The following day came and went, the new recruits were interviewed, selected, and brought to the ship along with supplies, weapons, food, and whatever else they would need for long trips until the cargo hold was threatening to burst open the doors. At the end of the day, Eirik and Lasse were sitting in Eirik's room on the ship, sharing a last drink of mead.

"I know I am leaving in quite a hurry, but you know grandpa," Eirik said with a slight smile as he sipped his horn of mead, "He can track down a snow hare in a blizzard when he puts his mind to it. I need to move quickly and think quickly if I am to avoid him until the war pulls his attention away and he needs me on MY terms."

"You know he is going to beat 7 shades of shit out of you when the war is over, right??" Lasse sounded almost happy, the brotherly bond of love, hate, and competition giving him a small sense of joy at the thought.

"Only if he can still outrun me," Eirik laughed, "I am gonna swing by from time to time to resupply. As for the idea about a private army.. If you can gather a roster of at least 75 Terran's. Former soldiers, Mercenaries, Professional guards, people like that. Once you have a list of people like that, in those numbers, we can talk."

"Are we not recruiting aliens Eirik??" Lasse sounded surprised.

"Of course we are, but in the beginning, we need hard hitters. A strike force sufficient enough, bold enough, and crazy enough to pull off some insane missions. This will gain us a reputation. And you know as well as I do brother, that reputation is everything. Especially in the business of death." Eirik was calm as still water as he spoke, and the cold efficiency of the plan was a testimony to his Nordic roots.

"When we hit, we must be so fast and brutal, that whatever enemy we face will speak of us in hushed whispers around the campfire, out of fear for what we will do to them if they go against us. A reputation like that will make it a possibility to secure victory simply by showing up. In time, we could grow to be a significant power amongst the intergalactic governments."

"You cannot be serious brother. That would not be possible. we would be crushed before we grew that large." Lasse was shocked at his little brother's boldness, the sheer scale of the unfolding plan being almost incomprehensible.

"Grandfather wants to use his power to force my hand, I build my power to keep him at bay. No one forces me to do anything!! If you doubt me, get me 75 men and women, train them, equip them and have them ready for my return in 6 months. The war will be fully going by then. Both the Kloxna empire and our Terran Government needs to restart the machinations of war and that takes time.

In that time, grandfather will be using every advantage his position gives him to track me down and draft me. His words tricked me once. Never again! I will be fighting the war on my terms. Freedom comes first. And with my freedom, I shall defend Terra the only way I truly know how. By carving a bloody path of murder and destruction through the Kloxna empire." Eirik looked older and wearier as he finished speaking.

"Then why not join the army?? They could use you, brother." Lasse was pleading now. He wanted to keep the peace in the family. An admirable goal in Eirik's eyes, but not enough.

"Because they would bind my hands with their rules, regulations, laws, and fucking orders. I see an opportunity, I take it. I see that the objective is lost long term, might as well leave now, consolidate my forces for a different target, or plan a counterattack once the enemy's initial paranoia wears off. In the army, the orders from above would dictate my behavior, and I do not agree with that. I fight dirty, just like my Viking ancestors. And every prisoner of war would be sent to Terra as I have no use for them in my campaign of war." Finishing his horn of mead, Eirik stood up and walked his brother out of the ship. Once in the hangar bay, he wrapped his arms around Lasse in a great big hug.

"I love you brother and I will return in 6 months. You have my word."

Lasse returned the hug. "I love you too brother. Be safe, Remember to call mom, and if you get killed, I will personally revive you and beat you up like when we were kids!!" The last words were followed by a smirk which Eirik returned before they both burst into laughter. Eirik went to the bridge after this,

"Where to Captain??" David sounded almost cheerful as Eirik sat down in his chair with a low groan. The pills Knud gave him worked well, but there was still a decent amount of pain from his injuries, and sitting down was a blessing for his tired body.

"We head to the third moon of Luminaeos 7. It's a good place to lay low." Eirik was tired and just wanted to take a nap, but he had work to do.

"Go sleep in your room Eirik, I will take us there. Should take a few days. Get some rest and heal up. That moon might be good to hide on, but that jungle is vicious. You need as much strength as you can recover." David was concerned for his friend. he had heard the groan and noticed the small bags forming under Eirik's eyes. He should still be in the infirmary, but there was no controlling the man. Only reasoning with him.

And he WAS right, he needed to stay on the move. He had made a good choice of hiding for the moment, but they would need to stay on the move, and those trips between planets and moons would be Eirik's only time to rest up.

"You are right David. I need my strength. But I was thinking we hide with the natives for a while, and DON'T question me on this" Eirik said as he got out of his chair again, "I know what I am doing."

"yes Captain", David sounded stiff as he replied. With a silent sigh, Eirik looked at him, "I will explain later David. But it's complicated and I am tired, as you commented on. Just.. Trust me on this, ok?"

"Alright, Eirik. I trust you. Now, go sleep" David was mollified at Eirik's words and sent his friend on his way.

"Yes, mommy." Eirik's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and he had to quickly duck to avoid the coffee mug that sailed out the door of the bridge, with Eirik following after it, cackling like a maniac.

He quickly made his way to his room and lay on the bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow, a small smile on his face as he slept.