Lost Vikings

  Their ploy had worked. 31

  A scattering of glowing green glave wurms lanced through the sky. A few of them

  brushed close to Erik's viking, but none found their targets. The vikings were just too far

  away, and Erik aimed to keep it that way—at least long enough to give Baleog a chance.

  "We bought you that time, Baleog!" Erik said into the comm system. "Use it!"

  "I can hear them outside! They're tearing at my hul !"

  "Punch it!" Erik said. "Go, go, go!"

  For a moment, the comm went quiet, and Erik feared that roaches had destroyed

  Baleog's antenna. They might be tearing him to pieces, Baleog screaming his guts out, but

  Erik and Olaf would never hear a thing. Maybe he should think of that as a mercy.

  Then the ice surrounding Baleog's craft sloughed away, and a third viking joined Erik

  and Olaf in the freezing air. Baleog roared in wordless triumph.

  "I'm good!" Baleog said as he cleared the bug-fil ed portion of the sky. "Let's get out of here!"

  The mutaliskswere nimble little bastards, and they moved fast to hem the vikings in.

  The zerg had nothing on the terran craft when it came to sheer power, though. Erik and

  Olaf were able to evade the mutalisks' attacks until they could find daylight and break free.

  Soon enough, the pilots flew alone.

  Once away from the zerg, they brought their craft around in a wide arc designed to

  intersect with Baleog's path, which curved to reach them too. Within minutes, they were

  flying in formation, with Erik at the point and the others at his wings.

  Erik glanced at his rear-view camera to see the ruin of the ridge, the avalanche of ice

  and snow that had fal en at its base, and the wide column of smoke and steam stil rising

  from where Varg's viking had exploded. He shook his head in disbelief. So much destruction

  in such a short time. 32

  "Think that did the trick?" Baleog said.

  "I certainly hope so," Olaf said. "I don't think we could survive another incident like

  that."

  "I've got the only ship in one piece," Erik said. "I could go back and give them hell."

  "Forget that, rookie," Olaf said. "You saved my life there. You try to return, and I'm

  coming with you."

  "I think we've lost enough vikings for today," said Baleog. "Let's head home—for as long as it's stil there."

  "I'll bet they left the taps open at the tavern," said Olaf. "Drinks are free until

  doomsday."

  "Right," Erik said in a solemn voice. With luck, Kyrie and Sif would be safely away

  before he and the other vikings made it back to the base, and they'd have some time to kil

  before the last transport left. "We have fallen friends to toast, and their tale to tell."