Eventually, the time came for Erich and the others to report for duty. Naturally Ghost had already covered most if not all the required paperwork for the unit while the rest of hisrades were out drinking and celebrating a job well done.


    Yet, despite this, the men were not the least bit intoxicated when they showed up to the headquarters where their superiors were waiting for them. This was because they had reactivated the nanites in their bloodstream to process and eliminate all toxins which their body had suffered.


    By the time they arrived at headquarters, every single drop of alcohol they had consumed had been purified from their systems. Leaving the men well and truly sober. Erich, like the rest of his unit, was dressed in nothing more than basic ck fatigues, without any markings or insignia to designate which branch they were from, or what unit.


    While their superior officers were dressed in more formal attire. One of which was a General of the Imperial Army, who served as the head of Military Intelligence. The man gazed upon Erich and hisrades with a stern re for several seconds of awkward silence, before finally speaking his thoughts. And when he did so, Erich and the others were greatly relieved.


    "You men did a damn fine job taking out that damned superweapon. You even managed to covertly capture a Ghimderi Trade Prince. Pitiful little creatures, aren''t they? The little freaks have no tolerance for pain whatsoever. From the moment Kwexle''s interrogation began, he sang like a songbird.


    There are many things we have learned about the Ghimderi Trade Union, and their influence over the greater gxy, and at this point we can consider those disgusting little monsters to be our most powerful enemies.


    However, that is not your concern, at least not for the time being. After seeing how well your newest member performed on Alpha Centauri, we have decided to dispatch you all behind enemy lines within the ongoing Oni Civil War.


    As you may have already been made aware, Kondo Yumi has dered herself Empress, and has amassed a rather substantial following. The majority of the rebelling factions have dered their support for the new Empress and have sworn their loyalty to her. However, there are several groups of anarchists who need to be covertly dealt with.


    Since Yumi''s faction now must take the fight to the Loyalists, that leaves you all to deal with them. To put it simply, you will infiltrate these anarchists while undercover as members of the now defunct criminal organization previously known as Splinter.


    Commander Jaeger, due to your previous experience as a member of Splinter, we will trust you to properly advise Colonel Mortensen on the inner workings of the organization. Though Splinter as a criminal organization may be defunct, the IIS continues to use it as a front for covert operations.


    Because of this, I will assign Captain Kuhne as your liaison, who will be on standby to assist if any problems were to arrive. She will also be responsible foring up with your new aliases, as she also has previous experience working with Splinter, albeit as an undercover agent, instead of an ouw.


    Due to the previous notoriety which you have gained, Commander Jaeger, you will resume your old alias of Apex. I believe that will be a valuable tool in persuading the criminal elements of Oni society to introduce you to the Anarchists. So once you have departed from this facility, you are to contact Captain Kuhne for further orders. That is all, Dismissed!


    Erich and his team immediately saluted the General, before departing from the headquarters. Erich was dreading the idea of working with Mirage, who undoubtedly wanted him dead more than perhaps any other being in the gxy.


    However, a giant bombshell had just been dropped by the General. And Erich''s unit was surprised to hear about the information regarding him being formerly part of a known criminal organization. Thus, the moment they stepped out of the General''s office, Erich was pushed into a corner and interrogated by Ghost.


    "Hold on a second, Silber, just what did the General mean when he said that you had previous experience as a member of Splinter?"


    Erich scoffed when he heard this. He did not feel like exining his whole backstory to these men, especially the more shady elements of his past. Thus, he simply brushed it off as if it were some minor deal.


    "There''s not much to it. I did a few jobs for Splinter before the Empire cracked down on them. I earned a pardon from the Supreme Leader for my actions at Suebi. Listen, I know this sounds bad, but it is not like I was a critical part of the organization. Unlike Mirage... I mean Captain Kuhne. She had infiltrated Splinter to such an extant that an Underboss trusted her more than anyone.


    Still, it has been years since Splinter went defunct; I had no idea that the Empire have been keeping it alive as a cover for their covert operations. But it makes sense, Splinter was a well renowned criminal syndicate within this sector of space. I just really don''t want to have anything else to do with that bitch. She is definitely going to being for my head this time...."


    Although Erich admitted to engaging in criminal activity, the way he spun the story, it was as if he had notmitted any serious crimes. Which made sense, or why else would he receive a pardon? Sure, Erich may have saved the Empire, but the Empire was stubborn, and treated criminals as less than human.


    If he had really done anything serious, there was no way that Emrys would have pardoned him, or made him out to be a national hero. Or so these men thought. Yet, this conflicted with the General''s words, specifically those regarding the notoriety of Erich''s criminal alias.


    However, they had a job to fulfill, and not enough time to worry about such a petty matter. Thus, the majority of the team instantly put the thought of Erich being a gangster at the back of their minds.


    Albeit JT was in a particrly foul mood, pardons were rarely ever given out, and only for incredible acts of valor or service to the state. It was something which he longed for, but could not get, due to the nature of his sentence.


    Thus, he grabbed hold of Erich''s head and gave the man a nuggie, as he vented his frustrations on the man with a rather bitter tone in his voice.


    "You little shit! I get a lifetime of servitude to the state for one single act of insubordination, but you get a full pardon aftermitting what I assume are multiple felonies? How is that fair!?!"


    Erich simply chuckled as he pushed JT Aside, where he was met with a stern gaze from Ghost, who said the words which Erich least wanted to hear.


    "Listen, Silber. I don''t know the details of your past dealings with Captain Kuhne or the nature of your rtionship with the woman. Nor do I want to. But she has been assigned as our liaison for this mission, and thus you''re going to have to contact her. So... get to it!"


    Upon hearing this, Erich sighed heavily, and began to reach out to Mirage with his NeuroLink, knowing that he was most certainly going to regret doing it.


    ---


    On the world of Quadi, within a rather luxurious penthouse, one that Erich had previously been quite intimate with. Lied a naked woman with a rather curvaceous figure. She had pale skin and shoulder-length blonde hair with bangs that covered one of her gorgeous sapphire blue eyes.


    If one were to gaze through her windows and witness the scene that was disying itself, they would see the naked woman furiously masturbating with a rather irritated expression on her gorgeous face. The woman was none other than Mirage, who had previously used the body of a mutated clone to infiltrate Splinter.


    Why was she irritated, despite doing something that usually brought pleasure to a woman such as herself? It was because she could not climax no matter how hard she tried. This had been a problem which had persisted since she first slept with Erich. And no matter how much she told herself that she hated the man, his handsome face would appear in her thoughts every time she tried to get rid of her lust.


    In truth, the only way she could finish was by watching the old videos she had secretly taken of her and Erich together, to which she would feel guilty every time it happened. Thus, she was about to search for them in her NeuroLink''s saved folders when she received a call from the man in question.


    The very idea of that bastard witnessing her naked body again and getting aroused from the sight had finally caused Mirage to cum, even if she had not actually epted the call yet. Once she was quivering alone on her bed, while as nude as the day she was born, she realized Erich was still calling her. Thus, she quickly wrapped a nearby silk nightgown around her heavenly figure before answering the call.


    Of course, Mirage was not expecting Erich to be surrounded by hisrades when he called. And thus, she would be particrly embarrassed and enraged by the conversation that was about to happen between herself and the man she imed to hate more than anyone else.