Ancient Hunter

Walking back to my quarters I felt partly relieved to be at least going where I wanted to be. One thing I was glad of I didn’t have an escort. The truth was where would I go, the ship was in hyperspace. I halted outside my door and as I was just about to press a button on the door console when I heard a voice. One I hadn’t heard for a long while.

“Gwen Hunter?”

I turned to see a Valkyrie regarding me carefully. She was the same as the last time I’d seen her. Like all Valkyrie she was tall with blonde hair and blue eyes her skin was a pale as most of them were. “Gudbjorga it’s been what like three years since I last saw you.” She had walked me to the airlock of the station above Alfheimir. A hell of a lot had happened between then and now.

“That it is and you’ve grown since I last saw you.”

I knew she wasn’t on about my height. Belatedly I remembered her prejudice against vaihdokas, which I was. Although I had known none of this at the time, vaihdokas was the Valkyrie name for those of mixed blood some considered it as an insult. “I’m vaihdokas you alright with that?” I asked her directly.

“I’m never going to be one of the haters with you Gwen Hunter.”

“Can you at least drop the Hunter bit it sounds too formal?”

“That I can do Gwen. It’s so good to see you.”

The first time we’d met she’d thought I was an Imperial. That was down to my accent, which I hadn’t been able to rid myself of. I still sounded like I’d come straight from Earth. She took me under her wing so to say because she was atoning for what some of the soldiers had done to an Imperial prisoner. Of course you didn’t laugh at a Valkyrie. Because of what she had done to her own soldiers she had been asked to leave without a mark on her record. I guess her CO didn’t want a full trial it would have made the Confeds look bad.

“And you too.” That was genuine she was one of the few people I trusted implicitly. “What are you doing on this ship.” It certainly wasn’t the same ship I travelled to Alfheimir on.

“I was asked to transfer,” Gudbjorga said as if it wasn’t important.

“Why?” I felt stupid for cross-examining her.

“Because you need familiar faces around you.”

“Who told you that?” I was about to go full investigator mode.

“The Elders, well one Elder. She said she was worried about you.”

I speculated that they’d known about Regitha. I didn’t have all the facts I knew I should step back to see the wider picture. “Regitha,” I said hoping to jog some recognition out of Gudbjorga. I hated doing so she was someone I could trust except I was having trust issues at the moment.

“Regitha?” Gudbjorga asked confused.

I felt a real heel not trusting her. I told her about the brewery and how Regitha tried to kill me.

“I see.” Anger flashed across her face her hands and jaw clenched. Slowly she unclenched. It was clear she wanted to hit something hard. “I didn’t know about that?”

Taking a deep breath I went on to explain the attack on Runa Hrutdottir one of the Silver Guard. I elaborated on the clumsy plan for me to take the blame except she’d lived thanks to Digger one of the Keeper’s help.

“I didn’t know about that either. The Elders have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Are you ok with that?” I was worried what the Elders would do to her if she tried to go up against her.

“Not really. Damn it I’ve heard a lot of rumours about you and the Prophetess.”

“Prophet,” I corrected her. “He was a male disguised to look female.” I gave Gudbjorga a look my mind on my betrayal by Regitha. “You’re not one of those believers are you?” I’d be crushed if she said yes.

“No I served with the GF. Only hicks that haven’t been off planet are those.”

She was with the Confed Ground Forces one of the two units of foot soldiers that serve the Confederacy the other was the Marines. “Regitha was off world.” I reminded her.

“I bet if you looked into her background she was fresh off the boat?”

I was impressed with her grasp of Imperial idioms and told her so. “Hicks, fresh off of the boat you’re talking like an Imperial?”

“Does it sound realistic? I’ve been practising, in fact I started the day you left us. I thought learning to talk like you would fill the hole you left in my heart.” She suddenly hugged me. Which was definitely out of character for her. “I’ve missed you daughter.”

“Oh I’m a daughter now?” I stepped out of her hug and regarded her carefully. “I’ll remember that the next time you try to knock my head off?” Then that would be normal behaviour for the Valkyrie they trained their children hard.

“That reminds me of why I sort you out in the first place?”

“Oh?” I said dreading the answer.

“You and I have training sessions. I wouldn’t want you to get fat and lazy.”

She patted my belly with anyone else I would have lashed out. There were a few exceptions. Seeing it was Gudbjorga emphasising a point I let it slide.

“We’ll start training the next day cycle which is in eight hours.”

Ships acted on a day/night cycle corresponding to about twelve hours each. Something the Confeds got from the Empire and adapted it to their own use. All Humans had originated from Earth or Mars were tied to Earth’s cycles of day and night. From what I’d learned most of the worlds in the Confederacy has nearly similar cycles. That wasn’t something I wanted to speculate here and now I had other problems to deal with.

“I can’t Captain Wulfgara has me training with her.”

“I know she sent me her itinerary. I’ve slotted your training sessions around that.”

I groaned there was no way I could get out of it.

“Cheer up,” Gudbjorga said happily. “I’m sure you improved a lot since I last saw you?” she flicked her hand towards the bracelet on my wrist. “The Silver Guard wouldn’t have let you out into the world if they didn’t think you were up to the task?”

“Ok, ok I get the point.”

Gudbjorga looked disappointed that I hadn’t made more fuss about it. I think she wished I be more reluctant then she could mock threaten me. “We’ll start with gentle workouts and tailor your exercise regime to better reflect your abilities.”

“Oh great,” I moaned.

Gudbjorga smiled. “Fine Gwen we can work on your attitude at the same time.” She smiled again. “See you later.”

I watched her go. She was right in a way. I just wished it wasn’t the Valkyrie way. I pressed the button on the console and entered my room. Pulling off my boots and socks I lay on the bed it was time to get serious. It had been a while since I last did this. I couldn’t do it on the Independence the trader ship that took me to Davenport. I’d shared my quarters with Marcella the Human professor I’d met on Alfheimir during the Civil war there. She’d been sheltering in the Hall of the Elders. I glanced at my bracelet glistering silver in the artificial ship lights. Was she right saying I was a Clan Mother and an Elder for a dead Clan. I closed my mind to that and concentrated on what I was supposed to be doing. “Mouse, Digger can you hear me please answer?” It was a desperate plea. “Scout, Scout.” I called out in my mind. I was very reluctant to call her. She was a traumatised Keeper that relived the death of her parents every time she closed her eyes. I knew that from bitter experience waking to hear her screaming in her sleep. She might have been recreated from my DNA but she still retained her memories of her life before. There was nothing, I couldn’t sense anything. I might as well be the way I was before the Valkyrie got their claws into me. I’d been able to contact them before. Mouse would have found a way. She’d found a way around the Guardians meddling and the First Ones prohibitions. The Guardians of Melanos had been the enemies of the Keepers and had been their murderers. They’d tried to use me as a weapon to kill the remaining Keepers. Digger saved me taking a device they had implanted in me out of me. It was sending me mad. The First Ones had resented my interference with the Keepers. But it was the Keepers that had used my eggs to remake themselves. The only thing that redeemed the First Ones in my eyes was the fact they were building a home for the Keepers technically they were my flesh and blood. A world I had no idea where it was or how to get there. I was determined to find the Keepers and find out what happened to them. With that on my mind I drifted off to sleep.