Chapter 38
Ivar
My first stop was the ship.
I made contact with the other three kings, and discussed the matter privately with them, so I could get their input on such a weighty decision. The conversation wasn’t pleasant, and there were differing opinions, but after much discussion, we came to an agreement.
As much as we love the world we grew up on, it’s a dying world. Already dead, if we’re being honest. We’re just spirits honoring memories that don’t even make sense anymore. Chasing dreams across the cosmos in search of something better.
And we’ve found it. A world where our kind has advanced peacefully.
Technology. Medicine. Everything we could possibly need.
If the other royal families want to seek out their true mate, like we did, we have a ship.
One that they could use to go almost anywhere, as long as they avoid the Intergalactic Alliance.
Now I’m waiting outside President Haggard’s office.
I used my Viking Touch to get in contact with Val.
I expected to get on the president’s calendar sometime in the next month, but I would have understood if he was so busy it took longer.
It was the exact opposite. She told me I could see him right away.
The doors open and I stand up. President Haggard is dressed like he was the last time I saw him. I don’t think many people on this world change clothes very often. There’s no real reason to, since the clothes are self-cleaning and the styles are so similar.
“Welcome, Ivar. I was glad to hear that you wanted to sit down and talk with me.” He gestures for me to enter his office. “I was hoping to speak with you at the feast, but the celebration lasted late into the evening. Are you well?”
“Yes, Mr. President,” I say, greeting him as I’ve heard others on this world do. “I’m glad you had time to see me. It isn’t urgent, so if you’re too busy, I understand.”
“No, no, my schedule is wide open,” he says, walking to a sitting area in his office.
The office is round. Possibly oval. There’s a large desk with a presidential seal and flags for what I’ve learned represents the United Nations of this world. They all answer to President Haggard. Or rather, have elected him to be their leader. I’m still learning how it all works.
“I will admit I’m going to ask you for a favor, and you’ve done so much already, I wish I had something to offer in exchange,” I say hesitantly as I sit down.
“You can ask for anything, Ivar. You’re my guest and the reason I’ve been wanting to sit down with you is because I’d like to make that permanent,” he says. “Offer you a chance to become citizens of Midgard… well, Midgard 13.”
“That’s something we could be interested in, yes.” I nod to him. “The only problem is that while there’s seven of us here, there are more back on Midgard 21 where we’re from. We left in search of viable mates. My brothers and I found ours, but…”
“The others face extinction, yes. I can understand your concern,” he rumbles. “I read up on your world in the Intergalactic Alliance archives. According to them, your world suffered an extinction level event, and they believe everyone died.”
“Basically,” I admit. “Except as I told you when we arrived, those of us with Fenrir’s Mark survived. The adults at least. On our world, only the men from the royal bloodlines are born with it. Our children were not strong enough to withstand the plague, but we were.”
“Such a tragedy.” President Haggard shakes his head sadly. “I’m sorry you had to go through something so horrific. If we’d known, we could have helped. But the Intergalactic Alliance didn’t reach out to us, like they normally do when a Viking world is threatened with extinction.”
“They didn’t want us to survive,” I sigh.
“Very troubling, considering our agreement with the Intergalactic Alliance,” President Haggard says.
“But before I can agree to allow you to stay, I need to know more about the trouble you ran into with the Intergalactic Alliance. I tried to find information in their archives, but they haven’t released anything that specifically mentions you or your brothers. ”
I look down at my lap. It’s fair for him to ask.
It’s fair that he would want to know what kind of Vikings he’s allowing to live on his planet.
I’m not sure how this conversation will go, based on what we know about Midgard 13, but I have to be honest. Lying isn’t going to earn us any favors, and it wouldn’t be difficult for him to find out everything, especially if they have contact with the bastards we’re running from.
“After the plague, we needed viable mates. My brother Erik taught himself how to build ships from the schematics our scientists left behind. They barely kept us in the air, but we were able to begin searching for mates,” I explain.
“After a couple of failed missions, we learned about Earth. It was a planet facing an extinction level event from a meteor.”
“Go on,” he says, listening intently.
“Erik was able to determine that women from Earth had the right genetic markers to not only be viable mates, but carry children who have Fenrir’s Mark.
Our plan was to raid a refugee center where the women from Earth were being kept,” I continue.
“We were supposed to secure mates for all four royal families, but things took a turn when we met Avery.”
“She’s not just a viable mate. You felt a pull toward her, hmm?” President Haggard asks. “I’ve seen how she looks at you. How you look at her. We got rid of mate bonds long before my time, but my wolf still recognizes one.”
“Yes, we knew she was our mate. That changed everything. We hid until we could escape, stole one of their ships, and our plan was return home,” I say.
“Unfortunately, we got chased by the Intergalactic Alliance. Our hyperdrive got damaged. We had to find the closest, most peaceful planet so we could land the ship. That ended up being a strange world called Mallow.”
“I’m not familiar with that one,” President Haggard rumbles.
“Best to stay away,” I say cautiously. “We adapted, stole what we needed, bartered for the rest, and then got some assistance repairing the ship. Avery gave birth there, and we almost lost her… almost got executed for our crimes.”
“But you didn’t. You made it here,” he says.
“Right. With the upgrades to our ship, our hyperdrive had a much longer range. We didn’t have to worry about burning it out,” I say. “Erik found your world in the Intergalactic Archives, and we came to you seeking refuge, which you generously provided.”
“We do not turn away those of our kind,” he insists. “Especially children. I must admit Avery would usually not be welcome. We’ve encountered humans a few times on other worlds and generally try to avoid them, but she’s your mate, so that makes it a little more complicated.”
My brow furrows with concern. “We would never stay here unless we can remain together. We can’t lose our mate.”
“The bond is too strong. Yes, I understand that,” he says, leaning back and pondering what I’ve said for a few moments. “Allowing you to stay could cause some trouble with the Intergalactic Alliance. We avoid them when we can and would prefer to maintain the treaty we signed with them.”
“Yes, I understand you don’t want to fight them,” I say. “Although I think you could, considering your technology.”
“We no longer develop weapons like we used to. There’s little reason, since there are no threats to us.” President Haggard waves a hand dismissively. “We’re not raiders like you were. We put that behind us as we evolved.”
“I’ll admit I’m curious about this… evolution,” I tell him. “On our world, we still worship the gods. We honor the legends, even though we’ve never been certain they’re true.”
I leave out the part about clones. Our encounter with Morlock. What we’ve learned about the universe. I’m telling him the truth, but I’m not revealing more than necessary, just in case this doesn’t work out.
“Would you like for me to show you?” President Haggard asks curiously, then he stands up. “Please, follow me.”
President Haggard walks to the door of his office and I follow him.
A few members of his security team are outside his office, like they were when I arrived, but they don’t follow us as we walk down the hallway, every painting we pass seemingly a story about the history of Midgard 13.
Some of them are familiar based on stories from our world, but some of them I don’t recognize at all.
We stop in front of an elevator and President Haggard presses the button. When the doors open, we step on, and he hits the button for a subterranean level. Judging by the number of buttons, there are several subterranean levels. There’s more under Gray Viking Hall than there is above ground.
The doors open and President Haggard steps off.
I follow and look around, noticing that it looks like a large open museum.
There are artifacts on display. Skeletons in cases.
It’s macabre in a way, but some of the artifacts are so well preserved I can’t help but look at them in awe.
We rarely find ancient ones that aren’t already weathered past the point of identification.
“Wow, this is a very nice collection,” I say as I continue to look around. “More than we have in all our museums back home. But why are you showing me this?”
“You asked about our evolution.” President Haggard walks to one of the skeletons and gestures for me to come over, so I do. “Meet Fenrir,” he says, gesturing to the skeleton, then he points at one next to it. “And Thor. Odin and his brothers are on the wall over there.”
My eyes widen in surprise. “Wait, you found their remains? They didn’t receive proper Viking funerals?”
“Our ancestors believed they were gods, so they entombed them after their death. Those tombs were covered up by time, but eventually they were located and excavated,” President Haggard explains. “And as you can see, they aren’t gods. Just mortal men who lived and died long ago.”
The skeletons are bigger than us, but they’re not quite giants. Perfect teeth. Thick bones. No sign of damage to them, other than time. Fenrir’s bones are shaped much like ours, clearly designed to allow him to shapeshift.
“Mortal men…” I say, nodding in understanding. “Yes, I suppose this would give you good reason to stop worshipping them.”
“Not just that, but it showed us that all men die, even those we called gods. The legends of their heroics are likely embellished,” he says, moving down to stand in front of Thor.
“Especially the ones about him. We found his hammer… Mj?lnir. It was buried with him. It’s made of a strange alloy, but nothing else about him is special.
The alloy has no real benefit, other than being harder than most. We have alloys that are lighter and more efficient. ”
The hammer is in the case next to Thor’s remains. It appears to be crafted from trillinium, which isn’t a surprise. It’s hard enough to withstand anything, and if Morlock’s people were seeding the universe, it only makes sense they had discovered the compound.
“We never found their remains on Midgard 21,” I murmur, continuing to look over the skeletons and artifacts.
“Well, you wouldn’t have,” President Haggard says. “They died here, obviously. How their legend spread throughout the universe is a mystery, but I’m sure it has something to do with Cosmic Influence. Hardly the will of the gods, as we used to think.”
“Might be more complicated than that,” I say reluctantly. “But we can discuss it more, if we’re allowed to stay. We’ll share all our knowledge with you. There might be some that is beneficial.”
“Perhaps.” President Haggard turns to face me. “This is something I’ll have to discuss with the senate before a final decision is made. We’re a democratic society, and I know some will have concerns about your run-ins with the Intergalactic Alliance.”
“Understandable,” I say. “If you agree to take in the other royal families, there’s still an Intergalactic Alliance warship to deal with.”
“We won’t get involved in that,” President Haggard says. “But if refuge is offered, we don’t care what you have to do to get your people to Midgard 13.”
“We’ll find a way,” I say confidently. “We just need somewhere to bring them.”
President Haggard nods, then leads me back to the elevators. I trail behind him, looking over several artifacts before stepping on the elevator. It takes us back to the main level and we talk for a little longer before we shake hands and I depart Gray Viking Hall.
I’ve made my pitch, and President Haggard is open to it.
I just hope the senate is as agreeable as he is.