lot of people like me that are not very friendly today,’ he looked at Angel in an disapproving way. ‘What’s the meeting about?’ Angel asked innocently. ‘Don’t you watch the news? What planet are you from?’ the agent responded sarcastically. If you only knew, Angel mumbled under his breath and then in an audible tone replied, ‘sorry, TV on the fritz again. So what’s it about?’ ‘The five most powerful people on the planet are planning nuclear disarmament,’ the agent added a bit of information for Jen’s sake, ‘that would be us, the Russians, Chinese, British and the President of the EU.’ He continued, ‘if everything goes as planned the earth will be nuke free in 2 years.’ He ruffled Jen’s hair one more time before he walked off. ‘If everything goes according to plan the earth will be nuke free in 2 weeks,’ Angel smiled, shooting a glance at Jen. They managed to split off into a closet-like room. ‘Okay, now for part two of my plan which I got from your floor trick on Skibladne.’

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‘No problem my lord,’ Jen answered. He became like Liquid, first making a puddle on the floor into which Angel stepped. Guival then proceeded to flow up Angel’s body, becoming a second skin. Angel looked in the mirror. The secret service agent stared back at him. ‘Incredible,’ he said in amazement. ‘Thank you,’ Guival thought back. They sneaked out of the closet and headed off to the oval office. Two Secret Service Agents blocked the door. ‘I have an urgent message for the president,’ Angel alleged in a desperate tone. The agent clearly saw the worry on his face and thought better than to interrogate one of his own. He nodded and Angel slipped in. The five leaders were deep in conversation. They did not even notice Angel as he stepped into the room. Angel cleared his throat. ‘Gentleman, this is a quite fortuitous turn of events. I was afraid I would need to visit each of you in turn on separate occasions,’ Angel said in fluent English, Russian, French and Chinese, ‘fated it would seem.’ The translator the Arks installed projected any species’ mother tongue even when Angel did not speak it. It seemed that France was at the head of the EU for the current six months. Five heads around the table jerked up and silence befell the room before the president of the USA recovered.

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‘Who are you and what are you doing in here,’ his irritable voice rang clear around the oval office. ‘I came to save your lives of course and ensure the continued existence of this planet,’ Angel replied simply. ‘Get out,’ The President of the USA shouted now visibly upset. Angel ignored this, ‘gentleman, it would be a grave error if you should disarm your nuclear arsenal. You will need every last warhead in the next couple of weeks if the earth is to survive.’ ‘Are you a madman?’ The Chinese President asked without feeling in his voice except for a slightly comical inquisitiveness. The other delegates wondered why the Chinese President spoke to Angel in Chinese when Angel was obviously British… er, Russian… I mean French. ‘No sir I am not a madman, but for the next few minutes I shall sound like one.’ ‘Jackson, Smith we have an intruder!’ yelled the president. The two secret service agents burst into the room, one hurriedly talked on his radio and both scrambled for their pistols. Angel stood unmoved. He barely blinked. A smile gently played across his face. Nothing thus far has been unexpected. Ten more agents piled through the door, all confused as to where the intruder was. ‘Take this man into custody,’ the President ordered pointing to Angel. ‘Now?’ Guival thought to Angel. ‘Now,’ Angel thought back.

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Guival became like liquid for the second time flowing from Angel. Nobody moved, but the mystified secret service agents kept their weapons aimed at Angel. Angel however did move. He became a blur as he moved from agent to agent, too fast for any mortal eye to follow, even though some tried and got a terrible headache. Less than two second later, he stood in the same spot he had occupied earlier. Guivalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transformation was still in progress and Angel smiled as he sensed the confusion. The agents pointed guns without barrels at him. He had neatly stacked all the barrels on the table in front of the delegates. A deafening silence followed. They stared at Angel as if he was an alien, and at Guival whom they had very little doubt was an alien. The President of the USA recovered enough to ask in a shaky voice. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What are you?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He felt the fear. He could smell it from every corner of the room. This after the day started out so nicely with the leaders very close to reaching an agreement on how they should proceed with disarmament. He already imagined the adoration, and the recognition as the greatest President ever, the one who saved the earth from itself. Now his day was most likely ruined. How badly would soon become apparent.

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‘Me? I am human, or I used to be few months ago. This is Guival, he is Aesir,’ Angel answered. ‘Would you kindly ask the agents to leave, we mean you no harm. We travelled a long way to save your planet.’ He rather said your planet instead of our planet, since things were confusing enough. The President waved the agents out feeling that if these two intended to kill them, they would have done so by now. ‘That was a nice party trick, and I must admit the blue guy’s makeup is exquisite, but what do you really want from me? Do you need money or to free some political hostages?’ He continued to recover his composure rapidly. This did not sit well with Angel. He preferred the Presidents to be without composure, as that would make them think less and believe more. He definitely did not need a load of thinkers right now. ‘Sir, there is an invasion force heading for earth. They will reach your planet in approximately 8 days. Earth will not be able to defend against them but you might buy enough time for the cavalry to arrive.’ He got their attention. They definitely took a step back in the composure standings. ‘I know this is impossible to believe and we did not wish to involve you as we felt the earth is not ready to be enlightened to the existence of other civilizations and species. We had no other alternative Mr. President. If you do not aid us in protecting your planet then there will be nothing left for us to protect.’ He looked at their most satisfying reactions, then added, ‘please follow me,’ in a tone that would serve a third grade teacher well.

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A tone that meant, ‘do not even contemplate disobeying me, or else,’ and everybody who heard it would know that there was actually an, ‘or else,’ that would follow. They followed cautiously. The Secret Service kept at a safe distance but no one interfered with the assembly’s progress to the Whitehouse lawn. Angel looked at them and smiled. ‘Gentleman, I wish to introduce you to the lady,’ he said while using the beacon to call Skibladne. The air shimmered and moments later the beautiful ship filled the sky, hovering inches from the ground. Angel commanded her to land and shut off her engines, but did not lower her shields immediately. His eyes did not leave the congregation of agents and leaders. He felt like grinning as he saw the look on their faces. The pride he felt threatened to make his chest explode. Skibladne looked even more amazing than he remembered her to be. Admiration slowly replaced the fear on the faces of the leaders, followed by, ‘why don’t I have one of these. What good is it being the head of a powerful nation and I do not have one of these.’ The stairs slowly descended from the bowels of the lady. ‘Gentlemen, please accompany me aboard,’ he commanded. One of the agents, Angel assumed him to be the agent in charge, intensely protested, ‘sir, I must protest. You cannot do this. We know nothing of these people.’ ‘Yes, you are correct, but look at the beautiful plane he’s got. No species that’s all bad could make something this beautiful,’ The President defended. ‘Sir, I must object! What about the Sirens.’

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‘The Sirens are mythology.’ ‘Yes sir, but so is this.’ ‘I promise I’ll avoid all beautiful singing females.’ ‘Sir, she is called the lady and I am sure I heard her humming just now.’ The President ignored him and continued to climb into the lady, closely followed by the other heads of state. Curiosity overwhelmed them, and none intended to back down before the other. Pride was at stake. They followed Angel to the command deck. Their eyes were wide with amazement and blinking was not an option. They might miss something cool. He asked them to take a seat and activated the hollow projector in the middle of the room. Angel had the presence of mind to command Skibladne to reactivate her shields just in case some idiot in a tank on the Whitehouse lawn did something stupid and a shell bouncing off Skibladne’s hull hurt someone. The shield would disintegrate the shell. His mindcom beeped. ‘I’m a little busy right now,’ the leaders heard him speak to some unseen entity. Angel chose to speak in words rather than only thoughts for the benefit of the guests. ‘Yes my lord we know, but we need your guidance urgently,’ Laidin’s thoughts came over the mindcom. ‘Gentleman, please excuse me for a second.’ He directed this remark at the delegates before he turned his back on them, and continued speaking with thoughts. ‘Sorry for the interruption,’ Angel paused to gather his thoughts before he proceeded.

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‘I know you have many questions which I shall not answer at present like, what does this button do, but what I do need to explain very clearly is the threat you are facing, and what we intend to do to help you.’ He studied their expressions. ‘Please bear with me and keep your questions for later.’ The premiere started on the holo projector, the most gruesome horror movie ever made. All that lacked was the popcorn and a blanket to cover your head.

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CHAPTER 32 In halls of pale, an accurate description of the limestone caverns behind the waterfall Laidin thought. A number of them branched off from the great central cavern in which they now stood, all connected by passages. Unlike the previous ruins, decorated by carvings and pictograms these walls appeared eerily blank, just bleak caverns leading to the next bleak cavern. ‘So what do we do now?’ Gemmi asked desperately as she stared at the endless labyrinth before her. ‘I do not know, we might consider the riddle again,’ Laidin suggested. ‘Well, No sense will serve the path to expose, means very little to me.’ ‘Nor me,’ Laidin concurred. ‘Loser, would you be kind enough to fetch Kirom.’ Loser nodded and disappeared through the veil of water without a sound. Seconds later he reappeared with a struggling, red-faced Kirom slung over his shoulder. ‘Of all the indignities,’ he roared. ‘My apologies my dear friend, but we are at a loss and since you are the expert on caverns, we were in desperate need of your guidance.’ ‘Well in that case, let us see what we may see,’ Kirom answered, brushing off some imaginary dust.

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‘Usually when you need to find a way out of a really difficult maze of caverns you follow your nose to fresh air; but from the riddle it seems we are not allowed to use our senses.’ ‘I know, I know,’ Gemmi excitedly screamed, ‘I know what it means.’ ‘Think about the next lines, sightless Valk’r of silent nerve will follow the odourless rose. Look at the words sightless, silent, and odourless. Those are non senses,’ she beamed proudly at the crew. ‘Well done Gemmi,’ Laidin acknowledged her ingenuity. ‘In order of appearance our first passage needs to test our sight, or lack thereof. I propose that one,’ Laidin pointed towards one of the passages. ‘They are all dark?’ Gemmi indicated perplexed. ‘Trust me little one, that one is darker,’ Laidin confirmed. ‘She has the El sight, Gemmi,’ Kirom explained, ’just trust her.’ They cautiously proceeded with Kirom in the lead. Even Laidin’s elf vision could not penetrate the darkness in the next cavern, but to a dwarf working in complete darkness quickly became second nature. He skilfully avoided all the obstacles and seemingly bottomless pits that adorned the passage. It took the better part of 10 minutes before the cavern became lighter again. Kirom could not explain the light’s origins, but the walls pulsated with a dull glow. They came to the next set of cavern entrances. ‘Next sense,’ Kirom affirmed, ‘I believe that would be silence.’ They walked from entrance to entrance listening for nothing.

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Again only one of the entrances did not present them with the sound of rolling waves or wind or dripping water. The tunnel appeared completely devoid of sound. ‘This is very clever. If anyone were lost in here he would follow water or air, not silence,’ Kirom explained. ‘Yes and they would definitely not follow the darkest passage either, as we did. Very clever,’ Laidin admitted. The foursome cautiously proceeded. Another few minutes and yet again they reached more cavern entrances. ‘Odourless is up next,’ Kirom established. ‘It’s no use,’ Gemmi’s voice cut the silence, ‘they all have smell, damp and limey,’ she signed after they had visited all the tunnel entrances. ‘I concur,’ Laidin added, ‘we must have overlooked some crucial piece of information, unless the composition of these caves changed since they created the riddle. If that is the case my friends we are in a dire predicament.’ ‘I don’t think these caves are allowed to change,’ Kirom responded thoughtfully. ‘Explain?’ Laidin requested. ‘Well, we know the fog is to keep intruders out, but it seems the veil serves another purpose, to keep time in. It seems as if the caverns behind the waterfall are in some kind of stasis field, everything inside ages and changes very slowly. I noticed that when we came in. Everything inside the caverns seemed a lot younger than what the outside island would suggest,’ Kirom replied.

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‘So then the riddle is a dead end?’ Gemmi inquired. ‘Not necessarily,’ Kirom seemed deep in thought. ‘I don’t think the riddle meant using our senses on another cavern entrance. Remember the first two clues referred to the Valk’r, but the last one to a rose. I think we should look for a rose or at least a carving or wall marking of one. This would still make it an odourless rose.’ The four excitedly started searching the cavern entrances. Angel had the foresight to show them how a rose looked before they left since none of them had ever seen one. It took almost half an hour before Laidin beckoned excitedly to where Loser did an impression of a Super-bowl victory dance. ‘Loser found it, Look.’ Just a little inside the entrance a small stalagmite perfectly resembled a rose. Kirom stared at it in admiration. ‘So beautiful,’ he whispered overcome with emotion. ‘Let’s go my friend,’ Laidin suggested when she noticed that Kirom might be staring at the rose for the rest of the day. The quartet picked up the pace and not long after the path opened up into yet another cavern. This one had no tunnels leaving it. There were also nothing else in the cavern, just the pale dull pulsating cavern walls and floors.

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CHAPTER 33 A panicky voice reached Sharin’s pointy ears. ‘We have a UGE cruiser that just entered scanner range, princess.’ ‘Wow, really, you are not serious, a real cruiser with engines and everything?’ sarcasm dripped from her voice and a substantial puddle formed on the floor. ‘It’s not part of the fleet princess. It is not transmitting the correct fleet id,’ the petrified voice came again. ‘Then find out who it is!’ Sharin yelled. She was not in the mood for games and she did not like surprises. ‘The cruiser is not responding to hails. Scans reveal it to be senator Noone’s.’ What would Noone be doing way out here? she thought to herself. ‘Get me Qren,’ she commanded. ‘Mam,’ the nervous voice hesitantly replied, ‘break radio silence?’ ‘Oh no, I meant you should walk there and then go ask him personally,’ Sharin fumed, ’of course I mean break radio silence you fool.’ A few moments later, ‘Princess, we have huge problems,’ Qren’s urgent thoughts reached her mind. ‘Something to do with Noone I bet.’ ‘How did you know?’ Qren asked puzzled.

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‘His cruiser just went past like a Werten1 out of hell.’ ‘There is more to it than that. He’s the spy!’ Qren responded in anguish.

1 Werten, the black bullet like creature which seem to propel itself with a fart, it could travel extremely fast on this gaseous propulsion method generated in its stomach.

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‘Princess it is imperative that you capture him! I cannot stress the importance of this enough. You must bring him back to Arken.’ ‘Was that an order Qren?’ she spat. ‘No your highness, of course not, it is simply an urgent request. Please your majesty,’ Qren replied. ‘I know you like the old man but is he really that important?’ she added venomously. Qren gave her a quick report of the others’ findings. ‘The bastard,’ she rang off without saying goodbye. A few seconds later her cruiser and several corvettes, sped after the fleeing senator’s cruiser. Sharin ran at full burn for almost a day and a half, but still did not make huge inroads in capturing Noone’s cruiser. Apparently, it was no slouch either. She had placed a few million miles between her and her retinue, but instead of bothering her, it made her more hyperactive. If Noone decides to fight he will die, she thought. Boredom snuck up on the impatient princess. This was taking way to long. She wanted him caught now, right now. She tapped out her irritation on her command chair, which irritated everyone else on the command deck, but not visibly, never visibly. She finally snapped. ‘Ready my fighter!’ If the El could read minds, the sighs across the bridge would have been deafening.

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No more waiting around, time for action. She commanded an exceptionally quick fighter, so too did the special death squad of dark-El she had recruited as her bodyguard and tactical team. The Royal Demons were the closest translation for their elven name. She had spared no expense in outfitting them with the best technology and equipment available to El. They would haul in the renegade cruiser in no time and keep him busy until her cruiser arrived. An hour later, she could smell the exhaust fumes from Noone’s cruiser and her squadron deployed in battle formation. ‘A little closer, just a little and I’ll have a lock on you, you bastard,’ she smirked, ‘you better pray and hope your gods can listen real quickly.’ Sharin flew directly behind Noone with her fighters spread in a ‘V’ behind her, but nowhere close to her for obvious reasons. Noone’s cruiser started reducing speed. ‘He’s giving up, the coward,’ she thought disappointedly. Then a vision of nightmare proportions began. She saw the rolling red and yellow clouds like a breaking wave approach. <Blink> She saw it bend around Noone’s cruiser and her fighter since she was directly behind the betrayer. <Blink> She saw her own squadron evaporate into thin air. <Blink>

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She saw the green light from a tractor beam hit her fighter leaving her with no control. <Blink> She saw the inside of the monstrous hangar bay. <Blink> Then she saw nothing. Someone else watched in horror as this disturbing episode unfolded. ‘What are we going to do sir?’ the lieutenant anxiously asked, ‘they’ve got her.’ The stunned commander looked on in petrified silence. What he saw in front of him filled him with the kind of dread only the nightmares of a small child dreaming of the walker-monster could describe. ‘We can do nothing for her now,’ he meekly responded, ‘we need to warn the UGE council.’ ‘But sir…’ the lieutenant began. ‘No buts; and I have seen the way you look at hers.’ ‘I have not sir,’ the lieutenant looked shocked. ‘You must admit it is a nice one,’ the commander said dreamily. ‘Yeah…’ the lieutenant replied in the same way. ‘Even though it is attached to a Croman1,’ the commander concluded, snapping back to reality. ‘But, it is too late to save her 1

The Croman was a little black ball of hatred. It despises everything. Even if the target were as big as a house and not necessarily breathing, it would still try to bite its head off on principle. One of these agitated, hyperactive creatures once tried to kill Skibladne.

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butt now, lieutenant. We cannot hope to attack those monstrosities.’ He felt quite comfortable discussing her rear while she was a long way away and most probably not going to return. He continued, ‘get us out of here, maximum burn. Warn the corvettes and order the entire fleet to retreat to Arken. Now lieutenant!’ he barked. He did not feel the need to commit suicide, not for her anyway.

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CHAPTER 34 Alra’st smiled. He was in his fighter and Kra’st was far behind him. Alone and happy, he studied the approaching blue planet. ‘Attack formation, fighters will lead the way. The landing party will follow behind.’ Alra’st felt sure no one on earth knew of what was about to befall them. A fighter exploded a little way off and took out most of his own squadron in the process. ‘What the hell?’ Alra’st was dumbstruck. Whole squadrons of fighters went down in flames, or more accurately, went nowhere in flames since they were still in space. Immense explosions rocked his ship. ‘WHAT’S GOING ON?’ he screamed into his communicator at his support ships. ‘It’s missiles sir, hundreds of missiles leaving the planet’s surface.’ ‘HOW, THEY DO NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITY!’ he bellowed. ‘Raise shields, barrage attack, shoot down those missiles. Keep firing!’ he screamed into his communicator. We have not even fired a shot, he thought. What bloodthirsty species would just start shooting without first finding out what the intentions of the other party is? However, they seem to be ready, almost as if they were expecting us. No, that is an insane thought. We would have picked up a UGE fleet on scanners. I do not understand. Do they really know our intentions or are they just guessing?

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Fewer and fewer of the missiles hit, some got through to his Landers with the troops and assault vehicles. He had less than a third of his initial forces left, but they were still more than enough to deliver a decent invitation to this planet, and right now he was badly pissed-off. ‘Head for the largest concentrations of life, and destroy at will. Destroy this puny planet. Let their blood form rivers in the streets,’ Alra’st spat. The bloodlust in the cheers from his fleet elevated his own need for vengeance and fuelled his hatred for this specie. They were going to pay for the damage to his fleet, and for making him come all the way out here. They were going to pay for him having to listen to Kra’st’s incessant questions and for him having to leave his home world unprotected. They were going to pay for their insolence and they were going to pay for not understanding any of this. His forces split, with thousands of fighters, bombers and landers setting course for their individual targets. Alra’st still could not understand how earth managed to obtain so much firepower. This completely contradicted the intelligence they had on this planet. His cakewalk had turned into a food fight, and although covered in jelly, he still held a cream pie with a brick in the middle. He wanted to cream some faces and crack some skulls. They will have their just deserts.

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CHAPTER 35 ‘Concentrate,’ Laidin implored her young charge, ‘You must focus.’ Half an hour had passed since she spoke to Angel and received the final piece of the puzzle. The line in the riddle that read, from fire of the mind the cry lead, means Brisingamen. Brising meant fire or fire of the mind, and men meant jewel. This was Freyja’s most prized possession, the jewel whose power no one may resist. This line had Angel quite puzzled so he had Skibladne do a little research just in case. It all made sense now, the power to control and summon her followers came from the jewel. Her mind joined with the jewel could make her disciples come to her from anywhere on the planet. It must act as some kind of thought amplifier. Just how dangerous was this woman? Laidin wondered. ‘Please Gemmi, concentrate, you must,’ Laidin pleaded. ‘Concentrate on what, Laidin?’ Gemmi sounded desperate. The one thing required of her on this journey, her one special task of the mission, and she did not know how to do it. She wanted to die. Nothing in the cavern screamed, pick me, you need to concentrate on me. She blindly needed to focus on something she had never seen, and which might or might not be in this place. Laidin hoped that if she focussed on this unseen jewel it might reveal its location.

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Loser came up from behind and put his arm around her neck while he laid his head on her shoulder. She could feel his sadness for her; it made her feel better somehow, comforted. ‘Here,’ they heard Kirom’s cry. In the centre of the room on the floor, he found the carving of a small rose. It was barely visible, almost indistinguishable from the dust to the naked eye, but Kirom’s eyes were far from naked. With those huge lashes, nobody would refer to them as naked. In any event, his people noticed the smallest change in texture and shape of rock formations or sediment patterns. This could mean a deposit of some or other precious metal and Kirom was a master prospector. Gemmi squinted at the rose, but nothing happened. She concentrated so hard that she thought her brain was going to implode; still nothing happened. ‘It’s not working,’ she screamed in anguish. ‘Gemmi, calm yourself,’ Laidin said in a soothing voice. ‘Endeavour not to concentrate on the rose, but rather ask the rose for the jewel. Speak to the rose as if it is protecting the jewel, okay?’ ‘Okay I’ll try,’ Gemmi did not have much hope for this succeeding either. It was only the faintest of tremor. Gemmi tried harder, and there it was again. Gemmi kept concentrating and this time the rumbling grew louder. Ancient mechanics were at work; they could hear cogs grinding. A pedestal rose from beneath the rose, and in the centre laid the most beautiful stone Kirom had ever seen. A jewel with its

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own light inside, a fire, a soul and it seemed to be looking directly at them. Gemmi and Loser danced around the pedestal, and a broad smile played on the lips of Kirom and Laidin as they glanced at each other. ‘Gemmi dear, your task is not complete, you must still summon the Valk’r,’ Laidin remarked softly. Gemmi regained her composure. She felt an ancient call embedded in every fibre of her tiny little body, and it almost felt as if the jewel was guiding her. She knew exactly what to do. She gently lifted the jewel dangling on a golden chain and put it around her neck. She sat down cross-legged and closed her eyes. A few moments later the jewel began to glow brightly, and Loser began to scream. ‘It’s all right Loser, Gemmi is in no danger,’ Kirom told the little animal. The light became so bright that none of them could look at Gemmi. Then the wailing began, the vociferous banshee scream rose and it cut through skin and bone. All but Gemmi were kneeling on the ground covering their ears, the pain threatened to consume them. The deafening silence followed. Kirom tried to speak to Laidin, asking her if she was all right. She saw his lips move but she could hear nothing. No one but Gemmi could hear; the jewel seemed to have protected her. They decided to go to sleep and wait.

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Even an overexcited Gemmi surrendered to sleep after a few hours of fruitlessly guarding the entrance. Kirom and Laidin were deep in a hushed conversation when Loser finally awoke. They seemed to have regained their hearing in part, but Loser’s sensitive little ears still buzzed madly. Gemmi rhythmically breathed next to him and Loser did not wish to wake her. The jewel around her neck pulsated in harmony with her breathing as if it was asleep too. He gently lifted her arm that she had tightly wound around him and shuffled off to find water. ‘Do you remember when we were stranded on Reva?’ Kirom asked Laidin. ‘Yes my dear friend, you dug a shelter with your bare hands when the neutron storm appeared from nowhere,’ Laidin smiled. ‘Quite correct, but it was you who managed to adapt your shield to protect us from the neutron barrage.’ ‘And you who found the water deposit, incidentally, the only one for hundreds of miles around.’ Kirom had a faraway look in his eyes as he fondly remembered the adventure. ‘You managed to kill a Grey Farren1. I have never heard of anyone do that without a serious scrambler helmet and plasma

The Grey Farren is a bear-like creature with enormous spines running from it back, its head more closely resembles an insect with thousands of eyes. The biggest problem with hunting this creature is that it could sense brain wave patterns even through the most protective scrambler helmets. When it sensed you wish to kill it, it would simply run away or roll on you impaling you on the

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cannon. Even the greatest hunters in the universe concur that the beast is near impossible to kill.’ ‘Yes my friend but good fortune favours the brave, and the desperate. If not for your water and the beast’s flesh, we would surely have succumbed to that treacherous planet,’ Laidin answered. ‘We do make a great team, don’t we?’ ‘That we do my dwarven brother; that we do.’ ‘I would not want to share this adventure with any other in the universe.’ ‘Nor would I Kirom, I may trust few, but you I trust with my entire being.’ Kirom squeezed his friend’s hand as if to say, ditto. The team knew it would be a while before the Valk’r arrived, but even the ever patient Laidin began to doubt whether the call had worked. It was however impossible to judge how much time had passed in this place. ‘Maybe we should send out the call again,’ Gemmi suggested. ‘They might have ignored it the first time, or maybe we sent it incorrectly,’ Laidin added. ‘This island is a long way from anywhere. It could take a while for them to return here, but you might be right.’

spines. Oh and it should be mentioned that these creatures at full gallop have been heard to break the sound barrier.

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Kirom did not mind the surroundings much, but it definitely got to the others. ‘I will send out the…’ Gemmi’s words faded with Loser’s tiny little finger on her lips. He anxiously looked at Laidin, who listened intently and silently motioned for the others to prepare themselves. It took a while before the rest of the team heard the noise too, like the rushing of many little feet.

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CHAPTER 36 ‘We are doomed,’ the despondent reply came from the President of the United States. ‘We cannot withstand an invasion force of that size, with their technological superiority,’ the French President concurred. ‘Yes Mr. President you are correct, but you can at least try, and hopefully hold out long enough for help to arrive,’ Angel returned softly. ‘Why would your alien friends want to help us?’ enquired the Chinese leader, ‘they owe us nothing.’ ‘Er, that is a very difficult question to answer. You see it is sort of their fault that the invasion force, which is called the Taur as a matter of interest, learnt of this planet.’ Angel did not see the relevance of informing them that earth was the breeding ground for the UGE leaders. ‘Why are they so interested in destroying us?’ the British Prime Minister was not about to let up, and he kept asking questions Angel did not wish to answer. ‘They are afraid of what we could mean in a war against them some time in the future.’ That is partly true, Angel thought, the UGE leader would play an integral part if there were to be a war in their galaxy. ‘So step on the snakes head while it is still an infant?’ The President of the Chinese Peoples Republic added. ‘Something to that effect,’ Angel agreed, ‘but sometimes a baby snake is just as lethal as the parent. If you underestimate it, you will be in for a big surprise.’

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‘What is that supposed to mean?’ the President of Russian Federation demanded, he had been exceptionally quiet up until now. ‘It means that they have outdated information on your capabilities. It means they did not anticipate how rapidly you developed, and it also means that they will not be prepared to deal with the venom of the baby snake.’ ‘You mentioned, when we first met, that you were human. I am correct in assuming this is part of the reason for this invasion,’ the Chinese leader asked in a composed tone, with an unmistakable intelligent glint in his eye. ‘I am, and it is, but please do not ask how. I will explain in due course,’ Angel replied with a hint of urgency to, with any luck, dissuade more questions like this. ‘I shall have Skibladne drop you off at your respective homes. You have much to do and very little time. Skibladne brought as much equipments and weapons as she could carry. This will be evenly distributed among the nations.’ ‘You must contact all other nuclear powers and convey this same message to them. I have created these videodisks, which you may use to convince anyone who might doubt you.’ ‘I shall be in contact when Skibladne detects the invasion force’s approach in at most eight days. This is all the time we have.’ Angel looked at each of them in turn. ‘Prepare well gentlemen.’ ‘I believe this is where I leave you, though I must admit I would have loved to fly in this masterpiece.’ The President of the USA remarked as Angel lowered the stairs.

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‘I have asked Skibladne to unload your allocation of the equipment Mr President. I would suggest you deploy the shield generators around your most vulnerable targets immediately. Help will arrive soon to aid your technicians in setting up the equipment. Goodbye Mr. President, I hope to grant your wish soon,’ Angel said as he waved goodbye and ordered Skibladne to set course for Mother Russia. It was en-route that Skibladne started speaking again and caused Angel to spill his coffee. ‘Dammit,’ he said glaring at Skibladne, she ignored him and continued. #Request: Remote teleportation sequence initialized# #Verify: DNA verification Laidin successful# #Verify: DNA verification Kirom successful# #Weapon: Mjolnir teleport sequence successful# #Weapon: Bow of Odin teleport sequence successful# Fear raced uncontrolled through Angel’s mind, and it was a terrible driver. His team must be in trouble. He must contact them. Lobe spoke for the first time in ages. ‘If you contact them it might distract them, you should rather wait for them to contact you.’ ‘You are right, but it is infuriating not knowing what is happening.’ ‘Yes, emotions, that is one trait I prefer to leave with you,’ was LOBE’s ever-faithful response. ‘They can take care of themselves, don’t worry. Rather concern yourself with your guests.’

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CHAPTER 37 Arken did not feature in the top ten places Qren would have liked to be right now. It ranked below timeshare on a prison planet and a condominium on the sun. He would have rather listened to Brom singing the dwarf song, ‘Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho It’s off to work I go, with a bucket and a spade and an ion grenade Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho.’ He had now modernized this into a rap version thanks to Angel’s invaluable input. Something in the line of, ‘yoyo Hi-Ho, to work yo, Hi-Ho, lets Blow Yo-yo-yo.’ Even the hilarious image of Brom doing the finger pointing and baggy pants thing did little to improve Qren’s current mood. I am no war leader; I am an engineer. That is what the UGE Lord is for, Qren thought in anguish, repressing the thought that he was also a part time kidnapper. He let his head drop to his desk. How can he defend all of UGE space against this murderous force, with technology far superior to anything the El commanders could even begin to describe? His mind drifted aimlessly to the council he had with the returning El commanders. ‘From the footage we have of the invasion force, we could discern markings similar to those found on the ancient artefacts,’ the commander told him.

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‘We must assume that they are the ancients returning,’ another remarked. ‘For what purpose, what could we have they need?’ Qren asked. ‘We do not know yet sir. Our fleet was deep in Taur space, and from what we could surmise, doing long range scans in the direction the ancients came from, they were doing the same as us to the Taur planets.’ ‘Only, where we destroyed military targets, they left entire planets devoid of sentient life,’ the commander replied biting his lip. ‘With very little damage to the planet’s environment,’ he added. He did not enjoy needless slaughtering at all, even on the Taur. Qren stared at him. ‘We know Noone betrayed us and that he is probably one of the ancients, could it be that he played both sides? Have our armies destroy each other somewhere far, far away, where they could do no damage to the planets. Then the ancients could just walk in and take what they wanted with no resistance?’ ‘It is possible,’ a commander remarked. ‘However, with their superior armaments they could wipe out all our fleets without taking a single casualty on their side, or even slow down.’ ‘Yet another question would be; why would Noone help us all these years to become an advance species, and then destroy us?’ another commander questioned. ‘He must have been contacted by the ancients quite recently,’ was the only sensible thought coming from the room.

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‘I think he was coerced by the thought of being reunited with his fellow ancients.’ ‘I don’t believe that!’ Qren cried. ‘This was his home for thousands of years; he would not just let us be slaughtered.’ ‘Sir you know it is common knowledge that he has been searching for his people since we first made his acquaintance. He has launched many probes and built huge frequency scanners in order to find them. If his yearning was this great to be reunited, he is probably not thinking rationally.’ ‘Please, leave me now,’ Qren let the word dribble softly into the minds of the commanders. ‘The further we get from Arken the less I like this,’ Brom said broodingly. He had been irritable since the thought of Noone’s mistake formed in his mind. Teral had only a slightly more upbeat disposition, since he had a score to settle on the other side. Driven by vengeance and the thought of retribution for Taur crimes against his people filled his thoughts. Nevertheless, he shared his friend’s concerns. Things were definitely not as they should be. The two stared at each other as they have done countless times since they entered the jump. Brom jumped to his feet. ‘That’s it,’ he roared, ‘I am going back.’ ‘But I shall need your guidance old friend when we meet the Taur,’ Teral confessed without much conviction.

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He also felt his friend’s presence back home would serve the purpose much better. ‘You’ll be fine. You have fought this fight for a long time Teral. I have faith in you, as does the whole UGE. I shall just be in the way with so much else on my mind, and would it not lighten yours that I am taking care of problems back home?’ Brom enquired. ‘That it will; that it will.’ He smiled at Brom. He knew he would not be able to change his friend’s mind. It would lead to a pointless and futile argument he could never win. ‘Go now, quickly.’ ‘Be safe and victorious.’ ‘And you Brom. Till we meet again, and boast of our exploits.’ Brom ran down to the hanger where his fighter stood waiting for him, thanks to Teral. Changing direction in a jump had never been attempted before, since time did not exist in the jump, nor did space or propulsion for that matter. The jump sucks you in and spits you out the other side at the same speed you entered the jump. Since time and space did however exist aboard the cruiser, Brom had a plan. The UGE Lord Einstein theorized that it would theoretically be possible to reverse course. If the forward speed of the ship when it entered the jump could be overcome by a second ship moving inside the first, but in the opposite direction at speed exceeding the forward momentum of the first ship. The second ship would end up at the origin jump point. Brom had a simple plan.

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If he used the rear-docking bay, and he could gain enough speed, greater than the cruiser’s forward momentum the jump should spit him out at the jump point in UGE space. If he did not achieve the required speed, he would most probably be stuck in no-space forever. Well that was the theory anyway. ‘Wish me luck my friend,’ Brom said into his mindcom, and powered his engines to maximum. He shot off with his beard covering his eyes, and easily overtook the forward momentum the cruisers had on entering the jump, before he exited Teral’s cruiser. What Brom could not take into account was if the cruiser had increased speed in the jump, since there were no such things as measuring speed or time in the jump. He had to pray it had not. Immediately after he left the cruiser it disappeared and he was in his own world filled with lots of nothing. Now he had to wait until he emerged from the jump, and hope he was on the right side, but mostly that he would actually emerge somewhere.

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CHAPTER 38 The four explorers calmly stood watching the growing crowd of females. They looked quite ordinary. Not the warrior woman Gemmi had imagined they would be, with leather skirts and boots, silver breastplates and helmets with feathers, though they did have swords strapped to their back. They were all dressed in figure hugging black outfits with high collars and black boots, and they definitely had the figures to hug. The girls shared three traits. They were lean and toned. They all had a gleam of intelligence in their eyes and they all looked like someone you will not throw a wolf whistle at and expect to keep chewing with your own teeth. ‘What are you doing in the sacred chambers and who summoned us?’ asked a female who seemed to be the leader, a young beautiful green-eyed girl, probably in her early twenties. However, her most striking feature, and this mesmerized Kirom, was her hair. It looked as if made from pure gold. She had two golden bars on each collar, which seemed to be the only divergence between her uniform and the others behind her. ‘You don’t seem old enough to be Gemkel,’ Laidin remarked in a puzzled tone, ‘would you mind fetching her, we have urgent business to discuss.’ ‘How do you know of Gemkel and again who are you?’ she only now noticed the necklace around Gemmi’s neck. ‘How dare you touch the sacred jewel!’ she screamed at Gemmi.

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‘Calm your tongue less you lose it woman,’ Kirom fumed as he glared at the golden haired girl. Loser sensing the danger had grown to the size of a truck. ‘Valk’r. To arms, and destroy the blasphemers,’ the golden haired girl ordered and jumped at Gemmi, sword glinting in the solemn glow emanating from the walls. The bow of Odin appeared in Laidin’s hand as if by magic. Her movement blurred as she deflected the Valk’r’s blow with little effort leaving a very confused looking attacker staring at her and the bow-staff. The Valk’r attacked repeatedly, and with each attack, her blows became more difficult to block as they increased in desperation. This girl is quick; too quick, Laidin thought. I have never seen anyone except maybe a UGE lord move this fast. She is almost as fast as Angel is. I had better end this now before she gets lucky, and she does seem like someone who got lucky often. The only reason Laidin could keep up is from 200 years of practice in anticipating moves. Laidin swept her feet from beneath her, and laid the bow’s blade securely across her throat. ‘Yield,’ she commanded. ‘Never,’ the golden haired girl defiantly returned. Laidin pressed the point, with a little more force. The girl sighed and let her sword roll from her hands. Over her shoulder, Laidin saw Loser with four Valk’r in a vice like grip, while another six lay unconscious around him. Mjolnir whirred around the dwarf’s head and the other Valk’r was doing well to stay out of its way. A few of the Valk’r were dancing around Gemmi, something like a ballet of very inept ballerinas.

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Laidin smiled, she must have taken control of their minds. She probably did not even need my intervention Laidin thought, I should not underestimate this mental midget. She took a moment to take pleasure in the exceptional proficiency of the team. ‘Hold your positions,’ Laidin commanded. ‘Gemmi control Loser,’ she ordered and then continued in an even more composed manner. ‘If you are quite finished with this futile endeavour of yours, I think an introduction is in order. We are from the UGE, and I am Laidin of the El. This is Kirom of the Dwar, Loser of the Gerbit and Gemmi of the Valk’r,’ nodding at each in turn. ‘Valk’r? She is one of us?’ the commander gave a less than confident reply. Laidin felt a little taken aback. The girl did not give any recognition to the fact that she stood, or rather lay, in the presence of Dwar and an El. ‘She cannot be. Unless. She is the daughter of Gemkel. But that is impossible?’ The golden haired Valk’r remarked in an inquisitive tone while getting up and dusting her clothes. ‘We have introduced ourselves. Please return the favour in kind,’ Laidin commanded slightly bemused. ‘The name given to me by Gemkel is Ricci. I was trained by Gemkel before she passed away to keep the Valk’r safe until the successor arrived.’ She intently studied Gemmi. ‘But that is only in another 16 years.’ ‘Gemkel is deceased, how?’ Kirom demanded ignoring Ricci’s confusion.

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‘She fell ill 2 years into her reign. We could do nothing for her, since the illness seemed to be of alien origin and must have lain dormant. She passed away a few months later, and I have been in command for the past 5 years,’ Ricci explained and seemed to grow in confidence as she did. ‘Now will you answer some of my questions?’ ‘Yes but first, I think, we should find more comfortable surroundings. It is a long story, and we have very little time,’ Laidin did not intend to hang around these sombre caverns much longer. ‘Sure. Please try and keep up,’ Ricci scoffed while she walked towards the tunnel they first entered, followed by half a dozen Valk’r who were still mobile. ‘I will send a medical team for the rest of you,’ she unhappily remarked to her fallen kin. The team followed her for what seemed to be an hour or so. They arrived in an inconspicuous room in which Ricci spoke one word, ‘Down.’ The whole cavern started to shake and then the floor began a rapid descent. It took quite a while before it came to a standstill again. The platform started moving sideways so swiftly that Gemmi lost her footing and fell down. She sat laughing and played with Loser for the rest of the journey. ‘Follow me,’ Ricci commanded, walking to one of the tunnel entrances. The tunnel broke into a beautifully decorated reception hall, like that of an extremely wealthy cooperation. They walked passed a room that seemed to be a command centre with display

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screens and consoles, then laboratories and high-tech engineering facilities. They saw libraries and weapon testing facilities, armouries, sleeping quarters and mess halls. It seemed to be an endless journey before they finally entered a room furnished with comfortable couches and coffee tables. ‘Please take a seat,’ Ricci pointed to the couches. ‘Carra, bring drinks and food for our guests,’ she sneered still feeling a little sore about being beaten by Laidin. Kirom intercepted Carra, ‘would you mind if I used your library. There is an urgent matter that needs my immediate attention.’ He did not feel like hanging around listening to why they were here. He was sure he knew why by now and he was pining on getting started with the quest Angel gave him. ‘Sure. Kilda is our head librarian. She will give you any other assistance you might require.’ Carra did not intend to deny him anything at this stage less he start whirring that hammer again. The redheaded girl led Kirom away from the others with an unmistakable sway in her hips. She wore the same uniform as Ricci with the exception of single bars on her collar. ‘The archives are this way, master Dwar,’ she said in an almost seductive voice. Kirom wondered what her chosen profession would have been had she not been recruited by the Valk’r. The difference between her and Ricci was more noticeable in their posture. Where both were lean and toned, Ricci was more of an athletic fighter, while Carra in the way she presented herself, resembled a seductress. She had the ‘it’ factor that made men swoon at the sight of her. They would soon regret any uncalled for advances, since she was as deadly as she was beautiful.

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He smiled at the thought and continued to trail in her wake. A few moments after Kirom disappeared with Carra, Laidin started relating their tale. Her audience’s eyes widened visibly when she confirmed that Gemmi is indeed their true leader. She explained the dire peril they were in and that the Valk’r must finally fulfil their purpose. They must come out of hiding and protect the planet. ‘We are well equipped,’ Ricci seemed extremely pleased with herself and the Valk’r. ‘We have been analyzing and duplicating, even enhancing the equipment found on gyrfalcon, the ship Freyja arrived in.’ This surprised Laidin, the ingenuity of this species knows no bounds, she thought, but aloud she said. ‘Good. You will need it all in the fight to come. What is the number of your forces?’ ‘Almost twelve hundred, including ground forces and Gentari,’ Ricci answered. ‘What are Gentari?’ Gemmi asked. Ricci tapped the badge sewn onto her uniform, an artist’s rendition of a falcon that resembled Freyja’s ship. ‘Do you know nothing of our culture? The Gentari is the elite warriors of the Valk’r. There are but 50 of us left.’ ‘Then let us begin our preparations,’ Laidin announced, hiding her disappointment in the small number of Valk’r available. They are not a fraction of the force needed to overcome the evil about to befall them. Even if we had a Skibladne for each of them they would not be enough, she thought and sighed. Oh well, we might as well attempt the impossible.

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Ricci appeared quite oblivious to Laidin’s turmoil. She did seem hesitant before continuing, ‘there is one small matter. To prove the child is really the descendant of Freyja, she needs to complete a sort of initiation ceremony,’ Ricci looked at Gemmi. ‘To wear the jewel and lead the Valk’r, you must succeed in one task.’ ‘Lead on Ricci,’ Gemmi answered, full of confidence. Laidin was sceptical. She did not like the smile Ricci gave Gemmi, but felt that if she could stay close to Gemmi, she would be safe. Ricci saw Laidin’s concern and smiled even wider. Her shoulder still smarted painfully from one of Laidin’s precisely aimed blows. Kirom felt lost in the enormous archives. He did not know where to begin. ‘Do we have any keywords we could go on?’ Kilda asked. She was a petite little brunet with twinkling brown eyes. She also wore the uniform of the Gentari, the same as Ricci and Carra. ‘Yes. I need anything and everything on Skirnir or Skern and the sword of Freyr. However, in your incredible archives that could take centuries to find,’ Kirom admitted unhappily. ‘Do not lose hope so quickly Master Dwar. We have spent much time cataloguing and storing keyword references in our databases.’ She saw the perplexed look on Kirom’s face and stifled a smile. ‘Let me show you,’ she said and walked to a computer terminal standing in one corner.

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‘Now, all we do is give the list of keywords, and it spits out the parchment, scrolls or books the words appears in,’ she continued typing in Kirom’s references. ‘We have scanned most of the older documents since they would disintegrate if touched. You may read them here on this terminal.’ Kirom was more than impressed. The Computer started listing references: References found: (42) ‘Skirnir’ (12) ‘Skern’ (5) ‘Sword of Freyr’. Parchment 4 (Please reference online copy), Parchment 8, (Please reference online copy), Book, the elder years, by Termak, Book, Valk’r Myths and Legends, by Gemtres, … On and on it droned. One book caught Kirom’s attention immediately, Diary, by Freyja. ‘Hmmm I think I shall start with that one,’ he said to Kilda. ‘If anyone knows anything about the sword it would be Freyja.’ Kirom’s excitement grew when he found that Skern did in fact return after he stole the sword, but he disappeared again somewhere on earth and Freyja could not locate him. Skern would be free to come and go as he pleased, and would often disappear for months on end. Freyja did not monitor him; he was her brother’s right hand man after all. Kirom spent the rest of the night studying each reference. Some led to more references and leads to locations Skern favoured. Apparently, he became obsessed with the pyramids, as he himself was a well-known architect. Kirom’s research led him to

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the pyramids of the Inca and Mayan people and the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Considering the Mayan temples are in forests and Skern was El, he picked this as the focal point of his research. He already knew a bit about the pyramids at Giza thanks to the scans on their previous visit there. The Valkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;r had an extensive database on the Mayan temples, but one document drew his attention, or rather, the legend surrounding the pyramid. The pyramid at Uxmal also called the temple of the Magician. A dwarf boy raised by a witch, who hatched him from an egg, apparently built the temple. According to the legend, the Dwarf boy needed to build a temple in one night as part of the impossible tasks given to him by the Lord of Uxmal. The Dwarf magically made the temple in one night thus completing his task and became the King of Uxmal. This myth he found in the archive, reminded Kirom of a legend he had heard as a boy. It was of a Dwar baby left stranded on an Aesir Outpost in an escape pod when his families prospecting ship crashed nearby. It continued with how an extremely powerful Aesir Sorceress raised him. She saw a strange power in the boy. He had the ability to manipulate, transform and move any earthen building blocks like stone, rock, sand, clay etc. The Sorceress encouraged and developed this attribute and thus as a boy he became a legendary builder in the early UGE. He disappeared after a very short career and no one ever heard of him again.

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This sounded like something Skern would have done. His repertoire did include kidnapping. Who better to build a hideout for the sword than someone who could build a temple in a single day? Kirom smiled proudly thinking only a Dwar could have accomplished this amazing feat, and now he at last had a viable lead. I think I should go check this out. He pressed his mindcom, ‘Laidin, I think I may have uncovered a bit of promising information, I’m going to follow up on it.’ ‘Be sure to check in and let me know of your progress my friend,’ Laidin answered. Kilda led him back to the moving cavern, and took him to the veil. There she pressed her hand on the wall and told him to proceed over the stones as they would not descend this time. Kirom waved goodbye and took off. A few minutes later, he headed towards the Yucatan Peninsula. He felt like a kid and a huge ice cream was dripping all over him.

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CHAPTER 39 It took mere minutes but felt like an eternity before he reached South America. It took even longer to find the pyramid he wished to examine in the dense Amazon rainforest. He configured his scanners to search for any alien elements as he silently hung over the Pyramid of the Magician. The Pyramid, made up of five different pyramids, did not provide enough indicators of alien involvement. His scanners only detected a few small fragments and air molecules in the upper yet undisturbed chambers. Being a prospector, Kirom knew one thing; never get despondent on the first attempt. They discovered the truly famous deposits in the most unlikely places, places that Dwar schooling did not teach you. He resumed scanning in ever widening arcs. His black Dwar fighter running dark and silent faded into the night sky. He started searching for undiscovered tunnels leading from the pyramid, and found only a few undisturbed, but they all led to dead ends. He flew to Calakmul, which is the largest Mayan pyramid and found a few undiscovered rooms and secret passages, but nothing that would suggest a vault. He saved them for later review. He visited Cancun, Tikal, and Coba and did scans on all the pyramids in these areas.

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No luck, nevertheless he could not shake the feeling that he was right on the first pyramid he searched. The Pyramid of the Magician is where his answers lay. He returned to this pyramid and restarted his scans of the surrounds. If I was Skern and I wanted to hide something from probing ships, how would I do it? Kirom thought hard, he knew we would do surface scans. He knew we would find tunnels and follow them. What if... yes, yes that is it. It must be. He adjusted his scanners for deeper and deeper scans. 300 meters below the pyramid, he found more, a lot more than he bargained for. Skern, you were a tricky one. You know very well what the increments were for depth scanning, so if you found nothing to tickle your interest in the first 250 meters you would generally not scan any deeper, ingenious! Skern had a platform installed inside the great pyramid. The thickness of the platform’s base measured 300 meters and constructed from the normal rock found in the area. This left no hollow spaces below the platform to detect and follow down, unless your scan started below 300m. This platform fit into another 300 meters of excavated shaft below the hidden chamber. I need to get inside the pyramid, he thought. He tapped his mindcom, ‘Kirom to Angel.’ ‘Kirom how are you? Long time no hear. I was truly worried about you guys,’ Angel’s friendly voice came over the mindcom. ‘We are fine my Lord. Did the meetings with the leaders bear any fruit?’ Kirom enquired.

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‘Yes my friend, I am just helping them to get battle ready and create a defence plan. We are distributing the equipment and weapons we brought. Unfortunately we need a lot more.’ ‘Glad things are going to plan,’ Kirom voiced his support, before conveying the details of their adventure. ‘Things are going exceptionally well on this side. Laidin and Gemmi found the Valk’r, they should be getting battle…’ Angel interrupted him. ‘Sorry to interrupt, but your weapons were requested from Skibladne, why?’ Angel asked puzzled. ‘That is a long story my lord. Suffice it to say, we did not get the warm friendly welcome we would have expected,’ Kirom relived the memory of their meeting with the obnoxious Valk’r leader. ‘But you say things are looking good and we may expect help from our Valk’r friends?’ Angel asked. ‘Yes, I am confident they will assist us.’ ‘And your hunt for the sword, any luck?’ Angel enquired. ‘That is why I contacted you, I have found an incredible chamber beneath the Mayan, Pyramid of the Magician, but I have no idea how to approach the situation from here. I need to be able to investigate without attracting attention.’ ‘Hmmm let me think,’ Angel replied. However, LOBE chipped in with, ‘I think a little role playing is in order. Kirom could you join us on Skibladne, you will need the help of a certain highly skilled entertainer.’ Angel smiled as he realized in which direction LOBE headed. Very creative, I thought you were left-brain dominant, he thought a punch at LOBE would make up for his interference.

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As I said before, I control ALL the parts of your brain you do not use. This leaves me with almost exclusive control of the entire brain except for emotional sectors and that controlling your libido. Although I am not entirely sure, the latter exists. I heard though that you lose that in your old age, LOBE revealed his comical side and Angel laughed. ‘I’m on my way,’ Kirom said and broke the connection. In a quite different part of the multi-verse Kirom’s brother had another far more vexing problem facing him. ‘Phew familiar stars, thank Thor,’ Brom thought. Lord Einstein’s hypothesis did appear to be mercifully accurate. Nevertheless, even after determining this he still wondered if he really was on the right side of the jump. Would Teral be okay without him? Would he be okay without Teral? What if this was nothing? In his heart, he knew he was right and his friend knew it too. He had to come here. He had to put his mind at rest. They both needed to know everything was in order at home, and he knew his friend would better focus on his war while he was here. ‘Requesting permission to land,’ Brom asked the controllers at Arken. ‘Permission granted Senator Brom. You have clearance for approach on your private hangars. Welcome to Arken.’ Meanwhile in another part of the palace, He is here, he returned. Oh my dear Brom you are a marvel. Qren’s jubilant thoughts rang in the halls. He rushed to Brom’s private hangar.

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‘My friend,’ He telepathically thought when he finally saw him, ‘you are a most welcome sight. Come, come we have much to discuss and time is of the essence.’ Brom just stared at him confounded, ‘slow down Qren, you’ll give yourself a heart attack.’ ‘No time, no time. We must hurry,’ Qren anxiously responded. He related the tale of Noone’s disappearance. He told Brom how Sharin chased him and how the alien fleet captured her, assumed to be ancients. How the ancients had devastated the Taur Empire leaving death and despair in their wake. He ended with, ‘our only consolation is that she will make the enemy regret the day they laid eyes on her. They will probably start killing themselves off before long.’ That for which Brom risked his life to return, and prayed was not, had happened. He felt a mixture of relief and dread flow over him. ‘We have no time to lose, we must organize our defences. It is fortunate we left all the dreadnaughts and most of the cruisers here. The gods must still favour us, in some small fashion. It does not seem by the look of the El commander’s video log that fighters will inflict much damage on them.’ Or last very long, he thought but kept it to himself. ‘Do we have their last coordinates and possibly a best estimate on where they would be entering UGE space?’ The commander supplied Brom with the detail before he set off to ready his fleet. Qren had the foresight to recall all the other forces left in UGE space including Border patrols.

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‘I agree with your assessment Qren. I also think that they would attack from a single simple access point. From what I could determine from the video log of Sharin’s capture, their fleet interconnects, which serves to fire their weapons as a cluster. This would also account for the reason they did not chase the El after they captured Sharin, although it might also mean that they just did not care much for a few insects escaping.’ This is hopeless, Brom thought, how am I to destroy a fleet with that kind of offensive weapons? He doubted that even the Darkmoons would have been of any assistance in this situation. ‘I assume it might be wise to scatter the ships and attack from every direction instead of giving them an opportunity to shoot fish in a barrel as Angel used to say,’ Qren suggested. ‘What are fish? Never mind. Your tactics seems reasonable. I would rather face a large lerok1 than a million tiny erks2 coming at me from every direction.’ Brom knew they based their tactics on the one weapon deployed against them but that is all they had to go on, it would have to do.

1 A lerok is a large bee like creature, about as big as a house cat. Very fast, very poisonous with a stinger like a cattle prod. They do not like anything other than another lerok breathing their air. 2 The erks are as would be expected the size and shape of bees, but with teeth. Not very poisonous and it requires a few thousand bites from them to die. Only problem is they always travel in swarms and these swarms number in their millions. They have the same problem with air as the lerok.

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Later that same day Brom stood on the El imperial battle cruiser’s command deck. Qren suggested he would stay behind on Arken to coordinate events. Brom knew Qren’s pacifist nature would serve the UGE better at home. The combined remnants of the fleets, including the El fleet were formidable indeed, far superior to the armada Teral commanded. Brom knew it would not be enough. This race probably created the energy source that powers Skibladne. Most of the technology in Skibladne is possibly from them; and they created those marvels many thousands of years ago, he sighed, what incredible wonders have they created since then? This thought brought back a longing for his friend’s presence in a way Brom has never felt. I wish you were here now my friend, I need you, he thought. He had sent out fast long-range scout ships since scans would be useless. The El never caught the ancient fleet on their scanners, so a visible recon seemed the only recourse. The scouts had crossed into Taur space earlier, and were rapidly proceeding to the last known coordinates of the ancients. All he had to do now was hope the ancients stayed their course; actually he hoped they turned around and went away.

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CHAPTER 40 Laidin followed a few steps behind Gemmi admiring the air of confidence and tenacity surrounding the little girl. She had the demeanour of a UGE Lord and the resolve of a Barken1 finding a heat signature. They halted in front of a huge vault door. Ricci placed her hand on a scanner and gave a voice command. ‘Ricci, Commander Gentari.’ The vault door slowly opened. ‘What is inside here is the most prized possession of the Valk’r,’ Ricci explained while proceeding to enter the chamber. ‘This is also the location of the test.’ Gemmi said nothing and walked boldly into the huge room. The Brisingamen jewel hung securely around her neck, pulsating rhythmically. They stopped in front of a platform that appeared to be empty. ‘Would this be the test? There do not appear to be anything,’ Laidin observed. Ricci said nothing; she merely nodded up at a Valk’r in the control booth.

When this animal wants some loving, it goes literally insane, and NOTHING will stand between it and the object of its affection. Unfortunately, this ‘nothing’ would sometimes include ravines and chasms. They appeared on the endangered species list.

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The Platform opened and a strange ship arose. Its design was unlike any Laidin had ever seen, but still simply a very small fighter. Ricci turned to Gemmi. ‘This is Gyrfalcon, Freyja’s fighter given to her by her brother Freyr. The ship, built to resemble a falcon, an incredibly large falcon but a falcon nonetheless with claws, beak and tail. If Freyja had to do a scout mission, an observer would mistake her for a falcon playing on the air currents by anyone on the ground. The ship is small and manoeuvrable, but do not let her size fool you. It is equipped with incredibly powerful weapons modelled on the legendary Skibladne.’ She scanned their faces. None of the newcomers seemed particularly impressed, not even by her knowledge of Skibladne. ‘We have been able, as I mentioned before, to replicate it with some degree of success. We had to find alternatives for some of the more exotic and sophisticated parts as well as her power source, thus our versions of the ship are not as fast or powerful. However, there is still nothing on earth that can touch one of our fighters.’ ‘So?’ Gemmi asked. ‘We all possess the TNFR-12 gene, and we have all been enhanced by the mind transformer. We are not disputing you have the gene Gemmi, our scanners already confirmed that, but this ship is keyed to the living DNA of the house of Freyja. Only a direct descendant of Freyja can activate and fly the ship.’ A naughty smile played across Ricci’s face. ‘This is the big test?’ Laidin seemed unimpressed and at the same time relieved. She worried for nothing, after she imagined

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lava pits, duels to the death with monstrous robots and jumping chasms. ‘Okay Gems it’s your show. Please fly this thing so we may get down to business.’ Gemmi resolutely walked over and touched the little DNA scanner, commanded the ship to open its canopy with a thought and climbed inside. She waited a second for Loser to jump into the small space behind her, probably a storage compartment of sorts, and took off with another thought. She had a lot of practice flying Skibladne on the way over, and this ship reacted in exactly the same way. Brimming with pride, she flashed inches above the heads of the onlookers. Only Laidin did not duck. She just smiled at antics of the little rascal. Gemmi handled the ship in the manner of someone born in a cockpit. She tumbled and turned, rolled and did 360s from one side of the hangar to the other. She made 90-degree turns, followed by turns that you could only describe as handbrake turns. She performed in the manner of a wild falcon caught in a cage. Then she did the unthinkable. She swooped down and used Gyrfalcons claws to catch a drum that stood in the middle of the hangar. Without breaking stride, she neatly deposited the drum on a stack of drums in the opposite corner. Laidin tapped her mindcom. ‘Okay, show’s over little one. There is work to be done.’ ‘Satisfied?’ Gemmi asked smiling at Ricci, after making a perfect 2-point landing, accompanied by the cheers of the growing Valk’r crowd. Ricci simply nodded, turned and walked off.

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‘Shall we advance to the war room my lady, as you said there is much to do?’ Gemmi walked with a self-satisfied stride and Laidin took step beside her. ‘Remember Gemmi, nobody likes an obnoxious arrogant child, and nobody knows so much that they cannot learn. Only a fool speaks when he should listen. What I am trying to say is just because you are the leader of these people, does not mean you should not learn from them. Remember your predecessors studied for a year at the feet of the chief of the Valk’r before they became chief.’ Laidin felt she needed to make this clear to Gemmi. ‘You should lead, not rule, draw people close to you by being friendly, open and fair. You are truly intelligent. Remember the greatest leaders of all times were fair, just, brave and treated all as they would want to be treated.’ ‘I shall not forget Laidin. I know I have much to learn. I shall make you and Angel and the rest of my friends proud,’ Gemmi proclaimed in earnest. ‘We are already proud of you Gemmi. More than you could ever imagine. You are an invaluable part of our team, and I am truly honoured to call you my friend.’ Laidin smiled and put her hand on Gemmi’s shoulder. Gemmi in turn put her hand on Laidin’s hand, and Loser his on top of both theirs. ‘Thank you,’ she stammered. This maturity impressed Laidin when she expected a child’s outburst at her speech, a tantrum. She expected the kid to tell her that she knows what she is doing and she did not need advice

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from an over the hill El. She looked at Gemmi and knew this young girl would become one of the great leaders in history. That is, if she is allowed to live that long. Kirom brought his fighter to rest inside Skibladne’s hanger, and walked to the command deck where Angel and Guival waited for him. ‘Well met. I am overjoyed to see you again,’ Kirom announced and flashed a smile through his well-groomed facial hair. ‘Great to see you too Kirom, What do you think of my planet?’ Angel asked. ‘Earth is an interesting planet, very colourful and lots of different climatic regions. Would love to see what is underneath the surface though.’ ‘So tell me exactly what happened since we left you,’ Angel requested. They spent the next few minutes listening to Kirom’s recount of the adventure the four of them had. He showed a slight grimace as he told the others of Loser unceremoniously flinging him over his shoulder and carrying him through the waterfall. Loser’s impressive new skill intrigued Angel. Kirom took the story of unravelling the clues to great lengths as only a true storyteller could. He told them about the Valk’r and their base, and concluded with his findings at the Mayan temples. ‘That is brilliant work Kirom. You guys have done exceptionally well.’ He looked at Guival, ‘our mission had a lot less excitement, but Guival did inject a lot of enjoyment into the episode,’ Angel began

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and then related their journey and Guival’s integral part in their success. ‘But now Guival has a new equally important task to perform,’ Angel said as he glanced at his metallic blue Aesir friend. ‘You, my friend, will need to absorb another form for us. You will need to go to a Dr. Tina Skinner. According to Skibladne, she is the foremost authority on Mayan Pyramids. Nobody would question her presence in the tombs.’ He turned to Kirom, ‘and you my friend will need a change of clothing. Please follow me.’ In Kirom’s quarters, Angel had placed real archaeologist clothing, safari pants and shirt, long socks and the round little white hat. Complete as he remembered it from the movies he watched, movies like Indiana Jones. ‘You want me to wear that?’ Kirom asked in surprise. ‘Trust me my friend you will fit right in,’ he laughed. Angel doubled over when the master dwarf finally came out of his quarters dressed in his work attire. It had been a long time since he last had the opportunity to laugh like this. ‘You look perfect,’ he said whipping the tears from his eyes, ‘off you go.’ ‘Oh and Guival, you might want to use your Jen disguise until you get the doctor’s form.’ ‘Skibladne updated your fighter’s navigation computer with the coordinates of Dr. Skinner’s dwelling in the USA,’ Angel informed him, and then for Guival’s benefit, ‘please be discrete.’ ‘Kirom you will present yourself as Doctor Cramer and you are doing a thesis on the similarities between Mayan and Egyptian pyramids. You should have gained enough knowledge through

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your research to fake it. Remember most of the knowledge you found in the scrolls are not common knowledge on earth, and she will not know some of the things you found in your scans especially on the undiscovered rooms. So dazzle her.’ ‘Be safe gentleman, till we meet again,’ Angel said. ‘Er, Kirom. I think you should leave that here,’ Angel supposed pointing at Mjolnir. Kirom looked slightly flushed as he left to place the hammer back in the teleport chamber. Laidin’s curiosity got the better of her, ‘Ricci, those swords you carry, they look like they are made from pure white gold. Where did you get them?’ ‘Oh, thanks for reminding me. Carra, fetch the sword,’ she turned to Laidin, ‘I thought the swords might interest you.’ Ricci took a deep breath as to say this is going to be one of those long explanatory stories again, live with it. She unsheathed her sword and handed it to Laidin. To Laidin’s amazement, the sword felt almost weightless, and immensely sharp. The entire sword appeared constructed from what Laidin would have sworn was white gold, with only the hilt covered in some synthetic polymer grip. Laidin could only imagine how much Kirom would enjoy this. Every Dwar child dreams of growing up to one day find a yet undiscovered metal or gem. ‘The metal in the sword has one of the densest atomic structures known to man. Almost as dense as that found in what you call Zellion. The sword is almost impossible to chip or blunt. The origin of the metal is a closely guarded secret.’

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‘Follow me,’ she said and left the room. They walked down a few passages and through massive vault doors. Inside, on a small pedestal, rested a simple nondescript white gold ring. ‘You jest,’ Laidin said, ‘that could not possibly be the…’ ‘Oh but it is,’ Ricci smiled. ‘That my friends, is Draupnir, the ring of Odin,’ Ricci explained. ‘The ring that spawns eight new rings every 9 days?’ Gemmi had heard of this legendary ring. ‘Yes Gemmi, but unlike legend has led people to believe, the ring is not made of gold and neither are its children. We call it Draupnite.’ ‘The eight rings cannot re-spawn, if I remember correctly,’ Laidin added. ‘Quite correct only Draupnir has that ability,’ Ricci answered. ‘But how do you mould such dense material?’ Laidin asked. ‘That was an immense problem. We had vaults full of these rings but could do nothing useful with them. That was until humans discovered the laser fusion reactor, the only thing that could generate enough heat to melt and reshape the rings into something useful. Unfortunately, we are only able to reform the metal while it is at this heat. Therefore the metal is shaped into swords entirely with the use of magnetic fields, which was exceedingly difficult, but we are geniuses after all,’ Ricci laughed. ‘The swords are then presented to a Valk’r who has reached the level of Gentari. It is a great honour to receive a sword. It is the symbol of attaining a high level of enlightenment and is coveted by all Valk’r.’

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‘But how did it come to be here? It was supposed to be on the funeral pyre of Odin’s son Baldur,’ Laidin asked confused. ‘According to our legends, the ring was given to Freyr. He in turn gave it to Skirnir to present to a Valk’r called Gerd that Freyr intended to marry. After Gerd passed away the ring remained here in New Valhalla.’ ‘Hmmm, you mean Skern actually delivered something he was supposed to, amazing. Thanks for the tour, but I propose we return to the war room,’ she suggested. Back at the war room, Carra waited with an exquisite sword made from the same metal as the others, though with a very different design. This one however had a large ruby decoration where the hilt meets the blade. ‘You may notice that the Brisingamen jewel around your neck Gemmi is flat at the back. The reason for that being that the jewel was too powerful even for Freyja to control. It took hold of her mind and made her do unspeakable things.’ ‘Her 2nd in command noticed this and one night stole the jewel. Long story short, the jewel was halved.’ ‘The sword has the same abilities as the jewel around your neck. Its name is Dragonfang and we did not create it. Freyr had this sword forged by the dwarves from a mould of his sword, and he presented it to Freyja. The substance used to forge the sword has no equal in strength and durability. According to legend, the dwarfs used the tooth of a dragon for the blade, but that is just superstition. We added the setting for the Brisingamen jewel,’ Ricci explained.

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She knelt in front of Gemmi, ‘please accept the sword as the symbol of the Valk’r chief.’ ‘I thank you,’ Gemmi said and took the sword. She strapped the sword to her back. Loser who sat on her shoulder pulled the sword, but it was a little heavy for his small body and he fell from her shoulder, sword and all. A souldestroying scream rang through the halls as he ran to hide behind a huge potted plant. Gemmi laughed, ‘it is okay my friend. You can come out. I’m not angry.’ Only when Loser came close did she see that he held his little arm. A huge gash lay across it and blood streamed from the wound. ‘Oh no Loser you are hurt!’ Gemmi cried. ‘Get a medical team in here immediately,’ Ricci ordered. Seconds later two Valk’r ran in and started to clean and bandage the wound. Loser was obviously in much pain and Gemmi softly sobbed hugging the little animal. From that moment, Loser would not come near the sword, and since Loser was Gemmi’s best friend whom she enjoys having sit on her shoulder, she made a promise. ‘Don’t worry little one, I won’t wear that nasty sword again,’ she swore, to which Loser jumped on her shoulder and squeezed her face tightly to his little Gerbit cheek.

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CHAPTER 41 After an uneventful flight, Kirom landed the fighter in an unused part of a nearby park. They had to wait for nightfall as cover to land and then they hoofed it to Dr. Skinner’s apartment. Dr. Kirom Cramer rang the bell. A very attractive middle-aged woman opened the door. That would be according to earth standards, as El would refer to her as a spring chicken. She smiled at the comically dressed person standing in front of her. ‘Yes. May I help you,’ she asked in a pleasant tone. ‘Good evening Dr. Skinner, my name is Dr. Cramer and this is my daughter Jen,’ Kirom answered. Jen saw this as her cue to rush the doctor and give her a great big hug, and a broad smile. ‘What a delightful child,’ Dr. Skinner said smiling. ‘So, to what do I owe the pleasure doctor?’ she asked while showing them into the living room. ‘Well it is actually more a case of what I can do for you,’ he paused for effect, and then continued. ‘I have developed a new X-ray technique, which I used on Calakmul. I have found quite a few undiscovered rooms and secret passages, which I think might be of interest to you.’ Dr. Skinner’s ears pricked up, she heard secret, a word she cherished. ‘Please continue,’ she replied with controlled excitement. Kirom unrolled a printed scan he made on Skibladne before they left. They spent a few minutes discussing the incredible

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findings of Dr. Cramer. Dr Skinner would be looking for these rooms in Calakmul, which meant they would not run into her at Uxmal. They were deep in discussion when Jen started complaining. ‘I want to go now daddy. I want to go play with my friends. It’s boring here,’ Guival imitated Gemmi to perfection, ‘now daddy, let us go, please DADDY, I want to go.’ Kirom gave in. ‘Okay, okay! Stop whining we can go now.’ Dr. Skinner looked bitterly disappointed. ‘You do not wish to accompany me and examine your findings?’ ‘I’m sorry doctor but I need to get back to some other pressing issues, but I am sure you will not be disappointed with what you will discover,’ he smiled. ‘You are just giving me this?’ Dr. Skinner uttered quite perplexed. ‘My field is locating secrets, yours is exploring them,’ Dr. Kramer explained. ‘I am at a loss for words. Thank you doctor,’ Dr. Skinner exclaimed. ‘Good luck and good hunting,’ Kirom said, and waved goodbye. So did Jen. ‘I will not forget to give you credit on my findings Dr. Cramer,’ she smiled and waved goodbye. Kirom set course for the Pyramid of the Magician with Jen, and landed with a perfect replica of Dr. Skinner in a clearing, a couple of minutes walk from the pyramid. ‘Yuck. El country,’ Kirom expressed his disdain.

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Kirom felt as depressed about being in the jungle as Laidin did about being underground. Guival preferred the cities with its lights and noise. ‘Yes I do not quite understand how they find this mess homely, but to each his own.’ They broke into the clearing around the pyramid. There were quite a number of people walking around, but nobody bothered them until they reached the entrance closest to where the secret platform was. ‘Doctor Skinner. So nice to see you again,’ a friendly native greeted them. Guival had no idea who this was but held his pose. ‘My dear friend, how are you?’ he answered. Kirom reacted quickly, ‘I am Dr. Cramer, pleased to meet you,’ he said holding out his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you too, I am Professor Kitzel. I have assisted Dr. Skinner on a number of archaeological digs.’ ‘Yes.’ Guival said to Kirom, ‘he has been invaluable in my research.’ He turned to Kitzel. ‘Professor I am sorry to interrupt your work. I brought Doctor Cramer here to show him around and give him a tour of the amazing work you have been doing.’ ‘That is quite all right my dear friend, take all the time you need. You are free to visit anywhere you want,’ he smiled. ‘Enjoy the show,’ the professor told Kirom, ‘it is quite impressive.’ ‘Oh, please excuse me,’ he said noticing one of his team waving in his direction.

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‘Phew, that was close,’ Guival exclaimed. ‘True but quite enjoyable too, like a game of digs, trying to outmanoeuvre your opponent.’ The duo walked through the entrance to the pyramid. Guival carried a hand scanner and took readings every couple of steps. ‘We are on top of the platform now,’ he said after they had travelled down a maze of tunnels. There were no indications that they were in any special part of the tunnel. It looked exactly like every other tunnel they had traversed thus far. ‘No wonder nobody found it, who would look here,’ Kirom commented, ‘now to find the switch.’ Guival did scans on the walls, floor, even the ceiling for any alien or electrical technology. He found nothing. Guival felt despondent however, Kirom looked quite impressed as he took hold of a protruding rock. ‘Elementary my dear Guival, and if your knowledge of metamorphic rock formations were slightly better you would realize this rock is not in its natural habitat.’ He pushed down on the rock and they suddenly began to descend. ‘Counterweights,’ Guival exclaimed as they rapidly moved down to the hidden chamber. ‘Primitive. However, it is impossible to detect with modern technology, very clever.’ They dropped into the cavern space 300 meters below. ‘Incredible!’ They both exclaimed in unison.

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An enormous stockpile of alien technology greeted them. All kinds of weapons, shield generators, scanning equipment, digging equipment and other useful tools littered the room. A quite ordinary looking ship stood in the centre of the cavern. ‘This is the special ship Freyr gave Skern?’ Kirom asked Guival. ‘Yes, this is she,’ Guival said in admiration. He looked like he was going to ask the ships hand in marriage any second. ‘Amazing is she not?’ ‘You are losing your mind my dear Guival. This is the most nondescript prehistoric relic I have ever encountered. I don’t think you would get even an ounce of Zellion for it,’ Kirom commented unimpressed. ‘And no alien race would even bother looking twice at it, if they found it; right?’ Guival asked. ‘No they would not,’ a light went on. ‘You mean…?’ ‘Yes Master Dwar, this is the fabled morph ship, designed with the ancient’s technology.’ ‘But that ship is just a legend, a story to keep kids entertained.’ ‘I have always believed in legends. They are mostly always based on fact,’ Guival explained. ‘How do you think Skern managed to visit so many planets undetected. He was after all an explorer and Freyr’s messenger and envoy.’ ‘I understand,’ Kirom conceded, ‘but if you have quite finished ogling the ship, I have a mission to complete, so may we continue our search for the sword?’ Kirom asked. ‘Okay,’ Guival agreed reluctantly, and started scratching through the huge heaps of equipment. He could not help feeling a

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little disappointed at Kirom’s lack of interest, and could not help stealing a glance at the ship every so often. ‘It would not be in here. That sword is far too valuable,’ Kirom announced looking at the junk littering his feet, ‘it will be in a special hiding place.’ ‘Like the ship?’ Guival suggested. ‘Maybe,’ Kirom answered thoughtfully, ‘so how does it work. How do you get it open?’ ‘I suppose it is mind controlled,’ Guival surmised. ‘Great, so it’s tuned to Skern’s mind,’ Kirom glumly replied. ‘Might as well call for Mjolnir and bash it open.’ ‘No!’ Guival screamed in anguished. ‘It is far too valuable, and anyway it is built from a mallicon1 alloy if you have not noticed. Mjolnir would end up destroying it before it made a hole in the side. The energy from the hammer would rip its entire atomic structure apart. And if you damaged the morph engine, your precious sword might be a carrot stick when you find it.’ ‘I guess you are right, so what do we do?’ Kirom asked. ‘I assume Skern was quite secretive about this room, and since it has been sealed for so many generations everything inside has been preserved almost perfectly. What I need is a sample of his DNA. I need a hair, a bone, anything that belonged to him.’

1 Mallicon is metal commonly used by magic users due to the ease it could transform into other substances because of its loosely coupled atomic structure.

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About 15 minutes later Kirom had found a sharp rock with some dried blood on. El blood is a lot more resistant to decomposition than human blood. ‘Great,’ Guival howled, ‘this is El blood. We can safely assume it is from Skern. Now I won’t be able to take his form definition from this, but I hopefully won’t need it.’ He tapped his mindcom. ‘My lord, I need to send a scanned DNA sequence to you. I would require you to use Skibladne’s medical facilities. In there you will find the regeneration chamber. It can generate lost limbs etc. What I need you to do is program the regeneration machine to create a brain using this DNA sequence,’ Guival explained excitedly. ‘Are you with me so far my lord?’ he asked. ‘Yes. Please continue,’ Angel replied. ‘The regeneration machine will activate the brain for testing purposes. What I need you to do is record the brainwave patterns, and then I need you to play the recording back to me via the mindcom, understood?’ ‘I’ll get on it immediately,’ Angel replied still confused. ‘How did your meeting with Dr Skinner go?’ Angel asked. ‘Like a dream,’ Guival answered. ‘We are currently in the cavern, thanks to some brilliant detective work by Kirom.’ ‘Good to hear. I’ll get back to you when I have something,’ Angel replied and disconnected. Kirom and Guival kept themselves busy cataloguing the equipment and placing beacons on the useful piles.

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They felt they could pass on this equipment to the earth forces so they may better defend themselves. ‘So how do you think he got this ship down here?’ Kirom asked. ‘I do not know, it definitely did not come down the platform, and I do not see any other exits to the cavern,’ Guival looked perplexed. ‘Then how do you intend to get it out of here if you do get it working?’ Kirom asked Guival. ‘Don’t know yet, but I am sure a solution will present itself,’ Guival answered, but felt somewhat unsure of this. It took hours for the two of them to sort through the equipment, but it kept them busy and for that, they were grateful. An eternity later Guival’s mindcom beeped. ‘Okay I have what you want, are you ready to receive?’ Angel asked. ‘Just a second,’ Guival replied as he took a comfortable position on the ground. He took his normal Aesir form sitting in a way that resembled the lotus position. ‘Kirom I have to ask you not to speak to me, after the transmission has begun. I’ll have to concentrate to keep the brainwave patterns stable,’ Guival projected into his friend’s mind now that he lost his vocal cords. ‘Very well, I shall refrain from speaking.’ ‘Please start the transmission my lord,’ Guival projected into his mindcom. Guival seem to flow into a trance as Skibladne beamed the pattern into his mind.

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After a few minutes, he slowly got to his feet, and walked to the morph ship. His eyes were shining like blue lights, and he seemed quite oblivious to his surroundings, except for an intent focus on the ship. He appeared to be staring at it, but Kirom knew he was communicating with the ship. A hatch in the side of the ship slid open, and Guival silently entered. He walked to the command console and again seemed to stare at it. It took a few minutes before he turned to Kirom. The light in his eyes had vanished. ‘It is fine now my friend, you may enter, I have reprogrammed the ship to accept my brainwave signature and it will listen to me now.’ For the first time Guival looked around the ship. He and Kirom stood on a small command deck, with a hatch leading aft. Kirom eagerly opened the hatch and he was not disappointed. Skern used this part of the ship as a tomb. His skeletal remains lay on a flat table. On his chest lay the sword of Freyr. Kirom stared at it in awe. ‘We’ve found it.’ He picked it up and held it in his outstretched arm, watching it glint in the dull light. He flicked it around a few times, what amazing craftsmanship, he thought. ‘So Skern came here to die?’ Guival asked.

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‘Yes. It would seem he built this pyramid as his tomb,’ Kirom acknowledged. ‘Seems more like suicide,’ Guival pointed out. ‘Guess we will never know,’ Kirom shrugged, ‘you know El and their weird honour thing. Maybe he felt remorse for his crimes. Who knows?’ The heard a whirring noise from the direction of the platform. ‘What’s going on?’ Kirom asked. Guival seemed to be concentrating on the noise. ‘It’s Professor Kitzel and some guards,’ Guival answered. ‘How did they find the platform,’ Kirom asked bewildered, then cursed. ‘We did not send it back up and the rock switch is quite obvious in the down position,’ the dwarf swore. ‘From what I can gather from his thoughts, Doctor Skinner contacted him and asked for his help at Calakmul. He smelled a rat when she was both at home and here. He is coming down to investigate, and he is very angry. He dislikes grave robbers intently.’ ‘Then we better find a way out of here, right now!’ Kirom exclaimed, ‘we cannot start harming natives.’ ‘I agree,’ Guival acknowledged and pressed his mindcom. ‘My lord you might want to start teleporting up the equipment with the beacons.’ ‘Will do... what is wrong, you sound worried?’ Angel asked, happy that had distributed most of the equipment they came with originally.

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‘Nothing we can’t handle my lord, but I would not waste any time getting the equipment on board,’ Guival replied. I hope, he thought to himself. ‘We should have sent the platform up again,’ Kirom cursed again, ‘they would never have found the entrance otherwise.’ ‘Let it go my friend, we need to focus on our current problem.’ ‘What’s the plan?’ Kirom asked. ‘Can we jam the platform, before it descends,’ Guival asked. ‘I do not think 300 meters of rock will stop for anything we stick in its path,’ Kirom commented. ‘Cant you put a sleep spell on them,’ Kirom asked. ‘I don’t know enough of this species physiology. Angel and Gemmi are not exactly human anymore. I might kill them.’ ‘Would have been great if Skibladne’s teleport technology could be used on something other than inanimate objects,’ Kirom growled and then turned his attention to their current surroundings. ‘Too bad this ship is not Sleipnir, Odin’s ship. It could teleport us out of here.’ Guival imitated the thinker, which he saw on a photo Angel showed him in his cultural training, and which intrigued him. It worked. ‘This is a morph ship,’ he thought to Kirom, ‘it can become any ship in its database by rearranging the atoms in its structure.’ ‘Very impressive,’ Kirom sighed, not knowing how this will help them. The morph ship could become any ship of comparable atom count it has scanned, even if it had to hide a few atoms in extra

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gear or not replicate some less than useful equipment on the other vessel. It will not be able to become a huge cruiser or even a corvette of course but any smaller ship like a fighter, bomber, scout ship, medical evacuation unit or small transport ship. ‘Yes, it is impressive. It cannot however replicate any living material, also no intricate or foreign technology. It will also not replicate any substance or elements it does not understand.’ ‘So we can’t replicate Sleipnir,’ Kirom continued to curse, ‘there is a surprise.’ ‘No, but we can become anything else in its database,’ Guival said. ‘Great now would you mind getting us out of here, the platform is descending.’ ‘Relax my friend. There is no way for them to penetrate the hull, unless they brought some kind of explosives along.’ Kirom heard the click as the hatch closed. ‘You do know this is a dig sight, right,’ Kirom asked sarcastically, ‘lots of explosives!’ Guival ignored him and asked the ship to bring up a list of all the ships it has scanned, from its data banks. ‘No, no, that will not work… no, no, YES!’ he startled Kirom. The ship began to glow, and separate into molecules and atoms, kept from spreading into nothingness with a swirling blue light coming from a machine behind them. Except for the command deck floor, which seemed protected by a force field, a strange machine appeared to be the only other part of the ship that did not become part of the swirling blue light. ‘The morph drive,’ Guival explained.

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Seconds later, the ship, or more correctly a ship had formed around them. ‘A Tunneler,’ Kirom boomed, ‘wonderful!’ ‘I thought you would like it. Shall we get out of here?’ Guival asked. ‘Let’s,’ Kirom answered happy to be back in a tunneler. He grew up in them, and had fond memories of learning how to drive one. Kirom grabbed the controls. Guival did not protest, as he had no idea how to pilot a tunneler. They hovered and moved slowly forward until the tip of the ship’s nose touched the far wall where an enormous nose drill started up aided by ion beams extruding from the side of the nose. The tunneler rapidly moved forward. The two grave robbers were almost out of sight when the platform with the invasion party finally came to rest. Desperate screams followed their ascent. They broke through to the surface. Guival turned the morph ship into its original form, which was not the junker disguise it wore inside the cavern. It resembled a B-2 spirit stealth bomber, but with much sleeker lines. He activated the ship’s camouflage and dropped Kirom and the sword off at his fighter. ‘We are on our way, my lord,’ he said into the mindcom. A miserable Guival piloted the ship back to its true owner, the current UGE Lord. However, he felt blessed having had the opportunity to operate it for a while. He sighed, and set course for Skibladne.

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CHAPTER 42 The following day’s strategy meeting with the Valk’r proceeded rapidly and surprisingly smooth. They seemed to be well organized and easily agreed upon a battle strategy was. Since only Gemmi had a fighter capable of leaving earth’s atmosphere they agreed to wait until the invasion force entered earth’s atmosphere before they would launch their attack. With the help of the Valk’r deep space scanners, they would be able to pinpoint the incursion coordinates and deploy their fighter wings in time. ‘The Taur love to attack weak or single targets, so do not leave your squadron unless your wish to be bait,’ Laidin explained. ‘That is a tactic to remember. Put them at ease then destroy them in an ambush,’ Ricci helped. ‘Yes, that is an option. The Taur fighter cockpit is the most vulnerable point and they have a blind spot in their seven o’clock position if you come in high. This is from the attachment for their vision enhancer.’ Ricci made more notes. ‘They are incredibly ferocious fighters and will hunt a target with total disregard for their fellow pilots. If you are in trouble, fly as close to some of the other Taur ships as possible. They might shoot down a few of their own, or hit another Taur who would not take kindly to it. With luck you will start an internal squabble where they might forget about you.’

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Laidin saw the gleam in Ricci’s eyes, this tactic seem to sit well with her. ‘First priority would be the bombers. They are able to inflict the most damage. Then the fighters and then only we destroy the ground forces. For this to work we need to distract the bomber’s fighter escort. I think by baiting them into an ambush as you suggested earlier, would be a good ploy to use here.’ ‘Understood,’ Ricci acknowledged. ‘I have uploaded schematics and images of these ships onto your computers, along with their favourite tactics and manoeuvres, and any weaknesses. This is so you may recognize them in battle, and for programming your fighter simulators,’ Laidin stated. ‘If you get shot down, these are anatomical presentations, showing all the weak points in the anatomy of each of the three Taur races.’ Ricci stared at the pictures in front of her. ‘Huh? We are going to be attacked by mythological goats, fillies and cattle?’ She asked flabbergasted. ‘I do not know what those are?’ Laidin answered. ‘Those are earth animals that were used to describe mythological creatures,’ Ricci explained, ‘only we call them Minotaur, Centaur and Satyr.’ ‘You know about the Taur?’ Laidin asked quite interested in this new revelation. ‘Well we knew the myths and legends, but we always assumed it was just made up to amuse the children. I mean, really, mixtures of human parts and animal parts is a little farfetched I think?’ Ricci asked,

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‘Actually, they don’t quite look like the animals on earth but I could see how the writers of mythology could make the parallel in trying to describe them. I can’t believe they actually exist.’ ‘Hmmm, but it is fine for El, Dwar and Aesir to exist?’ Laidin smiled, ‘Shall I continue?’ ‘Please do,’ Ricci suggested quite unabashed. ‘Right, these holodisk are for your holographic simulation chambers. It will teach you where and how to attack each of the races, and what their favourite attacks are. There are tactic lessons on how to defend against them and preferably kill them instead of them you.’ Laidin preferred not to mention the Taur mechanized forces. They will be near impossible to stop with the earthling’s primitive weapons. All she mentioned in passing was that if you should encounter one, you should run. ‘I suggest you retire to your quarters and simulators, and start studying these. We will hold a session in the morning with questions.’ An overtired Gemmi said her goodnights and retired to her quarters along with Loser. It almost seemed as if Laidin did not need sleep, as if the thought of battle kept her recharged. They were about to depart when the door burst open and Kilda the librarian ran in. ‘It’s gone, Draupnir is gone,’ she screamed. ‘Calm down,’ Ricci commanded after taking a moment to gather her composure, ‘let’s go see.’ They quickly made their way to the vault.

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‘I came in this evening to collect the 8 spawned rings and this is what I found.’ ‘But this is impossible,’ Ricci remarked dumbfounded. ‘This room is sealed there is no way in or out, and you and I are the only ones with clearance to come into this room,’ Ricci reaffirmed the facts. ‘I know, but I did not take it!’ ‘I did not say you did, but how did anyone else get in here?’ Ricci asked puzzled. ‘It is improbable but not impossible,’ Laidin suggested. Laidin studied the room intently, a small fibre caught her attention. She picked it up and examined it with her amazing El sight. Then she smiled. Laidin looked around the room again as if searching for something very specific. ‘Aha, I think I know what happened,’ she declared. ‘What?’ Ricci asked irritably. ‘Elementary my dear Ricci,’ Laidin began, ‘let us examine the clues. There is no way in except for the door and an air vent too small for anyone to fit in. We have a missing ring and this small piece of fibre.’ ‘Now I deduce that this is from cloth commonly used in bandaging.’ ‘No shit Sherlock,’ Ricci sarcastically remarked. ‘Excuse me?’ Laidin answered confused. ‘Nothing, continue,’ Ricci sneered. ‘I surmise that the air vent although too small for human usage would be large enough for a certain smallish animal to squeeze through.’

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She turned to a frightened little Loser peeking out behind Gemmi’s head, ‘is my hypotheses correct Mr Loser?’ Loser dropped down from Gemmi’s shoulder, and with drooping shoulders and a bowed head slowly left the room. Ricci wanted to follow but Laidin held her back. ‘Let him do this his way?’ she suggested. Loser returned a few minutes later, and extended his little hand toward Ricci, a golden ring lay in the palm of his hand. She took it and placed it back on the pedestal. Gemmi appeared to be close to tears, ‘why did you do it?’ she asked the little felon. She felt his emotions come over her in waves, and she understood. ‘That’s why!’ She exclaimed. The others looked at her strangely. ‘The ring makes the swords that hurt him. He thought if he took the ring you couldn’t make any more swords.’ ‘But Loser,’ Kilda explained, ‘we already have vaults full of rings. Even if you took Draupnir now, we would still have enough rings to make hundreds of swords.’ ‘Do not fear little one, we understand,’ Laidin softly mentioned and gave Loser’s hand a squeeze. Loser smiled shyly and slinked away to the safety of Gemmi’s shoulder. Assuming the issue resolved they turned to leave but Kilda had one more concern. ‘Sorry to be a bother but there is still the matter of the 8 spawned rings.’

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Gemmi looked at Loser and he looked at her, then he shrugged. Obviously, the ring had not spawned yet when he took it. He jumped down again and took Kilda’s hand. He led her through the corridors to a vent, and pointed inside. She looked down and saw the nail on which Draupnir previously hung. ‘Sorry Ricci, but it looks like the rings that spawned might have rolled down the shaft. They are not on the small little hook Loser used the hide the ring.’ ‘Oh well, no big loss, we will just amend our books to show this,’ Ricci shrugged. They retired to their quarters, beautifully decorated with murals from Valk’r legends. Gemmi fell asleep as soon as she lay down her head, with Loser on top of her chest snoring away merrily. The next morning Gemmi found the base in disarray. She heard phrases like. ‘We are going to get slaughtered like cattle, by cattle.’ ‘It’s hopeless. We are going to be creamed by goats.’ ‘I wanted to get laid by a stud; but not onto a slab in the morgue.’ ‘We cannot hope to win.’ and ‘I am too young to push up daisies. We are already animal fodder.’ ‘Be silent!’ Gemmi commanded with more authority than Ricci had heard in her entire life. The Brisingamen jewel glowed with a dark red ominous light.

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‘Did you really think any enemy you will face would roll over and lick your hand as soon as you approach?’ Gemmi spoke as if to naughty little girls. Valk’r warriors were approaching from every direction, to find the cause of the commotion. Soon a large crowd of Valk’r had gathered. ‘You will fight because you are Valk’r and you will fight because if you don’t then you and your families will be slaughtered without mercy,’ she said. Ricci felt something important was coming, and whispered to Carra to have this speech transmitted over the entire Valk’r base. Gemmi changed her tone to someone speaking with others that had much to lose and are in need of guidance. ‘Do not doubt that you are strong. They may be from a far away galaxy, but that does not make them stronger. Underestimating us, thinking we are weak, will be their biggest mistake, one they will not have the opportunity to regret. Travelling from a far away galaxy does not make them smarter. Coming here to mess with us just shows how stupid they are. You are warriors, the sworn protectors of our planet. The planet is in danger and the human race is on the brink of extinction. All that stands between them and the end of mankind is our strength, but what a glorious strength it is.’ Gemmi again changed her tone to speak to warriors needing courage for battle. ‘The leader of the entire United Galactic Empire is a human. WHY IS THAT? It is because we are strong, because we are smart, because we are courageous! It is because we will not lie down and surrender!

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We were chosen because they know that we can lead and we can fight, and we will fight, and we will be victorious because, WE ARE THE VALK’R.’ An enormous cheer rang through the halls in the Valk’r base. ‘We will not hide in silence anymore. We will not disappear into the shadows again. We will not fight in secrecy any longer. Evil everywhere in the universe will from now and for all eternity, LEARN TO FEAR THE NAME OF THE VALK’R.’ Her voice echoed through the Valk’r base. ‘We will be known as the greatest warriors in the universe! WE ARE VALK’R.’ The chant began. ‘VALK’R, VALK’R, VALK’R.’ The walls vibrated with it, and Ricci and Laidin gave each other a smile. She is the one, she is definitely the one, they both thought.

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CHAPTER 43 Angel stood waiting in the hangar bay when the two archaeologists touched down. ‘Welcome back gentlemen,’ he said with a friendly smile. Kirom and Guival approached Angel with solemn looks on their faces, though it was for quite different reasons. Angel found this quite disconcerting. It seems something had gone terribly wrong. Kirom knelt before Angel, bowed his head, and held up the sword. ‘Allow me to present your sword my liege, the symbol of your power. May it serve to once again unite the UGE,’ Kirom formally announced. A relieved Angel thanked Kirom for his brilliance in finding the sword and the duo for retrieving it. ‘I could not have selected a finer team of adventurers. You have my sincere appreciation and gratitude.’ He placed the sword on his back and it immediately secured itself. He had to remind himself constantly of the sword, as it was very light and comfortable. Guival seemed more reluctant to hand over his bounty, but continued anyway. ‘I have returned the incredible ship that Skern took when he stole the sword. It will serve you well my lord.’ Angel looked at him and smiled, he could see Guival had already fallen in love with the morph ship.

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‘Hmmm, I think I shall name her Jen after the alter ego of her new owner.’ ‘My lord, you mean? It’s mine?’ Guival stammered a thought. ‘Yes my friend, she is yours. I have Skibladne the most amazing ship in creation. We have a very close mind bond now and I think she would be jealous if I introduced another lady into the relationship.’ ‘Thank you my lord. Thoughts cannot express how I feel right now.’ ‘It is my pleasure, I hope you…’ Angel did not have time to finish. #Subject located# Skibladne’s metallic voice came over the ship’s intercom. Angel turned around and started to run towards the bridge, leaving two puzzled aliens standing in the hangar. He halted in front of the view screen, eagerly examining the information displayed. ‘She found him,’ he whispered. ‘She found you?’ Guival concluded after he appeared next to Angel and seemed confused since the display showed a photo of Angel. ‘No, my brother,’ Angel tried to explain. ‘We were separated at birth. It received the vision of the attack on earth from him.’ ‘Why did you have such difficulty in locating him?’ Guival inquired. ‘Well there are a few billion people on earth, and we had different surnames. My mother never revealed my father’s identity.’

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He paused before continuing. ‘I had nothing to search on except the hope that we were identical twins.’ He proudly patted Skibladne. ‘The lady has been jacked into all the major networks in the world trying to locate someone that looked like me.’ ‘Jacked in?’ Guival asked. ‘Connected; and although she complained frequently about the ancient technology, she performed a sterling job. In only a week she managed to sift through a few million faces.’ He studied the screen again. ‘Mark Stern, my brother.’ He turned to Guival, and Kirom who had now arrived after deciding to get into his jump suit as soon as possible. Guival just formed his around him, much less bother than actual fabric. ‘I shall be departing shortly,’ Angel explained. ‘I need you to load all the weapons and shields we liberated from the pyramid and take it to the Valk’r. Please ensure they distribute it fairly among the nations of earth. I also need them to send out technicians to help deploy the equipment.’ ‘My lord,’ they both acknowledged in unison and turned to do his bidding. Guival selected a transport ship from Jen’s archives, which had sufficient space to carry all their cargo and they used Skibladne’s teleporter to transfer the payload. Angel’s mindcom beeped. ‘We are ready to depart my lord,’ Guival’s voice rang in his mind.

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‘Excellent. Demonstrate haste my friends we have less than three days before D-day,’ Angel thought back. They parted company and Angel set course for somewhere in Boston. On route, he had Skibladne create a teleportation chamber for his sword alongside that of the Bow of Odin and Mjolnir, and he changed into his human clothes again. Skibladne landed silently in an open field. Angel disembarked and sent Skibladne into the next dimension. He cursed the fact that were no fields closer to the town, and walked for the better part of an hour before he reached it. Thoughts rushed through his head like a freeway on fast-forward. He had rehearsed what he would say so many times but the nervousness would not leave him. The little house seemed almost too ordinary as he walked up to the front door and rang the bell. He still straightened his clothes when the door swung open. ‘Hello brother,’ he said and smiled. Mark stood staring at him, unable to speak. ‘Long story but yes I am your brother, and yes we are twins,’ Angel tried again. His brother kept on staring without saying a word. ‘Would you like me to go?’ Angel tried a different approach. This was not quite the welcome he expected. ‘No, er, no please come in. Forgive my rudeness, but you must understand this is quite a shock. Opening the door and staring into your own face does not happen often,’ Mark explained then he started chattering.

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‘So you are my brother? How did you find me? Were you living with our mother? Can I meet her? Is this real?’ ‘Slow down brother, sit and I’ll try to explain,’ Angel said. ‘Yes, we were separated at birth. I stayed with our mother and you went off with our father. They both vowed not to tell us about each other, and I am sorry to tell you this but she took the secret to her grave. I have lately had dreams of you. That is how I knew that you existed, but since we took the names of the parents that raised us, I did not know how to find you. Luckily I have some very resourceful friends and they managed to track you down.’ Angel took a breath for the first time, ‘how is dad?’ Mark looked dejected. ‘He died of pneumonia about 3 weeks ago,’ he said and turned his gaze to his brother. ‘I thought I was now truly alone on this planet and then you show up.’ If you only knew how alone you were on this planet till a week ago, Angel thought. Though saddened by the news of his father, he at least had his brother. ‘I know this is going to sound confusing, but we have little time brother and I have much to do. I cannot explain now but please pack a bag, we need to go.’ ‘Excuse me? You just got here, you tell me you’re my brother, and now you want me to pack up and leave?’ Mark replied baffled. ‘All will become clear very soon. Do you have a car?’ Angel asked.

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‘Yes in the motor port. I don’t even know your name,’ Mark tried again. ‘You can call me Angel; everyone that matters now does.’ Mark thought this was a strange name but went with it all the same. ‘Okay I’ll humour you. It is Sunday and I have nothing better to do today,’ he said and walked off to go pack. A couple of minutes later they were driving towards the field. ‘So tell me; where do you live?’ asked Mark. ‘We used to live in a small town in Ohio. It was quiet living,’ Angel reminisced. ‘Mom was a sensitive woman, beautiful and had a bubbly personality. She took very good care of me, and we never really had any shortages in the home.’ Angel felt a lump in his throat. ‘After she passed away I moved to New York and started my own company. It had been a rocky road but that is all behind me now. My life is now something completely different.’ ‘Well dad was a strong person, quiet and very intelligent. He also took very good care of me, but I did not see him nearly as much as I would have liked. He went away on business frequently. I had a housekeeper who looked after me most of the time.’ ‘So dad never got remarried, that is strange,’ Angel remarked. ‘Okay, pull over here.’ ‘There is nothing out here!’ ‘Not yet,’ Angel gave his bother a naughty smiled. They walked a little way into the field before Angel called Skibladne. Mark fell heavily on his backside as the massive ship slowly appeared. ‘What the hell is that?’ he fearfully said pointing at the ship.

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‘This, my dear brother, is Skibladne. Come,’ he motioned as the hatch opened in Skibladne’s belly. Mark, mouth agape, followed as if in a trance. They stood on the command deck when Angel ordered Skibladne to set course for the Valk’r base. ‘Okay, now for all your questions, but first I shall give you a little background,’ Angel suggested. He told him about his abduction, the worlds he visited, how he became the UGE Lord, the visions, and lastly about the attack on earth. ‘The earth is going to be destroyed?’ Mark nervously asked. ‘Not if we can help it. We are doing everything in our power to prevent it from happening. But I’ll be honest with you, it does not look good,’ Angel responded solemnly. They continued speaking about what is going to happen and how it all came about. Mark was astonished. He could not believe his ears or his eyes when Angel showed him around Skibladne. ‘You have yet to meet the crew, and it unfortunately gets stranger. We have a Valkyrie, a Dwarf, an Elf, a Wizard and a shape changing monkey.’ Mark laughed so hard his whole body shook. ‘Elves, Dwarves and Mages, with a shape changing monkey and a Valkyrie in for good measure, now I know you are pulling my leg,’ Mark said when he could breathe again. Angel just smiled. ‘You’ll see. Myths, legends and fantasy usually have a core of truth somewhere at the centre. You would be amazed how much of what we believe to be fictional is real. Take Skibladne for

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example, it is straight from mythology yet here you are standing inside her.’ ‘We will be landing shortly. I am going to change clothing. I have created an extra jump suit for you, although I should have expanded the waist area slightly,’ he joked. By the time Mark reappeared on the bridge, Angel had the Sword of Freyr securely strapped to his back and he was requesting permission for final approach from Valk’r control. ‘This is Skibladne to Valk’r control requesting clearance to land.’ The answer came promptly. ‘This is Valk’r control, change heading to 32 degrees, altitude 1500 feet my lord and welcome to New Valhalla.’ They were heading into a mountain, and a section of the rock face moved away, large enough for Skibladne to pass through comfortably. Skibladne gently touched down in the hangar where a huge reception committee waited for them to disembark. All the Valk’r had heard the legend of Skibladne and the UGE Lord but none had ever seen them. They were here now and nobody intended to miss this. His crew formed an honour guard; all dressed in their jumpsuits. Gemmi proudly wore the Brisingamen jewel around her neck. Kirom had Mjolnir, and Laidin the Bow of Odin strapped to their backs. They looked proudly on, as he disembarked from the crown jewel of the UGE. Even Loser proudly stood next to Gemmi, wearing his tiny jumpsuit and the bandage on his left arm, with his little chest pushed out as far as it would go.

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Angel happily noticed Loser’s jump suit held up under the frequent resizing he subjected it to, which he built in as a foresight, but never had a chance to test. Gemmi stepped forward as leader of the Valk’r. ‘My lord, it is with great pleasure I bid you welcome to New Valhalla, we hope you had a pleasant journey,’ she said with a deep curtsey. ‘Oh shut up and give me a hug,’ Angel laughed, and Gemmi rushed into his arms. ‘I missed you,’ she whispered happily. ‘And I you little one,’ he returned the affectionate words. Loser hugged both of them, just as happy. Angel walked over to greet the rest of the crew, and then he turned to Mark who stood on his own quite bemused. Angel waved him closer. ‘My friends may I introduce to you my brother Mark.’ He pointed to each of his crew in turn. ‘Mark this is Laidin, Kirom, Gemmi, Guival and Loser, the intrepid crew of the Lady Skibladne.’ There were a lot of, ‘how do you do,’ and ‘pleased to meet you,’ before Ricci stepped forward. ‘My lord, I am Ricci. We are honoured to meet you at last.’ ‘Please to meet you too Ricci,’ Angel said and for the first time looked at her. Something stirred inside him, and it felt very strange. He could feel his cheeks redden. Angel quickly turned away, pretending to examine his surroundings. ‘Impressive base you have here,’ he said without looking in her direction.

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‘Thank you my lord, would you like some refreshments?’ she asked, her naughty eyes twinkling. ‘That would be lovely, thank you,’ he said and she walked off, hips purposefully swaying, to go organize it. He watched her depart and suddenly realized he was staring, so he quickly turned his attention to Laidin. ‘My lord, the war effort is going well,’ Laidin remarked trying her utmost to stifle a laugh. El generally did not miss much. ‘Great so give me the low down,’ Angel requested as they started walking towards the war room. ‘We have distributed the shield generators and other equipment to the major cities. It should give them some protection but not a lot,’ Laidin confirmed. ‘The Valk’r warriors are battle ready and monitoring all known Taur frequencies but nothing as yet. Guival informed us of your successes. It seems we have done as much as we could for the people of earth. The rest is up to faith and good fortune.’ ‘I agree; I think there is little more we could have done, even if we had more time.’ Angel felt anxious, the end was drawing ever closer and it was a daunting prospect. ‘Let us review the battle plan one more time and then we should get some rest. We have all worked hard these couple of days, and we need all the strength we can muster for the battle.’ Angel spent most of day eight and nine with his brother catching up. There was nothing more to do but wait and pray.

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CHAPTER 44 Day 10 broke and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. Angel stood in front of more than a hundred view screens, of which 12 displayed the tense faces of the nuclear superpowers. The rest of the screens showed the worried faces of most of the leaders from the rest of earth’s nations. LOBE’s voice came into Angel’s mind. ‘They have left the jump point,’ and Angel said in an audible voice, which instantly translated in the mother tongue of each of the leaders by the Ark technology. ‘They are here.’ No sooner had he said this and radio chatter started on one of the Taur frequencies. Angel still addressed the screens. ‘Please have someone monitor this broadcast continuously. There would be very little time after we give the final warning.’ Laidin took up position next to him. ‘Unfortunate news my Lord, the Taur are mobilizing to attack immediately. We will not have the Darkmoons as a defence initiative.’ ‘It is, as you feared. Their battle hunger has got the better of them,’ Angel acknowledged. ‘A consolation is that we detected only a small portion of the fleet break off and heading here. The rest seemed to be setting up base.’ ‘How small,’ Angel asked under his breath.

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‘Large enough to wipe out the earth, several times,’ Laidin solemnly confirmed. Angel did not understand this. ‘What do you think that’s about? Why not just send the entire fleet and crush us? Why bring such a massive fleet if you are not going to use it?’ ‘I think they want to put the fear of God into these people and maybe get them to mount a defence so they may have some sport before decimating the planet,’ Laidin answered in a gravely. ‘Well that is good news for us, is it not? We have a better chance now. If they want us to mount a defence they were planning to give us some time and hopefully enough for the Darkmoons to arrive in 12 hours.’ ‘12 hours and 37 minutes, earth time,’ LOBE corrected him. ‘That is one way of looking at it, but this means they will attack civilian targets on this run which makes it worse. They want to get earth angry and force them to defend themselves without weakening earth defences before they show their true might,’ Laidin remarked. Angel addressed the leaders trying his utmost to hide his concern. ‘We have news that only a small portion of the invasion force is heading our way. We assume it is to extend an invitation to earth to defend itself. They will come here and destroy at will to show their superiority, and then leave us so we may, in their opinion, mount a feeble defence. We have a few surprises for them, and if we succeed in holding them off, the two super-weapons called Darkmoons should be arriving in 12 hours. They would make the Taur think twice before attacking again.’ Angel did not feel the

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need to share the gravity of their situation with them. He did not need them to panic. He wanted them focused on the mission. Angel spoke to LOBE. ‘How long before the Taur are in target range and what are the most likely coordinates for first contact?’ Angel asked examining the Valk’r long-range scanners. ‘93 minute 12 seconds at current speed, entry will be 39°12’17’ Latitude 8°44’01’ Longitude,’ LOBE stated and Angel relayed this as quickly as possible to the leaders. ‘Place your air force on full alert. Do not bother loading ammunition, it will just weigh down the planes and have no effect on the enemy. Arm the planes with high yield missiles only. If your fighter planes were fitted with the plasma cannons we brought along, use those to weaken the Taur’s shields before firing missiles. I believe your personnel received instruction in the proper battle tactics against the invaders. I shall initiate countdown for the nuke launches closer to the time. We will now feed our scanner information to you so you may stay informed.’ Angel did not attempt to argue with Gemmi when she requested, no, demanded to lead the Valk’r into battle. He had faith in her, and now he had to prove it. ‘Remember patience young one, a wise warrior waits for the opportunity to attack to present itself while a young warrior rushes in head first. Ricci will fly on your wing, listen to her advice,’ he said in parting. He fell in step beside Ricci as she walked to her fighter. He could feel his heart starting to beat faster. The effect this green-eyed warrior had on him amazed him.

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‘A favour my lady,’ he said feeling strangely out of sorts. She smiled sweetly, ‘anything my lord.’ ‘Bring her back safely. She is very dear to me,’ Angel felt the word choke in his throat. ‘I shall my lord’ Ricci promised looking deep into his grey blue eyes. ‘Wear this. It is a mindcom. With this you will be able to transmit and receive thoughts to and from any of my crew,’ he explained, ‘and me,’ he added. Angel turned to leave, and called over his shoulder. ‘I would love to see you again as well.’ She stared at his departing figure and smiled. Since only his crew had any real battle experience against the Taur they all took command of a squadron of Valk’r fighters. Angel stood in front of the rows of screens for one last time. ‘Okay LOBE, count me down to 30 minutes to Launch,’ Angel requested. ‘31 minutes 12 seconds,’ LOBE answered. ‘Gentlemen start 30 minute countdown to missile launch on my mark.’ LOBE said, ‘Now.’ Angel said, ‘Mark.’ Mark said, ‘Yes?’ Angel ignored him, as counters all around the planet started ticking down the seconds to the end of the world. ‘Set coordinates as previously given, they have not changed. Deploy your fighters now. There will be no time to get them airborne when the attack begins. You have all received our

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fighter’s images. Please ensure you program your identification computers accordingly. Some of our fighters will act automatically on a perceived threat like a missile lock, and we don’t want any friendly fire incidents.’ ‘Good luck gentlemen, I shall now return you to the feed from our scanning equipment.’ He hurried off to Skibladne closely followed by his brother. ‘Where do you think you are going?’ he asked Mark. ‘Well I figured the safest place on earth right now would be in a plane that does not exist, right?’ Angel smiled briefly. ‘Come on,’ he said. The boarded quickly and took their seats. He turned on his mindcom. ‘Well my friends, this is it. So get your backsides to the insertion coordinates, and come back alive.’

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CHAPTER 45 Skibladne took the lead, followed closely by the fighters of his crew, and the 500 or so Valk’r fighters. ‘Battle mode,’ Angel commanded. #Battle Mode engaged# The gasps from his crew were clearly audible over the mindcom. He knew why and smiled broadly. They had never seen the amazing ship go into battle mode. He wished he could see what they saw now. It must be the most incredible sight ever. Laser turrets, rocket pods, ion and Tachyon cannons, missile launchers and some weapons no one had ever seen before, appeared from nowhere. Skibladne deployed weapons that should not exist, and some that could not exist. The lady looked like a porcupine having a bad hair day. Nevertheless, she also looked like something you would rather not mess with, even if you could not count and you had your own personal Darkmoon. ‘Automatically target and destroy any Taur ships,’ he finished the command sequence. ‘Guival if you intend morphing into a Taur ship, stay well clear of Skibladne unless you wish to become cannon fodder.’ ‘Trust me my lord, I don’t think anybody is going to come within a standard continent of you once we go into battle,’ Guival laughed. ‘Does it look that bad?’ Angel asked innocently. Laidin answered.

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‘Put it this way my lord, if Skibladne is ever decommissioned we can refit an entire UGE armada from the salvaged weapons.’ ‘Okay, stop it now. You are going to hurt the lady’s feelings,’ Angel pleaded playfully. ‘Anyway the more firepower we have the better.’ ‘I agree my lord but I think the rest of us should just get ringside seats, a good supply of popcorn and enjoy the show,’ Guival chirped. ‘Nobody is denying me a fight,’ Kirom growled. ‘Nobody would dare deny you anything Master Dwar,’ Ricci answered adding her opinion. ‘Hey where did you get a mindcom?’ Gemmi demanded. ‘From me,’ Angel said, ‘I… We will need her insight.’ ‘He just wants to speak to his girlfriend,’ Gemmi remarked teasingly, ‘isn’t that right Loser old buddy.’ ‘Gemmi that’s enough,’ Laidin’s stern reply touched a nerve in the little girl. ‘But you said...’ came Gemmi’s faint voice. ‘I said enough, young lady.’ ‘No let her finish,’ a terse Angel remarked. ‘What did Laidin say Gemmi?’ Kirom interrupted, attempting to run interference for his friend, ‘we are approaching the coordinates my lord.’ ‘This conversation is far from over,’ Angel snapped. Ricci remained strangely absent during the entire exchange. ‘Squadrons deploy. There will be a lot of military planes up here, so be careful.’

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Angel hoped the military planes knew what the friendly ships looked like and did not start shooting at Valk’r, a move that would be detrimental to their health. ‘Time to launch,’ Angel asked. ‘30 seconds,’ LOBE answered. ‘My lady, connect me to the leaders.’ A second later, the faces of the leaders spread across Skibladne’s view screen. ‘Gentlemen this is the fight for earth, it’s what we prepared for. Let’s show them what the earth is made of,’ he paused for dramatic effect. ‘Now if you would be so kind as to nuke the bastards it would be much appreciated.’ Angel switched channels to command his troops. ‘Okay, get low ladies and gentlemen, the sky will be filled with nasty little thorns shortly.’ None of them had ever seen a firework display of such magnitude. Hundreds of missiles came pouring overhead from every direction. Smoke trails painted thin white lines on the blue sky, before leaving earth’s atmosphere. Even inside earth’s atmosphere, the explosions were clearly visible. From Skibladne’s scanners he could see the missiles doing their job. It’s working, he thought satisfied. ‘Oh no, they are dividing into different forces in space,’ Gemmi observed anxiously. ‘LOBE, calculate possible targets,’ Angel thought.

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‘North America, Europe, Russia, China and Australia,’ LOBE answered immediately. Angel spoke into his mindcom. ‘Gemmi you have Europe, Laidin Russia, Kirom North America, Guival Australia and I shall take the China remnant.’ Angel suspected that their leader would go for the greatest concentration of people, which would be China. ‘Ricci take command of 100 fighters and follow me, Gemmi you are on your own, make me proud,’ Angel commanded. He headed towards China at maximum burn, not waiting for Ricci. There was no way he was letting the Taur beat him there. The Chinese air force, already airborne, awaited his arrival. ‘Hello boys,’ he said on their frequency, ‘mind if I join the party?’ ‘You are most welcome honourable warrior,’ the reply came. He only had to wait a few seconds before the Taur invasion force came into visual range. A sickly looking green fighter led the Taur. The Taur leaders had this interesting habit of marking their fighters in a distinct fashion making them extremely easy to spot in battle. Their arrogance knew no bounds. ‘Whose fighter is that,’ he asked Skibladne. #Alra’st# Skibladne replied. ‘The second in command of the Taur?’ he smiled in glee. He was hoping that Kra’st would have been arrogant enough to lead this force, but Alra’st will do nicely. Angel would have loved the look on Alra’st face when he saw Skibladne; it was priceless.

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What the hell, Skibladne, here, Shit! I should have known the UGE were involved! He thought, but she seems to be alone, except for a few earthling bugs. A disturbing thought hit him like a sledgehammer. The UGE Lord is dead. If there is no UGE Lord then who is flying it? The legends say that only the UGE Lord can pilot it. This was bad. What is going on? However, the thoughts vanished when he realized what he had in his grasp. ‘Destroy that ship! Destroy Skibladne!’ he spat the order to his entire fleet in general. It would be a glorious victory if he returned to Kra’st with the news that he destroyed the crown jewel of the UGE. Kra’st might even forgive him for losing most of his invitation fleet. ‘What is he doing? He is flying straight at us.’ Alra’st asked baffled. ‘Is he truly insane?’ A completely sane UGE Lord commenced fire on the Taur remnant and it was like staying out of the way of a stampeding herd of buffalo. The Chinese fighters followed closely behind, using the highway Angel cleared for them as an attack corridor. Ricci, a brilliant strategist herself, adjudged Angel’s intentions were to perform a head on assault on the Taur. She knew they would scatter and she brought her Valk’r fighters in from above and behind in a wide-angle formation.

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The Valk’r warriors fought like cornered lions, not a quarter given or asked for. The Taur ships went down in droves from the front and the rear. The Chinese fighters were not doing as well and their numbers dwindled far quicker that the enemy. Nevertheless, they were bravely fighting and they were achieving a measure of success, especially with allowing the Taur to destroy their own forces. Ricci hunted the Taur Landers while Angel resolutely pursued Alra’st. ‘How are we doing?’ he asked Skibladne. #Shields are down to 2%, rerouting power from energy weapons, regenerating now# she answered. Angel took thousands of hits flying straight through the Taur force, but the amazing power source of Skibladne seemed to have kept them in one piece. He did do his share of damage. The awesome firepower Skibladne deployed ripped through the hulls of those unfortunate enough to be in close proximity of the juggernaut, like the Sword of Freyr through thin air. Countless Taur fighters, bombers and Landers were there and then they were mostly everywhere, in molecule form. Others simply fell out of the sky like confetti depending on which of Skibladne’s weapon selection they were unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of. #one more direct hit will most likely result in hull breach# Skibladne remarked. Alra’st was a great pilot, and Angel struggled to keep on his tail.

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‘Damn, missed again,’ he breathed after Alra’st out manoeuvred him with a tight turn at high speed, at the exact moment he lined up for the final shot. He threw the ship around and searched for Alra’st signature. ‘Where are you hiding little one? Come out come out wherever you are. Uncle Angel has a surprise for you.’ Skibladne located Alra’st coming from directly above him. ‘Ah, there you are... just a little closer.’ #if he fires now he will destroy us# droned Skibladne. ‘I know,’ Angel replied deep in concentration. ‘Now!’ he sent Skibladne into the next dimension by pressing the beacon. She disappeared into her hangar dimension with a very confused Alra’st targeting thin air. ‘4… 3… 2… 1…’ he pressed the beacon again and Skibladne reappeared. ‘All hull turrets target Taur fighter.’ ‘Fire,’ Angel commanded. Alra’st could not avoid the barrage. First Skibladne disappears into thin air, and now this. His fighter’s engines exploded in a ball of flames and smoke, and Angel watched as he fell to earth. ‘Aren’t you going to finish him off?’ Mark asked his brother. ‘I have more pressing concerns than a downed Taur my dear brother.’ Angel did not want to shoot an unarmed enemy, even if he was a Taur. He got back to where he left the Valk’r and found Ricci in a spot of bother. Three Taur Fighters sat on her tail and they had her boxed in, leaving her no room to manoeuvre.

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Angel smiled. ‘Skibladne, be a dear and target those three fighters for me.’ He got in behind them with ease. With Skibladne’s manoeuvring capabilities, it was like taking candy from a baby. Three pops later and the slim lady had sung and eaten the candy for good measure. ‘Thank you my lord but I had the situation under control,’ an annoyed Ricci responded. Sure you had, he thought but said, ‘just being a gentleman.’ The Taur forces scattered and appeared in disarray without their leader. The casualty count on both sides was astronomical. ‘They are retreating, my lord. It seems Skibladne’s return to the fray did not go down well,’ Ricci observed. ‘Ah, and I thought we were getting along so well,’ Angel teased. Nine fighters remained in Ricci’s squadron and the enemy all but wiped out the Chinese Air Force. Angel felt sorry for the Chinese, as their air force had to deal with the main Taur invasion led by Alra’st. Many cities lay in ruin as several of the Taur Landers made it onto the ground and some of the bombers got through as well. ‘All right ladies, check for wounded on the ground and return to base. I shall meet you there shortly,’ Angel commanded. ‘Regroup as quickly as possible. They have more than enough time to send the main fleet, before the Darkmoons arrive.’ Angel knew it would not matter; they had no more nukes and almost no air support. They had nothing to throw at the Taur except rocks.

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He set off towards Europe and Gemmi at full throttle. An amazing sight greeted him. The Valk’r and Euro fighters picked off the Taur as if it was open season in an apple orchid and an angry Gerbit stood below the tree shaking it. ‘Gemmi, you sly little minks,’ he thought. She obviously messed with the Taur minds. Confused and frightened they flew around like idiots, presenting themselves as easy targets. ‘All team leaders check in, situation report,’ Angel commanded. ‘We have them on the run,’ he heard a pleased Kirom’s thoughts, ‘we have sustained heavy casualties, but these American pilots have the right stuff. They took down a fair number of the Taur bastards. I have less than forty Valk’r fighters left in my Squadron.’ ‘We are fine. Seventy-five Valk’r fighters remain in my squadron. We destroyed most of Taur forces save a few Landers that made it down. We did not have the brunt of the force to deal with. The Russian pilots must be commended on a superb job of defending their homeland,’ Laidin concluded. ‘I’m okay,’ Gemmi remarked simply. ‘I can see that little one,’ Angel grinned, until Guival’s worried voice came into his head. ‘We are in deep trouble. I am overwhelmed and I have no Valk’r fighters left. The Australian planes could put up very little resistance and the Taur decimated our forces. We were outnumbered 20 to 1. The only reason I am still breathing is that I morphed into a Taur fighter. Most of the major cities are in ruin. They seem to be withdrawing. I think they have completed the job they came to do.’

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Angel felt sorry for Guival. Except for the force that went to China, he had the largest insurgence to deal with and he was the least experienced commander. This strange force division mystified Angel. Why would they send such a huge force there when America and Russia were much bigger threats? ‘Guival, see if you can leave the Taur remnant and then meet us back at base.’ ‘I’ll be there shortly my lord.’ ‘We are in position my Lord,’ a voice Angel did not recognize was transmitting on the mindcom. ‘I am very glad to hear that. Ehm, now, who exactly are you?’ ‘Commander Darkmoon-1, my lord,’ the voice came again. ‘WHAT? You are here. But how, you were not scheduled to arrive for…’ LOBE interjected. ‘…8 hours and 13 minutes, earth time.’ ‘Yes my Lord but we detected Taur presence when we left the jump and immediately went to maximum burn. The towing beams were placed under a stress they were not meant to handle, but thankfully they held.’ ‘I am deeply thankful for your foresight commander. Now, there is a Taur invasion force trying to leave earth orbit. Under no circumstances may they leave, destroy every last one of them,’ a mystified Angel requested, how did they sneak two ships as big as moons past the Taur armada? ‘We have them on scanner my lord, it will be our pleasure.’ ‘Thank you. Have the dreadnaughts deploy in a defensive pattern around earth when you are done, good hunting.’

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‘All squadrons take care of the wounded, examine every Valk’r fighter shot down, we are leaving no one behind. Laidin send some of your Valk’r fighters to Australia. Gemmi request medical and support staff from New Valhalla. We will regroup back at base.’ A crippled Valk’r fleet assembled in the hangar where Gemmi addressed them. ‘Valk’r you have done yourselves proud. The slain will remain in our hearts in a place of honour. You have fought bravely and bards across the universe will sing of your courage and valour. Today the human race became one, fought as one, stood as one and in one voice refused to surrender. The greatest battle this planet has ever seen led by the greatest warriors this planet has ever seen... led to victory by the Valk’r.’ A cheer went up around the hangar and the chant of ‘Valk’r, Valk’r, Valk’r,’ started while slain comrades were fondly remembered. Angel in the meantime, stood in the Valk’r command centre and received feedback from the leaders. ‘Our forces are severely diminished and our nuclear arsenal depleted. Millions of lives were lost but we managed to save millions that would surely have succumbed today. The shields held for the most part and many cities and other vitally important centres remained intact. Our thanks to you and your brave fighters,’ the President of the United States announced with deep appreciation. The other leaders echoed this sentiment. ‘Thank you gentlemen but I cannot take credit for the victory. It was not aliens but a secret society of earthlings that fought so

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bravely. They have been on earth protecting your continued existence for millennia. You will be hearing a lot more from these warrior ladies, known as the Valk’r, in the future. You are alive today because of their bravery and undying devotion to this species. They went into battle knowing they will in most likelihood not return, but they were willing to die for all of you,’ Angel paused. ‘If anyone deserves your applause and admiration it is them.’ ‘Then please extend our heartfelt gratitude to these fine warriors,’ the President stated while the other leaders enthusiastically concurred. ‘The fight is not over Mr. President. A sizeable remnant of the ground forces remains on the planet, and they will be difficult to stop. The Valk’r will do what they can, but you will need to assist them in this perilous task.’ ‘We will do what we can Angel.’ ‘The super weapons I spoke of are now in place. You might have noticed two extra moons orbiting earth. There are eight dreadnaughts orbiting the earth as well. The Darkmoons should deter any further invasion or at least slow them down until the cavalry has arrived.’ ‘Thank you Angel. We still have much to do, our countries are battered and we have many terrified people out there. Till we meet again,’ he said in parting. Ricci stepped up beside Angel. ‘I heard what you said, and you did not have to give us all the credit.’ ‘How many close friends did you lose today?’

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‘237 Valk’r including 12 Gentari and another 42 Valk’r are badly wounded,’ Ricci responded in a anguished tone. ‘How many close friends did I lose today?’ Ricci understood. ‘You deserve every bit of credit. You fought for every bit of respect the world now gives you, and it is time the Valk’r receive the recognition they deserve,’ Angel said in solemn voice. ‘You will probably be going now?’ she asked. ‘Soon, I need to make sure the earth is safe first.’ ‘Good,’ she said and walked off. Angel walked back to his quarters. In passing, he noticed Guival from the corner of his eye, sitting alone in the atrium. ‘My friend, why the solitude,’ inquired Angel. ‘I have failed you. All the others succeeded in repelling the invaders and I failed. I had to hide like a coward just to be spared,’ Guival replied tormented. ‘Guival, both Kirom and Laidin are experienced warriors. They are used to leading people into battle. Gemmi used trickery to subdue her opponents and Ricci was all but wiped out save for eight Valk’r. You also need to remember that the four of them had the support of a very large air force from the countries they defended. You had the second largest invasion force to deal with and you had very little support from the Australian Air force. You also did not have Skibladne to destroy almost half the invading force like Ricci did.’ Angel saw his words slowly sink in. ‘You were faced with unbeatable odds. That you survived is a miracle, one for which I am eternally grateful.’

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‘But I still hid like a coward,’ Guival spluttered. ‘You did not hide until it was hopeless did you? You did not hide until you were facing an insurmountable force on your own did you?’ Angel asked. ‘No,’ Guival’s head still hung. ‘You did what you know best. You are a spy, and you camouflage yourself, as any great spy would have done. There is a time to be brave and there is a time to be cunning. Why die needlessly when you can live to fight another day,’ Angel placed his arm around his friend. ‘Your skill is invaluable to me. We know you are brave, we have all seen that. We know you are resourceful, we have all seen that. We know you are true to your word and faithful to your friends. This crew needs you.’ ‘Thank you my lord, I shall not fail you again,’ Guival promised. ‘No problem, but if you say you failed me one more time I shall need to see how sharp this blade on my back really is,’ Angel joked. ‘Now go get some rest.’ The water soothed Angel’s tired body. He leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and let the spray massage his back and neck. He stood there for a long time. Afterwards he sat on his bed, thinking back on the day’s events, when a knock on his door startled him. ‘Enter,’ he commanded. ‘Am I intruding brother?’ Mark asked. ‘No, please come in.’

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‘You look tired,’ Mark observed. ‘Yes it has been a rather taxing day, how are you doing?’ ‘That is why I came to speak to you,’ Mark said but did not seem to be able to find the words to express what was on his mind. ‘This is difficult to say brother, but I do not fit in here. This is your world, not mine. I am an accountant. I work with numbers in columns. I do not count how many enemy ships we shot down or how many of my friends returned in body bags. My worst fear is a paper cut or a freak stapler accident.’ ‘Do you think I like doing this?’ Angel asked accusingly. ‘No I do not believe you do, but I am completely out of my depth. You at least had Special Forces training. You also lived on an alien planet and trained for this. This day had been a very traumatic experience. I do not think I can or want to be part of this life.’ ‘I understand. Would you like me to take you back home?’ Angel asked. ‘Yes, that would be appreciated. Do not get me wrong brother, I am overjoyed to have found you, and I am proud of the person you are. Nevertheless, I am not as strong as you are. I need a quiet life, a life without complications. I want to marry a normal boring girl. Have 2.5 normal boring kids. Live in a boring middle class suburban home with white picket fence and family Labrador,’ Mark explained with a heavy heart. He felt like he was deserting his brother. ‘It is absolutely fine brother, I do understand. I on the other hand want to feel needed by the universe. I have never felt more alive than now, with these aliens. I am apparently ruler of the

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known universe. I have a life. I have purpose. You do not have the same needs. I shall take you back to Boston tomorrow morning.’ ‘Thanks Angel, see you in the morning.’ ‘Sleep well brother.’ ‘Just before I go, what is your real name?’ Mark asked. Angel told him.

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CHAPTER 46 Aboard the Taur Sovereign Destroyer flagship, things were getting messy. Taur hid behind desks, in wastepaper baskets, in airlocks, and some posed as statues in the corridors. Kra’st was furious. ‘What do you mean you can’t make contact with Alra’st?’ He threw his spear Gungnir at the wall. *gurgle* ‘All I asked for is a simple communication relay so I may speak to my forces on the battle front. Is that too much to ask?’ *gurgle* ‘I am a patient Taur. I gave you 3 hours to complete a simple task. 3 hours of our boys not hearing their beloved leader’s voice, encouraging them, telling them, they are doing a great job and we are thinking of them. I think I gave you enough time don’t you?’ Kra’st said in his most sincere voice. *gulp gurgle* ‘All I wanted was to know how they were doing. To send help if they needed it, to know our boys on the front are doing us proud.’ *gurgle, gurgle*

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‘And you can’t even do that right. Makes me wonder why I am paying you. Oh, that’s right I’m not, but if I was, I would definitely wonder.’ Kra’st always felt he should have had the lead role in, The Taur and the pauper, in kindergarten but then a spiteful teacher denied him the opportunity. She did however decide to sit on his Grun1 shortly afterwards, which seemed to have found her chair most comfortable. She died an excruciating death, which many felt, had to have been the performance of her life. *gurgle* A Cen’t interrupted his fun. ‘Sir, I think I know why we cannot establish communication with our invasion force.’ ‘Why? Pray tell.’ Kra’st was now so far into the role it was sickening. The Cen’t knowing fair well not to give bad news by word of mouth and so giving Gungnir an obvious target, put the bad news on the huge view screen. Kra’st stared at it. ‘Yes it’s the puny planet. Well done, you sent a probe and its sending back pictures of the planet. So tell me exactly why I am looking at this revolting picture?’

1 The Grun is an extremely poisonous snake that could become near invisible when asleep; it seemed to fade out of existence when unconscious and then seem to come back into being when it awoke.

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‘Sir the planet has 3 moons,’ Tri’st answered him. ‘Tri’st not you too, am I surrounded by stupidity today, woe is me.’ ‘Sir it had 1 moon when we arrived.’ ‘The planet grows moons?’ Kra’st asked. ‘Unlikely sir, I think they might be Darkmoons, but I could be wrong. We might need to get the probe closer.’ Tri’st tried to walk the thin line between being right and being dead. It was so obviously Darkmoons but nobody was going to be sure until Kra’st was sure. ‘Get that probe closer,’ Kra’st ordered. ‘Immediately sir,’ the Cen’t who brought the news, acknowledged the command. ‘Your assumption is quite correct Tri’st; it does appear to be Darkmoons. See that is why I keep you around as my advisor, you notice the little things, so I can focus on the larger picture,’ Kra’st continued. ‘So how the hell did 2 darkmoons slip past us and get into orbit around that planet?’ Kra’st bellowed. <Silence> *Gurgle, urgh* ‘Well at least the planet poses a challenge now,’ Kra’st remarked thoughtfully. ‘Get me Alra’st,’ he ordered. ‘Sir, Alra’st is on earth. I do not think they can escape with two Darkmoons orbiting the planet. It will destroy any ship leaving or entering the planet’s atmosphere as you are well aware,’ Tri’st explained while ducking instinctively.

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‘So they are stuck on the planet having fun destroying it from the inside, while we are stuck out here till we figure out how to destroy those two damn moons,’ Kra’st speculated on the obvious. He pulled Gungnir from the wall. A loud plop followed as the now permanently retired previously senior communication engineer hit the deck. Tri’st had other concerns. Why are the Darkmoons here? Does this mean the betrayal is real? He could not get his mind around this. Kra’st is obviously too thick to understand the gravity of this situation. If the Darkmoons are here then the UGE armada will not be far behind. Tri’st knew it could mean his death, but he would rather die than see this fleet destroyed without the chance of defending themselves. ‘Sir, I have just had a thought. I am sure it is just paranoia in my old age, but if the Darkmoons are here, could it be possible that a UGE Armada is also on their way?’ Tri’st attempted to look extremely baffled. He stopped short from drooling to demonstrate his stupidity. Kra’st looked at him smugly. ‘In my extensive experience as a commander, I would expect an armada to closely follow the Darkmoons. They probably sent them ahead while preparing their fleet.’ Tri’st looked impressed, had Kra’st actually concluded that on his own. ‘Brilliant my lord, I wish I had thought of that. What should we do?’ he asked innocently.

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‘We should prepare to engage the UGE armada of course. There is ample time to destroy that puny planet afterwards. Do I always have to think for everybody?’ Kra’st said feeling very proud of his obvious genius. ‘Prepare the fleet. Send probes to the earth jump point, and redirect scanners. I want everyone on full battle alert,’ Kra’st seemed ready to implode. Tri’st wondered how long he could still play this dangerous game with this buffoon before it backfires on him.

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CHAPTER 47 A brilliant plan formed in Brom’s mind. He would have his fleet hide inside the huge nebula near the Taur border. This Nebula had been a source of amusement for youngsters for ages due to its strange properties. No scanner could penetrate it because of the high radiation and no light escaped it, thus when you entered the nebula you were for all practical purposes invisible. He would put together a small tactical force and accidentally run into the ancient fleet attempting to coax them into following him. He would pretend to try escape into the nebula where his fleet would ambush them. One of his scouts had spotted the ancient fleet less than a lightyear from his current position. ‘Brom to Rellen, is the fleet in place?’ ‘Yes sir. The last of our fleet have now entered the Nebula. We will be creating a corridor for you to lead the ancients into.’ ‘Good work, you may open fire as soon as we have passed through the corridor of death.’ ‘Very good sir, we will lose radio contact as soon as we enter the nebula, in about 30 seconds. Good luck sir.’ ‘And to you Commander,’ Brom said. Brom had selected about 50 very quick fighters that should be able to outrun the ancients if push comes to shove. With the trap set, and the bait deployed, the hunt was on. He was fast approaching the last known position of the ancient’s fleet.

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‘Are you sure this is the place, there is nothing here,’ Brom asked his second in command. ‘Yes sir, this is the exact coordinates the scout sent us, factoring in their rate of travel.’ ‘Let’s keep our course steady. Reduce speed to 5% burn. We don’t want to run into them at high speed.’ Brom felt uneasy. Something bothered him; the light from the stars seemed somehow distorted. ‘Alpha 2, fire a light-burst,’ Brom commanded. The light burst illuminated the space around them. ‘By the hammer of Thor,’ Brom breathed. They had found the ancients fleet, no, they were inside the ancient fleet. The light-burst, for a split second, revealed the monstrous hunks of metal all around them before they faded back into the darkness. Fifty fighters started to glow with an eerie bluish-white light as if St. Elmo’s fire surrounded them. Brighter and brighter, they glowed until it was blinding, and then just as suddenly as it started, the light disappeared. So did everything else. Nothing remained, just the vast emptiness of space. Teral awoke screaming inside his mind. He knew something terrible had befallen his comrade. His Aesir blood ran in freezing streams throughout his body. He could sense the universe weeping for the loss of a righteous being, a brave and noble soul. Teral suddenly felt a dreadful loneliness, and the excruciating pain from his spirit threatened to consume him. His lifelong friend, his blood brother, he could not sense him any longer.

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The bond they had formed after centuries of friendship had disappeared. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Brom!â&#x20AC;&#x2122; he cried in anguish.

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CHAPTER 48 A beautiful day broke in New Valhalla. The soft rays of dawn streamed through the sky windows. The hive was abuzz by the time Angel stepped out of his quarters. ‘Good morning my lord,’ a friendly voice echoed from behind him. ‘Good morning to you too,’ Angel said as he turned to the red headed warrior. ‘Ricci asked me to escort you to the command centre. There is something she wants you to see,’ Carra said. ‘Before I had my morning coffee?’ Angel asked genuinely disappointed. ‘Your coffee is waiting in the com room sire.’ ‘Then by all means lead on,’ Angel replied smiling. Ricci stood looking at news broadcasts from around the world with Laidin at her side. ‘Good morning my Lord, slept well?’ Laidin asked without turning around. ‘How did you know it was me? No I don’t really want to know,’ Angel wondered while Ricci turned her head and flashed a smile at him. ‘So, what is so important that it supersedes coffee?’ Angel inquired, quite intrigued by the obvious bond between the two ladies. ‘Look,’ Ricci answered pointing to the monitors. From all across the globe newscasts streamed in of successes by the military in curbing the devastating destruction of the Taur

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ground forces. It intrigued Angel to see Valk’r fighters flying in some of the bulletins. ‘And those,’ Angel nodded at the screen, sipping his coffee. ‘We deployed 200 Valk’r fighters in 10 squadrons this morning to aid the governments in destroying the more imposing Taur heavy gear,’ Ricci explained. ‘Most of the governments do not have the means to stop these machines or penetrate their shields.’ ‘That’s great,’ Angel admired their tenacity. The last thing he would like today is another yesterday. The Taur tactics confused him. ‘They are like sharks ravenous for blood. They are impossibly outnumbered, and they have no chance of victory. Yet they persist in their foolhardy pursuit of death and destruction, instead of surrendering.’ ‘Yes, but they still expect their fleet to come,’ Laidin remarked, ‘they think Kra’st would smile on them if he saw their bravery.’ ‘Do you think the fleet will still try get past the Darkmoons?’ Ricci asked. ‘I doubt it, even Kra’st’s mushy brain should realize that if the Darkmoons are here then a UGE armada won’t be far behind. He will be readying his fleet for them,’ Laidin explained thoughtfully. ‘Well ladies it has been fun, but I still need to go drop off my brother, see you later,’ Angel said and turned to leave. ‘Mind if I joined you? I would love to experience the ship of legends first hand,’ Ricci enquired politely. ‘Sure, let’s roll.’ Laidin looked at him quite puzzled, ‘let’s roll? Where will you be rolling to?’

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‘It is an expression my Elven friend, it means, Let us depart’ Angel grinned. He tapped his mindcom. ‘Mark would you meet us in the Hangar.’ ‘Sure brother, be there in a sec,’ Mark replied. Skibladne looked as beautiful as ever gleaming in the first rays of the morning sun. She stood proud and dangerous like an African lion surveying his pride. ‘She remains an awesome sight,’ Ricci remarked, admiring the lady. Angel flashed a knowing smile. ‘Yes she is. But she’s mine, you can’t have her,’ he joked with the golden haired Valk’r. They climbed aboard waiting for Mark to arrive. Angel took this time to show her around the Lady. ‘And this is the command deck,’ He concluded his tour. #good morning my lord# Skibladne greeted him. ‘Good morning beautiful. May I introduce to you, Ricci of the Valk’r,’ Angel replied. #good morning princess, I am pleased to make your acquaintance#. ‘Huh? What did you call her?’ Angel asked perplexed. #I called her ladyship by her title, is that wrong# Skibladne enquired. ‘What title, what are you going on about?’ Angel asked Skibladne, Is she being stubborn on purpose he wondered. #Her DNA scan revealed she is a direct descendant of Thrud, born from the union of Grand Master Thor of the Dwar and Queen Sif of the El. Thrud came to earth to become a Valk’r under

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Freyja. She is therefore royalty#, Skibladne explained in her emotionless voice. ‘She is a princess? And her ancestors were Thor and Sif?’ Angel exclaimed in disbelief. #correct# Skibladne confirmed, not understanding a rhetorical question. ‘I’m an alien princess?’ Ricci exclaimed stunned. #I am sure I mentioned that# apparently Skibladne was not above sarcasm. ‘But I carry the TNFR-12 gene, which is human? How is that possible?’ #that is unclear# Skibladne interjected. ‘There have been many of my ancestors who were Valk’r,’ Ricci mentioned thoughtfully and as an afterthought, ‘but why was that part of my heritage never written in legend?’ ‘Maybe Thrud did not want her heritage known. Except for Skibladne no one realized you were a descendant of Thrud,’ LOBE answered her through Angel. ‘Skibladne, what can you tell us about Sif?’ Angel asked. #Queen Sif was the last ruler of the true royal house of El. She ruled after her husband died up until her banishment due to her second marriage to Thor# #a new ruling house came into power by hostile takeover. There were royalty claims lodged by this house at a later stage apparently proving they were the pure bloodline, unfortunately without disputed for fear of decapitation# #the evidence presented by them are rumoured to be forgeries and has since been lost. Sif’s son Ullr from her first marriage and true heir to the throne did stay on as a servant in the new ruling

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house. His submissive behaviour supposedly showed the truth of the dark El claims. Ullr, a well-loved El, except by ‘Royalty’ of course, became a legend with the bow-staff# #Sif had a further child with Thor namely Thrud. Queen Sif’s eyes were blue and her hair blond. Shortly after her banishment, but before Thrud was born, Loki of the Aesir cut her hair as a joke, but Thor made him replace the hair with living gold# ‘So that is why Ricci’s hair looks as if it is made from gold,’ Angel exclaimed smiling at the blushing princess. #Correct my lord. Thor had two more children one of them with the Dwar Jarnsaxa named Magni; he formed the bloodline for Brom and Kirom. Thor’s other children namely Thrud and Modi were outcasts. Thrud joined the Valk’r. Modi became a pirate# Skibladne concluded. ‘My Lady, it almost seems as if you have an opinion on El history, and on what is the truth,’ Angel mentioned curiously, ‘you did not give only the facts.’ #this is how I was programmed# Angel considered the information, ‘so if Ricci is descendant from Thrud, and thus the Lineage of Sif, that makes her the true heir to the throne of El.’ #no, there is one other from the bloodline of Ullr# ‘Who is that?’ asked Angel. #I am not at liberty to say# ‘You cannot refuse a command from me?’ Angel inquired perplexed. #no, I may not# ‘But you still refuse to answer?’ Angel asked.

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#I do not, but I implore you to reconsider asking that question my lord# Skibladne continued as emotionlessly as before. ‘Who told you not to tell me?’ Angel asked getting irritated. ‘That would be me,’ Laidin answered. Both Angel and Ricci jumped when they heard her voice behind them. ‘You,’ Angel looked confused. LOBE on the other hand was not. ‘Of course her, where is your mind. Oh right,’ LOBE liberated Angel’s vocal cords. ‘I noticed your ability to use the bow of Odin. Yes, I thought it seemed strange that Sharin did not take that precious bow from you, but she cannot use it can she?’ LOBE surmised. Laidin bowed her head. ‘Yes it is true. Although for some reason I have not managed to ascertain, she would prefer that dreadful black bow-staff even if she could. Nevertheless, I knew that the moment I would first step aboard Skibladne, she would recognize me. When I contacted you asking permission to come aboard I asked her not to reveal my ancestry or use my lineage title, on a low frequency band hidden in my communication.’ ‘But why would she? It is not your title now, by El law it belongs to Sharin,’ it made no sense to Angel. ‘Yes my friend, but remember Skibladne originally belonged to Freyr, and he befriended Thor and Sif long before the incident. He never believed the claims by Sharin’s ancestors and always maintained that Sif’s children were the true heirs to the El throne. Therefore Skibladne would believe it as well.’ ‘So you and Ricci are cousins?’ ‘I guess so?’ Laidin said.

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‘And she and Kirom,’ Angel stated the obvious. ‘Yes.’ ‘So I am a princess,’ Ricci wanted to be sure of this. This was even better than being chief of the Valk’r, which she did relinquish, extremely reluctantly, to Gemmi. ‘If Skibladne believes you are, I won’t argue,’ Angel smiled. ‘Laidin, one more question.’ ‘How did you know I was asking these questions of Skibladne?’ She tapped her mindcom. ‘I asked Skibladne to let me know if anyone asked her silly questions,’ she smiled and left.

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CHAPTER 49 Laidin stepped off Skibladne where she found Mark waiting patiently. ‘Goodbye Mark, it was nice meeting you,’ Laidin said almost absent-mindedly in passing. Questions plagued her mind, which were in a tussle with a sneaking suspicion. ‘Are we ready to go, brother?’ Mark asked as he made himself comfortable on the command deck. ‘Sure, we’ll be on our way in just a second,’ he looked to Ricci. ‘Want to take her out?’ ‘What? Me pilot this ship, are you insane?’ ‘You dare call the UGE Lord insane!’ he answered in mock rage. ‘My sincere apologies, my lord,’ she replied taken aback. ‘I am kidding,’ he laughed to which she playfully punched him, ‘So take her out, you have the gene, just tell Skibladne what you want her to do in your mind and she will do it.’ ‘Really, May I?’ Ricci asked excitedly and closed her eyes to concentrate. ‘Er, I think it works better if you keep your eyes open,’ Angel advised her. ‘Sorry,’ Ricci tried again, she started issuing commands to Skibladne and the lady responded as if on rails, every command handled with such precision it scared Ricci. ‘Er, Ehm, the door is that way princess,’ Angel said pointing in the opposite direction to which they were travelling, praying that Skibladne’s hull would survive this abuse.

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‘Yes, yes, it’s not as easy as it looks,’ Ricci said as three Valk’r dove for cover and two others ran for the exit. Even though Skibladne executed every command with incredibly precision she did not intend helping the princess. She was an enormous ship to begin with, being twice the size of an Airbus A380. She belonged to the UGE Lord, and did not appreciate a female in control of her. ‘Shit, Skibladne raise shield,’ Angel called out, just before her tailfin, dislodged part of the roof. ‘Okay, chill, I think I’ve got it now,’ Ricci said agitatedly as she calmed down and began to think slower and more accurately. Skibladne responded immediately and turned from a wild mustang into a mountain pony promising to be nice for as long as Ricci kept her mind focused on her alone; a trait shared by most beings of the female persuasion. ‘I have a question. Why are you able to travel light-years in seconds but it takes you several minutes to get from here to say Boston?’ Ricci asked. ‘Two reasons, firstly if you dive into a swimming pool from a meter up you enter the water easily right, now go 500 meters up and try the same stunt. Splat,’ he emulated this by gesturing with his hands. ‘In space there is no air resistance, but down here it would be like driving through a solid mountain at that speed.’ ‘Makes sense,’ Ricci said. ‘Secondly the drag I’ll cause would severely disrupt the earth’s weather patterns. I’ll be pulling along compressed air behind me making me drag liquid oxygen and hydrogen, and sucking in that

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much combustible material would be a nuclear holocaust waiting to happen.’ ‘Interesting,’ she smiled. ‘Here we are, Boston,’ Ricci announced several minutes later and started to descend. ‘Seems like it was pretty much left intact,’ Angel remarked. ‘My car is probably still parked in the field.’ Mark pointed to where he left his car. ‘You can drop me off there.’ Ricci performed a pinpoint landing in the field, and dropped the stairs. They walked with Mark to where his car stood parked next to the road. ‘Goodbye brother, come visit sometime,’ he said to Angel. ‘Sure will, this used to be my home too, remember,’ Angel hugged his brother. ‘Goodbye,’ Ricci gave him a hug as well. They waved as he drove towards town. The rumbling started in the distance. ‘I don’t remember thunder on the forecast this morning,’ Angel remarked. ‘That’s not thunder,’ Ricci nervously responded. ‘Look!’ she screamed as three monstrous tank-like things came into view. They seemed to have spotted Skibladne. The tanks’ cannons spluttering were their first clue. Angel pressed the beacon and Skibladne dropped into its hangar dimension. ‘What do we do now?’ Ricci asked, ‘we have no weapons except your sword.’ ‘Run?’ angel suggested. ‘Run!’ Ricci concurred.

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The ion cannon blasts and plasma cells rained around them creating enormous craters. Deadly pieces of shrapnel whistled all about them. ‘Whatever happens to me, I want you to keep moving and don’t stop,’ Angel commanded. ‘You are the UGE Lord, I am here to protect you,’ Ricci fumed. ‘I am also your commander in chief, and I gave you a direct order. Do not stop for anything, I will find you.’ ‘I have also been mind transformed. I can run the 100m in 5 seconds so do not tell me what to do, you old coot.’ He just shook his head. He did not hold much hope of the commander in chief bit working on this headstrong Valk’r. The cannon burst exploded less than 8 feet from them, and flung them to the ground. The shrapnel did a bang up job on both of them. Ricci had a big hole in her arm, and she bled below the ribs from a piece of metal lodged there. The rest of her looked like some crazy Japanese sushi chef went berserk on her. Angel looked a lot worse. More shells exploded around them. ‘I think we should split up and give them two targets. RUN!’ he cried. She flew off, assuming he was going the other direction. He did not want her to know that he had a broken leg and dislocated shoulder. He lost her in the smoke and haze. She moved like a gazelle. She moved incredibly quick for someone so badly injured. Even though in excruciating pain, he lay unmoving. Two of the Grim Reapers followed what he assumed to be Ricci. The third

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turned towards him and appeared to want to crush him beneath its giant spike tracks. He lay motionless until the monster tank closed to within 5 meters of his position. The following events occurred in the blink of an eye, literally, and we decided to write it down in slow motion so you may be able to follow. Angel pushed up with his left arm onto his unbroken right leg and the sword appeared in his hand in an instant. Thanks to the wondrous technology in the sword, it screamed towards where Angel knew the Reaperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy cells were before he even flexed a muscle. In the same movement, he dove for the only safe place around, underneath the tank. The sword sliced through the armour and the energy cells like a hot knife through butter. The cells started to hum with their exposed core overheating. He did not have long to wait before the explosion rocked the earth for miles around but with the force directed upwards, and he remained safe. He pressed the beacon to call Skibladne, and ordered her to pilot one of the hover-cycles she had stored in her hold, to where he lay. He placed her back into her hangar dimension and set off after Ricci. One chance, he thought, as he set the auto destruct sequence on the hover-cycle. Even though the bike had a number of high yield missiles it would do very little damage to those tanks when fired in sequence, but if combined into one synchronized explosion, it might do the trick. He also became quite convinced he would win the next lotto draw, without buying a ticket.

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He flew his hover-cycle straight at the tracks of the nearest Reaper. Oh no, I have been spotted, he thought as one opened fire on him. He dove for cover landing heavily on his dislocated shoulder mere fractions of a second before the shrapnel from the plasma cell whistled over his properly battered body1. The Hover bike hit, exploded, and ripped a gap the size of a small elephant in the side of the Reaper, which caused some of the ammunition inside to explode. A firework display the Chinese would be proud of ensued. Angel could not move. He fell very badly and broke a few ribs in the process. He saw the last reaper turn around as if in a dream. He saw it slowly move towards him, the spike tracks saying ‘die… die… die,’ with every turn. Consciousness slowly slipped from his grasp. At least I tried to save you my beautiful princess, he thought and then it went dark. He walked in silence through the visions of his life and into the light.

If you just experienced a feeling of déjà vu then be not afraid, you have reached the end of the beginning of the thoughts of the unconscious human. See Chapter 1.

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CHAPTER 50 The Bifrost jump opened and Teral’s fleet started to appear. He knew there would be a welcoming committee, so in foresight he shot off jump enabled Tachyon-mines a few minutes before entering the Ark jump point. He designed them to arm on leaving the jump and you would want to be in a quite different sector of the universe when they were active. As he left the Bifrost jump point, he could see his advance team had already engaged the enemy. The Taur appeared visibly shaken. He was pleased. The mines obviously worked. He saw a lot of debris from Taur ships, floating around his cruiser. ‘Engage, engage, fire at will, fire at will,’ he shouted into his mindcom. His fighters were running like angry hornets at the Taur Capital ships and Destroyers. Kra’st, where are you, you coward, show yourself, Teral thought, wanted blood for his friend. It is your fault he is gone. Fight me you bastard. His battle cruisers and corvettes kept pouring through the jump. Explosions lit the black canvas like a mad hatter disco party. We need more heavy firepower, he thought, ruing the fact that he left the dreadnaughts behind. The six Taur destroyers continued doing massive damage to his fleet and he could not afford to send in his battle cruisers.

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They were too valuable, and too few to take on the destroyers, which were the Taur equivalent of a UGE dreadnaught. The battle did not proceed according to plan. Too many corvettes and fighters went down in relation to the enemy. He slammed his fist into the armrest of his chair; I do not have a choice. I have to take out the destroyers or this battle will be over soon. ‘Battle cruisers, to me,’ he ordered. They formed a scattered formation bearing down on the first destroyer, making it difficult to target them all simultaneously. Teral’s optimism had left him; six destroyers are going to be impossible to take down, even with 14 battle cruisers. ‘Close formation, attack from right in front. Do not let the flank cannons get a lock on you. Concentrate your fire on the command deck; we must punch a hole through the shields,’ he commanded. The firepower those monsters could muster seemed almost absurd. The ion beams they fired would take out a battle cruiser in a single salvo. The only upside was it took almost a minute to recharge. One of his battle cruisers disintegrated as a salvo hit, and another exploded from a direct hit from a destroyer on his flank. The other four destroyers were thankfully out of range. He ordered six of his cruisers after the one that just fired from the flank and he kept on course to the second. ‘Hit it, with everything you’ve got. NOW,’ he ordered, anxiously counting down the seconds in his mind until the destroyer could fire its main weapon again. A concentrated salvo hit the command deck of the destroyer, ion cannons, missiles everything in his arsenal. Another of his

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battle cruisers went down as a couple of the lesser guns on the destroyer concentrated fire on it. The destroyer finally exploded in sections from the front like an open mine blasting operation. He heard cheers through his mindcom. His other squadron of battle cruisers had lost two more of their own but had similar results. He did not feel like celebrating, this is hopeless, he thought in desperation. The other four destroyers are moving in close formation, each firing in turn leaving us no gap to attack. He knew one of them would be Kra’st, but he saw no way to get to him. He felt their impending defeat creep over him like a slow moving cold mist. A Taur destroyer to his left exploded. Then another exploded ahead of him. ‘What the hell…?’

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CHAPTER 51 Qren stared intently at the scanner in front of him. ‘They have entered UGE space, sir.’ They were not even trying to hide anymore, their path easy to trace. A little while ago, they appeared on scanners thanks to deep space probes launched by Brom before he disappeared. ‘They must have destroyed our fleet and is now so sure there are no more resistance that they are approaching unmasked,’ one of his commanders ventured. Qren had no one left to consult. He had a devastating fleet approaching and no way to stop them. He knew they were going to destroy the UGE planets as they did the Taur’s planets. It was only a matter of time. Qren sighed, and closed his eyes. ‘We tried,’ he thought to himself, ‘order the immediate evacuation to the outer rim planets of all UGE planets in proximity to their current course.’ Angel slowly opened his eyes. Hmmm, so this is heaven. Strange, I thought it would be a lot different, for one a lot bigger. At least it is comfortable. A sudden whirring noise distracted him. ‘She’s released him!’ he heard a voice shout. He blinked and then squinted at the bright light. An angel looked down at him.

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I thought of leaving you out there,’ she said with a serious face, ‘the Valk’r is only supposed to remove the bodies of slain warriors, not living ones, and anyway we only take the brave ones, but then I thought. He was going to die soon and he was a little brave, so what the hell, I’ll take him,’ Ricci joked breaking into a huge smile. I am alive, he thought. ‘How long was I unconscious,’ he managed to mumble. ‘Two days, but Skibladne took great care of you. She refused to open the coffin. Sorry, I mean recovery chamber, even after we got back to New Valhalla. Apparently, she knows what she is doing because you are as good as new. I asked her to make a few improvements but she would not hear of it,’ Ricci laughed. ‘You don’t look half bad yourself,’ he observed. ‘Yep, I got into the second chamber, after telling Skibladne where we needed to go,’ she smiled. ‘She took great care of me too.’ ‘What happened? I remember dying and you were missing,’ he croaked, trying to sit up. ‘Well if you can remember, I was pretty badly wounded as well,’ she remarked accusingly. ‘But since the last tank concentrated on you, I managed to slip past him and roll you in between his tracks before he could crush you.’ ‘Ah, so we are both dead and this is a dream,’ he surmised. ‘No silly, I pressed the beacon on your gauntlet and Skibladne appeared,’ she relished in telling him this story. ‘I used the mindcom and told her you were dying and we needed to get rid of this thing on top of us.’

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‘So you told her a sob story,’ Angel tried to joke, but ended up coughing his lungs out. ‘Well it worked,’ Ricci pulled a sour face, ‘I think she got mad or something because the tank thing lifted off us and landed about 50 feet away on its back. Then she fired something and it vaporized.’ #it was a tractor beam and concentrated tachyon cannon burst# Skibladne filled in the gaps. ‘Now why didn’t I think of that,’ he said feeling stupid; Skibladne could have remotely taken care of all three Reapers without breaking a sweat. ‘Because you men always need to do the macho thing, and won’t ever ask for help from a lady,’ Ricci’s sarcastic reply rubbed salt in the wounds. ‘Well I guess I owe you both my life,’ he sputtered sincerely. ‘Thank you princess and thank you my lady.’ ‘Yep, you owe me one. Again,’ Ricci grinned. Angel was unsure how he owed her, again, but actually did not mind owing this green-eyed girl. ‘How is my brother?’ he asked. ‘He is fine, apparently there were only 3 of those things in the area,’ Ricci answered. ‘Now get some sleep. I will be back to check on you a little later,’ she said and left. Angel almost immediately fell into a deep sleep, and only awoke several hours later. This time he did not feel stiff, sore and groggy like before. ‘Thank you beautiful, I appreciate it,’ he said to Skibladne. #pleasure my lord# Skibladne answered.

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He disembarked and went to look for the others. All of them except for Ricci and Laidin sat in the tranquillity lounge area having a royal time. Guival entertained them with magic tricks. They stopped when they saw him approach and rushed over. ‘Glad to see you are still in one piece my lord,’ Kirom remarked. ‘Reports of my death have been exaggerated, but not by much,’ Angel grinned. ‘We heard you took on 3 Reapers with your bare hands, and won,’ Gemmi exclaimed in amazement. ‘Well little one, firstly it was not bare handed, I had the sword of Freyr with me. Secondly, I had to crash a hover-cycle into the second one. And lastly, Skibladne and Ricci destroyed the third reaper after Ricci saved my life, when that thing was about to crush me,’ Angel recounted his version. ‘Ricci told us a quite different story of how you single handily destroyed all 3 reapers, then carried her and placed her in the recovery module, before collapsing in the other one,’ Kirom heartily retold the previous version of the story. Angel frowned, and then smiled. ‘Oh, it is probably because I gave the Valk’r all the credit for the victory against the Taur. She is trying to repay the favour, but I assure you, she deserves all the recognition,’ he looked around. ‘By the way, where are Ricci and Laidin?’ ‘In the archives,’ Guival assumed. ‘Doing what?’ Angel’s interest peaked, especially after their last conversation. ‘Don’t know. They were very secretive about it. Anyway you must be starving.’

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Guival showed Angel to a chair, while Loser ran off. ‘He said he’ll go make you your favourite food,’ Gemmi relayed the message. While they waited, they chatted about the way forward and what they are planning to do next. ‘I need to see my caves,’ Kirom solemnly remarked. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I think earth is beautiful but home is where the Dwar heart is.’ ‘I don’t know. Earth is one of the friendliest planets I have ever spied on,’ Guival grinned. ‘I am in two minds as well,’ Angel frowned. ‘I missed earth, but like a brother in jail. You love him but you don’t speak about him, now I miss Arken and space.’ His reminiscence about his newfound home abruptly ended with the appearance of two excited faces. They had apparently become like naughty twins since Ricci’s return. ‘We got it,’ Ricci beamed. ‘Okay, go back one, got what?’ Guival asked. ‘The proof, or rather the disproof of the proof,’ Ricci explained. ‘It was here?’ Angel asked. ‘Yes,’ Laidin answered. ‘What was here? What are you talking about, somebody better answer me or I start busting heads,’ Kirom growled. ‘Patience Master Dwar, all will become clear soon,’ Laidin smiled and turned to Angel, ‘I started searching for it right after you left. After hearing the story of Thrud, I had a hunch Sif might have stolen the evidence, to protect it from being destroyed, with the help of her son. She had to get it off world so I further

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deduced she must have given it to Thrud. That left New Valhalla as the most likely place for the evidence to reside.’ ‘Why did you think they would keep it here, and not use it to disprove the current house’s claims?’ Angel asked. ‘It was too dangerous to use it then, and Sif needed to protect it in the event of a generation down the line wanting to reclaim the throne.’ ‘Why did the Valk’r not have reference to it in their archives?’ Laidin unrolled one of the scrolls. ‘Since not even I can properly decipher it. It is written in the forgotten tongue of ancient El.’ ‘Then how do you know it’s a forgery,’ asked Gemmi. ‘Smart girl,’ Laidin smiled at her. ‘Because Skibladne was kind enough to date the paper and ink for us,’ she beamed. ‘This document had been signed 200 years after the date at the bottom of the document implies.’ ‘Huh?’ Gemmi said. ‘The paper and ink had been created 200 years after the document was supposedly written, young one,’ Laidin explained. ‘Hey, I thought Skibladne is my ship? You two are using her more than I do,’ Angel expressed in mock disgust. ‘I am sorry my lord, we promise to ask next time?’ Laidin smiled. ‘So then you two are princesses, congratulations,’ Angel happily replied. ‘Okay, if somebody does not tell me what is going on right now, Mjolnir and I are going to do some serious damage?’ Kirom snarled, not impressed that he had been left out of the loop. Laidin started her introductions.

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‘Kirom my dear friend, I would like to introduce you to your cousin, this is princess Ricci. You share a common ancestor.’ ‘A common ancestor?’ a puzzled Kirom enquired. ‘Grand Master Thor,’ Laidin said with as much effect as she could muster. ‘What? She is Dwar?’ he exclaimed. ‘And El,’ Laidin added. ‘And human,’ Angel threw in his two-cent worth. ‘Stop you make me sound like some horrible half-breed,’ Ricci complained pulling a sour face. ‘I do not understand?’ Kirom remarked bemused. ‘You are from the Bloodline of Magni son of Thor, a pure Dwar line. I am from the line of Ullr son of Sif a pure El line. However, Ricci is from the bloodline of Thrud, the union of Thor and Sif. That would make her a relative to both of us,’ Laidin explained. Ricci walked over to where Mjolnir lay on the table and easily picked it up. Kirom’s mouth hung open; only one of Thor’s descendants could lift Mjolnir. ‘Incredible!’ Guival breathed. ‘Incredible is an accurate observation,’ Laidin remarked, ‘we already tested the Bow of Odin and she is able to use it as well.’ ‘Hmmm, so she can steal all our weapons and hijack my ride,’ Angel jested to the enjoyment of the crowd. ‘From the information Ricci and I uncovered while searching for the falsified documents, it gets a lot more complicated,’ Laidin continued. ‘I wondered why I have the gene, which make mind transform possible. So we combined our research,’ Ricci said.

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‘Apparently Odin of the Aesir’s wife Frigg was human and their son Tyr became the stepson of Thor and Sif. We know Frigg and Freyja were very close since Frigg often borrowed Gyrfalcon, which like Skibladne you need the gene to operate. Of course, this is before Freyja coded Gyrfalcon with her DNA. So we must assume Frigg had the gene as well.’ ‘Go on,’ Angel was mesmerized by this story. ‘The most logical explanation is that because of Odin’s alien genetic makeup the TNFR-12 gene was fused into Tyr’s DNA. Another very logical assumption is that Thrud found her way to earth and to the Valk’r with the help of Tyr. She was his stepsister, and he knew where the Valk’r was thanks to his mother,’ Laidin paused. ‘We found one entry describing how close Tyr and Thrud was from the Diary of Freyja. We asked Skibladne to analyze Ricci’s DNA further but he did not have Odin’s DNA on file. Skibladne did however find that unlike other humans whose TNFR-12 gene is transposable, her gene fused into her DNA pattern. This is because it is paired with an Aesir gene.’ ‘So she is the daughter of the Dwar, the El and the Aesir,’ Guival affirmed. ‘And the Vanir,’ Angel interjected. He felt he needed to make sure everybody remembered her human allegiance, although except for the hair that looked as if weaved from living gold, she appeared completely human. ‘Yes I am a common quarter breed born from the rejects of all the races,’ Ricci said in a sad voice. ‘Don’t ever say that!’ Kirom boomed angrily. Both Laidin and Guival looked at her quite displeased.

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‘You are the direct descendant of the greatest of our races, Odin who was the father of the Aesir, Sif the last queen of the El, and Thor the first Grand Master Dwar to carry Mjolnir. Never tarnish their memory again.’ Ricci went as red as a fire engine. ‘I apologize, I am so sorry, I did not mean to insult you,’ she mumbled. ‘It’s just, well, I feel like I belong nowhere. I do not fit in anywhere anymore. I am not El or Dwar or Aesir or even human for that matter.’ ‘Belong nowhere?’ Kirom said softly, the anger had dissipated as quickly as it appeared, ‘you belong everywhere. You fit into the entire universe. You are the first true princess of the United Galactic Empire.’ It dawned on the entire crowd that she embodied everything the UGE stands for. She is the culmination of the UGE vision for one universe. Loser it seems had developed the ability to transform at will now. He ran in causing an earthquake scare on the lower levels, and to Ricci’s relief distracted attention from her uncomfortable situation. He carried four platters stacked with goodies to the loud applause of his fellow crewmembers. While they ate, Angel spoke softly to Ricci. ‘I understand that you might still feel like an outcast, even after what Kirom said. However, just imagine what your ancestry embedded in you DNA. You have the strength and fortitude of the Dwar. You have the agility, beauty, and wisdom of the El. The

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intelligence and emotional control of a mind transformed human, and maybe even the magic of the Aesir.’ ‘You are only saying that, because it’s true,’ Ricci said flushed, but slowly came around. ‘You are also the descendant of the greatest legends in mythology,’ Angel declared, ‘how cool is that?’ Ricci nudged him, ‘you still like me don’t you?’ Angel felt his cheeks burning, he started to stumble over his words like a schoolboy trying to talk to the girl he liked for the first time; and she was the most popular girl in school. ‘I er, you see, what I want to say, I meant to say,’ Laidin interrupted, ‘oh for the love of Odin,’ she exclaimed in mock irritation. Angel gave Laidin one look that immediately made her return her attention back to Kirom who was sitting next to her. Angel got up and pulled Ricci up with him. He gently held her hand while she followed him to his quarters. Ricci did not protest. At his quarters, he waited for Ricci to walk in and then followed her, closing the door behind him. After the events of the last couple of days, he did not have the energy to play games any longer. This was the girl of his dreams. Sitting on his bed, Ricci sat quietly, looking at him with her twinkling green eyes while he gathered the courage to say what was on his mind. He took a seat next to her, holding her hand. Talking about emotions had never been easy for Angel. On earth, he had always been one of those guys that girls would ask on a date. He never had to make an effort to meet girls, since they

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always approached him. Now for the first time in his life he had to be the instigator, and this was hard. ‘I er,’ Angel said still not quite knowing what to say. Looking at Ricci, he could see that he was not going to get any help from her. Seeing the soft look in her eyes, hidden behind the naught glint, finally gave him the courage that he needed. ‘I love you,’ he whispered. ‘Sorry, I did not catch that,’ she pretended not to hear. Angel shuffled uncomfortably. Ricci decided to rescue him. She could see how difficult that was for him to say aloud, and got up from the bed. She walked around to face him and knelt so her face was inches from his. She leaned over and gently kissed him. ‘I love you too,’ she whispered back. They kissed again, not wanting the moment to ever end. Ricci finally broke the embrace and suggested that they get some drinks. The others were missing in action, so the two of them spend the biggest part of the night talking, well, their lips moved... a lot. ‘It’s getting late, and we are both tired,’ Angel finally said. Both were unenthusiastic to go to sleep, but they knew that much work still lay ahead and tomorrow was going to be another busy day. ‘Yep,’ Ricci reluctantly agreed. Angel walked her to her quarters, kissed her good night, and walked back to his quarters on a cloud. ‘Crap, now the last bit of intelligence you had to exhibit has dissipated,’ LOBE’s irritated voice came into his head.

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Angel would not be able to get mad at LOBE even if he started calling his mother names. ‘LOBE my dear friend, how have you been?’ he asked. ‘Have you gone quite insane?’ LOBE looked at Angel’s thoughts, ‘Yep, brain has gone all mushy in your section,’ LOBE answered himself. ‘Life is wonderful isn’t it?’ Angel replied dreamily. ‘We are dead,’ LOBE cried in mock anguish. Angel grinned foolishly. ‘I will leave all the thinking to you for now, okay.’ ‘As opposed to...’ LOBE teased Angel. ‘Ah shut-up,’ Angel said happily. ‘I’m going to sleep now. You work out what we are supposed to do next.’

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CHAPTER 52 By the time, LOBE managed to wake Angel and get him to the command centre it was almost mid morning. Ricci smiled as he walked in. ‘Morning sleepy head’ she said. ‘Good morning princess,’ he said but felt too self-conscious to give her a kiss. ‘We have been getting reports on increased activity in China. Bands of Taur remnants seem to be reforming and they are getting to be more than just an irritation. They’ve holed up somewhere and the Chinese cannot track them to their base of operations,’ Ricci reported. Damn Alra’st, Angel thought, I forgot all about him, this must be his work. LOBE also had something to add. ‘The UGE fleet will arrive in four hours.’ ‘Ricci, please have the team assemble in the war room. We have urgent matters to discuss,’ he said and walked out deep in thought. ‘As you wish my lord,’ she said, her face showed no emotion, but she felt twisted up inside. She watched him leave, wondering if she did something to offend him, or if the previous evening was just a dream. He was still the UGE Lord after all, she finally decided without much conviction. Minutes later, the entire team sat around the table in the war room.

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‘Friends we have little time. Two urgent matters need to be discussed and dealt with swiftly,’ Angel looked at each of them. ‘Number one, I shot Alra’st down over China but did not finish him off. It now seems he had amassed an army of sorts and is terrorizing the country. If he manages to unite enough of his original force he could become a real threat.’ He continued, ‘the second thing is the UGE fleet will arrive in just over three and a half hours.’ ‘So what is the plan?’ Gemmi asked. ‘The five of you, with Ricci leading the Gentari, will take care of Alra’st and the Taur in China.’ Angel looked at Ricci and smiled as he gripped the sword of Freyr, while it released itself from his back. ‘I would like this back,’ he said as he handed it to her. She took it without a word, averting her eyes from his. Angel got serious again, ‘I will take the Dreadnaughts and go help the UGE fleet.’ ‘Be safe my friends,’ he said as they left to go and prepare. ‘Ricci,’ he called after her. ‘Yes my lord,’ she solemnly answered. Angel examined her totally perplexed, ‘what is the matter?’ ‘Nothing,’ she said coldly. Angel looked at Ricci. He felt such deep love for her it scared him. She stood motionless as he softly put his hand under her chin and pulled her gaze upwards until it met his. Looking into her beautiful eyes, all he could think of was taking her into his embrace again, feeling her heart beat next to his, her warm breath caressing his neck, her lips tantalizingly seeking his.

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However, something was bothering her and he needed to find out what it was. ‘Please talk to me princess,’ he quietly asked, ‘what is bothering you?’ ‘Would you even miss me if I did not come back?’ she asked accusingly. Where was this coming from? He thought completely taken aback. ‘I do not understand you,’ Ricci angrily continued, ‘last night you tell me you love me, but this morning you treat me as if I am nobody. Like one of your pawns to order around and do your bidding.’ Ricci took a deep breath before continuing, but Angel intervened before she could. ‘I am so sorry. I have been neglecting you because I did not know how to show affection in front of the troops and I did not know if you were comfortable with it in front of yours. I am really deeply in love with you. I wish I could take you with me and keep you safe, but I know that would be wrong. I cannot protect a warrior princess. I do not know what I would do if anything should happen to you. I know it is not a bunch of roses, but the sword is the only thing I could give you in the hopes of protecting you. There is nothing and no one in the universe more precious to me than you are.’ She smiled and jumped on him. ‘You are such an idiot, but I love you anyway,’ she grinned and passionately kissed him.

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He was laughing when he detached himself from her embrace, when he was quite certain the battle would be over before they would join in, if she had anything to say about it. He looked pensive for a moment before speaking, ‘you do understand that I am the UGE Lord, which means I might at stages need to give you orders. Are you okay with that?’ ‘As long as you always imply; please, my beautiful, precious, love of my life and centre of my universe,’ she laughed, ‘and as long as its orders from the UGE Lord, not Angel.’ ‘Always, I promise,’ he vowed laughing. ‘Oh and if you are ever again too embarrassed to kiss me in front of your friends, you will be surgically removing this sword from your brain,’ she grinned. ‘Now my lord, I think you have wasted quite enough of my time. I still need to prepare my troops,’ she replied in a mock irritable tone and left. She flipped her hair and winked at him over her shoulder. Angel stared after her, where was that untouchable young Valk’r he met a few days ago? He wondered. He tapped his mindcom. ‘Commander Darkmoon-1, please prepare the dreadnaughts for departure. We will be breaking orbit in 1 hour. Place them all on full alert. The Darkmoons will remain in position.’ He walked off to Skibladne to prepare, and say his last farewell to his team. They were already in the hangar when he got there. Both Kirom and Laidin looked eager for a fight. Gemmi chatted with Loser and Guival, and Ricci did equipment checks with the Gentari. ‘My lord,’ Laidin said for the first time voicing her concerns.

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‘Do you think it is a good idea to go on your own?’ ‘Why princess? Eight giant dreadnaughts will accompany me. I am sure I will be fine.’ Angel looked pensive, ‘my concern is for you guys.’ ‘Don’t be my lord. We are seasoned warriors. We have the most amazing skill set available in this team, and we are fit and ready.’ ‘Then may Sif guide your bow,’ Angel said. ‘And your ship,’ Laidin returned. He walked over and shook Guival and Kirom by the hand. He gave Gemmi a hug, which unintentionally included Loser. Angel went to Ricci dipping and kissing her to the delight of her squadron. ‘Good luck princess,’ he whispered. ‘You too angel,’ she whispered back; then seemed bemused. ‘Hmmm, that won’t work, I’ll have to find a new pet name for you,’ she laughed. She turned to her highly amused team. ‘Okay you lot, show’s over, move out,’ she ordered. He stood on the launch-bay platform as the fifty odd fighters disappeared into the distance. Slowly he turned and purposefully strode towards Skibladne. The Dreadnaughts were already in formation when he arrived. ‘Follow me lads, maximum burn,’ he ordered as he placed Skibladne at the head of the formation.

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CHAPTER 53 Laidin set her scanners to detect Taur vehicles as the squadron crossed the Chinese border. ‘There is a large contingent less than 400 miles from here.’ ‘Shall we proceed there?’ Kirom asked. ‘If it is not the main force it would be a good place to start,’ Laidin decided. ‘Then lead on my lady.’ They flew over the target area a little while later. ‘That is the burial mounds of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, there are more than 7000 Terracotta warrior statues down there. We are on a valuable historic site. We cannot just carpet bomb this area,’ Ricci explained into her mindcom. ‘Then we go on foot,’ Kirom revelled at the thought, up close and personal, just the way he likes it. ‘I have detected an unused tunnel leading from the foot of that mountain into the area where the Taur are assembled. Ricci you take the Gentari and cover the front entrance. We will go in through the mountain passage. Wait for our signal before you land and attack,’ Laidin ordered. ‘Keep your eyes open for traps. These tombs are renowned for its booby traps,’ Ricci warned. They landed close to the secret mountain passage. ‘Are we ready?’ Laidin asked looking at each of them in turn. ‘Ready,’ Kirom said gritting his teeth. ‘Good to go,’ Gemmi had a determined look on her face.

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Laidin felt happy thoughts from Loser. Guival did a few quick metamorphoses into different objects and let loose a thunderbolt from his fingertips, which melted a nearby boulder into a small pool of glass. ‘At your command princess,’ he said. Gemmi looked at him in amazement, ‘I did not know you could do that?’ ‘Aesir are magicians little one, and you never asked,’ he grinned. Laidin scrutinized the entrance for any sign of danger. ‘Proceed with caution. Kirom you take the lead. Your eyes are best for spotting traps,’ Laidin commanded. Ricci did not exaggerate on the amount of traps in the passage, and the team advanced at a crawl. ‘Duck,’ Kirom yelled, as a trap accidentally triggered, and a huge blade came whirring down, missing Gemmi by inches as Loser jumped hard on her back, flattening her. ‘Thanks Loser old buddy,’ she breathed after noticing her narrow escape. They came to a section paved with stones, each etched with a symbol. ‘This is clearly a trap. We can probably only move on certain stones in a sequence,’ Laidin said, ‘but how do we figure out which.’ ‘My turn,’ Guival said as he took up position in front of the stones. Guival extended his right arm towards the stones and started depressing them with telekinesis one by one. Some caused metal arrows to fly across the passage, others breathed flames or

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caused spikes to shoot up from the floor, and some just fell away into a bottomless pit. Guival continued until they had a clear path mapped out to the other side. ‘Ladies first,’ he said. ‘Thanks!’ Laidin pulled a face at him. Not much further, Kirom caught Laidin’s belt just before she fell to a spiky death after she stepped on a trap Kirom did not detect immediately. The passage opened up into a cavern sporting a chasm running through its centre. The only way across seemed to be a massive drawbridge which they needed to lower. Unfortunately, the drawbridge resided on the other side of the gaping abyss. ‘This is obviously a route out and not in,’ Guival stated the obvious. ‘What now? We can’t fly,’ Gemmi sounded despondent. Laidin looked at the scene. ‘Loser can you make the jump?’ she asked. Loser shook his head. They could clearly see the crank used to lower the bridge. A wedge kept the large iron brake in place to ensure it would not accidentally drop the bridge. A swift movement and the bow of Odin appeared in Laidin’s hand. She tapped the energy field and ten arrows flew off, becoming one in flight and not only took out the brake but the complete drawbridge control. ‘Guival, catch it!’ she commanded. Guival extended his hands and telekinetically caught the rickety bridge as it fell down. ‘Sorry should have warned you,’ Laidin apologized.

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The team gingerly made their way across to where a massive iron door blocked the tunnel. ‘Kirom,’ Laidin gestured to the door. ‘Sorry, can’t. Look,’ he pointed to the support stones around the door. ‘If I use Mjolnir on the door, it would cause a cave in and block off that tunnel.’ ‘Hmmm, then I assume the bow of Odin will have the same effect, and Guival’s lightning attack as well,’ Laidin looked thoughtful. ‘Loser, do you think you can rip out the door?’ Loser grew and grew; he looked like a blue gorilla on illegal steroids. He stood in front of the door, curled up his middle finger and flicked. The door flew off its hinges, about 20 meters down the passage and into a wall. Loser started gibbering excitedly as he turned back into his smaller self. ‘Nice trick with the bow earlier on,’ Kirom commented as they made their way down the musty passage. ‘Combining the 10 energy arrows into one, I did not think it was possible.’ ‘Power of the mind my dear Kirom.’ ‘Yes, a quite brilliant mind.’ He sniffed the air. ‘We should be close now,’ Kirom observed, ‘I smell the stench of Taur.’ Two corners and four traps later they could hear the tick-tick of Taur feet on stone and the grumbling of Taur voices above them.

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The roof had been made of stones that formed some kind of trap door. ‘We go on three, Kirom you know what to do.’ She scanned the nodding heads around her. ‘Three,’ Laidin said. Kirom whirled Mjolnir and smashed it against the trap door with all his strength. Mjolnir transferred such energy into the rocks that it broke into small projectiles each moving fast enough to spontaneously combust. Nothing within a 20 feet radius of the trap door stood or lived for that matter. Truthfully, if this had been one of those TV shows, which gives clues, and you need to guess the object, nobody would be able to guess a single object that occupied this space a few seconds earlier. They leaped into the room filled with hundreds of Taur, almost like ants swarming inside their anthill. Ten arrows dispersed inside the chamber and six found their mark. Mjolnir flew gracefully at a group of Taur standing around an energy pod, which exploded on impact sending the Taur whom escaped instant incineration, flying in several directions. Loser grew to the size of a double-decker bus. He used an unlucky Taur as a club against a few of his mates. Gemmi cheerfully used her mind-trick to cause Taur to shoot at each other. She then projected an image of each of the Taurs’ angry

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mothers-in-law1 into their minds. They ran around like crazy chickens, some into the arms of Loser who gave them a great big hug in sympathy. The compassion left them breathless... permanently. Guival let loose a giant fireball, which burnt a path of destruction clear to the other side of the room. Weapon dumps and energy cells stared exploding near its trajectory, Taur fell over and lay still just in case they were dead. ‘Strrikkkke three, you’re out!’ Guival shouted in reference to a weird earth game that he had grown addicted to while on the Valk’r base. Laidin managed to deflect a rather large chunk of metal with her bow’s energy shield just as it threatened to displace her head from its current position to the general vicinity of the opposite wall. Kirom lifted Mjolnir high above his head and brought it down on the ground in front of him. The well-directed tremors dislodged four huge statues falling on top of the Taur shooting from behind it.

The Taur mother-in-law was the most feared creature in Taur society. If they had to choose facing Kra’st or their mother-in-law, Kra’st would win every time. It is assumed that female Taur birth is a combination of excruciating pain and the longing for sedatives which of course in not available for Taur because it would constitute a sign of weakness. The mother is therefore pissed off from birth and that continues into the disappointment of the son-in-law not being a success, since no Taur was. 1

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A squad of Taur rushed in from the opposite entrance. Guival let loose a lightning storm that melted the ground beneath them. They sank into the molten glass where they remained entombed. Laidin’s bow fired so fast it looked like a Gatling gun, and she only broke the rhythm to use the bow-staff as a hand to hand weapon, when needed. The room quickly emptied. Gemmi held a line of Taur in check, queuing nice and straight in front of Loser. He in turn held a huge iron bar as a club and batted them one after the other as they stepped up to the plate. ‘Wow you got some distance on that one,’ Gemmi remarked after a particularly fine shot from Loser. ‘Finish up you two,’ Laidin commanded. ‘Okay,’ Gemmi shrugged. The Taur started to run down the tunnel from which the adventurers had previously appeared. They heard screaming and shouting from the next chamber. The five of them rushed in to see the Gentari leaving a lot of destruction in their wake, with Ricci in the lead. The sword of Freyr moved so fast it was near invisible; her tongue moved so fast it was as well. Ricci was a master of insults in her own mind, and now happily threw them about, with complete disregard for how annoying they were. ‘Hey you, yes you calf-boy. Shouldn’t you be hanging on your mother’s teats?’ ‘If you just weren’t so damn bull-headed; guess its genetics. Do not worry I am a doctor. Let’s operate!’ ‘Heehaw, time to send you space cows out to pasture.’

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‘Any of you mythological cattle wanna dance?’ and, ‘hey your mamma wants her udder back. You cannot get it off. It is stuck on your face. Wait, let me help!’ <Whack> The quick and agile Gentari were as difficult to hit as catching a summer breeze in your hands, never giving a target to the hapless Taur. They would attack and disappear, and even with the thick Taur armour protecting them, with so many wasp stings, they were falling like cornered spiders. A reaper fired up next to Kirom. He absentmindedly brought down Mjolnir on the front of the monstrous machine. Sparks and lightning shot from the point of impact and the front of the reaper disintegrated into, well, nothing really. Another reaper bore down on four Gentari engaged in battle with a group of Cen’t. ‘Get down,’ Laidin barked. She let loose a flurry of arrows, which exploded on the back of the reaper, leaving no more back of the reaper. A heavy ion cannon that rained fire from a position above the battleground had several Gentari pinned down. Guival looked up and smiled. He persuaded the cannon to overheat, which is apparently not a great position for an ion cannon to be in, since it exploded. A quite insistent Mino’t decided to charge Gemmi. She leaped up using his double bladed axe as a platform and kicked him so firmly in the face that it now protruded from the back of his head like a glove turned inside out.

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The Gentari warriors moved at speeds, which caused Laidin to struggle to follow them. As Ricci, often and quite accurately, like to point out, ‘We hit so fast you would think you are surrounded and we duck so fast you would think you are alone.’ Glad I am not fighting them, Laidin thought. Now that the Taur faced attackers from both sides, they began to panic. One or two wild shots found their mark wounding a few Gentari. Most of the Taur only carried their axes, which were completely ineffective against the agile Gentari. ‘Guival to your left,’ Kirom yelled above the battle noise. Guival let loose three fireballs in the direction Kirom suggested before even trying to see what Kirom saw. Some unfortunate A Sa’t shooting from behind crates, now facing great balls of fire, screamed completely off key. The balls burnt three neat round fissures through the crates, the Taur, and the wall behind them. A wild blaster shot hit Kirom in the leg, and he hobbled away swearing revenge. Loser flipped a reaper on its back with little effort. He grabbed an armoured hover platform that shot at Gemmi and used it as a Frisbee to help several Taur trying to escape through a tunnel get to the exit much faster than expected. Most missed the tunnel entrance completely. <Splat> Gemmi convinced several Taur gunners on a platform near the ceiling that they could fly. She shrugged as they hit the ground, ‘who would have thought with all that hot air inside them they don’t float.’

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Ricci separated two more Taur from their heads in one deft movement, and smiled self-satisfied at her handiwork. From the corner of her eye, she saw a Taur sneak up on the Valk’r beside her. She grabbed the girl’s arm and swung her away from the blow that would have cleaved her head in two, unfortunately it still caught her on the shoulder ripping a big chunk of flesh from it. She smiled appreciatively at Ricci, before swinging round and removing the Taur’s head. Gemmi in the meantime found a Taur to carry her around on his shoulder, while she used him to do brain surgery on his comrades. Finally, Laidin spotted Alra’st where he shouted commands from a balcony in the far corner. She aimed the bow and fired, but no arrows appeared. Her bow had run out of energy with no vegetation to replenish its supply. Apparently, Kirom spotted him as well because Mjolnir already flew at great speed towards the back wall. It hit with incredible force and the wall crumpled into dust, bringing down the balcony. Alra’st fell heavily. His double bladed axe knocked from his hands. Ricci moved like a cheetah as Alra’st bent to pick up the two handed axe. As he came upright, he wondered why the axe felt so light all of a sudden. It is around the same time he noticed he would never be able to pick his nose again. He felt a little detached at that moment, mostly from his arms, which lay in front of Ricci’s feet, his axe firmly secured in its hand. Alra’st saw red, but not from blood. Ricci’s sword had moved so fast it actually fused the wounds closed.

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He was about to put his head down and charge, impaling someone on his horns when he felt the slight prick of a steel blade on his throat. ‘Moving your ugly head might not be a great career move at this point in time,’ Ricci observed. The team moved quickly towards their position. Most of the Taur were dead, and the Gentari held the rest captive. ‘Alra’st my old friend, how is life treating you,’ Laidin smiled as she noticed the severed arms, ‘hmmm, not too well it seems.’ ‘Go to hell,’ he spat. ‘No thank you, I heard the weather is not great there this time of year,’ Laidin remarked flatly. ‘What are you doing on earth?’ Alra’st spat again. ‘Oh we were tipped off by a very proficient spy,’ she said nodding at Guival. ‘At your service,’ Guival made an elaborate bow. ‘Then our alliance did not betray us,’ Alra’st sighed with relief. ‘What was that?’ Laidin’s pointy ears pricked up. ‘Nothing, El scum, you will see for yourself when you return home, or to what is left of it.’ He gave a gruff snort. ‘Okay girls get them out of here. We will hand them over to the Chinese. I am sure they will love to get hold of a few of the dogs who destroyed their cities,’ Ricci ordered. She sheathed the sword or more precisely the sword sheathed itself as she walked over to where Laidin stood looking worried. ‘So you intended having all the fun on your own cousin,’ she said accusingly. Laidin looked up from her thoughts.

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‘Truthfully, yes, I thought you had lost more than enough good fighters and I did not want you losing more. Secondly, I did not want to be the one to explain to Angel why you did not return. However, judging by what I saw, I was unjustifiably pessimistic. You handled those Taur better than the best fighters I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in action,’ Laidin said in earnest. ‘Seems I owe you an apology,’ Laidin added. ‘Accepted,’ Ricci looked extremely pleased at Laidin’s praise of her fighters. ‘Shall we get out of here?’ Laidin asked with a nervous twinge in her voice. To what alliance was he referring? What is happening back home? Her thoughts raced. The team returned to New Valhalla in a rush and went straight to the war room. ‘It seems the Taur were not the only force seeking to destroy the UGE,’ Laidin told the troops when they were all seated. ‘We need to return home immediately,’ Kirom acknowledged. ‘I concur,’ Guival seconded the motion. ‘Then we are agreed, we leave immediately,’ Laidin echoed their decision. ‘I’m coming with you,’ Ricci said without hesitation, she did not intend to let her love go without her. ‘What about you Gems?’ Laidin asked. ‘I understand the reason for Ricci’s decision but that leaves the Valk’r without a leader. I am trained to lead them, I therefore should stay here.’ She spoke with so much authority that it surprised Laidin.

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‘Wise decision young warrior. We will miss you and think of you fondly and often,’ Laidin replied. She felt extremely proud of the little scamp. ‘And I of you,’ Gemmi said now biting back a quivering lip. ‘Please visit soon.’ ‘We will little one, you can count on that,’ Kirom said giving her a hug. ‘Good bye my dearest friend,’ Guival held her tight, ‘I will be back soon, I promise.’ Laidin also gave her a hug and Ricci saluted her and shook her hand. Gemmi looked at Loser and then whispered something in his ear. ‘Ricci,’ Gemmi said as Loser ran from the room, ‘Loser and I have a little gift for you.’ Loser appeared again a few seconds later, dragging something heavy. Gemmi picked it up and handed it to Ricci. ‘Here. We think you might make better use of this than I will. I value my friendship with Loser highly and this is of no use gathering dust in the closet.’ ‘You are giving me Dragonfang?’ Ricci asked surprise. ‘Yep, this sword looks much better than the one you have strapped to your back,’ Gemmi announced. ‘The two swords are twins, Gemmi,’ Ricci laughed. ‘Yes, but this one has a bright red jewel in the hilt, and a golden hilt. Anyway, you are a princess now. You are supposed to wear jewels and I think it might be very useful in your new career,’ Gemmi grinned, referring to the Brisingamen jewel.

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Ricci spent her last moments saying goodbye to the only family she ever knew. They all said a fond farewell again and they all gave Loser a hug before running for their fighters. ‘Ricci you will fly with me,’ Laidin said. A Gentari honour guard stood at attention and saluted as she took the seat behind Laidin. Moments later a teary-eyed girl waved to them as they sped off in the distance. ‘Well Loser, looks like it is just you and me again,’ she smiled through the tears. ‘No your ladyship, you have a new family,’ one of the Gentari, whom had silently gathered behind her, proclaimed. ‘Thank you,’ Gemmi said turning to look at them. ‘Now, shall we go have lunch? I’m starved.’

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CHAPTER 54 ‘There they are boys, split into teams of two and target the destroyers,’ Angel commanded, ‘fire at will.’ He turned his attention to Skibladne. ‘Battle mode, target Taur ships and open fire.’ Angel tapped his mindcom. ‘Hope this isn’t a private party,’ he laughed. An astonished Teral stumbled across the words. ‘Angel? No my lord, you are most welcome.’ ‘Thanks Teral, I hope I may be of service,’ Angel laughed as he ploughed through the endless swarm of fighters. Kra’st had Skibladne on view screen. She did as much damage as all the other UGE fighters together. ‘What in mother’s womb1 is that?’ asked Kra’st. ‘Skibladne my lord,’ Tri’st responded trying his best not to sound too intelligent. ‘That is impossible,’ Kra’st spat. He refused to believe anything that he did not foresee, that means he pretty much believed in nothing. ‘No my lord, it seems our intelligence reports were flawed, the UGE Lord still lives.’ ‘I want that ship destroyed!’ Kra’st barked. ‘Order all our ships to concentrate on it, promise great glory to the Taur who obliterates it.’

1 As any Taur will tell you, this is the start of its time in hell.

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Teral, a seasoned veteran, immediately noticed the change in the flow of the battle. ‘My lord the Taur is targeting Skibladne. I am creating a corridor with the Battle cruisers and corvettes. See if you can lure them through.’ ‘I’ll try, but it is getting pretty hot in here, and Skibladne’s shields are down to 8 percent.’ ‘I would suggest you stop firing and reroute all available power to shield generation and manoeuvring capabilities.’ ‘Sounds like a plan,’ Angel agreed as he ordered Skibladne into stealth mode. The weapons disappeared and Skibladne became very difficult to track. It did not stop the thousands of Taur fighters from trying to find and destroy her. ‘Okay, the ambush is ready, bring them through if you will my lord,’ Teral said. Angel become clearly visible, shining in the morning sun, and made a few more turns to attract more eager Taur, before setting off. It worked beautifully. The fighters, bombers and even a capital ship or two followed Skibladne into the tunnel of love, and Teral loved every moment of it. ‘What is going on, where are my fighters?’ screamed Kra’st. ‘They are gone my lord along with five of the destroyers. We have only a few corvettes and capital ships left, and a few hundred fighters and bombers, shall I order the retreat?’ Tri’st remarked head hanging. ‘NO; WE KEEP ON ATTACKING!’ Kra’st roared.

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‘Then you leave me no choice sir,’ Tri’st pulled a blaster from his belt and aimed it at Kra’st. ‘I should have done this a long time ago,’ he softly stated while pulling the trigger repeatedly until he drained all the energy from his blaster. ‘Order the retreat,’ Tri’st ordered one of the commanders who looked at him in shocked disbelief. Tri’st walked over and picked up Gungnir. He made his point. ‘Now,’ he ordered again. ‘Open a channel to the commanding officer of the UGE fleet,’ Tri’st commanded. ‘Yes,’ Teral barked as Tri’st appeared on the screen. ‘Your lordship, I am Tri’st. Kra’st is dead. We had him removed from power after he clearly displayed his madness. His ideals were not that of the majority of Taur. I would like to propose a truce.’ ‘Why would I accept that after you murdered so many of my people?’ Teral asked. ‘I have information that would be valuable to you my lord,’ Tri’st explained. ‘May I join you on your Battle cruiser to discuss the terms of our surrender?’ ‘Make it so,’ Teral said and turned to his commanders. ‘Stop the attack but stay on full alert.’ A few minutes later and the fireworks show on the battlefield stopped except for a few UGE fighters that still had a score to settle because of a fallen comrade.

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‘My lord you might want to join us on my cruiser,’ Teral informed Angel. ‘Be right there.’ The room filled with fleet commanders and generals. Angel sat at the head of the table next to Teral. Tri’st’s lone figure took a seat at the opposite end. He came unescorted feeling if they wanted to kill him, it would not matter how many men he had with him. ‘Speak,’ Teral ordered. Tri’st started by telling them about the allegiance, and the spy in the UGE. How the spy told them where to find earth and to destroy it. How the alliance were to destroy the rest of the UGE if they destroyed the UGE Lord’s planet. ‘Who is this alliance?’ Angel asked. ‘We do not know Lord Kasparov, I do not think even Kra’st knew who they were, but we do believe that they coerced Kra’st into this madness.’ ‘I am not Kasparov, Tri’st. My name is Angel,’ Angel corrected him. ‘My Lord, you are not...?’ Tri’st expressed confused, but he was interrupted by Teral. ‘We have to return, now!’ Teral commanded. He looked at Tri’st. ‘You will return home immediately, and you will dismantle your fleet. We will be sending an inspection team, and if they find you are reconstructing a fleet at any stage, we will destroy you and all your planets. Is that understood?’ Angel gave the ultimatum.

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‘Understood,’ Tri’st said thankfully, ‘I am as concerned as you are, I just did not have the strength to stand up to Kra’st and his madness. I am sure the alliance was a subterfuge technique to get our fleet away from our home. I believe we both have the same fears regarding our homes.’ ‘Then you may use the Bifrost jump to return home. I am sure you are as eager to get back as we are,’ Angel said. Teral flashed him a disapproving look but said nothing. ‘Thank you,’ Tri’st said softly. He turned to an object wrapped in cloth that lay next to him. ‘I believe this belongs to you Arch Chancellor,’ he said and walked to Teral unveiling Gungnir. Teral stared in wonder at the spear of his forefathers. It was thought lost forever. ‘You had it all this time?’ he asked. ‘Yes, one of Kra’st’s forefathers found it after raiding a planet in your sector.’ ‘Thanks,’ Teral said trying hard not to project his joy. ‘Now get off my ship. I need to prepare for the jump,’ Teral ordered Tri’st and then spoke into his mindcom, ‘order the dreadnaughts to go pick up the Darkmoons, get the fleet in formation we are jumping within the hour.’ Angel walked over to Tri’st, ‘I hope your planet is safe. I have felt the fear of losing everyone and everything you love. It is not something I would wish on anyone.’ Tri’st nodded and left silently, we may have been wrong about the lord of theirs. He shows compassion when others would have shown their teeth.

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He had a lot to think about on his way back to Kra’st’s, no, his cruiser. He stepped onto the command deck of the Taur Sovereign Destroyer and gave the order for the fleet to fall into formation. He initiated a fleet wide broadcast. ‘The UGE Lord has graciously allowed us to use the earth jump back to Taur space,’ he paused before continuing. ‘It seems the alliance Kra’st so foolishly got us involved in has betrayed us. We have good reason to fear they have turned on our own defenceless planets. We have followed a madman for too long. It is time we lived not as terrorists and pirates, but as the brave and noble warriors we are.’ ‘We will follow the UGE fleet into the jump, and pray that there is a home to return to.’

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CHAPTER 55 ‘Requesting permission to land,’ Laidin’s thoughts projected through the mindcom. ‘You and your team have permission to land my lady. Good timing, we will be entering the jump momentarily.’ They walked onto the bridge where they found Angel and Teral deep in conversation, both got to their feet as they saw the party approach. ‘Welcome back my friends. I am glad to see you are all still kicking,’ Angel smiled. Angel turned to Teral, ‘may I introduce to you Ricci of the Valk’r?’ ‘Pleased to meet you Ricci, I am Chancellor Teral of the Aesir, commander of this fleet.’ ‘Teral would you be so kind as to fill the party in on recent events,’ Angel requested. He grabbed Ricci’s hand and they hurriedly walked to a private room. ‘I am so glad you are safe my love and that you chose to join us,’ he said and kissed her. ‘Hah, you won’t get rid of me that easily,’ she said and held him tight. ‘Anyway I would like to see my other three home worlds,’ she grinned. ‘If there is anything left of them,’ Angel’s mood turned sombre. ‘That is true,’ she agreed in a subdued tone.

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‘What do you mean?’ Angel’s curiosity pricked up since he had not told her what they had learned yet. ‘We captured Alra’st. He told us of an invasion force heading for your planets,’ Ricci explained, ‘that is why we rushed here.’ ‘Hmmm, yes, we gathered the same intelligence after we defeated the Taur Armada.’ ‘How did your mission go on earth? I know you finished off Alra’st but how did the rest play out?’ ‘Walk in the park,’ she smiled. ‘Oh by the way here is your toy back. I grew very attached to it so you almost did not get it back, but then Gemmi gave me this one which is a lot better suited to my particular skills,’ she grinned. ‘Thanks darling, but what makes that sword so special?’ he said while placing the sword of Freyr on his back. He did not realize how naked he felt without it. ‘I’ll show you,’ she giggled and drew her sword, Dragonfang. The jewel began to glow and Angel started to feel funny. Suddenly Ricci screamed and dropped to her knees. ‘What happened, my love?’ Angel asked concerned. Ricci sat holding her head. ‘She tried to make you dance the funky chicken,’ LOBE interjected without any malice, ‘I just reflected the thought back to her, but it seemed the Brisingamen jewel in Dragonfang resisted and from there her discomfort.’ ‘Oh, I am so sorry darling. I should have warned you that the mind tricks do not work on a UGE Lord. We have studied blocking techniques,’ Angel said sounding truly sorry.

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‘I too am sorry. I should not have tried to make a fool out of you,’ she said, ‘but dammit, I wish I knew your mind was like a hotrod with an illegal engine. Throughout history no one has ever been able to withstand the Brisingamen jewel, although, I do not remember anyone using it on a UGE Lord. That is probably why the jewel threw its toys.’ ‘I do not understand? Why did Gemmi give you the jewel?’ Angel asked. ‘She did not give me her Brisingamen jewel. This is the other half of the jewel. Let me explain,’ Ricci said, launching into the same story she told Gemmi when she presented the sword to her. She told him what happened to Loser and why Gemmi did not want Dragonfang. ‘Incredible, I knew nothing of any of this,’ Angel said, ‘so your sword was forged from the mould of the Sword of Freyr?’ ‘Yes although yours is made from Zellion and mine Draupnite, and mine does not have the nano-technology, it does have the jewel making it a lot more powerful, and better looking,’ she teased playfully. Angel laughed. ‘It seems the gods think we are a pair my love,’ she observed. ‘How do you figure that?’ he asked in mock ignorance. ‘Well they gave us the two most powerful twin swords in the known universe; don’t you think that is a little too coincidental?’ she stated. ‘Princess, I would have loved you even if all the gods and aliens in the universe were against our union,’ Angel declared and kissed her. ‘But now, tell me what happened this morning.’

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She gave him a rundown of the morning’s events of course focusing on her capture of Alra’st in detail. ‘That’s my girl,’ Angel laughed. When she finished he shared his little adventure with her, but it seemed to pale in comparison. ‘So Alra’st spilt his guts,’ Teral thought came into their heads. ‘Not quite, I think he accidentally let slip about the alliance,’ Laidin remarked. ‘Oh I actually meant he was sliced and diced but that’s good too. I am just glad you are all safe, and here.’ Teral looked at Kirom and felt a sickening grief befall him. ‘Now if you would leave me, your quarters have been prepared, get some rest,’ he expressed a tired thought. They all stood up to leave. ‘Not you Kirom!’ Teral thought to him. Kirom looked at Teral in surprise, but sat back down. ‘Kirom, I am afraid I have dreadful news. I do not quite know how to put this to you. You know that Brom and I have been blood brothers for many years. We shared a bond that transcends space and time. Your brother returned to Arken because he a disturbance in the universe, and with good reason.’ He placed his hand on Kirom’s shoulder. ‘I am sorry my friend, there is no easy way for me to say this. I felt the bond severe last night. I am afraid your brother has passed on to his next life.’ ‘No,’ Kirom screamed and sobbed uncontrollably, ‘Brom can’t be dead, no, no, no; you must be mistaken!’

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‘I am truly sorry Kirom, but I am not wrong in this. I am hurting as well. He was my blood brother and dearest friend.’ ‘I need to be alone!’ Kirom’s cried as he left for his quarters. ‘I understand,’ Teral thought back to him. It was a long and anxious journey home. Most of the team spent the time on their own, but Angel and Ricci became inseparable. They were permanently in each other’s company, sitting together whispering and giggling. Siamese twins attached at the hip seem to be an apt description. Kirom appeared for dinner once or twice, but always sat on his own. He refused to speak to anyone except Laidin. Guival spent most of his time with Teral giving him the full details of their exploits on earth. Teral had asked Laidin to verify some of the details when the stories became too absurd, but she only served to amplify the absurdity. She told Teral what an integral part of the team Guival was. She told him about Guival’s bravery, his ingenuity, and his amazing feats. Teral was highly impressed. Guival, having proved himself on numerous occasions, might be just the Aesir he was looking for. The day before they left the Bifrost jump there had been a ceremony. It served to release some of the tension they all felt. Teral awarded Guival the position of Aesir Ambassador to the UGE. He would have to answer only to Teral in the entire Aesir Empire. He performed a stately bow following which Teral tapped Gungnir on his shoulders.

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Gungnir kept on wanting to turn inward point first, because it never missed, but Teral kept it under control with magic. Teral said a few words on his bravery and commitment and then officially handed him the appointment. ‘There is this little matter of outstanding danger pay,’ Guival joked holding out his hand. Teral gave him a disapproving look. ‘Why could your ancestors not be Odin instead of Loki,’ Laidin sighed lightening the mood. ‘Great job my dear friend,’ Angel slapped Guival on the back, ‘you deserve it.’ Ricci ran up and kissed him. She seemed to be in the mood to kiss everything. Some of Teral’s crew had close encounters of the Ricci kind, and were now avoiding the sectors of the ship, which she frequented. Even Kirom congratulated him. It seemed as if Laidin’s encouragement had lightened his mood slightly.

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CHAPTER 56 The moment they left the jump, the fleet went to maximum burn for Arken. Teral tried to contact them. ‘Qren, come in Qren!’ ‘Teral you’re back, I am so glad to hear your voice,’ Qren exclaimed after a long anxious wait. ‘What is the situation?’ Teral asked. ‘It is unclear. The ancient fleet has stopped moving.’ ‘Ancients, like Noone?’ Teral asked surprised. ‘Yes. He has joined them. They captured Princess Sharin, and we presume they destroyed the fleet Grand Master Brom commanded. We have no means of defending ourselves against them,’ Qren continued. ‘They destroyed most of the Taur planets in their path. For some reason they have not destroy any of our planets, yet. They have now for some mysterious reason stopped, a long way from Arken and have not moved for the past day.’ ‘Well at least that might be a positive sign,’ Teral mumbled. ‘We should reach Arken in the hour.’ ‘That would be most welcome,’ Qren’s genuine appreciation entered into his mind. ‘What the hell is going on?’ Teral threw his thoughts at the team sitting in front of him. ‘I think that will be revealed soon enough,’ Angel voiced his opinion.

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‘The ancients came too far to hang around and do nothing,’ he concluded. ‘They might simply be recharging weapons,’ Ricci ventured. ‘A chilling thought but a plausible one,’ Laidin acknowledged. ‘I think I need to have a little chat with our new neighbours,’ Angel decided. ‘I’m coming too,’ Ricci affirmed. ‘We all are,’ Laidin concluded with nods around the room. ‘I will continue on to Arken, and see what we can do from there. For some reason the object of their affection seem to be Arken,’ Teral remarked. ‘How do you figure that?’ Kirom asked. Teral pointed at the holo-map showing the estimated course the Ancients followed based on the Taur planets they destroyed. ‘Their course leads straight to Arken,’ Teral argued. ‘Guys and girls load up your horses, we are moving out in five,’ Angel said, but received only blank stares from around the room. ‘Er, would you ladies and gentlemen be so kind as to dock your fighters in Skibladne’s hangar bay. We are leaving in five minutes,’ he tried again. The team scrambled. ‘Thank you!’ Ricci remained standing. ‘Should I try again?’ he remarked jokingly, ‘which words did you misunderstand?’ ‘I don’t have a fighter,’ she pulled a sour face at him. ‘Oh? Sorry darling, I forgot.’ Teral overheard this and smiled.

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‘You are a descendant of Odin, if I heard the rumours correctly?’ Teral asked. ‘Yes sir, I am,’ Ricci announced proudly. ‘Then come with me,’ Teral commanded her. She looked questioningly at Angel who shrugged. ‘Meet you at Skibladne honey,’ he shouted after her, whilst admiring her tight bottom. The duo walked through endless corridors, before they came to a halt in front of Teral’s personal hangar bay. ‘As a descendant of Odin, and my only living relative, as well as being the first princess of the UGE I am please to present you with this gift from the Aesir.’ Teral paused for dramatic effect. ‘Sleipnir, Odin’s personal ship,’ Teral said in the style of a true showman. ‘You are giving me my own ship?’ Ricci shrieked excitedly. ‘You may speak in your mind cousin, I will hear you,’ Teral said tapping his head. ‘Sorry, I forgot sir,’ she thought back to him. Teral opened the sliding door. The strangest ship Ricci had ever seen greeted her. It looked like an eight-legged golden spider. The body appeared broad and flat, forming into a fin at the back and short stubby wings. Teral saw her look at the ship in a strange way. ‘This ship may look strange, but it has quite amazing properties. Firstly, it is a walker, so it is quite comfortable as a ground assault vehicle. Unlike fighters that are loud and difficult to manoeuvre

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close to the ground, this fighter is noiseless and extremely quick over any terrain. However, that is not all; you also get a beautiful fighter and a versatile submersible thrown in. When in a substance other than air or space, where normal engines will not propel you, the legs will ‘swim’. If you wish to use it as a fighter, the legs will seamlessly fold away into the hull of the ship, and you will have one of the most manoeuvrable fighters in the UGE.’ Ricci’s smile widened. Teral noticed and started to close the sale. ‘The legs also act as tunnelers. This allows you to dig through virtually any material. Last but not by any means least; there is one other unique attribute to this craft. Something they have not even been able to duplicate it the amazing Skibladne. It is able to teleport itself and its occupants for short distances, as far as the short-range scanners can detect an opening large enough to fit the ship. Normally not more than 400 meters or so away, but it is quite handy in a pinch. This is the only teleportation device in the UGE that is able to teleport sentient beings without killing them.’ ‘Great! Amazing, may I fly her please?’ Ricci looked like Santa just brought her the bike she always wanted. She always liked the idea of being different and this ship was most definitely different. ‘She is yours my dear, of course you may. But I think the UGE Lord would like to depart, so let us get in and you teleport us into Skibladne’s hull, okay?’ Teral suggested. ‘Cool,’ Ricci acknowledged happily. They got inside and Ricci activated the short-range scanners. ‘There is Skibladne. Now to scan into the hull… there are the other fighters… and there is a space. Okay let’s see if we will fit,’ Teral narrated as Ricci played with the controls. She touched a

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few buttons and a red outline of Sleipnir appeared on the scanner. She moved it around with a touch pad until it fit perfectly behind Laidin’s fighter. It turned blue. ‘Teleporting now!’ she said and pressed the teleport button. A few seconds later and they appeared inside Skibladne. ‘I forgot to tell you the teleport engine takes a few seconds to warm up. So make sure you can spare that if you need to teleport urgently.’ ‘That’s not too bad, she said. But the selection of the destination takes a while too,’ Ricci commented. ‘That will get a lot easier with practice,’ Teral remarked while they disembarked. They walked onto the bridge. ‘So are we going or what?’ asked Ricci. ‘What? How did you get onboard? I never saw you coming and I did not open the hatch?’ Angel asked confused. ‘We came with the great new ship Teral gave me,’ she said before adding, ‘don’t worry your pretty little head. I’ll tell you all about it later.’ ‘Well my friends, good luck. I will see you soon,’ Teral stated but did not sound overly optimistic. Skibladne swiftly closed the distance to the ancient fleet. A tense crew sat on the command deck dressed in their jump suits. They kept themselves busy with the controls in front of them, praying to any god willing to listen, which they preferred to the alternative of staring at each other and wondering how they were going to die. Angel had an idea.

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‘Qren, do me a favour. Please, go look on Noone’s communicator for the last frequency he dialled in?’ he said into his mindcom. ‘On my way,’ Qren’s thoughts came back. A little while later, ‘okay I’m transmitting them to Skibladne now. I can’t believe we never thought of that,’ Qren said. Angel started transmitting on the frequency as soon as they were in range of the ancient fleet. ‘This is Angel, representative of the UGE, requesting permission for an audience.’ He continued to broadcast this. The lead ship, a hulking monster, well most of them were but this one was as big as a Darkmoon, only larger, completely filled Skibladne’s view screen. Minutes went by. ‘It’s not working; he must have reset the dials,’ Guival observed miserably. Angel tried another approach. ‘Okay Skibladne. Try using normal deep space communication that matches the frequency range from your energy source.’ He got this idea from Guival at the pyramid of Giza. The others looked at him with huge question marks on their faces. ‘The energy source is from them right. So it is assumed they have equipment that can detect variations in the frequency range from the radiation emitted by the energy source,’ he replied as if he could not understand why his request baffled them. His words still hung in the air, when a massive hull door started to slide open.

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‘Oh well I guess this is our invitation to land,’ Angel said and slowly piloted Skibladne inside. ‘At least we are not dead yet,’ Guival remarked relieved. It felt like they were traversing the inside of a planet. ‘Do you think they are trying to compensate for something?’ Ricci observed sarcastically. Angel flew to what he assumed must be an entrance to the upper levels and set Skibladne down. They still had not seen any sign of life. They disembarked after testing the air quality, and walked to an area that could be a lift, if you use your imagination. ‘Well, we might as well try,’ Angel suggested. They stepped on, and the platform started moving upwards. It moved for what seemed an eternity before it stopped on the upper deck. A door opened. The room appeared to be a conference facility. ‘Let’s make ourselves comfortable,’ Ricci opted and jumped into one of the chairs. The others shrugged and took their seats as well. A door at the far end opened and a lot of Noone like aliens walked in silently, heads bowed. Angel and the crew stood up respectfully waiting for them to enter. They each walked to a chair and sat down concurrently. Angel assumed this was their cue to take their seats as well. The door opened once more and two more ancients walked in. All the other ancients stood again, and Angel and the crew followed suit.

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Geez, if I wanted a workout I would have gone to the gym,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Ricci admonished under her breath. One ancient wore a black robe with red insignia; the other looked to be in a terrible condition. He leaned heavily on a walking stick and seemed to be in excruciating pain. They took their seats, as the one with the insignia helped the wounded one into a chair. The intrepid crew waited silently for the proceedings to complete. None of them felt the overwhelming urge to speak before asked to.

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CHAPTER 57 The silence broke with the sound of a clear soft voice. It was uncertain how it managed to travel the distance but it was clearly audible to all the crewmembers. ‘We of the D’nari have travelled the universe for millennia. We have visited countless planets and encountered many sentient life forms, both moral and wicked,’ the black robed figure began to say. ‘We returned after many centuries to your quadrant, and what we found here is pure evil. Evil such as we had never encountered before.’ He paused. ‘The Taur, a bloodthirsty species, bent on the destruction of life with no understanding of compassion. These creatures would murder their brothers and sisters for their own amusement. They slaughter the innocent for pleasure.’ He looked at the heroes. ‘The council decreed their removal from existence for the betterment of the universe.’ ‘We were contacted by one of your own. A hateful, treacherous thief whose sole purpose had been the glory it could attain and the destruction of those who oppose it. It cared only for itself, no better than the Taur species.’ ‘The verdict of the council remained the same, the eradication of this species and all its allies.’

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‘So you are going to kill us. You brought us all the way up here to tell us you are going to kill us. Who the hell do you think you are,’ Ricci spat, close to erupting; the jewel in Dragonfang pulsed dangerously. ‘However,’ the dark robed figure continued ignoring her outburst, ‘the keeper of the Keystone had a different tale to tell.’ ‘He told of bravery, of selfless love, of the movement to peace, harmony and unity. Of heroes who defend the innocent and oppressed,’ he slammed his small hand onto the table. ‘How could we believe this, when all we found were lies and deceit, hate and the love for destruction?’ Angel felt a little less tense. There seem to be doubt and doubt is good. It looked like Ricci might have been wrong on her assumption, though he admired her guts. They might live to die another time yet; he hoped it would be more than a few minutes from now. The ancient continued. ‘Your minds have been probed since you entered our ship, and we saw brave creatures. Warriors, that went in aid of a race in dire peril, with no hope of success and no hope of returning alive. We saw heroes that came here when they knew they were walking into the executioner’s hands. Nevertheless, they had to try everything possible to save their people. A people who might never know of their brave selfless act, for this thought did not cross any of your minds.’ He sounded truly remorseful when he said, ‘we had to admit we were wrong.’

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Angel felt the anger well up inside him, ‘you speak about deceit and betrayal, but it was one of your own people that betrayed us.’ ‘No UGE Lord, you are mistaken. One of our own saved your species. All will become clear shortly.’ ‘Bring in the prisoner,’ he commanded. ‘Sharin!’ they all exclaimed at once, when the door opened. The guards placed her in an energy cell behind the black robed figure, where she stood quietly glaring at Angel and his team. ‘Perhaps I can better explain if I start from the beginning so as to avoid confusion,’ the injured ancient next to the black robed figure spoke for the first time. ‘Noone, is that you?’ Angel asked perplexed after hearing the voice. ‘Yes my lord, it is I.’ ‘I… I don’t understand?’ Angel stammered. ‘You will my lord, if you will give me a chance that is.’ ‘I am sorry, please continue,’ Angel answered mystified. ‘This retelling starts many millennia ago,’ Noone started his tale. He paused a moment before continuing, ‘Due to my impetuous as a youth, I accidentally got stranded on Arken.’ ‘By fate or coincidence I had in my possession an artefact called the Keystone, which is the only means my brothers have of finding their way back home.’ ‘The details are not important, only that they cannot return without it, and they only discovered my absences when they did. I have been searching for my people for centuries. I developed long range beaming equipment and have since meticulously

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experimented with frequencies and wavelengths in the hope of establishing contact with them.’ The crew stared at him absorbing every syllable. ‘Sharin had looked in on me one day when she heard a noise on my scanners. To make a long story shorter, she successfully made contact with my brothers in my absence.’ ‘Even then a plan of immeasurable evil had formed in her mind. She altered my notes ensuring I would never happen on the same frequency again and continued with her plot to deceive my people.’ ‘She had to use my equipment since it was the only technology strong enough to communicate over such a distance. She would sneak in, use it for her evil scheme and then reset the equipment to its original settings.’ ‘I came to suspect someone had used my equipment quite recently when the settings I last programmed were not as I had left it.’ ‘I installed a memory function, which Sharin did not know about. Unfortunately the only conversation I recorded had been the one before Sharin left to attack the Taur worlds.’ ‘She did not leave the frequency on the machine, but I suspected she would meet them on route and I left in a hurry to get there first. Hopefully to give them the correct information before something dreadful happened.’ ‘But how did she hope to achieve this?’ Laidin asked. ‘Her initial plan had been simple. She would have the UGE Lord killed in an accident. She would leak the information of the location of earth to the Taur, convincing them that without the UGE Lord, the UGE will scatter before their armadas.’

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‘She would then unite the UGE under her flag and lead them to a glorious victory against the defenceless Taur planets,’ Noone explained. ‘She would convince the other leaders to return home while she and the El took care of the last remaining Taur. The ancients would then destroy the UGE fleet on their return home and she would be unopposed to take control of the UGE with the only fleet left being hers. The returning Taur fleet would also be destroyed by the ancients.’ ‘What did she have over the ancients to control them?’ Angel asked. ‘The Keystone, she heard that the ancients were searching for it and found it in my quarters. She hid it promising only to reveal its location after they had done her bidding,’ Noone replied. ‘Why would she do this?’ ask Guival. ‘Obvious,’ said Laidin, ‘she hates every one not of her kin. She wants a dictatorship, and to enslave all other races. This was impossible while there was still a UGE Lord or the chance of a new one emerging.’ ‘So that is why she had been so upset when I was found,’ Angel remarked. ‘Exactly,’ Laidin replied. ‘That must have thrown her plans off a bit?’ ‘Yes but she did plan to kill you accidentally in training,’ Noone said. ‘The day I beat her; I could see the hate in her eyes, she did not hold back. She wanted to impale me on that staff,’ Angel reminisced thoughtfully.

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‘The attack in Ásgarôr,’ Laidin exclaimed, ‘that is why it did not make sense then. She must have hired them to kill us.’ Noone nodded. ‘You bitch,’ Ricci said through clenched teeth, on behalf of her cousin, while glaring at Sharin. ‘She had even gone to the lengths of having Laidin investigate the spy. She knew she could control her investigation and make sure it came nowhere close to throwing suspicion on her, while implicating anyone else she wished.’ ‘You female Croman1,’ Laidin growled emulated her cousin. ‘Nice try cousin, you’ll get there, just stick with me,’ Ricci grinned. ‘Yes, well, the next problem she had to deal with was Angel’s vision and Guival’s brilliant spy work,’ Noone continued. ‘But that actually gave her a way to manipulate things. She could have you go to earth while knowing the UGE armada would be too late. There the Taur would destroy earth and you. She could have the UGE armada and the Taur fleet destroy each other, while she volunteered to take her fleet and destroy the Taur planets.’ ‘Yes, what was that all about? How did you make a mistake like that in your calculations?’ Angel inquired. ‘I had been plotting the most likely routes and calculating the time differentials when I was summoned to an urgent meeting with Qren. I could not locate him and returned to my work assuming he had to attend to other matters. Before my return,

1 This creature was a little black ball of hatred, possibly because it was ugly.

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Sharin altered my calculations so surreptitiously that I did not notice it.’ ‘That explains it,’ Laidin acknowledged. ‘I also remember her insisting on taking only her own fleet, saying no El would be commanded by an inferior race,’ Angel added. ‘Correct my lord; then my brothers would destroy the reserve fleet in UGE space and any returning fleet from earth. She would return from her conquest of Taur space and the ancients would pretend to flee. She returned a hero and with no UGE Lords left become ruler of the UGE as well as having the only fleet to crush those who might oppose her,’ Noone continued. ‘I became her next hurdle,’ Noone smiled in the darkness of his hood. ‘When I sped past her she chased me, and she did not expect to find the ancients where she did. They did not know who she was, or who I was for that matter, and destroyed all her fighters. The only reason my brothers did not destroy me, was that I managed to transmit a code used by my people when there is an emergency using the lights on the ship. They understood and directed the attack around me and unfortunately her, at the last micro second.’ ‘So why did you not stop them before they killed my brother?’ Kirom growled. ‘Firstly my dear Kirom the blast did not completely miss my cruiser, and I had been badly injured as you might have noticed. I only regained consciousness a day ago, shortly before the fleet

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stopped moving. Secondly your brother is not dead, he is in stasis.’ ‘What! He is alive?’ Kirom yelled. ‘Yes. He was fortunate in that he used El fighters when he came searching for the ancients. Let me explain.’ ‘After Sharin’s rescue she pretended to be a commanding officer in the El fleet sent to guide them on their mission. She knew if she told them who she was, they would probe her mind for the location of the Keystone, and she would lose her advantage. She also made sure she did not know where it was, by asking one of her kin to hide it. She could not risk my brothers finding the Keystone, destroying the UGE planets and leaving.’ ‘If they are so benevolent, why would they so easily eradicate life?’ Angel asked. ‘Simple. We wish to protect life on other planets. If the conquests here are completed what would stop these species of terrorizing others in other galaxies?’ the black robed ancient with the insignia commented. ‘So what happened next?’ Ricci asked while she lay on her folded arms, enthralled by the story. ‘Well her next problem had been that her fleet had returned to Arken, assuming her to be dead, and she needed it.’ ‘What she planned next was for the ancients to wait around here till the UGE sends an armada to stop them, as she knew they would.’ ‘But they would destroy her fleet as well?’ Kirom remarked. ‘No. We found the following when we probed her mind. Her idea had been to make my brothers release her to join the armada taking command of the El fleet. She would order the

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remnant fleet to encircle the ancients and attack from the rear, while her El fleet pretends to attack from the front. The ancients would naturally pretend to give up, and turn around to escape, with unfortunately only the remnant fleet in their way, which of course would be destroyed.’ ‘Well she might be pure evil, but no one ever accused her of being stupid,’ Kirom remarked. ‘I agree, she had to adapt her initial plan several times, which admittedly she did brilliantly,’ Laidin concurred. ‘What about you? She must have known you survived?’ Guival asked. ‘Yes she did, but she had no access to my recovery area. She hoped that I would stay unconscious until my race had left or that I would preferably die from my wounds,’ Noone told them with a hint of malice in his voice. ‘I must assume my brother made a mess of the plan somehow?’ Kirom asked. ‘Again you are correct in you assumption. He led a squadron of fighters to intercept the ancients. For what purpose we still do not know. We have not had any contact with the fleet he presumably commanded.’ ‘Why did you not simply probe his mind?’ Laidin asked. ‘My brothers captured Brom and his squadron using a stasis field transporter, which has the unfortunate side effect of erasing all short term memory.’ ‘This is incredible,’ Angel remarked. ‘I have a question,’ Ricci put her hand up like a school kid. ‘Yes?’ Noone acknowledged.

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‘What were the ancients doing here in the first place, and why did they leave you?’ ‘Ah, good questions, you see many millennia ago our worlds were running out of energy, a very special energy source only found on our planets. We had become completely dependent on it. My people sent out long range prospecting missions to find more. In our search we passed by this quadrant and after searching it and not finding any trace of the energy here my brothers left.’ ‘Did they find the energy?’ Ricci asked. ‘Yes they did. A more than ample supply that will last my people many generations,’ Noone answered, overjoyed. An ancient came running in speaking hurriedly to the black robed figure. The ancient’s leader began to relate the message. ‘Good news, a fleet has just been detected exiting the Nebula close to where we picked up the El fighters and your brother,’ he directed at Kirom. ‘Brom, he has always been a sly one,’ Noone chuckled. ‘He must have tried to lure the ancients into the nebula where they could not detect his fleet,’ Kirom exclaimed proudly. ‘Brave plan, but unfortunately would have been for nought,’ the ancient leader remarked, ‘there is no technology on these worlds that would threaten us.’ ‘So where is the Keystone?’ Laidin asked. ‘On Elheimr, we will be collecting it shortly,’ Noone answered. ‘Oh and Angel you might want to tell the fleet not to attack,’ he added. ‘Yep, that might be a good idea,’ Angel concurred.

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‘Anyway I think it might be appropriate to go to Arken now. There are a lot of worried people there,’ Angel concluded. ‘Not before I see my brother!’ Kirom demanded. ‘Then follow me,’ the dark robed ancient suggested. He led them through endless passages and down into the bowels of the ship. They entered a chamber, and like everything else in the ship, it was slightly bigger than your average metropolitan city. Inside were rows and rows of stasis pods. He led them to where fifty pods had life forms inside. He walked to a control console and made a few intricate gestures with his hand to which the pods opened, smoke pouring from them. ‘It will take a few minutes for them to come round but they will be fine.’ Brom opened his eyes staring into the familiar face of his little brother. ‘Where am I?’ he asked confused. ‘Do not worry brother, you are safe,’ Kirom helped his brother out of the pod. ‘It’s a long story for which we will have ample time later. For now you just need to rest.’

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CHAPTER 58 Skibladne had a fifty-fighter escort back to Arken. Angel contacted both Brom and Teral’s fleets and told them to stand down. Now he sat on the command deck with his crew. Noone and the ancient leader had joined them on the trip. None of the ancients had names or rather any names that any of the UGE species could pronounce. Sharin stayed imprisoned below deck, under guard by two of the ancients. She kicked and screamed all the way onto the ship, her composure entirely disappeared. Angel told the ancient leader about the technology they had found and incorporated into Skibladne. The ancient was impressed that they had found such novel ways of using their technology, in ways they never intended. On their final approach to Arken, Angel had one request. ‘My friends I have one favour to ask of you; please omit any reference to the Sword of Freyr from your stories to the senate. I have another way of introducing it,’ he said with a glint in his eye. The party proceeded directly to the senate room and after some heartfelt greetings by Brom and Teral in particular, Angel brought the council to order. Angel told the story from start to finish as Noone had relayed it to them, attempting to spare Noone the ordeal of another tribunal. Ricci filling in the juicy bits that Angel omitted.

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The senate remained intoxicated with the retelling. They asked many questions and received more answers than they bargained for. Laidin, Guival and Kirom took turns in telling of their exploits on earth. This seemed to intrigue the crowd even more than Noone’s story, being a tale of true heroes and conquest, and in this culture, cherished more than Zellion. ‘Now all that remains is to decide what to do with Sharin,’ Brom remarked. ‘Oh, I know exactly what to do with that treacherous daughter of a Perol1. She will complete her diplomatic duties,’ Teral said as an evil grin formed in the minds of those present. The dark robed ancient stood up and a hush descended on the room. ‘I have been honoured to meet such a glorious conglomerate of races. You have succeeded in winning the admiration and gratitude of the D’nari. As a token of our friendship we have prepared a gift of some of our technology that you might find useful,’ the ancient’s leader said. ‘We are also honoured to have made such wonderful new friends. Please feel free to visit any time you wish,’ Angel preformed his duty as UGE Lord.

1 A Perol is a creature created in hell to torture the most evil of souls. However, even hell has to draw the line somewhere. The torture dished out by this creature was too inhumane for even demons to accept. The demons exiled the Perols from the underworld, abandoning them on a remote world without life forms. The world’s name is the planet of the Damned.

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‘Now if you would kind enough to return us to my ship, we are eager to find the Keystone and return to our home,’ the ancient’s leader requested. ‘And we hope you will take good care of our ambassador, who has requested to remain here,’ he added. ‘Noone, I am overjoyed. I would have missed you so much if you decided to leave,’ Qren became quite emotional. ‘I would never do that to you my dear friend, we still have a game of mind-battle to finish,’ Noone replied. Brom called for order just as the senate began to disband. ‘There is one last matter that I would like to bring to the council’s attention. Both Teral and I feel that we are neglecting our duties to our people with the time spent on UGE affairs. We therefore have decided to give full ambassadorial and senatorial commissions to Kirom and Guival. They will from now on fulfil our individual races’ duties to the UGE.’ ‘They have proven that their judgment is sound and we have both agreed that they may speak for our peoples,’ he said in a solemn voice while Teral confirmed that Brom indeed speaks for the both of them. ‘Also it would give me and my old friend a chance to catch up on some hunting,’ he laughed with a thunderous roar. Teral walked up to Guival and held out the spear, Gungnir. ‘This is yours now. As ambassador of the people you should carry the symbol of our people,’ he stated. ‘Oh, and you may keep Mjolnir little brother,’ Brom boomed without the fanfare.

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I am sure it likes you better than me now, since you have shown it so much action,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Brom laughed again.

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CHAPTER 59 The entire senate along with the ancients gathered on the command deck of the Aesir Flagship, while Sharin remained securely imprisoned in the brig. The ancient leader called Angel over to where he stood a short distance from the rest of the group. ‘May I ask a boon my friend? I am quite intrigued in the novel way you incorporated our technology into your ships. We ask that you leave Skibladne and the other fighters with us, while you finish your diplomatic duties. We will upgrade all the systems we can, and see if there is any other useful technology we can introduce to them.’ ‘Of course you may. We would be honoured to share our limited knowledge with you,’ Angel replied. ‘Laidin and Ricci will escort you to Elheimr to fetch the Keystone. On her return Ricci will bring Skibladne back to me.’ ‘Superb,’ the ancient replied. The enormous hangar bay exposed itself slowly. Even Teral’s Battle Cruiser seemed lost inside the hull of the ancient’s ship. ‘Definitely compensating for something,’ Ricci giggled once more. Laidin and the ancient’s leader said their farewells and left. Angel took his time saying goodbye to Ricci. ‘Now darling, keep to the speed limit and don’t try overtaking in heavy traffic. You know how easily accidents happen,’ he solemnly instructed while Ricci giggled.

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‘Come back safely my darling. I love you,’ she said. ‘I love you too, so don’t go picking up any good looking elves on the way,’ he joked. They kissed until finally Guival sighed. ‘Ah give it a rest already, I’ve just eaten,’ he said to the delight of the entire crew. Two days later and Teral, Brom, Angel and the two new ambassadors sat in the tower on Evergal’t. The city lay in ruin; most of it destroyed by the Ancients. Makeshift shelters had gone up and the city seemed mostly deserted. Work crews scampered about trying to clear the rubble. Even the tower looked worse for wear. Large gaping holes were visible throughout its once magnificent rise into the clouds. Tri’st and a number of sceptical looking generals sat across from the UGE envoy. ‘We came to offer you our aid in rebuilding your cities. What has happened here is an atrocity. We do not condone the wilful destruction of any species, and will do our utmost to help in restoring your society to its previous splendour,’ Angel proclaimed. ‘I have heard what you said on the cruiser after the battle, and I accept that the whole conspiracy centred on the plot of a madman. You have the opportunity now to prove me right.’ ‘We thank you,’ Tri’st said in an appreciative voice, ‘but it will be difficult though, the masses are screaming for blood. They want the ones responsible for this to pay. Most of them knew nothing of Kra’st’s madness. All they see is their homes and lives destroyed. They want someone to pay.’

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‘I felt the same way, after seeing my home destroyed,’ Angel held out a recording device. ‘This is an account of the deceit and betrayal that forced our races into war. You may use it as you see fit.’ ‘Yes that would help,’ Tri’st remarked after viewing the recording. ‘I have more,’ Angel smiled and nodded to two of Teral’s men at the door. A short while after, they returned with Sharin. Sharin remained white as a sheet. Teral smirked. ‘The betrayer, to do with as you wish. Please except this as a token of the UGE’s commitment to establish ties, and build relations with the Taur Empire.’ Tri’st looked surprised, and then his eyes showed a glint as an idea formed in his head. ‘Yes, yes that would work. I could use this to bring the masses to our side. Once I explained the madness of Kra’st, and turned over the betrayer along with the confession... Yes, that should work,’ he sat deep in thought for a few seconds while a plan took shape. ‘We have much we can do for each other. I understand that for the moment, we need you much more than you need us. However, in time, we might turn this society into one of traders and not warriors, and be of mutual benefit to each other,’ Tri’st vowed. ‘We will start sending emergency supplies and medical support. This should help you solidify your command. I would not want to deal with another madman,’ Angel approved smiling.

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‘Then let us drink to a long and prosperous alliance between the races of this quadrant,’ Tri’st said holding up his burro. ‘Oh no, you will not catch me with that a second time. I actually learn when I hit my head,’ Guival exclaimed in mock agony, ‘you drink, I’ll watch.’ Laughter filled the room. Angel understood where Guival’s resentment of the drink came from but this was in the interest of diplomacy. He drank and kept it down, barely. On their return to the cruiser, Teral and Brom cornered Angel. ‘We went there to deliver a prisoner, not to make friends,’ Brom grunted. ‘And the only reason we agreed to that is because they have no laws against torture like we do,’ Teral said reproachfully. Angel looked at them but said nothing. ‘They tried to kill you and your family, and they managed to destroy a large part of your earth,’ Brom stated with disdain. ‘They murdered millions and destroyed millions more lives,’ Teral added. Brom broke into a smile. Angel could feel Teral doing the same. ‘And we now understand why you are the UGE Lord. Your compassion and your vision for the future are admirable. Where we stare ourselves blind in the past, you look to find a better future,’ Brom praised their leader. ‘We are proud to support you my lord. You are truly a leader worth following,’ Teral commended him as well. ‘Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate the words and your commitment to a new and better UGE,’ Angel sighed, relieved.

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They met Ricci en route to Arken. The Ancients had left for home after they recovered the Keystone, and enhanced Skibladne and the fighters as promised. She ran out to meet Angel, barely giving Skibladne enough time to touch down inside the Aesir flagship. ‘Whoopee!’ She started to babble, ‘we got new shields, new engines and almost inexhaustible energy sources, and a lot of cool new weapons and scanners. They even managed to enhance Skibladne’s engines, and replaced some of the older borrowed technology. Our ships can now cloak like Skibladne. We can go play hide and seek. My ship had the oldest technology and they almost rebuilt it from scratch, with a few design ideas from yours truly. You need to see it darling. It is gorgeous. It’s now a streamline, mean, ass-kicking machine,’ Angel put his finger in front of her mouth. ‘I missed you too darling,’ he said softly. ‘Sorry. Of course, I missed you,’ she blushed, ‘but you should see the new controls and the…’ The laughter that followed almost rocked the Battle Cruiser off course.

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CHAPTER 60 Laidin had never been this anxious in her entire life. This is a fight where the bow of Odin would be of little help, except to maybe get her into real trouble. The El Council assembled in the capital of Elheimr, an incredible city to behold. Everything seemed crafted from crystal and gold. Trees stood in abundance, with the bigger part of the city completely integrated into the gigantic trees. In fact, for the most part, the crystal palace was trees. This was not nature meets civilization, this was nature is civilization. She approached the imposing golden doors guarding the entrance to the council chambers. If all went well this would be the first step to her and all of the El’s new future. ‘Enter Laidin,’ a deep old voice escaped from the dark interior. She wordlessly entered, and halted in front of a half-moon shaped table. ‘State your business,’ the same voice commanded. ‘I am Laidin, great granddaughter of Ullr, son of Queen Sif of the El.’ She paused for a second, biting her lip before continuing. ‘I herewith reclaim the throne that was taken from my ancestors by false claim.’ Laidin’s heart pumped in her throat. Maybe she should have started with the evidence and led up to this, maybe she should have told them about Sharin’s betrayal first off.

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‘Present your evidence,’ the voice said again with no discernable incredulity. The voice searched only for facts, the voice of reason, Laidin thought. She presented the documents, and explained how she found it. How Skibladne had dated the paper and the ink and how it was obviously a forgery. The council hung on her every word. ‘Summon my experts on historical documents,’ the voice commanded again. A short while later three El entered. They looked as if they had never seen the sun, and colour was something that happened to other people. ‘My lord,’ they uttered in unison. ‘Examine these scrolls and determine if they are forgeries or not,’ the council chief ordered them. The three took the scrolls and left with another, ‘my lord.’ ‘I do not see the defendant. She must have the opportunity to disprove your claims,’ the deep voice declared. ‘That would be slightly more complicated my lord,’ Laidin announced. She launched into the tale of betrayal, deceit and lies that would have brought about the extinction of the UGE, and her people. ‘Do we have proof of this?’ the voice asked after the rest of the council had had a chance to voice their disapproval, in a composed manner. ‘My lord, I have brought the leader of the ancients with me to retrieve the Keystone which Sharin hid here,’ Laidin explained.

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She tapped her mindcom, ‘Ricci would you kind enough to escort the ancient to the council chambers. Ask any El to direct you.’ ‘Sure thing, but we are about an hour away from the main city,’ Ricci answered. Laidin relayed the information to the council who decided to reconvene after lunch. A welcome break, they felt, since Laidin’s initial summary took almost three hours. After lunch, Laidin, The Ancient and Ricci stood before the council. ‘Order,’ the El Elder commanded, ‘will our guests please introduce themselves for the records.’ ‘I am Ricci of the Valk’r, first princess of the UGE and descendant of Sif, Thor and Odin,’ Ricci announced proudly. A low hum went up around the council chambers. The consensus was, impossible, but nobody said anything. Ricci enjoyed the look of scepticism on their faces. One of Sharin’s clan had an uncomfortable episode of tongue control and Ricci happily obliged in fuelling the fire. ‘This is an outrage, how could you believe such obvious lies?’ ‘Hmmm, you’re cute,’ Ricci began, ‘why don’t you slip into something more comfortable,’ she said in a seductive voice, ‘like a coma for example,’ Ricci spat. ‘You dare speak like that to a royal El!’ the dark elf continued. ‘I don’t know what your problem is but I bet it’s hard to pronounce, although after this hearing it would probably sound something like traitor!’ The council had to take a moment to gather their composure before the chief council spoke.

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‘Princess Ricci, would you be so kind, as to leave that judgment to the court. Thank you,’ he smiled. He solemnly nodded at the Ancient. ‘I am principal of the D’nari,’ the Ancient said. ‘Are you able to verify the claims of Princess Sharin’s treachery to the court?’ the chief of council requested. ‘I am,’ the ancient said. He placed a small cube in the middle of the floor. It opened and a holo-projection filled the centre of the room. It showed Sharin’s interrogation after Noone spilled the beans, and it showed her confessing to the crime of high treason. ‘May we keep this as evidence?’ the chief of Council asked. ‘Of course,’ the Ancient said. ‘Have you uncovered the Keystone?’ the chief inquired. ‘Not yet. The shimmering woods are presenting more of a problem than we anticipated, and our scanners are ineffective in detecting something as small as the Keystone, which is obviously well hidden,’ the disappointed ancient reported. ‘That is not a problem friend,’ the chief stated. He addressed the guards at the door. ‘Find me every available tracker and scout. Call up our infantry and reserves. I am authorizing the use of every available resource for the recovery of the Keystone.’ ‘My sincere thanks your lordship.’ ‘No sir, we owe you our thanks. If I was presented with the evidence you had, I would have destroyed this species without hesitation,’ the chief explained.

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‘You need to thank Laidin. If it was not for her pure heart, honourable intentions and brave spirit, the decision would have been quite different.’ Ricci and the Ancient took their leave of the council, and continued their search for the Keystone. The Elder summoned the experts to present their findings. ‘My lord, we have concluded that the documents are indeed forgeries. We have no explanation on how this had been overlooked when they were originally submitted,’ the experts appeared perplexed. ‘Please enter the documents into evidence,’ the chief ordered. ‘We will now retire and deliberate our findings.’ Two days after, the council summoned Laidin to appear before them. She felt even more nervous this time round. Every El dignitary and high born sat assembled on the gallery to hear the verdict. News travelled fast and everyone had heard of the commoner El who dared claim the throne. The deep voice from the Chief of Council filled the chambers. His tone implied, I speak the law, and do not forget it. ‘By the power vested in me as chief of the El council. I find the claims of Laidin to be true and legitimate. The evidence she presented has brought irrefutable proof to every single claim made to the council. I hereby rule in favour of the House of Sif, and re-establish this house as the ruling house of El with immediate effect. We will observe a 3-moon protest period wherein the current ruling house may submit counter claims and dispute the ruling as per El law,’ he said scanning the room.

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‘Hereafter preparations may begin for the coronation ceremony of Princess Laidin of the Royal House of Sif.’ This is the decree of the El council.’ ‘This is an outrage!’ ‘We will not stand for this!’ ‘We will never accept her rule!’ Cries from the dark elves came from every corner of the chamber. Sharin’s family was vocally well endowed. ‘Careful Denelin,’ the chief addressed the most vocal of the protesters, ‘less I rule on your involvement in the treason of your cousin. We will be investigating this in any event. The council is under the impression she did not act alone in hiding the Keystone here, and needed the backing of her house if she was to succeed in her betrayal of her people. You have your 3-moons to submit evidence to the contrary, use it wisely.’ ‘One word of warning though, any false claims or forgeries submitted will be seen as high treason and will invoke the death penalty.’ ‘You have no proof of her doing anything against the El!’ Denelin screamed. The chief of the council sighed, ‘I wished to spare your family the humiliation, but truthfully I do not know why I bothered.’ ‘Bring in the confession made by the accused,’ he ordered. A few moments later, the cube again stood in the middle of the room and Sharin’s confession replayed. Quite a few dark heads slinked away before Sharin completed her final admission to the El.

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When Laidin left the chambers, thousands of her kin from every class and house without dark hair greeted her, all cheering and rejoicing in her victory. She met Ricci and the Ancient halfway down the long winding staircase. ‘Congratulations!’ Ricci shouted above the din of the crowd. ‘Thanks,’ Laidin mouthed back at her. ‘We found the Keystone thanks to your people’s help. The Ancients are eager to be on their way, and who could blame them. We will be leaving within the hour,’ Ricci announced. ‘Thanks for all your help, princess,’ Laidin gratefully remarked and hugged her and the ancient. ‘You’ll be coming for the coronation?’ Laidin asked. ‘Would not miss it for the world,’ Ricci yelped, ‘I am your cousin aren’t I?’ ‘Of course and now a member of the royal house of El,’ Laidin smiled. ‘I’ll drop off your fighter sometime soon,’ Ricci grinned. ‘Oh no you won’t, I will fetch it thank you very much,’ Laidin jested, ‘I saw you pilot Skibladne.’ They waved and left Laidin standing on the steps looking over her kingdom. She smiled. Perfect, she thought, just perfect.

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CHAPTER 61 Almost two months had passed and Arken was in a festive mood. Beautiful decorations, a kaleidoscope of colours and shapes, adorned the city. The wedding day of the UGE Lord and the first princess of the UGE finally arrived. Arken played host to everyone who was anyone. The few hundred with personal invitations received the royal treatment; most of them were royalty in any event. The huge banquet hall had a feast that encompassed the culinary delights of the entire United Galactic Empire. At the far end stood two golden thrones, where Angel and his bride sat accepting well wishes and gifts from every corner of the universe. The thrones had been Ricci’s brainchild and no one felt brave enough to deny her this. The Brisingamen jewel pulsated rhythmically in Dragonfang, as if it too enjoyed the festivities. A smartly dressed Aesir, wearing an itchy powdered wig announced the guests on arrival. ‘Queen Laidin of the El.’ Angel looked up, so wonderful to hear that title, he thought. ‘Senator Guival of the Aesir and Senator Kirom of the Dwar...’ ‘Arch-Chancellor Teral of the Aesir and Grand Master Brom of the Dwar...’ ‘The Lady Gemmi Chief of the Valk’r and Sir Loser of the Gerbit...’ The Brisingamen jewel shone brightly around her neck. Loser had grown to a respectable size and walked at her side dressed in the jump suit Angel had created for him.

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Apparently, he still refuses to remove it. A whole entourage of Gentari followed in their wake. ‘They made it, they made it,’ Ricci shrieked, before she jumped from the throne and set off in their direction. She sent the Ark cruiser to go fetch them, and hoped they would make it back in time. ‘Mark!’ Angel proclaimed joyfully. ‘Hello brother, nice place you’ve got here,’ Mark joked. ‘I am so glad you came,’ Angel cheerfully exclaimed. ‘Would I miss my own brother’s wedding?’ Mark asked pretending to be hurt. Angel laughed, ‘go mingle, I see a pretty Valk’r checking you out.’ ‘Emperor Tri’st of the Taur,’ the announcement of the dignitaries continued. A hush descended over the crowd. What madness is this? How dare he show up here? Angel stood up and walked to him. ‘Welcome Emperor, glad you could make it. Please enjoy our hospitality,’ Angel smiled and shook his hand. The crowds started up again just as noisy as before. Apparently, they were mistaken, and he is supposed to be here. Nobody wanted to look foolish for not knowing what was going on in the Empire. The dignitaries continued to pour in. Noone, Qren and all of the UGE senators, even the Leaders of the neutral planets not part of the UGE were present at the celebrations having all received personal invitations from Angel.

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Angel had a plan. Gemmi approached the thrones to speak to Angel, ‘My lord’ she said, ‘I brought you some homemade apple pie. Unfortunately Loser has eaten half,’ she said and pulled a sour face. ‘Wow, thanks, that is the best gift I have received all day, and I don’t mind sharing,’ he smiled at Loser, ‘how are things back on earth?’ ‘The Taur are under control, a few went into hiding, but not many and we do find them eventually. I have informed Tri’st and he will be sending transport ships for them. The cities are slowly being rebuilt and some will look better than ever.’ ‘The Valk’r warriors received a lot of recognition and are pretty much the new buzzword on earth. The world thinks we are its new superhero police force, and we even have our own range of action figures.’ she grinned before continuing. ‘One small problem however, it seems Alra’st escaped and he managed to get off world somehow. Apparently, he was in a murderous spirit when he left, bent on destroying both the UGE and earth.’ ‘This is grave news indeed,’ Angel’s brow creased as he felt the warning lights flash, ‘Alra’st might still have support among the Taur. Last thing we need now is a revolution.’ ‘I better warn Tri’st,’ he added and left to go find him. Tri’st stood alone, at one of the buffet tables. ‘My lord, anything I can do for you,’ he said when he saw Angel approach and noticing the concerned look on his face. ‘Well actually there is,’ Angel replied, ‘apparently Alra’st has escaped from his prison on earth.’

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‘I did not know Alra’st was being held on earth?’ Tri’st announced surprised. ‘My apologies, I actually forgot all about that,’ Angel answered sincerely. ‘Anyway, he has escaped, and he is not happy. He wants to destroy the UGE and everyone he felt betrayed him. I think that includes you for not coming to rescue him.’ ‘This is not welcome news,’ Tri’st remarked a little out of sorts. ‘The Taur are still uneasy and to create an underground rebel movement now would be very easy indeed. There are still many Taur who feel an alliance with the UGE is sacrilege, and would gladly join a movement against the treaty. Alra’st is a highly regarded war hero, and will find followers with little trouble.’ ‘This is as I feared,’ Angel agreed in a sombre tone. ‘I will send out my spies, and keep my ear to the ground my lord. Thank you for the warning,’ Tri’st promised. ‘So what happened to Sharin?’ Angel asked, curiosity getting the better of him. ‘I would rather you do not ask that question of me, my lord. Suffice to say, what she calls home now, others fear to name.’ Angel gave him a puzzled look and Tri’st noticed this. He sighed before continuing. ‘Her sentencing and punishment did not reside with me. I saw her once before her relocation to the planet of damnation. A sentence to this planet is only for the most evil of creatures, and this is by Taur standards. That should give you a clue. We do give those sentenced to go there an option of death by slow torture after we skin them alive. No one who knew of the planet chose to

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go there instead. Sharin did not have the option. Her best friends are now Perols,’ Tri’st explained. Angel almost felt sorry for her, almost. Angel asked for order after ascertaining that the entire guest list had arrived. ‘Ladies and gentlemen we are gathered here so you may bear witness to a very special day for me and my beautiful wife, and so you may share in our joy,’ Angel said to the resounding applause of the crowd below. ‘But it is hopefully not the only union that this day will be remembered for.’ He motioned to someone in the corner, summoning him. Whispers started in the crowd. Everyone wanted to know if the person next to him knew what the UGE Lord meant. A soldier walked in carrying something on a cushion covered with a red drape, and knelt before Angel. ‘Many centuries ago the UGE divided as a result of treachery. The symbol of the UGE disappeared and the UGE lost many of its valued members as a result thereof,’ Angel paused. ‘A brave knight of the United Galactic Empire has gone to the ends of the earth to retrieve this symbol. To again unite the UGE into a society of diversity, and into the powerful unit that protect its members.’ He looked at the anxious faces in front of him; they knew something interesting was about to happen. ‘First allow me to present the warriors who strived to reunite the UGE. Queen Laidin of the El, Senator Kirom of the Dwar, and Senator Guival of the Aesir,’ he indicated each in turn, ‘Sir Loser

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and the Lady Gemmi of the Valk’r, and of course my lovely bride, Princess Ricci. With special thanks to Master Kirom for finding the symbol for us.’ He paused while he took hold of the hilt underneath the drapes. ‘Without further ado, I give you the sword of Freyr symbol of the UGE, and an invite to all, to again join the United Galactic Empire. Standing together under the symbol, once a sign of our unity, there will be no more discrimination or segregation. We will all be equals in the new UGE.’ The applause rose to deafening heights, and it seemed that it would continue for an eternity. ‘We have extended an invitation to the earth, which will soon have the capability of extended space flight. Senator Gemmi will represent them on the council until they become fully fledged members of the UGE,’ he paused and searched the crowd. He found Tri’st standing quietly in a corner. ‘And now a special invite to the Taur Empire to join the UGE. They have shown remorse for past mistakes, and we cannot and will not dwell in the past. No race will be excluded from this opportunity to join the combined United Galactic Empire.’ Silence from a shocked crowd greeted him. A pin dropped and deafened those close by. Tri’st noticed that Angel was in trouble joined him. He understood the importance of this invitation, especially now that Alra’st was somewhere surely stirring up trouble. Tri’st looked at the masses of dignitaries standing before him. He stated in a clearly apologetic tone. ‘I am not able to undo the atrocities my people subjected you to. The crimes of the Taur committed against the UGE races are

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unforgivable. I can only on behalf of the Taur extend my deepest apology, and beg for undeserved understanding. We were subjects to a dictator, a madman, who wished only to destroy and murder the innocent. None of us had the courage to stand against him. In the end when we did find the courage, it was too late. I can only hope that you would understand that the actions of a fanatical fool did not portrait the sentiments of a race, and that you may someday forgive us our past crimes. If you would give as the opportunity we would try our utmost to become valued members of your UGE and attempt to repair the pain we caused,’ Tri’st bowed his head. Laidin started to slowly clap her hands. Kirom and Guival joined her. Slowly the crowd started applauding. Tri’st and Angel shared a meaningful glance. Noone smiled. Brilliant my lord, place them where you can keep an eye on them and control them, he thought to himself. Angel smiled as he placed the sword on his back and took Ricci’s slender hand in his. They slowly walked down the aisle shaking hands and greeting new friends. They came to their crew and comrades, old and new, the very young and the very old. ‘Well friends, it seems our adventure has come to an end, and all is well. But something tells me this will not be our last adventure together.’

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EPILOGUE Angel had no idea how true these words were. A few short weeks after the ceremony, he received an urgent communication from Tri’st. ‘My lord, we have located Alra’st. He has as you suspected set up an underground movement, and is in the process of converting many Taur to his cause. I have discussed the situation with the Taur council, and they agreed that it would be foolish to ask the Taur to move against him. They will not fight a war hero like Alra’st, and many more would join his cause. It is fortunate that the rumour of the rebels have not spread far. We think he is keeping it covert till he has amassed a large enough force.’ ‘I therefore respectfully request your help in this situation. If he persists in gaining support, we will have a large problem on our hands, in the not too distant future,’ the communiqué ended with, ‘your friend Tri’st.’ Angel stared at the screen. Things have been going so well, everything they worked for in establishing the new UGE formed seamlessly. He should have known it would not last. ‘Convene the senate,’ he ordered the guard at the door. The Ark had completely refurbished the senate chambers with 50 seats, with Angel in the middle of the horseshoe while Ricci and the rest of his crew flanked him. Even earth’s seat on the senate had a representative present, since Ricci would not allow the Gentari to leave yet. Loser sat quietly on Gemmi’s lap. The

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only seat notably empty was that of the Taur, and for good reason. ‘Friends,’ Angel addressed them waiting for silence before continuing. ‘We have had disturbing news from the Taur Empire. A few days ago, Tri’st detected a rebel movement led by Alra’st. He escaped from earth, and has now managed to get a rebel faction going. We need to stop it before the cancer has time to spread to the rest of the UGE member planets,’ he barely finished when he remembered that the senators probably had no idea what cancer is. ‘I suggest we send a strike force to deal with the problem before we need to deal with another Taur invasion. I will now ask the senate to vote on the issue. Emperor Tri’st has given me proxy to vote yes on his behalf.’ The votes came in anonymously with the press of a button from the council members. ‘Thank you ladies and gentleman. The strike is approved.’ The senate spend the rest of the afternoon debating trivial matters. Late evening arrived on Arken and Angel got his old crew together. The Gentari who were eager to explore other planets joined them. ‘Well, it seems we will be going on another adventure sooner than we anticipated,’ Angel said when they had settled down. ‘I have decided not to involve anyone else, simply because we need a small tactical strike, not an all out war in Taur space.’

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‘I agree,’ Laidin concurred, ‘the smaller the better. Everybody in this room has proven themselves before. I see no reason to extend the party.’ ‘I second that,’ Kirom added, feeling there will be more for him if less people join their mission. ‘Then it is settled. We will start our planning at dawn. Prepare well my friends, we will depart soon after,’ he smiled as they piled out of the room.

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*** Early dawn and the surgical strike team eagerly assembled in Skibladne’s hangar to discuss their battle plan. ‘Settle down friends,’ Angel ordered, ‘what we thought was going to be a walk in the park turns out to be a much more deadly and important mission. I received an urgent communication from Taur intelligence this morning. They picked up a Taur that escaped from Alra’st’s stronghold.’ ‘Apparently Alra’st had gone quite insane. After he left earth, he took a detour, and ended up on a planet held by the Mates of Modi.’ ‘Mates of Modi, who are they?’ Gemmi asked. ‘Bloodthirsty pirates me hearty,’ Guival got into the act, ‘they are techno junkies and drug addicts, but pirates all the same. Except for the technological secrets guarded by the UGE, they have the most advanced technology in the known galaxies. They crave blood, mostly flowing down the sewer. This is due to a drug which causes insanity, but also gives them incredible strength, about 10 times that of a normal El which is pretty damn strong I might add.’ Laidin flashed him a smile for the compliment. ‘Modi, isn’t that Thor and Sif’s crazy son?’ Ricci asked. ‘That is correct princess,’ Guival answered. ‘But,’ Qren interjected, ‘he did not create the Mates of Modi, he only served as their figurehead. Bringing them together had been the work of a failed transformation on a human by the name of

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Teach. Even though he carried the gene, he gradually went insane after the transformation.’ ‘Blackbeard!’ Ricci shouted, ‘Edward Teach, the most feared pirate in the Caribbean. The Valk’r had dealings with him on more than one occasion, but we never managed to catch him. He was as slippery as an eel.’ ‘I do not know what his brother did,’ Qren explained. ‘But we offered our Teach the opportunity to stay on Arken after it became clear he could never be allowed to take power. He disappeared however and soon after that, the Mates of Modi formed. We knew it was his doing since they knew much of the UGE’s closely guarded secrets.’ Guival sensing Qren’s story was at an end, continued. ‘Er, Oh yes. Only the most fearless traders with the protection of fleets rivalling that of most member states would attempt to use trade routes frequented by these pirates. Nevertheless, they would still only use these routes if they could make enormous profit by being at their destination early.’ ‘The Modies will plunder every ship and murder every single being on board these ships.’ ‘They are left as empty shells filled with ghosts. I have tried infiltrating their ranks before but they are a closely guarded secret society. No one gets in and no one gets out alive.’ ‘The UGE launched operations against them before but they would disappear into the night, and no trace of them had been found.’ ‘We know their leader is called Vigil, a lunatic son of a Perol. He is rumoured to have killed everyone claiming relation to him and then those who refused to acknowledge it. He cut out his one eye,

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cut off his hand and one leg, so he could have augmentations done, because it seemed fashionable,’ Guival concluded his briefing. Angel started to feel even more uncomfortable with the information he received earlier. He cleared his throat. ‘Apparently Alra’st managed to join forces with these vagrants. They must have noticed his insanity and bloodlust and thought him to be a suitable ally. They supplied Alra’st with some kind of mind function inhibiter, which once injected into the bloodstream will cause you to lose all fear, and gives Alra’st the ability to plant suggestions in the subconscious of everyone who had the inhibiter. This is essential for controlling someone with no fear,’ Angel added. ‘The other little gift they had for Alra’st was the infamous drug. Therefore, thus and because thereof Alra’st now has an army of fearless super-strength lunatics bent to his will.’ An icy shiver ran down Laidin’s spine, ‘the Mino’t already has incredible strength, enhancing that tenfold…’ ‘Yes. We are in trouble, and this is even more reason why we must succeed. The mindless minions will not stop coming at you, they will not run away, they will not hide and shoot from the shadows. They will be in your faces and they will be almost unstoppable. Use your speed, do not attempt to match strength with them, and if you are outnumbered, then retreat immediately. Do I make myself clear?’ Angel asked.

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Nodding heads flowed like a Mexican wave. ‘Gemmi, you and Ricci will play an integral part if we are to succeed. You must find a way around these inhibiters,’ Angel said with a soft glance at Ricci seemingly to say, I do not like asking this of you but I have no choice. He continued. ‘You will also be fighting the Modies, as Guival called them. They have allied themselves with Alra’st for what purpose I can only speculate to be Alra’st’s desire to destroy the UGE. Again, they are sneaky and strong. They have no honour in battle like the Taur so watch the shadows carefully.’ ‘How did he escape from earth?’ this question has been bugging Ricci for a while now, ‘last time I saw him he did not have the ability to scratch his ass let alone pilot a ship.’ ‘He did not escape alone. Quite a few others got out as well,’ Gemmi explained, ‘They had ships hidden in a location we only found after the fact.’ ‘The Valk’r responsible for that sector swore that area had been thoroughly scanned. The strange thing is that, according to rumours, they did not break out. Someone rescued them. By whom and why no one could explain to us. From the Chinese we interrogated it seems the wind or a ghost freed them. Some say it had been a demon in an iron mask. They all mentioned black soulless eyes. The demon appeared from nowhere as soundless as a whisper, killed and disappeared again only to reappear elsewhere.’ ‘Why have you not mentioned this before?’ Angel asked. ‘It seemed like the ramblings of madmen,’ Gemmi answered.

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‘It could not have been the Modies. They know nothing of earth and had no reason to go after Alra’st?’ Angel remarked in general. ‘They have ways and means my lord,’ Guival interjected, ‘stolen ship logs. Intercepting data streams etc. But why... your guess is as good as mine.’ ‘They might want to expand their operations into Taur space and wanted first hand information from a reliable source high up in the Taur ranks,’ Kirom opted. ‘I doubt it. To Travel all the way to earth for that is a little extreme. They also had no idea if Alra’st was alive or dead, and if he would help them against his own race,’ Angel thought. ‘I agree, I think they wanted him for more than information. If it was indeed the Modies that liberated him,’ Laidin concurred. ‘Well he is starting a rebel movement. Maybe that was their objective all along. Get him to make the sector unstable and easy for them to run their operations in,’ Angel suggested. ‘Makes sense, but who is this demon in the iron mask. I know Vigil, he is as ugly as hell but I would not describe him as a soundless demon that moves like the wind. He is more like a marching band that moves like an angry Gerbit with ear infection,’ Laidin stated. ‘Yes, that is an apt description,’ Guival agreed, ‘the Modies are also not known to slink around and kill their targets. They like to rush in with a lot of screaming and swearing.’ ‘Do you think the Modies sent an assassin to free Alra’st?’ Gemmi asked. ‘That is a viable conclusion,’ Kirom agreed. ‘Hmmm, quite intriguing questions we are faced with,’ Laidin commented, ‘but I am sure we will have answers soon enough.’

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‘Oh by the way,’ Angel continued, ‘apparently Alra’st has had a few cyber enhancements made to his body, or more accurately his body has made a few enhancements to the technology. He is more android than Taur now.’ ‘What?’ Kirom exclaimed in awe, ‘bionic augmentation is never attempted simply because the pain is completely unbearable. The body tries to reject the implants, and most patients die from shock after the most undemanding implant. Full body augmentation is unthinkable, only the truly insane would even entertain the notion.’ ‘Well according to Taur intelligence he is about a tenth of the Taur he used to be, and 50 times the Taur he should be.’ The Queen of the El looked at the crew in turn, before commenting, ‘listen to me closely my friends. Do not become complacent because of our past successes against the Taur. This is a completely new breed, and from what I could gather from Angel’s briefing, we are strolling into our untimely demise. At the risk of sounding cynical, I suggest you say your last farewell in earnest and prepare yourself mentally for losing comrades in battle,’ Laidin again scanned the faces, making sure they understood, before continuing. ‘You cannot grieve for a fallen comrade or hesitate for a second. Be sharp and be focused, do not lose your head. The lives of all those around you depend on it. This might sound strange but Kirom would affirm these sentiments.’ They all turned to look at him nodding in agreement. Angel continued, ‘this mission is critical. It not only threatens the Taur but the entire UGE.’

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‘For you Gentari remember he knows where earth is, and he has a score to settle there as well. You will be fighting as much for your own planet’s survival as the UGE.’ ‘He might be insane, but there is a fine line between genius and insanity. I feel that he did not stumble upon the Modies accidentally; he had to seek them out purposefully. This all seems too coincidentally perfect. I sense a much more sinister brilliance in planning behind these accidental circumstances.’ Angel thought it best to start the mission planning now. He and Laidin were scaring everyone. ‘Right, Tri’st supplied us with the coordinates of the planets Alra’st uses as his base of operations.’ ‘There are 2 of concern to us, the first is his command centre, and the second is a training facility and weapons stockpile.’ ‘This will be a synchronized operation, as we will take both objectives at the same time. His command centre will be a full frontal assault.’ ‘As far as Tri’st could determine there are only a small number of fighters on this planet. Dispatching these will be the task of the Gentari lead by Gemmi. The 42 Gentari fighters that you brought along, we enhanced with the new technology given to us by the D’nari. They are now capable of space flight. We upgraded your shields and weapons as well. You should not meet anything out there that your craft cannot match,’ with an added, I hope, in his mind. ‘We will then infiltrate the stronghold and take out Alra’st. Be aware that we have very little information on the layout of our

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target. All we know for sure is that the command centre is somewhere in the middle and on the lower levels of the fortress. I do mean fortress ladies, thus we will not be going in quietly. We will need to create our own entrance into the compound, which will be Skibladne’s task. This means they will know we are coming and they will be ready for us.’ ‘The planetary defences though crude are still dangerous so take care. Be quick and do not hang around inside. Your new motto is in and out.’ Ricci started to giggle. Angel felt flushed as he continued his briefing. ‘We estimate there are no more than 500 or so Taur and Modies in the compound. That information is again based on very sketchy intelligence.’ Ricci looked puzzled. ‘So darling; why don’t we just take a few of those big ships of yours and blast the planet to kingdom come?’ she asked. ‘Four reasons,’ Kirom interrupted. ‘First we need to be sure we kill Alra’st and not give him another opportunity to escape. Secondly we need to find out who rescued him and why. Thirdly, we should find locations of more Modies bases since their alliance could attack from any of them. Lastly we need to find out what their plans are, their strengths and weaknesses, allies and any other useful information to give us an edge.’ Angel nodded and continued his briefing. ‘Spot on Kirom, you are correct. That was the reasoning behind my battle plan,’ Angel acknowledged before continuing.

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‘Our second objective will require stealth and demolitions. We need to blast the training facility and weapons stockpile into orbit. You will need to plant high yield explosives all over the facility preferably without being detected.’ ‘Gather intelligence from every possible source. Guival you will need a disguise and mingle with the crew.’ ‘And before you ask darling,’ he smiled at his wife, ‘no, we cannot blast the planet to kingdom come, because they chose a planet with benevolent inhabitants.’ ‘I am sending the four of you on this mission,’ he pointed to Kirom, Laidin, Guival and Ricci. ‘My reasons are quite simply that Guival and Laidin are both spies. Kirom is an expert on demolition and Ricci has the ability to mask your movement with her mind trick.’ ‘And of course we don’t want to mess with a winning recipe, meaning a human, dwarf, Elf and Magician,’ Angel grinned before he finished his briefing. ‘The new cloaking devices installed in your fighters, should mask your approach.’ ‘The explosives are being loaded onto Guival’s ship as we speak. They are triggered by remote detonation, which will be initiated once you leave orbit.’ ‘I have uploaded the coordinates of the target to your fighter’s navigation computers.’ ‘Come back safely my friends.’ He felt an impending doom grip his heart. This all seemed so simple yesterday. Now it had become another deadly fight for survival.

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It would be a while still before late dawn broke, when a keen observer would have noticed almost 50 flashes, as they left the atmosphere of Arken. Angel loved the emptiness of a space, the absolute nothingness, and the complete solitude. He was alone with his thoughts. He would have wished for better thoughts right now, nevertheless the endless night in front of him was strangely calming. He thought about Ricci. Moments earlier, she had slipped aboard Skibladne to say her last goodbye, before they set course for their targets. He missed her already. Her bubbly personality and quirky sense of humour always got him in a good mood. She always said what was on her mind, never trying to play games with him. He appreciated this more than he could ever tell her. She was his soul match, and he loved her with all his heart. His memories travelled back to how they met. The feelings he felt then. He again relived the fear for her safety when the reapers attacked, the reluctance when he sent her off to fight the Taur in China. He saw their wedding day and all the happy times they spent with each other, and he smiled. He felt trepidation as he thought of the mission he had sent her on, or did he really? No. She would not have forgiven him if he made her stay. Skibladne interrupted his thoughts. #approaching the target my lord# ‘Er, thanks,’ he answered confused for a moment as his attention returned to his current predicament. ‘Stealth mode,’ he commanded Skibladne to cloak.

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‘Gemmi you know what to do. I am going to hang back while you group the enemy fighters close together. Make sure I have a corridor to come through,’ Angel confirmed the plan, ‘off you go and good luck.’ Gemmi and her Squadron disappeared into the distance. He struggled to think of her as the little girl she was. It was strange to think that only a few short months earlier he could see her as nothing but. Now she was Gemmi the warrior, a leader and his equal. He listened to the mindcom chatter as Gemmi expertly deployed her troops. She sent a squadron Gentari after the planetary defences while the rest hung back, waiting for the enemy to launch their fighters. She drew them in and closed them down. They were trailing after her like the rats in the Pied Piper of Hamlin. ‘We are ready for you my lord,’ Gemmi confirmed, ‘But I suggest you hurry, there are a lot more flies in the sky than we bargained for.’ ‘Time to go my lady,’ Angel remarked. #Yes my lord# ‘Battle mode,’ he commanded as the excitement mounted. #Battle Mode engaged# Drums played a dramatic beat in his head. Angel loved this, the thrill of the speed and the absolute power under his command. He loved the danger, mostly to the ones facing his lady. He felt the maniac laugh fill his chest. What a rush. Who needs drugs? He thought. The platinum coloured juggernaut burst into the atmosphere raining destruction like the angel of death. Multicoloured beams

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of light flashed in all directions, smoke trails from rockets and missiles, detonations and fiery explosion as they found their targets. It was magnificent to behold, or maybe not so magnificent if this show was for your benefit. ‘Beautiful’ Gemmi gasped. ‘Yes chief. You wondered what a rave looks like; well something like that,’ Kilda interjected. ‘Did you see that in one of your library books,’ Carra, Gemmi’s second in command jested. ‘I’ve gone out before,’ Kilda blushed. ‘I was just playing Kilda, you are too easy,’ Carra laughed. It ended as quickly as it began. ‘Okay Gems, the rest are yours. I’m going to knock on the door down there,’ Angel said as he studied his scanners. There were less than a fifth of the enemy fighters left and they were in disarray. Of course, Gemmi played with their minds again, so it was even more chaotic than if Skibladne had been their only problem. A rave party complete with hallucinogens, he laughed at his private joke. He turned his attention to the fortress in front of him. ‘My lady, analyze that structure for the weakest point, then concentrate fire and make us a door,’ Angel commanded. The lady’s turrets that were seemingly wildly firing in every possible direction, and with what was obviously the luck of the gods, always hitting something, suddenly started concentrating on a specific section of fortress. It held for a brief moment before everything in that section disintegrated. #access granted my lord#

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‘Did you just make a joke?’ Angel asked. #was that not executed properly my lord# ‘No, no, you just surprised me. I did not know you had the programming to do that,’ and he quickly added, ‘but that was a great attempt.’ #thank you my lord# ‘Gems get the landing party over here. We are going in.’ Twenty fighters broke away and fell in beside Skibladne. The rest mopped up the remaining few bad guys and kept the skies clear. They landed and disembarked quickly. Angel sent Skibladne into her hangar dimension. ‘Gemmi take out the sentries on the walls,’ he commanded and watched as the nimble Gentari practically flew up the walls barely touching a nook here and a cranny there. Loser, who was now the size of a tank, threw rocks and debris at the guards. The Brisingamen jewel around Gemmi’s neck burned a sickly red. Angel suspected that this was the reason the guards chose to skilfully evade empty air and instead duck into the path of Loser’s projectiles. He swung the sword of Freyr and sliced a massive iron support for one of the compound’s towers. The tower obliged by crashing down with its sentries. ‘Let’s go, let’s go ladies!’ he shouted. ‘Teams of seven, sweep the compound, Gems take your team left, Kilda take right and I’ll plough down the middle, keep moving ladies do not give them a target. Carra keep the skies clear please, I don’t want any surprises.’

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He had decided to split them into teams since the corridors were too narrow for all 22 of them to fight side by side. The ones at the back would be of no use. It was slow going. There were many Taur and Modies. Some were ready, and others seem to have just woken up. All feeling the same way afterwards, rather detached from their bodies. They kept on charging, as Angel had feared. Removing limbs helped little as they would crawl after you and bite your shins. The only way was removing their need to blow their noses and clean their ears, mostly through a lack of a head. Angel who had never seen the Gentari in action could not help but be impressed. They reminded him of Ricci as she evaded the reapers. The unarmed guards tried to grab for them and managed to grab entire arms full of nothing. Usually only able to wonder, what the hell, just happened? while descending into the underworld. The sword of Freyr did an amazing job as well. It made an eerie banshee howl as it sliced through the sound barrier. Even if these Taur did not know the meaning of fear, this sound would make them stop and wonder; is there possibly something important in life I should have known the meaning of? Angel moved at speeds that caused lighting flash in every footstep from the friction he generated on the metal floors. The air he dragged behind him physically blew over two Saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just by running past them. His sword arm moved at the same incredible speed, but he could feel that the sword moved his arm instead of the other way around; it was an incredible piece of machinery.

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Gemmi’s team made less time, because of Loser’s overwhelming desire to want to shake hands with everyone he met. It went something like grab their hand, bash the head against the ceiling and then leaving a crumpled mass on the floor. The Gentari ran on walls, bouncing off the ceilings as they entered rooms and rushed down the passages. The Taur felt like they were trying to stop rushing water and if the current did not sweep you away it just flowed around you. One Gentari unfortunately collected a lucky shot in her leg. She now sat on Loser’s shoulders shouting encouragement to her friends. ‘You go girl!’ ‘Kick him in the balls!’ ‘Give him a lap dance, yeah baby,’ and then she sang the Gummi Bear Song ‘… Bouncing here and there and everywhere…’

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*** Kilda, not having Loser to slow her down made excellent time as well, until she ran into them. A hoard of heavily armed Cen’t, Mino’t and Modies blocked the only exit. She ordered her troops to retreat, as Angel had told them to do, but the door slammed shut behind them. ‘Ladies, allow me to introduce myself,’ a shrill maniac voice came from the crowd in front of them. They parted and the most demented demon in existence hobbled forward. Looking at him was enough to consider suicide. One of the Valk’r lost her breakfast. ‘I am Vigil, and you are… well… unfortunately dead,’ he said in a voice that could cause the devil to grind his teeth and wonder why he chose this job. The hoard behind him opened fire as the madman’s hysterical laughter filled the chamber. Angel ran into the command centre closely followed by the Gentari, it was mostly empty save for a few minions, which his team quickly dispatched. ‘Damn, no Alra’st,’ he said under his breath. The Gentari did a thorough search of the room. ‘I found something,’ a pretty brunette exclaimed a short while later; well Angel was not looking but if he did he would have thought she was pretty. Angel rushed over to find she had uncovered documentation that pinpointed the locations of a number of the Modies bases.

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They also found communications to Alra’st from Vigil and a mysterious third person named Dar’kel who seems to be the main brain behind this operation. ‘Great work,’ he said, but at the same time, his concerns grew. Gemmi and Kilda should have joined him by now. The scream tore through Gemmi’s head. ‘Kilda,’ she cried, and halted her troops; ‘we are going back.’ They ran. The most gruesome sight any of them had ever laid their eyes on, met them when they discovered the missing team. All the Valk’r dead, executed, murdered. Gemmi felt a fury rise inside her, which she had not known was possible. ‘I will find the one responsible, if it is the last thing I do,’ she clenched her jaw, speaking with such fierceness the nearest Gentari attempted to back away from her. She walked to the opposite door and turned to Loser ‘Follow the stench of these murderers,’ she commanded through gritted teeth. Loser started to sniff around and then set off through the door. They were running, stopping and smelling through several levels of the compound before they came to an enormous steel door. ‘Hangar bay,’ Gemmi breathed, ‘the scum are trying to escape.’ ‘Loser, open the door.’ Loser crashed through the door to where the Taur and Modies loaded crates onto a transporter. ‘That’s them?’ she asked Loser who nodded his head.

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‘Girls time for them to start breathing through their assholes,’ she rasped as the Gentari charged. ‘The leader is mine.’ The enemy knew no fear. Gemmi taught them fear. She showed them death and she showed them what lies beyond. Loser extracted their limbs one by one and tossed them aside feeding on Gemmi’s rage. ‘Where is your leader?’ her chilled voice reached one of the Modies who was quite hysterical, seemingly not having had his fix in a while. He laughed and made faces at her. ‘Loser, please help him remember.’ Loser stepped up and the idiot started pointing frantically at the cruiser. ‘Move,’ Gemmi ordered the Gentari who started swarming the Cruiser. Slowly and determinedly, she walked onto the bridge with her retinue. ‘So there are more maggots1 in my haven,’ the sick voice reached her ears. ‘I love squashing maggots, I love to see them wriggle around as I break them apart and then stomp on them.’ Gemmi said nothing. She just stood staring at the creature made of vomit and spare parts. ‘So they do not speak. Interesting, but I have never known a maggot to speak,’ he said in the high-pitched squeak. 1 Maggots seemed to be one other constant in the universe.

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‘Sword,’ Gemmi ordered and held out her hand to the nearest Valk’r, who placed the hilt in her hand. Loser instinctively gave a step backwards. She dropped her sword arm to her side and walked forward purposefully. Murder flashed in her eyes and the Brisingamen necklace burned brightly around her neck. ‘Ooh, look I am unarmed,’ the malicious giggle filled the room, ‘you won’t kill a poor unarmed victim of circumstance,’ Vigil mocked her. The sadistic smile still appeared on his bloated face but it was getting thinner. Gemmi kept on walking. The jewel controlled minds, and this mind, this mind she wanted to teach the meaning of fear. ‘Enough games!’ Vigil started to sweat profusely. He laughed again viciously as a blade appeared from his dismembered hand. He feint a blow at Gemmi and started circling her. She stood unmoved. Then she closed her eyes, which surprised Vigil for a moment. He grinned, ‘foolish little girl.’ Vigil attacked suddenly from her left, aiming a vicious blow at her head but her sword had already moved in the way of its destination. Gemmi’s eyes still closed, her feet unmoved. She read his mind, since reading his movements would only distract her. He slashed at her waist and then her arm but both times a blade magically appeared to halt his progress. ‘Yer good lassie,’ he said, ‘but no one has ever beaten me in an unfair fight. My breathing is proof of that.’

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‘You bore me,’ Gemmi said and threw a flurry of blows at him. He parried them haphazardly. She sensed his fear, unimaginable undiluted fear. He was ready. ‘For my friends!’ she cried and jumped in the air. He blocked her sword coming down on his head. Unfortunately, for him her blade never intended to find his crown and now vibrated, firmly imbedded through his rib case and his heart. ‘Oops,’ he said and fell backwards with the sick grin now wiped from his face. ‘Let’s find Angel.’ Gemmi turned and walked from the Modie ship without a backward glance. Angel meanwhile had made his way towards Gemmi and found the wounded Gentari propped against a wall. ‘Gemmi screamed, and then she ran off towards Kilda,’ she informed Angel. Angel looked at the Gentari around him, ‘take care of her, I’m going after Gemmi.’ ‘We are coming too.’ ‘You will only slow me down,’ Angel shouted as he disappeared. They did not even see him flex a muscle, he stood talking to them and then there was only the rush of wind. He ran so hard he thought his lungs would explode. He was glad that his muscles did not need oxygen from his lungs anymore. This oxygen was for his brain and it worked overtime. Mostly to keep him from running into a wall, but also playing scenarios on what could have happened to Gemmi.

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He found the slaughterhouse and stopped to examine the pieces of Valk’r scattered around the room. ‘No, Gemmi is not in here,’ relief flooded over him, along with nausea. He was about to set off again when Gemmi walked into the room. ‘They will have a proper Valk’r burial at home,’ she stated. ‘Fetch body bags from Skibladne and collect the remains. Then load their fighters into the lady,’ she ordered. ‘My lord, we have dispatched Vigil to the underworld. Unfortunately, not before he murdered our friends. We found no evidence of Alra’st. I do not think he is on this planet,’ Gemmi presented herself as a true leader but Angel sensed she was heartbroken and felt out of her depth. ‘You did great pixie,’ he said and hugged her. She hugged him back and held him for a long time. When all the Gentari had left and it was only the two of them, she sobbed silently.

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*** ‘Going to stealth, cloaking device armed, and engines on silent burn,’ Laidin said to the others. The four invisible ships descended into the planet’s atmosphere. I hope these cloaking devices the D’nari installed are as good as Skibladne’s, she thought anxiously. ‘We are approaching the target and it appears to be in that mountain. We will set down on top and make our way down,’ Laidin suggested. The four ships landed silently. The adventurers checked their weapons and gear. They divided the explosives between them, before setting off on the arduous journey down the steep slopes. Laidin’s keen eyes spotted something. The other three strained to see but there was nothing in the direction she indicated. ‘It looks like a ventilation shaft. There are two guards.’ ‘Guival and I will take care of them, you two wait here for our signal.’ The two figures slinked off. ‘I suggest we get close enough for you to use Gungnir.’ ‘Oh do not worry about that, I have been practicing. It is as if the spear reads my mind and hits exactly where I want it to hit. I never miss even from 300 yards,’ Guival remarked proudly. ‘Okay I did not really want to get that close but 300 yards it is,’ Laidin smiled. They crept closer to the target.

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‘Right, think you can make it from here?’ she asked ‘With my eyes closed,’ he grinned. ‘You take the guard on the right through the throat. We do not want him making a sound.’ ‘Laidin I am a spy. I do know how to kill silently,’ he said in mock disgust. ‘Just shut-up and throw,’ she said as a smile played across her beautiful face. Guival wound up and let loose the same time Laidin fired a combined energy bolt. Both hit their targets at the exact same moment. ‘Bulls-eye,’ Guival whispered. ‘Yes we all get lucky sometimes,’ Laidin teased. ‘Then I must be born under a very lucky star. Shall we go back and get the others?’ Guival asked. The quartet sneaked up to the shaft. It had been sealed shut and obviously bolted from the inside. ‘Mjolnir,’ Kirom enquired burning to let loose its awesome power again. ‘No my friend, it would make too much noise,’ Laidin observed, unfortunately no obvious way past the obstacle presented itself. ‘We might as well try finding another entrance.’ ‘No we don’t,’ Ricci said excitedly, ‘wait here, I’ll be back,’ she whispered and disappeared. The remaining heroes looked at each other quite perplexed. Kirom shrugged. A few moments later, they saw a shimmer in the air in front of them and then it was gone.

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They waited. Laidin’s sharp ears heard the bolt on the inside being moved. They braced for action. It slowly opened. ‘Well are you coming?’ Ricci whispered from inside the shaft. ‘How did you do that?’ Guival asked. ‘Simple; Sleipnir can teleport remember. I just found an unoccupied space inside and teleported my ship there.’ ‘Brilliant princess, that was quick thinking,’ Kirom exclaimed. ‘Your ship will not be discovered?’ Laidin asked. ‘Not unless they start cleaning this place, which by the look of things has not happened in millennia. It’s in a room filled with cleaning equipment,’ Ricci laughed. They silently made their way down the shaft and into the facility. ‘Excuse me, I need to go find a form to absorb and do a little mingling,’ Guival stated. ‘We will meet back here in an hour, will that give you enough time?’ ‘I’m good,’ Kirom remarked, ‘I think Ricci should accompany me. I assume you wish to do your own investigation Laidin?’ ‘I do. An hour it is,’ Laidin agreed. ‘I will leave Gungnir in Ricci’s fighter while we do our reconnaissance.’ Guival walked down the filthy corridors. Trash and rubble littered the path and at stages, he had to climb over it. It was mostly deserted. He had to hide in the shadows once or twice but the pirates did not expect an attack and were not on alert. At last he found what he was looking for, a Mate fast asleep or passed out he could not tell. Guival quickly absorbed his form

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definition and set off. Not long after he ran into another filthy bunch. They were drinking, laughing and singing. ‘Yo ho, ho, and a bottle of Grum1,’ ‘So maties, has anyone seen the boss around?’ Guival asked swinging a bottle, with his arm around one of the drunks. ‘Nah, he never comeshes here… hic… hish down thersh,’ the Modie said pointing down at the floor. ‘Yep, you don’t want to be caught by him huh?’ Guival wondered how long it would be before he got any useful info out of him. ‘Yesh,’ the Modie leaned in real close, the stench of his breath made Guival want to puke, ‘I shaw him squeesh a matie so hardsh with those metal armsh of his, thash his brain… exshploshes… swhoosh,’ he displayed a wild gesture that placed him flat on his back. Guival helped him to his feet. ‘Thanksh Matie,’ the drunk slurred. Hmmm, Alra’st is here. That is interesting; he almost thought the drunk was talking about Vigil there for a second. The drunk started to say something, which was mostly garbled nonsense. ‘Bu’t hesh okay, it’sh the one in the iron mashk you hash to worriesh about, itsh a de… hic... emon they saysh. It wouldsh put a blade through yourshes gut for… for… for lookinsh at it. You cantsh shee a damn thing anywaysh... Oh, and the voishe it’sh ‘orrible, Liksh nailsh on shlate.’ 1

Grum is rum on steroids.

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A demon, here, must be the liquor talking, but it was worth looking into. ‘So where’s captain Vigil huh?’ ‘He’sh had gone… hic… somewhersh imp… imp…’ The drunk was going fast. ‘Important,’ Guival tried to help. ‘Yessshhhh…’ the drunk dropped and passed out amongst his comatose mates. ‘Hmmm, so Alra’st is here, and Vigil is gone. This is useful information indeed,’ Guival thought. Laidin managed to find a communication terminal into which she quickly hacked. She felt slightly aggrieved at what little challenge it presented, but they obviously did not expect to be hacked by her. She found a lot of useless stuff, but also a communiqué from Alra’st and Vigil, and few from someone called Dar’kel. … I want that trade route secured by next week – Dar’kel We are on schedule – Alra’st Good! They will pay handsomely for the safe passage of their precious cargo through the jump – Dar’kel Soon we will control all the jumps in the sector – Alra’st And have enough money to create our own fleet to destroy the UGE – Dar’kel Cut of their aid to the Taur, make them the enemy again – Alra’st Make it that much easier to convert to Taur to our ways, show them the UGE cannot be trusted – Dar’kel

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The glorious day approaches when I will bath in the blood of those weaklings – Alra’st We both will – Dar’kel … Not good, Laidin thought, so they are planning on taking over all the trade routes, and liberate the aid to the Taur. The four friends reconvened again. ‘Explosives set,’ Kirom affirmed. ‘No problems?’ Laidin asked. ‘None that Ricci could not handle. A few got close but they seemed to remember something they needed to do and went the other way.’ ‘Good! I found some disturbing news though,’ Laidin said and relayed her findings. ‘Hmmm then maybe we should stick around for a while, since both Alra’st and this Dar’kel person are on this base,’ Guival said. ‘Huh?’ Ricci exclaimed. ‘Yep, I talked to a Modie who confirmed Alra’st is here as is a demon with a metal mask, which I can only assume, must be Dar’kel.’ ‘Then we stay, and we make sure they do not escape,’ Kirom expressed happily, eager for a fight. ‘Just give me a second to fetch Gungnir.’ They slinked down to the lower levels, keeping to the shadows. Ricci persuaded a few to go the other way, and Kirom persuaded a few to go the underworld way. They reached a large hallway that appeared clean and better decorated. This meant that the spelling in the graffiti was almost correct.

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The noise started. It came from all around them, a loud clanking and chains rattling. ‘Look out!’ Ricci bellowed, but too late. The cage had dropped and sealed them in tight. ‘Shit,’ she said as she tried her sword Dragonfang on the bars, but it simply bounced off. Laidin readied the bow of Odin, and Kirom lifted Mjolnir. Guival formed a giant fireball since lighting does not work that well in a Faraday cage. The door in the far side slid open. ‘I would not do that if I were you,’ Alra’st grunted as he walked in, ‘or maybe I should let you try and watch you die by your own hand. However, that would not be fun would it? I need you to suffer; suffer as I was made too by your hand.’ ‘For both our sakes darling,’ rasped a masked figure floating gracefully down the stairs. The figure, covered in a flowing dark green hooded cloak with the same colour boots, displayed exposed skin. Her hands covered in metal gloves and her face covered in a metal mask, served to accent a severely menacing demeanour. On her back, an El bow. ‘Sharin,’ Laidin exclaimed. ‘What?’ The other three adventurers exclaimed in unison. ‘The bow on her back is Sharin’s and the name Dar’kel or Dark El, the ancient name for her lineage. Why did I not see it earlier?’ Laidin chastised herself. ‘Yes puppet it is me; in all my disfigured glory thanks to you and the UGE. Too bad Teral could not be here. I would have loved to return the favour in kind after he so graciously sentenced me to

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be tortured and die on Evergal’t. But I am sure I will have that pleasure soon enough,’ a grating laugh filled the room. ‘How the hell did you escape the planet of damnation?’ Kirom asked. ‘Oh my friends the Mates of Modi recognized my genius and talents. We have had a long-standing relationship. They have been of service to me on many occasions. Remember our previous UGE Lord’s untimely demise. Unfortunately, they failed when I sent them to destroy the new one in Ásgarôr; but they did come through when you stuck me in hell. The poor fools were so simple minded, so lacking in vision, but I changed all that after we met. They loved my ideas and of course the technology I could provide.’ ‘The Modies, I should have guessed. How did you manage to hide their involvement in your interrogation?’ Laidin spat. ‘That was easy. I tricked you and the whole UGE senate into believing me, how difficult could it be to omit a little fact like that from my confession. They would not expect me to lie now that I was faced with certain death,’ Sharin sneered. ‘And then you rescued Alra’st,’ Ricci added. ‘Yes my dear, we interviewed a Taur from the earth battle and he mentioned that Alra’st was still lost on earth. I felt that he would hate you as much as I do and would be a brilliant partner in my quest to destroy the UGE. He is of course a great leader and a Taur of intelligence and character.’ ‘Wow, don’t you struggle to breathe with your head so far up his ass,’ Ricci made a smooching noise.

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‘Ricci right... or should I rather call you bastard princess Ricci. Yes, Alra’st has told me all about you. He has planned something quite special for you half-breed.’ ‘Ooh a party, for little old me. He should not have. No really, I’m good,’ Ricci sneered. ‘He did not care that you started all this. That it was you who fed the Taur the misinformation. That you led the raids against the Taur planets?’ Laidin interjected. ‘Old news darling, why would he care about people that left him to die on a god-forsaken planet at the end of the universe? He wants revenge as I do, against the Taur, against the UGE and against you. We are two of a kind,’ Sharin’s grating voice cut through them, as she gently stroked Alra’st metal arm. ‘Yep; two demented clowns, a perfect match. You should get married right away, and have evil little clown babies we can use for cosmetic experiments,’ Ricci agreed. Sharin ignored her. ‘I am so happy you obliged by dropping by. We were so hoping you would. We especially constructed this lovely accommodation for your enjoyment, making your weapons useless. Mjolnir would cause a cave in burying you alive. The bolts from the bow would bounce off the energy shield back into the cage. The shield also acts as a brainwave scrambler, which would nullify the Brisingamen jewel. Of course, lighting and fire is useless, and well Gungnir is just a spear is it not. Did we miss anything?’ she asked the rhetoric question. ‘You missed my foot up your huge arse as soon as I get out of here,’ Ricci spat. ‘No cousin, she is mine,’ Laidin fumed through a clenched jaw.

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‘Well it was lovely chatting to you again, but we have urgent business to attend to. Do not go anywhere now, you hear. We will be back soon to come play with you. Don’t want to rush things and make you feel unwelcome.’ She made a weird throat sound that you could interpret as laughter, or mimicking the sound of a foghorn. The four sat in a huddle, after a number of failed attempts to escape. Their captors definitely did a good job in the cages construction, and Laidin surmised that was the reason for their current privacy. Sharin wanted to show them how hopeless their situation was.

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*** Angel walked back to the command centre deep in thought. He had to active the self-destruct, which seemed to be standard functionality in structures such as these. You would not want the information contained here falling into the wrong hands. The communication console beeped. … We are on route to the jump, is the welcoming committee ready – Dar’kel … Angel felt Dar’kel deserved an answer. … Aye – Vigil Good, we had some unexpected visitors but they are caged. Place your forces on full alert, an infiltration team might be heading your direction as well – Dar’kel. Aye – Vigil See you soon and don’t be late – Dar’kel Aye – Vigil … Vigil never used, or did not know many words, as Angel could surmise from the other communiqué he read. Okay, you have captured my crew, but made the mistake of leaving them alive. I am going to ensure it is the last mistake you will ever make, Angel thought furiously. He set the self-destruct sequence and rushed to Skibladne tapping his mindcom.

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‘Gemmi get your fighters ready to move. We need to leave now.’ ‘Ready and waiting,’ she answered. ‘Good,’ he acknowledged as he ran aboard Skibladne, ordering her to take off before he cleared the last step. ‘I am sending new coordinates to your fighters. Go to full burn as soon as you leave the atmosphere. You will not be able to keep up but infiltrate the installation when you get there and find me. Use stealth, no unnecessary killing, and hide the bodies of those you do.’ ‘As you wish my lord,’ Gemmi said. ‘Good luck Gems.’ Skibladne screamed out of the atmosphere. He pushed her as hard as she would go and slowly lost consciousness because of the acceleration. The lady just kept on accelerating. Angel awoke with Skibladne beeping in his ears. #we are nearing the target coordinates my lord# ‘Stealth mode,’ he breathed heavily from the lack of oxygen in his lungs. ‘Find Laidin’s fighter and land as close to it as you can,’ Angel ordered. The lady landed without moving a blade of grass. Angel placed his sword on his back and started to make his way to the door. He stood in the doorway and had a thought. ‘Skibladne, Can you detect the explosives in the compound?’ #Yes my lord# ‘Are they set properly?’ #Yes my lord# ‘Can you remote detonate them?’

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#Yes my lord# ‘Are you able to detect Laidin, Kirom, Guival and Ricci as well as my vital signs?’ #Yes my lord, all are well# ‘Then my lady, I need you to remote detonate the explosives as soon as we are all deceased. If you detect we have not changed location or if I have not contacted you for more than a day, go for help.’ #understood my lord# He turned to go. #my lord may I make a suggestion# ‘Sure go ahead.’ #I have created something you might find useful. It is in the materialization room# On the platform lay a gauntlet similar to the one he wore on his left wrist. The old one held his scanning and navigation equipment, as well as the beacon to summon Skibladne. ‘So what does this do?’ Angel asked. #while you are in a five-mile radius of my position, I can project my cloak around you# ‘Cool, an invisibility bracelet,’ Angel said snapping the gauntlet onto his wrist. #Pleasure my lord# ‘You are amazing my lady,’ Angel marvelled at the artificial intelligence Skibladne possessed. He did not put Skibladne in her hangar dimension, since he needed her in this universe for the cloak to work, and to detonate the explosives. He ran as quickly as he could down the mountain and found the ventilation shaft the others used.

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He came into the corridors and while still moving swiftly, concentrated more on stealth. Even though they could not see him, they could still hear him. Nobody even spared a glance in his direction. He smiled as he saw his friends sitting huddled in the centre of the cage, extremely despondent. All except for Ricci that is, she looked mad as hell stomping around the cage breathing curses and telling the world what she would do with that rattlesnake if she gets a hold of her. She gestured wildly with her hands, demonstrating how she would rip her head off. He felt such pride in his wife, he almost laughed aloud. Even in the face of death, she still wanted to spit in his eye socket and tell him where he can shove his stupid little scythe.

He found a comfortable ledge in clear sight of the crew, and stretched out nonchalantly, before he decloaked. ‘Tsk, tsk. How like you to stumble into a silly trap. How many times do I have to save your sorry butts huh?’ he said. ‘Darling,’ she yelped, ‘I knew you would come for me; I just knew it,’ she laughed and then suddenly got serious. ‘What took you so long? I have needed a bathroom for the past 3 hours.’ ‘My lord, are we glad to see you,’ Guival had already imagined all the horrible torture techniques they were planning to perform on him. ‘Get me out of here,’ Ricci screamed. ‘Nope, I have a better idea. I assume this cage is protected by a force field?’ Angel asked.

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‘Correct my lord that is why our weapons are ineffective,’ Kirom answered. ‘So if I turn off the force field you could break out in a heartbeat?’ Angel asked. ‘Yes my lord,’ Laidin acknowledged catching on to Angel’s idea. ‘Then I have a plan.’ They all agreed that Angel’s plan would be a lot more fun than simply escaping immediately. He had to let Ricci out for a while, because what she threatened to do to him if he did not was not something he would have liked hanging over his head. It was inhumane. He assumed one of her ancestors must have been a Perol. Angel tapped his mindcom, ‘Skibladne disregard last order. We will be staying in the same location for a while. Contact Gemmi and tell her she may return home and everything is in order. We will see her back on Arken.’ They had to wait for almost a day before the terrible twosome returned. Of course, they were furious. Vigil did not pitch and when they went to look for him the base was nothing more than rubble. ‘Who did that?’ Sharin demanded. ‘Did what?’ Ricci asked innocently. ‘Don’t play games with me half-breed, we will just prolong your ultimate demise,’ Sharin rasped. ‘I am sure I don’t know what you are talking about. We have been here the entire time. Well, except when we popped out for a bite to eat. Oh, the one time I just had to try on your exquisite demented wardrobe although green is so last season and the

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masks did nothing for me. Of course, I still have a face so no worries there. Hmmm, yes, come to think of it there was this one other time when we slipped out to blow up the Modies Command Centre,’ she said with a wicked grin, ‘would that be what you were referring to?’ ‘WHO DID IT?’ Alra’st screamed ‘That would be me,’ Angel said calmly stepping out of the shadows. Both Sharin and Alra’st spun around to face him. ‘So the lord returned to free his pitiful underlings and mongrel wife,’ Sharin mocked trying to hide her shock. ‘Yep,’ ‘What are you going to do? Kill us both; you are good but not that good.’ ‘Nope,’ ‘Then you have walked into your doom UGE puppet,’ Alra’st boomed. ‘Nope...’ ‘Guards,’ Alra’st yelled. ‘Goodie,’ Angel laughed. ‘Are you ready to die?’ Sharin asked. ‘Nope, but I hope you are,’ Angel suggested pointing at the cage. The crew had formed a half circle behind Sharin and Alra’st, having slipped out by removing the bars. Angel had previously sliced through them seamlessly and then replaced them to give the appearance of an intact cage. ‘NO, NO, NO! This is not how it was supposed to happen.’ ‘And how is this different from any of your other plans?’ Ricci mocked.

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‘I’ll kill you, you… you… UGE, er, thing,’ Sharin screeched as she leaped for Angel’s throat. ‘Ooh good one,’ Ricci laughed, ‘I’m going to have to write it down. Anyone have a pen and paper for me... anyone?’ Angel ducked as Laidin landed a flying kick on Sharin’s back, which saw the masked figure flying over him. Closely followed by a golden haired queen, the Bow of Odin firmly gripped in her hand. Alra’st lunged at Angel as well. ‘You three take care of the guards,’ Angel ordered the others as Alra’st swung his heavy axe at Angel’s head. He blocked, but assumed his sword would go straight through Alra’st axe. It did not and violently threw him off his feet and against the wall. ‘Neat trick,’ Angel said, ‘force field?’ ‘Today you will die by my hand UGE bastard.’ Sharin’s midnight black bow-staff moved like lightning to block a vicious blow from Laidin. She rolled and swiped at Laidin’s feet. Laidin came down hard to avoid learning to walk on stumps, her bow whirring at Sharin’s head from the flat of her back. Sharin barely able to parry all the blows while Laidin regained her feet, unfortunately survived. Sharin made a back flip and immediately swung her blade in a long arch. It missed Laidin’s chest by a hair’s breadth. If Laidin had hair on her chest, it would now have split ends. Laidin would have been sliced in halve if she had not jumped back at the last second.

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‘Isn’t this fun, the queen versus the lowborn bitch,’ Sharin breathed. ‘You should not talk about yourself in that way my dear Sharin. You might develop an inferiority complex,’ Laidin remarked, ‘although the description is fitting.’ ‘Die commoner,’ she shouted, and swung wildly at Laidin. Laidin parried easily, ‘so I guess you did not hear. Your house has been disgraced and the throne has been given back to its rightful heir, namely me.’ ‘That’s a lie.’ ‘Now why would I lie to you?’ Laidin smiled, she was definitely spending too much time in her cousin’s company. ‘I will be queen of the El.’ Sharin saw red as she aimed another sweeping blow at Laidin, who rolled with the blow and swung in the same motion. Her blade firmly planted in Sharin’s heart. ‘No, I don’t think so.’ Sharin stood unmoved. ‘So you do have a heart after all,’ Laidin remarked with a wry smile, turned around, and slowly walked away as a thud came from behind her. Angel could hear the trio fighting the guards in the distance. Now and again, he heard a boom caused by Mjolnir and a whistle as another fireball left Guival’s hands or remarks like, ‘your mother bends for hippopotami.’ ‘Oh you like that do you, want some more. I have all you can handle right here.’ ‘Come here so I can stick this thing up your fat arse and floss your brain. That is if I can find it,’ from his sweet little darling wife.

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Alra’st swung again but Angel had left the general vicinity of the blow ages ago. ‘Stand still so I may remove your head,’ Alra’st shouted. ‘Now why would I do that? I am rather attached to it you see, it fits me so well,’ he laughed pretending to model his head. Alra’st swung again, and again. Angel just took a step backwards each time. ‘I was wondering. Does the force field go all the way up your arm?’ Angel asked as he swung at Alra’st left arm where it joined his torso. <Clunk> ‘Guess not. Clearly, the force was not with you. You seem to have a real problem with keeping your limbs don’t you? Maybe you should take something for that. Actually there are no pills for stupidity, are there?’ Angel joked as Alra’st arm dropped off. That’s good, he thought, keep him off balance by making him angry. Alra’st started whirling his blade in front of him. ‘You will pay, I swear. I’ll gut you like a Tre’nt,’ Alra’st’s eyes glowed red. He flew at Angel with superhuman speed. Angel did not expect this rapid acceleration. Only by sheer luck did the sword react in time; leaving Angel with a flesh wound instead of a severed limb. ‘What? No smart remarks, UGE fool?’ Alra’st asked. ‘No. However, I was wondering how a bully like you would stay upright on those stick… sorry hooves… I mean feet, if one was missing,’ Angel asked. Angel knew he had to finish this, Alra’st had the strength and speed to beat him, and he might get lucky soon.

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He ducked under another sweeping blow by Alra’st, rolled and removed his left leg, after which Alra’st obliged by collapsing. ‘NOOO!’ he screamed. He wound up, and threw his axe at Angel who spun as a pure reflex reaction and deflected it millimetres from burying itself in his face. He swung back, only to see Alra’st’s head, failing to find a substantial grip on his spinal cord slowly topple over backwards, and Ricci wiping her blade. ‘No you don’t!’ Ricci angrily remarked. ‘Nobody throws an axe at my husband’s head except for me,’ she sneered and kicked Alra’st’s head into the corner. Kirom stood behind her with a huge grin on his face. According to Kirom, it had been one of the most entertaining battles of his career. Guival asked if he might copy some of his wife’s anecdotes for the comedy act he moonlighted in. ‘So you think I am funny? I’ll show you funny. Why aren’t you laughing huh?’ she asked and started chasing them around the room, Dragonfang flaying madly around them. Angel and Laidin looked at each other and both broke into huge laughter. Laidin walked back to fetch her bow-staff. Sharin’s body had disappeared. All that remained was a few words written in blood. I have no heart.

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*** It was a sombre afternoon on Arken. All the dignitaries were present in full dress uniform. Angel and his crew wore a version of their jumpsuits that Ricci designed with the help of Skibladne, for as she put it formal wear. Angel had to admit it looked damn smart. Black jackets with silver insignia, high collars, and silver trimming all around the edges. Loser looked incredibly cute in his suit and everybody wanted to pat him on the head and give him hugs. He started snapping at hands and Gemmi suggested he should grow-up. He took it literally and it worked. Nobody felt like patting a 500pound blue gorilla. The Gentari slowly carried in the seven caskets. On top of the caskets, they had securely attached the fallen Gentari’s swords. Gemmi gave a stirring speech ending with the words. ‘… Now return to the universe from whence you came, brave warriors. Your praise sung throughout Valhalla, never forgotten, you will remain in our hearts in a place of honour for eternity. We shall miss you greatly and be forever proud of the privilege we had of serving with you. Farewell, my noble sisters.’ She said as a tear rolled down her cheek. There was not a dry eye left in the house. Angel saluted followed by the rest of the retinue. The casket’s rockets ignited and they launched into space. According to Valk’r tradition, a massive feast in honour of the fallen warriors followed the ceremony.

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Angel and his friends were solemnly talking about all that happened. Noone had cornered Ricci and quietly explained something to her when suddenly she screamed, ‘I’m what?’ ‘What’s wrong darling? Are you okay?’ Angel exclaimed startled at the outburst. ‘You bastard, you knocked me up,’ she yelled as she launched at Angel. ‘You are...’ he stammered trying desperately to muster some defence from the coming onslaught. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately, ‘congratulations daddy,’ she laughed. ‘I’m going to have a baby?’ Angel sputtered confused. ‘Actually two my lord,’ Noone corrected him. ‘I’m having twins,’ Ricci yelped, ‘I’m going to look like an elephant.’ Angel grinned like a Cheshire cat, as his friends congratulated the happy couple. It neared the witching hour and everyone had left except for Angel’s close companions. Angel walked out onto the balcony with a mixture of happiness and sadness, ‘so we get to greet new souls while others are taken from us.’ ‘I guess we do,’ LOBE agreed. ‘How long before I lose one of my close friends? I would not know how to handle that. It had been soul destroying watching those caskets leave.’

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‘You will when the time comes. The human mind is strong,’ LOBE answered. ‘I pray I will never have to face that moment.’ ‘I hope your prayers are answered,’ LOBE remarked. His friends walked out onto the balcony and they all stared into the night sky. Ricci stood next to him and placed her arm around his waist, laying her head on his chest. They all just stood there wordlessly taking in the beautiful evening. Angel turned his head to look at his friends each in turn and smiled. He felt incredibly fortunate to have the loyalty and affection of these extraordinary individuals. ‘Well, at least for the moment, there is peace in this Universe,’ Angel sighed as his solemn words carried off on the night breeze. Alas, all things must end. However, that is a story for another time. THE END

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Genealogy Vanir (Humans) Planet: Earth (Vanaheimr) Deity descendant from: Freyr

Angel Position: UGE Lord Age: 33 Weapon: Sword of Freyr (Sword) Ship: Skibladne, the ship of legends and the crown jewel of the United Galactic Empire, enough said Description: the hero; he would have preferred to be consulted on this career change Brother: Mark (twin) Companion: LOBE, angel’s sarcastic migraine who could figure the amount of nose hair needed to fill a room in seconds; an unstable truce exists between it and Angel most of the time Deity descendant from: Odin, Frigg, Thor and Sif

Ricci Position: Valk’r Commander, Gentari Age: 23 Weapon: Dragonfang (Sword, equipped with half Brisingamen Jewel) Ship: Sleipnir Description: a Valk’r warrior with a fast blade and an even faster tongue; she causes the strange fluttery feeling in Angel’s stomach; LOBE calls it heartburn

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Valk’r (Humans) Planet: Earth (New Valhalla) Deity descendant from: Freya

Gemmi Position: New Valk’r Commander Age: 8 Weapon: Half Brisingamen Jewel Ship: Gyrfalcon Description: The Valk’r leader with the weight of the world on her tiny shoulders; Loser is Gemmi’s pet and generally the other weight on her shoulders Companion: Loser (shape changing blue Gerbit)

Carra

Position: Valk’r 2 in command, Gentari Age: Unknown Weapon: Valk’r sword Ship: Valk’r fighter Description: A Valk’r warrior, second in command to Gemmi, when Ricci is not around, it is complicated

Kilda Position: Valk’r Librarian Age: Unknown Weapon: Heavy book Ship: Valk’r fighter Description: keeper of the Valk’r archive, warrior

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El (Elves) Planet: Elheimr (El), Svartalfheimr (dark El) Deity descendant from: Sif

Laidin Position: Spy Age: 212 Weapon: Bow of Odin (Bow-Staff, fire 10 bolts consecutively) Ship: Golden El Fighter Description: the Elven voice of reason and guidance; she is more than she appears to be and apparently even more than that. She is Angelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best friend in this unreal world Deity descendant from: Unknown

Sharin Position: El Princess, evil bitch Age: Unknown Weapon: El Bow-Staff Ship: Royal El Cruiser Companion: Seriously? Description: is an arrogant self-centred Elf princess, egotistical to a degree, which on her, death would make the devil wonder if he came at a bad time

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Dwar (Dwarfs) Planet: Nidavellir Deity descendant from: Thor

Brom Position: Grand Master Dwar Age: 145 Weapon: Mjolnir (Hammer) Ship: Dwar Battle Cruiser Description: Leader of the Dwar.

Kirom Position: Ambassador to the UGE Age: Unknown Weapon: Dwar War Hammer Ship: Royal Dwar Fighter Description: portraits the hardcore adventuring dwarf and is trying his best to get out of his brother Bromâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shadow as well as the hip-hop pants Angel gave him

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Aesir (Mages) Planet: Ásgarôr, Asgard, “City of Dreams” Deity descendant from: Odin

Teral Position: Arch-Chancellor of Aesir Age: Unknown Weapon: Magic Ship: Imperial Battle Cruiser Description: Leader of the mages Deity descendant from: Loki

Guival Position: Ambassador to the UGE Age: Unknown Weapon: Gungnir (Spear, Magic) Ship: Morph ship Description: the unfortunate Aesir spy who would rather be doing stand-up comedy and magic tricks than the inevitable dying he is currently employed to do; but the danger pay is great. At least it is rumoured to be, since no one has actually claimed it

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Ark (Aliens) Planet: Arken Deity descendant from: Unknown

Qren Position: First Ark Engineer Age: Unknown Weapon: None Ship: Ark Cruiser Description: has no desire to be in command but frequently becomes burdened with the responsibility; he would be happy if they would just let him abduct people in peace

Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nari (Ancients) Planet: Unknown Deity descendant from: Unknown

Noone Position: Advisor Age: Unknown but rumoured to be millennia Weapon: None Ship: Cruiser Description: a mystery but speaks with the wisdom of the Ancients

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Taur (Creatures) Planet: Evergal’t Deity descendant from: Minotaur, Satyr, Centaur

Kra’st Position: Taur Commander Race: Cen’t (Centaur) Weapon: None Ship: Taur Sovereign Destroyer Description: dictator ruling the Taur; he would struggle to notice a supernova that threatens the continued existence of his specie; but as he likes to point out he has no time to be concerned with the little things in life. He mainly likes to make this point with the tip of his spear 'Gungnir'. Survival rate was negligent when he made a point

Alra’st

Position: Taur 2 in Command Race: Mino’t (Minotaur) Weapon: None Ship: fighter Description: second in command of the Taur, and seems to have a brain but prefers senseless violence

Tri’st Position: Taur Advisor Race: Sa’t (Satyr) Weapon: None Ship: None Description: main ambition in life is to become older. Tri’st serves as an advisor to Kra’st, which is a sure way of not achieving his goal in life. He is intelligent, but profusely denies such groundless accusations

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Other Norse gods mentioned: Skirnir (Skern): Servant to Freyr Magni: Son of Thor and bloodline of the Dwarfs Modi: The crazy son of Thor and Sif Thrud: Daughter of Thor and Sif Baldur: Son of Odin Ullr son of Sif: Pure royal bloodline of the Light Elves and so Laidin Brunhild: Most famous Valkyrie Gersemi: Daughter of Freyja and Odur

Others mentioned: Darâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;kel: is a mysterious and dark figure, which puts the fear of the gods in everything, including certain morphological formation, a number of food groups and small woodland animals. Vigil: He is a pirate, rumoured to have killed everyone that claimed relation to him and then those who refused to acknowledge it

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Animals Gerbit They could change from a spider monkey size to a bus size gorilla in seconds if it was angry enough. They communicate with emotions and are immune to magic.

Grey Farren They are highly sought after bear-like creatures with enormous spines running from their backs. Its head more closely resembles an insect with thousands of eyes. The biggest problem with hunting this creature is that it would sense brain wave patterns except through the most protective scrambler helmets. When it sensed you wish to kill it, it would simply run away or roll on you impaling you on the spines. Oh and it should be mentioned that these creatures at full gallop have been heard to break the sound barrier.

Perol These remain creatures of legend, rumoured to have originated in hell to torture the most evil of souls. However, even hell had to draw the line somewhere. The torture dished out by these creatures became so inhumane that the demon union voted them out, calling it cruel and unusual. The demons banned them from the underworld and left them on a remote planet with no life forms, the planet of the Damned.

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Croman This is a little black ball of hatred. It despises everything. Even if the targets were as big as a house and not necessarily breathing, it would still try to bite its head off out of principle. One of these agitated, hyperactive creatures once tried to kill Skibladne.

Gist A furry little rat creature. However, he has a much more relaxed temperament and is a heck of a lot faster. They created their own tunnel structure in the Dwar mines and train easily, thus they were the preferred carrier of information, since radio waves did not travel well in ore-rich caverns.

Broadwing Stupid alien ducks, that cannot fly and cannot run fast either. This is a blessing since they always run towards the threat instead of away. Only reason they have survived this long is that they taste worse than their manure.

Treâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;nt A warthog like creature, shy and retiring and quite the pacifist. That is until you threaten its little ones. They would retreat into their holes dug in solid rock, and you would be extremely brave to continue with the capture effort. Their armoured hide and razor sharp barracuda like teeth would deter even the most avid hunter. Whatever you place down the hole generally remains down the hole.

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Werten The black bullet like creature, which seems to propel itself with a fart, it could travel extremely fast on this gaseous propulsion method generated in its stomach.

Lerok A large bee like creature, about as big as a house cat. Very fast, very poisonous with a stinger like a cattle prod. They do not like anything other than another lerok breathing their air.

Erks Are as would be expected the size and shape of bees, but with teeth. Not very poisonous and it requires a few thousand bites from them to die. Only problem is they always travel in swarms and these swarms number in their millions. They have the same problem with air as the lerok.

Barken When this animal wants some loving, it goes literally insane, and NOTHING will stand between it and the object of its affection. Unfortunately, this â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;nothingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; would sometimes include ravines and chasms. They appeared on the endangered species list.

Grun An extremely poisonous snake that could become near invisible when asleep; it seemed to fade out of existence when unconscious and then seem to come back into being when it awoke.

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The Author Shortly after he hatched, the author proceeded to lead the life that would constitute the fantasies of most parentally supervised mental midgets. He managed a miraculous escape from the festivities at university with his mind mostly intact. He then became an instructor on special weapons, attended the Military Academy and survived Special Forces. An epiphany or two later he found that he preferred the life of a successful nerd dodging viruses to a poor jock dodging bullets. He descended into the world of bytes where he soon reached the top of his profession as a senior systems architect. He got bored, became a lecturer, got bored, and became a quant. He is now happily doing extreme maths, and according to rumour mastered multiplication in addition to addition. In an attempt to appear more interesting he found time to raise cheetahs, race huskies, do modelling, fling himself from serviceable airplanes, and scuba with those teeth with fish. After someone, presumed to be his mother, told him that he actually lived a quite interesting life for a hamster, he began to write his autobiography. This factual account of his life encountered more than the expected scepticism so he decided to reposition this book for publication in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, science and mystery. He unfortunately lives on; and has vowed to deposit more of these literary masterpieces on the unsuspecting public.

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