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vonny25

Operation Rescue

It took a couple of weeks to make the necessary repairs to the spaceships. Then Loki realized that other than his brother, Angrboda, Atla, and himself, no one else could pilot. He decided to remedy the situation before going ahead with the mission. Loki and his brother trained four of their citizens to be copilots and crew members. Angrboda and Atla instructed another four citizens.

Finally, a couple of months after the initial visit to Jotunheim, it was time to mount the rescue mission. Loki was nervous about his baby brother, being one of the pilots and squadron leader. He was so young, but there was no one else that had the necessary training. He tried to calm his nerves by reminding himself that he had not been much older than Byleistr when he had started accompanying Thor on missions.

The brothers walked side by side to the lounge area. It seemed all the citizens were there. After kissing the hand of Angrboda, Loki decided to give a speech. He said, "My fellow Begavet, today we embark on a dangerous mission to rescue our brothers and sisters from the clutches of the Jotnar. May the Norn's keep us safe, and may this be the first of many missions to rescue our people!" The citizens cheered, but most were concerned as over half the adults were involved in the mission. They prayed the Norn's and Ymir would smile on them, as they did not know what they would do without the Royals to guide them.

Loki walked with his brother and, before parting with him, hugged him and said, "May the Norn's bless you, brother, I have complete confidence in you." Byleistr returned the hug fiercely and said, "May the Norn's bless you too, my brother. After all, you are carrying the most dangerous part of the mission. My crew and I are only back up. While I understand the importance of having backup and why both of us cannot be on the main operation. I cannot help but worry Loki; you are the only family I have ever had."

Loki hugged his bother a little tighter and said, "I will do everything in my power to make this mission successful." Loki broke the hug, smiled at his brother, and said, "Worry not, Byleistr, we will be back home in no time." Byleistr smiled at Loki and could not help but give his older brother another quick hug before boarding his spaceship.

The spaceships took off one by one, first Loki, then Angrboda, followed by Atla, and finally Byeleistr. It would take them twelve hours to reach their destination. Loki contacted the different vessels to go over the plans one last time. After setting the autopilot, he and his crew went to get some rest. Byleistr was anxious; he and his staff, which was formed by the youngest volunteers, were only there for backup if something went wrong. Still, he had never been involved in anything like it. He hoped that if he was called to action, he and his crew could respond effectively.

The vessels landed without problems. They had chosen to arrive a couple of hours before sunrise as they figured out it would be the best time to surprise the Jotnar. Fenja had decided to have a sentinel watching for the arrival of the vessels at all times. The young woman ran to inform Fenja and Baugi as soon as she saw the vessel's landing. Fenja and Baugi woke up a few of the slaves to accompany them. They asked the young woman to inform the designated group leaders.

Using their knowledge of the terrain Fenja and her group made it to the vessels. Loki and Angrboda approached them immediately. It was decided that Loki, Angrboda, and their crew would go with Baugi and a few slaves to incapacitate the Jotnar. Atla and Fenja would take care of getting the Skuffelse into the vessels.

Baugi guided the group towards the Jotnar camp. There was only one Jotnar on duty as they were confident that the slaves would not attempt to escape as they had nowhere to go. With his Sedir, Loki put the young Jotnar to sleep. Angrboda lost no time tying him up for extra security. They had decided to carry the operation with minimal casualties, as they did not want to create a blood feud with the Jotnar. They simply wanted to rescue their people.

Loki, Angrboda, and their team were able to subdue and tie the Jotnar without much trouble as they had caught them while sleeping. They decided to join the team of Atla and Fenja to help board the people into the vessels. As they were walking, they started hearing the screams of the Skuffelse. Loki and Angrboda immediately started running in the direction of the screams.

They arrived to see a group of about 10 Jotnar attacking the Skuffelse. The people were fighting back but lacked training and proper weapons. Loki ordered Atla to continue guiding the people to the vessels. The rest of the Begavet attacked the Jotnar under Loki's and Angrboda's command.

While the Jotnar were much bigger and stronger, the Begavet were more disciplined and better trained. The Jotnar had access to ice magic, but the Begavet could command both ice magic and Sedir. There were eight Begavet to fight the ten Jotnar. However, at least a dozen Skuffesel joined the fight to help defeat the Jotnar. The battle was fierce, and they had no choice but to kill the Jotnar. Two of the Skuffesel were injured in the fight, but it seemed like they would survive.

Loki conjured a couple of stretchers to carry the wounded. When they arrived at the spaceships' location, another battle was going on as a group of eight Jotnar were attempting to destroy the vessels. Atla and a group of Skuffeslse had managed to keep the Jotnar away from two ships. The damage was limited to one spaceship. Atla had already called Byleistr for reinforcements.

Angrboda immediately went on the offensive, closely followed by Loki and the other warriors. Angrboda noticed one of the Jotnar separating from the group and running towards the civilian they were rescuing. She pursued him and intercepted him before he could reach a group of women and children. She fought fiercely and well but had to be careful not to injure the civilians. That put her at a disadvantage, and the Jotnar managed to wound her.

Loki felt his blood go cold when he heard the scream of Agrboda and, without even thinking, teleported to her. He was able to stop the Jotnar from further injuring Angrboda, who valiantly took a moment to recover and did her best to help Loki defeat the Jotnar. Because of his worry for Angrboda, Loki was distracted, which cost him a minor wound to his shoulder. The blow increased Loki's anger, and his Sedir responded by attacking the Jotnar, who was pushed to the ground. Loki took advantage of the situation and decapitated him. Then hurried to Angrbodas side.

Loki got to Angrboda in time to catch her as she lost consciousness. He called for help. One of the Skuffelse approached him and identified herself as Greip. She said she had training as a healer and offered to help. Loki saw no choice but to accept the help of the woman. He wished Lady Eir could be the one treating Angrboda. Given that that was an impossibility, he hoped that Grip had enough knowledge to help Angrboda.

Greip kneeled by Angrboda and waved her hands over her. As Grip channeled her Sedir through her hands, a pattern slowly formed over Angroda that Loki thought was similar to that of the Soul forge. Greip studied the pattern and, turning to Loki, said, "I am going to put her in stasis so we can get her in one of the vessels. I will need a private area to treat her and medical supplies if they are available." Loki said, "Healer Greip, please do what you can to help Duchess Angrboda. I will carry her to the vessel and get you the supplies that you need. I appreciate your wiliness to help."

Byleistr had received the distress call from Atla. Byleistr's vessel had landed successfully; by the time he landed, the battle was over. But his ship and help were still needed. Byleistr asked Atla about Loki, she gave him general directions, and Byleistr took off to look for his brother. He prayed to find Loki unharmed and, if nor unharmed, at least alive.

Byleistr heard the voice of his brother and hurried to join him. He saw Angrboda was lying on the floor, and Loki was about to lift her. As he approached, he realized Loki was also wounded. Byleistr said, "Loki let me carry Angrboda. You are injured." Loki looked at his brother with relief and said, "Go ahead, Byleistr, thank you."

Greip followed Loki and Byleistr to the vessel. They boarded Angrboda's ship as Loki's spaceship was too damaged to fly. Once they had Angrboda in the medical unit, Greip insisted on taking care of Loki's wound. Loki noticed the woman was efficient and knew what she was doing. Despite wanting to stay at Angrboda's side, there still were things left to do. Loki asked one of the Begavet to stay and help Greip.

Loki and Byleistr went to help with the rescue operation. It took them a couple of hours to get everyone aboard, but there were no more attacks from the Jotnar. While Loki's Vessel could not fly independently, it was not a total loss. He decided to tetter it to Angrbodas ship that he would be piloting. Once everyone was on board, they promptly departed, but not before Byleistr hugged Loki.

As soon as they were airborne and out of the gravitational field of Jotunheim, Loki put the ship on autopilot and asked his copilot to take over. Loki hurried to the medical unit to check on Angrboda. He noticed that Greip was still working on her; not wanting to distract Greip, he observed from a respectful distance. Finally, the healer bandaged Angrbodas's wound and covered her with a blanket.

Loki approached the healer and said, "Healer Greip, what is the condition of Duchess Agrboda?" The healer looked at Loki kindly and noticed how young he was. She said in a gentle voice, "Her injuries were severe, but nothing that I could not treat. I have put her into a healing comma to have her magic finish healing her. She should be waking up in a few hours but will need a few days of rest to recover fully." "Thank you, healer Greip; I will make sure that you are you receive a proper reward."

The healer looked at Loki and said, "That is unnecessary, my King. I only did what I would have done for any other. My people and I owe you our freedom. It is us that are in debt with you," Loki put a hand on Greip's shoulder and told her, "While what you say is true, I come from a culture where healers are highly regarded and respected by all. I want to make sure you receive the regard and honor proper to your station." Greip curtsied and said, "Thank you, my King."

Loki had one of the crew members bring the healer and him a meal. While eating, Loki said, "If I may ask, how did you gain your skills as a healer?" Greip smiled, and her gaze appeared distant. She said, " I was born into a family of healers. My parents did not hold the superstitions that most Jotnar do. They trained me along with my older sister. Unfortunately, after my parents died and my sister got married, her husband sold me to the crown. I was sent to heal the people that got hurt while on the job. I cannot complain my faith could have been much worse."

Loki thanked the Norns for finally having a well-trained haler among his people. He would talk to Greip more later; for now, she had one of the crew members take her to a nearby cabin to rest. He promised to send for her once Angrboda was awake. Loki sat by Angrboda, holding her hand and realizing how much she meant to him. He would have to do something about it. He needed to formalize their relationship. Loki hoped that Angrboda felt the same for him.

A few hours later, Angrboda opened her eyes and realized Loki was by her. She gave him a tired smile. Loki leaned and kissed her. Angrboda was a bit surprised but kissed him back without reservation. Loki hugged her gently and said, "Angrboda, seeing you injured has made me realize how much I care for you. I would like to formally court you if you allow." Before Angrboda could answer, Greip entered the healing area and started examing Angrboda

Dear Readers,

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vonny25