Immediately upon returning to the Vignce, Erich cornered Mirage, where he pressed her against the wall of the ship. He was absolutely furious that he had volunteered him for something that was so potentially dangerous, despite having absolutely no knowledge of the substance he was supposed to consume.


    Wasn''t she supposed to be the responsible one? Was he not the Captain of this crew? So what gave her the right to do such a thing?


    "God fucking damn it Mirage! Are you trying to get me killed? Do you have any idea how dangerous that substance was? If my abilities were only slightly more developed, I would have been permanentlyatose! What the hell were you thinking?"


    Mirage was shocked to hear this, and looked away with shame on her face. She did not intend to put his life in danger, and was quick to express her reasoning.


    "I''m sorry, I didn''t know it was so dangerous.... Our bodies are naturally immune to most poisons, and the nanites in our bloodstream will purge anything else that is toxic. I did not think that such a thing would happen to you...."


    Now that Erich thought about it, perhaps he had recovered so quickly from the essence of fate, because the nanites in his bloodstream helped his body process it properly. Upon realizing this, Erich suddenly thought that he might have been overreacting, and thus he sighed heavily, before forgiving Mirage for her actions.


    "Alright fine, but I should remind you that I am the Captain of this crew, and therefore any future decisions like this will have to be made by me personally. You''re just lucky this all worked out for the best, or I''m afraid there is nowhere in the gxy you could escape to...."


    After saying this, Erich fucked off to his bedroom, where he fell asleep for the night.


    ---


    Before Erich knew it, three days had passed, and the candidate that Kali had chosen to join his crew had arrived at the hangar where the Vignce was stationed. There was just one problem: when Erich opened up his ship, he found that there was only Kali standing there. Which he was quick to interrogate the woman about.


    "Kali, what the hell? We had a deal! Where is your subordinate? Are we not supposed to sign a contract today?"


    Kali simply looked at Erich with confusion before expressing the reality of the situation.


    "I have delivered as promised. I do believe it was you who said that it must be one of my subordinates who travels with you. However, I believe the exact terms which we agreed to were that a member of the Cabal would be a member of your team. And I am a member of the Cabal, am I not?"


    This response stunned Erich who gazed upon the woman as if she had gone mad, he was just about to ask what hade over her, when she exined her reasonings for joining Erich''s crew.


    "I bet you''re wondering why someone like myself would tag along with you and your band of misfits. Am I right? Well, to be honest, life as a Devi is actually quite boring. I have virtually no work to do, and what little work I do have can entirely be done by my secretary, which it always is.


    I have grown bored sitting on my throne for thest millennium, and have decided that travelling across the gxy in search of an order of Elven prophets who are now fugitives on the run sounds much more exciting than drinking wine all day, wouldn''t you agree!"


    Erich was about to refuse this woman''s offer, when Mirage grabbed hold of his shoulder and whispered something in his ear.


    "Don''t even think about rejecting her! Do you have any idea what having a Devi on our team would do for us? Practically the entire criminal underworld throughout the gxy would have to bow down to us and do as we say. As long as we can sign a favorable contract, we will have the entire underworld in our palms!"


    Erich simply sighed, before allowing Kali onto his ship, where they met up in his captain''s quarters to sign a contract. Luckily Kali had already prepared one, which he had Tia scan for possible loopholes.


    After all, he wasn''t awyer, but Tia was knowledgeable about pretty much everything, especially after gaining ess to the Alfheim Network. When it came to contracts, she could easily spot anything that wasn''t favorable.


    Which she pointed out and suggested counterproposals to. After nearly six hours of negotiations, the contract was modified in a way that was eptable to both parties, and was irond. In the end, Kali looked at Erich differently, entirely unaware that it was Tia who guided him on this process. She couldn''t help but remark that he was a shrewd businessman.


    "You know... I have dealt with Archons before, and not a single one of them had an eye for business, contracts, or negotiations, at least not to your abilities. I must say, if you keep performing like this, I might have to drag you back to my pce and keep you as a pet..."


    Erich could not help but grimace at the idea, especially after what he had seen after consuming the essence of fate. There was no way he wanted to be romantically involved with a woman like Kali, and he promised himself that even if she fell for him, he would never do the same.


    Once the contract was signed, Kali was given a tour around the ship where she imed her own quarters. Before asking Erich where the next stop was. This, in turn, caused Erich to look over at Mirage, who sighed heavily before revealing some of the research she had been engaged in.


    "Now that our team is full, unfortunately, our next stop is in the Ennead Theocracy...."


    Erich had collected a team of six qualified individuals. Mirage for espionage and infiltration, M for brute strength, and heavy firepower, Sinaria for diplomacy, interrogation, and safe travel through Svartalfheim space, Kali for her connections to the criminal underworld, and Tia who could fill in for just about every role. As for Erich, he yed the role of Captain, and pilot of the Vignce.


    But Kali was not happy when she heard that they would be heading to the Ennead Theocracy. Why was this? Well, because the Ennead Theocracy were the major gctic rivals of the Asura Cabal, much in the same way that the Svartalfheim Federation was to the Alfheim Dominion. She never wanted to step foot in their territory, but she had already signed the contract and was forced to follow Erich''s lead. Yet that did not mean she did not bitch about it.


    "The Ennead Theocracy? Would could those religious fools possibly offer us? You should be aware that they believe themselves to be living deities, and subject all other intelligent species within their territory to their cult!


    Even if we visit their quadrant, we will have to pay tribute to one of their priests as a sign of submissions. They make no exceptions, even for foreign dignitaries! If you think I''m going to bow to one of those jackal headed shits, you have another thinging!"


    Naturally, Mirage was aware that Kali would act this way, but she was also aware of the benefits that came with having someone like Kali on their team. And thus, she was quick to voice her opinion on the matter with an authoritative tone in her voice.


    "You can stay on the ship for all I care. It''s not like the Ennead Theocracy tolerates crime anyways. They are just as strict as the GSE when ites to organized crime, so I doubt you will be of any use in their territory.


    However, while the rest of you were fucking around the ship like a bunch of fools, I was investigating possible links to the Sages, and found that they might also attempt to make contact with the Ennead Theocracy.


    After all, the Ennead are the only major gctic power left that the Sages have not offended. I trust before you went on your sabbatical, you informed the other Devas about their treachery?"


    Kali slightly nodded her head in response to this question, assuring that she had in fact made the Sages an enemy of the Asura Cabal, and thus Mirage''s words made even more sense to Erich, who was starting to realize that the Sages had fucked up big time by trying to convince Kali to assassinate him.


    Now they only had one ce in the Gxy that was not overtly hostile to them, and if Erich could use this as an opportunity to turn the Ennead Theocracy against the Sages. Then there would be nowhere left in the gxy that was safe to hide.


    Upon realizing this, he pped Mirage''s ass and congratted her for being a genius.


    "You''re right, they will definitely be headed to the Ennead theocracy to gain their favor. Perhaps we might even be able to corner them while they are there. Good thinking! Tia set course for the capital of the Ennead theocracy!"


    With this said, Erich had finished recruiting his team, and had gained a new lead towards tracking down the Sages. One that he nned to immediately make use of to his own benefit.