Colonel Benny was sitting at his desk going over the latest readiness reports. The armed forces of Terra were reaching a point of readiness where major offensives could be undertaken. But despite this, he was hesitant to give the order. While Terran soldiers had a definitive advantage on the ground, Kloxna ship superiority presented a significant challenge to any offensive undertaken. Once they had soldiers on the ground the battle would be as good as won. But to actually get said soldiers down on the ground they had to win the orbital battle.

Rubbing his forehead to get rid of some of the stress, his thoughts were interrupted by a soldier entering his office and saluting.

"At ease, soldier," He said, "What do you have for me?"

The soldier fell into a relaxed posture and handed a sizeable stack of folders to the colonel. "Spy reports on the Kloxna ships' capability compared to our own" the soldier said, saluted once more, and turned on his heels to walk out.

Skimming the contents of the folders, Colonel Benny felt his mood sour even more. This was grim reading indeed. more firepower, better shields, more powerful shield generators, a larger contingent of combat-ready soldiers on board, and worst of all, they traveled in larger groups than expected. The only advantage They had over the Kloxna was the much more powerful Terran engines. Terran ships could outrun every other race in the galaxy with ease.

That meant he would have to plan strategies based on the old war doctrine invented for the 2nd world war of Terra. Blitzkrieg.

"I wonder how the Kloxna will react to attack forces approaching with speeds bordering on suicidal." He mused to himself and immediately his thoughts turned to Eirik and the rest of his family. He had not forgotten Eirik's tirade against him when the boy had refused to join the armed forces. Having his accomplishments as a colonel turned to weapons against him had caught him off guard and the truth of the words had slammed into him with the force of a sledgehammer.

Then, when Eirik had not only found his missing brothers but also managed to rescue them, he had felt he was becoming old and useless. How was it that his morals were better aligned now, as an old man than when he was younger? During the time Eirik had still been the leader of his commando squad, nothing had been off-limits or against his morals. but now?

"Why didn't I use Infiltrators to find them?" He asked the empty room. He had the resources available and the Terran military had Infiltrators on permanent payroll.

"you know why" came an accusatory voice in his head. "It is as Eirik said. You wanted to add to your legacy back then and even now, you seek ways to do it. That's why you only used your own people to search for your grandsons."

Shaking his head to get the voice to stop the colonel got up from his chair and locked the folders in his desk. He needed rest. Hearing voices was not a good sign for your mental health.

_______________________________________

Eirik, Las'Tai, and Trasti were carrying a few large branches with them. Eirik had insisted they stocked up on the ash tree wood, just like they had done with the iron ore. When they came back to the cabin and deposited them in the woodworking shed, Eirik noticed his brothers and parents sitting in a closed circle, talking rapidly with someone he could not see.

Walking over to them, he asked "Is something wrong?"

They made room for him and he saw David sitting in the middle of the group, holding a datapad. When he saw Eirik he paled, becoming the same shade of white as a corpse. "Eirik...." He said and handed the datapad to him.

Eirik took it and looked at the screen for a moment before his blood ran cold and he started running to the shuttle as fast as he could, dropping the datapad.

The image of the statue of Odin in his little temple on board the ship, cut in two and painted with a myriad of colors was visible on the datapad he had dropped.

_________________

Eirik had barely made it out of his shuttle before he started yelling. "EVERY SINGLE CREW MEMBER ON THIS SHIP WILL GATHER IN THE STORAGE BAY AT ONCE! ANYONE FAILING TO SHOW UP WILL BE THROWN OUT OF THE AIRLOCK DURING FTL!!"

As the message spread like wildfire he made his way through the ship to his temple room, forcefully shoving people out of the way as he ran. Once he reached the temple room, he froze. The statue was not the only thing damaged. The entire room looked like a whole group of drunk teenagers had wreaked havoc inside with spray cans and various tools of destruction.

He tenderly picked up the broken statuette and wrapped it in the torn cloth on the table. with his bundle in hand, he started stomping towards the storage bay. The corridors were empty and not a sound could be heard besides Eirik's steps. As he entered the storage bay, he saw his entire crew gathered and looking confused.

Before he could say anything, he heard a voice he had come to dislike quite a bit. "What is this about, Captain?? Even if we are just lowly crew, we still have things to do." Jimmie drawled as he leaned against a wall.

Eirik threw the bundle on the floor and the statuette pieces rolled out of the cloth. He could see and hear the shock of his crew as they realized what they were looking at.

A moment of silence passed before he heard Jimmie speak again. "What is that supposed to be?? Some kind of child's attempt at sculpturing?" He guffawed, a couple of the soldiers joining in.

Eirik walked up to Jimmie and didn't stop before his nose was less than a centimeter from Jimmie's. "You know fucking well what that is, Jimmie!"

Jimmie tried to get his laughter under control as he responded, "I know it's your statue of Odin, but so what? Everyone knows it's just folk tales, and the fact that you believe in it, Captain, is somewhat of a joke to the crew": Jimmie started guffawing again, but was stopped abruptly as Eirik threw a punch.

Jimmie never saw the fist coming, but the rest of the crew heard his nose bone crack and saw him spit 3 teeth out on the floor.

"DO YOU THINK OF THAT AS A JOKE AS WELL, YOU PUTRID FUCKING CUNT?" Eirik roared as he kicked Jimmie in the ribs, causing the young man to roll sideways, gasping for air while blood slowly flowed out of his mouth.

"IF YOU EVER DISRESPECT MINE OR ANYONE ELSE'S FAITH ON THIS SHIP AGAIN I WILL CARVE A BLOOD EAGLE ON YOUR BACK!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, YOU REPULSIVE COCKROACH FUCKER?" When he didn't answer, Eirik reached down and grabbed his shirt collar with his left hand and pulled him halfway up, before knocking him down to the floor again with his right hand.

"FUCKING ANSWER ME WHEN I ASK YOU A QUESTION, MAGGOT!!" Eirik lifted his right hand again, and Jimmie, somehow still conscious, managed to make a few sounds that could be taken as confirmation. Turning to the rest of the crew, Eirik continued, "IN 24 HOURS I WANT AN ANSWER AS TO WHO DID THIS UNHOLY SHIT TO MY TEMPLE OR I SWEAR BY ALL THE GODS THAT YOU WILL ALL REGRET THE DAY YOU SIGNED UP ON MY SHIP!"

Without another word, Eirik turned around and strode out of the storage bay. Just before he left the room, he turned back around and looked at Knud. "Take care of the idiot, he is bleeding on my ship!"

He walked back to his temple room and started the cleanup process. A few minutes later, he was joined by Jeanette. "Eirik, don't you think you went too far?" She said without prompting.

Eirik stood up from the paint he was scrubbing off the floor and looked her dead in the eyes. "You condone his words?" He asked.

"NO!" Jeanette replied fervently. "But you went too far Eirik. I know you dislike Jimmie, but did he really deserve that?"

"He did" Eirik maintained. "He mocked, not only me but my faith as well. He dared to call me a joke in front of the crew. He should consider himself lucky I didn't slit his throat right there. For fuck's sake, Jeanette, look around in here. This was not done to destroy, this was done specifically to hurt me. The fact that he mocked me so willingly only makes him a prime suspect in my eyes. And if I find out it was him that did this..."

The unspoken threat hang in the air, but Jeanette knew Eirik well enough to know he would gladly disembowel Jimmie on public display if it was him. She only sighed and got to work helping Eirik clean up.

______________________________

Las'Tai and Trasti were relaxing in the sauna after the storage bay incident.

"I have never seen him so angry before," Las'Tai said as she stretched out on the top bench. "He must really believe."

"I know," Trasti responded, "That was more frightening than a pissed of high caste back home. He is usually fairly calm, even when bad things happen, but he seemed completely unhinged back there. I would hate to be on the receiving end of that kind of anger."

Las'Tai was silent for a moment, "The worst part is that the anger he displayed back there is not the most dangerous kind of anger in Terrans." She finally said.

"What do you mean?" Trasti had a hard time believing that.

"According to the other InSec* members, the most dangerous anger in Terrans is the silent anger. Where they get so furious, so absolutely filled with rage, that they go emotionally numb. They become cold and clinical in their approach to exacting revenge. Apparently, when they are that kind of angry, they retain all the analytical skills of a calm Terran, with all the malicious intent of a furious Terran." She explained herself, hoping she got the message across.

Now it was Trasti's time to be silent. "I hope they find out who did it. I do not want to imagine the kind of punishment he will administer if no answer is found."

_____________________________________

When Jimmie woke up again in the sickbay, Eirik was looming over him.

"Good, you are awake. Don't say anything Jimmie, or I might finish the job. Just listen. If you ever disrespect me like that in front of the crew again, I am going to cut off your dick and force it down your throat until you choke to death. If I find out you were the one responsible for the vandalism of the most sacred room on this ship, then may the gods have mercy on you. Because I sure as fuck will not.

Finally, once Knud is done with you, I expect you back at post immediately. You have double shifts for the next 3 months. Latrine duty on weekends and all shore leave for you is canceled for the duration of your double shifts. If you do not agree with this, simply shake your head and I will drop you off at the first inhabited planet we pass"

Jimmie did not shake his head, he only stared at Eirik with unbridled hatred.

"You better change that attitude, Jimmie. I will not suffer insubordination. Not in action, not in thought, and not even in mood. If you are not happy, you will simply be. If you are angry, you will hide it. Fail at either of these tasks and another month will be added to your punishment."

Jimmie slowly lifted a hand and flipped Eirik off.

"4 months it is then. I hope it was worth the extra month." With that, Eirik turned around and moved to leave the sickbay.