Interstellar Age



The moment Erich and his team landed back on the space station that had been responsible for their disguise as humans, they handed over their prisoner to the proper authorities who would interrogate Kwexle for the rest of his life.

To those interrogators, their job was more like a hobby. They enjoyed every second of the torture they inflicted on others and were as giddy as a schoolgirl whenever they got a new victim. Due to Kwexle's high position within the Ghimderi Trade Union, Imperial Interrogators would make sure he lived a long life, just so they could have fun inflicting physical and mental harm upon him. 

But that was not something that Erich or his team cared about. Instead, one by one, they reported to the nearest medical facility for euthanization. It was the quickest and simplest way to undo all the damage that had been done to their bodies to ensure that they blended in with humanity. 

Eventually Erich's term came. He was the last one in line, and when he sat down in the medical chair, he felt his heart race. He had never voluntarily submitted himself for death before and was worried that Tia might not carry over with him to his new body. 

Evidently, the little AI read his thoughts and wore a gentle expression as she assured her master that everything would be alright. 

"You do not need to worry so much, master... When your physical bodies die, and your NeuroLink is transferred over to your new body, Tia will follow you to it. Just relax, it will be over in a second, and then you will be transferred to your new body, one that is identical to the way you were before you were downgraded to this hideous monstrosity...."

Erich had to admit that after visiting the Confederation of Human Worlds, he could understand why the Germanic League had fled from Earth. If humanity's destiny was to become such an amoral, corrupt, and perverse society, then any and all measures which allowed the Germanic race to flee from such a fate was one hundred percent morally justified. Including the claims of terrorism and theft that Doctor Nunes had made shortly before her execution. 

These were the thoughts he had when the needle was injected into his arm, allowing an advanced chemical compound to shut down his NeuroLink's regenerative properties and end his life. In the blink of an eye, Erich awoke in a cloning vat on another world. 

This time, he was neither greeted by Mirage nor Emrys. Instead, the first person he saw was JT. Erich had a hard time distinguishing the man at first, because he looked completely different from when they had first met. 

JT had shoulder length golden blonde hair and curtained bangs. His eyes were as blue as sapphires, and his muscles were well developed. Over all the man was quite handsome, but that was nothing to be shocked about. Because the entirety of the Germanic race had their physical attractiveness boosted to the peak of their species as a result of their genetic augmentation. 

Similarly enough to JT, Erich looked over and gazed upon the other men in his unit, who were all blonde haired and blue-eyed men, with minor distinctions between the colors. Ghost had a standard crew cut and looked like an ordinary clean cut soldier. While Echo had a golden ponytail, whose bangs concealed one of his eyes. 

As for Heavy, he was the largest of the men, built like the ancient mythical feature Herakles. His hair was cut into a faux hawk with a side fade. The man's jawline was as robust as Erich had ever seen on a man, and actually made him feel quite inadequate by comparison, even if his own features were considered the ideal by the standards of most women in the Empire. 

Like Erich, these men were all dressed in nothing more than short of boxers, and they all seemed rather pleased to be back in their normal forms. Words could not express how dirty Erich had felt in his previous appearance, and apparently these men felt the same way. 

Just when Erich was about to greet the men, he heard a familiar voice in his head, as he saw Tia's crimson figure appear before him, as if she were a holographic projection. The girl's eyes appeared to be focused on Erich, as if she were too embarrassed to look anywhere else. There was a flustered expression on her adorable face, as she said the words which warmed Erich's heart. 

"Welcome back, master.... Now, can you please put some pants on?" 

Erich simply chuckled and walked over to the nearby cabinet where a pair of military fatigues were waiting for him and the rest of the men in his unit. He was quick to dress himself, which the others soon followed suit. 

Once he was fully clothed, JT patted Erich on the back before congratulating him for completing his first mission. 

"I bet it feels damn good to be back in your own skin, doesn't it? Well, good job, I must say I had my doubts about your abilities, but you did good, kid. It's just a damn shame your first deployment was to the Confederacy. That place is such a cesspit. And trust me, you haven't seen the worst of it yet. 

Anyway, we got some time to kill before we're supposed to report back to headquarters. So how about the four of us go out and get some beer and some brats?" 

It was obvious by the look in JT's eyes, that he wanted to use this small amount of free time that he had been given to the best of his abilities, because it would likely be years before he ever saw another break from his duties to the Empire. 

Upon seeing how desperate the man looked, Erich could not help but chuckle before agreeing to his request. He did so by eying the rest of his new comrades, and asking them if they wanted to join them this time. 

"Sure, I'm down. Are you guys coming with us? Or are you just going to stay here in the cloning facility and mope around until we have to report to HQ?"

Echo silently nodded his head before walking over to Erich and JT's side. Once he had done so, any tension that existed between the team prior to this moment suddenly vanished. Even Heavy, who was outraged over Erich's lack of duty to his family, smiled and walked over to join the others. He patted Erich on the back for a job well done, before expressing the real reason he decided to tag along. 

"Sure, kid... I suppose now is a good time for you to explain to us why you have failed in your duties to your family..."

A frown immediately formed on both Erich's and JT's faces when they heard this. To which Erich could only sigh before responding to it. 

"Fine... But it's not a pleasant story.... So if I end up souring the mood, that's on you. You coming with us, Colonel?"

Contrary to what the team was expecting, Ghost simply shook his head before responding. He then sighed and informed the men why he couldn't join them. 

"Sorry guys, but I have to report to headquarters in advance of you all to debrief our superiors on the details of the mission. But feel free to go on without me. I expect each of you back on time, and in proper uniform. Because if you're not, there will be hell to pay!"

As much as this was a letdown, Erich could do nothing about it, and thus he departed from the cloning facility with the rest of his unit in tow to look for the nearest bar. Germania was a large world, whose entire surface was one giant city. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to find one?