Star Wolves (The Tribes of Yggdrasil Book 1) (20 page)

“Sure, I imagine they would, but they don’t have the Yggdrasil Codex Runestone to guide them. As far as we know the only one is on Earth,” Hal said.

“The Dvergar are devious and brilliant Hal, which is why we work with them on so many engineering projects, but that brilliance is a two edged sword. One edge is working for us and the other edge is working against us,” Iforr said.

“I understand, but at this point what have we got to lose?” Hal asked.

Artman nodded. “I think it’s worth exploring. Iforr, do you think with something this valuable we might be able to make a commercial arrangement with them very quickly? And, do you think this is valuable enough to warrant them standing with us against the Hrymar?”

“I think so,” he nodded, “the Dvergar desire profit above all else. Control of part of the network could be a huge economic boon to them. I believe this will be very enticing.”

There was a lot of disagreement among the captains. This was the first time they were hearing about the discovery of these new ancient instantaneous-transport devices.. After an hour of heated debate, it was decided they
would
attempt to bargain with the Dvergar for use of their fleet, in exchange for information on the bridge nodes in SOI controlled space. Hal would take one of the Alfar Councilors and the
Sleipnir
, and head for the nearest Dvergar trading post, while the flotilla would return to the Sol system and prepare for the incoming Hrymar threat.

The hope was, that they, along with the Alfar and Dvergar fleets, could converge at the right time to save Earth.

Artman looked squarely at Hal and said, “Gods’ speed, Captain Olsen.”

C
ouncilor Iforr identified
the closest Dvergar trading outpost, which would be the first stop on their mission to enlist Dvergar aid; he also volunteered to go along to act as a mediator. Traders, or any visitors for that matter, were not allowed in the Svartalfheim star system, instead, the Dvergar conducted all their trading at outposts scattered around their region of space; the outposts were conveniently located close to major population centers.

The closest outpost was 180 light-years from Slaver Outpost-1, which even for the fleet-footed
Sleipnir
at full military power, was still going to take nearly six days in hyperspace.

Hal bid his friends in the fleet farewell and the
Sleipnir
was off yet again.

Iforr and Hal were sitting in his office and discussing their upcoming task.

“Essentially, Hal, everything is a negotiation with them. You must project an air of confidence and power. They will know we are desperate for their help, there is no hiding the fact. But, we are negotiating, therefore we must act as if we are
not
in dire straits. Once they get a whiff of the prize, I am certain they will be drooling like hungry dog over a bone.”

“You have dogs on Alfheim?” Hal asked.

“Of course we do,” said Iforr, “remember, the same gods that seeded Earth seeded our planet as well. Many of the creatures familiar to you are also known to us also; horses, cows, the noble beaver, and more. Worlds like Svartalfheim are different though. When the gods seeded them, they had different designs. The Dvergar have always lived beneath the ground, and therefore their flora and fauna may be quite strange. Frankly, few have ever been to their home-world. I have been to a few of their trading posts, but they keep many secrets beneath the crust of Svartalfheim. If you believe the old tales, and I do, the Dvergar made many wonderful gifts for the gods—Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer for example.”

Hal nodded. He was very familiar with the old stories, and wore a Mjolnir pendant around his neck.

“The trick to working with the Dvergar, is patience, Haldor. They will try to grind us down negotiating terms beneficial to themselves, and of course, we will need to resist. You must also find a way to accelerate their normal negotiating process. Some contracts have taken years to put into effect. Obviously we must convey our urgency, without desperation, and ensure they understand the value of the prize we offer them. Make them understand they can have this prize, but the price will also include expediency.

Fucking bureaucrats, Hal thought. He hated bureaucrats and their penchant for wasting time. Hal considered himself a patient man, but certain bureaucracies seemed to revel in dragging their arses—almost making a game of it. Lets see how long we can stretch this out. Hal had seen it all before.

“I’ll do my best, Councilor. I know what’s at stake here.”

H
al was walking
the halls of the ship and thinking about his upcoming negotiations; he also liked to have some face-time with the crew, and the marines who he saw infrequently.

He could hear some of the marines talking, and then heard a whining sound? Hal found this to be just a little peculiar. He rounded the corner and entered the med bay, and there was E-2 Ingolfsdottir feeding an iron-grey wolf!

There was no mistaking this creature was not just a dog, it was very wolf-like. Its coal-black and iron-grey fur covered a body the size of a very large man, Hal estimated it might have weighed in at 120 kg, but it was skinny.

“Um, what’s going on?” Hal asked.

The marines snapped to attention.

“At ease, marines. Just explain what this creature is doing on my ship.”

“Sir,” Ingolfsdottir said, “I’m sorry, sir. I brought it onboard to tend to it. The slavers had left it locked up in a room uncared for, with no food or water. I was going to put it back before we left, but we shipped out so soon I didn’t have a chance.”

“I see.” Hal looked at the dog—wolf—creature? Hal decided to consider it a wolf.

The wolf looked at Hal, and Hal looked back. She delicately padded over to Hal and sat in front of him, then lied down and put her chin on his foot, her eyes pleading for mercy.

The marines were all grinning, but said nothing.

Hal continued to look down at the wolf, and she continued to look up at him, as if asking for a stay of execution. Hal shook his head, closed his eyes and let out a puff of air. “She’s pretty skinny. We’ll need to fatten her up.”

“Yes, sir!” Ingolfsdottir said, suddenly ecstatic about her Captain’s tentative support.

“Where is she sleeping?” Hal asked.

“Well, sir, we’ve been keeping her in the med bay. Our individual quarters are a bit small to house an animal of her size,” admitted E-3 Maathai.

“That’s not a good long term solution, marines. Doc is going to be pissed if he finds a wolf in his medbay. I’m surprised he hasn’t already discovered your furry friend.”

Ingolfsdottir’s elation began fading.

“I think there’s room in my quarters though,” Hal said, “I can put a blanket on the floor for her.” Hal remembered the grey Norwegian Elk Hound his grandfather had had, named Freki. Hal adopted Freki when he went to live with his grandfather, or was it Freki who adopted Hal?

The marines both smiled.

“Does she have a name?” Hal asked.

“No, sir. Not yet,” Ingolfsdottir replied.

“How about … Venn?” Hal said.

“Venn, sir?” Maathai asked.

“It means
friend
, in Norwegian, E-3.”

“Thats’ a wonderful name for her,” Ingolfsdottir exclaimed.

“She could be our S3 mascot, sir,” Maathai said.

“One step at a time, E-3,” Hal replied.

N
early a week passed
before the
Sleipnir
dropped out of hyperspace and into the Laxu star system, where the Dvergar trading post was located.

Eva sent the relevant astronomical data up to the main view screen for the crew to see.

“Here’s what I have from the Alfar database,” Eva said.

“
O
k
, so Laxu III is our destination,” Hal mused.

“We can expect a military interrogative in a few minutes,” Iforr added.

Hal nodded.

Within ten minutes, a very well armed system-defense-boat intercepted the
Sleipnir
and began a request for information.

“Unknown vessel, this is Laxu Process Oversight vessel SVX-324, identify yourself immediately. This territory is managed and overseen by the Sons of Ivaldi Corporation, Trading Sub-Company 1, Limited.”

Hal pursed his lips and looked at Iforr who was sitting beside him on the bridge. “Process Oversight?” Hal shook his head in confusion, then nodded to Idwal on comms.

“Laxu Process Oversight vessel SVX-324, this is the
Sleipnir
. We are here on a trading mission and have Councilor Iforr of the Alfar White Council aboard,” Idwal said, pulling out the big guns by dropping Councilor Iforr’s name; he was well known to the Dvergar.

“Welcome to Laxu, Sleipnir. We are delighted to host Councilor Iforr and your crew. Our trading post is in orbit around Laxu III.”

“Thank you, SVX-324, we are proceeding there now.”

Hal looked over at Iforr. “Well, that was easy.”

“Rightly so, I hold the purse strings for Alfheim’s defense spending and we are a regular trading partner, although I’ve never been to this particular trading post. This will be our first stop, next we’ll get authorization to go to Svartalfheim itself, and I have never set foot on that planet, nor has any Alfar in my memory. They have become quite paranoid about security.”

“Then why do you think we’ll be going there?” Hal asked.

“There will be no Svartalfar on this station with enough seniority to make the commitment we need from them. And given you are going to push for a rapid closure to the contract, our only option will be to go to Svartalfheim and meet with the CEO himself.” Iforr replied.

A
fter eight hours
of marathon-meetings with local executives on the trading post, they were invited to Svartalfheim to continue negotiations with the Sons of Ivaldi CEO himself…just as Iforr had predicted. Although there was a stellar-comm on the station, the CEO wanted to conduct a meeting of this import in person.

Just under seventy-two hours later, the
Sleipnir
arrived in the Spica star system, and was an hour away from landing on Svartalfheim. Hal would be the first human ever to set foot on this planet.

As the ship drew closer to Svartalfheim they could see the planet was a smooth black sphere. There were no discernible land masses, oceans, or anything one would expect to see on a planet.

“Loki’s balls,” Hal said, “what are we seeing? This does not look like any planet I’ve ever seen, at least not a natural one,” Hal looked over at Iforr with an expression of confusion and wonderment in equal measures, “tell me they didn’t build that planet?”

“They did
not
build that planet,” Iforr replied evenly.

There was silence for a minute.

“However,” Iforr continued, “they did build a shell
around
the planet. They have never lived above ground. The two stars on this system radiate so much energy, organic life could never form on the surface. So the gods, the clever beings that they are, seeded life beneath the surface of the planet. It was here that the Dvergar were born.”

“But what about the surface? That does
not
look natural.” Hal said.

“And you are quite right, Haldor, it is not natural. At first, the Dvergar made use of geothermal energy, and fashioned many things for the gods and Alfar. As time passed and they became more sophisticated engineers and craftsmen, they took advantage of an even larger energy source—the output of the binary stars. They crafted what you might call, solar cells, but vastly more sophisticated and efficient. Eventually they covered the entire planet with them. And so you see before you a dark shell.”

“Incredible!” Hal said, awestruck.

The ship was guided into an opening in the outer shell of Svartalfheim. To say it was cavernous would be a gross understatement. The door slid open to reveal a cube shaped —hole? The cube beneath the shell measured a kilometer on all sides. It was a docking bay of epic proportions. Once inside and closer to the assigned berth, Hal could see hundreds of other ships docked. Some looked like freighters or other commercial vessels, while others were clearly ships of war.

Hal stopped by his quarters before disembarking to the station, he wanted to check on Venn. She was starting to put on weight nicely and was looking quite healthy. Hal could swear this wolf was a mind reader, it was as if she knew exactly what Hal wanted. And he felt he could understand her in return. They had developed an incredible bond in a short period of time. Hal rubbed her head affectionately, and she gave a low whine in response, as if to complain about him leaving, but she lay down on the blanket beside Hal’s bed as he left his state-room. He could feel she wanted to come along, to protect him even, but a corporate boardroom was no place for dogs or wolves. Actually, Hal thought, maybe that wasn’t true. Maybe the boardroom was exactly where wolves dwelt, at least the kind with less fur than Venn.

O
nce they crossed
the threshold from Sleipnir’s artificial 1g gravity, they were subject to the natural gravity of Svartalfheim, which was twenty percent higher than Earth’s, at 1.2g. Hal felt it immediately and wondered how Iforr must be feeling. Alfheim’s gravity was only ninety percent of Earth gravity, so this was significantly higher. But the councilor seemed outwardly unaffected.

Outside the airlock, Hal and Iforr were greeted by a Dvergar with short brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He was short, probably just over five feet tall and stocky. This was typical of the Svartalfar, or Dvergar, he had been briefed on. Though they were shorter than humans, they massed, on average, about the same, so they were a much more compact and rugged looking people.

“Welcome to the Sons of Ivaldi Corporate headquarters,” he said enthusiastically. “My name is Junior Executive Vice-President Veli of the Otherworld Business Development Business Unit, or the OBDBU. You must be Councilor Iforr and Captain Olsen.”

They both nodded.

“It is our pleasure to be here,” Iforr said with a bow.

“Thanks for the warm welcome, Veli,” Hal said.

“The CEO is a very busy man, as you can imagine, but we are always happy to entertain a proposal from such reliable business partners as the Alfar, and their human allies. If you’ll follow me I’ll show you to the CEO’s office. Do you require any refreshments before we get started?”

“I’m fine, Veli, we’re anxious to get started. Our
proposal
, is quite time sensitive.” Hal managed to say patiently.