Interstellar Age

It did not take long for Erich to get his hands on his personal starship. The Hydra Privateer was a medium-sized vessel, which was capable of housing four crew members. It had a remote turret usable by the Co-Pilot, and two manned turrets on the left and right sides. Aside from that, it had asymmetrical wings, which when landing were folded into the vertical position.

The paint scheme that Erich had selected was jet black, with some red accents, not only that, but the windows were tinted a blood-red, giving off a menacing appearance. After stepping foot inside the starship, Erich realized that it was a very minimalistic and utilitarian design, however unlike the warships he stepped foot upon, it was not the least bit polished, and was entirely rough around the edges, with exposed wires, components, and insulation across the vessel.

The reason for this design choice was because Hydra Interplanetary primarily sold ships to those rogue elements who lived on the fringes of imperial space, or even outside it. Thus, they had elected a bare bones approach to ensure that self-maintenance was as efficient as possible. Ultimately, Erich had no complaints, as this starship was more than capable of fulfilling the tasks he required of it.

Thus, after hailing the Star port and requesting permission to take off, Erich had ignited the engines and slowly took off vertically with the VTOL thrusters. For a ship of this size, it took quite a bit of time to reach orbit, but Erich was more than used to such things, and thus once he was in space he spooled up the quantum drive, and marked his destination in his nav computer.

The area of space which Erich was headed to was on the fringes of Imperial Space, located within an asteroid belt within an uninhabited system on the borders of the Empire. Having used his new underworld contacts, Erich was able to locate the nearest outlaw outpost to his current location, which was embedded in a particularly large asteroid.

The journey to the asteroid outpost took almost as long as the journey to the contraband facility that he had flown to during his previous underworld mission. After nearly two weeks of flying in space while alone in his ship, Erich finally arrived at the star system which housed his destination.

Just like he was informed by Anna, this star system was completely devoid of habitable worlds. Its star was a blue supergiant, while the only worlds within the system were a series of large gas giants that were used to extract and refine fuel for quantum drives.

In fact, other than the outlaw outpost which was hidden in the asteroid belt, there was only a single space station, a star fortress, and a comm relay which the Germanic Star-Empire used in every system they owned.

The space station, which orbited one of the larger gas giants, was used as an outpost for civilian miners who extracted the gas from the planets. But Erich had no intentions of stopping there and instead piloted his ship towards his destination which lay deep within the treacherous asteroid belt.

Erich did not know how many asteroids were in this system, but it ranged anywhere from millions, to billions and, if not for the influence of Hydra Interplanetary, which was given exclusive mining rights of this star system, then it was likely that the resources hidden among this asteroid belt would have been mined by large corporations long ago.

Instead, Hydra's influence over the system allowed for the outlaw outpost to remain undisturbed by prying eyes. No doubt the mega corporation had bribed either the system governor, or the sector governor, for this purpose.

Either way, Erich did not care, and instead navigated his way through the asteroid belt before finding his destination. Judging by the fact that his vehicle registration was unfamiliar to the syndicate which ran the outpost, a group of large rail guns which were embedded in the primary asteroid, and those surrounding it, immediately targeted Erich's ship, before hailing him.

"Identify yourself! If you do not, we will open fire on you!"

Erich did not hesitate to give the name that Drake and his crew knew him by, as well as the identity of the woman who had vouched for him.

"My name is Apex, Anna Paulsen sent me..."

The station was quick to respond, as they tried to verify whether or not Erich's words were true. They did not bother asking for his real identity, simply because so many outlaws chose to operate with pseudonyms for the sake of anonymity.

"Hold while we verify your credentials… Alright, you're clear to land in Hangar 09."

After saying this, the rail guns which were previously targeting Erich's ship disengaged, while the entrance to Hangar 09 slowly began to open. Erich skillfully maneuvered his new craft towards the entrance, which was just large enough to house his ship. If he slipped up by a few meters, his wings, which were now folded upright, would have clipped with the entrance.

Upon landing in the facility, Erich did not take off his helmet with obscured his facial features, instead he boldly walked into the facility as if he was just another outlaw seeking a refuge. He could immediately tell upon taking the elevator to the lobby that this was indeed an outlaw's refuge. Nearly everyone in the facility was dressed in armor, and were carrying weapons that were clearly equipped with illegal modifications.

Though the Empire permitted civilians to own weapons, and armor, both on their person and on their ship, they did not sell things like power armor, plasma-based infantry weapons, or handheld rail guns to the public.

Thus, the weapons and armor in the hands of the more veteran outlaws were essentially makeshift exoskeletons, power armor, and rail guns modified from more simple platforms. For Erich to show up in nothing but a flight suit, it was a clear indicator that he was just starting out in the criminal world. Which many people took notice of, yet nobody bothered approaching the newbie, or harassing him, as there was a certain honor among thieves, so to speak.

After aimlessly making his way through the facility, while following the signs, Erich found himself in a small bazaar, where outlaws from all walks of life hawked their goods. Everything from drugs, bootleg alcohol, illegal weapons, et cetera, it could all be found here.

Erich carefully observed each shop and was enticed by many of the offerings that were available. After seeing some weapons and armor that he thought were a much needed asset in his new secondary profession, Erich decided that he would come back to those shops after he had made his primary purchase. If he had enough credits left over, then he would outfit himself with the best gear he could buy, and stash it away in his ship's armory.

In fact, Erich just realized now that he did not even possess his own house, and the only place he would be able to store this illegal booze was in his starship, which had a decent sized cargo bay. Perhaps it was best that for the time being he lived a nomadic life among the stars, as the ownership of property came with many taxes and responsibilities to the State.

Erich approached the bootlegger who was selling the alcohol and was quick to interact with the man. While he spoke, Erich's voice was concealed by a feature of his helmet, which was common practice among those who dabbled in the Criminal Underworld.

"How much for a pallet of your strongest liquor?"

The hawker looked at Erich with a curious gaze, pondering whether or not his newest customer was an experienced drinker, or a complete novice. He quickly pointed towards a liquid which was glowing white before describing what it was.

"If potency is what you are looking for, then look no further. This is Rylonian Ale. Don't let the name confuse you. This stuff is brewed with a certain flower from the Rylonian home world, which has a powerful psychedelic effect on the Germanic mind. I warn you, one shot of this stuff will put you on your ass for hours on end.

Normally I would charge 35,000 creds for a full pallet of five hundred 750 ml bottles, but in case you have been living under a rock for these past few years, Rylonia has been completely wiped out by the Naraku. Which means these bottles are the last that I will ever be able to get my hands on.

Right now I'm charging a premium for just one bottle, and there is no way I am willing to sell a whole pallet to one customer, no matter how much you are willing to pay. So, I would suggest if you're looking for quantity instead of quality, but are still looking for a drink that packs a punch, then might I suggest Asuran Palm Wine?

It lacks the psychedelic effect of Rylonian Ale, but even the most experienced drinkers can barely drink two fingers' worth of this stuff without passing out. In my honest opinion, it is definitely the best bang for your buck, if that's what you are looking for."

Although Erich wanted to try out the Rylonian Ale, which had now become a delicacy throughout the galaxy, he could not afford the price that the bootlegger was asking for just one bottle of the stuff. Thus, he was quick to inquire about the Asuran Palm Wine.

"How much for a pallet of the wine?"

The man instantly raised two fingers, which Erich correctly assumed meant 20k, and just when he was about to accept the offer, the hawker began to speak once more.

"Twenty thousand creds, and it's yours. I can even have it hauled into your cargo bay free of charge. I would normally charge a full 25k for a pallet, but seeing as you are a new customer, and from what I can tell, are definitely suffering from shell shock, I'll give you a first time discount."

Erich raised his brows, which were concealed by his helmet's tinted visor after hearing the man's last remark. Shell shock? He did not believe he was suffering from such a condition, and was quick to ask why the man assumed he had been.

"What do you mean? Why do you think I have shell shock?"

The bootlegger did not hold back his punches and quickly fired back at Erich about why he was so certain the man was suffering from such a horrific condition.

"It takes one to know one. I'm guessing you just got out of your mandatory military service. In that case, trust me, you are not alone. Nobody buys a pallet of this stuff unless they are either trying to drink their trauma away, or are trying to sell it for a higher price, and judging by the fact that you don't know shit about alcohol, I can assume you are going for the former.

Since I know what you are going through, I figured I would cut you a break. I've heard from my contacts in the Navy that the admiralty is working the current crop of soldiers to the bone in this war with the Dvrakians, I don't know why they have chosen to go with such methods, but I'd be willing to put my money on the idea that your last deployment was in this ongoing conflict, am I right?"

Erich was left speechless by this man's deduction abilities. He had not even said a word about himself, and already this bootlegger was able to determine so much about him. He was hesitant to respond, but for whatever reason, he sighed before admitting to it.

"First Armada, Thirteenth Fleet…"

Though Erich could not see behind the man's skull shaped helmet, he could tell by the way the man moved upon hearing Erich's confession that he was truly staggered by this statement. Which was confirmed the next second when Erich heard a long suction of hair before the hawker finally spoke.

"Shit… You were in the first armada? From what I have been told, you guys have been tossed into the meat-grinder. Damn kid, have a bottle of Rylonian Ale on me. You deserve it after what you have been through. Me personally, I served in the Lykarian War as a Star Marine. Though those lithoid bastards had far more advanced tech than the Dvrakians, they did not put up nearly as much resistance.

After all, that was a simple proxy war waged between the Dominion and the Federation. Neither of us were fighting for our survival like the Dvrakians currently are. Still, I have no idea why the Admiralty is pushing our troops so hard in this current war; it doesn't make sense to fight so desperately against an enemy that we can easily defeat in a matter of years without sacrificing 1/10th of the manpower and resources we have already lost so far.

Still, the fact that we are fighting in such a reckless manner is a bad omen. In fact, after I have sold the rest of my wares here, I'm going to take an extended vacation to the Great Oni Empire. After all, their women are both beautiful and quite fond of Germanic men. Not only that, but the Oni worlds are far away from whatever threat is making the Admiralty behave so impulsively. I recommend you do the same when you have concluded whatever business is keeping you here in the Empire. Good luck kid, and enjoy the wine!"

After saying this, the bootlegger handed Erich a bottle of Rylonian Ale, where he immediately got into a cargo lift which carried the pallet of Asuran Palm Wine into Erich's cargo bay. Once Erich had concluded his business with the alcohol merchant, he doubled back to the weapons and armor stands where he purchased some makeshift power armor, and illegally modified rail guns. He then took off and headed back to the industrial world of Quadi, where the First Armada was still undergoing repairs.

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