V.Ravencroft First Journey

Chapter:  01

Longnight

The year is 5017 in Old Terran Time(OTT) or 2051 in Union Standard Time (UST).

You will read of my first journeys into the Union, that reveals the vast differences between my homeworld, Nifleheim, and the off-world, the Union. It also introduces those entities which eventually become my friends, enemies, and those who become far beyond either friend or foe.

Almost a year has passed since the attempt of a large corporation to destroy Nilfeheim and thus erase all evidence of their involvement in the aborted mission to suppress the populations and then redirect the environment of Nifleheim.

Longnight had once again descended upon Nilfeheim, the second planet in the Solken system. Nilfeheim was a water planet with minimal dry land. During Longnight, the winter period that could last up to seven standard years, the oceans froze over, except for a region called the Uhim grounds. Hot vents and underwater volcanoes kept the water temperature above freezing.

Nilfeheim had been settled by colonists from Earth almost 3000 years ago. The settlers, belonging to the Viking Movement and the Church of Odin, brought along their unique brand of rigid traditions and cultural ideas based on both traditional and romantic sources.

The origins of these traditions brought from distant Earth had more or less been forgotten and had over the ages developed in an individual society with anachronistic rituals and rigid traditions of their own.

Much had happened on Nilfeheim during the last Shortsummer.

My Grandfather, the representative of Nilfeheim, had been murdered. His death was part of a plot conceived by an off-world company seeking to gain the planet for their client, a large Seafood Company.

They planned to instigate a clan war, and with the aid of a greedy and the misguided ambitions of local clan lords and, of course, by the schemes of my step-mother, Gretel Hemstaad, it almost succeeded,  Gretel consumed by her hatred towards the Olafsons and her thirst of revenge and Brunar to protect his field of gem producing shellfish. The whole affair culminated in a planetary attack. A pirate hired by that criminal organization to erase all evidence attempted to drop a Planetary Incendiary bomb on Nilfeheim.

With the help of my friends, I was able to stop the attack, virtually at the very last moment. We paid a very high price as my friend Astrid Mossberg had given her life while extinguishing a fire in the engine room of my space born submarine, the Poseidon.

The boat was heavily damaged, and beyond repair, the Elders cast the sub in a block of transparent Duranium and sat on a base of Duro-Crete in the former Aesir Park of Halstaad Fjord.

The Aesir Park renamed to honor Astrid Mossberg so all will remember the sacrifice she made to save our world.

It was a monument to Astrid and a reminder of how close Nilfeheim came to destruction.

The street bordering the Astrid park on its way to the spaceport, previously named Siegfried lane was now Erik Gustav Ragnarsson Lane, I knew a statue of him was ordered and would be placed at the entrance to the spaceport.

I spent a lot of time with Tyr, the White Tyranno, riding on his back, exploring the vast oceans and seeing, and feeling a world utterly unknown to the Nilfeheim population. There was a stark difference between the monotonous, dry land of Nilfeheim and the rich, breathtaking features below the surface of its oceans. An ocean, teeming with a wide variety of creatures, small, to super large, with shapes beyond my wildest imagination.

Tyr was the largest Tyranno Fin in our oceans, an enormous white sentient being, alive for centuries before the arrival of the first human settlers.

Tyr possessed vast psionic abilities and spoke to me telepathically. As Longnight arrived he, like the other non-sentient Tyrannos,  retreated into his sleep mountains and hibernated through the extended cold period known as Longnight. During this period there would be no communication with him.

Father had also changed, he was no longer under the control of the psycho drugs his second wife had administered to him over the years. Although, I learned that he was responsible for the death of my mother and much of the torture he had put me through as the drugs only enhanced what was already there. Some of his evil deeds happened before Gretel took control of him with those drugs. I could never be certain if Mother would be alive if he had not been under the spell of those Shail mind-altering drugs. I knew I would never forgive him, but he tried to amend his ways by treating Elena like a real daughter.

My decision not to end his life was still tormenting me, and there was not a day that went by that  I did not question my choice. The council of Egill, Tyr, and the fact that I did not wish to be the next clan chief were the primary reasons for my decision to allow him to live.

I planned to leave this planet behind and test to enter the Union Spatial Naval Academy. Eliminating my father would, of course, require that I remain on Nifleheim and assume the role of the clan chief. I duty I loathed.

Elena was as it turned out, gifted with some psionic gifts of her own. Tyr had helped her to discover and develop them. Or perhaps, as I suspected, Tyr was the source of them.

She enjoyed her new role as the first daughter, and father declared her to be in line to be the first female clan chief in Nilfeheim's history if I decided to stay off the planet, which was more than alright with me. Elena had become like real a sister to me just as if she would have born that way. I loved her very much.

I had married Sif in a pompous ceremony the day after Yuletide, but it was only a symbolic wedding, and she had left with Egill to Pluribus, where she would complete Union school and then go to the University to study Political Sciences.

Egill the Hermit had become Nilfeheim's Planet Representative at the Assembly and taken the post that had been vacant since the death of my grandfather.

Now, in retrospect, everyone on Nilfeheim realized just how vital planet representation in the Union Assembly could be for our existence. I too began to understand what my grandfather had told me when he took me to Hasvik.

Sif and Egill departed for Pluribus immediately after the wedding so four months ago. At first, she had called me every other day, then every other week, and finally told me that though she still liked me, she had found her soulmate. A woman she wished to marry after becoming a full Union Citizen. Then her calls stopped altogether. It hurt a little not from losing a lover, which she was not, but for the loss of a close friend and advisor.

Much had changed on Ragnarsson Rock, and our Burg as well. The Tanneries remained but were highly modified. We employed the traditional Nifleheim method to produced leather as it fetched the highest prices. The quality was far superior to any modern process, as was evident by the tremendous back-orders. But the stinking, revolting process was now done by twelve S-10 robots we had purchased to do that and other subhuman jobs. The bots didn't mind the smells and worked around the clock. Taking a page out of Brunar Bendixen's book, the Olafson clan was run much more like a modern, efficient business. We exported fangsnapper meat, fur, leather, pearls, and crab meat.

Father still insisted that we hunted for Tyrannos, but it was no longer the main focus of our clan. Besides, they were secreted away in their sleep mountains during the Longnight, anyway.

Elena, so it turned out, had a keen sense of business and loved helping actively in that clan business. The Olafson clan was the first who abolished the class of Lowmen, and all families were raised to the level of Freemen and received fair salaries.

It was one late Friday afternoon; father was in town drinking with other clan chiefs at Hogun's Inn.

Carl, the outcast and mercenary friend of Hogun, now was an Olafson Warrior, wore clan red and lived in our Burg. He had not stopped, but intensified my training and advanced me to real fencing and with the more elegant rapier. This sword was much lighter than the traditional Nilfeheim broadsword, but it was much faster, and when used in concert with the Main Gauche, a left-handed dagger type weapon, it was very deadly. A fencing expert could easily defeat a trained warrior with broadsword and shield. Carl was a master of this form of fighting, so entirely different from the hack and slash technique used with the broadsword. Every stance, every move had a name and a counter move. To a Neo Viking, it looked almost like dancing and caused much laughter and ridicule. The laughter, however, quickly changed to respect when the razor-sharp tip of the rapier hovered before their eyes while the broadsword was still in full swing.

Of course, a skilled broadsword fighter was not defenseless, and a massive blade had its advantages as well. Carl's motto seemed to be "Diversity Wins."

I learned how to use Saresii blades, old Terran Katanas, and a plethora of other weapons. Carl knew them all and was an expert in their advantages and disadvantages.

Today I was fighting with my new sister, Elena,  in the snow-covered front yard of the High Hall. We wore protective leather but used real steel weapons. Elena was learning fast and fencing with her was great fun. After an extended conversation (back and forth play of the blades) I attempted a successful "attaque au fer. " meaning I deflected her blade in the opposite direction of her attack and moved in and landed the flanconnada. My blade point sliced a little in the tough leather armor she was wearing, and she stepped back curtsied and removed her fencing mask. She caught her breath and smiled. "You are becoming a true master, Eric. I would be dead now. You were playing with me the whole time."

Even though it was bitter cold, I felt warm and bowed to her."Don't sell yourself short, dear sister. Your skills improve daily, and I doubt there are many fighters on Nilfeheim who would stand a chance against you now."

Her face lit up with her charming smile that made her eyes sparkle."There is no one left on Nilfeheim who could best you. Even Carl said that."

"Let's go to Midril and see if we can score some hot chocolate."

She agreed and then said as she walked beside me, "Besides you are not as handicapped as I am."

"I sure didn't notice any handicaps."

She touched her breasts. I am talking about these. They bounce around a lot and let me tell you. They are not very comfortable. They truly hurt sometimes, and I bet you would be only half as good wearing a pair of these puppies."

I sighed and lowered my voice "You know my secret, and sometimes I wish I had, but I am sure there has to be some manner of support. I remember Sif telling me something about bra's and maybe there is something like that for doing exercises or friend Sigfrida has a hard leather armor shaped for women. She fights like a true Aesir. I ask her if she can spare one or make you one."

She kissed me on the cheek."Lucky me, I have a brother that knows more about these things than most girls."

We entered the kitchen and Midril, who had raised Elena like her own, smiled at us warmly. "It is amazing what you two do out there. Everyone was coming in telling me about how you two slicing good Nilfeheim air. I bet it got even too cold for you two out there. Go sit down I get Elena some Hot Chocolate, and for Eric, I make some coffee. If you wait for a little, I got fresh sweet rolls in the oven as well."

She left us alone after she had served the drinks as she was busy preparing dinner. Many things had changed on the Burg. Midril's kitchen, however, remained the same and she was the undisputed queen of this essential section of the Burg. Elena watched her with a warm smile on her face. "I do remember Gudrun, my real mother, but she hated me because I reminded her of the things Harkun had done to her. Midril raised me after my mother died."

I put my hand on hers. "When I was at the Pillar Burg, Egill or maybe Tyr gave me a glimpse of what it is like to be raped, while I was spared the actual act, to this day it has not left my mind, and I can smell Harkun's breath. Don't hate your birth mother for it. She died trying to defend you."

She turned with her eyes glittering with moisture. "I do not hate my mother, but she hated me, sometimes I wish she would have been able to tell me otherwise. Harkun is dead, and before he died, he lived through every crime he committed."

For a while we sat there merely looking at each other then she said. "Come let us go to the spaceport tonight.

A girl's night out. I like to go shopping, and I would like to have Freya with me. We can remember the good times we had with Sif, Hedda, and Astrid."

I sighed. "While I try hard to suppress it, I badly needed to be Freya again.  I had hoped this sickness would leave me. I promised myself to go to the clinic and have it checked out."

She got up.

"I think it is part of what makes you the person you are and I would be sad if you, somehow, eliminate that part of you. Neither Tyr nor Egill asked you to change. I am sure they would have if they thought it was necessary."

I sighed and got up as well."Well, one time more could not hurt I guess."

Elena smiled."I don't think we are too old for Retro Emo either. Let's go Sister."

After we had our hot beverages and enjoyed the piping hot, sweet rolls, we went to the High Halls, as I no longer was denied access. Elena was now living in what used to be Gretel's rooms. It was completely re-decorated. Elena did not have any handmaidens either.

As always I got genuinely excited when I shed my male persona and slipped into my female alter ego. I had not done so ever since we left the Bredenberg Burg.

Elena returned to her old looks just like when I met her at the spaceport, with the wild red pigtail wig. She had chosen a skintight black shiny mini-dress with a dangerous, plunging, laced neckline and a matching black jacket. Her legs encased in black fishnets and high heeled boots. "How do I look?" She asked, turning once around.

"Like a New Age Vampire on the prowls for male victims, the other word that comes to mind has four letters and starts with an S and ends with a T. "

"Perfect. That's what I was aiming for exactly.  Now stop being so jealous, it's your turn, and we can make you look just as slutty.'

"I am not jealous."

"Oh yes, you are. Remember I can read minds now. Not very good but yours is very familiar to me."

"You know that is illegal. I wish folks would stay out of my mind."

"Even me?"

"Since you can read minds, you know the answer."

She went to her closet and leafed through her things. "Too shy, too small, too long,  AH just perfect. Here, try this one on, for the slut effect."

"You are not serious?" I said, looking at the red patent leather dress she held up.

Huddled in long fur cloaks with the hoods drawn deep, we rushed to the roof hangar, and I prayed that no one would spot us. I relaxed as my red Opel flier was in the air and then I said." I don't think I take off the coat. I can barely sit down in this."

"Oh don't be such a sissy. You look gorgeous and just as slutty as I do."

Again I could not fight the feeling and started to enjoy to be Freya. It was, as always, as if I stepped out of a cage and into a palace and somehow felt free.

It was Friday evening, the Space Port and Shopping mall were very busy. The Space bus had arrived and also the weekend shuttle of the Miners from the mining Colony on Balder. Elena insisted that I leave the cloak behind, after some grumbling I agreed. I felt very exposed and kept tugging on the short skirt and hoped it would not ride up too far. It was this idea of doing something forbidden, something wrong, that electrified me to the core. Elena hooked her arm into mine, and we strutted down the main concourse. We weren't the only girls. The Space Port was still the meeting point of most women and girls. On the weekend the more modern-minded Neo Viking Families and couples of Halstaad Fjord came here to visit the Virtu Theater or have dinner at one of the two excellent restaurants that had recently opened in the mall. Groups of miners gave us catcalls, and I could not help but enjoy every one of them. Elena leaned closer, "See I knew you would get pleasure from this little walk."

"I should not be enjoying it, but I do."

We shopped, and while it was perfect, I was reminded of the others and of Astrid who was no longer with us.

Elena nodded. "I miss her too, but wherever she is now, I bet she would want us to have fun."

Elena purchased a neat little device called a shape field bra. The saleswoman praised it as truly invisible and perfect for sports as well. I had to decline, of course, as the salesgirl wanted to fit me one as well.

I had not a care in the world, and just as we planned to go to the Coffee shop, Elena suddenly cramped her hand around mine, her legs buckled and she fell. The shiny black material of her dress had a small circle emulating a ring of smoke. A woman screamed, and I turned and saw Lothar holding the silvery weapon I had seen his mother use. He aimed at me and fired.

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