Star Wolves - The Tribes of Yggdrasil: Book 1

Chapter 11

The matte black predator soared silently and steadily on a ink-black sea; an outside observer would have seen nothing. Even with highly advanced sensors, the Sleipnir was nigh undetectable; thermally shielded, with dampened electro-magnetic emissions, and a light absorbing coating on the hull. These advantages all conspired to hide the very existence of the Sleipnir. But she was there ... on the move, and ready.

Hal rested in his command-chair in a state of zen-like alertness. The bridge was dimly lit under third-shift lighting, and Hal recalled a passage from 'The Havamal' which his grandfather had taught him years before:

Within the gates, ere a man shall go,

Full warily let him watch,

Full long let him look about him;

For little he knows, where a foe may lurk,

And sit in the seats within.

Hal's mind was full of questions, endless questions: What lay ahead? What plans should they make? How would they deal with potential conflict? So many unknowns and risks. A century of peace and prosperity had left Earth quite unprepared for a conflict on this broad a landscape. The countries of Earth had united, which had assuaged people's fears over most internal security issues. And apparently, the Alfar hadn't really prepared humanity for what they might encounter beyond the Solar system. In fairness to the Alfar, the SID knew there were other civilizations out in the beyond, but had never travelled far enough to encounter one.

The SID had been conducting very localized exploration until they could build an appropriate interstellar military force, which was in the planning and design stages, but would now have to be greatly accelerated. What was planned to be accomplished in decades, would have to be achieved in a couple of years, but until then ...

For now, Hal had to focus on the mission at hand, which seemed to keep changing by the minute. The SID was playing defense, and allowing the Hrymar to set the tempo; this was a bad situation to be in. He hoped to find some way to regain the initiative, but had to reconcile himself with the fact the Sleipnir was not going to exact vengeance all by itself. It had a pivotal role to play, but Hal was used to being in control of a problem and its solution. Being part of a much larger operation was something he left behind with his military career several years before. But here he was again, in uniform-although this time with a more critical role, and a much more influential mandate.

The journey, so far, had been uneventful. They'd jumped from system to system inhabited by Alfar colonists or their allies. The present jump, which was near completion, would take them beyond friendly territory for the first time.

Cadfael was at his combatives station, and like Hal, seemed highly alert but relaxed, which was Cadfael's default state of being. Now that there was imminent danger in the galaxy, Cadfael's life made sense. He'd trained for decades to combat threats and enemies that no Alfar had seen in centuries ... until now. Hal had initially met a man who was tightly wound and anxious, but now that Cadfael was fully engaged in his life's purpose, he was a paragon of confidence and focus.

"Whad'ya say, Cadfael?" Hal inquired.

Cadfael responded with a cocked eyebrow and a look of puzzlement. "Excuse me?"

Hal smiled at his friend's confusion. "It's just an expression, more like a question. As in, what are you thinking, how are you feeling, etc."

"I see. I was evaluating potential tactical responses to a series of possible hostile encounters."

"Good. And how are you feeling about our chances?" Hal asked.

Cadfael stood up from his combatives station and stretched his arms high above his head, culminating in a low grunt. "Our chances of survival are highly variable, depending of course, on what we encounter." Cadfael sat back down, "I've been making assumptions based on our knowledge of Hrymar technology, but that knowledge is centuries old. The last war we fought was close to a century ago, with a race called the Ysgar. But their technology was vastly different from ours, or what we predict that Hrymar may have now."