Valhalla Rising

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Chapter 8 - Decker's Plight

*Several days earlier*

Decker's Guardian cut through space like a knife through butter, the fighter's sleek design screaming to be noticed as is slipped past a Universal convoy en-route to planet Pittsburgh. Captain Decker had received encrypted orders from Admiral Garner to head to a marked set of coordinates on planet Pittsburgh. He was given no reasons for it, just that it was classified as top level clearance only.

As he approached the planet, he punched in his ID and landing codes, causing the massive docking rings to open up, confirming he was cleared to land. However he was not headed to any of the habitable bases, but instead towards a set of coordinates which would take him into the polar mountains. He didn't question the orders but was curious why he was being sent out to the middle of nowhere.

Over a mountain peak he could see an armoured transport sitting in a clearing, directly on top of the coordinates he was given. He eased his fighter down slowly, landing close to the transport and powered down its engines. He then opened the canopy and climbed out, scanning the transport for activity, it was quiet.

Decker's hand slowly dropped to his sidearm, not actually touching it, but remaining close by, something seemed wrong here. He reached for a control panel and hit a few keys; opening a small hatch on the underside of the transport... it wasn't locked. As he entered the hatch closed behind him with a loud clunk, apparently locking. It was dark inside the ship, but he could see some individuals standing around a cargo container in the back of the ship. As he approached one of the men looked up.

"Ah Captain Decker, nice of you to join us". The stranger shouted out
"And who might you be?" queried Decker, these men did not look like Navy personnel.
"We are... well that doesn't matter… You'll find out shortly, now please have a seat and please surrender your side arm".

Decker took another look at the men around him, they all were armed, it would appear he had no chance if it came down to a fight. With a sigh he removed his sidearm from its holster and tossed it to the nearest of the men, then moved towards an empty seat and sat down.

"What is the meaning of this?".
"You Captain, have been selected to become one of our operatives, you see we need someone working for us in the project you call Valhalla" .
"You honestly don't think I'd betray the Navy and work for you do you?"
"No of course not... In fact it is not you we need, its your body"
"What?"
The strangers eyes began glowing, and his voice turned deeper
"You will see soon enough, soon enough..."

The men opened the cargo container; inside rested a nomad, waiting to take a host.


Decker or at least the creature claiming to be Decker left the transport and headed towards the fighter. Launching without even looking back or even hesitating. He now knew everything Decker once did, still one important piece of information in particular. The original plan was to simply infiltrate project Valhalla, but now a new opportunity showed itself. Deep in Decker's mind lied a memory, a slight glimpse of an artifact, Decker had seen when he entered a storage room on Juneau. The humans had simply filed this artifact away, not knowing what it was… But it was certainly important. His job now was to steal this artifact and arrange for its return to its rightful owners.




*Advance several days, after Decker stranded the LNX Thunderbay out of Liberty*



Something was wrong, he had meant to set the ThunderBay's powercore to overload, but the ship had survived its jump somehow... Looking back he noticed the problem, he had forgotten... No not forgotten... It was his host… His host somehow manipulated him, saving the ship. This host was stronger then many others... Even now he could feel the host fighting him... It was tiring but he still maintained full control… He would not let the host interfere with anything again.

He sat confidently in the command seat of the Yellowstone. The Navy believed the ThunderBay had been destroyed but... It wasn't... It won't be long before they get a message back to Liberty, exposing him, he had to move quickly. As the Yellowstone docked with Juneau he reviewed his plans… With his clearance level it was easy for him to enter Juneau and retrieve the artifact, but there was no way to get it off the station without setting off some sort of alarm. He headed for the docking port, checking his watch... All was going according to schedule.

Within minutes explosions rocked the station, Decker had placed small charges in several critical power junctions, knocking power out. The humans never suspected one of their own would sabotage the station and as a result, the security was pathetic. Security and repair crews were now rushing about, similar to when you poke a hornet’s nest with a stick. He entered the docking port; its alarms remained quiet due to a power outage... He entered the Yellowstone and ordered her off. The crew members onboard protested, but his authority remained. The Yellowstone moved off slowly, cutting all communications and ignoring the frantic calls from Juneau. As far as the crew believed, they were on a top secret mission, and were running silent.