The Valkyrie Chronicles: Titans (16 page)

We hurtled through the atmosphere at an incredible pace and still accelerating, a wake of plasma of super-heated air formed around Pegasus's bow.  I watched the skin temperatures rising above reentry temperatures and beyond the vaporization temperature of plasti-steel.  I was amazed at Pegasus' new armor.  We were multiple times past escape velocity as we hit space.

I patted the hull of the ship and said, “Wow girl, your upgrades do you good.”

My wrist buzzed and I looked down to see a message from her scrolling, “Thank you Kat Valkyrie without the whiskers.”

I grinned at that.  It was her humor.  It was funny the day I watched Arina trying to explain the difference between a Terran cat and me.  But Pegasus said in confusion, “Isn't she a Terran Kat?  I thought she was from Earth.”

Arina had grinned and said, “Well yes.  She is, but that is Kat with a K not a C.”

The wind rider asked, “ So she is not a cat?”

Arina had giggled., “Well I guess she's a Kat without whiskers.”

That seemed to get through to the childlike intelligence of the vessel and ever since then she likes to joke about me being a Kat without whiskers.  She thinks she is clever.  I smiled again and stroked the hull and gave a polite chuckle.  Most of us Valkyrie see Pegasus and the rest of the Sky as our children.  And Pegasus has more valor than most people that I know.

Another craft was on an intercept course and matched our velocity, the wind rider rotated on its axis, inverting while maintaining speed.  It moved above us and we heard the docking clamps engage.  The access door in the ceiling slid open and a form dropped lightly to the deck.  Standing there with a shit eating grin on her face was Kitty.  She said, “Well met!  Don't think you're doing this without me.”

I just rolled my eyes and pulled her into a hug. “We wouldn't think of it Kitty.  Well met.”  She almost skipped over to the empty pilot's chair and settled in like it was built for her.  We all laughed as she greeted the rest of us from her favorite seat and then turned and just started gossiping with Pegasus. 

If you think it was fun to watch Arina trying to explain cat and Kat to the sentient ship, it was twice as funny on her first meeting with Kitty.

I watched the other wind rider veer off to shadow our flight toward the event horizon.

While all of this occurred, I had never taken my attention away from the copious overlays on my vision that my Verr were supplying me on the mission.  We were basically flying directly into the gates of hell to attempt the suicidal rescue of the woman that defines love for me.  The bravest woman I knew.  I wondered how badly our plan had been compromised by prematurely executing it when the Titan vessel started to withdraw.

I would fly through hell and back a thousand times on the slightest chance we could liberate her.  I was filled with a million emotions as I watched the countdown timer to arrival at the space bridge.  Thirty seconds.  I prayed that Pegasus' new armor was up to the task, but I was determined to succeed at all costs.

Then my legs almost gave out beneath me as a part of my soul awakened when I was suddenly aware of Kara again.  I could feel her agony, but most of all her love in my mind, like it was just any other day as she said, “I'm coming home love.  I may need a ride.”

I just about broke down sobbing in joy then and there but we had a job to do so I laughed back at her and said, “We are already on the way Kara.”

I blurted out into the cabin, “Kara is already on the way, approaching the space bridge from the other side.  Can you catch her Pegasus?”  We veered off at the last instant, shooting past the space bridge at breakneck speeds.  Transmitting the abort signal through the bridge to the Hornets that were already closing on the Elivgar to be our diversion.

Kitty was already routing telemetry that Valhalla was feeding through its constant scans through the quantum entanglement tunnel.  I saw a red beacon lock on and Pegasus displayed some info for Kitty.  She grabbed onto her chair firmly, and yelled, “Grab onto something, this is going to be pulling it close to match her velocity!”

We all grabbed onto anything that was bolted down as we heard the magnetic booster drives whining in protest as we swung in a wide loop and back the way we came.  Inertial compensators redlining as we were slung outward by centrifugal force and the gravity systems failed.  Kitty was screaming, “Yeeeeetaaaahhhhh!” in elation.  An alarm was warbling Pegasus' own battlecry as we heard her chassis groaning with stress.

I was barely able to grab Talia's hand as she went slinging past me.  I screamed with the effort as my arm was almost pulled from its socket.  Then the forces equalized as we leveled out and went screaming past the space bridge heading the other way at hypersonic speeds with gravity restored.

Kitty yelled, “Lattice!”  As we decompressed and one of the doors opened while Pegasus rotated ninety degrees on her axis.  I winced as I pulled up my nano-lattice and felt the pain of my Verr as they fought off the vacuum of space. In the same instant I felt Kara screaming in pain as she warbled her battle-cry in my head.

The shimmering event horizon rapidly shrank as we sped past.  I saw some motion just before I lost sight of it.  Moments later the shape grew and a mass flew through the open door at around fifty miles per hour relative to our speed and it slammed into the far wall with shuddering force as the outer door closed and we repressurized.

I think we were all stunned as we looked upon an unconscious Titan, cradling Kara in her arms.  As one, we all pulled our sidearms, but Kara weakly raised a hand. “Hold Valkyrie... she's a friend, she's with me.”  Before she lost consciousness.

I broke, finally allowing myself to sob as I pulled my mate to me, holding her in my arms, protecting her. Kitty, Inatra, and Talia stood around the Titan that lay on the deck.  Inatra looked back at us and I smiled at her, she hissed lovingly then smiled back.

Kitty looked like she forgot something then she yelled, “Hold on!”  Moments before Pegasus veered off again, straining the inertial compensators again, but not as severely.  The Titan slid to the other side of the cabin.  Kitty grinned an apology at the group.  “Sorry Valkyrie, we didn't think you wanted to go splat into the planet.  Even Peggy's new armor can only withstand so much.” I had to grin at her antics and at the fact that Pegasus tolerated her calling her Peggy.

I just held Kara in my arms, watching the damage that exposure to space had done to her skin heal.  Then her eyes fluttered open.  There was fear in her eyes for an instant then recognition.  She smiled and started to sit up and did a very un-Kara thing.  She kissed me so passionately, in front of other people, that I thought I was going to burst into flames.  “Well met Valkyrie,” she whispered.  “I can't tell you how much I missed you.”

I chuckled and the others looked over and Kara blushed at her own public display of affection.  But then she was suddenly pushing to her feet as we flew back toward Valhalla.  She pushed past the others and knelt by the Titan, “Is she ok?  Her helmet failed in space, I tried to protect her.”

She was hitting some controls on the Titan's wrist console like she knew what she was doing, then there were some clicking sounds and Kara started stripping off the Titan's armor.  The woman she revealed looked a lot like Rhea, but it was obviously not her.  She was more muscled but just as pretty.  Kara was looking blankly into space as she ran her hand slowly through the air just in front of the woman.  Then she nodded to herself and smiled and looked back at me.  “She's ok.  Just unconscious.”

I couldn't stop from grinning back.  I was so confused and had no clue what was going on so I just asked the same question on everyone else's face.  “Who the hell is she?”

Kara exhaled and I could tell she was choosing her words.  “This is Thea, she's a friend, sort of.  She helped me escape.   It was an act of great valor.”  She looked around as if in challenge.  When none of us rose to it, she smiled in satisfaction as she lifted the Titan to lay her across a row of seats then sat beside me and grasped my hand.

Then she whispered like a broken child, “ Can we go home now?”  I just nodded as I stroked her hair with my other hand and the tears started up again.  Then I snorted loudly when she added, “I need a krothing drink.”

Pegasus swooped through the gate and landed at the closest pad to medical.  As soon as the doors opened healers started streaming aboard, Kara pushed them away and stood and lifted Thea, it looked almost silly, this tiny Valkyrie carrying the huge form of a Titan.  But she growled at the healers that tried to assist and they backed off.

We all followed her into the Medical Triage spire and Kara followed the healers into a room.  They pushed two beds end to end and Kara laid Thea on them and looked at the healers with a dangerous gleam in her eye.  “Take good care of her.”  The healers paled a bit but nodded and went to work.

Then before I could blink, her warm hand was where it should always be, in mine, as we fed each other our strength, becoming more than the sum of our parts.

She said, “We need to destroy the space bridge or Rhea will retaliate once they get organized up there.”  She looked at the healers with another of those dangerous glares she gave when family was involved. “Nobody is allowed in this room except healers, I don't care if it is Odin himself!  Understood?”  They nodded understanding.

As usual she refused to be examined by the healers as we followed her out of the spire and off toward the main gates, unless they could keep up with her.  I told her, “We have a plan in place, the Hornets will be hitting it any moment now.”

She had cute, mischievous smile on her face as we approached the main gate.  “Call them off, I have a more fitting idea.”

I loved that look on her, I quickly called off the strike on coms as she started hailing Artemis on a holo-console at the main gates.  “Artemis of the Hunt, would you be so kind as to join us at the main gates?”

Her quick response of, “ At once. Odin is demanding to speak with you.”  But Kara just cut the transmission with a chuckle.

In confusion, we all followed her to the main gates, the Einherjer giving her the salute to heroes as they made a hole and we stepped out into the humid air of Ragnarok.  She inhaled deeply, she seemed to be savoring the air itself.  Then she just sat on a rock with me, the others gathered around.

Artemis arrived with an entire contingency of people.  Eros, Odin, Mist, mother, Sif, Arina, who attached herself to Kara with a sobbing hug, Tyr, and Loki.

After a blushing Kara had untangled herself from Arina, she looked around sheepishly to everyone and said, “Well met.”

Odin opened his mouth, joy on his face, but Kara interrupted, “Hold father.  We have a little business to conclude here, can you tie Valhalla's telemetry of the space bridge to Artemis?”

He squinted an eye as a smile bloomed on Artemis' face and a wicked gleam in her eyes appeared.  Father chuckled, “She does not have the power for that kind of shot daughter.”

Kara cocked an eyebrow. “Really father?”  Odin took the challenge and typed something on his wrist console then flicked his finger at Artemis with a bemused look on his face.

Artemis stood still for a moment as I saw lights flickering in her eyes from her heads up display, then her smile changed into a smirk as she drew her bow and an arrow in one smooth motion.  For the first time since I met the archer from Olympus, strain showed on her face as she pulled back on the energy string that appeared.

I felt the familiar tug of the very fabric of space toward the microscopic point singularity at its center.  But then more and more power gathered.  My Verr were showing me she was drawing huge amounts of energy from her jump pack.  I started almost leaning toward her and pebbles and twigs were rolling across the ground toward her.  Then in a quick motion she looked up and brought up her bow and fired.  The arrow was too fast to follow, but there was a contrail reaching up into the heavens a moment later.

She shouldered her bow and grinned at Kara. “That took most of my jump pack power, so I'll be stranded here another year or two, and I lost an arrow, but it was so worth it.  Thank you for that sister.”

Kara grinned. “Not a problem sister.  Now, I need some mead.”

We all stood watching the two start walking toward the main gates then back up into the sky.  No way she could have possibly... a projection appeared on the dome shield of the closest quantum orb exploding, causing a chain reaction as the others shared its fate.  I snorted again. 
My god!

Then we were all running to catch up with my smug mate.

It is impossible to convey how happy I was to be home again.  The Three Embers showed up in Valhalla within minutes of the news of my rescue and the destruction of the space bridge.  I had to remind myself that Valkyrie do not cry.  But that proved to be a falsehood as I bawled with them as we shared hugs and I gave them loving mothering touches.

The celebration was incredible and I heard that most of the Olympians I had freed had already acclimated to freedom and were living comfortably among our people.  I had pulled Kat and father away from the celebration on the news that Thea had regained consciousness.  We rushed to the main medical spire that she was transferred to.

I made sure to be the first person through the door.  It was humorous really.  She was standing with her back to the wall as healers were trying to examine her, she was saying, “I am fine pets, ummm... I mean... Asgard.  You may leave.”  She saw me enter and relief filled her eyes and she pleaded with me.  “Kara!  Can you please tell these... she tilted her head searching for the word, 'people', that I do not require their services?”

I chuckled and said with authority, “ Healers, leave us.”  They looked at us then quickly exited the room.  I always hated the slight look of fear on their faces.  Did they fear the ruling caste, or did they fear me, the instrument of destruction?

I grinned at her. “Well met Thea, I am glad to see you recovering so quickly.”  She inclined her head in acknowledgment as her eyes nervously looked over to Kate and Odin.

I made the introductions. “Father, Kat, this is Thea of the Titans.  She is their First Scientist and my friend.”  Her eyebrow quirked at that.  Then I said to her, “Thea of the Titans, this is Odin, ruler of Asgard, and my wife, Kate the Raging Storm.”

She hesitated then looked at me and moved her arm toward them and I nodded.  She said, “Well met Odin of Asgard and Kate the Raging Storm.”  She swallowed and said, “So I would assume the roles are now reversed and I am your prisoner.”

They each bumped forearms with her and father chuckled. “Well met Thea of the Titans.  We are more enlightened than that here in Valhalla.  I will address you as Thea unless you object and please call me Odin and that is Kat.”  She nodded nervously and father added, “You are no prisoner here.  Kara has vouched for you and her word cannot be disputed.  You can move about the citadel freely or leave at any time you like.  Though I would greatly like to speak with you about a great number of things if you agree.”

She looked confused. “You would allow me my freedom after what my kind have wrought upon you?”  We all nodded.

She just shook her head in disbelief and I said, “Once the healers clear you, would you feast with us in my quarters?  We can show you around the wonders of the citadel on the morrow if you wish.”  She nodded dumbly and we all chuckled.

Later that evening after a grand feast with lots of mead; thank the Tree of Ages; father, Arina, and Thea were in deep and boring conversations about science and philosophy.  I stole away with the woman who holds my heart and brought her to our bed to show her just what she means to me.

Part of my mind wondering how long of a reprieve we had until the Elivgar was either repaired or limped out of the system at sub-light speeds. And just why, in the last moments, did Rhea have her Titans lower their weapons?