Erich had suddenly found himself with four different women on his ship. One was Tia's robotic form, which followed him around the ship constantly, as if to prevent him from being intimate with any of the other women. While another was Mirage, who mainly stuck to her quarters, and if she weren't in her quarters, then she was on the bridge.
Then there was Mala who spent a lot of time in the mess hall where she was either playing arcade games or was snacking on some of the many rations which this ship carried. And finally, there was Sinaria who, like Mirage, mostly kept to her own quarters. As a prisoner, she had no actual access to the ship's systems or the Galactic network. And because of this, she primarily spent her free time alone, or chatting with Erich.
Travelling across a quadrant took a lot of time, even for an Alfheim ship, After all, a single quadrant was a quarter of the galaxy. And Erich suddenly found himself with a little too much free time. Which Tia seemed to be monopolizing. Every chance she could get, she was either sharing a meal with Erich, or trying to be intimate with the man.
After all, Tia was an artificial intelligence that had developed sentience, and had fallen in love with her master. She was still only recently getting accustomed to the five senses that a biological lifeform had, which was built into her new robotic form. And she may have found herself going a bit overboard in those senses that made her feel some form of joy or pleasure.
Eventually Mirage sat down with Erich and Tia, where she began to discuss the next person who was necessary for their team. They already had someone who was a heavy weapons expert and the muscle. They had someone who was skilled with computer systems and espionage. And they had recently acquired a skilled diplomat and negotiator.
As for Erich himself, he performed both the roles of the pilot and of the team leader. But what they really needed now was someone who could make use of alternative contacts to join the team. The truth of the matter was, nobody on Erich's team currently had access to the criminal underworld in any capacity that would allow them to track down the thieves. And thus, Erich now needed to go out and find himself someone who had these contacts. This was what Mirage had come to discuss with Erich, and naturally Tia ha accompanied him.
"Erich, the team is coming together nicely, but we are missing at least a critical component. We need someone who has contacts with the criminal world. Maybe an information broker, or a gangster who holds a place of high esteem among the many galactic crime syndicates.
Splinter was just a small time crew that primarily operated in Germanic and Oni space. My ties to Imperial Intelligence won't be able to do much in terms of infiltrating the criminal underworld. We need to go for one of the bigger syndicates. And unfortunately... that means we are going to have to visit the Asura Cabal.
The truth of the matter was that Erich knew very little about the Asura Cabal other than the fact that they were a major galactic power, and controlled the northern quarter of the galaxy. Thus, he was quick to ask Mirage just what they were about to get themselves into. Because from the sound of the tone in her voice, the Asura Cabal was not someone which she wanted to have to deal with.
"Just who are the Asura Cabal, and what exactly will we be getting ourselves into by going there?"
Mirage sighed heavily. For some reason, she kept forgetting that Erich's knowledge of the galaxy was extremely limited. Which was not unusual for her people. And thus she did her best to explain what the Asura cabal was in comparison to the other major galactic powers.
"Okay.... So if the Alfheim Dominion is a massive Empire that uses a complex network of vassal states to control the many interstellar civilizations within their quadrant of space. And the Svartalfheim Federation is an over inflated democracy, which uses a mixture of military alliances, and predatory trade agreements to control the various other interstellar civilizations within their quarter of the galaxy.
Then you can think of the Asura Cabal as a giant criminal syndicate which forces all the other interstellar civilizations within its quadrant of space to pay for protection. Usually that means protection from Asura cabal themselves, but can also mean from the rest of the galaxy. Because of this, every other interstellar civilization in Asura Space is truly left to their own devices, and only need to pay tribute to the Asura.
Unlike the other major galactic powers, the Asura Cabal does not just operate within their own space, but also are also affiliated with most major syndicates within the galaxy, either doing business with them, or waging war upon them.
What separates the Asura Cabal from other major crime syndicates is they have some semblance of a code of honor. Meaning they won't generally attack normal citizens, and often use their thuggery to keep the peace, so to speak.
To the Asura cabal, everything is business, and everything has its price. So if we are not careful, we might find ourselves sold into slavery or worse.... Because there are no laws within Asura space. If you thought the Confederation of Human Worlds was immoral and degenerate, wait until you see the Asuran quadrant. If it exists, it is for sale in Asuran space period."
Erich looked at Mirage if she had gone utterly mad, which she quickly noticed, and frowned at him, before demanding he speak of whatever issues he was having with her words.
"Don't just sit there looking at me as if I'm an idiot. Speak!"
Erich sighed heavily before asking the question that immediately came to his mind.
"Listen, I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but why would we need an Asuran? Aren't they just going to stab us in the back at the first given opportunity?"
The expression that Erich was previously given was immediately returned to him. Before Mirage finally raised her voice at the man for being so dense.
"Did you not just listen to a word I said? Everything is for sale in the Asuran Quadrant! This also means you can literally buy somebody's loyalty for a set amount of years. Hell, if you pay the right price, you might even buy their loyalty to life. The Asurans are very serious about business. They do not reneg on deals, period. They think its bad for business.
Not only that, but by having an Asuran among our ranks, every single criminal syndicate in the galaxy would have to show us respect. They are the largest and most powerful criminal organization that exists in the Milky Way, and their reach is ever present across the entire galaxy.
It's not just the syndicates, anybody who engages in that lifestyle would have to show a certain degree of respect to an Asuran. Which means by extension they would have to show that same respect to us. We would not even need a proper introduction to do business with information brokers, whose own networks have a larger reach than Imperial Intelligence.
Besides, the Asuran Cabal unofficially has an alliance with the Alfheim Dominion, so as an Archon of the Alfheim Dominion, they will be less likely to fuck with you. The same can't be said for all the other trash who inhabit their space.... Do you understand now why it would be in our best interest to get an Asuran on our team?"
Erich had to admit, Mirage made a compelling argument, one that he could not find a flaw with, even after thinking over her words for some time. In the end, he agreed to Mirage's idea, and thus he nodded his head before speaking to Tia in a kind and gentle tone.
"Tia, set a course for Asuran Space... It looks like we will be searching for our next teammate in the den of thieves!"
Tia's eyes flashed green as she saluted Erich before confirming that the course had been properly set.
"Yes, sir! The course has been altered. We are now headed to Asuran Space!"
With this, Erich would have to navigate the criminal underworld for perhaps the third time in his life. And he would have to do so outside the control of Alfheim Space, where his rank as an Archon only guaranteed that the Asuran Cabal would be less likely to fuck with him.
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