Chapter 12

Jarl Erikson was still shocked that the Burel had taken his son. He’d gathered Freya, Val, Erik, Carmichael, and Sven to discuss their plans going forward.

He’d called the meeting in the largest pirate asteroid they’d captured. That location made the most sense from a security perspective.

“I still can’t believe that Loki’s Mischief would leave him like that,” Freya said.

“Brodie commanded all of us to leave. He was smart enough to have orders passed to our AIs before the Burel arrived, or Val and I would have stayed and fought,” Erik said.

Bjorn could see this was about to turn into a blame game, and they didn’t have time for that.

“Let’s focus on the task at hand. How are we going to find our team and get them back?” he asked.

“We’ll find them,” Carmichael stated with confidence. “What we have to decide is, once we know where they are, what do we do? Take them by force, try negotiating their freedom, or something in between?”

“We’re going to need help if we plan to take them by force,” Val said.

“King Denhardt needs to be in charge of the rescue effort,” Sven said.

Bjorn knew that was a sticking point because his people had returned with all the technology collected at the space station. His, Erik, and Val’s crews, with the assistance of the ships’ AIs and the scientists, were poring over the contents of the take to see if there was anything helpful.

He’d invited Sven to the meeting because, as the King’s hersir, it would give them some cover once the King heard what they’d done. Sven needed to buy into whatever they decided.

“I think that’s inevitable,” Carmichael said.

Bjorn knew the Goth leader was giving him good advice, but he needed to consider the future. The technology gathered had the potential to shift the power structure. If it got into the wrong hands, it might end up destroying them. That could happen soon if word got out about what they had because everyone, including the King, would descend on Norse and try to take it.

As yet, Bjorn had only let people he trusted know. The ships’ crews that had traveled to the space station, the scientists, and Sven were under a communications blackout. As soon as someone informed the King, word would leak. That was why Bjorn had ordered everyone to the asteroid: so they couldn’t accidentally talk.

“You need to be prepared to defend Norse before that happens,” Sven said, saying what was at the front of Bjorn’s mind.

He noted that Carmichael and Val got it because they were warriors. His wife and Erik looked concerned.

“When word gets out, we’ll have a large target on our backs,” Val explained to Freya.

“I had a long talk with Loki, and he had some interesting thoughts,” Sven said.

Bjorn nodded to signal him to continue.

“One point Loki came up with is the Burel may not be as advanced as we first thought. They’re having the same issues with heat as we do. They simply haven’t learned to recapture waste energy, store it, and get rid of it,” Sven said.

“What leads him to that conclusion?” Erik asked.

“His first clue was the plutonium batteries. He thinks they took that approach, along with maximizing the efficiency of their electronic systems, to minimize waste heat. But they still use larger power plants to supply energy for weapons, propulsion, and environmental systems.”

“They’ve found a way to convert rocks into reaction mass for their engines,” Val shared.

“Loki also pointed out that may be why their smaller scout ships run when encountered. They need a larger ship to fire rounds strong enough to take out their opponent. Loki also noted that their big ship wasn’t nearly as fast or nimble as their scouts. That gives us an advantage in a real fight,” Sven said. “Their more powerful engines allowed them to accelerate quickly despite the size of their ship, but they couldn’t sustain the thrust, and we think it’s because they lack our heat dissipation techniques.”

“What do you mean?” Erik asked.

“Take Loki’s Mischief as an example. It’s a much smaller ship but was able to inflict significant damage on the Burel juggernaut. Loki told me that if the Relentless and Pursuer had been in the fight, the smaller, more nimble ships would have taken the Burel ship down.

“We’ve gamed out the possible reasons why the Burel cruiser could accelerate fast but not sustain that and fire powerful bolts but at a slow rate. The explanations all come back to them choking on their own heat production. While our heat capture, recycling, and dissipation technology isn’t far ahead of theirs, it is enough to turn the tide in a battle.

“When I say we’re not ‘far ahead,’ I mean our advantage is on the order of ten to fifteen percent, but it’s a game-changing edge. That small percentage lets us accelerate longer and fire more powerful weapons from relatively smaller and more nimble ships,” Sven said.

Bjorn was impressed with how the King’s hersir became useful without Brodie there to distract him. It must stick in the older man’s craw that Bjorn’s son, a decade younger, ended up at the top of the class.

“When I talked to Aurora, she said they didn’t know why the Burel had abandoned the station. She also shared it looked like there were fewer of them on that station than we would have had. Could it have been the heat issue?” Val asked.

“That would align with what the scientists and Loki are saying. So, if we’re looking for something to negotiate with, showing them how they can solve that problem might be the answer,” Sven said.

“But at what cost?” Carmichael asked. “If we do that, what’s to say they can’t convert those scout ships into something more deadly? Instead of running when confronted, they turn and fight.”

Bjorn wanted to pound his head against the wall.

“I want you all to work together and devise possible solutions for each scenario. We need to be ready to move when we find them,” Bjorn ordered.

As they were breaking up, he pulled Carmichael aside.

Once they were alone, he asked, “You seemed confident we would find them. What aren’t you telling me?”

“Goths are trained for situations where they’re captured. Aurora knows how to get free. Once she does, she’ll send me a message to give us their location.”

“What if the worst happens?” Bjorn asked.

“If her life functions cease, a message will be sent,” Carmichael said with a steady gaze.

Bjorn knew not to delve too deeply into how that message would be sent. He surmised the Goths had implanted a tracking device that would activate when needed.

“We’ll wait for her signal,” Bjorn said, adding, “And this stays just between us.”

Carmichael nodded and left to get to work on a rescue plan.

“Your Brodie problem may have solved itself.”

Elle Gundersen was in a meeting with her advisors. Thankfully, she’d sent the call to her earpiece instead of putting it on speaker.

“Just a moment,” she told Kat before turning to her people. “Clear the room.”

They quickly got up and left.

“What are you talking about?” Elle asked her pirate friend.

“He was sent on a mission to an abandoned Burel space station, which they stripped. While they were doing that, the Burel showed up to chase them off. He got himself captured in the process, and his clan has no idea where the Burel have taken him.”

“How do you know this?”

“They’re using one of my old asteroid bases to hide the Burel tech.”

Elle momentarily forgot about her rival as she imagined what technological marvels the advanced goodies might hold. She wondered why Jarl Erikson hadn’t informed the other jarls of the find. Surely, he didn’t intend to keep this information to himself.