Blue Star Enterprises

Kane's prototype stealth gunship popped into Yggdrasil's Eye, far on the outskirts to ensure they avoided any detection.

Katalynn would like to say the trip had been uneventful, but a few support systems had burned out during the voyage, requiring days of delay to repair. Luckily this happened while they were still with the fleet. She had to grudgingly admit that Kane's insistence on repair and production systems aboard ships was justified. She was also glad he had installed some of those systems on Valkyrie when he did his retrofit.

It was also a good thing that no critical systems had failed. Kane had warned her about tampering with those. If one of those had gone out, she would have been forced to scuttle the ship and return to Asgard aboard Valkyrie to face Isbjorn.

If that had happened, the best she could hope for was a draw where both of them ended up dead.

Vyrik was quiet beside her as he took in the contacts that appeared on the projected tactical display.

"He has even more ships than last time," her long-time tactician declared.

"Are you surprised?" she asked as she adjusted the vessel toward Asgard.

They would need to bleed off speed before descending to the planet, but she didn't want to give Isbjorn's fleet, the orbital defenses, or Isbjorn himself time to react to her arrival so she would have to wait until as late as possible to perform that maneuver. Once she was on the ground, she could order all ships grounded, thus ensuring Isbjorn would not be able to rejoin his fleet.

The stingray remained undetected as it passed Isbjorn's fleet and then the orbital defenses. She waited until the very last moment before flipping the ship and firing off the thruster.

Katalynn pushed the deceleration to nine G, burning off their velocity as quickly as possible. Her vision started to narrow, and at the same time, the icons on the display started turning orange to indicate that ships were attempting to acquire them as a target.

She ignored that as she watched the velocity indicator drop rapidly. A tone sounded as one of the ships in Isbjorn's fleet fired at them. Even then she waited a handful of seconds before flipping the ship toward the planet once more and punching the thrust. An orange line flashed across the display, indicating the near miss.

"Cutting it a little close aren't you?" Vyrik grunted out under the new acceleration.

"Considering how quickly they were able to lock onto us, no. I'll need to cut thrust and flip here again shortly, hold on."

The process repeated three more times as Isbjorn's ships attempted to fire upon them as they neared the outer atmosphere of Asgard.

As soon as they touched the outer edge and started to make an ion trail, something changed in orbit. The firing ceased and she watched through the rear camera as the orbital defenses reoriented, but not on her.

Katalynn smirked. The warning was clear: firing on Asgard would not be allowed. With Kane's help, she had bypassed the biggest hurdle of dealing with Isbjorn, the rest was now up to her.

The Stingray shook violently as Asgard's atmosphere roiled, ready to unleash another storm, but it held off, seemingly in anticipation of what was to come.

A radio demand to state who they were came her way and she responded. There were no further demands after that.

Then they were through the clouds and the glittering dark jewel of Asgard was laid out before them, lit by the occasional flash of lightning in the distance.

Kane's ship seemed to enjoy the thicker atmosphere of Asgard as it glided effortlessly to a landing pad. It was actually more difficult to get it to stop gliding than it had been to land the thing, but she did eventually manage to get it down.

She quickly set the ship into standby mode and climbed out from beneath the craft. As she stepped out from under the winglet, a drop of rain landed on her closed faceplate. Before they reached the doors to the underground, the rain let loose a downpour so intense that Katalynn couldn't recall the last time she had seen a storm of such fury. It felt like Odin was mirroring her own feelings at the moment.

With no surprise, a Loki waited for them at the train.

"Lock down all of the exits to landing pads," she demanded.

"Already done, Lagertha. However, I don't think it is necessary with this storm. The winds are predicted to be far beyond the norm and any shuttle attempting to leave the surface would quickly be blown into the jungle."

"Has Jarl Isbjorn been made aware of my arrival?" she demanded as she stepped aboard the train.

"He knows something entered the atmosphere thanks to his fleet in orbit, but not what that object might have been."

Katalynn quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "You haven't told him? Why?"

The Loki shrugged. "You have already surprised us by arriving at the surface, we see no reason to prevent what is about to happen."

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Katalynn didn't know whether to be annoyed by the man's lackadaisical comment or happy that they were remaining as bystanders for this upcoming altercation.

***

Isbjorn stared out the thick window of the Asgardian seat of power. His seat of power, or it would be once he finally got rid of Katalynn.

He couldn't see much through the rain other than a haze of distant lights below.

He turned away from the scene as there was a knock at the door.

"Enter!" he yelled, annoyed that the Lokis had yet to discover who had entered the atmosphere half an hour ago. Once he was King, he would rid Asgard of the independent entity and replace it with one loyal to him and him alone.

Speaking of, a Loki walked into the room and bowed slightly.

"What news do you have for me?" he demanded of the black-clad man.

"We have determined that Katalynn Char was aboard the unknown ship that entered the atmosphere. She is on her way here now."

"What!"

Isbjorn didn't wait for a response, he hurried to the elevator. The whole point of stationing his entire fleet in orbit was to prevent that insufferable woman from reaching the surface and forcing him into a duel. He saw no point in the practice when all that truly mattered was fleet strength. He knew hers was severely diminished from a few previous altercations, which is why he had reinforced his and brought them all to Asgard. There were also rumors of her heading off to another battle and not coming out of it with many ships remaining. He didn't know the specifics of why her fleet had been savaged, and the Lokis had refused to comment on it. Not that it mattered. He would learn what he needed to after she died aboard her ship.

At least that had been the intention.

"Why wasn't I alerted that her fleet arrived?" he demanded of Loki as the elevator descended. "I left strict orders to be kept apprised of her fleet's movements."

"Her fleet is still two jumps out, Jarl Isbjorn."

That made no sense. Who would leave their fleet behind?

He could figure out the mystery later, he needed to get to his shuttle and get off the planet as quickly as possible. There was still a chance he could force her into fleet combat.

The elevator doors dinged open and he strode purposefully for the tower entrance. The tower doors flicked open and he nearly missed a step at what awaited him below.

The entire square was filled with silent people, all except the combat circle. Inside that stood a single person, one he instantly recognized.

The Lagertha's voice rang out, amplified so all could hear her taunt, her insult. "You want to be King so badly Jarl Isbjorn? Come face me instead of cowering like an STO dog!"

***

Katalynn stood at the far side of the packed dirt circle as she stared at Isbjorn. Word had quickly spread of the upcoming altercation and the entire area was packed with spectators. She even saw one of the few news cameras. They would be recording the event so everyone could see.

It worked in her favor because there was no place Isbjorn could go. The stairs to the tower were the only place unclogged by people. After declaring him a coward, the man would have no option but to fight her or forever be stuck with that label, which would quickly see him constantly under pressure from people of his own world to replace him.

She watched silently as Isbjorn weighed his options. A sneer finally overtook the surprise on his face and he strode down the stairs, pulling his blade free. "I will make you regret those words," he stated.

There was no bell to start the match. As soon as Isbjorn was inside the ring, he launched himself forward with impressive speed.

Katalynn was no slouch in speed though, their weapons met in a clash of metal as they tested each other for weaknesses.

Isbjorn may be a coward, but he wouldn't have been made a Jarl without some skill with a weapon.

They clashed again, a thin cut connecting with Isbjorn's bicep before separating and circling. Katalynn felt a sting on her own arm, but she didn't look away from her opponent.

Isbjorn stumbled, but Katalynn didn't fall for the feint. She deflected the man's lunge, cutting a gash across his ribs before dancing away from his follow-up strike. This time Isbjorn stumbled for real, but she was more than happy to wait.

Then her arm pulsed in agony, making her very nearly drop her weapon. Isbjorn smiled at that, but he was too slow to take advantage of her momentary weakness. Their blades once again locked and the two punched at each other, the man grinning in manic delight.

"If I can't be king, then I will ensure we both die." He pushed back, adjusting his blade so it carved a new gash along her arm.

Katalynn finally realized what the man had done. He had poisoned his blade. She had to end the fight before whatever deadly toxin he had introduced into her system could work its effects.

With renewed vigor, she roared and pressed the skinnier man. At first, he was able to match her fury, but soon her increased strength gave her the edge and she was beating back his attacks with savage glee and very little finess. One of her overhead chops slammed into his blade and he wasn't able to stop it. The weapon curved down and thunked into his shoulder with savage force.

To his credit, Isbjorn attempted to swap his weapon to his good arm, but Katalynn ripped her blade free and with a blinding display of speed, she sliced it through his neck.

Isbjorn gurgled in surprise and fell to the ground. Katalynn collapsed to a knee not long after, she could feel the poison burning through her veins. Had all of this been for naught?

A black-clothed form entered her narrowing vision and a hand reached out with a pill inside it. "You must take this, quickly Lagertha."

Katalynn didn't question what the pill was. She was dead if she didn't take it. She snatched it out of Loki's hand and threw it into her mouth, quickly swallowing it."

Everything after that was lost to the haze of unconsciousness.

When she woke, she wished she hadn't. Her entire body ached and the light of the room seemed to burn at her retinas. When she tried to speak, her voice sounded rough.

"Where am I?"

One of her handmaidens hurried over. "You are in the medical center, Lagertha. The pill that Loki gave you slowed your heartbeat temporarily so the poison would stop pumping through your body as quickly and causing further damage. That gave us time to filter the poison from your blood. There was still damage to your body and organs though, which may or may not heal in time."

Katalynn grunted at the diagnosis. She had won, that was all that mattered. "Sit me up, I can't feel my arms and legs."

The woman did as told. "You should regain feeling in your extremities in a few days. That's a side effect of the pill."

She spotted a silent Loki off to the side and turned her head toward him. "What of Isbjorn's fleet?"

"They fled the system after his death was reported. I don't think they will be returning to their homeworld or any world within Asgardian territory," the man admitted.

"Traitors and deserters," Katalynn tried to growl but it came out as a hoarse cough instead. "Send word to the rest of the Jarls that those ships are to be treated like pirates and killed on sight if it is true that they do not return to their homeworld and declare a new Jarl."

The Loki nodded and then smiled. "I'm glad you were the victor, Lagertha." Then he turned and vanished out the doorway.

Once Loki was gone, she laid her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes to rest and recover. Isbjorn may be gone, but there were other issues she needed to deal with, like the near-complete destruction of her fleet.