Interstellar Age

Erich was entirely astonished that the Grand Admiral even knew who he was, let alone wanted to speak with him. He instinctively followed the man's commands as he took his seat, while waiting for Alaric to speak his mind. Which came quicker than he thought it would.

"You have been quite busy, Erich… As a mere cadet, you managed to succeed where nobody else had been able to do so. After nearly four centuries, you alone found a way to eliminate the Naraku Hive Fleet within a scenario that was designed to be unwinnable.

With such a rare talent, I must admit that I immediately took an interest in you, and may have covered for your actions when it was revealed that you had a little dalliance with the aunt of the Oni Emperor. No matter how much the Supreme Leader wanted your head on a pike, I pulled several favors to ensure that did not happen.

Then I organized a Starfighter tournament to give you a bit of breathing room after your parents had disowned you for your crimes against the Empire. And you exceeded my expectations once again. After your graduation from the Naval Academy, I had you assigned to the Black Sun Squadron, where you proved to be an invaluable asset in the war against the Dvrakians. I must say, I have been rather impressed with your service record thus far.

Now imagine my surprise, when after getting your first taste of freedom, you immediately enter the criminal underworld. Though I did not cover for the crimes you committed, they were not serious enough for me to expend the resources to bring you to justice. That is until, Splinter hired you to do their dirty work.

Assassinating a Commander in the Imperial Navy? Now that is a serious crime. Even if he was a crooked bastard who worked for the syndicate, and sold his own daughter into slavery, such a thing does not excuse your sins…. Oh? I can see on your face exactly what you are thinking. How do I know about all of this? Is that correct?"

Erich was truly bewildered at this moment, to the point where he struggled to the find words to speak, and thus he just silently nodded his head with a gawking expression on his face. Immediately afterward, the Grand Admiral smiled before admitting to a vast conspiracy that Erich never thought he would hear in his life.

"That is because Splinter works for us… Shocking, isn't it? You might be wondering why the Government is in league with an interstellar crime syndicate? Well, try as we might, we have found it entirely impossible to completely eliminate crime. It is something in our blood that we inherited from our ancestors that just won't go away.

So, what were we to do when the technology exists to freely traverse the stars and commit any number of heinous acts? Well, we looked to the most brutal, and organized criminal syndicate that we could find, and bound them to our leash. This way, they can control the criminal underworld on our behalf, and ensure that the only crimes that happen within the borders of the Empire are nonviolent offenses. So that the people may live their lives without fear of a random acts of violence, from no good rotten criminals.

Naturally, we were all aware of what Specter was up to, and though I personally disproved of his actions, it was not severe enough for me to intervene. That wasm until he decided to risk everything we have built together, by informing the authorities in a bordering civilization about your activities.

Naturally, something needed to be done about that, and it just so happened to have occurred right at the same time that we just so happened to have learned that several groups of Dvrakian separatists had begun popping up across our newly conquered territory.

If we were to unjustly crack down upon the Dvrakian Social Republic and its citizens, that would only aid in the separatists recruitment efforts. But if they were to assassinate an officer in the Imperial Navy? And in doing so, give him a death that was permanent. Then we would have every right to begin kicking down doors of suspected terrorists, and the public would not even bat an eye.

So, I ordered Specter to covertly pull off the assassination of a man who I have long since detested for a number of reasons, so that I could blame it on the Dvrakian separatists. Not only did this give us a proper justification to crack down on these rebels, but it was also a way to remind those pathetic outlaws who are really in charge. If they were to ever cause unecessary trouble for me again, I could reveal their part in the assassination of a Military Officer, and thus really make their lives quite miserable.

Of course, I did not expect that they would beat me at my own game and use you as their sacrificial lamb. Butcher is an incredibly brilliant man, one who despises the Empire and its government. Not that I blame him. After what we did to him and his family, he has every right to be angry at us.

You are probably wondering right about now, why would I possibly be revealing all of this to you. Well, you see, as promising as a talent as you have been so far, you have just about used up all of my patience. I have it on good authority that even after being disowned by your parents for having an affair with that Oni girl; you have still not learned your lesson and are now once more engaged in a rather serious relationship with a Dvrakian woman.

As much as I do not care for the empire's mistreatment of mutants such as yourself, or our ridiculous laws on interspecies relationships, especially those that can't possibly result in a pregnancy like the one you have with Ensign S'aleth there are trillions of people in this Empire who do. And you have already blown your cover twice now.

There are already people who are asking questions about your relationship with this woman, and try as I might to bury the evidence of what you have done, our doctors know enough now about Dvrakian social customs, and mating habits, to understand what you have done. I mean, you are aware that a standard medbay can detect any and all damage done to the body, and can repair even that if requested…?

As difficult as it might be, I can still make this situation disappear, but this is your last chance. So now you have two options. You can either break up with your little girlfriend and stay away from alien women for the rest of your life. Or, I can ensure that the medbay she is currently recuperating in suffers a little glitch…. If that were to happen, then I'm afraid due to the severity of her injuries, she would not make it. Either way, your relationship with the little succubus ends today. It just depends on how you want it to end. So, what will it be, Erich?"

Having heard everything that the Grand Admiral had to say, it took Erich some time to process all the information that had had received in this brief scolding. Whether it was the fact that the Grand Admiral himself had mapped out Erich's career. Or the fact that Mirage and Splinter had offered him up as a sacrificial lamber in a power play against the Empire. Erich did not actually care about either of these things.

Instead, his mind was drawn to one particular issue, the fact that he would have to break up with S'aleth, a woman he had grown to love, once and for all. If that were to happen, then most likely she would be transferred to another carrier in the fleet, and the two of them would never speak with one another again. Though perhaps this might actually be for the best. After all, because they were from to vastly different humanoid species, they would never be able to have children together.

Not only that, but with S'varin in custody, and all of his soldiers dead, nobody would ever know that S'aleth had ever had sexual relations with an outsider, especially after the medbay repaired every bit of damage that her body had ever received. Meaning that she could eventually move on from him and marry a member of her own race like she was supposed to.

Even if their brief time together as a couple had unnaturally to come to its end, and by his own hand no less, at least S'aleth would still be alive. With this in mind, and after several moments of silence, Erich finally sighed and nodded his head. He struggled to hold back the tears in his eyes as he agreed to the Grand Admiral's decision.

"Very well. The moment she wakes up, I will inform her that we can no longer be together. After an event like this, I am certain that I can spin a tale about it being in her best interest to never see me again. I am thankful that you are giving me another chance to live, even after everything that I have done, and I promise never to interact with Splinter ever again…"

Despite agreeing to the Grand Admiral's conditions, Erich felt like he had somehow lost everything. He was in a worse state than when his parents had disowned him. Once again, he was all alone in the universe, and the galaxy was a vast and lonely place. However, Alaric's next words took Erich by surprise.

"That last part won't be necessary. Though you were a sacrificial lamb, I must admit you have somehow gotten into Splinter's good graces. This presents a rather unique opportunity for the both of us. You see, it has been extremely difficult for me to get a man on the inside until now.

Naturally, you know where I am going with this. So, from now on, you are my agent on the inside. The next time Splinter decides to contact you, you will accept whatever job they offer, and inform the IIS of everything you speak about. You can consider this to be your redemption as a citizen of the Empire.

Do this for me, and perhaps one day, you might have that which your heart desires most of all… You are dismissed, Lieutenant, or should I say, Lieutenant Commander. Oh, don't look at me like that. I may have forced you to break up with your little girlfriend, but I am not entirely heartless! As far as I am concerned, you have already proved yourself more than worthy of a promotion during the war with the Dvrakians. And if it weren't for that damned fool in charge of your ship holding a silly little grudge, you would have already been promoted by now.

When you return to your ship, you can also expect to find a Knight's Cross with swords and oak leaves in your cot. Consider these two gifts back-pay for everything that you have done during your military service thus far. This is your last chance to fall in line. So, the next time I hear about you behaving in a way that dishonors your position, I will have you arrested."

After hearing this, Erich was escorted out of the Grand Admiral's office, and back to the shuttle, where he would then be taken to the 13th Fleet and the Carrier he served upon. It would take several days for S'aleth to recover from her injured state, and during this time Erich would think of the best way to break up with her, in a way that made it so she would never wish to contact him again.

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