"SO TO HEL WITH YOUR OFFER, TO HEL WITH THE TERRAN GOVERNMENT, AND TO HEL WITH YOU!!"

The vidscreen cut off and Benny was left staring at a blank screen, the words stuck in his throat and his anger threatening to boil over. How dare Eirik blame him for what had happened. True, there had been a battalion of troopers on standby for the same mission, but they were missing equipment and supplies. Waiting for that to arrive would have risked detection and his grandsons had been nearby.

What a team they had been. The single best commando squad under his command, trained by him since they could walk. No mission had been impossible to them. No target out of reach, no enemy camp or supply line safe from sabotage. Until that last mission that killed all but Lasse and Eirik. Lasse was on good terms with Benny and Eirik had been, or so he had thought, at least. Whatever happened to Eirik during his last trip into the void, had awoken something inside of him. Something Benny had desperately tried to bury. He had the potential for fanatic faith, a very dangerous thing in anyone's hands.

"How was I to know there was a traitor in your support group, Eirik??? You handpicked the men yourself..." He whispered to the empty room. With a deep sigh, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead. How the hell was he gonna explain this one to Eirik's mom. Better to wait and try to track Eirik down. He could keep him safe, send him on token missions where nothing could happen unless he actively sought death or injury.

"His first stop will be that smuggler station he secured. And I cannot rely on Knud when Eirik decides to go dark." Benny thought to himself as he accessed his computer and started looking over which patrol craft was nearby the station. 30 minutes later he had sent out orders to 3 intelligence field agents posing as smugglers to get to the station and watch for Eirik. When he arrived, they were to send word and stand down, resuming previous orders. He had people in place on the station already to do the rest.

"You want to run from this old bloodhound, you got to run fast boy. Letøs hope your internal security has been upgraded." Benny smiled, pleased with himself for getting a team in place, to tag his grandson's ship in the most likely first stop of his escape.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the smile faded from his face again. He thought about the fight he had witnessed on the video he had received and felt a mixture of pride and worry. His grandson was still as great a fighter as he had ever been, even if he was under the effects of the mushrooms. But the wounds he had received were grievous and would take time to heal. And then there was the betrayal from the Kloxna. The cowardly ambush at what was agreed to be an honor duel to settle the conflict.

The thought of this made his anger rise again. Using one's own cowardice as an excuse to declare war on another species, was something he would simply not tolerate. His mind turned back to the coming war and he got busy with more calls, more planning, more preparation.

________________________________________

Ulla had been on a long haul when the declaration of war between the Kloxna empire and the Terran government had been announced, so she did not find out until 8 days after. At that time it was on every media outlet the known species had. The first thing she did was search the internet for news on this and a video with a screenshot of Eirik squared off against a very large and muscular Kloxna clad in metal armor.

"Eirik, you fool!! What sort of trouble have you been causing?!?!!?" was all she could think as she clicked play on the video. She was mortified at what she witnessed. Never had she seen Eirik like this. so angry, so unhinged, so... hateful. She wanted to look away but was afraid to miss even a second. As Eirik got dragged away, she let out a breath she didn't know she had held in. He was going to be alright. She had been certain he was doomed as he threw himself, unarmed, into the middle of a group of armed enemies. She quickly wrote him a scathing message, chastising him for his reckless behavior and demanding that he contacted her at the first chance he got.

After this, she spent time looking up what was being done for the war and what could be done and decided to volunteer to run supplies to the outer colonies. It was dangerous work, but Ulla and her small crew were all gym junkies with a particular fondness for a good scrap. She didn't worry about those trips. She worried about the isolated colonists.

_______________

Eirik's mother and father had been sitting in their living room, her playing a game of cards and him reading the news when they saw the fight video. They had both watched it in silence and sighed deeply with relief when Eirik was pulled out of the fight. Without a word, they hugged each other tightly, desperate for comfort in their worry for their child.

After a while, they let go and started making calls to the family, to find out if they had also seen it. Between one of these calls, Benny called them.

"Eirik just got off the line with me. The Kloxna is going to declare war. Gather the family on the farm. You know the drill." And as soon as he had said that, he was gone again.

It took a whole 2 days for her son to muster the courage to call her. She knew what was going on. He was ashamed and a little fearful of his actions and her reaction. When the call came and she saw his caller I.D on the screen she almost started crying with relief but held it together for the duration of the call.

Of course, the little brat was being sassy when she worried over his injuries, but he had promised to visit soon. She was looking forward to that. She needed to hold him in her arms, to feel him be safe and alive.

Then she did something she had not done in many many years. She went out to the courtyard and entered the Blót-house*. She looked up at the wooden stele that had been raised inside and started speaking.

"Honored Sif, Goddess of mothers. Protect my youngest son, keep him safe and bring him home to me again. At next Solstice, I shall offer sacrifice in your name."