The landscape of Skyrim was beautiful.
That was Kat's first thought when the duo left the cave. The air was fresh, the mountains were impressive.
A pristine landscape.
"Wow.", she muttered, causing Hadvar to smile.
"Most visitors from the south say that, when they see our mountains.", he stated. "Usually scares them off, more than anything. Let's go down this road, it leads to my village. From there we can reach Whiterun."
She nodded and followed him.
"So, uhm...", Hadvar stuttered awkwardly, while they walked down the road.
"You have loads of questions and don't know where to begin?", she asked with a friendly smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. Those weapons, the armor, your skills... it's all confusing. But where did you come from? Where did Tullius find you?", he asked confidently.
"The full confusing truth is that I am a soldier of the United Nations Space Command, the military government of all of humanity. The part of humanity that lives up there, among all the different stars and planets in the sky. I managed to escape in an emergency capsule to the ground. Then, I woke up in a forest and was captured by a bunch of gold-plated assholes. The ones that also captured the other human prisoners in the blue cloaks.", she explained and asked: "Do you believe me?"
Hadvar made a face of mock offense. "Hey, we Nords are superstitious but not dumb.", he quipped. "Yeah, I sort of believe you. Your claims are pretty wild though. But at the same time, your abilities and gear do count as evidence to a degree. Those are no dwemer artifacts."
"Yeah, they are human constructs. If we rest somewhere, I could take one apart and show you how it works. The production process is highly complex, though.", she explained.
"About those, do you have actual blades? I can't really imagine how combat would work with armies equipped with weapons like these."
She showed him her bayonet and mounted it on the DMR.
"Smart idea.", he noted.
"Yeah.", she agreed. "Regarding combat, it is different. Look at this valley we are in, okay? It would take lots of spearmen to create an effective blockade and defensive line stretching from one end to the other. Simply because spearmen have a short range to attack and rely on a tight formation. In a scenario where you can give every soldier his own ranged weapon, things get radically different. Formations become partially counterproductive and seeking cover is a necessity. Also, fewer soldiers can lock down more terrain with their ranged weapons. My army would occupy this place with a series of strongholds in advantageous positions with overlapping fields of vision. And even when an enemy may prove too strong, we have formations in the rear that can throw projectiles indirectly at the enemy. These equivalents of archers are directed by frontline officers, who have devices to communicate instantly with other formations. Summed up, we do war very different, but you would still recognize the basic rules of warfare, if you saw us in action. Things like logistics, terrain, morale and cohesion are very similar for every army of every era."
Hadvar had listened very closely to her explanations. Katherine found that refreshing. Her fellow Spartans were usually bored as hell when she tried to educate them on something. Damn cowboys.
"Interesting. I'm sure General Tullius would love to have a chat with you. But what about magic, how do you integrate that?", he asked.
"Well, we don't have it. Thats by far the weirdest thing about this world. Magic is something completely new to me. My people know of the concept from folklore, but for us magic never happened."
"Wait, that doesn't make sense. How do you know, when you never encountered the arcane?"
"In more primitive times, we just dismissed phenomenon that we couldn't explain as magic. When humanity became more rational and advanced, we investigated things and discovered how they work. And one of our findings was, that shooting lightning out of your hands is not something that can happen. That's why your magic is so strange. I don't have any idea how it works, because it seems to function outside the context of what my people have learned about the universe. So either those goldies produce a stupid amount of bioelectricity, and eat a few tons of food a day to generate it, or it's something we overlooked in half a millenia of extensive research."
"Well, I don't know very much about magic, but I know it can be passed down the bloodline. Some people are born with an affinity for it and with the Elves it is so strong that their entire race are mages. It's not something that comes from within our body. It's power comes from the realm of Gods and we just harness it."
Katarina took a moment to consider her response. She had doubt that people would respond kindly to unfiltered atheism.
"That could be true, yes. The problem is the old issue that the existence of a 'god' and other mystic elements can neither be proven nor disproven. At least we couldn't.", she explained, dodging the question the agnostic way.
"Well, we do have proof of godly interference.", Hadvar contested and pointed at a path that diverged from the road they were on. "The Guardian Stones. Come with me, I'll show you."
They walked to a place that looked like a shrine, with runestones arranged in a circle.
"There are many of these stones all over Tamriel. This place is one of the only assemblies. Many are scattered in the wild and almost everywhere, young men and women do a pilgrimage to these stones when they become old enough. The stones bestow a magical blessing on those that touch them. The different stones have different blessings that help develop certain skillsets faster. I chose the Warrior stone at young age. You can try it.", he explained.
Kat still thought it was probably superstition. But then, she touched the warrior stone. The runes glowed in a bright blue and a beam of light shot into the sky. Where her hand touched the stone, a blue aura swept over her and gave her the ice cold feeling of an adrenaline rush.
"Wow.", she muttered.
Hadvars proud smile at her reaction was adorable. "See?"
"Thanks for showing me this.", she answered, immidiately trying to analyze the stone with her helmet's custom analysis tools. She didn't detect any traces of technology in there, only traces of radiation that were slightly too high. Interesting.
"Ok, let's get moving. We still need to warn people of the Dragon attack."
When Kat and Hadvar entered his village, they were met with curious or baffled stares.
Her armor was a problem. It drew far too much attention. She needed to get out of it, the moment she found a place where it would not get stolen. Actually, she had doubt someone could do that considering the weight, but even then someone could break stuff by playing around with it.
Hadvar led her to his old home. The house of a blacksmith. He knocked on the door and a rugged, muscular old man opened. "Hadvar. What are you doing here are you on leave?", he asked, then saw all the bloodstains on him and Kat.
"By Talos! What happened? You look like you've lost an argument with a bear. And who is your companion?"
Hadvar quickly answered. "Uncle Alvor, please be quiet. We should discuss this inside. You wouldn't believe what happened in Helgen this morning."
He got out of the doorframe and let them inside, where his wife was standing looking at the guests curiously.
"Take a seat, eat something and tell us what happened.", Alvor offered. Hadvar sat down on the wooden bench.
Kat politely shook her head. "The armor is too heavy, I'm afraid I'd break the bench."
He eyed her armor with an analytical view. The front was still full of brain, blood and skull fragments.
"Short story, a Dragon attacked Helgen and we had to fight the Stormcloak prisoners that used the confusion to break free. And then, we fought a cave bear.", she explained quickly. "I have orders to report to General Tullius as soon as possible. Hadvar is escorting me. But first, we need to warn people that there is a wild dragon."
Alvor looked at her very seriously. She had the tone of a proper military officer, so he probably thought she was actually Hadvars commanding officer.
"A Dragon? They've been gone for centuries.", he contested.
"We've seen him.", Hadvar confirmed. "And I need to escort her back to the General."
Alvor's wife looked at Kat in disbelief. "That is a woman?"
Katarina took her helmet off in response, showing her very young face and shooting the other woman a glare. Kat was an unapologetic tomboy, but being confused for a man kind of hit a nerve.
"Ha. I never thought you have that good a taste in women, Hadvar.", Alvor commented smiling.
All three head present immediately snapped towards him with a scandalised: "WHAT?!"
The awkwardness hung in the room for a while.
"Uhm, Uncle... it's not like that... it's... uhmm... complicated... No! Not that kind of complicated, I mean..."
Kat, herself blushing in a very un-spartan way, coughed and stated: "We should change topic. We need to warn the local authority. I'm new around here, where should we go?"
Alvor still grinning at everyones reaction, answered: "Go upstream, to the north. You can't miss Whiterun. Jarl Balgruuf rules from there. We are his direct subjects, if this Dragon threatens us, he is the man to talk to."
"Thanks.", Kat answered simply. "Can we take some food with us, we need to inform the Jarl as quick as possible."
The smith nodded and handed Hadvar a loaf of bread. "Good luck. And I am proud of you, boy."
"Thanks, Uncle."
Kat and Hadvar left the house with their cheeks red as tomatoes. They walked out of the village in awkward silence and as soon as they were out of hearing range of the others, both burst into laughter.
They reached the town towards the afternoon, early evening.
On the way, they passed a lot of farms and the walls of the trade center were well visible.
But they encountered something unexpected, along the way: A Giant.
He was standing in a cabbage field, fighting for his life against a group of warriors.
Katarina took a moment to analyse the situation. She considered helping the giant, because at first it looked like he was the victim of bandits. But when she saw the big club in his hands and the smashed farm house, she concluded that it was likely the warriors were mercenaries, protecting the peasants.
Kat knew it was unprofessional, but she was in the mood for a fight.
"Hey, Hadvar. Do you want to stay back or join in?", she asked.
"Hell, no. But I guess, you've made your mind up?"
Kat stormed off immediately, in a rush of youthful excitement. She didn't draw any firearms, she needed some exercise. With a serious foe.
The giant and the mercs saw her coming. One of the swordfighter jumped out of her way and a big club was swung at her.
She dodged it perfectly and simply rammed herself into the giant's knee, breaking it with the force of the impact.
The enemy roared in pain and was forced to kneel. He punched at Kat, who botched her dodge this time. It hurt, hard. The Spartan was bashed into the ground.
In a fit of rage, she stabbed her combat knife into his fist. The giant roared in pain. The enraged Spartan jumped back to her feet. She jumped into the air, onto the head of the enemy. She held onto his ears, dragging his head to the ground with her sheer weight.
Then, she started stabbing his skull. It was dirty, bloody and hard work, but she bashed the entire skull into a messy mix of bone fragments and blood.
She finally calmed down a little. The pain was annoying, but the rush of adrenaline made up for that.
It took her a moment to notice the mercenaries staring at her.
The more mature side of Kat's personality immediately cursed her youthful impulsiveness. She was supposed to be better than that. Beating up a giant was the opposite of staying low profile.
"Damn. That was impressive.", a woman covered in green camo paint commented. "Are you interested in joining the Companions?"
"Are you mercenaries?", she asked simply. It was not really out of any intention to actually join anything, just learn more about the region and it's strategic players.
"Sometimes. You aren't from around here aren't you? The Companions are an ancient guild of warriors. Anyone with enough talent can join. Most of us just like to fight for the thrill of it and being a member makes finding mercenary contracts easier. We have no allegiance, don't worry.", the warrior explained, while Kat got on her feet. "Plus the prestige is of being a member makes people take you serious when you are a woman.", she added.
"I'll think about it.", Kat said simply. "I appreciate a good fight, but I also appreciate anonymity. So I'd be grateful if you all held your mouths if the golden Elves ask questions about mysterious armored strangers. Do we understand each other?"
An elf, with darker skin than the goldies, giggled at that and simply said: "Fuck the Thalmor. If you are an enemy of theirs you did something right. You can always hide under our roof, if they come looking for you."
Kat nodded, smiling under her helmet. "I'll take the offer when I need to. Thanks."
One of the warriors, who looked competely unfazed by the Kat's posturing, provocatively asked: "Hypothetically speaking, how hard did you piss them off and how much money would they pay to get you?"
The others did a lot of 'shut-up-bro' gestures and subtly pointed towards the dead giant.
The warrior was a tall blonde man, with lot's of muscles and a decently handsome face. He didn't seem to have much experience, considering his lack of preparedness and relaxed stance.
Katarina approached him and simply said: "It's admirable not to be intimidated by bragging and posturing, but think realistically. Do you really think you can take me on yourself? Furthermore, those sneaky cunts will most likely reward you with an arrow to the head, for knowing too much. That's the way organisations like them work. And I doubt just selling them knowledge is a particularly honorable way of acting. Do we have an agreement?"
He stoically nodded. "Yes."
Katarina left the scene, but first she took her knife and cut out a tissue sample from the giant's flesh. For science.
Hadvar shook his head disapprovingly, when she met up with him again. "That was not a good idea. You shouldn't have told them anything about the Thalmor. It just gives them ideas."
Katarina nodded, while they walked uphill towards the entrance of the city. "You are right. But I'm a bad liar and now I know who is the danger. The glory hungry buffoon who got his feelings hurt because I 'stole his kill'. We can wait a moment up there on the hill and when the idiot tries to sell me out to the Imperial Patrol that comes down the road, I'm going to kill him."
From a distance, the duo observed how the Companions looted the Giant's various trinkets and cut little trophies off him.
Eventually the blonde guy noticed the Imperials and approached them to the disapproval of his comrades. They left to get their money, without him.
Kat was screwing a silencer on her DMR and wanted to take the shot from the large distance. Suddenly Hadvar intervened: "That won't be necessary. The traitor is as good as dead."
The Spartan looked at him irritated. "Your government works with the Elves. Why would they refuse him?"
Hadvar shook his head. "We should be mortal enemies. Neither side won the war. The peace is all based on a treaty, that is supposed to outlaw the worship of Talos, the God of Mankind. The Imperials thought it was an acceptable price for peace. But we Nords are Talos' people, he was our mortal Emperor before his acention to godhood. And now the Thalmor are here to ensure he cannot be venerated. But there are many believers, like me, who loyally serve the Imperial Legion. No good Imperial would sell you out.", her companion assured.
Katarina nodded, but was going to take the shot anyways. She aimed and...
The Imperials were currently spitting at the stabbed traitor's corpse.
Hadvar chuckled. "Told you so. Let's get to the Jarl."
Getting into the city was very easy. The guard didn't have the guts to question why an Imperial soldier and a huge woman in blue armor wanted to enter, he just let them through.
The duo walked through the busy trade city, ignoring everything in their hurry. At the entrance to the wealthier district, a more dilligent Guard ordered them to halt.
"State your buisness. The cloud district is not open for soldiers on leave or common sellswords.", he snarled.
Hadvar calmly explained: "Helgen was attacked. I am a courier from the Imperial Legion, sent to inform the Jarl. My companion here is a witness of the battle. We need to pass immediately."
The Guard eyed them wearily. "Where is your letter of authorisation?", he demanded.
"I don't have one. The battle was a disaster, we are the only survivors. We need to speak to the Jarl.", Hadvar reasoned.
The Guard shrugged. "Fair point. You can pass, just don't expect the household guard to believe you."
They moved on again, this time up to the gates of the impressive fortress on top of the mountain.
The stairs were exhausting to climb, but made any potential attacker an easy target for archers. On top, a lone woman clad in high quality armor, stood on guard.
It was surprising for Kat. She had expected that these people would have the same opressive gender hierarchy as medieval Earth.
"State your buisness.", the woman asked in a strong, assertive voice, her hand calmly resting on the grip of her sheathed sword. Katherine feared that the woman took her job seriously. She definitely looked like a well trained soldier, judging by the few little scars on her face and confident stance. Her young age was curious though, judging by her full black hair and young attractive face, she looked like in her late twenties.
"Helgen was attacked by a Dragon and Riverrun is endangered. I am here as a messenger of the Imperial Legion. We need to report to the Jarl personally and request that Whiterun send a formal report to General Tullius, informing him of the presence of her.", Hadvar reported an gestured towards the silent Katherine.
The woman shook her head. "Your request is noted and will be considered by the court stewart. But no audiences with her. She looks like she'll cause trouble. What are your names?"
"Hadvar."
"Katherine B-320."
Kat was not appreciating the suspicion that her body size and huge futuristic armor raised. It was strange, that they were not that openly freaked out about it, though. Almost as if, they thought it was something else that they were familiar with and distrusted for reasons a total foreigner like her didn't know.
The woman nodded and knocked on the door, signalling the guards inside to open it.
When it was open, the woman was surprised by the presence of an elf with dark skin. She immediately did a fist-salute that Katherine recognised as the ancient 'Rotfront' salute of the german communists. Probably a pure coincidence, but that was the only reference point in her memory.
"At ease Lydia. What's going on out here and who is that woman?", the Elf asked in a croaky, weary voice. She looked at Kat, not as a curiosity, but as a straight up menace. A good instinct.
"I survived a Dragon attack on Helgen with soldier Hadvar here. We are here to report to the Jarl.", the Spartan explained. The woman rolled her eyes.
"And who or what are you?", she asked, ignoring the dodge. "For all I know your boy could be a hired deserter and you an assasin. Give me your Imperial seal of authority. Or go away."
"We don't have one and what I am is the reason we need to speak to the Jarl. Hadvar here got accidentally involved in this very complicated situation and the Jarl is the only person who can help sort this out. The short version is, that I need to contact General Tullius in a subtle way and the less you know the better.", Kat explained in her best ONI imitation.
The Elf squinted her red eyes angrily and winked them through. "I am the Jarl's bodyguard. I will stay by his side. One wrong move and I'll feed you to the dogs."
Lydia and the Bodyguard escorted the two visitors inside, to the throne where the ruler of the city and it's surrounding lands sat and ruled. He was deep in discussion with his advisors on matters of state. It seemed the man took his responsibilities seriously. A good sign.
"Jarl, these Imperials request your ear. They have an urgent report.", the Elf announced.
The muscular blonde man on the throne visually inspected the two and ordered: "You may speak."
Hadvar spoke up. "My Lord, we are from the Fortress Helgen. It was attacked by a Dragon, when we were about to execute the captured Jarl Ulfric. We fled the scene together."
"Who are you woman?", the Jarl asked in a polite, yet calculating tone.
"Katherine. Soldier of the United Nations Space Command. Registration number Beta-320. I am stranded in the Empire and have been granted asylum. The specific details are subject to secrecy and I would be obligated to lie or misinform you, to avoid indirect confirmations in the case of a formal questioning. My request is that you contact General Tullius of the Imperial Legion to let him decide if the Empire is ready to share the information I have trusted the General with.", Katherine explained formally and carefully. The man listened with a considerate and thoughtful expression.
"I appreciate your directness. I will send a messenger to Solditude. Proventus? You will do this. Now, what about this Dragon attack? Are you related to it? Are you sure it was a Dragon?"
"A flying monstrosity that burned down a fortress, could accurately be interpreted as being a Dragon, yes. I am not familiar with your realm and not an expert to judge. I believe my presence and the attack were coincidence."
The Jarl nodded again. "This is a grave emergency. We can raise a small force of levies to guard Whiterun, but much of my realm will still be vulnerable. I will need help from the Legion, we cannot afford to pay for a fully mobilised force of levies at the moment."
Suddenly, a man in a robe entered the scene and interjected: "My Lord, I have some committed some time to a private project of mine, researching the history of Dragons. If I had a some manpower commited to it, we might be able to develop effective strategies to counter a Dragon."
"A reasonable idea. A few city guards will be at your disposal. Until relief from the Legion arrives. Then, you can have more people. You two, soldiers, are allowed to stay in the city. As a gesture of hospitality, I decree that the 'Bannered Mare' Tavern shall house you free of charge and Lydia will accompany you as protection. Now go, I will summon you once the General answers."
The two soldiers nodded, turning around and being handed a signed document by the Jarl's clerk.
They left the palace with the mission accomplished.
The day was nearing the end, when the trio entered the tavern. It was full of people drinking and singing. Kat drew a lot of attention, with a lot of the males childishly and insecurely trying to mock or tease her. Intellectually, Katherine knew that the beginning of feminism was still ages away for these people, but the experience really rubbed the wrong way regardless. Her response was stoic silence, while Lydia was reserving the rooms. But one guy who got a little too pushy, earned a hard slap in the face, followed by more stoic silence and playing puzzle with the scattered fragments of his teeth.
The warrior woman from earlier that day, had a good giggle at that, watching the following awkwardness from her table with a proud smile.
Finally, the three got up to their rooms.
It got a little awkward when Lydia said: "They only have two rooms left..."
Lydia raised an eyebrow at Hadvars blatant flushing and Kat's confused expression.
"Are you two..."
"NO!" "NO!" The answer came simultaneously with a bit of intensity.
The Knight's cheeky grin just grew bigger. "Sure... of course not. I guess you two want some private space...", she giggled and vanished into her room, followed by some more distant giggles.
Kat and Hadvar awkwardly walked into their room, to catch some sleep.