Blue Star Enterprises

Once again Alexander was taken to a new area. When they entered the circular chamber, he saw a Celtic circle inlaid into the black marble floor in gold with the interior of the circle being made from pure white marble. The circle wasn't all that big around, maybe five feet or so, but it was beautifully designed. Outside of the black marble floor was a two-tiered section of white marble, similarly inlaid in gold around the lips of the short raisers.

If he hadn't been brought here to perform a ceremony, he would have instantly been able to tell this place held significance. From what he had seen so far, the Asgardians held little regard for frivolous décor. Because of the harsh environment, they leaned toward a brutalist style of architecture with a focus on practicality. That lifestyle bled into how they designed their living spaces as well, which seemed to have multiple roles, like the area in front of Katalynn's tower. This was the first time he had seen a building or structure designed for a single purpose.

After spending no more than a moment to admire the architecture and design of this room, Alexander's focus shifted to the occupants. Straight across from the only entrance was a riser that stood a step above the others. On that platform stood the Lagertha dressed in a ceremonial outfit of gold white and black. Black makeup surrounded her eyes in a bar across her face. She had similarly black lipstick. On her head was a totem-style headdress made from the black feathers of some bird with small beaded ropes hanging down.

It was a bit of a surprise seeing the no-nonsense woman dressed this way. The outfit and makeup changed her entire appearance, making her look ancient and savage, which was probably the point.

A reminder of their roots perhaps? Alexander wasn't sure.

Char was not alone in the room. Three others were dressed in similar face paint but wore simple linen clothing. He assumed those were her advisors. Twelve additional spots on the raised platforms were taken up by Lokis. The Loki all wore the same usual black attire and had the same emotionless face as they seemed to default to.

That was interesting.

If they were meant as a stand-in for the Jarls, was that number arbitrary or were there twelve Jarls? The Lokis' presence also hinted at a role that went beyond just some simple spymaster as Alexander had first assumed. He wished she had told him more about what to expect but Katalynn had been very vague about the exact details of this ceremony other than he had to show skill with a weapon and recite an oath.

The Loki who had led him here had not said anything either, he had simply left. It wasn't difficult to determine what was expected of him. He walked over to a rack of weapons just outside the main circle and selected the same one he had trained with. He was surprised to find the weight exactly matched the training weapon. That explained why they were so heavy.

Once he had the weapon in hand, he strode into the white circle on the floor.

A deep gong sounded from some hidden speaker and Katalynn spoke up. "The eye of Odin is upon you, envoy. Prove you are worthy of the title of Jarl or renounce your claim."

With no further prompting, Alexander put his all into what he had learned. Unlike his fight with Katalynn or his practice sessions, he held none of his speed back. The blade of the weapon sliced through the air with an audible hum, the wood groaning in protest as Alexander pushed the material beyond what it had ever been meant for.

His recitation of the martial form was so fast that he was finished in under three minutes when it had taken five for the androids to go through it at full speed. It wasn't perfect, he still had issues with the quick jabs and lunging strikes but he hoped his speed made up for that.

When he was complete, he slapped the wooden end of the weapon on the ground with a bang and waited for the pronouncement.

"If anyone feels that Odin would be angered by this display, speak now!" Katalynn stated firmly.

A tense minute went by as nobody spoke until Katalynn broke the silence.

"Your efforts have been witnessed, and Odin has smiled upon you this day. Step forward and give your oath."

Alexander did so, stopping in front of the first step as Katalynn stepped down to meet him.

She spoke some words and he repeated them.

After the simple oath was completed, she held out her hands. "Your weapon."

Alexander handed her the weapon, tipping the blade toward himself like he had seen the androids do when he first approached them before signaling a start to their matches. A small smile flittered across the woman's face for a moment before it was gone. She reached out and took the weapon before smearing a red substance on the blade.

At first, he thought it was blood, but she didn't have any open wounds and it didn't have the same consistency as any blood he had seen.

"The clay of Asgard binds you to our cause, Jarl Kane," she stated, handing him back the weapon. "Keep your blade sharp and your mind clear."

Alexander stared at her in confusion for a moment before she shook the offered weapon, urging him to take it. As soon as he did, the three advisors came down and clapped him on the side or arm in congratulations as the Lokis silently filtered out of the room.

"Now that all this pageantry is over with, we need to discuss a few things, but first I need to clean this mess off. Loki will get the documents you need to complete and take you back to my office. I'll be up there shortly."

"What things?" he asked her retreating form. She either didn't hear him or chose to ignore him. He was going with the latter since the room was now silent since even her advisors had left.
Experience tales with empire

He sighed internally and left the way he came, taking his 'new symbol of office' with him. "They couldn't have gone with a pin instead," he muttered quietly.

"A pin would hardly be a good object to symbolize your responsibility or a good reminder of what's at stake," Loki said, as Alexander exited the room.

Did these people have enhanced hearing or something?

"I guess I can understand that," Alexander stated. "Am I just meant to carry it around everywhere I go from now on?"

The Loki cracked a small smile. "No. Much like this ceremony, the weapon is only symbolic. You do need to take it with you when you leave though."

He grumbled internally but held onto the weapon as they walked. "Since I have you here, can I ask a question?"

"We are the humble servants of the people, ask away."

"Why all the Norse mythology?"

"An interesting question, and quite a long one. I will attempt to condense it for brevity's sake unless you wish to know the entire story of our history?"

"Perhaps another time," Alexander replied.

Loki gave a small nod. "Back when the STO abandoned this section of space, people were frightened. A large percentage of our population fled back to safer worlds, taking all of our best and brightest with them while leaving only the brave or foolish behind. I would like to say that the vast majority of the planet's populace was of Scandinavian origin, but even after people fled, those only made up a small majority of the people. That didn't stop the remaining people from looking for hope wherever it could be found. A small but growing percentage of the population landed on Norse as their lifeline. I think a lot of that had to do with our remaining navy who knew they were likely to die in battle against the Shican and the Norse religion gave them the strength to face the aliens without fear."

"Wasn't the world already named Asgard back then?"

Loki shook his head. "Much like the name for this system, the planet's name didn't come around until years later. You're probably confusing it for the name given to the alliance. We're not quite sure who gave the alliance that name. It is one of those facts lost to history."

"So everyone just believes in Odin?" Alexander knew the question might seem insensitive or heretical depending on their outlook but it was better to know now than accidentally making a huge blunder later down the line.

"There are certainly still true believers even now, but for most, it is simply an unconscious aspect of our culture, something so ingrained in our society that I doubt most even realize they say some of the things they say. In time, even those will fade away as all things do."

"…That's certainly one way to look at things," he muttered.

Once they arrived at the Lagertha's office, Loki excused himself.

Thankfully, he wasn't left to wait long as Katalynn stepped off the elevator only a few minutes later followed by her three advisors.

"You can set that in the rack by the door," she said, nodding toward the weapon he still held. "And let me apologize for ignoring your question back in the ceremonial chamber. The room isn't secure and Asgard has its share of STO as well as corporate spies, despite our best attempts at purging them."

"I thought you didn't do business with them? How would they get spies out here?"

"Not everyone is as forthright and upstanding as they claim to be, Kane. Money is a powerful motivator for some, even out here."

"Ah," he stated. It wasn't a matter of infiltration but of traitors. "Wait, does that mean you use credits as well?"

"No," Katalynn shook her head, "We have a transfer system to convert credits to our local currency called an Odin mark, although, most people just call them Odins or marks. It's a similar digital currency to the STOs. I would like to say our currency value is similar to that of the STO as well, but that would be a lie. We have about a three-to-one conversion ratio at the moment, but I would need to look at the daily value to see exactly what it is. The STO might call us pirates and deny our existence as a political entity, but they are happy to exchange money with us when it is convenient for them. I would prefer if every Jarl switched to marks as that would increase the value of our currency, but that is not one of the stipulations to becoming a Jarl. And I understand, sometimes it's just easier to stick with the higher-valued currency."

Currency and conversion ratios were all interesting topics but Alexander was here for a reason. "You said we had matters to discuss?"

She nodded and gestured for him to sit on a heavy bench across from her desk. Her advisors all sat in chairs to either side.

"How long would it take you to refit a ship?"

"Depends on the ship and what sort of refit you are asking for I guess. Why?"

"This would be for my flagship, Valkyrie, and I want all the weapon systems replaced with lasers."

"I would first need to see the ship to determine if it's even possible without fully tearing it apart. Retrofitting a ship with lasers is not an easy task, assuming the ship even has space for the systems needed to power the weapons."

"Would a ship schematic help?" one of her advisors asked.

Katalynn motioned toward the bearded man. "Kane, this is my Chief Engineer, Elrik Forgevald."

"Do you have it with you?" Alexander asked, eager to see what an Asgardian ship looked like.

"Before I show this to you, this is top secret. You are not to use this knowledge to design or disseminate ships of this class. Are we clear?"

That took a bit of wind out of his sails, but he nodded his avatar. Alexander would prefer to design and build his own ship from scratch anyway. That didn't mean he couldn't learn something from the Asgardian's ships though.

Elrik got up, walked over to a wall, and inserted a data chip into a small slot. The artwork on the fall flickered away and a large ship schematic appeared in its place.

"No holo-projectors?" he asked as he stood to more closely examine the slowly rotating two-dimensional image.

"They are an unnecessary clutter and waste of resources," a second man stated.

"And you are?" Alexander asked.

"Vyrik Thorvund, the Lagertha's tactician."

"Hmm. I wonder if you will feel the same way when you see the tactical overlay on some of my ships." The man looked mildly interested in this, but Alexander tuned him out as he studied the design plan.

He could see whoever had come up with it had extensive knowledge about ship layout, but there were certain areas that could use improvement. Likely because the knowledge they were working off of was well and truly out of date. It reminded him of the Wayward Soul's layout, only slightly larger. Actually, that's exactly what it was. This ship was just a slightly larger version of the same frame as his cruiser. That couldn't be a coincidence. He turned back to Katalynn for confirmation, but the smirk on her face told him she already knew what he would find.

"The ships my people recovered, they were all Asgardian designs?"

"The basic frame and layout were, yes. We will not take credit for the subpar components Arkonis forced into them though. So, what are your thoughts?"

"It would probably take two and a half months to retrofit the ship, but you seem to be forgetting one of my stipulations for providing technology."

"I did not forget. I was hoping now that you are part of the union and the fact that your other concerns were alleviated that you might reconsider." She turned to her tactician. "Vyrik, fill Jarl Kane in on what you told me earlier."

The man nodded. "I do not know how familiar you are with Harlow's fleet, so I will just assume you know nothing. Harlow's flagship is a vessel he refers to as a dreadnaught. We haven't gotten exact details on the scale, but recordings show it to be over two times larger than an STO Cruiser. With that additional tonnage come more weapons and more armor."

"A ridiculous ship for a ridiculous man," Katalynn spat.

Vyrik nodded before continuing. "Despite our feelings on a ship that large, we cannot discount the threat it poses. We can't say for sure without an encounter with the vessel, but I would not put it past the ship taking on Katalynn's entire fleet and winning in a head-to-head fight."

"That has to be a mistake," Alexander stated. "I know you said it had thicker armor, but a single ship taking on an entire fleet seems ludicrous."

"In normal circumstances, you would be correct. We would simply overwhelm its defenses and slowly whittle it down. The problem is Harlows newest weapon. I'll let Elrik explain that."

Elrik grumbled about being put on the spot, but he picked up where Vyrik left off. "Harlow calls them plasma missiles."

"Plasma missiles?" Alexander asked skeptically. The name sounded like something from a cheesy sci-fi movie.

Elrik grunted. "That's what he calls them. The recording of him using the weapons was sold on the black market, and others have been trying to recreate the weapons. We can't be certain, but our scientists seem to think that man is overloading a reactor to produce the effect. How he miniaturized a reactor enough to use it as a warhead for a missile is anyone's guess. If that was all he had done, we could deal with that. Normal missiles are relatively slow, all things considered. Most of their speed is imparted by the ship and the launch system, with the chemical propellant mostly used for evasive maneuvers, which gives our targeting computers time to track them and take them out. Harlow has changed that by strapping a Class 1 thruster to the weapons, making the missiles far faster and giving our computers much less time to counter them with ECM or tracking. Even if we do get a target lock unless the weapons are destroyed before they activate, there is nothing you can do but try to get out of their way."

Vyrik picked up the conversation at this point. "We could offset this by fighting at a longer range, but that just adds to the issue of accuracy. Projectile targeting is normally only accurate out to half a light second. Filling the space and hoping for a lucky shot past that point is wasteful and unlikely to work in most instances. That means we would have to target the plasma missiles, assuming we can trick Harlow into firing them at such a long-range, which I find doubtful. And even if we do manage it and take out all his new weapons, the man is likely to pull back instead of engaging us in a standoff battle. He could also simply armor his new missiles to once again negate our advantage. We need to target both his new weapons and his ships."

"Do you understand the issue?" Katalynn asked.

"No," Alexander replied, not seeing the problem at all. "Wouldn't forcing Harlow to pull back be a good thing?"

"If your goal is to chase him off, maybe, but that doesn't resolve the issue, it only pushes it off until later. If you give your opponent time to plan and react to your first attack, you have lost the momentum of the battle. To win against Harlow, we need an advantage. And the only advantage we have is the range of your lasers. It would still take effort to burn through his defenses, but with the lasers, we could do it accurately enough to force Harlow to respond. We want him to use his new weapons, we want him to exhaust his supply of them. Then we can move in or chase him down as he runs, which he will invariably do when he realizes he lost the advantage. If I could, I would have you outfit every ship in my fleet with the lasers, but we are short on time and I can't swap my entire fleet for yours."