Eric Olafson, Neoviking 10

Chapter 10: Caught

They had shown me to a small cave in the big caverns wall. Inside, behind a curtain was a real bed and I slept deep and dreamless. This time I did not wake on my own but was called out while I still felt tired. The perpetual small fusion sun made any guess what time it was completely impossible, at least to me. The woman stood just outside the curtain and she was dressed very much like I expected a woman warrior to look. Hard leather armor molded to accommodate her female shape. Underneath a short white tunic that revealed much of her shapely legs. Her curly hair pulled to the back and tamed into a pony tail with a leather strap adorned with feathery things to the side. She held two long spears.” Good Morning Eric !” She handed me one and said. “The spear is one of human kind’s oldest weapons. In our old languages man with a Ger became to be known as German and the word describing an entire culture.”

The spear had a wooden shaft and was set on the top with a pointed double edged tip of metal. I wanted to impress her and said after I had bowed. “Odin’s spear is named Gungir and it is infallible and its tip cannot be broken. The Elders of the Circle and the clan Chiefs swear on Gungir the most sacred oaths!” I then hastily added.” Your Ladyship.”

She did nod with a knowledgeable smile.” My name is Siegfrida and you may call me by my name.”

She turned the spear and drew a simple arrow in the dirt.” This is the Tir rune in the writing of the old Vikings on Earth and it t has the meaning of war, victory, law and cosmic order and is associated with the ancient Germanic and Aryan sky god Tir. This rune also resembles Irmunsul the world tree.”

I followed her to a different cave and she explained that these chambers once were formed by hot magma bubbles and flows while the Volcano was more active.

She was a patient but demanding teacher and the fact that she was a woman somehow spurned the male warrior ego that was part of perhaps every Neo Vikings personality. I think I would not have tried as hard if she was a male instructor. For the next 3 weeks I hurled spears, fought with shield, spear, ax and sword until I could no longer feel my arms. Unlike our fight instructor at school, she was not cruel and inflicted injury and mars on purpose but I still thought there was not a spot left on my body without a bruise. Her training was much more akin to the mysterious man who had saved me from falling.

When we did fight with swords she did notice.”It seems your are not a novice when it comes to the sword. Eric, someone taught you well already.”

Every night I was allowed to the baths and the warm water was a better remedy to my aching muscles than anything else I could imagine.

But training with her was also a wonderful time. She was full of stories and wisdom about our culture and the gods. When she told a story about the Gods and then explained the meaning of the story and the symbolism and why that story was told. I had not really thought about father. I felt somehow accepted. There was no one making fun of me or teasing me, no one told me what a looser or how unwanted I was. No one was beating or kicking me and I did not have to be afraid of noises or heavy footsteps that would announce the appearance of father.

I did not see the Old Man during that time.

How many days I had been here I could not really say, I did not keep track of time, but it felt early in the day when she put the training weapons back in their racks and said. “I have to tend to a sick friend and won’t be back till tomorrow evening, but that means you have four extra hours to pass today, so I would like you to do a chore for us. Everyone around here does them, so don’t feel I am punishing you.”

“I don’t mind doing chores and I am not afraid of work, I do them since I can remember.”

“Great, do go to the baths and mop the tiles in both areas and the change rooms. You find the cleaning tools and supplies in a storage corner in the change area. No one will be there at this time so please do the women’s side too.”

“No problem, I can do that.”

“You should have plenty of time to enjoy a long bath as well.” I heard her say. I stopped and faced her again. She smiled and added.” The Ancient one will fill in for me tomorrow I am sure you can find your way to the baths and then to dinner yourself by now.”

She left and I did make my way towards the baths. In that corridor that linked the baths to the Big Cavern were other passage ways branching off to the left and right, About halfway to the Baths was the Elevator that would lead up to First Guardians Study. The light came from old Lumi Plates, not all of them working anymore. It was a small miracle in my eyes they lasted that long, they came so I had learned from the Settler arks. I understood that they had some sort of ingenious way of turning radioactive radiation from a small piece of plutonium into the spectrum of visible light.

Some of the corridors that branched off were completely dark and I wondered where these corridors ended up. The inside of this old volcano was occupied by a secretive group for almost 3000 years now and their numbers were slowly but steadily declining. Despite their effort to keep themselves alive and to replace those who died, the Old man had told me that there were now less than two hundred and they started out with about eight hundred. I did the math in my head and felt they did not really have any immediate problem of disappearing, if they declined in numbers at the same rate as they did till now, they still had 2000 years before the last one was gone.

It was easy to think in terms of someone being over a thousand years old and accept the fact that my female teacher really was that old, since I could not really fathom what it meant. There was simply no reference I could apply to really understand, but whenever I was thinking about it, I felt a little uneasy and shivered and wondered if a being that could look back on a thousand years of life experience really was still human.

From Union Class I knew there were member species that looked upon very long life spans. Of course I heard about the Stories of the two hundred human immortals who were guiding human kind since the beginning and like most I believed them to be legends and myths at least until know. Mr. Walters said that medicine could easily extend the life of most any carbon based life form including humans. Brains could be implanted in Robot and Android bodies and eliminate most biological limitations and brain pattern activity could be imprinted on a Computronic. Ever since the Insane Robot Coup attempt of 2412, uploading and individuals personality and brain into a Computronic was prohibited. All manufactured robots and Androids were by law determined to be things and had to be base programmed and imprinted with the Robotic Laws. I heard of the X101’s a member species of sentient machines but they did not provide other species with their own robot bodies.

In that lesson Mr. Walters said that the average lifespan for humans was 250 years. Even though longer life was medically possible he said that most minds simply got tired and a strong longing to die developed and the suicide rate among those reaching the bicentennial age increased drastically with each passing year. It was not against the law to extend life beyond the age of 250 but as Mr. Walters said no one really wanted too.

While I was pondering the long life span of the Keepers I had reached the baths and decided to use that extra time not just to bathe but to swim, the pool basin was certainly big enough for that, but I would do my chore first. By know I knew there were two bath areas one for men and one for women. They looked identical except the tiles on the male side were blue and the tiles in the women’s bath were red. In between them was an area with showers and toilets and places were you could dress and undress. It all had been built to accommodate the population of Hasvik that never used it. Of course the Keepers had kept it in good repair all that time. As she said the place was deserted and no one was there.

I could not find any mop or bucket or anything else on the men’s side so I knocked at the separating swing door then opened it and said aloud.” Anyone here?”

My voice slightly echoed and appeared louder than intended but no one answered, there was only the drip of water. So I went in and sure enough there was a corner with buckets, mops and the wonderful smelling lemon stuff they made themselves to clean pretty much everything. So I mopped the women’s bath area and there around the corner in the dressing area on the bench lay that leather breast harness molded to Siegfrida’s body. Not far from it, on a peg a blue dress and white apron. A small shelf next to it held artful little glass bottles, decorated ceramic tubs and jars.

This was not mother’s boudoir and not her dress. There was no reason for me to wear it and yet felt the urge to do just that. If I would wear that breast harness underneath it would give the dress even the right shape.

I pushed the mob and shook my head. “It was wrong what I did in mother’s boudoir even though it made me feel close to her. I was a Neo Viking and I needed to become strong and big. A warrior would not wear women’s garments.

Thor did it.

But he didn’t like it and did it only once out of necessity. So why did I feel strangely excited every time I mopped past that dress?

I forced myself to think about something else and left doing the other side of the baths, but when I was done. I knew it was still early and I had time. I wished someone would come, Women perhaps using the baths but it remained eerie silent. I had to return the cleaning supplies.

I almost could hear my own argument, on the one hand I tried to ignore my feelings as I knew they were wrong, but then what would it hurt? No one would ever know, just to see how it looks.

I undid my braids.

The chest piece fit real nice and as I slipped into the dress it really did what I hoped it would and along with the white apron looking into a mirror I really looked like a girl now, even the shape was no perfect.

I felt free for some reason and while something in me warned me that inner voice felt silent and somehow it felt so right.

As I turned a little to see me myself from the side I noticed Siegfrida standing there, her arms crossed. Seeing her hit me like lightning and I wished the ground would open to swallow me. I started shaking and the sensation of utmost shame came over me.

She looked around and then nodded.” I see you did a good job cleaning.”

I tried to say something, but my throat was constricted and even if I knew what to say I would have not been able to utter a single word.

“I had a chance in plans and came to fetch you for dinner. Ulrike made dumplings today.”

Then she came closer and said.” The ancient suspected this and that is why he asked me to leave those things here.”

I shivered and could not bring my shaking hands and knees under control. I finally managed to say.” He knew?”

She smiled and nodded.”He is very old and has seen it all. Human nature holds no mysteries to him.”

The old man’s voice spoke and he had appeared behind me next to the mirror. “I visited your burg to learn more about you and when I heard your Midril speak about that servants had seen the ghost of the fair lady in the windows of the First ladies old rooms, I asked Sigfrida to do this little test.”

He put his hand on my shoulder.”Don’t be afraid.No one here will judge you by this. I know you will keep our secret and so will we keep yours. I wish I could offer you to stay here in Muspelheim so you would be free of the tyranny of your father, but this is no place for a young person.”

I relaxed only a little but he spoke kindly.”I am sorry ... I did not...”

“Don’t be sorry, you did nothing wrong in our eyes, this world however is not made for someone like you if it ever comes to light. No one will even try to understand.”

I could not stop my tears. “I don’t really understand it myself. I know it is wrong.”

“Sigfrida said I know human nature, Eric I would have to live twice as many years than I already have to really understand the motivations of a woman. I imagine this desire of your could be a release to cope with all you are coping so young and with no one to talk, but this is only an assumption.”

He said. “All this talk made me hungry and there are dumplings waiting for us. Let’s go!”

“Like this?”

“Why not? You look very nice and perhaps it helps you decide if it is for you.”

Sigfrida smiled and offered me her arm.”He is always hungry as you know by now.”

Interlude 1: Pluribus

Garry Nu-Chang wore a stylish silver gray tailored suit of Sitaurian brocade with an intricate design of platinum metallic threads. Sitaurian Brocade coming all across the Bridge from the Andromeda galaxy was the latest fashion craze for those who could afford thousand credit suits. Underneath a shirt of olive colored Terran Silk. His shoes came from New York City. Even though he never been to Earth he too wore so called sun glasses, a metal frame held dark lenses of a transparent material before his eyes. Sunglasses usually were a sure trademark for someone from the Sol System. He never really felt the desire to visit Earth and had never really left Pluribus other than per Matter tunnel to visit the pleasure moons circling around the fifth planet of this system, but that did not really count. Everything anyone could possibly want could be found right here. This was where Garry came in, this was his business.

Pluribus, the central planet of the most successful multi culture Trans-galactic society in known history of this spiral galaxy was a place of extremes. Enormous buildings, many billions of beings from all over the Union lived and worked here and unimaginable sums of money in from of Union credits and wares were XChanged every second of every day. True this was no lawless planet like Sin 4 or some of the other planets in Free space and for the most part it was an orderly world. Union Federal Police and Pluribus Law Enforcement had their Head quarters right here to keep it that way, but if you wanted it and had the money it could be found right here. Garry was one of a group of individuals calling themselves Connectors and Garry was one of the best. He tugged at the suits jacket to adjust its already immaculate fit and entered the plush office he maintained on the 345th floor of Soaring Delights, a relative modest sized sky scraper of only two thousand meters near Enroe Park, named after the first Union President, still the rent was astronomical. He remembered how he started in this business twenty years ago with nothing but a Cardboard box set up next to a Junkers Yard in Skid Row Sub level 4. Sullivan Donkin his former partner was as far as he knew still there. He had made it far and he had no plans to stop here. His goal was to have a top suite in Enroe towers, to bad Schwartz Industries did not lease offices in the Needle.

Lillifee his reception girl, he had hired originally just for her looks sat behind her Hover desk sipping a cup of coffee.”Good Morning Mister Nu-Chang. “She chirped happily.

Every time he saw he congratulated himself for not opting to get an Apple Syntho I-Assistant. Surely these efficient computronics could do many things and appear in any shape, there was a reassuring feeling to know that these ample breasts squeezed by a skin tight deeply cut copper metal mini dress to a most alluring cleavage were not a holo but quite real. The fact that the blonde girl turned out to be quite competent was an added bonus.

“Good morning Lillifee.”

“Vat Gerson is here waiting for you.”

Garry who was of Chinese-American-Saresii and Plutonian descent sighed and rolled his eyes he had surgically replaced with golden metallic pupils, not that anyone would see this 40,000 Credit Cyber enhancement or his expression since he decided to wear Sun glasses. Vat was the son if his sister. While he was a connector and such things as morals and scruples did rarely influence his judgments, he almost cared about her and agreed to take the young man and introduce him to the business. Besides if he was able and had the skills maybe he could expand a little.

The man in his office was dressed okay for someone starting out; of course he would have to lose that cheap looking cucumber green Gal-Mart suit and get something better if he should keep working for and with him. After all he had a reputation to uphold. Other than that Vat appeared well groomed and the color of his suit was a good match for his reptilian skin. Why his sister chose to get involved with a Shiss was beyond him and their decision to raise an Inbetweener was even less understandable to him.

Since Humans and the reptilian Shiss did were genetically not compatible, they had to go to a Gen Mix facility, get the Federal approval to produce offspring with traits of both species and hope that the product did not turn out to be a Frankenstoner as the botched examples of such trans species mixes were called. On the other hand he actually envied the young man for his slit eyes and rows of sharp teeth as he imitated a human smile. “Good morning Uncle Garry.”

“Don’t call me Uncle in the office or anywhere during business hours. I am Mr. Nu-Chang for you during that time!”

“Yes Mr. Nu-Chang.”

“This has business reasons and if you work out you find out why! Now tell me what do you know about the Connector business and do be frank. Don’t mince words. I want to know what you know.”

Vat’s voice even had the hissing quality of a Shiss as he spoke.” Connectors are a group of semi legal usually freelancing professionals, connecting those who seek with those who offer.”

Garry crossed his arms and leaned against his own hover desk,” what is the semi legal part all about?”

Vat’s face did have human characteristics but it translated no easily readable emotions, another thing Garry liked.” This is the part I am not entirely sure about. Why would one need a Connector? If you can’t find something all you have to do is use GalNet and you find it and if you have the money you can order it.”

Garry smiled. “Is that so? You are as green as your suit! Where would you go to get a good decent human flesh steak? Where would you order a live sex slave? How about a shipload of Califerm or some other drugs? Where would you go to watch a Death fight? How about buying a Class IX weapon or a container full of Battle robots?”

Vat shrugged, at least that was quite human. “I don’t know but I get the idea. You go to a connector.”

“Exactly! A good connector knows an answer to all these questions and for a fee will make the connection. The better you are the more unusual are the requests and of course such requests are associated with higher fees. Technically we are doing nothing wrong. Dealing in information is not illegal and the 4th act of the Declaration of Universal rights,” Garry pointed to a document framed behind his desk, “prohibits the Government and all its agencies from limiting or deciding what information a citizen might seek or give. The trick to survive in this business is to make sure no one can proof you actually facilitated illegal activities and to make sure you never ever ask your customers three questions. If you can answer me what questions you never ask a customer, I make you a partner right now!”

Vat thought for a moment and said.”After hearing your explanation what it is you do its actually quite logical never to ask why a customer wants something; who he is and what he intends to do with it.”

“Paint me an Ult; you are a smart son of a Crocodile. You’re hired!”

Lillifee came in as she always did instead of using tech as she knew her boss liked to see her legs of course the rest of her body.” Mr. Nu-Chang we have a client.”

Chang motioned his nephew to remain utmost silent and find a seat in the extra chair by the window. Then nodded to Lillifee, who returned in a moment with a huge human dressed in a fur and leather, the fellow wore heavy boots. He had long hair braided and it was as black as its massive beard. An anachronistic helmet was sitting on his head. The strange dress of his customer was nothing that surprised Garry, not on Pluribus. There was nothing any being could wear to really turn heads or raise eyebrows, but usually his customers dressed a subtle and nondescript as possible. With a flick of his hand he brushed over the Privacy Field activator. His office was already shielded but this was an advanced privacy field that would not only prevent visual and audio surveillance, but jam all forms of known communication devices and with its Saresii Psi tech prevented any Psionic snooping as well.

“What can I do for you?” Chang said then after the readout inside his sunglasses relayed that no bugs or other means of eaves dropping were active or present and that his guest did not have a hidden police ID chip. This part of his scanning sensors was of course highly illegal.

“I want to hire an assassin. I need the Representative of Nilfeheim killed, how much will that cost?”

Chang immediately knew this was no plant and or spy to trick him into something. This was the hick of some colonial world who wanted for whatever reason the representative of that world dead. He had a whole list of contacts he could make who would be able to do that. However killing a rep was serious and would bring the Union Police into the game and they were quite good at their game.

“My dear customer, I do not want to know who you are from where you come from or who you want dead. I will explain you what a Connector does and then provide you with a few suggestions solely as general information as how something like that could be accomplished. My fee has nothing to do with whatever service you might decide upon. My fee is solely based on the Information I give you and in that case it will be 100,000 credits.” Of course that was ten times as much as he would charge usually but he wanted to see how much of the hick was show and how much was indeed genuine.”

The human giant pulled a Credit strip.” Do you want it as transfer or in Palladium Chips?”

Garry wished he had the same expression less reptilian face as his new partner and he decided to rectify that with a nice expensive surgical procedure he paid for with part of that money, he pushed his Cred Receiver across the desk. “Union credits will be fine.