The shadows were growing long as Eirik lit a small fire between him and Dalle's broken body. As soon as the fire had gotten a solid hold of the wood, he draped a blanket over Dalle. It wouldn't do for him to freeze to death. That would be a merciful death, the numbness from the cold would make him fall asleep, to never wake again. It would be painless and that was too good for a traitor.

Dalle, for his part, had stopped pleading and just lay there silently, alternating between staring at the sky and Eirik. Occasionally he groaned when the pain became too great, but as time passed and hunger and thirst took their toll on his body, he started growing numb to the worst of the pain.

"Dalle." Eirik broke the silence as he settled back down on the camping chair that had been dropped off along with supplies for a few days. "Why did you do it? Betray us, I mean."

Dalle didn't answer right away, instead moving his gaze from the sky to Eirik. "You didn't deserve to lead the squad. I trained, prepared, bribed, and backstabbed my way into a position where I would be given command of the most elite unit Terra had to offer. Then you show up with your brothers and take away what was rightfully mine! All because you were set up for the position by your grandfather!"

Eirik slowly shook his head. "You became a traitor to Terra and your brothers in arms, over a promotion? Did it not occur to you, that I was planning on expanding the outfit, creating a need for more leaders? And my grandfather might have given me the training and mental tools I needed to take leadership, but I earned the promotion myself. In any case, what's done is done and this will be the end of you, old enemy. And I plan to sit here for as long as it takes."

They both fell into silence, but Dalle soon spoke again, "You know, Eirik, I always thought I would end up the victor of our little feud."

"Strange, I always thought the same. You were a good soldier, Dalle, but never a great one. You were spiteful and easy to anger. Bad traits for a leader. In any case, I won, you lost. Is there anyone you want to leave a message to?" Eirik replied

"No, there is no one to receive it anyway" Dalle answered and groaned again.

"Alright." Eirik didn't know what else to say and the silence fell between the 2 foes.

"I know I fucked up, Eirik. I knew the moment I learned that you had made it away from the ambush. And once I learned that those damned oversized badgers did not kill your brothers, but settled for taking them prisoner I cursed them. Without your brothers, you would have been crippled, as seen by your years of roaming around without aim or purpose. Tell me, Eirik. What gave you back purpose in life?" Dalle wheezed out the words through groans and coughing, staring directly into Eirik's soul, the way only a dying man can do it.

"I found out my brothers lived. But you will never believe me if I told you who informed me." Eirik answered and Dalle just looked at him expectantly, waiting for the continuation. Eirik sighed. "It was on the 10-year mark of what I assumed was the death of my brothers. I was drunk, drunker than ever before. I passed out and, for some reason, found myself in Asgaard. The gods told me about my brother's being alive, Dalle. Believe me, or not, I don't care. Just remember, that lying to a dead man is the same as lying to yourself, so ask yourself, why I would lie about this."

Dalle started to laugh but it quickly turned to a coughing fit that had him whimpering in pain. "Seriously Eirik? The gods told you? Come on, you don't believe that, do you?"

"I have told you what happened in my experience. Accept it or not, I truly do not care. Just know that by killing you this way, I deny you Valhalla. Even if you don't believe it, I do, and that is enough for me."

No more words were exchanged between the 2 after that.

It took almost 4 days for Dalle to die and he spent most of them either groaning in pain or staring at the sky. After his death, Eirik burned his body on a large pyre. Even enemies can show respect, even if he was still going to the underworld. He called contacted his ship and requested to be picked up. When he finally walked back onto his ship, the crew sensed that he was a changed man. And perhaps, not for the better. There was a different air around him, something intangible they could not quite place.

He was acting the same as he always did, making small talk and random jokes. But it all lacked the youthful enthusiasm Eirik was known for. It was obvious that whatever happened on the planet below had marked him, but everyone knew that asking questions would not go over well.

Contrary to what everyone expected, Eirik did not go to his room at day's end, instead opting to lock himself in his temple room. He didn't emerge for 2 days, but when he finally did, he had regained some of his earlier "pep".

Several of his command staff made excuses to swing by his room after he had slept, but he didn't speak of what happened, merely stating that it was done and revenge was his. They could ask his brothers if they wanted details.

Making it back to the station didn't take long and as soon as they finished docking procedures and left the ship, Eirik was off again, looking for Freja.