After dismissing Bjørn and Calling David on the ship to get the weapons and armor ready, Eirik filled out the requisition forms his brother demanded if he were to replace the gear that was about to leave Eirik's ship.
As he was filling out the papers he complained to Lasse. "I can't believe, out of all the personality traits you could pick up from granddad, you got his love of paperwork and bureaucracy. BY TOR'S BEARD, I'M YOUR BROTHER!! Why do you subject me to this torture?"
Lasse laughed heartily as he answered, "Mostly because I know exactly how much it annoys you, and seeing you suffer is too much fun to pass up the opportunity! Besides, you have no idea how much of that stuff can be deducted on the tax returns on account of the war."
"Well, I'm happy that my suffering is cause for amusement and profit for you, my dearest brother" Eirik said sarcastically as he continued to fill out the forms. When he finally finished and handed them over, Lasse started squinting at the pages.
"Eirik, what is this?" He asked.
"It is the filled-out papers. I just wrote small enough that you have to use a magnifying glass to confirm everything written. Have fun verifying the papers!" It was now Eirik's turn to laugh and he did not hold back. His enjoyment was further enhanced at the look of disgust on his brother's face as he demonstratively opened a drawer and placed the papes inside of it before meticulously locking it and staring Eirik dead in the eyes.
Eirik was getting up from the floor 2 minutes later when they heard raised voices outside the office followed by surprised yelling and thuds. A moment later the door flew open and Trasti scampered into the room with a piece of paper in his mouth, all 4 limbs busy with moving him across the floor as fast as possible, wriggling out of the grabbing hands of the 2 guards who had followed him in.
Eirik only had enough time to register Trasti beginning to climb up his back and the sight of the 2 guards flying straight at him before the world became a whirling tumble of spinning walls, flailing limbs, and a myriad of cursing. As Eirik untangled himself he heard Lasse dismiss the 2 guards. When he finally stood upright again, he looked down at saw Trasti on the ground, still with the piece of paper in his mouth.
"What do you have there, Trasti? It must be important for you to cause such a ruckus." He said as he reached down and picked the paper from the Kloxna. Reading it over his face changed from one of mild entertainment to pure excitement.
"When did this arrive?" He pressed Trasti.
"Less than 10 minutes ago, Captain. I came here as soon as I could, once we received the message." Trasti, now standing upright, answered.
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"Good man, keep up. See you later Brother, I got a job to do! Or rather, my new commando group has a job to do!" Eirik said as he quickly started walking out of the office.
______________
Shortly after, Eirik and Trasti arrived back at Eirik's ship in time to see the last of the 100-man group shuffle their way on board. Most of them were looking around with disinterested eyes, but a few among them seemed more in awe than anything else. "Of course, the young bucks look like deer caught in the headlights," Eirik thought to himself "Did I ever look so green and naive?"
Heading straight for the amory, Eirik kept an eye out for Bjørn, the giant man being hard to miss, and he located him near the front, having a slightly heated discussion with Jesper and Signe.
"Captain!" Signe said as soon as she laid her eyes on him. "We do not have any siege armor that fits this soldier! We cannot outfit him according to your wishes!"
Eirik hurried over and saw the problem immediately. Bjørn was about the same size as a regular man wearing siege armor. They would have to have one custom built for him and it would elevate him to around 9 feet in height once equipped. He was going to be an indomitable force on the battlefield, especially with his killing potential augmented by the 99 other men assigned under him.
"He is going to have to do without, I am afraid. At least for the moment. We got a job offer and I want to see the new guys in action. Quite a large payday as well."
"Large payday?" Bjørn rumbled from the side.
"Yes, Bjørn, a very large payday. Divided amongst the group and minus the 30% to admin you should still see enough credits that 6 months with station security would not earn you the same. And I estimate the job to take no longer than 3 weeks at the most." Eirik explained.
Bjørn pondered this for a moment. Then, with a serious face, he spoke "So. The work we do here is high-risk, high-reward. I suppose the chances of death are quite high for the unprepared. Now I finally understand the training we went through."
"You have barely begun training if my gut instinct is correct. Since there has not been enough time to finish specialized training, You will be assisted by me and my crew during this assignment. But in the future, do not expect help unless requested and granted, or, it being present from the start."
"Roger that, Captain," Bjørn responded. "What is the assignment?"
"Colony defense and pirate hunting," Eirik told him with a smile. "But not just any pirates. Apparently, several groups of them, united under a single leader, and they now command hundreds of troops and several ships. This reminds me, that for every ship you reclaim from the pirates in operational condition, I will waive 5% of the admin commission for this assignment.
As the enemy has 6 ships under their control, you and your men's skill will determine the size of your bonus. You will be given access to my ship's facilities and be given options if you are unable to formulate a battle plan, but that will severely disappoint me. Any questions?"
"Only 1, Captain," Bjørn said. "What weapon am I using?"
Eirik's smile grew wider. "SIGNE!" he called out. "SHOW THIS MAN HIS WEAPON!"
Bjørn heard grunting behind him and turned around. "I haven't seen one of those in real life before," He said reverently as he reached out a hand and took the massive gun from Signe. Hefting the minigun with a steady 2-handed grip, he smiled, a large, toothy, unnerving smile.
"Now, where can I find the idiots whose death will get me paid?" He said with the same unnerving smile on his face.