Linda walked over to a short table set up in what was once the corner of the old building. On it was sitting a stone ax head and a two-edged sword. Oria recognized these items immediately. The ax head was off his father's old battle-ax that he received from successive generations
Stoneaxs. Oria’s father told one of his ancestors; Olaf Stoneax received the ax from King Fairhair. Olaf Stoneax was the leader who led Oria's ancestors to North America.
Oria spoke up and asked Linda “Linda, did you find the ax head and sword in the house or near the massacre site and does the ax head contain a symbol like this?” Oria began drawing a symbol in the dirt in front of him.
Linda walked up and looked at the symbol. When she saw the symbol Oria had drawn matched the symbol on the ax, she was stunned. Her assistant had only dug the ax out of the ruins several hours earlier. She wondered how Oria could possibly know a detail like this. She replied in a soft voice “We found the ax about halfway to the massacre site. How did you know about the symbol?”
“It's the classic symbol of the
Stoneax family and all of the descendants of Olaf Stoneax, who served under King Fairhair.”
Oria's response surprised Linda. Earlier, she had asked one of her archeological associates who specialized in Scandinavian history about the Viking symbols they had already found at her excavation site. None of the symbols matched any of the known symbols from Viking history. She hadn't checked the new symbol out, but she did not expect it to match any
known symbol.
Linda replied to Oria “I see you not only claim knowledge of local history, but also knowledge of Viking history.”
Oria smiled and said “Not exactly. I wouldn't quite call myself a historian. My parents are of mixed heritage. They are descended from Scandinavians and the Nanticoke people. My father had stronger ties to his Scandinavian past. Since my name is Stoneax, I know my family symbols and some of their history.”
“I see we have some things in common. Let's get together after the tour so we can make the most of our remaining time for the others on the tour.”
Linda continued discussing many of the findings for the rest of the tour. Oria chose to remain silent since he had accomplished one of his primary goals, that is, getting an in to the local scientific community. The remainder of the tour lasted about an hour and then the group returned to the visitors lodge.
When the last of the visitors left, Linda walked over to Oria and invited him out for a cup of coffee. She drove Oria to a local coffee shop in Cambridge, run by one of her brothers. With coffee in hand, Linda and Oria sat down at one of the outside tables. She looked at Oria and said, “I'm impressed at some of your knowledge and thoughts of local Nanticoke history and customs. We're a fairly small community and I don't remember seeing you before or hearing about a family called
Stoneax.”
Oria replied in the ancient Nanticoke language “Long ago my family was forced to depart from this community. It is only now that I am able to return.”
Linda interrupted in English “Oria, I don't understand your dialect. We mostly speak English now.”
A Nanticoke elder sitting nearby had overheard Oria's comments. He got up and walked over to Oria and Linda and said “Sir, you speak with an ancient Nanticoke dialect. You'll have to pardon our youth, they have forgotten some of our ways.”
Linda smiled at the elder and said, “Hello, Jack Stone are you still hanging out here?” Linda wanted Jack to leave her alone with Oria. Jack, like most of the elders, didn’t want Linda tampering with ancestral remains or raising new issues and conflicts with the white man. However, they respected Linda for her work in helping the less fortunate members of their tribe. It was a love/hate relationship.
Oria stood up and greeted the elder in the traditional way. Even though Oria was the elder of the two men, his physical appearance was that of a man in his mid-thirties. The elder sensed that Oria was much older and respected him as an elder. He said to Oria, “Oria, in some ancient stories that have almost been completely forgotten, there were tales of a family called
Stoneax who lived and became one with our people. There was a ‘day of slaughter’ when all but a few of our tribe survived a Susquehanna raid and a strike from the Spirits. Our people now celebrate their survival in a festivity known as the Day of the Storm.”
Linda looked puzzled. She had celebrated the Day of the Storm as a little girl. She had always thought that day celebrated the survival of her people after a great hurricane. There had been some quiet talk amongst the elders that there was more to the story. However, whenever she asked, they elders told her that the elders pass the details to only the most elder of the tribe. They did not want to stir up the wrath of the Spirits again.
Linda replied, “I was always taught that the Day of the Storm celebrated our survival from a great hurricane. All of the other stories were considered part of old superstitions.”
Oria interrupted Linda and said “The Day of the Storm marks the time when my family left this area. Most of them rose to a new level.”
Jack understood what Oria was saying. He gave Oria the old chieftain challenge which Jack's father, the current chief, had taught him. Oria returned the required response as a son of a chief. Oria's father had been Chief of the Nanticoke people. Upon seeing the response, Jack became silent. He and Oria stared at each other silently for a minute before Linda got their attention.
“Um, guys, what's going on here? I'm a bit confused.”
Jack turned to Linda and said “Linda, Oria is the son of a Nanticoke Chief. He is one of us.” He then turned toward Oria, felt the top of Oria's forehead feeling the indentation in Oria's skull where the Susquehanna scalped him. He then spoke quietly but firmly, “Welcome home, you must be the one the Spirits spoke about. They appear to have made you well. Your one journey appears to be over with another one yet to begin. You must be the one sent by the Spirits!” He then glared at Linda and said “Linda be kind to this man, he is your Uncle and sent from the Spirits!” Immediately Jack turned and headed down the street away from the coffee shop.
Linda was astonished. Events were moving much too fast for her. Only an hour and a half earlier she regretted letting Oria come on her tour. Then he appeared to threaten some of her work only to become a resource of information helping to describe some of the findings at the excavation site. Now armed with this new information, Jack Stone had just further complicated her relationship with Oria.
Oria seeing Linda's expression looked her straight in the eyes and said “Linda, please relax. I'm not here to stop you or get in your way.”
Linda glared back at Oria and said, “DON'T tell me to relax! I just met you and you upset my efforts to gain support for my Nanticoke PAC (political action committee)! You are challenging my interpretations of one of the biggest excavations in my career, and now you have convinced my
local people that you are one with us. How am I supposed to relax? Who are you anyway, and I don't mean just telling me your name?”
“You ask a very difficult question. If I answer your question truthfully, you won't believe me.”
“Try me. You obviously are very acquainted with some of our older customs and traditions. I don't even know the code between chiefs. Your insights into my people, oh, excuse me, our people, after all, you're supposed to be my Uncle, are quite remarkable for someone who is probably an outsider.”
“You're right. I know a lot about the ancient Nanticoke people who lived in this village. You're also right that in one sense I am an outsider. I have been gone for a long time. A lot has changed since I was last here.”
Linda said rather sarcastically, “I guess the next thing you’ll be telling me is that the empty stake, the one where no remains were found, is where you were bound. I saw Jack Stone feel your forehead.”
“Those are your words. I can say nothing to disagree with you.”
Linda looked outraged. She angrily replied, “I guess you can tell me what I found at the foot of that stake.” Linda had secretly stolen a petrified scalp with a complete Viking helmet attached to it.
Oria reflected for a moment and then said, “All right, you found a Viking helmet with a petrified scalp.” He then wrote out the inscription inscribed on the helmet. Oria further described in detail where a tomahawk, used to scalp him, split his helmet many years ago.
Linda saw the writing and listened to Oria describe in detail the helmet and how it had become split open. She felt shocked by his accurate descriptions and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Her thoughts became totally scrambled. Oria seeing her distress walked around the table and put his arm around her. He was about to speak when Linda freaked out and shouted at him. “You were there! How could you be here? Jack is right, you must be my Uncle!”
Oria gently squeezed Linda and said “Shhh, please calm down. Jack was partially right. Only it wasn't the Spirits who seized me but aliens.”
“Aliens?” thought Linda, “Just what is the truth?” A light went off in Linda's head. She was recalling their conversation at the massacre site. She remembered watching the struggles Oria went through while they were talking earlier during the tour. She looked up to Oria, gave him a squeeze, and said, “Please forgive me for giving you such a hard time earlier. I can't imagine what you must have gone through seeing your family brutally killed.”
Oria sat back down and pulled his chair closer to Linda’s chair. “It was difficult. That is one reason why I came here first. I need to come to terms with my past, and I'm happy to be home and among family.”
Linda was still a bit shocked. She said, “Wow, I don't think I can really believe all of this. You said aliens seized you?”
“Yes, I remember my last moments here as vividly as if they happened yesterday. I was bound to the stake. The Susquehanna had just scalped my father and were beating him and poking him with burning embers. He was still alive when they turned and came towards me. One of their warriors buried a tomahawk in my scalp. They started poking me with their spears and shoving burning embers into my side. I could see my father watching in pain. Then, all of a sudden, there was a bright light. My mind went blank. That was my last memory as a young man here on Earth.”
Linda stared at Oria in amazement, “I'm having a hard time believing you.”
“That's quite understandable. Feel my scalp.”
Tentatively, Linda reached up, ran her hand across his forehead, and replied, “I feel your scar, but that still doesn't prove anything.”
“No it doesn't. Just that I'm someone with a scar. Let's leave here and go somewhere private and we can talk more.”
“Fine, I know a good place near the preserve.” The two of them left the coffee shop. Linda's Ford Expedition was sitting out front. She was shaking slightly as they climbed into the truck and drove quietly to the preserve. Once Linda reached her hideout, she pulled the truck off the road and onto a small beach on the Choptank, out of eye site of the road.
Oria pulled out a small device from one of his pockets. He signaled the Hercules to transport the two of them up to the ship. Immediately, the transport crew transported them into the transporter room on the Hercules. Linda was dumb-founded. Oria seeing her distress put his arm around her and said, “Are you all right? I just had us transported to my starship.”
Linda scanned the small room, as she felt disoriented. “Alright Oria, just where are we? Are we really in space?”
“Yes, we're in the transport room of the AFS Hercules. Please follow me and I will take you to one of our observation decks.”
While trying her hardest to keep her mouth from dropping open, Linda followed Oria out of the transport room and down a long corridor. At the end, a door opened automatically in front of them where she followed Oria into a room that looked like lounge with a bar. There were several people sitting around tables sipping drinks and eating food. On the far side of the room was a glass window with Earth in plain sight. She followed Oria over to one of the tables and they sat down.
A waiter came over immediately. “Hello Admiral, what would you like to have today?”
Oria gave the waiter an order for food and drinks, none of which sounded familiar to Linda. She looked at Oria and said “Admiral? I think you have some serious explaining to do right now!”
Oria smiled and replied, “Yes, I am an Admiral and I’m responsible for
the ships overall mission. Even though this is my ship, Captain Borella actually commands it. We have ordered everyone to speak English even though English is not their first language. I put this order in force for the duration of our mission on Earth. This way, my crew can become more comfortable speaking with people on Earth.”
Linda sat there shaking her head in disbelief. “Your mission? What mission are you talking about?”
“Earth is in danger. Since Galactic politics are a complex subject, I will attempt to simplify the situation. Most of the members of Azortec, of which this ship is part of, are human like. However, there are non-human species in the universe. One such species is the Creytes. They are a developed civilization similar to ours. In their part of the universe, they raise humans for food much as we raise cattle. Obviously that poses a natural point of contention with us.”