Star Wolves - The Tribes of Yggdrasil: Book 1

Chapter 4

Planet: Unnamed / Star: Delta Cygni B

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After three uneventful weeks in hyperspace, the Halygen dropped back into normal space, greeted by Delta Cygni's trio of stars: the first, a class B9 blue giant; the second, a yellow, class F; and the third, a smallish orange, class K. Their target was the sole planet circling the second star.

"The Delta Cygni system," announced Captain Uriel.

Siani stepped up behind Captain Uriel, placing a hand on the back of his chair and peering at the image of the second star displayed on the main viewer.

The Captain looked up and back at Siani. "We'll be a few minutes taking up orbit if you want to do your preflight checks on the pinnace. All your equipment has been loaded."

"Very well, Captain. Hal? Ready to see what awaits us on this planet?"

Hal nodded. “Absolutely." 

The pinnace was more than an overgrown shuttle, and was actually quite a versatile ship in its own right. It was a 100 tonne, atmosphere-capable starship, with a small jump-engine intended for emergency use; it could manage one light year per three hours—or 1/3 the average speed of a starship; and if stranded countless light-years from home, nobody would complain about the speed.

As a trade off for having a jump drive, the pinnace had no armor or weapons at all, and unlike the shuttles which were berthed inside the Halygen, the pinnace was hard-docked to the bottom of the Halygen's hull in a shallow recess.

Once the crew were safely aboard, Cadfael disembarked the pinnace from the Halygen and made for the planet's surface.

The planet itself was a dead world, brown, devoid of anything even hinting at life. Hal learned to appreciate the Earth like planets he came across, which were few enough. Worlds coalescing in what was called the Goldilocks Zone—the distance from a planet's star which was just right to support our kind of life—were treasures. Location, location, location. This planet was not in the sweet spot. It's only redeeming feature was a tiny moon, also lifeless, but pretty, in its silvery-red garb.

Cadfael's voice interrupted the silence. "Preparing to touch down near the dig site."

Hal was pressing his extra-vehicular-activity helmet against the window and he could see the excavation, he grinned. Archaeologists always seemed to use the same methodology when digging—they laid out a grid; across solar systems it was a ubiquitous pattern.

The pinnace touched down with a thud and was followed by the requisite hissing and groaning; various mechanical systems informing the team the ship’s job was complete. Each team member checked the oxygen levels on their wrist mounted EVA display panels before giving a thumbs-up to Cadfael. When all were secure, he pressed a button lowering the pinnace’s rearward ramp, exposing the team to the toxic atmosphere of the planet.

Like the ship seating, the Alfar EVA suits were organic, and molded perfectly to each person's body - this made for an incredibly comfortable fit. Hal thought he should ask to take a few home.

The dig was only a hundred meters from where the team landed and in a minute they were all standing in the center of the excavated grid— in front of the artifact.

"Gods damn!" Hal exclaimed. “Another runestone!" He shook his head in awe.

"Indeed," said Siani, "we thought you might find this quite a surprise."

Hal stroked the artifact with his gloved hand, examining the deeply carved runes, which seemed to glow a neon-blue. "This is Elder Futhark runic script, just like those we found on Earth." This runestone was massive in scale, compared to those on Earth; this one towered over him, at twelve-meters high.