Eirik sat down in the conference room chair once everyone else was seated and comfortable. Since no one else opened the conversation, he took the lead. "Alright, Narvik recognizes one of the moons in the system, so it is safe to assume we are in the right place. But we have to handle this situation very carefully. Dalle is seen as a literal divine messenger here, solely because he is Terran. Our entrance has to be correct, otherwise, we will not be able to claim authority over him in the eyes of the Glorpil people. Throw me some ideas and let's see if we can cook something special up."

"We could use the shuttles with added flares? It would make for a wicked sight!" Signe said immediately.

"Good idea, but Dalle arrived on a shuttle if what Narvik says is true, and I see no reason to distrust him," Eirik responded. "Keep it going."

Several ideas were thrown at Eirik, all good, but all flawed as well.

"Land the entire ship? That is bound to draw some attention." Jesper called out.

"Also good, but too simple. we need something fast and flashy. Something..." Eirik trailed off as he got a weird look on his face.

"Captain?" Jeanette asked hesitantly, her voice seeming to rip Eirik out of whatever thought had occupied his mind.

"We'll use the PESSA suits!" Eirik exclaimed excitedly. "They are insane fast, small enough to not be recognized as a ship, and to a people that have not yet reached basic industry, it will look like heavenly warriors dropping straight out of the sky. It will also have the added effect of making us much larger and more intimidating than Dalle, keeping in line with the bronze age thinking that big people are automatic soldiers and guards. This will lend us credibility as guards coming to take their prophet away from them. What do you think?" Eirik asked the entirety of his command staff the question

The murmuring of agreement could be heard from everyone and they all agreed.

"Great. I want the ship ready to land as soon as I summon you. I will designate a landing area. Can someone find Narvik and send him here when you leave? I need him to plan our landing location to get the best effect."

The command staff started filing out and Eirik started writing down notes as he waited for Narvik. 5 minutes later Narvik entered the conference room, holding a rolled-up map that must have been given to him by David. "You summoned me, captain?" He said in a slightly formal voice.

"Relax Narvik, you are not part of my crew and you do not have to address me so formally. And yes, I called you because I need your help." Eirik said with a dismissive hand wave.

"My help?? What can I help with?? You seem to be doing all the teaching on this ship." Narvik joked. He had very quickly picked up on the Terran humor and used every chance to practice.

"Yes, I need your help. Is there a special day that you get together for worship or to hear messages or for any other reason? And by you, I mean your people as a whole." Eirik explained

"Well, the markets back home are always located near the city centers, lots of Glorpil gather there daily. Once every 10 days, the leader comes out from their reclusive retreats to inform of any changes to the laws. Everyone gathers to hear that. Maybe that is more what you are looking for." Narvik thought out loud.

"The proclamation of law changes. Where does that happen?" Eirik asked. That was a good place to start.

"They go to the city centers and proclaim it out loud. Once a year, messengers travel between all the retreats that house the leaders and at the end, laws for the entire people are changed. We call it the time of Renewal."

"Markets it is then. Is there any time of day that sees larger gatherings?" Eirik pressed.

"Right after the midday meal. When everyone is full, they go to the market for a few hours before returning to work once the food has settled." Narvik was beginning to form a vague understanding of what it was Eirik wanted to know, but the purpose still escaped him.

"And the most important city would be the Trading hub?" Eirik needed details. He wanted as much exposure in as short a time as possible.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Yes, you cannot miss it. It has the largest Harbor we have ever built. Why is all of this important?" Narvik was curious now and he wanted to know. It was his people, after all.

Eirik smirked, "I will inform David to let you watch the helmet cameras live. I think you will find it... Quite amusing." Eirik kept asking questions for a long time before he was finally satisfied. and he sent Narvik off, but Narvik stopped in front of the door.

"Why is all of this important, Eirik? You avoided the question before." He asked.

"Because, Narvik, If I do not approach your people in the correct way, it will be very difficult to assume a higher authority than Dalle or whoever else is down there. And to do that, I need to put on a little show. Presentation is everything. I am certain you have legends amongst your people. In any of those possible legends, is anyone ever mentioned as just walking up to whatever problem was at hand and instantly being respected? Or did they arrive in a spectacular manner, captivating the attention of those around them?

Extraordinary actions require extraordinary entrances and behavior, Narvik. If I am to bring people down to the planet to function as a form of savior, it is very important that we look the part. If we just walk up to the square, we will not be taken as seriously as we will with what I got planned. I strongly urge you to watch the live feed once we leave for the planet. It will be an illuminating experience." Eirik explained. "Now, I need to finish this part of the planning."

"...Are you going to hurt my people?" Narvik demanded.

Eirik put down his pen and directed all of his attention toward Narvik. "If I wanted to hurt your people, I would bomb their cities from orbit and leave without them ever knowing who or what happened. What I want here, Narvik, is for your people to be free of the influence of the wider galaxy. But seeing as that is impossible on account of one fucked up traitor, what I need to do instead, is minimize the damage to your people's culture while slowly moving them through the different levels of technology over the next 20-40 years.

Great leaps n technology, if not occurring naturally, can destroy the soul of a people. The very essence that makes them what they are. Terrans, Plyxii, Kloxna, N'amlei, and many more species only managed to keep their culture somewhat intact because we had to take the long road of self-discovery. Dalle has taken that away from your people, dooming them to lose their unique identity in the long run. It will not happen now, nor in the next 2 or 3 generations. But eventually, your people will not know who they are, beyond dependent on the technology they have been exposed to, prematurely.

It will take an ungodly amount of effort and work to undo the damage already done if it is not already too late. But I will do my very best. And to do that, I must exploit your people's current superstition and religious belief to assume a position of power that exceeds Dalle's by a large margin. Otherwise, I will be powerless to stop whatever he is doing here. I need your people to support me. If they resist or push back, I might as well pack up and leave after killing Dalle."

Narvik chewed on the answer for a minute before nodding once and leaving.

"I need to remember that as jovial and open-minded as he as, Narvik is still a bronze-age being given a crash course in functioning in modern-day society. His loyalty to his people far exceeds that of most sentient beings in the galaxy." Eirik thought to himself as he gathered his thoughts back around his work, "For all their flaws in living standards, pre-industrial societies know loyalty to an extent that humbles most beings alive..."

________________________________________

5 days had passed since the meeting in the conference room. The time had been spent preparing for their first entry unto the planet. The PESSA suits had been polished to a mirror shine, several opening lines had been agreed upon for when Eirik and the people he took with him initially, landed planetside.

People had been briefed, equipment had been made ready and Narvik was beside himself with excitement at the thought of seeing his home again. They all gathered in the hangar bay where Narvik was loaded into a shuttle. This was the first time he saw an armored-up Terran wearing a PESSA suit and he could not believe his own eyes. The behemoth towered at 8 feet, wielding a shield twice his height and 1½ time wider, along with what looked like custom-made melee weapons, if the size was an indicator.

Eirik had used the ship's workshop to make some acceptable, oversized melee weapons for use when wearing a PESSA suit. The thought had lingered in his mind ever since the comment of their regular weapon looking ridiculously small in their hands. So he had created some ridiculously oversized weapons to silence the comments from his own men. If the light shining in their eyes as they tested the weapons in the large open hangar was an indication, then they loved the new weapons.

Then again, who doesn't want to wear an environmentally enclosed suit of powered armor, with an internal shotgun firing mechanism in the left arm, wielding a shield larger than a standard size door and an axe with an axehead larger than the torso of a regular Terran?

Eirik, David, Freja, and 6 soldiers gathered up at the airlock. They were not in a hurry, the ship had been in the correct position for days and was in a stable orbit around the planet. Narvik took his place in the shuttle transport with Signe, who was running the camera equipment connected to their helmet cameras. They would be landing at Eirik's orders. Eirik could not find it in himself to deny Narvik landing with the first shuttle. He might even be able to make use of the brave little guy, while he was at it.

The airlock closed behind them and started cycling the atmosphere to match the void outside.