Under A Winter Sun by Johan Dahlgren (ink ebook reader txt) 📕

“When we get back on the Sunny, I'll brew you a proper cup, Perez. The stuff that puts hair on your chest. Not this weak navy shit.”

“Looking forward to that, Braden.”

I reach out a fist, and she bumps it while the smell of coffee spreads through the mess. It's strange how something as trivial as the scent of a beverage can make everything feel normal. Then Jagr and Soledad arrive.

“There you are, Boss.” Braden shines up. “How was he?”

Jagr glares at Braden and her jaw muscles flex, but Braden goes on, oblivious.

“What? Tell me, Mish.” She coughs again. “I want to know what I'm in for when I get into his trousers.”

Jagr laughs.

Soledad may not look at me, but Braden and Jagr beam at each other. Braden is great at defusing awkward social situations. This team might not be so random after all. They each fill an important role in the group dynamic. And here I come and mess everything up.

“Listen up, ladies.” Jagr clears her throat.

“We are now orbiting the ice-moon Nifelheim, and our mission is about to get a lot more dangerous. As soon as we set foot on the ice, we'll be on hostile ground. The mind-state of the Goliath population is unknown, and so we will assume they are red until proven otherwise. I've notified our backup asset about our imminent arrival. He has agreed to meet us at a remote location and guide us to the Jarl's hall. The Goliaths have let us enter orbit because they are impressed by the Shiloh. That will not last. We need to get planetside fast. Our cover story is we're here to help construct the Gleipnir space elevator. We're allowed to bring down the Sundowner, but that's as far as we've got. The rest we'll improvise on the ground.”

I raise a hand. “What if it was the Goliaths who grabbed your agent?”

“If that turns out to be the case, we get him out by force.”

I cough. “By force? From the Goliaths?”

“You got a better plan, Perez?” Jagr puts her hands behind her head and stretches with a grunt, making her back crack and her chest expand.

My mind goes blank. “Nope.”

Braden looks pointedly at Jagr's chest and mouths “Told you so”.

“So that's our plan.” Jagr lowers her arms. “Cargo bay in five minutes, ladies. Don't be late.”

“Aye aye, captain.” Braden gives Jagr a salute before she pushes off for the passageway.

I hurry after her to avoid having to confront Soledad.

Soledad stares after me like she wants to kill me.

Well, I guess you win some, you lose some.

* * *

The Sundowner shakes and screams like a junkie going cold turkey as we tear through the icy atmosphere of Nifelheim. The air is breathable for humans, with a tad more oxygen than our bodies are built for. Some say that's why the Goliaths grow so big. Like the dinosaurs.

Outside the hull, the air burns. The thought of only a decimetre of hypercarbon between me and certain death makes me shiver. A single rip in the hull, and we're gone. The Goliaths would wonder at the shooting star above their heads and wish for more mead. Then they would go back to fighting and counting honour points. They wouldn't even know we had died in their sky.

“Are you afraid, Perez?” Soledad calls. “You look worried.”

She has to shout to make herself heard over the noise.

“I'm not worried. This is my not worried face.”

“You could have fooled me.” Her attention returns to the console in her lap. It shows a lot of complex-looking schematics.

“Is it far?”

She sighs and turns to glare at me. “To the surface?”

“No, to Tipperary.”

“Where?” She looks confused.

“Never mind.” And I thought these girls were from Earth. Then again, Tipperary might not exist anymore. “Yes, to the bloody surface.”

“No, we should be down in a few minutes. Braden has got this in hand.”

The ship does a crazy sideways jump.

Without our reinforced skeletons and tendons, I'm not sure any of us would have survived the bump intact.

“I hope that's all she's got in her hand.”

I've never liked this part of a drop. Putting my fate in the hands of a jacked-up fighter pilot has never appealed to me. “Does it always do that?”

“No, that was new.” She looks worried. “I need to check that.”

She pushes virtual buttons in the holographic interface, hums to herself, and she's lost to the world.

Great. So, we might still die.

Braden's voice comes over the intercom. The heavy Crump music from before has been replaced with equally bass-infused Dysfunk. Braden likes her music ass-bouncingly hard.

“We passed through some poor weather there, but now we're in the clear. Prepare for landing in two minutes. Please clean any spilt drinks from my seats.”

We didn't die.

This time.

* * *

A mostly frozen ocean covers Nifelheim, with islands of varying sizes forming the only dry land. Braden sets the Sundowner down on the ice, close to the snow-covered beach of one of the larger islands. It has a name I can never recall that sounds like a cough. Sharp black rocks protrude at an angle from the ice like enormous spear tips, reaching for the heavens. It's bright out there. Our distant suns shine down from a cloudless sky, and the light glitters in the ice on every surface. It looks like Nifelheim woke up on the right side this morning. We still need to be careful. I've seen the weather go from barbecue conditions to howling ice winds of death in minutes on this snowball.

“Come on girls, grab your gear and get to the ramp.” Jagr comes out from the cockpit with Braden in tow. “Remember to bring warm underwear.”

We follow her to the cargo bay.

Soledad kicks open a crate.

Jagr grabs her shoulder. “No weapons, Pip. Sorry. Here.” Jagr hands her an anorak.

“But, boss …”

“We're supposed to be construction workers.”

Soledad mumbles something and pulls the scarf up to cover her lower face. I can understand her feelings. Going unarmed on Nifelheim is a gamble with death.