Page 3 of Alien Viking's Plunder

“Of course, or course,” Heidran wheezed. “But not all hope is lost. As the Prophecy said, a Meistr from outside may help us.”

“Do we know any great warriors from outside the earldom?” Bragr asked, staring out towards the distant horizon where mist hid the ocean. Beyond that ocean there were other realms, earldoms, dukedoms, kingdoms, empires. Many of them were friendly, but the others would not hesitate to conquer Hjalmarheim for its crystals and its wondrous longships, if they saw any sign of weakness.

“There are some,” Heidran said, leaning on his long staff. “But they are mostly old, and they owe their allegiance to other rulers. I doubt any of them would fight for your clan.”

Bragr looked out at his country. It was springtime. The farmers would be plowing and sowing, the fishermen would be preparing their boats for longer journeys on the seas, the hunters would be preparing their weapons, the livestock would be grazing on fresh, new grass, their newborns would be learning how to use their legs and trunks and tails. All prospering in peace, all being left alone to live their lives and raise their children.

“My people have sacrificed too much to give in to some conqueror,” Bragr said darkly. “When I deposed Gornt and banished him, the people supported me and fought for me and died for me. And I was ready to die for them. We didn’t go through all that just for some random warlord to come and oppress them at will. The people thought I would be a better ruler than Gornt. I have done my best to prove them right, Heidran.”

“And you have succeeded, Chief, as I’m sure you know. They will fight for you again, and they will fight fiercely. The last thing anyone wants is another earl like Gornt. If I may say so, you are the most beloved earl Hjalmarheim has had in all my day. And there have been a good few.”

“I don’t want another war,” Bragr growled, instinctively lifting one hand to stroke along his horns, checking their pointiness in a primal reflex. “But I also will not let anyone conquer the people I have sworn to protect.”

He straightened, banishing the worries from his mind. “You took note of the predictions? Proclaim that I have seen the oracle and that the predictions will be of great value to the land. And discreetly find out where the best warriors on the planet are right now. Perhaps it will become obvious which one it is that is the Meistr who might help us.”

Heidran took notes. “I will, Chief. If I could choose among our own warriors, there would be many options. But a warrior from outside will be harder to find.”

“Indeed our warriors are the best on Gardr.” Bragr glanced up at the sky, where the brilliant circle that was the sun Straum shone with its ferocious, cloud-penetrating light.

He felt the power it sent coursing through his arms and legs and on an impulse drew his sword. Bright sparks played along the sharp edge as he tossed it rotating into the air and caught it again.

He ached to make use of those powers against the enemies who wanted to enslave his people. “Look at Brisingr, Heidran! Its blade shines like never before. I wonder if Straum isn’t getting ready to erupt in a Big Shine. Its tantrums are usually connected to better predictions from the oracle, it is said.”

Heidran glanced at the sword in Bragr’s hand, frowning. “I was hoping there would be no Big Shine in my lifetime, Chief. But I think you’re right. Already I feel its strength in my bones. I can only hope the pain won’t be too bad when it starts for real. And,” he turned to stare at the glittering mountains, “those who livetherealso tend to act up when the Shine is on.”

“So they say.” Bragr nodded. “If they do, we shall stuff their heads and hang them on the walls of ourgildeskal, so that when we have our feasts, we may still mock them.”

The shaman made the sign of warding off evil spirits. “They might make good trophies. But I hope never to find out. I assume the spring raid is still on?”

Bragr climbed into the open shortship that was waiting on the grass, his weight making it bob up and down on it springs. “Of course. The preparations are almost complete. Our longships are ready. We have a new target this spring, a realm that we have not raided in many an era. It could prove a thickly wooledsaudr, ready for the shearing. Come on, wise one. I’ll take you home.” He reached down to grab the old shaman’s hand and help drag him aboard.

Grabbing the shortship’s iron levers, he felt the worry fade. There was still hope. Perhaps the oracle had always been right before, but who said it would always stay right? Sooner or later, it might be wrong. This could be the time.

He wouldn’t give up the earldom and leave his people to some unknown ruler just like that. He’d fight to the death, if necessary. In the quick, but brutal war against Gornt, he had been ready for that. And in a way, he’d been ready for it ever since.

But first he would go on the raid. A spring raid always energized his warriors. And when they returned with the plunder and spoils, the whole earldom got richer and everyone celebrated.

The shortship jumped into the air, and Bragr heard the nervous yelp from Heidran as he had it plunge down the mountainside, skimming right above the rock and the moss. The wind forced tears from his eyes, but he was grinning. Flying the shortship was fun, but he couldn’t wait to get back to the rudder of his longship. TheKrakenwas the grandest ship on the planet, and he thoroughly enjoyed the raids it took him on. One in the spring to fill the treasury and the stores after a long winter, and then one in the fall to prepare for the cold times.

“The mighty warrior from the outside might save the earldom,” he said out loud. “When I find him, that Meistr and I shall fight together. And we shall win!”

2

- Josie -

“Look at this, Josie.” Aretha pointed to the old-fashioned flat screen on the main optical scope. “Does that look like anything you ever saw?”

Josie bent closer. “That small point of light? It might surprise you, but Ihaveseen stars before, Aretha.”

Her friend tapped the screen with a fingernail “Butisit a star? Look at the spectrum. Ignore the peaky gigahertz stuff. That comes from the pulsar behind it. Which is more than weird enough, in its own way. But we’ll look at it later.”

Josie studied the graph. It couldn’t be real. “That is some intense blueshift.Toointense — it indicates a speed faster than light. It’s way off the spectrum. There has to be a mistake.”

“I’ve been checking that for three hours,” Aretha said, a small tremble in her voice. “Everything checks out. The hardware is fine, the software, too. The AIs have no problems, they all confirm it. Something is barreling through space at ten thousand times the speed of light. Coming straight for us. Straight for Earth.”

Josie took a step back and looked at the giant, curved screen that showed what the telescope was pointing at. Just stars, millions of them. Many more than could be seen from the surface of Earth. Which was why the space stationUnitywas bristling with telescopes of all types.

That was not the purpose of the station — it was mostly a launch platform for spaceships going into the solar system for exploration or to mine the asteroids. But it had grown steadily in the years since construction started, and now it was pretty much a city in orbit around Earth. A city of six thousand citizens of all professions and nationalities. It was always being built and added to, and the astronomy section was one of the smaller ones.

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