Chapter 6: Secrets -edited by Don

Chapter 6: Secrets
Posted: July 10, 2012 - 03:33:43 pm

The next day was different however. Even the older kids in the school flyer came up to me and wanted to know every detail. Dietmar looked especially pleased, "You know they interviewed me for Nilfeheim Radio? They wanted to know how you are and all that! I think it is time you graduate to assistant pilot!"

Dietmar pointed at the always empty Control seat next to him and explained the controls to me. There weren't that many as most of the flying was done by the onboard Computronic, but since Nilfeheim did not have a central controlled traffic net, operators were still required. I learned that the school flyer was a Leyland CF 65 (Commuter Flyer) and already 200 years old. He told me, full of pride, that he also was the maintenance technician and actually worked at the Leyland Main Factory on Sumner Planet for over 15 years after he left Nilfeheim as a Stowaway on an Agra product freighter.

After we landed at the school yard, there was much nodding and signs of respect by other boys. Yngve waiting next to the entrance was not alone this time, both Annar and Gunnar stood behind him with their arms crossed before their chests. Yngve actually smiled and thumbed across his shoulders. "Meet my personal body guard."

Annar nodded towards me and Gunnar said, "Your father declared clan feud against our clan and by tradition we cannot be friends and we are not supposed to talk to you, but you saved my life and I won't forget that. My father said it would be okay if we treated you with respect. Even an enemy can be respected according to tradition!"

I shrugged, "That's a definite improvement from the past and I take that gladly!"

Yngve reached into my shirt pocket without asking and swiped his PDD against mine, "I bet you forgot the assignment Mr. Walters gave us yesterday. I wrote yours as well and tried as best as I could to emulate your limited knowledge."

I frowned at him, "You are the only one who can insult me, and I know you had no intention doing so, and actually mean it well!"

As we found our seats he thought for a second and then blushed, "I'm sorry. I analyzed my statement and now realize how it sounded!"

Sigvard also came in and took his seat. His face was badly swollen and I saw the clear signs of a broken jaw. He glared at me only for an instant and then looked away. I knew there and then without a doubt he was looking to kill me.

Mr. Walters was on time as usual and looked us over, "Mr. Olafson and Mr. Elhir you will report to the School nurse and get back here as soon as possible. I will contact the nurse to see when you are done. Should either of you even so much as raise a fist against the other, be prepared to face trouble you could not even dream about in your worst nightmares."

I was not sure why he wanted me at the Nurses office, but there was no sense arguing with Mr. Walters.

We walked side by side down the corridor and I had the distinct feeling of being watched. Sigvard kept staring straight ahead but hissed from between clenched teeth, "You better hide in your burg for the rest of your life! Leave that burg and I am there to kill you!"

I hissed back, "Just have the guts and challenge me and I will be there, not that Gunnar will leave much behind after he is done with you!"

"Gunnar dies and so will you!"

We reached the nurses office. She scanned Sigvard first, "Broken jaw, broken ribs, scratched lungs, testicular torsion, torn ligaments and a severe head trauma. Why did you not come in yesterday to be treated?"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Sigvard hissed his answer, "Because my father worked me over, after this Nubhir snatcher attacked me!"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"I will keep you here for a while, till the doctor has time for you." She took him to the adjourning room and had him lay down. The doctor of the Hospital in town formed as a Holo almost right away, the Nurse closed the door and scanned me, "Uh, that is a nasty cut Mr. Olafson, it's already infected! We better Re-gen that part of your skin, it seems the Derma-Patcher has your name written on it as much as I use it on you!"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">As I saw myself in the mirror I saw my shirt was blood soaked. The bandage I had applied to my chest had come loose, "I am sorry Nurse Olga, I ran out of adhesive bandaging last night and I was not permitted to go to the kitchen to get more."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">She sighed as she applied the Derma Patch, thousands of medical nanites repairing the cut by weaving new tissue, replicating mine exactly down to the molecule. The entire process took less than ten minutes and the only sensation was as if hundreds of fingers were circling around my chest.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">The Nurse said, "I want you to stay so the doctor can look you over, just to make sure I didn't miss anything."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">The doctor's projection declared me fit, but I had missed most of the morning class. Mr. Walter collected the reports and told me he added the missed class to my download.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Yngve and I went topside to enjoy the wind and the clear sunny weather as we did every day since Shortsummer started. Climbing on top of it was our favorite spot; it was not far from where I had fought Sigvard just yesterday.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Here we were away from the others and their teasing, not that they were teasing us today. The wind was blowing hard but the air was not cold and I spread my arms into the gale and felt it tug at my sleeves, "Don't you want to fly sometimes like Loki did when he had Freya's feathered cloak?"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">I had to almost yell my question and Yngve shrugged, "Not really. Those Norse God myths did never hold my attention much. Besides if you want to fly, all you have to do is order a flight belt from Techno Shack. They come complete with Arti-grav and propulsion units."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"Do you remember who you are talking to? It's me Eric. No GalNet at home, the no allowance and no tech Eric!"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"I bet a bunch of Union marines in heavy destroyer suits and armed with TKU's would take all Asgard apart, stuff Thor's hammer deep in his behind and shave Odin's beard before chow time."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">I stared at him, "You better never let anyone hear what you just said."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"Did you see Pluribus? Did you see how insignificant Nilfeheim is? I am going to leave this planet as soon as I can. I piss on the opinion of the Elders."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"Wow you sound quite angry today. It isn't like you at all!"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Yngve shoved his hands into his pockets and his face relaxed and he said, "I am still angry at Annar and Gunnar. I was scared to death yesterday. Then I was scared for you and as I saw you fight those fish I was scared and knew I could never do that! I am a Neo Viking by birth Eric, but nothing in me seems to be in tune with it at all. I feel like a stranger every day I am on my own world and every time I take a Virtu and I am away off-planet, I feel I belong!"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">I knew all too well what he meant, "I am scared every day to go home, I too am going to leave Nilfeheim and I am going to be a Star ship Commander just like Captain Ironhand."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"And then you return and you land the Starblazer right next to the Burg and kill your father by blasting the Burg to bits." Yngve said rolling his eyes. "I hate to break it to you but Captain Ironhand is a fictional character and there is no Starblazer Spaceship either."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"I know that, but there is a real Union Fleet and there is a real Academy.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"Speaking of that, did you ever get another episode?" I asked hoping he would have gotten another Virtu Upload of my favorite Virtu Experience. Yngve would bring them to school and I would use the library hook up.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"Sorry I didn't buy any this month. I spent all my allowance on Virtus about Pluribus!" He blinked into the wind and shaded his eyes to see me better. "You need to improve your grades quite a bit if you want to join the Academy and not become enlisted. Only an Officer can become a Star-ship Captain you know."

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"How much do you think I have to improve them?"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">"I don't know, but to be accepted at the Academy to become an officer I bet they expect you to be the best of the best!"

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">That dampened my mood, but I promised myself to increase my efforts.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">It was Union Week and the school was closed during that time.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Father, my brothers and the men of the Clan were gone with the Family Sub to hunt Tyranno Fins and they went to the Uhim Grounds, almost 2000 clicks from the burg and would be gone for most of the month. He never took me along and I was actually glad he did not. The prospect of being pinned up in the small boat with my father for weeks on end was not something I would have looked forward to. He had forgotten to instruct the remaining staff to give me any chores. It was a carefree and great time! I used the time to take long dives.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Not many Neo Vikings went diving anymore, and it was said our gills would dry out and maybe even disappear in a few more generations. I used them every chance I got. Down in the cold water I felt free. The cold water rushing through my gills always invigorated me and I wished I could stay submerged forever, but while a neo-Viking could stay under-water for a very long time, the loss of body heat, even through the insulated dive suit, limited the time I could stay submerged.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Nilfeheim's oceans teamed with life and there were quite a few life forms dangerous to an unprotected diver, but nothing was as dangerous as a Tyranno Fin. Our teacher said they are bigger and faster than even the biggest Whales on Terra and as aggressive as Sharks. We did have a fish we called Sharks too, and Rock Sharks as we called them were fast and could be dangerous to a diver, especially since they attacked in packs of ten or more fish, they weren't anything like the Tyranno's.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">However the Ragnarsson rock was in a region of ocean where Tyrannos could be found only during the first month of Shortsummer. They all migrated to the southern half of our planet where the great kelp and seaweed patches where. They did that because the docile and herbivore Three-fin fish would feed on the rich starchy kelp butts and stems to fatten themselves for the long years of Longnight. The Three fins were the preferred prey of Tyrannos and then they would fight, mate and lay eggs. Female Tyrannos would stuff seaweed in rock crevices and caves to lay one or maybe two eggs, and then guard their nests with ferocity. Fang snappers would dive from the small rock islands or floating ice bergs trying to get to these eggs or snatch a young Tyranno. Rock sharks circling it all, to either catch a Snapper in the water or feast on the leftovers of a Tyranno Kill.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Nilfeheim's oceans were vast and even though they teemed with life, to actually find Tyrannos outside of Tyranno Season and outside this area was not as easy as one would think. These kelp and seaweed patches were in the only area of the planet that stayed ice free during long night, due to the fact that the planets main fault line was located beneath the surface there and several dozen underwater volcanoes, thousands of black smokers and underwater vents kept the water temperature all the way up to the surface above freezing point.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">I finally had to get back out, as I felt my legs and arms starting to go numb. I knew it was high time. I swam through the tunnel that connected our Sub Pen with the ocean. The Sub Pen had enough room for eight boats, but currently we had only five. Hunting Subs were expensive and many Clans had perhaps one, or even used the cheaper surface vessels, like the Olafsons did before they merged with the Ragnarssons. Besides, only a few Clans still went Tyranno Hunting. Others were fishing or operating Fish or Snapper Farms, but the Tyranno Hunters were considered to be the elite.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Now that all the men were gone, either hunting with father or tending our Farms, the Burg was eerily silent even during the day. While the burg had a central heating system, father preferred the old fashioned Tyranno Oil ovens and fire places. While he was gone the servants kept the fires on a minimum and despite Short Summer, the Burg was always cold. Why I ended up in my mother's drawing room I could not really say, mostly perhaps I looked for warmth. I had stayed longer in the water than I should have and was shivering. Her room was unused ever since the night he had killed her. His new wife did not use it and stayed most of the time in her suite of rooms where she kept busy with her needle crafts or she left the burg to socialize with other Clan Chief wives, a part she enjoyed greatly so I heard Midril say.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">The old book was still lying on her dresser. My mother's closet door was not closed entirely and I went to close it, but instead I opened it. Her dresses and things were still there. My hands touched the soft fabrics and I could smell her wonderful perfume. I suddenly could almost hear her voice, no words or anything just the tone of her voice. I missed her so much! Something cold ran down my cheeks and even alone I felt embarrassed by my tears. Men did not cry! Before I really knew it, I held one of her dresses in my hands and then held it before me and remembered the story of Thor dressing up as Freya to fool the Giants.

<p style="margin-top: 0.49cm; margin-bottom: 0.49cm">Following a strange impulse I put on the dress. It fit me and it felt so soft. I opened my braided hair and somehow I could see my mother in my own reflection in the large mirror. It was, and I could not say it any other way, like a religious mysterious experience. Eric the loser and the unwanted son had disappeared and a blonde Viking girl stood there before me in the mirror. She wore a beautiful gown and I was certain now I could feel my mother's presence. I now cried and did not feel ashamed at all. That day my life had changed forever and whenever I could, I sneaked into my mother's room and put on one of her dresses. I even started to wear the female undergarments and sat down reading in the old book. I knew it was wrong somehow, but Thor had done it at least once and more so, I felt connected to her. She was there, just out of sight, but she was there.