Chapter 20

Carmichael felt relieved when Aurora contacted him to confirm she was alive and well. She’d shared with him the threat the Griss represented. From what Aurora described, they were killing machines of the highest order. She outlined how the Griss had defeated the Burel and sent them into hiding.

That explained why they’d kept their distance and hidden their homeworld behind holo-emitters.

But that left Carmichael trying to puzzle out two things. The first was whether the Griss might have been justified in the way they came after the Burel. From what his daughter said, they’d effectively glassed the Griss planet when their initial team had been killed.

If the Burel thought the Griss weren’t space-capable, why not simply leave?

Carmichael’s second thought was that the Griss his daughter described sounded more like shock troops and not exactly deep thinkers capable of developing space travel. How could a race of hyper-warriors like that evolve? What pressure could make a race of apex predators also become a race of genius scientists? Could the Griss Aurora saw carving up the Burel crew have designed a faster-than-light spaceship? Or ... were the Griss she saw as much a product of ‘intelligent design’ as the ships in their fleet?

If that were the case, were the Griss really the mindless killers the Goth and the Norse had been led to believe? If not, Carmichael questioned whether humans should even be in this fight. Or, in the worst case, might they be on the wrong side?

While he’d hidden his concerns, Bjorn had asked him to talk King Denhardt off the ledge. When he learned the all-too-real threat the Griss presented, Carmichael had somewhat understood Brodie taking command.

Carmichael understood enough of Norse culture to recognize what Brodie had done. In the long run, the young hersir potentially became an enemy of King Denhardt. Norsemen selected their leaders based on who could best defend them. Even King Denhardt could be challenged, and Carmichael had no doubt that Brodie would win in one-on-one combat, armed or unarmed.

In Carmichael’s mind, that would be what Brodie would be forced to do if he expected to live out the following year. Usually, the Goth warlord wouldn’t have a dog in this fight, but Aurora had admitted she was pregnant. Carmichael was almost positive it was Brodie’s.

For her safety, Carmichael would take her home. He didn’t want his daughter anywhere near what would happen after this if they won. He also made sure she wouldn’t share her condition with Brodie. The hersir would need to marry well to hold together the Norsemen. Having a Goth as his wife, even knowing she was a warlord’s daughter, wouldn’t be enough if he were to become King.

In his opinion, Elle might be Brodie’s best choice. Carmichael had gotten to know her and found the Gundersen Jarl cunning and ruthless. While Brodie might need to sleep with one eye open—since she’d tried to kill him a few times—Elle was also practical. Carmichael suspected she aspired to rule all Norsemen, and marriage to Brodie would get her there.

The question was, could Brodie tame Elle enough to stay alive?

Carmichael thought of his own wife and smiled. Early on, it had been touch-and-go, but she’d come to love him, or so he hoped.

Brodie was in for some interesting times.

Brodie had landed the Nexfor at the starport and sent Sylmar to find out why it was taking so long to load the civilians. Sylmar had just left the bridge when he received a priority message from Loki, so he went to the captain’s alcove and turned on the security screen.

“Val sent this message,” Loki said, then played it.

“Thanks for the escort, humans. Now that the Griss know about you, they’ll hunt you, and you’ll keep them busy as they conquer you while we get away.”

“What are you talking about?” Val asked.

“That was the plan all along. Feed your feeble race to the Griss and escape where they can never find us. We knew you were too kind-hearted and would swallow what we told you.”

“Val reported that the Burel civilian fleet jumped out of the system right after that. Val has requested that she and Erik return and support your efforts,” Loki said.

“I want them to remain at Norse and rally the planetary defenses in case we fail here,” Brodie said.

“That’s what I told her. She will contact the clans and prepare,” Loki said. “What do you plan to do about the Burel?”

“I’m declaring standing order Völund’s Retribution if we survive.”

There were a couple of different versions of the story of Völund, or Wayland. The one Brodie liked told how Völund, a smith, had fallen in love with a swan-maiden, which led to gut-wrenching treachery by their King. The tale ended with the smith’s planned retribution. It was a fable told to show that good won out in the face of betrayal.

“Yes, sir,” Loki said, confirming his orders.

“How do I get the Burel off this ship?” Brodie asked.

“One moment while I download a little surprise for their AI,” Loki said.

The AI used his command codes to enter the Nexfor’s systems.

“I’ll let you know when I’m done,” Loki said.

Brodie returned to the bridge, where he addressed the crew.

“While on the ground, you can stand down and grab something to eat and rest.”

The bridge crew all got up and left.

“We’re taking this ship,” Brodie told Aurora and the Marines. “Go talk to the former captives and get them ready to move. Once Loki takes control of the Burel AI, he’ll signal to get the Burel off the ship.”

“I’ll get them organized,” Aurora said, leaving the bridge with all but one of the marines.

Aurora had made it to the cargo bay and explained what Brodie wanted when an alarm blared.

“Abandon ship! Abandon ship! Self-destruct has been initiated!”

“I think that’s our signal,” Captain Rodgers, the older man, said.

“Get moving,” Aurora said as she returned to the bridge.

“Oops,” Loki said.

Brodie hated it when his AI said that. The last time had been when he demolished two destroyers that had attacked Brodie the first night on Norse.

“What does ‘oops’ mean?” Brodie asked.

“The Nexfor’s AI is a bit tougher than I thought. It has decided to blow up the ship rather than give me control.”

Brodie swore under his breath as the self-destruct countdown began.

King Denhardt was on the bridge of the Óðinn, a massive capital carrier.

“All hands are at battle stations, and fighter group Alpha is ready to launch,” the King’s hersir, Sven Haugen, said.

The Griss fleet was rapidly advancing.

“Launch fighters and have the Thor target the lead Griss juggernaut,” King Denhardt ordered.

“As you command,” Loki said through the speakers, causing the King to cringe.