"This is going to be so much fun!" Clarice squealed despite her fatigue. The sun hadn't even risen yet. "Thanks for letting me carpool. You sure I can leave my car at your place?"
"Yeah, it's fine. No one will touch it."
I tried to share her enthusiasm but failed, shoving my bag roughly into the trunk of my car.
'I should have asked if this project was at the Lighthouse before I accepted. Three months stuck in that place; this is exactly what I was trying to avoid!'
She bumped me with her shoulder.
"You're not excited?"
"Honestly? No."
We belted in and headed out. Clarice scrutinized me as she kept trying to pump me up, but it didn't work. I did my best to ignore the purse in her lips as I focused on merging onto the road that would take us out to the middle-of-nowhere.
"You really aren't into this, are you?"
"The project? Oh, no, I'm totally down for it, I just…I wish it wasn't at the Lighthouse."
Tension weighed down the air between us.
"…Still no word, then?" She asked carefully, far too keen for her own good.
I cleared my throat, ending the talk about Lani before it had a chance to start. Instead, she prattled on about what was new in the world of programming for the rest of the drive, only falling silent when the Lighthouse came into view a few hours later. She gazed up at it through the window as I navigated the parking lot.
"Look at it," she said with a hint of awe. "We helped build that… Was it always so big?"
"You'd know better than I would if they'd made any changes to it recently," I said, refusing to look at the damned thing.
We had the rest of the day off to make ourselves comfortable and review the documents and emails we'd been sent concerning our project. The tens of people assigned had been broken up into teams, each with a particular focus. I was glad to see several familiar names, though save for Domingo, we were all in separate groups. Clarice pouted at me.
"Who am I gunna get to be my rubber ducky, now?"
"One of your fellow code monkeys, I expect."
Clarice pursed her lips, and I watched her warily trying not to grin until she changed the subject. She despised that nickname. Dinner in the cafeteria brought us back together with Blake, Domingo, and Keiko, a brilliant physicist I'd met only briefly from before, but whom Clarice knew well. It felt nice, catching up with them, and I found myself particularly thankful to Domingo, who deftly kept the conversation far from the topic of Lani, despite Blake's best efforts.
'I love you like a brother, Blake, but damnit, man, it's been a year, leave it alone.'
Morning found us together again, work tablets in hand, gathered in a large, private conference room with the rest of the people we'd be working with for the next three months. We grouped automatically with the other people on our teams, much to the satisfaction of the man who entered sometime later, sucking every ounce of warmth and humor out of the air. We all watched the dark, placid-looking man with shorn hair and glasses stride to the head of the conference table. Like dominos, we fell immediately into the nearest chair as he cast his eyes around the room. He wasn't imposing, exactly, but every fiber of this man demanded attention and respect.
"Good morning," he said in a thick South American accent, and he didn't wait for a reply. "We all know why we're here, so, we will begin." He took a small remote from his suit pocket and pointed it at the table. A hologram bloomed from the center and rotated slowly. "This is The Statesman, an alien ship of great proportions and complexity. At present, it is…less than functional. As stated in the dossiers provided to each of you, our mission is to discover a way to repair this ship on behalf of our…friends. Are there any questions before we continue?"
Eyes flicked around, but no one was brave enough to speak up.
"Very well." He clicked the remote again, and the hologram changed to illustrate his words. "As you were all briefed, the damage done to this ship is unique, the result of one of the Infinity Stones. According to reports, less than 30% of the original structure remains. All information that could be salvaged from the datastores lies in your hands."
We all listened closely as he continued, toying with our tablets, taking notes, etcetera. By lunchtime, my brain was fried. Even Clarice's eyes had glazed over. It was all so much to take in at once and with so little context, but we could handle it. That was why each of us was here, after all.
As much as I knew the next few months would drain me to the bone, I couldn't complain. It would keep me focused, and my mind so full that I wouldn't have time to think of other, painful things. Or people.
High above New Asgard, a steadfast Valkyrie and a scheming prince surveyed the land beyond their small borders.
"They'll come from the West, this time," Loki said.
Brynhildr scrutinized the distant tree line.
"Are you sure? They've always come from the East."
Loki rose from his crouch atop the mountain.
"Yes, but last year, we made it quite clear how unfavorable that is. They won't want to risk the same thing again."
She accepted his assessment grudgingly.
"Alright, fine. Say they do. What's your plan?"
"Thor and Sif will defend the southern stretch."
"Leaving you and me to defend the northern one."
"Precisely." Loki gestured. "We'll dig out the pits here, here, and here, and seal off the passages that run beneath the mountain there. I will lay traps along here."
"Right." She crossed her arms. "We'll keep the people that can't fight inside the ship, again, and split the rest between the north and south."
The furrow in her brow contradicted the confidence in her voice.
"You seem uncertain," Loki offered.
"There's still too much we don't know. These marauders could have bolstered their numbers since last Winter. If they have…"
No matter how convincing Loki's illusions or spells, there were still only so many blades in New Asgard. He considered her for a moment.
"Did you bring this up to Thor?"
"I did."
"And?"
Brynhildr sighed heavily.
"His majesty is convinced we'll be fine, no matter how they choose to attack us."
"And what do you think?"
"It's not for me to argue once the king has made his decision."
"No? And here I thought he put you on his war council for a reason."
She eyed him sideways for a long, silent moment oozing with distrust. Loki held his composure.
"Mark where you want the pits to be dug," she said. "I'll set the people to work."
He watched her skid, hop, and lope gracefully down the mountainside toward the hamlet, the blue cape of her Valkyrie armor billowing. A smirk tried to tug at the corner of his lips as he thought about the infant doubt now slithering in the back of her mind. Loki sent glittering markers out into the fields before tucking away into a hidden crevice. Alone and hidden, he closed his eyes and cast his mind far and away, beyond distant nebulae, following the ethereal flow that would take him to a dark, frozen world long ago forgotten.
It was dusk by the time Loki roused from his stupor, quite pleased with himself, and returned to the hamlet. The frost in his hair had melted away by the time anyone could put eyes on him, and he wandered the narrow paths unbothered. Near one home, he paused, spying the flourishing golden glow within. He didn't bother knocking before he ducked inside. A man bowed immediately, but Loki waited until the woman was finished weaving her power around a collection of potted saplings that nearly filled the home.
"I see your powers are returning quickly, Idunna," Loki said as she lowered her hands.
The woman with auburn hair flowing in cascades down to her knees blinked at him for a moment, the seidr fading from her eyes, then bowed.
"Day by day, my lord," she said airily. "I must thank you again for your help in reawakening them."
Loki attempted a modest smile.
"We all do what we can for our home."
He examined the small, softly glowing figs sprouting from one of her young trees. New Asgard, he imagined, resembled them, a tender sapling struggling to flourish somewhere among the branches of Yggdrasil.
"These will be ready to plant by spring?" he asked, fingering a fig.
"So long as the Winter is kind." She worried at her lip until Loki urged her to speak her mind. "If I would not sound ungracious, my prince, might I be able to house them on the ship during the cold months? I am glad for my home and want for nothing, but these plants are like newborns, and are delicate."
"I understand," Loki assured her. "A place will be found for them."
Idunna bowed as he left. Of course, Loki would safeguard her future harvest. It was Idunna's bounty that had once fed Asgard, and it would be the same again soon enough. For all the plenty Stark's offerings provided, they were hardly any better than the coarse grains and nigh inedible meats the Asgardians had survived on before. As he climbed up into the ruins of the ship and made for his quarters, Loki heard voices. He paused to listen.
"…a good idea?"
Brynhildr.
"I will be gone but two days."
Thor.
"Besides, he did ask that I visit, and in light of all Stark has done for us, it is a small request."
"Your majesty, we have barely a month to finish bolstering our defenses."
"I am confident you and Loki can handle things in my short absence. Ah, brother."
Loki straightened as Thor came around the corner, the Valkyrie on his heels. Loki nodded as though he'd heard nothing.
"I must away. I leave things to you while I am gone," Thor said simply.
Loki exchanged a glance with Brynhildr.
"Away? What for?" Loki asked.
"To see an old friend. I feel it only appropriate to offer my gratitude in person."
Thor only grinned as Loki's eyes narrowed.
"Leave us," he snapped.
Brynhildr huffed her frustration with them both and marched away, leaving them alone.
"What troubles you?" Thor asked.
"Is now really the most prudent time for this…field trip?"
"It will be but two days-."
"-that you expect to spend." Loki scolded. "Tell me, brother, how often have any of your excursions, in recent or distant past, ever gone according to plan?"
Thor considered Loki, who kept his jaw stiff with disapproval.
"Do you want to come with me?"
"What?" Loki nearly sputtered, caught off-guard.
"I said, do you want to come with me?"
"And leave Asgard all but defenseless? After you dragged me all the way here?"
Loki scowled at Thor's knowing smirk.
"We both know Asgard would be in good hands, even were we to stay for longer. Between Brynhildr, Sif, and, if need be, Tyr, our people would be well looked after."
"No," Loki hissed through clenched teeth after a moment, "I do not want to go frolicking with you and your friends."
"Are you sure?"
Thor offered nothing else as he turned and made his way off the ship. The farther he walked, the stronger something pulled at Loki to follow. He knew what it was, even if he refused to recognize it. He resisted for as long as he could, but eventually found himself stomping across the Bifrost at Thor's side.
"Change your mind?" Thor taunted.
"Someone has to ensure you don't lose yourself to distraction," Loki snapped bitterly.
The look on his brother's face was perfectly insufferable.