Narvik was tired and his head hurt. Eirik had not lied when he said that he would have to learn. There were so many things he had to learn about. Artificial lighting, electricity, metallurgy, crop rotation, PH levels in the dirt, what crops were the best for the soil depending on what you cultivated on the field the previous harvest, the social contract, and basic laws to function in their society. Moving paintings, movies they had called them, paintings with an unnatural accuracy and detail, pictures, he remembered they were called.

Names for all the new things, understanding of basic tools and behavior, clothes, OH STARS the clothes! Never had he worn such soft yet well-fitting clothes.

When he had been presented with the woodworking tools that were commonly used he nearly had a stroke of ecstasy. The things he would be able to do with wood, with access to these tools!! He had nearly cried when Jeanette had moved on to a different subject but understood the need.

Now, he was sitting on his bed with his legs folded up under him. That had been another surprise. As nice as the cot in the prison had been, this bed had a mattress unlike any he had seen. When he had inquired, he had been told it was springs, another new thing. He still had a hard time wrapping his head around all the new concepts, especially the different kinds of metal, but he was still learning fast, faster than anyone had thought possible.

Sitting here, in the bed, contemplating what he had learned, he already had a much deeper understanding of Eirik's warning and he wondered if he should not have spent more time thinking about his choice before making it. He was happy with the situation, but with every new concept he learned, he also saw the crack in the earth that was slowly becoming a chasm between life as he knew it back home, and life as it looked to unfold in the future.

Eirik had been right when he said that Narvik would feel unsatisfied with his old life if he chose to integrate with the rest of galactic society. Just knowing about the specialty tools you could use for woodworking would have made him feel clumsy and inadequate back home, despite being a woodworker of great renown. He was beginning to see his old life as primitive, uninformed, and boring.

He would have to talk to Eirik about this. But when? He seemed plenty busy with running the ship. Just then, a knock at the door informed Narvik of guests. He went to open the door and saw Eirik standing outside.

"Come in, Eirik. Can I get you anything?" Narvik said as he moved to the side of the door, being advanced was all well and good, but his mother had still raised him right!

"Thank you, and no thanks, Narvik. I came to see how you were doing. Are you settling in?? Are the lessons manageable or do they make you fall asleep?" Eirik asked with a slight smile on his face as he walked inside and took a seat in the chair. Narvik settled down on the bed again in the meantime.

"Yes, thank you for asking. I am settling in just fine and the lessons are wonderful. I am learning so much!" Narvik answered excitedly.

"That's good. I was worried you might be bored or have a hard time with the transition from cell to room. And then it dawned on me that we should also add some astronomy to your studies. It might help locate your planet." Eirik said in a relaxed tone.

The mention of his home brought up the thoughts that had just occupied his mind and Narvik took a deep breath before he said. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that Eirik. The more I learn, the more I understand the true meaning of your warning. And I am having doubts."

Eirik buried his head in his hands and sighed. "I have been thinking about it as well, Narvik. I stand by the choice of leaving the decision to you. But I have been thinking about when we find your home. Odds are, Dalle has already influenced your people in more ways than we can control and fix. So, I have decided to create galactic history and break the most sacred of all laws between the races. I will make it my Empire's solemn responsibility to uplift your people in a proper way. ensuring you do not make the mistakes we made, while still learning the same lessons.

It will not happen overnight Narvik. It will take many decades before we can begin to approach the information age of technology. But it will still be thousands of times faster than if you had to do it by trial and error, like the rest of us."

Narvik had to take a moment to process that information. "Why would you do that?" He finally asked.

"To fix a mistake made by another member of my species. The damage is already done. The only thing we can do now is proceed in the way that serves your people best. And that would be by making them informed and knowledgeable. Otherwise, the damage Dalle has done will eventually doom your people. Which, I suspect, is his long-term goal. That way, no one can tell his dirty little secrets."

"He would do that to my people?? ON PURPOSE?" The horror was painted across Narvik's face as Eirik spoke. "What could make a being get that kind of idea?"

"Narvik" Eirik said. "Dalle is not a good person. Neither am I, to be honest, but I do not sacrifice an entire people just to cover my own mistakes."

"You speak as if you knew him more intimately than you let on," Narvik said, still shocked and trying to circle the subject so he could gather himself.

"We used to fight side by side," Eirik said stiffly. "It is not something I like discussing."

"Speaking of fighting. I would like to see the weapons you use if you will allow it." Narvik replied.

"Swing by the hangar bay in 20 hours and you will see me and 8 others dressed for battle. Not that we expect to go into a fight!" Eirik added at the look of horror that once again crept unto Narvik's face.

"Then why dress for battle?" Narvik said puzzled.

"To discourage fighting." When he saw the horror change to confusion, Eirik continued, "You will see if you swing by the hangar tomorrow." Eirik got up and moved to the door.

"If you feel like talking, ask Jeanette to teach you how to send me a message," Eirik said over his shoulder as he left the room.

____________________________

Jesper was down in the armory, cleaning and preparing the guns. He enjoyed the quiet of the armory, the meticulous cleaning of the guns, and the precise order with which everything fits together. A place for everything, everything in its place. So it was with no small amount of irritation he heard the door open.

Jesper grabbed the knife he had been sharpening a few minutes earlier and sat still, waiting. Then he heard whispers. one voice was one of the soldiers from his team, the other a feminine voice he had a hard time placing. Then it hit him. He jumped around the wall blocking the view of the door and called out "BUSTED!!"

Tina and the soldier shot away from each other with the same eagerness with which they had been attempting to undress each other moments earlier.

"Well, well, well. Finally caught you. I knew someone was coming in here and doing... something. since everything was always moved around after I put it in its place." Jesper smiled an unnerving smile at the soldier who just stood there, head hanging low. He knew the punishment would be severe.

Tina, on the other hand, started rambling, "This is not what it looks like.. This is the first time we went here! I really don't see why it is any-"

She stopped talking as soon as Jesper took a single step forward and sprinted out the door, leaving the poor soldier alone to face Jesper.

Jesper looked at him for a long moment, watching the beads of sweat roll down the soldier's forehead. "Good, he is fearful. As he should be!" Jesper thought to himself. He walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a small brush. Turning to the soldier, he held it out for the man to take.

"Every deck, every room, every surface, every. Fucking. Centimeter!" He sneered at the soldier who started trudging towards the back of the ship to have a place to start. He knew better than to try and argue with Jesper.