Interstellar Age
Chapter 49 Joining Splinter

Erich remained completely and utterly silent for some time, as he weighed the options on his mind. How could he possibly answer such an important question on such short notice? After all, this decision would impact the rest of his life, no matter how short that may be.

Whose side was he on? On the one hand was an interstellar Empire, the place he was born in, and was raised to be loyal to. The other was a criminal syndicate with revolutionary goals. Goals, which if they came to fruition, would have a serious impact on his life, and at first glance, they seemed quite appealing.

Splinter was founded by mutants like himself, as a means to provide for themselves in an Empire which did not give the slightest damn about their wellbeing. It was not just a brutal crime syndicate, no; Splinter was transforming into something far more chaotic and destructive. Splinter was becoming a political movement, one which Erich severely doubted would be against using violence as a means to achieve their political aims.

Erich was one of these people, like Butcher and Mirage. He was a mutant, someone who had been discriminated against since the day he was born, and one who had been abused by even the government itself.

If one were to ask him whether he truly felt like giving his life in service to an Empire that did not give the slightest shit about him? Then the answer was no. In fact, he had been looking for a way to escape the upcoming catastrophe for some time now.

However, it was not like Splinter was much better. Their primary means of income were a combination of drug trafficking, gun running, extortion, and racketeering. They also appeared to have engaged in sex trafficking to some small degree. That was a practice that Erich found to be utterly repulsive.

Because of this, Erich had a hard time convincing himself to join their side. After all, he would be aligning himself with some of the worst people in the Empire had to offer. But was that a fault of their own? Or had they been forced to such desperate measures by a cruel and tyrannical government which opposed all living beings who did not fit into their vision of the perfect race?

If Erich could choose to decline both offers, he would do so in a heartbeat. But if he did tell Butcher to go pound sand, then his corpse would probably be found in a dumpster on another world by sunrise. After all, Mirage had told him he was now on Splinter's network, which meant they could determine if the death he suffered was permanent.

But if he chose to accept Butcher's offer, he would be committing an act of Espionage against the Germanic Star-Empire, which was a crime that would guarantee the next two hundred and fifty years of his life were spent enslaved in a penal battalion. There he would spend the rest of his miserable existence fighting against the Empire's many enemies, with nothing but a flak vest and an assault rifle.

Ultimately, what it came down to was whether or not Erich was truly aggrieved enough by the Empire to act against them. And the fact of the matter was, at this very moment, Erich held a significant hatred for his own people, especially after he was forced to abandon the woman he had grown to love.

Perhaps it was the alcohol in his system, which stirred his blood so violently. But, Erich's hands began to shake as he thought about what he had done to S'aleth, and in the end, he took another sip of the ice cold lager before expressing a sentiment which would normally earn him a ten-year stint in a penal battalion.

"Fuck the Empire! Fuck Emrys! And fuck those cowardly politicians who have abandoned us all! If we do end up surviving Terminus, then I will be damned if I go back to being a good little soldier for a civilization which hates me. Alright, I'm in... I'll do what you have asked! And after I have deposed that cunt and installed my new regime, I will make sure people like us never have to live as the scum of society ever again!"

After hearing this, Butcher smiled and patted Erich on the back. He was clearly happy that the kid had made the right choice, which he was quick to express in the next moment.

"You made the right choice, kid. Hey, bartender, another round of drinks over here!"

Immediately after saying this, the bartender appeared with several more liters of beer. Which he handed off to Mirage, Erich, and Butcher, all of whom clanged their glasses together while Butcher made a toast.

"To the future of the Empire!"

After saying this, Butcher downed the contents of the mug quicker than Mirage could manage, meanwhile Erich was slurping on his beer to the best of his ability, but no matter how thirsty he may be, he would never be able to match their pace.

Erich, Mirage, and Butcher continued to drink and talk of their plans for several hours, until finally, they were kicked out of the bar due to the curfew. If they did not vacate the premises soon, then without a doubt, the planet's security forces would bust down the door and haul their asses to jail. Thus, Butcher was the first to head off as he eyed Mirage with a look of approval.

Just when Erich was about to leave Mirage alone, the woman pushed him into the wall and began to kiss him in a fiery display of passion. In between her kisses, she said something which Erich found to be incredibly enticing, perhaps because he was so heavily intoxicated.

"Forget about all your worries and focus on me! Because tonight I'm going to be your little succubus!"

---

Erich awoke the next day, inside a penthouse suite which overlooked the entire city. He did not know where he was, nor did he entirely recall what everything he had done the night before. That is, until he pulled the covers off of his chiseled body, which revealed Mirage's beautiful face resting on his pectoral muscles as if they were a pillow. The woman slowly opened her drowsy eyes and yawned before she glanced over at Erich with a seductive smile.

"Damn, that was so good last night that I must admit I am incredibly tempted to take you for another ride right now. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Emrys is having you watched by somebody. So, you're going to have to leave and treat this like a one-night stand. You would be surprised how common those are among mutants.

As for what we discussed last night, you don't need to do anything major, or take any risks. Just continue about your military career the way you have been doing things so far, and stick close to the Grand Admiral! No matter what he wants you to do, you do it with no questions asked. You got that?"

Erich simply nodded his head in silence. He was naturally aware of his responsibilities, but after everything that had happened to him, he felt like he had just gotten off the world's largest rollercoaster. First, he was forced to break up with S'aleth, and then he found himself acting as a spy on the Empire's behalf, only to accept a job as Splinter's double agent, before somehow ending up sleeping with Mirage? Just what the hell was he doing with his life, that it had ended up in such a pitiful state?

Naturally, Erich did not voice any of these thoughts out loud, and instead climbed out of bed and got himself dressed in his clothes. Where he immediately headed out the door, but not before Mirage gave him one last gift. The cobalt haired beauty grabbed Erich's waist from behind, and kissed him once more, before telling him some good news.

"You're still looking for a place to crash, right? When you're off duty, I mean? Well, I've got plenty of spare room, so feel free to come back here at night when you need some R&R. Just make sure to lose your tail when you do so, alright? I'll be waiting for you...."

After saying this, she booted the man out the door. Where he simply stared out of the windows and onto the massive industrial city which dwelled below with a lonely look in his eyes. So much had happened since he first left his home in Alemannia, and things just seemed to keep getting worse. Erich began to wonder how much longer he had to live, considering the fact that he was now working for two opposing sides, both of which had the ability to permanently terminate his existence...