Interstellar Age



A fortnight passed before Erich said goodbye to his wives once more, or at least two of them. Mala had accompanied Erich back onto his ship, as he set course for Alfheim to retrieve his newest member of the team. 

By now, the Orcish beauty had a fancy new set of power armor, which only enhanced her already superhuman physical characteristics. If Erich was being honest, he did not enjoy the slim fitting and lightweight Alfheim Armor.

Instead, he had specialty suits of power armor crafted from Alfheim technology, which was far more advanced than those he used to wear as a WRAITH. While his armor was painted in a matte black, with the golden insignia of an Alheim Archon, those of his team were painted in their own colors and patterns. 

Mala was particularly fond of this new armor, which enhanced her abilities, as well as the Power Hammer which she wielded. The gravity hammer was exactly what it sounded like, a massive two handed war hammer that used the power of gravity to create a shockwave that was capable of killing multiple people within a 5 meter radius with just one strike. It was also the signature weapon of an Orc War Chief.

With her already superhuman physique, that was now combined with what was essentially the most advanced power armor in the galaxy. Mala now had the ability to tank even the most devastating of small arms, all while charging at speeds that would make even a WRAITH blush in embarrassment. If she landed one hit with her Power Hammer, it was essentially game over for the overwhelming majority of enemies. 

Mala also had what can only be described as an energy cannon attached to the back of her armor, which she could effortlessly wield when the team needed to lay down a massive volume of concentrated fire.

But this was not the only weapon she had. She also had a rocket launcher that was capable of taking out most forms of armor and atmospheric aircraft. And had even been equipped with an automatic grenade launcher which was slung around her chest. Needless to say, the woman had enough firepower to carry the entire team. 

Mirage and Erich were also equipped with similar sets of power armor, albeit with their own weapons. For example, Erich wielded an advanced energy rifle, that the Alfheim special forces so commonly wielded. Or at the very least, a variant of it that was modified to suit Erich's needs. 

Meanwhile, Mirage was equipped with an advanced energy rifle that fulfilled the purpose of a sniper rifle. With these weapons, Erich and Mirage were essentially capable of burning a hole through most forms of armor with a single shot. Giving the two of them significant firepower. 

And although the team was fairly combat capable with just the three of them, they were missing other important aspects. Thus, Erich and his girls were now heading to the world of Alfheim to retrieve their newest member. 

---

Eventually the Vigilance arrived on Alfheim, where it docked at the star port. Immediately upon landing, Erich was greeted by a team of Banshees, who saluted him. 

"Sir! We have been given the orders to escort you to the prison complex beneath the Palace where you prisoner lies. Do not worry, all the paperwork for the transfer has already been handled. You just need to retrieve the prisoner." 

Erich nodded his head and followed the team of female special forces operatives before arriving at the prison complex built beneath the palace, where only those enemies of the Asterion Dynasty were kept. At one point Erich himself was held in one of these cells, which he couldn't help but reminisce about. 

Eventually the door to the cell was opened to reveal the Svartalfheim Grand Inquisitor Sinaria Bloodwhisper, who was dressed in a prison jumpsuit and was restrained with antigravity technology. The Dark Elven beauty looked up and gazed upon Erich and his shiny new armor. She could not believe her eyes, as she asked the immediate question that came to her mind. 

"Have you come to end my misery?" 

Erich, however, simply nodded towards the Prison Guards, who released Sinaria's restraints. Causing her to fall to the ground face first. Erich then helped the woman up, where she gazed upon him with confusion in her eyes.

"Why? Why are you sparing me?" 

With an arrogant smirk on his face, Erich explained his reasons to the woman with a conceited tone in his voice. 

"I'm not sparing your life. I am putting you to work. Guards, the collar...."

The guards immediately nodded their heads and placed the explosive collar around Sinaria's neck, which looked exactly like a bdsm choker. She obivously knew exactly what this device was, because it had been outlawed in the Svartalfheim Federation several thousand years ago. Thus, Sinaria sighed heavily before realizing she had gone from being a prisoner to being a slave. 

"Is this truly my fate to become your property?" 

Erich simply smirked as he tried to obfuscate the truth with meaningless words. 

"You can consider this a prisoner exchange, and that collar is the only way to ensure your loyalty. You have ten years to aid me in my quest to hunt down the Sages, and if we do not find a trace of their trail by, then you will be sent back to your cell. So I suggest you do your best to aid me in my efforts, because I am sure that you will find I am a far more generous warden than the one you have here." 

Sinaria immediately understood her position and was well aware that if she were to harbor and ill thoughts towards Erich and his team, then her head would be blown clean off her shoulders. As such, she made the smart decision to obey her new master like a proper slave. 

"I understand... I will follow you faithfully for now until the end, Master..."

Immediately Erich heard Tia's angry voice in her head, that resulted from her envy at this new woman calling her Master, master. 

"Absolutely not! Only Tia is allowed to call Master by his title. Master, Tia demands that you teach this slave her place, or Tia will do it herself!" 

There was perhaps nothing more terrifying in the galaxy than a sentient artificial intelligence that had complete and total free will. Especially when it was angry. Thus, Erich was quick to prevent a catfight from breaking out by commanding Sinaria not to call him that. 

"Please, call me by my name... I do not approve of you using the term master..." 

Sinaria had no idea that she had narrowly avoided a serious beat down by a robotic loli, instead she thought that Erich was simply not the type to enjoy being called such a term, even if it was from a beautiful woman. Thus she smiled slightly, thinking perhaps Erich was not lying when he said he was a more generous warden than the one who had previously handled her prison sentence. 

"Alright, Erich... Lead the way...."

With this said, Erich had gotten one step closer to completing his new team, that he would need to traverse the stars and hunt down those sages who were on the run.