Interstellar Age



When Erich arrived in his cell, he was surprised to see how nice it was. The room was not some barren cell, made of metal, and surrounded by bars, with only a toilet and a cot like what was common in the Germanic Star-Empire. Instead, it was practically a studio apartment, with all the luxuries he needed to be happy. 

At first he thought that this was some kind of trick, and spent his first hour locked inside this cell searching for things like security cameras or hidden torture devices. But in the end, he could confirm with certainty that this room was exactly as it appeared to be. Thus, he lied down, and rested some more. 

When he awoke in the morning, Erich was surprised to see that the same woman who had overseen his interrogation was standing in front of him. There was not a look of malice on her face or in her caramel colored eyes. Instead, there was just a simple stoic expression, as she asked the question that immediately came to her mind. 

"Did you sleep well?" 

In response to this, Erich simply scoffed before informing the woman of the truth. 

"I'm trained to sleep anywhere in the galaxy. An actual mattress is a huge improvement over where I normally sleep while I'm deployed." 

The Dark Elf interrogator smiled before tossing a pair of clean clothes to Erich. It was a prison jumpsuit, of a steel-blue color, with a white undershirt and boxers. She then apologized for not given him such a thing earlier. 

"Apologies, we are not accustomed to holding prisoners of your size. So we were forced to tailor a custom jumpsuit for you overnight. Please, take a shower, and get changed. Once you are finished, we will continue our discussion from yesterday." 

Erich was naturally cautious around his captors. As far as he was concerned, this was an act. He could not think of a rational explanation about why the Svartalfheim Federation would treat their prisoners so well, other than the idea that this was a ruse, designed to get him to defect to their side. Something which he had no intention of doing.

However, he did as the woman commanded, and took a shower before changing into his jumpsuit. Whereupon re-entering the main room of his cell, Erich found that a decent breakfast was prepared for him. It was done so in the style of cuisine, which was common within the Svartalfheim Federation. 

Despite this gesture, Erich did not immediately ingest the food, and instead analyzed it with his neurolink. The nano robots within his body scanned the food and beverage for any sign of toxicity, poison, or unwanted disease. And while Erich did so, the exotic beauty scoffed at him, before assuring him it was untainted. 

"Do you really believe we would poison you when you have such valuable information that we are after?"

Erich scoffed when he heard this, but only after confirming the food was untainted. To which he was quick to eat it. He was surprised at the quality of the food, considering it was meant for prisoners. Thus, he decided to answer the woman's questions. 

"I mean, the first thing you did when you got a hold of me was drug me. I can't be too careful, now can I?" 

This remark seemed to have offended the exotic beauty, who was quick to voice her dissatisfaction with Erich's words. 

"The truth serum is a perfectly safe alternative to torture and works 99% of the time on humanoids. The only time there are any side effects is when it fails to achieve its goal, and usually those side effects result in drowsiness, like you experienced yesterday. It is a far more civilized approach to interrogation than what your people do." 

Erich did not make a remark about this, as he instead finished the remainder of his meal. He himself had engaged in torture, or at least some extent of it, when he captured a Ghimderi Trade Prince on Alpha Centauri. In fact, he found a certain degree of pleasure in the act of breaking the little goblin's legs. 

Of course, he did not say this part out loud, and simply ignored his captor's comments. Which caused her to bring up another subject. 

"Oh, by the way, did you really believe we would not find out about your little lie? I was completely honest with you about the information you wanted to know, and in return, you lied to me about your identity." 

This sudden remark caused Erich to halt his action of eating the meal. And instead respond to the woman's remarks with a facade of ignorance. 

"I don't know what you're talking about...."

This caused the exotic beauty to roll her eyes before calling Erich's bluff with a look of total confidence on her stunning face. 

"Erich Hartmann? A Luftwaffe Pilot during what your people refer to as the Second World War of Earth's history. 352 confirmed kills, born on the 19th of April 1922, and died on the 20th of September 1993? When converted to the galactic calendar, this means that the man you claimed to be died roughly four hundred years before you were born. So, tell me, who are you really?" 

Erich was surprised to see the lengths that the Svartalfheim Federation had gone through to research his identity. Thus, he had a bit of an awkward smile on his face as he posed an offer to the exotic beauty. 

"Alright, you got me. I lied about my identity. How about we have a little exchange? You give me your real name, and I will give you mine? Is that fair?" 

The Dark Elven beauty frowned at Erich. Though she already knew his real identity, she wanted him to admit to it himself. After all, Erich was a controversial figure in galactic politics, and was someone that all major galactic powers had set their eyes upon.

Especially after he was essentially named as the successor to two interstellar civilizations. From the moment he ended up in Svartalfheim Custody, they were aware of who he was, and the significance he had to the Germanic Star-Empire. He was a prisoner with a very high level of importance, and because of this, the Dark Elves would not mistreat him, no matter how much they wanted to. 

Ultimately willing to take the risk, the exotic beauty sighed heavily, before giving up her identity. 

"Fine... Seeing as how you are being so uncooperative, I suppose I have no choice but to give you my name. My name is Sinaria... Sinaria Bloodwhisper. So now that you know my name, would you please give me yours?"

Erich repeated the name aloud, with a smug smile on his face, all while complimenting the woman, which had become second nature to him at this point. 

"Sinaria Bloodwhisper, that is a very pretty name. Alright, fine, Sinaria, since you have showed me such hospitality, I will do you this one favor. My name is Captain Erich Jaeger, of the Germanic Storm Commandos. Though I'm quite sure you have figured that out already, isn't that right?"

Sinaria blushed when she heard these words. Not only was she awestruck by Erich's flirtatious remarks, but she could not believe that Erich was already aware that she knew his actual identity. This caused her to avert her gaze, while still keeping Erich's smiling face in the peripheral of her vision, before muttering something beneath her breath. That Erich successfully managed to hear. 

"You are smarter than I thought you were...." 

Upon seeing that he had started off on the right foot with this beautiful Dark Elven woman, Erich smiled once more, before making an audacious remark. 

"So... Sinaria, what do I have to do to get back to my family? I am sure they are worried sick about me right now. And as much as I enjoy spending time with you, I have been delaying my wedding for several years already." 

Sinaria looked at Erich with a peculiar look in her eyes, it seemed that Erich desperately wanted to get back home. Of course, there was only one way she would ever allow this, and thus she wore a sultry smile as she whispered something scandalous into Erich's ears. 

"All you have to do is become mine!"