Interstellar Age
Chapter 106 Increasing The Odds Of Defeat



Mirage had quickly found herself in a tricky situation. It had been three weeks since Erich's training to become a wraith had begun, and during this time, she had not once been able to force the man to capitulate, or succeed in terminating his existence. 

She had promised the Supreme Leader that the man was not capable of succeeding in some of the most difficult training that the most elite soldiers of the Empire underwent, but after nearly one third of the time span had passed by, she had still failed to prove this. 

And just when she thought that she had cornered her target, he had escaped from her net, and in doing so, absconded with a set of power armor, which would only enhance his odds of survival. Mirage was so furious right now that she felt like she could burn down the entire bunker complex. But she did not do so, because before she could properly vent her frustrations, an intelligence agent interrupted her fit of fury, which only received violent backlash from the vicious woman. 

"What the hell is it? Can't you see this is not the fucking time?" 

However, the agent did not fear his superior officer, because someone of a higher rank was on the line waiting for her to accept his communication. Thus, he rather stoically responded with this news. 

"Captain, the Supreme Leader is on line one. He is expecting your immediate response...."

Upon realizing that Emrys had come to check up on his protégé's progress, Mirage simply snorted before typing something into her console, which brought up a holographic projection of her nation's leader. The moment the man gazed upon Mirage's furious expression, he could not help but smile before posing a question which only further enraged the woman. 

"So, I take it you have failed to eliminate the target so far? It has been over three weeks now, has it not?"

Mirage initially did not say a word, and instead averted her gaze. Something which only widened the smile on Emrys's face. After taking a moment to think through her response, Mirage responded in a tone which was obviously attempting to conceal her rage. 

"It has only been three weeks. There are still many more chances to come, and he has already slipped up once. Though he has briefly managed to escape my trap, the target is still well within my grasp. I assure you, by this time tomorrow, he will have failed his training. If you still believe he is capable of becoming a WRAITH after that, then I suppose he can try again..."

Emrys did not immediately respond to this claim, and instead smiled at Mirage, an act which continued to piss the woman off. In the end, he explained his plans for Erich's future military career. Something which Mirage was already expecting. 

"Oh, I have no doubt that he will survive this test, which is only the first of many he must undergo to truly become fitting of the future I have laid out for him. In fact, I believe he will be able to effectively pass all courses, including the seventh."

WRAITH Certifications contained seven grades in total. A WRAITH I operator, or a W1, was capable of surviving long term in a dangerous environment with little sleep, food, and water, while also being hunted by hostile forces. This was the certification that Erich needed to be deployed as a pilot to ferry around more experienced operators.

The next five tiers consisted of different specialized training, such as Zero-G combat, military free-fall, jetboot/jetpack flight, combat diver qualification, close-quarter combatives instructor courses, linguistics, frontline trauma care for human and alien biology, and assault procedures.

Further specialization could be achieved in various schools of an operators' choosing, and in between certifications, they would be deployed to active combat zones to gain some practical experience on the battlefield. 

However, the coveted W7 certification was something that only a select few operators ever achieved. It essentially required one to survive long term, with basic equipment on a barren asteroid with no nav data. The test only ended when the last candidate ran out of oxygen. If a trainee survived these scenarios in excellent fashion, they were granted the Wraith VII certification. Which granted the operator the ability to have the roman numerals VII on their power armor. 

The very idea that Erich would not only survive the Wraith I test, let alone go on to become a legendary W7, was enough to outrage Mirage, who quickly denied Emrys' claims and questioned his reasons for putting Erich through such an advanced pipeline. 

"Impossible! This fool won't even pass this course. If you think he has what it takes to become a seven, then you are out of your mind! Why are you even forcing him to undergo such advanced training? He's a pilot, not a special forces operative!" 

Emrys's smile suddenly ceased, and was replaced with a rather stern expression when he heard one of his most trusted subordinates question his intentions. He was quick to remind her of the reason why he held Erich in such high esteem. 

"Do you not remember what I previously told you about Erich's actual designation? He was only gifted with the position of a pilot because of the political opinions of the previous regime. You may not be aware of this, Captain, but we are on the verge of a galactic war. 

The border crisis between the Alfheim Dominion and the Svartalfheim Federation is increasing with intensity every year. And there are powers behind the scenes that want it to escalate into a full scale galactic war. If the Empire is to survive this disaster, then it needs a strong leader, who is capable of surviving and adapting to any situation, even the most fatal ones. 

It is essential that this leader becomes a seven, because if he can survive long term in the vacuum of space with limited resources. Then he will have the intelligence, ingenuity, and instincts that will guarantee the survival of the Empire during the catastrophe that will soon befall this galaxy!

If you think Terminus was the most dangerous event that our species will ever face, then you are sadly mistaken. Erich was selected to be the next leader of our Empire for a reason. Though I won't command you to treat him fairly, in fact, the more you stack the deck against him, the greater of a man he will turn out to be. So, do continue with your biased approach to his training, because I am sure he will surprise you over and over again."

After saying this, Emrys hung up the line, leaving Mirage determined to prove the man wrong. She would do everything in her power to ensure that Erich failed this test. And thus she immediately got on the communications and ordered another battalion of Star Marines to deploy to the small moon. 

"This is Hilde. Deploy another battalion of Star Marines to the moon's surface. We have been given permission to increase the intensity of the scenario."

Though this was entirely against protocol. As the woman tasked with conducting the training scenario, it was well within Mirage's power to do this. Thus, she did not hesitate to ensure that Erich's failure was certain. 

Of course, Erich had no idea that another battalion of Star Marines was now being deployed to his location, because he was still attempting to escape the pursuit of those soldiers who were already surrounding him.