Chapter 14

“The Óðinn has just come through the jump gate, and King Denhardt is requesting to speak to you and Freya,” Loki said in Bjorn’s earpiece.

Bjorn briefly wondered why Brodie’s AI had commandeered all communications from the other AIs and the rest of the crew and re-routed them through itself.

The Óðinn was a massive capital carrier with enough firepower to take on most fleets, even without considering all the space fighters, bombers, and troop ships it carried.

“Tell Freya. I’ll take Balder and fly back. Let the King know I’ll meet him in my office in thirty minutes.”

“Balder’s engines are being replaced. I can take you planetside,” Loki offered.

“Don’t you need to oversee things here?” Bjorn asked sarcastically.

“I can do both,” Loki said.

“Very well.”

Bjorn and Freya had just returned planetside when King Denhardt strode in, looking concerned.

“Bjorn. Freya. I have devastating news I wanted to deliver in person,” King Denhardt said.

“About?”

“Your son and his crew. They’re missing.”

Before Bjorn could let his King know he was aware of Brodie’s capture, King Denhardt continued.

“I sent your son to investigate a derelict Burel space station. Sven contacted me and said the station’s orbit was deteriorating, and they couldn’t pull the computers in the control node. They planned to disconnect that station section and needed a hauler to bring it back so we could break into the computers back on Mulheim.

“Knowing the potential value of the tech, I sent support ships, along with a cargo hauler, to protect the find. When they arrived, a Burel ship jumped out of the system before we could intercept it. There was space debris we assume was the station. We also detected particles of the new hull coating we’d applied to Brodie’s ships. I’m assuming there was a battle,” King Denhardt said.

Bjorn looked at Freya, who nodded to tell him to share what he knew.

“Brodie and a handful of his crew were captured by the Burel. We have no idea where he is, but I’ve been assured we can find them.”

“What about the rest of the crew and ships?”

Bjorn sighed.

“Come with me.”

Bjorn noticed King Denhardt was suddenly interested in Loki’s Mischief as they exited the ground transport.

“Is that Loki’s Mischief?”

“It is. I’ll explain when we get to the base,” Bjorn said.

He didn’t want prying ears to hear why Brodie’s ship was there and Brodie wasn’t.

“I see the new shielding we provided, but this has a glass finish.”

“Brodie’s Yahve AIs have been working with our people to make some ... uhm ... improvements.”

“Maybe we should board,” King Denhardt said, catching on that people were paying attention to the two men.

Once they boarded, the ramp was pulled up, and the outer door was sealed. King Denhardt stopped and touched Bjorn’s arm to keep him from heading to the bridge.

“What’s going on?”

Bjorn quickly gave his King the broad strokes. King Denhardt didn’t say anything for a full three minutes as he processed what he’d been told.

“I want to see what Burel technology you’ve been able to utilize.”

“I could give our guest a tour of the ship if you need to get to the bridge,” Loki offered.

“Our AI is proud of his ship. He can answer any questions you have,” Bjorn said.

“I’ll be fine,” King Denhardt said.

Bjorn left when Loki launched into an in-depth explanation of the improvements he’d made. When he reached the bridge, Loki asked, “Shall I take us up?”

“Aren’t you giving the King a tour?”

“I can multitask,” Loki said indignantly.

Bjorn bit the inside of his mouth because that sounded just like Brodie when he was ten or eleven.

“Take us to the asteroid.”

The navigator sighed as the AI took over his job to fly Loki’s Mischief. Bjorn noted that with the Vuln drone ship enhancements, an AI could run almost everything. He made a mental note to see if this would free up the crew for other tasks that required humans.

Once they landed, King Denhardt abandoned Bjorn. He went straight to Balder to see the new engines being installed. It looked like Loki had a new best friend.

Bjorn messaged his command team to meet. They swiftly gathered in the war room, as he had just named it in his head—because that was precisely what it was becoming.

“King Denhardt is currently nosing around Balder’s engine install.”

“I should go see him,” Sven said, standing up.

“Sit down. You can talk to our King after I’m done,” Bjorn said.

“Yes, sir,” Sven said, taking his seat.

“Things are starting to move quickly,” Carmichael said. “Word of what we have will soon leak.”

“That means I have to make some decisions now and not delay any longer. I plan to take Elle up on her offer to commission The Lost Ones as privateers. That would help our merchants sleep better at night, knowing they couldn’t attack vessels under our flag.”

“What about Kat Fiske, the pirate leader?” Val asked.

“I think she’s too much of a wild card. I suggest holding off on any decision about her until this Burel thing is settled. But I would keep her in custody. By then, The Lost Ones will have found another leader,” Erik said.

“I would simply execute her,” Carmichael said.

Bjorn looked at Val for her input.

“What about the elephant in the room?” Val asked. “We all know Elle Gundersen was pulling Kat’s strings. I would go so far as to say she was supporting them and using them to do her bidding.”

Bjorn scowled because he knew she was right. The problem was, did he remove Elle as jarl of her clan just when he needed everyone’s support?

“I don’t think you can touch her right now,” Carmichael said.

“I agree,” Freya added. “We need her clan’s backing.”

“What about after?” Val asked.

“Then she pays for trying to kill Brodie,” Bjorn said quietly.

His look caused Sven, Erik, and Val to stiffen while his wife and Carmichael nodded in grim agreement.

“We’ll hold Kat for now,” Bjorn said, making his decision known.

“King Denhardt requests entrance,” Loki said over the speakers.

“Send him in,” Bjorn said.

Everyone stood and bowed their heads as their King entered.

“Sit back down. This is an informal meeting,” King Denhardt said.

Once everyone was in place, he turned to Bjorn.

“After talking to your interesting AI, I agree with your handling of this. My finding out sooner would’ve only leaked the discovery. I’m amazed at how quickly your team and your Yahve AIs have reverse-engineered much of the technology you liberated from the space station.