Interstellar Age

After a particularly nasty bout of rough sex, where Erich managed to vent most of the negative emotions he had towards Mirage onto her sinful body, he eventually finished, and laid in bed with the woman for some time, while trying to think through everything that had so suddenly happened. 

Eventually Mirage got up from her bed, and entered the shower to clean herself off once more, where Erich immediately joined her for a second round. Once the two of them were thoroughly spent, they emerged from the shower, where Mirage got dressed in her tactical equipment. 

There was a particularly awkward look on Erich’s face as he asked the immediate question on his mind. 

“So what happens now?” 

Mirage merely scoffed as he heard these words. As she pulled her spandex thong over her hips while presenting her ass to Erich. Once they were well in place, she made a comment. 

“Now you go our separate ways and pretend like this never happened. You go do your job, and I will do mine. And if you want to come and visit so that we can celebrate after we have finished our tasks, then you are more than welcome to do so. If not, I really don’t care. 

You’re already married, Erich. What did you think that after we fucked, that we would run off into the sunset and elope? I still hate your guts for what you did to me, and I never had any intentions of being your long-term partner. I just needed to blow off some steam, that is all…” 

If Erich were more dense than he already was, he might have taken the woman seriously, but he was at least sociable enough to know that there was a hint of fear in her tone. After all, infidelity was a serious crime in the Empire, and while she may not be married, largely because of the nature of her work, Erich was a married man, and he had just cheated on Erika with her. 

The consequences would be severe if anyone were to ever find out. Especially considering how beloved Erika was by the public. The truth of the matter was, Erich had mixed feelings about Mirage. And though he no longer wanted to murder her, he still did not trust her. 

If one were to describe their current relationship, it would be the same as the one he had with his wife. Amicable, but distrustful, with a slight bit of animosity buried deep in his heart. He had never truly forgiven Erika for what she had done to him, and he felt the same way about Mirage. 

Thus, he did not even try to comfort the woman, who was practically trembling in fear at the prospect of the consequences that would happen because of what they had just done. Instead, he simply scoffed and said the words, which caused nothing but mental anguish to mirage. 

“No worries, I assure you the feeling is mutual….”

Erich pretended not to notice the woman biting her own lip, as he grabbed hold of his own clothes, and began to dress himself as well. Once he was fully outfitted, he grabbed hold of the dossiers that Mirage had previously printed for him, and was about to depart when he realized he had still not received his orders. 

“Oh right, the General said, that we would receive our orders from you. What the hell are we supposed to do next?”

It took Mirage a second to recover from what Erich had previously said, but when she did, she forced herself to wear a stoic face as she responded with a stern tone in her voice once more. 

𝓞𝒱𝓵xt.𝑐𝒪𝓜

“What do you think? Idiot! You guys are supposed to infiltrate the Great Oni Empire and make contact with their largest criminal syndicate. They are the ones who are supplying the anarchists. Introduce yourself as an underboss of Splinter, and ingratiate yourselves with the Ronin, so they will lead you to the anarchists. Now, if there’s nothing else, then beat it. I have shit to do!” 

Erich did not say a word, nor did he salute Mirage. He simply left her alone in her apartment. Where he headed back to Germania to give the men their dossiers. So that they could become familiar with their new aliases and the parameters of their mission. 

—

Erich stood in the old bar that Butcher used to use as his headquarters, dressed in his old makeshift power armor. After wearing the real deal and the more advanced variants, he felt this suit was nothing but a piece of junk, but that did not stop him from wearing it so that he could blend in with the criminal underworld of the Great Oni Empire. 

By Erich’s side, were the rest of his unit, all of which had dyed their hair certain colors, so they could resemble mutants. They had also worn colored contacts for this same purpose. Erich simply scoffed as he drank a beer while looking at the other members of his squad. He made once small remark regarding their appearances. 

“Well, at least you look the part…. You already should know how Splinter was organized, and who are its current ,”boss” is. Now all that’s left is to arrive in the Great Oni Empire. Of course, there’s no way we can bring a fucking military corvette into Oni space without attracting attention. And, no, the Camoflauge system will not fool Oni sensors, so don’t ask. So I guess we’re taking my ship. Any objections?” 

Ghost was looking at his dossier, and was not pleased by what he saw. There was one thing that he did not like about his identity, and that was the fact that he was ranked lower than Erich, which he was quick to ask the man about. 

“What’s the meaning of this, Silber? I’m in charge of this unit! Even if it is for keeping up appearances, I should be the one in charge!” 

Erich simply scoffed as he continued to drink his beer, before turning around and staring down the man who was technically his immediate superior officer. The tone in his voice turned cold, as if they were laced with ice. 

“I suppose our superiors know that I’m the only one here with an actual criminal past. I mean, you stiffs might be able to pass for men fresh out of military service, but there’s no way any of you will can pull off being a true underboss. 

Oh, and by the way, it’s not Silber, at least not as long as this mission is concerned. You will either refer to me as boss, or Apex.”

A familiar and feminine voice rang throughout the interior of the bar as the doors opened to reveal the rather divine figure of a woman.

“Well, look at you all dressed up! It is almost as if the old gang is back together again.”

Erich’s eyes widened in disbelief as he gazed upon the woman’s figure. She was dressed in the same skintight black tactical suit which she had worn during her days as the notorious gangster “Mirage.” She had even dyed her hair blue again and gone back to her signature blood-red eyes, causing Erich’s lips to tremble as he voiced his disbelief aloud. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” 

Mirage’s lips turned into a sultry smile as she approached Erich and slapped him on the ass. All while speaking in a deliberately loud voice so the other members of the team could hear her. 

“The boys in charge wanted me to assist you on this mission. After all, the two of us go way back. Isn’t that right, boss?” 

This sudden shift from hostility to playfulness reminded Erich of how Mirage used to be before she revealed that she was an agent of the Imperial Intelligence Services. And for a second, he felt as if he were lost in a time warp. That is, until the hateful glares of the men in his unit fell upon him. 

These men already thought that there was something going on between Mirage and Erich, and now she had practically confirmed it with her flirtatious actions. It didn’t help that Erich had taken several more hours than necessary to return with the details of their mission. 

And Because of this, Erich had never felt so compelled to slap the absolute shit out of a woman until this very moment. But he refrained from doing so, knowing that such a thing would only cause him further problems. Thus, he was now stuck with Mirage as a member of his unit until this mission was completed.