Prime Valkyrie

by Michael-Scott Earle

  I nodded and continued my story. I talked about the spider drones, our jump into the sewer, and taking my massive revolver from the pimp.

  I talked about Eve’s powers, and how she knew about Persephone. I talked about Zea, and how her boyfriend betrayed her, and how I had to get us out of the mall. I talked about eventually getting into Persephone and then escaping the planet.

  Then I talked about our time on Gliese 876 - C - ii, and the job we took from the cowboy Wayne Sampson. Then I talked about Cynthia Jayhee’s job and how we accidentally delivered combat drones to Jatal’s people. I spoke about fighting against the Alloprize Navy and defeating them, and I could feel the pride pour from her.

  “You are a great warrior,” she said.

  “Just lucky, and I’m hard to kill,” I said as I took another long drink of aquavit. I really did like the drink, and I liked how Madalena matched me every time I took a sip. My strange healing powers prevented me from really getting drunk, but the booze was helping me relax around her.

  I spoke about going to Queen’s Hat, breaking up the bank robbery, and then getting put in jail. I talked about Juliette’s mission with the gangsters, and how Zea and I became really close. I didn’t get too deep into a discussion about our intimacy, but I knew Madalena could feel my emotions.

  I talked about how Byron was really an android, as was Kasta, and I shared Paula’s story. I recounted our mission to get the station’s security system back online so that we could defeat Nebula Gammon. Her pleasure radiated from her, and I saw the stoic woman attempt to hide her smile.

  “You like my stories?” I asked.

  “Very much,” she whispered. “I am grateful to Odin.”

  “Yeah, Odin…” I let my voice trail off, and then I chased a bite of the potato salad with a drink of the aquavit.

  Madalena also finished her glass and then poured us the last from the bottle. I was about to make a comment about killing it, but then she slid around her chair, brushed past me, and got another bottle out of the fridge.

  “What happened afterward?” she asked, and I talked about making amends with Juliet and then following Persephone’s lead to Uraniel.

  “Persephone knows about the Draugr,” Madalena said, “The Shadow Eagles were their slaves.”

  “Huh? What do you mean?”

  “The Shadow Eagles,” Madalena said again as she gestured around us. “They are alive. They have souls and minds. They communicate their feelings. Dance to the Dirge would often speak to me. I did not often understand what she meant, but she would show me threats. I have put together their story after searching for hints of the Draugr in our galaxy.”

  “I’m not surprised,” I replied as I thought of my experiences with Persephone. She had tried to talk to me often, but I couldn’t seem to understand what she was telling me, other than there was a danger.

  “What did you find on this planet?” Madalena asked, and I continued my story.

  I spoke of the drones that only came out at night, the attempts from the Lith Dae Navy to double cross us, and how we’d kicked their ass. Then I talked about opening the temple and fighting the creature we found inside. I spared no detail in the retelling, and she leaned toward me with obvious interest.

  “Your teeth killed him?” she asked after I had finished.

  “Yeah. I don’t know why though. I was able to break free of his power, but my bullets did nothing.”

  “Hmmm,” Madalena said as she leaned away from me, grabbed her glass, and drained it.

  “It feels like you know why,” I said after I’d drained my own glass.

  We were about halfway through the second bottle now. I still wasn’t drunk, but I could see Madalena’s cheeks were turning red. She didn’t seem like the kind of woman who got drunk often, so I wondered why she was indulging so much.

  “It is a piece of the puzzle,” she said as she filled our aquavit glasses again. “The tiger race. They are an advanced race that served the Draugr. I had wondered why the two species worked together, but I wonder if it was more that the Draugr had them as thralls or slaves because they feared them as enemies.”

  “Next time we find one, let’s ask before we kill it.”

  “Skol!” she said as she raised her glass.

  “Skol!” I replied as we touched them together and drank again. This one actually hit me a bit, and I felt my fingers start to tingle.

  “What happened after you killed the Draugr?” she asked, and I continued my story.

  I talked about returning to Queen’s Hat to follow up with Juliette. I spoke about Elaka Nota invading, and our rush to return to Persephone with the video data. Then how we left without supplies, swung by GUAAY - 23 - c to hunt, and how I’d made a mistake by butchering the cattle outside of Persephone.

  “You are hard on yourself,” Madalena said after I’d spoken about my friends’ capture.

  “Someone has to be. I imagine you are hard on yourself as well. It seems like they don’t call everyone the Prime Valkyrie.”

  “No, they do not.” Her face grew serious for a moment. “I have worked hard for my life.”

  “I get it,” I said.

  “Yes, I believe you do understand me,” she said.

  “Skol,” I said as I held my glass out to her.

  “Skol,” she repeated, and then we drank.

  “You could not shift into your other form because of the drugs?” she asked after we had sat in silence for a few moments.

  “Yeah. The shit on the darts was some sort of poison.”

  Madalena looked at me with alarm, and then she reached for the transponder on my suit.

  “What’s wro--”

  “Calisto?” Madalena asked into the device. She was leaning against me, and I could smell the aquavit on her breath.

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie?” the other woman asked.

  “The primitive darts that you found in the hold. Do you still have them?”

  “Hmmm. Yes. I have them in a box in the supply area of the hold. I have not had a chance to ask Adam what they were for.”

  “I need you to run a chemical analysis on the poison.”

  “Yes, Prime Valkyrie. I will report to you once I have finished.”

  “Thank you,” Madalena said, and then her fingers flicked off the transponder. Her hand stayed on my chest, and then our eyes met. I knew she could feel my heart slamming against my ribs, and I could feel her desires.

  “What are you thinking with the poison?” I asked as I turned back to our drinks.

  “I won’t know until she completes the analysis, but if the tiger-men are enslaved by the Draugr, the drug might combat them.”

  “Hmmm. Might work,” I said as I focused on my drink and not the proximity of her body. Fuck, I needed to get away from her.

  “I’ve told you my story,” I said. “What about yours?”

  “I was born on Nordar 13 - b. My father was king then, but he wanted me to be strong, and grow up in our traditional home. I began my combat training when I was four years old. Even then, my trainers knew I had potential, but that still isn’t enough. I devoted my time to self-improvement. I knew I wanted to be the Prime Valkyrie as soon as I understood there were Valkyries. After I completed my rite of passage, I began the process to become one.”

  “Is there only one?” I asked. “You mentioned before that Lux is also a Valkyrie.”

  “Each of the blood clans has Valkyries. They are committed to battle and war. They are our best warriors and are feared across all Nordar, but there is only one Prime Valkyrie.”

  “How did you get that title?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

  “I killed the other Valkyries in one-on-one combat.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I said. “When you submitted to me, you said something about two-hundred duels. Were those all Valkyries?”

  “Two-hundred and seven,” she corrected me. “All but thirty-six of those were Valkyries.”

  “Who were the others?
” I asked.

  “Men who wanted me to submit to them,” she said with a shrug. “They were not strong enough.”

  “Shit,” I said, and I began to understand why she was upset I refused her.

  “Yes, you understand more. Those men risked their lives for me to be their wife, and all these women wanted to carry my title. It is why you frustrate me so much, Adam. I hold their honor against my chest. I give it to you, and you do not want it.”

  “You have honor, and I do as well. There are two women I love, and I have committed to be with them. How do the challenges work? Do they throw down a glove or something?” A smile came to my lips, and I realized I was getting buzzed. It had been a while since I felt the sensation, and I didn’t think I could now that my DNA was changed, but this booze was strong shit.

  “They query the Vaish clan under a white flag. Lux, Calisto, and Dana are my shieldmaidens, and they sort through the requests and set an annual date where I meet all challengers. Not all are worthy for me to spend my time on.”

  “Lux, Calisto, and Dana are Valkyrie?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “I haven’t met Dana yet,” I said.

  “She, Pier, Baki, and Arno are with Dance to the Dirge.”

  “And you don’t know where Dance to the Dirge is,” I said.

  “No. She should have been in Nordar - 13,” she said.

  “One more thing to do,” I said with a sigh, and she poured us more aquavit.

  “There is nothing to do for the next few hours,” she said as she raised her glass. I cheered her, but the emotion coming from her was a clear indication of what she meant with her words.

  “We can talk more,” I said. “Tell me about how you met your crew, and where you found Dance to the Dirge.”

  Madalena smiled, leaned back on her stool, and talked for the next hour about her travels once she finished her Valkyrie rite of passage. Her father had given her another ship, and she won numerous victories against the other Nordar clans. Her reputation in space and in physical combat grew, and she gained more leverage in the Vaish Navy. This led her to be able to handpick recruits. This was before she became Prime Valkyrie, and she was only seventeen when she found Dance to the Dirge.

  “I was tasked with finding new rhodium sources in a cluster sixty light years from Nordar 13,” she said. “In part, I think my father sent me to the task so that I would be delayed in challenging the current Prime Valkyrie. We had not mapped the cluster yet, and there were eighty solar systems I was tasked with visiting. We were prepared for a five-year journey, but we found ruins in the third system. A ship had crashed on a planet that was in a Goldilocks placement. There was no advanced life on the world, but something once lived there, so we decided to investigate.

  “Black evil looking temple?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she replied. “There was no Draugr though, just an advanced spaceship. Inside were the corpses of the tiger-men that you saw in the video.”

  “Damn,” I gasped.

  “We studied their DNA. It was unlike any other life form. Their cells were dead, but we were able to coax a few back to life. They regenerated impossibly quick.”

  “What did you do with the research?” I asked.

  “I am obviously not a scientist,” she said. “We took samples, but then gave them warrior burials. Their ship was equipped with advanced weapons and drives. Our techs had to retrofit some of the terminals, but we were able to take it off the planet. I was intrigued by her design and decided to stay aboard her during the journey back to Nordar - 13.”

  “Then she started to speak to you?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Madalena confirmed. “Her warpdrive was off-line, so the trip back took us many weeks using the hyperdrive. At first, we thought the ship was haunted, but the spirit wasn’t malicious. She was trying to communicate with us. I opened my mind to her, and she showed me the Draugr.”

  “How did she show them to you?”

  “You know, Adam,” Madalane said. “You have dreamed of them. You have fought them there. I feel your emotions when I mention them.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “I forget the dreams sometimes. I don’t forget Persephone though. She wants my help.” I had already told Madalena about the group of three planets spinning between the two red stars, so I didn’t want to touch on it again.

  “If we find Dance to the Dirge, and then hunt down my father for his Shadow Eagle, we will have three ships.”

  “Why did you name your ship Dance to the Dirge?” I asked.

  “Vaish are not known for our sense of humor,” she explained. “The other clans say that we don’t smile between birth and the march to our death.”

  “So the name is a bit of a joke?” I asked.

  “Yes.” She smiled slightly, and I felt her emotions hug me with warmth. She was so damn happy to have someone to share herself with.

  “Three ships? How does your dad have one?”

  “He found a second one after me.”

  “It might not be enough to stop the Draugr,” I said. “I don’t know how many are coming to Uraniel, or even how many of these fuckers there are in the Milky Way.”

  “Now that you and I are together, it will be easier to unite the clans. Our combined navy will be over a hundred thousand ships.”

  “Holy shit,” I gasped.

  “Yes,” she said. “You will just need to complete your rite, and the path will be easy.”

  “I’m not going to hang from--”

  “You heal,” she interrupted me. “As did Odin. He sacrificed himself to himself for power. I know you will survive the rite, then you will have all the Nordar at your command. The other kings will bow before you.”

  “He sacrificed himself to himself? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “He is Odin,” she interrupted me.

  “Whatever. I’m not interested in completing the rite,” I growled. “And I don’t care how much aquavit you give me to drink.” I stood and met her eyes. “I’m going to go back to my room now. Thanks for cooking.”

  “Wait.” Her hand grabbed my arm as I walked past her.

  “I will not speak of the rite anymore today. I know you do not believe you will survive. I am enjoying this time with you. Will you finish the bottle with me?”

  “Yeah,” I said after I felt her remorse.

  I sat back on the stool, and she poured us another round. I asked her more about her life and her challenges as Prime Valkyrie. I could tell that she was buzzed now, maybe even drunk, and the beautiful woman’s words flowed freely from her lips. She even laughed a little when she recounted her challenge battle with the previous Prime Valkyrie.

  “She was arrogant,” Madalena said.

  “Ha, so are you,” I replied.

  “Yes, but not foolish.” She laughed. “Raakel was Jotnar. She knew I was skilled with sword, spear, and shield. She should have picked a rifle for our challenge. Instead, she wanted to beat me with what I was best at. It cost her.”

  “Wait, you are better with a sword than with a rifle?”

  “Yes,” Madalena answered, but I couldn’t tell if she was joking.

  We toasted again, and then we stared at each other for a few moments.

  “Looks like we killed the bottle,” I said.

  “Yes, unfortunately.”

  “Thanks for the food and the conversation,” I said as I stood.

  “We have a few more hours until we exit hyperdrive. Then we will engage the warpdrives and reach Fayfaix Station in another hour. I have another meal planned if you will eat with me again.”

  “Yeah,” I said after I considered a moment.

  “Thank you,” she replied, and her joy almost knocked me over.

  “Yeah. Ahhh, I’m going to go take a shower, clean my revolver, and then I’ll come find you. Or you can find me. Whatever.” I turned from her and walked out of the kitchen before she could respond, and then I made my way to the elevator.

  “Greetings, Adam.” Mikhael was in the
elevator, and he held the door open for me.

  “Hey, Mikhael. Thanks for the help back on Red Eye - 13.”

  “I do as ordered,” he replied, and I felt a bit of disappointment. Other than Madalena, I felt like I had the best relationship with Mikhael, but his short answer indicated we weren’t really friends.

  That might just be the way it would be until I finished the rite. I knew they were grateful I saved them, but none of them agreed with Madalena submitting to me, and now that we’d spent the last three or four hours talking together, I could understand why they were so protective of her.

  “I’ll see you later,” I said to him as we exited the elevator on the bridge level.

  “Very well, Adam,” he replied. The man didn’t frown, or smile, he just didn’t seem to care, and he turned the corner to head toward the bridge without another word.

  The interaction made me miss my friends even more, but I took a small comfort in the possibility that we were going to get to Fayfaix Station before the fuckers who took them. Thoughts of seeing Eve, Zea, Paula, and Kasta made my heart soar, and thoughts of killing all the Magate Order scum made the beast in my soul roar.

  Chapter 17

  I took a long shower, but it was more to relax and pass the time than any sort of need for sanitation. I put a fresh flight suit on afterward and brushed my teeth again. The buzz from the alcohol I’d enjoyed with Madalena wore off in the shower, and I didn’t feel any sort of hangover or other negative effects.

  My revolver wasn’t sitting on my chair, but I found it on the coffee table in my living room, and I assumed Madalena had moved it so she could sleep in its spot. I strapped the weapon on and then went down to the armory to clean it.

  I passed Madalena by the elevator. She was still wearing her short workout shorts, and she gave me a slight smile when she caught my eyes roaming over her body.

  “I intended to change back into my uniform, but I can continue to wear this if you prefer,” she said as she stepped toward my room.

  “Uniform is fine. I’m sure your crew would prefer it.”