“Brunhilde! What have they done to you?!” I called out.

“The Krell have made me stronger than I ever was under the Aesir! They’ve set me free! And I’ll kill all of you, unless you throw down your arms and join us!” Brunhilde stalked about, keeping her distance – and gauging my mettle.

I looked at her in disbelief. Um... No! “Finish the mission!” I called to the Einherjar. “...and as for you, Brunhilde, I’m sorry for what is about to happen. If I can save you I will.” It wasn’t bluster – If I could beat her, I would try to save her – but whether I could actually beat one of the oldest, most skilled and powerful Valkyries in existence was a definite unknown.

Brunhilde’s face took on a twisted sneer. “Always so damn sanctimonious, weren’t you, Sigrid... Always waiting for your mortal lover to be reborn again and again and again... always giving yourself to him, and dying because of it. Don’t you get tired of playing the pawn of the Wyrd sisters? Join me, and you can free yourself from the chains of Fate!”

“What makes you think you’re talking to Sigrid?” I said with a snarl. “She thinks you’re being a giant bitch, by the way. You’re talking to me... Sannyr.”

“A Whelp? Hah! Why would I waste my time with the likes of you! Sigrid, teach your host better manners before it gets you both killed! You have but two choices – join me or die.”

“I’ll take a thousand deaths before I betray my gods and my people! If you want to fight, bitch, then let’s fight!”

Brunhilde’s face grew into a mask of rage, as her midnight wings extended and she took to the air. “So be it! And when your body lays broken and dying, I’ll make you one with the Krell!”

“I’ll see you in Hel, first, Brunhilde!” I frantically dodged to the right as she sent a blast of that darkling energy at me – when it had hit me before, it didn’t burn, like a laser – it felt cold, like it was sucking the warmth or the life out of me. Part of me kind of understood why – Valkyries were beings of life and death – they could heal and bring life, or bring violent death. Right now, a switch had been flipped inside Brunhilde’s head to bring only death, and if I couldn’t figure out how to turn it back, I’d have to kill her. I would have no choice.

As fast as I was, Brunhilde was almost faster, and I ran, juked, and dodged to avoid at least a half dozen powerful energy blasts of darkling light. After the last blast, I had dodged behind a large piece of machinery, and Brunhilde paused – possibly worried about damaging it, possibly because she was giving her weapon a moment to recharge. Either way, it didn’t matter – I took the offensive and launched a few blasts of my own – and snarled in frustration when she dodged them with ease.

*Sannyr, you’ll have to use her arrogance against her. Brunhilde was always an arrogant bitch – she can’t possibly even conceive of you beating her. Use that to your advantage.*

I’ll try, I whispered back. She’s good.

*She should be. She was the first of us.*

I felt more than saw the next energy blast, and leapt to the left, feeling my force-field shatter again, and hearing the little klaxon of warning as it tried to recharge. Keep your head in the game, dumbass! I thought to myself. I tried hitting her with another blast of searing light – but she was too fast, and my beams cut into the ceiling of the lab, causing sparks to fly and debris to fall. Our battle was quickly wrecking the room and everything in it!

I had to stop her! Unleashing my own wings, I took to the air, and flew towards Brunhilde, who levelled her spear at me and let fire... and instead of dodging it, I raised my shield of golden metal, and took the brunt of it, the force of the beam halting my forward momentum and pushing me back... But when that happened, instead of shooting a beam at Brunhilde, I did something rather stupid – at least for a professional warrior – I threw the spear at her... not as part of a Valkyrie attack or power, not as part of some energy blast – but as a sharpened piece of metal thrown by someone rather strong and very motivated. Disarming myself of my most powerful ranged weapon was strategically stupid – but it was tactically brilliant, and the spear pierced her left leg above the knee with a spray of golden red blood and a shriek of pain.

“You bitch! I’ll fucking kill you! How dare you wound me!” Brunhilde lost all sense of reason, and came at me, and I braced myself for her assault. It wasn’t long in coming. She yanked the spear free of her leg, and let it fall to the floor, and levelled her own spear at me, and charged.

I blocked with my shield – but her blow hit like a sledgehammer, and my arm held – but the shield didn’t, splintering and exploding into pieces that pierced my arm when they weren’t deflected by my Valkyrie armor. I winced in pain, and readied for a counterattack – but Brunhilde pressed her advantage, and I screamed again as her spear stabbed through my left shoulder, radiating icy cold and the hot spray of blood.

“See, whelp! You can’t beat me! Siri, put this child away and come face me yourself!” She taunted.

I gritted my teeth and swore under my breath. “Siri’s here, bitch, and she’s listening – but she doesn’t think she needs to come out to play when I can handle you myself.” I yanked her blackened spear out of my shoulder and drew my blade, thrusting it towards her... She tried to dodge – but to dodge my blade Brunhilde had to release her dark spear, which clattered to the ground next to mine.

My left arm was weak, and hurt from being impaled, and I had a half-dozen cuts, burns and blasts that had weakened me... On the other hand, Brunhilde had a major wound in her leg that was dripping blood and ichor, and was acting less rational than she normally would have been, due to my impertinence and my taunts. Maybe I had a chance?

I pressed the attack, swooping in on my golden wings, slashing as I passed her, and feeling the contact of my blade striking home! She cursed, and I turned to see her clutching her side, where I apparently had landed a hit. Good, let the bitch feel the sting, I thought. Now do it again, I thought to myself.

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Brunhilde swore in rage, and charged at me, murder in her eyes! Her blade – also corrupted by whatever science or dark magic had tainted Brunhilde – radiated black energy, and slashed towards me. We fought, parrying wildly and trading blows – over and over, taking little hits – cuts and scrapes – but nothing definitive for over a minute. Both of us were starting to feel fatigued with the amount of energy we were putting out – and both of us were pushing ourselves to the limits.

Siri’s experience had seeped into me in the time since our bonding and becoming Asynjur – and I had most of her skill at battle – but Brunhilde was the first Valkyrie... she was just better. She slashed me time and time again – and slowly, I grew weaker, and she sensed she had the upper hand. With a final power blow, she swung an overhead blow with both hands on the hilt of her blade – an attack designed to cut me in half. With nowhere to go, I did the only thing I could – I parried with my thunder-blade and used my left arm to shield myself if my blade didn’t hold...

Brunhilde’s blow cut my sword in half, and sank deeply into my arm as I screamed in agony... the black energy of the corrupted sword seemed to almost drain my life energy as it sucked greedily at my wound... I shrieked in pain, and my concentration lapsed – my wings dissolved, and I fell thirty feet to the floor, landing on my poor wounded arm. Pain caused stars and flashes of light to dance before my eyes, and I groaned in pain, struggling to not black out. A quick glance showed that the Einherjar had evacuated most of our brethren in the containment tanks, and it looked like Ingvar and Oleg were finishing up with the computer. Good – at least one of the missions will be a success. Now to complete my other mission.

Brunhilde descended like a dark angel incarnate, and landed beside me, her blade pointed at my throat. “If you make a move to heal yourself, I’ll gut you like a pig.” She told me. “You know, you really should have come out to play, Siri – Sannyr just wasn’t in my league.”

“You’re right.” I muttered. “You’re not in our league. We’re your betters, Brunhilde.” I replied, seeing her face looked shocked. “You see, I’m not just a Valkyrie anymore. I’m more than that now.”

“You lie!” She hissed, taking a step back in fear. “That’s not possible! There’s no way the Aesir would raise you to their ranks! Not for another thousand years!”

“Times change.” I replied, hoping I sounded calmer than I felt. “People change. And now, you will surrender to me, or you will die.”

“Like Hel I will!” She spat.

I nodded. One of us was going to die. So be it. I reached within to find my source – and I found the Valkyrie energy within me – the raging torrent of my blood – but there was something else there this time as well – a cool ball of blue white light within me. I hesitated to call it my source, but it felt something like that, and yet unlike that at the same time. It was alien to what Siri knew about Valkyries and their power – so this must be something available only to the Aesir and Asynjur. If I’m going to die, I’m going out with a bang, I thought. I drew the power into me... as much of it as I could wield.

It burned like fire – a heat that filled my veins with warmth and life – and I glowed blue-white as I stood, seemingly grown to three times my normal height. I held out my empty hand, and a blue-white spear of fire filled it – and my other arm – now healed – bore a shield of golden white light. I was illuminated from within – and the light I cast upon Brunhilde made her quail with fright... I felt like I could shatter a mountain, should I choose it – and from Brunhilde’s face, she thought she might be the mountain I expended my ire upon. For a moment, she faltered...

“I’m sorry, Brunhilde. I would have saved you if I could have.” I said sadly, a tear running down my cheek... a tear for all the centuries Siri had known her, and looked up to her as a role model – and now could not recognize what she had become.

*Strike... End her, Sannyr. She would not want the evil done to her to be her final legacy. She understands herself the first rule of battle.*

What rule is that, Siri?

*You can’t save everyone. Sometimes you can’t even save yourself.*

I nodded, shedding more tears – this time, some of my own - and struck my sister with the spear of flaming light. Brunhilde screamed once – and then she was gone. All that was left was a scorch mark on the ships bulkhead.

*Goodbye, old friend.* Siri thought. *May what comes next be better than what came before.*

I felt weak – and my hold on the light – my source – slipped, and I felt myself shrinking, becoming mortal again... No longer fully empowered, but just a Valkyrie again... at least for now. I felt exhausted – barely able to think – and I felt someone grab me under the shoulder and hoist me over theirs, and carry me out of the room in a fireman’s carry. I could hear gunfire and screams – and voices on the comms – but I couldn’t make sense of them I was so delirious. The firefight went on for a while longer, and then I heard the whump of a muffled explosion – and then a great wind sucking at me. The next thing I knew, I was in space – and the Krell ship was receding behind us...

This was wrong, I thought... There was something I had to do... I shook myself out of my stupor, and pulled free of my rescuer... The damn Einherjar who made a joke about me touching him in the Krell ship! Gah! I’ll thank him later, I thought. “Trooper!” I called out. “Release me! That’s an order!”

The Einherjar paused his flight, and let me go. “Yes ma’am. You looked like you needed a lift, War Leader.”

“No harm done, soldier... but I have one more task to accomplish. Take your men and our brethren and rendezvous with Grainne and Deanna and get out of here. I have a job to do. Tell Oleg and Ingvar their intel from the computer is to go to Lord Loki or Lord Heimdall, their eye’s only – understood?”

“Yes, War-Leader. May the gods be with you!” He turned and followed his brothers – looking back once or twice to see what I might intend.

A crimson beam of energy lanced out from the Krell ship – catching two Einherjar in its beam – silencing their screams as their symbiotes exploded out of their mortal hosts in a violent fashion. So the Krell finally fielded their weapon, I thought. Time to see what happens next.

*Are you sure, Sannyr?*

Yes Siri. It needs to be done. Let me be the first – and if I die, and you live, tell my dad I love him.

*I will, Sannyr. I promise.*

I unleashed my wings, and flew towards the Krell ship, dodging what little was left of their point defence. “Grainne, Deanna, This is War-leader Sannyr. Your orders are to withdraw to a safe distance and get our people out of here. I will deal with the Krell ship.”

“Are you sure, ma’am?” Grainne asked.

“Yes, I am. You have your orders.”

“Yes, War leader,” they chorused, and began the withdrawl.

As the skies cleared of Einherjar and Valkyries, the point defence fire I was taking increased – and the main cannon had no other target left to shoot at except myself. As I approached, I caused myself to glow – and looked like a small, vengeful star flying right towards them.

The cannon blasted – and I probably could have dodged it – but that wasn’t my mission. It caught me dead on, in a direct hit and it felt like I was being consumed by fire as every nerve ending I possessed shrieked with agony. I called out “Freya! Save me!” – but Freya wasn’t there, and the pain grew. Blood seeped out of my pores, and it felt like I was going to explode from the inside out – like someone suffering the bends. And then the moment passed. I still felt pain – literally everywhere on my body hurt like hell – but it wasn’t the raw searing pain of the beam itself...

I had survived. I had survived. I grinned, my face a rictus with blood dripping from every pore. The Aesir can survive a hit. I did it. My left hand reached to my belt, and pulled the detonator, and I swept my wings in a reverse manoeuvre, pulling away from the Krell ship. If the Einherjar had followed their orders, there was probably something close to five megatons of high explosives inside that ship. I wonder what will happen if I push the little red button?

I turned to watch, and pushed the button.

The Krell ship shakes – and seems to balloon from within – like a bag of jiffypop popcorn on the stove, pushing against the foil wrapper in a struggle to get out. The image didn’t last long – as the ship bubbled and rippled from within, something gave – and the ship exploded in a blast of white, nuclear light as it became an expanding ball of white hot plasma.

“Mission fucking accomplished.” I said to myself.

*Good job, Sannyr.*

“Thanks, Siri.”

*No problem. Now let’s pause and heal ourselves before we pass out, shall we?*

“Yeah,” I said bashfully. “Good idea.”

I healed myself with my Valkyrie power, and called up a HUD on my armor’s systems. All Einherjar and Valkyrie forces had left the system. It was time to go home. I looked up to the sky – looking for the image of Asgard in my mind, when a voice called out to me.

“Hold Kinsman!” I paused – and saw the Aesir lord Thor fly up to me, Mjolnir in his hand.

“My lord?” I asked.

“No – there are no lords or ladies here today. I felt what you did inside that ship, sister. You touched your power. Brunhilde is no more?” Thor asked.

“She would not surrender. The Krell found a way to change her – corrupt her. We cannot let that happen to others.”

“We won’t. But now it is time to return to Asgard, sister. Our casualties were light. You did well... and you proved we can strike the Krell without facing certain doom. Rest. I will carry us to Asgard.”

“Thank you, Thor.”

“No, Sannyr. Thank you.” He said, and summoned the Bifrost.

As we disappeared, debris from the blast, and the light from the explosion of the Krell ship registered on the many sensors that the inventive humans from Midgard had directed at the stars. If anyone knew what to make of it reading those sensors, it remained to be seen.