THE LOST VIKING SAGA

After a long, well-deserved sleep, the Norsemen awoke famished. David, now officially assigned to them at the order of Colonel Brundige himself, was waiting patiently when they awakened. He led them to another room underground that served as a sort of banqueting hall. The food was plain and unremarkable, but there was as much of it as they good eat and they had no hesitation to eat their fill. The only thing missing was a hearty ale to quench their thirst and take the edge off of the weight they bore being separated by hundreds of years from their families and all they knew.

Once they were fed, the majority of them returned to the surface to continue in the cleanup efforts with David and one of the Oxford professors to act as translator. Olaf, Ebbn, and Kalf were directed back to the room where they originally met with Colonel Brundige. The Colonel desired to meet with them again and had some news of great import to pass on to them. They waited for almost an hour. During that time John worked at helping them to understand and begin to speak a few more phrases in the language of the Englanders to make good use of the idle moments. When the Colonel finally entered the room, Olaf was able to greet him in heavily accented English.

“It is good to see you again, Colonel,” said Olaf proudly.

Brundige smiled at Olaf, obviously impressed.

“You are a quick study, Olaf. It has been barely a day since you arrived and already you are speaking our language. Well done, my friend.”

Olaf shrugged, looking to John for understanding. The Norseman smiled when he heard the Colonel’s words spoken in his own language.

“My desire is that I will learn to speak well enough so that I converse with you man to man without having to rely upon John to be my voice.”

“That is a noble goal to have, Olaf”, replied Brundige. “I apologize for my tardiness in meeting with you all. I had some pressing matters that required my attention. I feel that is almost all I even do these days is react to pressing issues of apparent importance. More often than not they are things that can just as easily be done by someone else. Ah, well. Such is the mantle of leadership, eh, Olaf?” The Colonel took his seat, opening the folder he had been carrying upon entering the room. “I wanted to speak with you about an idea I have proposed to my superiors in London. It took some convincing, but with the word of Dr. Perierls and John, and quite honestly a good number of my own officers who have seen you at work, I have been able to have myself assigned a special project. Being reliable in pressing matters sometimes has its benefits. I have been given a free hand to move forward at my discretion. I am calling it Operation Thor’s Hammer.”

Olaf’s ears perked, his head tilting slightly as he heard the name of one of the most revered of the old gods.

“I see some bit of consternation upon your face, my friend. Do you have a concern?” asked Brundige as he observed Olaf’s reaction.

“I am merely wondering at the use of one of our old gods. Being a follower of the Christ, I find it odd when I hear it spoken, especially by one who would not claim to know Thor as god.”

“I am not an adherent to mythical beings, I assure you. I myself am a disciple of the Christ. When we have special missions or plans we do not want to reveal details of we give them names to hide their true meaning. I have chosen something I thought gave homage to your ancestry. If it offends you I can come up with something different.”

“That is not necessary, Colonel. I understand and have no need for you to change it.”

Brundige nodded at John’s translation and continued.

“Very well, then. I have decided to accept your offer to take an active role in our fight against the Nazis. My superiors have given me latitude to move forward and look forward to its success. That is, if you will agree to take part.”

Olaf beckoned the Colonel to continue with a wave of his hand.

“Excellent. Of course, I expect that you will want to take this before your warriors before you commit, but Thor’s Hammer is a mission I propose to use to hit Adolph where he lives so to speak. My plan is that we train you and your men in the methods and language of the German army, and insert you into Germany to capture Hitler. You would make every effort to bring him alive back to us, where he would face proper justice for his crimes, not only against Britain, but against all the peoples he has oppressed and terrorized. My theory is that if we cut off the head of the diseased beast, the rest of the body will fall into line. I think we can end this senseless war swiftly if only Hitler were removed from the picture.”

The Norseman sat, pondering Brundige’s proposal. For many minutes he remained still, his head bowed, and his face an enigmatic mask of calm. Ebbn looked to Kalf who flashed his signs toward his father, but Olaf remained silent. Finally, John laid his hand upon Olaf’s shoulder and shook him firmly.

“Olaf? What are your thoughts?”

Olaf raised his head. He rose to his feet, looking fixedly at Colonel Brundige.

“It is a good plan. It is far from a strategy as yet, but it is a fine proposal. I will assist you in filling the holes and gaps as I gain understanding of the Germans and their ways, especially the ways of the ones who follow such a man as Hitler. I will speak to the men, but I know that they will follow me wherever I urge them to go. Ebbn, Kalf, what say you? Have you any objections?”

Both men shook their heads, their faces indicating pleasure in having at least some direction or purpose. Olaf smiled at them. There was the possibility that such an act of selflessness might put them in a position to return to their own time. If they were brought here as part of a divine plan, their participation in it could be the trigger. Olaf could only hope and pray.

“Then it is settled. Colonel, I will present this to the men tonight. Tomorrow, you and I will begin to flesh out how we can see this germ of an idea become reality. I assume that we will need to learn how to use the weapons of this time, but I must tell you now, that we will only use them if absolutely necessary. This is one exception I cannot be refused on. Our honor will not be belittled or jeopardized by making use of such cowardly weapons as these.”

“We will address that as we need to, Olaf, and you are correct. You will need to learn to use the enemy’s weapons. Your familiarity with them will be key in order to properly pull off the masquerade that you are one of them. We have many days of hard work and planning ahead. I will send Major Penbrooke tomorrow when I can put aside the time to meet. Until then, I wish you well as you lay this before your men.”

The two men grasped each other’s arms, Colonel Brundige nodding to John and the others before leaving the room already thinking about the next important item that required his attention.