Burning Bright

by Michael-Scott Earle

  “When should we fire?” a woman asked from behind us. I could understand why they were anxious, we could have hit them from our distance, but the enemy ships were moving faster than I expected, and I wanted them to think we might not have weapons active. They might try to get close for the kill allowing us to surprise them.

  “I want to get closer before we hit them with our first volley,” I said to Madalena.

  “Prepare to fire! Nikki, closer!”

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie,” Nikki replied.

  Then she twisted Persephone sideways and passed us through an almost impossible break in the enemy plasma balls.

  I expected Persephone to shake as her shields caught the attacks, but there was no movement. We emerged safely on the other side of the spray, and Nikki rolled us away from another torrent of fire.

  “Pull us up!” I shouted as soon as I saw an opening.

  “Up now!” Madalena barked, and Nikki followed her orders.

  “Fire!” I shouted, and a blast of dark red plasma balls flew from our screen and smashed into the side of the destroyer I wanted them to hit. All five sets of plasma balls connected, and I expected the hull of the vessel to melt instantly.

  But a glowing network of orange deflected the shots, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from cursing. Of course these ships would have shields. It was just our luck.

  Nikki spun Persephone to the right, but she couldn’t avoid one of the plasma balls, and we shook again.

  “Shields at eighty percent,” Nikki said.

  “Twenty seconds,” Goran said.

  “Gunners, the light plasma cannons can cause larger explosions when you hit one of the heavy plasma cannons. Half of you switch over to the light guns and hit the balls before they impact with the Destroyer’s shields.” I looked to Madalena as I spoke.

  “Calisto and Milda stay on heavy cannons. The rest of you switch to light. Aim for the heavy shots. On Adam’s order,” Madalena commanded.

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie!” They shouted.

  “Fire now!” I said as Nikki dove back toward the destroyer and threaded between a triple stream of spinning plasma balls.

  A twin stream of dark red balls flew out of Persephone’s cannons and dropped down toward the top of the destroyer. Three long lines from the lighter plasma guns joined them, and the balls exploded right before they hit the enemy ship’s hull. The orange shield shattered from around the surface of the destroyer, and the port side of the vessel began to spark.

  “Shields are down! Hit it!” I ordered, and another round of plasma flew from Persephone. The destroyer twisted out of our way and dove under us before any of the shots could land, and I let out a frustrated growl.

  “Course is plotted,” Goran said.

  “Our warp drive is off cool down. Use it!” I ordered, but the man turned his helmet toward Madalena.

  “Engage warpdrives for Queen’s Hat,” Madalena ordered.

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie,” the man replied as he pressed the button on his terminal.

  The plasma balls faded away, and the enemy ships disappeared. Persephone’s screen went black as her flight angle steadied.

  We were safe. Or at least, we were safe from the threat of Madalena’s enemies.

  I closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair for a few moments. No one said anything, and I wondered if they would decide to betray me now.

  “Your crew is efficient,” I said to Madalena when I opened my eyes.

  “Yes.” She stood and turned her armored face toward me. “They are one of the best.”

  “I have more questions for you, but I can ask them over a meal, if you all are hungry, we should be in warpdrive for about seventy minutes.”

  “We would appreciate it, but we must do one thing first,” she said as she raised her hand up to her chest.

  “Uhhh--” I started to say, but she interrupted me.

  “Crew, remove your armor,” Madalena instructed.

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie!” the rest of her marines said, and they each pushed their armored fists to their chest.

  Then the metal seemed to drip from their bodies like liquid mercury.

  My eyes shifted to Goran and Nikki before I focused on Madalena, the metal ran away from her face first and then seemed to crawl down her neck like ooze. Her face was beautiful, but her features were sharp and expressionless. Even her eyes were an emotionless gray, and they met my own eyes with cold assessment.

  The armor on her shoulders, chest, stomach, gloves, arms, and legs, seemed to crawl and wiggle up toward her chest, and the metal then spiraled as if it was water being sucked down a bathtub drain. The apex of the motion was a golf ball sized amulet that hung around Madalena’s neck. Soon the armor was entirely gone, and the ball made a hissing sound as steam escaped from the seams.

  “How in the hell does that work?” I asked as my eyes fell to the amulet. It looked like it was made from rhodium, and now that the steam had stopped, a faint blue glow came from the small cracks in it.

  “It is my aegis,” she said as she tapped the metal with her finger. She wore a tight suit under her armor. The garment also had wing patterns across the chest, legs, and arms, but much like my own tight-fitting flight suit, her attire left very little to the imagination.

  Madalena was tall. A bit taller than me, and I guessed her to stand some two hundred centimeters. Her face was diamond shaped, and her long brown hair was thick and straight. Her shoulders were feminine, but they were also layered with toned muscles that hinted at thousands of hours spent exercising. The warrior woman’s breasts were full, round, and proportioned perfectly with her ribcage and waist. Her legs were muscular, and I found my eyes drawn to the shape of her hips. There was a loose gun belt there, with a pistol and sheathed dagger hanging on opposite sides.

  “Your appearance pleases me as well,” Madalena said, and I blinked before looking at her cold eyes. She still wasn’t smiling, so I didn’t know if she was joking.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I find you attractive. You have a muscular body I will enjoy. Your tactics are too cavalier, but I will instruct you. I look forward to molding you into the perfect warrior; someone suitable for a Prime Valkyrie.” Her eyes flashed down to my chest for half a moment before she stared into my eyes again. “Yes, I could have been far less fortunate with the man I submitted to.” Her face still looked emotionless so I couldn’t tell if she was fucking with me.

  “Madalena, you don’t need to do that. I like helping people, but I’m in a bit of a hurry. I need to find my friends. The Magate Order kidnapped them. I need to speak with my other friend at Queen’s Hat. Then I need to find them. If you can help me by giving me their loc--”

  “I will help you,” she interrupted me.

  “Thank you,” I said as I smiled at her, but she didn’t return my smile.

  “It is common for you to stand for this, but you can continue to sit if that is what you prefer.” Her eyes bore into mine.

  “What are you--” I started to ask, but she raised her hand.

  “Who will witness?”

  “I will witness, Prime Valkyrie,” Nikki said as she stepped from the pilot’s chair. She was also beautiful, and her eyes were made out of the same cold gray metal color as the woman standing in front of me. Nikki’s hair was blonde and braided around her shoulder like a coiled snake.

  “Who will Second?” Madalena asked.

  “I will Second,” a man said as he stepped from the gunner’s stations. I recognized the voice of Mikhael. He was also blonde, and his eyes had the same cold color as the other two women.

  “Adam, what is your blood clan’s name?” Madalena asked me as she drew the dagger from her belt. It was a wicked weapon, with a twisted blade that almost looked like a screw.

  The beast growled inside of my mind. I suddenly realized that I was going to have a hard time dodging a dagger thrust while I was sitting in my chair.

  “Blood clan? I’m sorry, I don’t--”

 
“Your family name?” Mikhael promoted.

  “Just Adam,” I replied, “but as I said, you really don’t need to--”

  “You will take my Overlord Clan’s name since you don’t have one of your own.”

  “No,” I growled as I stood from the captain’s chair. “You don’t need to do this.” As soon as I said the words, I saw Nikki and Mikhael drop their hands to their pistols. Goran also moved out from behind his seat, and while the other crew members seemed to be void of emotion, Goran glared at me with undisguised hate.

  “I am Madalena Vaish. Eldest offspring of King Tanal Vaish. Eldest offspring of King Uanal Vaish. Eldest offspring of Edwar Vaish.” She paused and then closed her eyes as she cut her hand open with her dagger.

  “She is Madalena Vaish. Eldest offspring of King Tanal Vaish. Eldest offspring of King Uanal Vaish. Eldest offspring of Edwar Vaish,” both Nikki and Mikhael repeated in unison.”

  “I am Madalena Vaish. Prime Valkyrie of the Nordar people. Undefeated in combat, and victor of two hundred and seven death duels.” Madalena moved her dagger into her bloody hand and then cut her other hand open with the blade.

  “She is Madalena Vaish. Prime Valkyrie of the Nordar people. Undefeated in combat, and victor of two hundred and seven death duels,” both Nikki and Mikhael repeated again, but I almost couldn’t hear them over the sound of my heart slamming into my chest and the beast roaring in my brain.

  There was something really fucking weird about this. It wasn’t just the words they were saying, or Madalena cutting herself. Every single hair on my body was standing on end, and it felt as if the air was filled with electricity.

  Madalena’s blood dripped onto the floor of Persephone, and she took a step toward me. Her eyes stared into mine without blinking, and I prepared myself to parry a thrust with her dagger.

  Then she kneeled with both her knees on the ground and raised the blade up to me with her bloody hands.

  “I am Madalena Vaish. In exchange for my life and the life of my crew, I submit my body, mind, and soul to Adam Vaish. I will serve him as consort, advisor, eyes, arms, legs, and heart. We will be bonded both in life, and when we arrive in Valhalla.”

  My head was throbbing, and I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from the blood pooling around the dagger in her hands. Did she say consort? Wasn’t that a fancy word for wife? Was this a wedding?

  “She is Madalena Vaish. In exchange for her life and the life of her crew, she submits her body, mind, and soul to Adam Vaish. She will serve him as consort, advisor, eyes, arms, legs, and heart. They will be bonded both in life, and when they arrive in Valhalla.”

  Madalena continued to kneel and hold the bloody dagger up to me. It took more effort than it should have to pull my eyes away from her, and I found myself looking over at Mikhael instead of the kneeling woman.

  “I don’t need this. She doesn’t have to--”

  “If you do not accept her submission, she will be dishonored. If she is dishonored, we are dishonored. Then we will kill you.” Mikhael’s cold eyes narrowed, and I saw his jaw tense.

  He wasn’t joking.

  “What do I do?” I asked.

  “Take the dagger, cut your palms, place them over hers so you are joined and then say you accept her submission. Then help her rise. You will both be bonded for eternity.” Mikhael nodded to the dagger as he spoke.

  I tried to think of a way out of this. I looked at Nikki, but she wore the same hard look Mikhael did. Goran was also no help. He had probably wanted to kill me when he first came onboard. I turned my head to my left, and saw the rest of the crew standing in front of the holomap. They were all tall, muscular, beautiful, but had the same cold gray eyes.

  None of them looked like they were interested in me saying anything that wasn’t what Mikhael just told me to say.

  I couldn’t help Eve, Zea, Paula, and Kasta if I were dead. I couldn’t let Juliette know what happened if I was dead. I couldn’t help save the people of Uraniel from the SAVO assholes if I was dead. Madalena seemed committed to helping me. Hell, she was committed enough to cut her hands open and swear she would be loyal.

  I could use all the help I could get. This couldn’t possibly mean we were married.

  My right hand closed around the hilt of her dagger, and I pulled it from her hands. I ignored the warmth of her blood on the grip and then sliced across my left palm, then I switched hands and did the same to my right palm. My blood dripped from my hands, and I dropped the dagger on the floor. Then I placed my palms on top of Madalena’s and tried to ignore the tingling sensation that seemed to flow from her.

  “I accept your submission, Madalena Vaish.” My fingers closed around her hands, and she looked to my face. Her half smile surprised me a bit, and I helped her stand.

  “Thank you, my lord,” she said while she continued to stare into my eyes.

  “Alright. Let’s take care of these cuts. We can talk more while we--” my words caught in my throat when looked down at our hands. I was still holding hers, but we were no longer bleeding.

  There was no blood anywhere.

  “What the fuck?” I asked as I let go of her hands and looked at my palms. I could heal faster than a normal human, but I should still be bleeding, and there should be blood smeared between our hands and on the bridge floor. There was no proof we had just cut ourselves.

  “We are joined. What flows from you, flows to me. What flows from me, flows to you. We are Ouroborus now. You are part of our blood clan.” She gestured to the crew gathered around us, and they each nodded to me, but they still didn’t smile.

  “Ugh. Whatever,” I said as I rubbed my temples with my fingers. “I need to eat, I’m sure you all do. Meat okay? That’s pretty much all I have, but I have some three hundred kilos of it.”

  “Yes, my lord. We eat meat.” She nodded at me.

  “Do you have a cook? If not, I can do it--”

  “I will cook for you, my lord.” Madalena nodded again, but she still didn’t smile. “It will be fitting for our first meal together.”

  “No, shit, you don’t have to do that, and can you stop calling me--” my voice caught when Persephone’s alarm beeped. I looked at the screen with confusion and saw a countdown timer.

  “Why are we leaving warpdrive?” I asked. “It should be another hour at least.” There was less than a minute left on the clock.

  “Goran, explain.” Madalena turned to the navigator.

  “Prime Valkyrie, I set our course for Nordar 13,” the man answered.

  No one spoke for a few seconds. Madalena was standing beside me, so I couldn’t really see her face, but I could clearly observe Nikki, and the blonde woman’s jaw was tense.

  “Why?” Madalena finally asked when the countdown clock was at fifteen seconds.

  “He is not Nordar. Your father will want him to complete the rites of passage.” Goran crossed his arms and frowned at me.

  Suddenly his head disappeared with a red spray of blood and the crisp retort of a bullet being fired.

  Madalena’s left arm was extended in a perfect shooting position, and the barrel of her pistol was exhaling a stream of dense smoke. The weapon was beautifully crafted in the winged style of her armor, and it looked as heavy duty as the twin pistols that I normally carried. She holstered it with a spinning movement as she turned to face the rest of the crew standing with Mikhael.

  I hadn’t even seen her draw the weapon, or her body move into a shooting position, and I possessed sharp eyes and even sharper reaction times.

  “We were a moment away from dying, and that death would have not been in battle,” she seethed at them. “Would we have had a place in Valhalla with such a death? I think not. I have submitted to Adam. Would anyone else like to dishonor our blood clan? Would anyone else like to dishonor the Prime Valkyrie?” No one moved for a few seconds, and Madalena turned around to set her gray eyes on Nikki.

  “No, Prime Valkyrie,” the pilot said with a slow shake of her head.

  “Go
od,” Madalena said as she pointed to Persephone’s screen. “We are exiting. Open communications with the fleet as soon as possible so they do not attack us.

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie,” Nikki replied as she took her seat.

  Then Persephone exited warpdrive.

  Her display screen filled with the image of stars, asteroids, and three beautiful planets that seemed to rotate far too close to each other. One looked Earth-like; it was mostly water but had thicker polar caps. The second looked to be a half-desert world, with rough mountains, long stretches of smooth sand, and dunes massive enough for me to see from space. The bottom portion of the globe transitioned to a thick rain forest right at the equator, and its landscape was a chromatic array of rich greens.

  The third planet almost took my breath away. It was of equal size to the other worlds, but it was made of metal. My mind almost couldn’t wrap itself around the sight. Was this a planet with one giant city built on top? Or was it a massive space station? Persephone’s scanners hadn’t updated with the info of the three planets yet, but I soon realized why.

  What I first thought were stars and asteroids were actual ships.

  Tens of thousands of ships.

  Persephone probably had the ability to quickly scan them all, but it would have just filled the screen with a quick scrolling stream of useless information. There were a lot of ships, too many to count, too many to name, and too many to build.

  Unless you were one of the Nordar.

  Nikki moved her hands over the communication buttons and began to speak in a language I didn’t know. I did hear “Persephone” and “Prime Valkyrie,” but a group of forty or so ships began angling toward us. They were styled similar to the bird-like vessels of the Jotnar, and they moved with an agile thrust that reminded me of Persephone.

  “Good,” Madalena said after Nikki finished replying to the voice that came across the speaker. “Dock Persephone at my father’s battle fortress.”

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie,” Nikki replied as she steered my ship through the gauntlet of bird-like starships.

  These ships turned to escort us, and I soon saw our destination. It was a battle carrier larger than any I had ever seen. It was at least twice the length of The Jupiter Storm, which was the largest vessel in the Jupiter Navy.