Eirik stumbled back to his room after a fun night with David. They didn't do this often enough. He was not completely out of his mind, but the alcohol had affected him quite a lot. He was unsteady on his feet and his vision was blurred. When he stumbled into his room, Freja was awake and reading a book.

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Drunk, outside of a party?" She asked.

"David wanted to talk about the old days" Eirik answered, trying his hardest not to slur his speech. Not that it mattered, but it was the principle of the thing.

"Well, I guess that can't hurt. It's not something he does constantly and how can I object to 2 old friends talking about their teenage mistakes?" Freja said, appeased that it was just David and Eirik hanging out together. "I have news, by the way. I would have told you earlier but then we were... Otherwise engaged." She sent him a warm smile as she said that. "So try to clear the worst haze from your head and come over here, love."

"Give me a moment." Eirik went to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face to wake up a bit. He then walked back to Freja and took a seat next to her. "What news do you have?" He asked.

Freja said nothing but handed him a little plastic instrument. Eirik had to squint his eyes to focus on it but when he recognized it, he felt himself going sober in less than a second.

"Is this what I think it is?" He asked excitedly, his entire body shaking with anticipation.

"Yes, love. It is, and it is positive." Freja said with a smile at his almost childish anticipation.

Eirik flew up from the chair and over to the door which he forced open, not wanting to wait for the machinery to do the job and the small engine whined in protest at his manhandling "I AM GOING TO BE A FATHER!!" He roared down the empty corridors, the sound of many doors being opened in response, followed momentarily but Eirik had already ducked back into his room with Freja.

"You have made me a very happy man," Eirik said as he approached Freja and kneeled on the floor next to her so he could lay his head against her stomach. He knew there was nothing to feel yet, but he could almost feel the young life growing inside of her.

"But those are not the only news I bear," Freja said as she stroked his har. Eirik looked up at her with a questioning look. "I have to go back to something more stable than a spaceship during pregnancy. I thought about returning to Lasse's space station. Since I know you will return there when you are done with this business, so it makes the most sense to wait it out there. And don't protest, you know as well as I that I need stability in life if I am to give birth." Freja added the last bit when she saw Eirik's happy expression drop from his face and those familiar worry wrinkles took their usual place on his forehead.

What she didn't know, was that Eirik both understood her reasoning and fully agreed with her. He was worried for different reasons entirely. "How will I control myself now? I hope David is diligent!" He thought to himself as he held Freja tighter.

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David heard Eirik yelling and smiled when the words made sense through the door. Eirik deserved that. Maybe that meant he didn't have to keep as close an eye on Eirik as he had prepared himself to do?

No, the groundwork had already been laid. might as well follow through. He had made a promise to Eirik and he aimed to keep it!

But perhaps, becoming a father would help Eirik calm down a little in life. He had responsibilities now and he was not getting younger either. It was not visible to those that did not know him very well, but he had become slower in combat these last few years. It was only by a small margin and with the amount of technique and experience Eirik had, it was no issue. But it was happening. Age was starting to claim their youth.

Returning his focus to the jigsaw puzzle he was engaged in, he abandoned his thoughts after sending a final congratulatory thought to Eirik.

______________________

Dalle cursed loudly as he tried to connect a call to the forward bose on the Glorpil homeworld, but only got an error message in return. This was the 5th time that had happened. Either the base was dismantled, which he refused to believe. Or the radio was busted. It would not surprise him, as he had bought most of the equipment used. It was not a lack of funds that drove him to skimp on the quality of his equipment. He was simply greedy and stingy by nature.

He was furious that he could not reach the base but accepted that he would just have to wait the few weeks of travel he had left before he arrived. It was of little consequence anyway, he just wanted an update on those intruders to the illegal sector. He knew that 1 ship had entered, possibly 2. His people had reported a ghost ping on the scanners, never far away from the intruder that made no attempt at hiding themselves. They couldn't get a lock on any ship or ships that followed the main one, but they knew the ship was not alone. Whoever was flying the escort ships had to be phenomenal pilots.

He was looking forward to visiting the Glorpil for a change. Sif was in command of the base and he was done waiting. He would have her when he arrived and that would be the end of that. But only until he could take Freja from Eirik. Sif was a very attractive woman by every standard, but Freja was the embodiment of feminine beauty. Eirik didn't deserve a woman like that. The young upstart had always aimed higher than he should.

He still remembered when his hate for Eirik started. The young man had been thrown into a combat group that was a fairly new creation and as such had no definitive leader yet. Dalle had been aiming for that position, carefully positioning himself as the perfect candidate to lead the group. Up until that point, he had not minded Eirik. Sure, he had been arrogant and cocky in the unsubtle and undignified way that many young warriors were. But he had been a good soldier and a promising second-in-command.

Then the day had arrived and he had seen the position he had been working so hard to get, be handed over to a young soldier who could barely be called an adult. From that day onward he had hated the young man with a burning passion. Watching for anything that could be used to undermine his authority and paint Dalle as the possible replacement. But it never happened.

No matter the mission, or how much trouble they got in, Eirik always got them out. Thinking back, they shouldn't have made it back home from at least half of the missions they completed. But they did and he knew he had Eirik to thank for it. This only made him hate Eirik more. He would have made it out on his own. He always did, but Eirik had gotten the rest of them out as well, every time.

This only confirmed to their superiors that Eirik was the right choice for the position and from that point forward, Dalle had worked in secret to kill, not only Eirik but all the soldiers that had stopped supporting Dalle in favor of Eirik. But Eirik's talent for finding a way out of the fire had once again reared its head and he had escaped. And he had managed to track down his brothers and free them as well. But he had also lost an arm. This had made Dalle much more confident in his ability to kill Eirik and was the determining factor in leaving the safety of his hiding spots around the galaxy.

With only 1 arm the man would be vulnerable, no matter what precautions he took. And if Dalle could just take out that bastard, he could start operating openly again. And when that happened, the galaxy would learn to show him the respect he deserved. No longer would he suffer the indignity of people not groveling for his favor. He would be revered and feared.

Every man would envy him, every child would want to emulate him and every woman would desire him! He had worked his entire life to reach a point where it was possible and now was the time for him to get what he deserved!

He fumbled around his pockets for a moment before finding the little snuff box and opening it. The cocaine kept inside had become an increasingly steady habit of his over the last few years, the drug fueling his angry thoughts and increasingly aggressive and combative behavior.

Taking a sniff in each nostril he started pacing the bridge of his ship, mumbling to himself as he did.

__________________________________________

Eirik was beside himself with happiness, fueled by his still intoxicated brain, but he was aware enough to know he had to send a message to summon a ship for Freja. He did not like doing this, but he had no choice. He typed out the message, sent it, and immediately called the bridge afterward. He was in luck as Trasti answered. "Trasti, in about 2 minutes a ship will... manifest... for lack of a better word, into existence not far from us. Do not be alarmed, they are here to support us." Eirik said

"Received. Might I ask who they are, just so I don't get surprised?" Trasti responded, calm and professional as always.

"They are my brothers, Trasti. They have been flying in the ships that gave you ghost pings." Eirik felt a bit of relief telling someone. They wanted revenge on Dalle even more than he did and had warned Eirik that if he did not allow them to follow him, they would do so anyway while broadcasting their presence and intent for the galaxy to hear while doing so. This left Eirik with little choice, so of course, he had agreed. It was just his luck that he could use one of their ships to return Freja to the base for her safety.

He decided to help Freja pack for the trip. This would be their last moment together until he had found and killed Dalle. He was not about to waste them by doing something, somewhere else.