Legend of Oria 1: Initial Contact

by James Campbell

  The first boat slowly pulled into the mouth of the creek. Olaf ordered the drums silent to minimize the chance that anyone on shore would hear them. Olaf’s men rowed the boat about 50 yards into the mouth of the creek where arrows suddenly pelted their boat. The shields hanging on both sides of his boats partially shielded the crews from the storm of arrows. Unfortunately, several arrows made it through the shields and struck two of Olaf’s men.

  The second boat seeing the attack quickly began heading for the shore just north of the creek’s mouth. They landed on the shore without incident. Olaf’s second in command, Leif Johanson, took most of the men leaving only a skeleton crew to guard the women, children, and the boat.

  Leif’s men headed towards the north shore of the creek where archers were continuing their attack on Olaf’s boat. Olaf’s men took cover inside their boat waiting for a pause in the attack. The boat was slowly drifting back out of the creek. Leif’s men crept up on the Scottish archers and struck them like lighting, moments after they released a volley of arrows. The archers didn’t have time to load more arrows or even grab their swords. The Vikings slew the 10 Scottish archers attacking the drifting boat.

  Another Scottish group waiting closer to the creek’s edge and preparing to attack the boat heard the commotion behind them. They turned to help their comrades not knowing that the raiders had already killed them. They ran up the slope right into the center of Leif’s band. Leif had approximately 20 men with him against about 50 Scotsmen. Leif ordered his men to slowly retreat. Olaf seeing the action ashore ordered his boat to attack the creek’s shoreline. Another 30 men from Olaf’s boat jumped ashore while the remaining men rowed the boat back out into the creek.

  Olaf’s squad led a loud charge up the slope to help distract the Scotsmen. The two groups were now almost equal in size. The Scotsmen did not realize this and started their retreat further inland. Once the fighting calmed down, Olaf counted 10 of his men killed and another 10 injured. The Scotsmen had almost 20 killed with another 5 injured and left behind. Olaf feared losing any more men. He had started out with over 100 men and now was down to just short of 80 healthy men.

  Since Olaf had frequented Scotland, he had picked up the language. This skill proved useful in interrogating the wounded hostages.

  Olaf roared at the hostages, “I don’t want to hurt any more of your people. We just need to get fresh water and food. If I help you get back to your people, will you talk to them and help us strike a truce?”

  One of the injured Scotsmen stared back at Olaf in disbelief and replied. “You have just landed on our country and murdered 20 of our people. They won’t listen and talk peace. They will slaughter you pigs and have their way with your women!”

  “If they attack again, we will kill more of them. I don’t believe either of us wants that.”

  “Maybe, but they will destroy you! Right now, they’re gathering more soldiers to destroy you. They won’t be deterred by you holding us.”

  Olaf turned to Leif and whispered to him to take some men and load fresh water onto the ships and organize a defense further down near the creek. The Vikings broke off into several teams gathering supplies and building a defense.

  Olaf then turned towards his wounded prisoners and said. “You have the power to prevent more killing. Please leave, you are free to go.”

  Olaf didn’t expect the prisoner release to stop the Scotsmen from organizing another attack. He hoped that it might buy him several hours giving him time to take on fresh water. They could always sail further north along the coast until they found a friendlier location to take on food. Olaf did not want to risk losing more men. He needed them for the trip across the great ocean.

  Olaf’s crew had just about completed taking on fresh water when several lookouts warned of the advance of the Scottish army. They looked better equipped than the first group. There were at least 200 soldiers including archers, swordsmen with shields, and about 50 more mounted soldiers. They were advancing quickly. Olaf’s small band would stand little chance against this army. He wondered how they were able to organize such a large group so quickly. Unbeknownst to Olaf, the army was part of a contingent that organized to attack an English army further south. Olaf just had the misfortune of stumbling upon it.

  The Viking crews quickly boarded their boats and cast off. The healthy men mounted the oars and begun to row back towards the sea. As they headed towards the mouth, several lookouts spotted several Scottish boats heading towards them from the north. From the south, they saw several English boats. Standing at the stern, Olaf shook his head in disbelief. He was heading right into the middle of a Scottish - English battle. No wonder the Scottish were able to mount an army against him so quickly. He ordered his men once again to row hard out towards the open ocean. Olaf had no desire to end up in the middle of someone else’s war. Fortunately, the Scottish and English boats were not interested in him.

  Olaf and his two boats successfully escaped the two fleets. He headed his boats again towards the north. They sailed for almost two days wanting to put significant distance between their next attempt to obtain supplies and the evolving battle between the English and Scots. Again, Olaf’s ships found a small river and sailed a single boat about 100 yards in front of the other boat into the mouth of the river. All was quiet.

  Olaf sent several men to scout the shore to look for food supplies. The scouts found a small farming village about 2 miles inland. They returned with this information to Olaf. Olaf then organized a small raiding party consisting of 20 men.

  The raiding party came upon the small farming village guarded by only a few men. Most of the men had left to join the Scottish army taking on the English much further south. Olaf was happy for this development. His men quickly overpowered the guards and entered the village. His band rounded up some horses and wagons and loaded them with food and supplies. A couple of his men took liberties with some of the village women. He slowed most of his men down from their usual activities after conquering a village. Olaf was more interested in getting the supplies back to the boats and getting back underway. Olaf believed the old raiding days were over.

  Once the boats were loaded, they headed back out to sea. They traveled several more days northward and then proceeded to sail to the west. They traveled this way for a month before nearing the southern coast of Iceland. Once Iceland came in view, Olaf ordered his boats ashore to get fresh food and water.

  Having completed their landing in Iceland without incident, Olaf ordered his boats back to sea and they continued traveling westward. He had heard of a great land far to the west. This land was Olaf’s goal. Olaf’s boats sailed over another month in a westerly direction. The North Atlantic was extremely cold and rough. His crew managed to make it through several storms only loosing several more men. Some of the women and children had gotten sick and died and a few washed overboard into the chilly Atlantic Ocean.

  It was mid-January when lookouts finally spotted land. After a long harsh trip, Olaf’s people were excited to make landfall off what the world currently knows as the northern coast of Canada. The boats carefully approach the coast navigating tricky currents and a strong northwest wind. Olaf had his boats sail south along the coast of Canada. He was looking for a good location to make landfall. Most of the coast was rocky and quite dangerous to attempt a landfall.

  Olaf’s boats sailed several hours before they spotted an inviting cove. Again, Olaf had his boats sail one behind the other into the cove. All was quiet. The lookouts spotted a small beach and Olaf ordered both to run up onto the beaches. Olaf dispatched several scouts to scope out the area within several miles of their landing. Several hours went by before the scouts returned with the news that the area was isolated. There were signs of inhabitance, but they did not find any other people.

  Olaf and his clan set up a small settlement just inside of the cove to sit out the rest of the winter. They took a boat to check out the shoreline north and south of their camp to hunt for food. On one voyage, the
y sailed a week to the north and hunted walrus. They returned with fresh food for their new village.

  Scouts explored further inland in both the north and south directions. The scouts returned with disturbing news. It appeared that the area near the cove was inhabited during the spring and summer months. Olaf had heard stories from other Viking leaders that the land could swarm with well-armed savages. Earlier Viking attempts to establish settlements had eventually ended in failure with the people killed or forced to return home to Scandinavia. Since going home was not an option for Olaf, he decided to have his clan sail south once the weather warmed.

  In early April, Olaf ordered his clan back to the boats and back to sea. They planned to head south. Olaf knew this would be a difficult change for his people. They were not used to living in the warmer climates and would be unable to hunt for walrus and their normal food sources.

  Olaf’s two boats again took to the Atlantic. He had them sail south for a week. They came upon a large island that people would later call Manhattan. As they approached the shore, Olaf’s lookout spotted bands of armed men. They were too numerous for Olaf to consider coming ashore. He ordered his boats to continue south.

  After several days, his boats came upon a large bay, later known as the Delaware Bay. They sailed into the bay’s mouth and its northern shoreline. Lookouts spotted many small narrow boats heading towards them and they did not appear friendly. Olaf ordered his boats back into the center of the bay and back towards the safety of the Atlantic. After several hours, the small boats appeared to have given up the chase.

  Again, Olaf ordered his boats south. They sailed several more days before coming upon an even larger bay currently known as the Chesapeake Bay. Olaf’s boats sailed into the bay along its north shore. All was quiet. Olaf felt encouraged and ordered his boats to sail several more days into the bay occasionally coming ashore for food and water. On each excursion, they found the land uninhabited. Eventually the small band came upon a small river, later known as the Choptank. Olaf liked the safe harbor that the river provided and ordered his clan to proceed into the river. The two boats sailed several miles up the Choptank. Eventually the lookouts spotted a small village. Unlike their other experiences, the local villagers welcomed them ashore.

  Olaf presented gifts to the villagers and his clan enjoyed a peaceful evening of food and drink. Communication was difficult since the two groups had no common language. Olaf could tell that even though they were welcome as visitors, the local group did not want them to become neighbors. The local chief indicated that Olaf might find land further up the Choptank.

  Early the next morning, Olaf and his two boats sailed further up the Choptank. They sailed almost half a day up the river before it became too shallow for his boats. Olaf thought the land was nice, but he wanted to be closer to the bay. Olaf decided to return to the bay and sail further inland.

  As Olaf’s boat came upon the small Nanticoke village they had just left that morning, Olaf could tell something was wrong. As they came closer, Olaf saw another group of people attacking the village. The attackers numbered close to 40 men. Even with the losses that Olaf had sustained in his trip to America, he still had close to 70 healthy men. He ordered his men to prepare for battle. The women and children all climbed on one of the boats leaving 50 men aboard the remaining boat.

  Olaf took the one boat to the shore of the village. His men jumped off the boat in full battle gear attacking the band of Susquehanna’s raiding the village. The battle lasted a quick 20 minutes before Olaf’s warriors forced the Susquehanna to retreat. Olaf led his men in pursuit after the retreating attackers killing all but two warriors who managed to escape.

  When Olaf and his men returned to the village, the Nanticoke chief welcomed them back to the village. Where several hours earlier, the chief did not want Olaf Stoneax and his men to stay, he now welcomed them and indicated that Olaf should be free to make a home with his people.

  The rest of Olaf’s clan came ashore and joined in building a small Viking-style village about a mile upriver from the Nanticokes. The two groups frequently got together and the Vikings in time learned the local language. As the years passed, the two groups intermingled and grew as one people. The Viking blood became one with the Nanticoke people with the people maintaining many of the Viking customs and traditions.

  With the combined power of the Nanticoke and the Vikings, they consistently thwarted subsequent attacks by the Susquehanna. Olaf and his men laid out defensive perimeters and taught the Nanticokes the Viking Art of War. This relationship between the Viking clan and the Nanticoke continued until the days of Oria as the two people become one people.

  3

  First Contact

  March 2017: Eastern Shore of Maryland

  “Hey Charlie, stop that shovel. It looks like we ran into more Indian stuff.”

  Charlie halted the shovel. "Oh man, let’s just pretend we didn’t see it. We’re never gonna to complete this project if we stop now. That jerk boss of ours will be up our butts if we don’t make the schedule.”

  “You gotta be kidding; do you remember what happened to the last crew that screwed up an Indian burial ground? Man, they all did time. I got a family; this job ain’t worth giving them up. I’m going to call it in. Besides, this is part of a State Park. I think they’d notice if we try to hide this.”

  Linda StalkingWolf was sitting at her desk in her University of Maryland Archeology Department office in College Park, when the phone rang. It was Bob from the Interior Department.

  “Hi Linda, it’s Bob; we got another find for you. This time, it’s close to your home town.”

  “Hi Bob, that’s great! Did you get any of your Interior guys out there yet?”

  “No, I called you as soon as I found out. You’d better get there. I’m sending a team to cordon off the area as we speak.”

  Linda called her assistant and told him that she had to make a quick trip to the Eastern Shore and to reschedule her meetings.

  As Linda drove around the Beltway towards Rte. 50, she was getting excited. Maybe she could get some answers to her people’s history from this latest find. There were not many Nanticokes left on the Eastern Shore. The encroachment of the white man by 1748 had forced most of the Nanticoke to join the Susquehanna and the Iroquois people further north. Others moved even further north and into Canada. The new occupants and their slaves assimilated most of the Nanticoke people that remained in Maryland and Delaware. There were very few people left who still identified themselves as part of the Nanticoke people.

  Linda was involved in several fights with the State and Federal Governments to raise money for her people. She hoped to prove that the earlier settlements had forced her people from their land and stomped on their rights. If she could do this, maybe, the Government would return land to her people and money to help them restore what they would otherwise have achieved. She also hoped to earn back the respect of her people since many of them resented her success and education.

  The find was just south of the mouth of the Choptank River. As Linda drove up, a team from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and representatives from Interior were standing around and greeted her.

  “Dr. StalkingWolf, I presume?”

  “Yes.”

  “Dr. Kathy Johnson, Department of Interior” The two women shook hands as they walked over to the site.

  “Good to meet you Dr. Johnson. Has anything been identified yet?"

  “Please call me Kathy. You’re going to be surprised. We found some Viking artifacts along with artifacts from your tribe.”

  “Viking artifacts?” exclaimed Linda.

  “Yes, I couldn’t believe it either.”

  “Anything else?”

  “No not yet, like you, we just got here.”

  Friday, May 19, 2018: Arrive Destination Earth, Rendezvous USS Hercules

  Oria was in a deep sleep when his intercom system rang. It was Captain Borella. Oria growled, “Yes, what’s up?”

  Bore
lla replied “Admiral, we are approaching Earth and are slowing to sub-light speed.”

  “Thanks, I will meet you on the bridge in about 15 minutes.”

  Just as Oria turned off the intercom system, the ship’s alert system sounded. The ship's sensors had detected a fleet of starships approaching similar in class to the Hercules.

  Captain Borella continued “Admiral, we have a fleet of starships approaching us. They appear to be Azortec. Moreover, one of the ships is identifying itself as the Hercules.”

  Oria replied, “That's good. President Shalat said this would happen. Only he did not mention that there would be an entire fleet. Can you raise them on the radio?”

  “I’m already working on it.”

  “Good, I’m on my way to the bridge. When you get through, please connect me with them.”

  “Aye sir.”

  Oria quickly dressed and headed towards the bridge. When he arrived on the bridge, Borella had set up a Com link between the two Hercules. Captain Borella looked at Oria and said, “Admiral Oria, Admiral Oria of the other Hercules.”

  Oria addressed the Com link. “Greetings, this is Admiral Oria of the Starship Hercules.”

  “Greetings, I am Admiral Oria of the USS Starship Hercules. I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

  “This is a bit strange. You are me after going back in time and spending a year on Earth.”

  “I know. I can’t say much since we don’t want to create any more temporal anomalies than necessary.”

  “I understand. President Shalat said that we are supposed to exchange ships.”

  “That's correct. Everything that your crew needs is onboard this ship. Strange as it seems, there is no reason to exchange personal belongings and possessions. The same items are on board this ship.”

  “Ok. Shall we have our CO's setup the logistics?”