"I GOT IT" Matthias exclaimed with excitement. He immediately sent the planetary coordinates of a crashed ship to his brothers and set a course directly toward it. The wreck had shown up on the scanners less than a minute ago and the brothers wasted no time in approaching. When they arrived, they saw that it was not Eirik's ship, and instead of a slow and safe landing, they simply hovered above the area while the 4 brothers left their ships with orders to their crew to follow them in the sky.

They split up and started looking around for any tracks that could tell them where Dalle went and it only took them a short moment to find the 2 sets of footprints disappearing into the distance and they picked up the chase without hesitation.

It didn't take them long to reach the point where Dalle had rested and eaten grass, evident by the patches left by his endeavors. Peter started looking around, studying the different prints left behind. "He rested here. Most likely consumed the missing grass." He said as he traced his fingers over the deeper marks in the ground. "He got startled, see, he dropped a handful of the grass and started running. Stupid thing to do in such a thin atmosphere."

"Someone approached from this direction," Matthias chimed in. "steps are slightly further apart than a normal walk. This has to be Eirik's trail, he is smart enough to realize the danger of exhausting yourself on this planet."

"Mark the direction he came from and let's continue!" Mads said. "I would like to help Eirik kill that man, rather than arrive and find him mocking a corpse."

__________________________________________

Dalle was hurting. His arm had gotten worse, he was down by half his water rations and the short break had only served to increase his fatigue. His stomach had started rumbling again, the grass not lasting very long, especially not when doing something as physically taxing as running in a barely breathable atmosphere while being injured and starving.

He still had 2 doses of morphine left, but he wanted to save at least 1 in case he could not shake off Eirik's pursuit and would have to try and fight him, something he would like to avoid while he had a pulverized arm bone. Risking a glance behind him, he didn't see Eirik and decided to change his heading. Hopefully, it would throw the idiot off of his trail. If he could just get a few hours of peace, he might be able to formulate a plan that would see him through this mess.

But he needed supplies. Even something as simple as a wooden branch would be useful right now if nothing else than to make a splint for his arm and maybe find something edible. The hills had grown closer as he continued fleeing and he could now see sparse vegetation growing. That was good, it meant he could make a fire once he found a place to hide out.

He slowed down soon after, barely moving at a slow jog. He was tired and out of breath, but he kept going, desperation and fear driving him ever onwards.

_______________________________________

"Guys, have you found anything?" David asked after his call was accepted by the 4 brothers.

"Tracks. Following them now. Will keep you updated!" Mads said gruffly before ending the call abruptly

With a heavy sigh, David looked around the bridge before speaking up again. " Do we go down there to help?"

"No! Eirik would never forgive us if we interrupted this, or killed Dalle before he could get him. Better to stay here and be ready to move it if and when it is needed." Knud stated.

"But what if he loses?" Signe asked.

"Then he will die a happy man," Jeanette answered. "You know Eirik, his faith is as strong as anyone we have ever met. He would not have gone if he did not think it necessary. If we intervene now, he will turn all that focused anger on us, instead of on Dalle. Besides, someone needs to stay in orbit in case Dalle is reinforced since Eirik's brothers went into the atmosphere to help Eirik hunt."

This made the rest of the command staff murmur in agreement and they returned to monitoring the situation as best they could.

_________________________

Eirik almost missed the direction change in the trail he was following, caught up in his own thoughts. When the trail disappeared in front of him, however, he backtracked and quickly found the change of direction. He was a bit mystified, as the change in direction would take him to the far edge of the hills in the distance, instead of straight to them, but he figured Dalle was hoping for a moment of respite to gather himself and maybe try to formulate a plan to take down Eirik.

"Fat chance you uninspired coward! I'm coming for you!" He thought as he increased his pace slightly. He noted the footsteps in the soil had become deeper, indicating exhaustion. "Getting tired?? What a happy coincidence!" If this kept up, he would catch Dalle before they reached the hills!

__________________________

It had been more than 5 hours since he started fleeing and Dalle was on the verge of collapse. Despite knowing better, he had not paced himself, trying desperately to put more distance between himself and Eirik. But his fast pace had forced several more pauses, with Eirik showing up on the horizon every time his exhaustion had started fading and he was forced back on the run before he was even partially rested.

But now the hills were within a few kilometers, their size having grown to that of small mountains of grass-covered dirt. But as he got near the first slope, he stopped, Further ahead stood 4 men he knew very well. They were huffing and heaving, their faces red from exhaustion and their legs shaking ever so slightly. Mads. Jonas. Matthias. And Peter. But to Dalle's surprise, they were not wielding rifles or knives. They stood there, unarmed and silent. Waiting.

"IT'S OVER DALLE! JUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE!" Peter called out and took a step forward.

"NEVER!" Dalle called back and turned around to find a different route of escape, but as he did, the silhouette of Eirik became visible against the horizon and Dalle started panicking. This could not be how it ended! Dying on some nameless shithole of a planet, at the hands of his mortal enemy. He whirled around, planning to run to one of the sides, but Eirik's brothers were spreading out in anticipation of that exact thing happening.

He was boxed in with no chance of escape.

______________________________

Eirik saw Dalle whirl around on the spot several times and couldn't make sense of it. What on Terra could make the man act so irrationally? It didn't take long before he got the answer, as he saw his brothers closing in on him. Eirik decided he needed to hurry so his brothers wouldn't begin without him.

It took almost 15 minutes for him to reach them, his brothers keeping Dalle contained while they waited.

"You finally did it, Eirik! You caught me and it only took you 10 years! If we are lucky, you will manage to kill me within the next 3!" Dalle spat with contempt as Eirik got within earshot.

Eirik said nothing as he approached. He wanted the words to be right before he spoke. When he finally stopped a few meters from Dalle, he noticed him cradling the arm. "It would seem your landing was not as smooth as mine, Dalle. I told you, lesser pilots would never manage what I did!" Eirik was enjoying this moment. 10 years of frustration and grief, coming to an end. He was going to savor every moment, every word, every agonized expression on Dalle's face.

"I have been dreaming of this moment for 10 years! And now that it is here, I find that death would be too easy and too good for you. You are not worthy to die by our hands!" Eirik said slowly.

"Eirik, you cannot be serious!" Matthias said angrily, "This waste of life betrayed us and is the sole reason we were kept imprisoned for as long as we were!"

"I know this as well as you do, brother!" Eirik defended himself. "But if we kill him straight up, there is a chance he might go to Valhalla. Do you want to spend the afterlife looking at this worm?"

This gave the brothers pause for a moment before Jonas asked, "I supposed you have a different idea then?"

'"Yes!" Eirik said with an evil grin. "We break his arms, hand, fingers, and legs, and leave him here to die, without honor and with no hope of rescue. Let him die an unworthy death. Let Hel take him!"

Eirik's brothers nodded slowly at this. That was a punishment they could accept.

"Eirik, not even you can be so cruel! At least grant me a warrior's death!" Dalle pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears and before he could continue his pleas, there was a mind-shattering pain in his right knee followed immediately by the sound of breaking bone and he started screaming in pain as he fell over.

"Good kick. Are those steel-toed?" Mads asked of Peter who was straightening up after having shattered Dalle's right knee with a well-placed kick.

"They are. You want a pair?" Peter replied as his brothers closed in on Dalle that was busy screaming on the ground. They started kicking, stomping, and punching to the best of their abilities and pain-filled cries quickly turned to fear and horror as they got to work. His knees, shins, fingers, hands, forearms, shoulders, and ribs were all broken once the beating stopped and Dalle was reduced to a crying, whimpering mess of deformed limbs.

Eirik, Peter, Mads, Matthias, and Jonas took a step back as they caught their breath and looked down at the former husk of a man, laying on the ground. "Strip him of weapons! I don't want to take any chances with our afterlife!" Eirik said and they rummaged through his belongings, uncaring of the pain they put him in with their rough treatment. "Let's go," he said when they were finished removing all the weapons from Dalle.

As they walked away, a hoarse and croaking voice called out, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME EIRIK! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE ME TO DIE LIKE THIS! NO MATTER WHAT I DID, NOBODY DESERVES THIS KIND OF DEATH! BE A MAN OF HONOR AND END THIS, ONCE AND FOR ALL!" Dalle's words made Eirik turn around and walk back to him. Once there, he kneeled in front of Dalle. "Don't EVER speak of honor to me, you sorry excuse for a man! You have none, and I will not waste mine on you! However,"

Eirik sat down next to Dalle who was still whimpering in pain. "Just for that request, I will sit by your side and watch you die, slowly. My smiling face will be the very last thing you see in this life. And when you are dead, I am going to piss on your corpse and dance around it, before I leave to go home and rule the empire you failed to take from me!"

Eirik..." Peter said, but Eirik just lifted a hand, cutting him off. "Unless you plan to sit here with me, I don't want to hear it!" Eirik said, eyes locked on Dalle. "I want to memorize every detail of his death," Eirik said softly to take the sting out of his words.

Dalle had started crying at this, but Eirik simply shook his head. "You talk about honor and granting you a warrior's death, but you cannot face this without weeping like a child? I was right to deny you Valhalla."

"Eirik," Jonas said as the brothers gathered around Eirik. "We cannot take part in this, but we respect your choice. Just don't ask us to stay. We have seen enough misery!"

"I understand. I would be happy if you went to the space station, as that is my next destination. And could you inform my crew where I am at? For now, leave me to revenge." Eirik replied.

As the ships of the brothers descended to pick them up, They saw Eirik making himself comfortable in front of Dalle, who continued to plead for the quick death that Eirik would never grant him.

"Dalle, save your breath. I am not going to kill you quickly. I want to see what kills you first. Thirst, hunger, or internal bleeding. In any case, you will not escape the fate I have chosen for you. And don't dream of an animal or predator showing up to finish the job. That is why I chose to stay behind. To ensure your death lasted as long as possible!" Eirik told him with no small amount of satisfaction as he settled in for a long wait.

"You can't do this to me Eirik!" Dalle cried out once more, but Eirik simply reached out and patted the top of Dalle's head. "I can, and I will, Dalle. Nothing is going to stop me, least of all your pleas. But please continue, it is like the sweetest music in the universe to me!"