Interstellar Age

𝓞𝒱𝓵xt.𝑐𝒪𝓜

Although the Germanic Star-Empire had a vast intelligence network which covered their own space, and that of their neighbors. They were not omniscient, and because of this, they had failed to identify those rogue elements of the Oni Royal Guard who had taken up their lot with the Anarchists. 

This was an unforeseen circumstance which had completely blown Erich’s cover as an agent of Splinter, and as a result, the IIS and Military Intelligence were now working overtime to ensure that this information was not leaked to the galactic network. 

They immediately launched a cyber offensive, combating the efforts of the Anarchists to reveal this information, and the even more dire secret that the Germanic Star-Empire had the ability to revive the dead. If that were to become common knowledge across the galaxy, the GSE would lose a significant advantage which they had over their enemies. 

And while this cyber war was being waged in the background, the boots on the ground had begun to move. Erich and his team had just rendezvoused outside the Anarchists’ hideout. Which was deep in the slums. However, they had not expected that the local population would be protecting these bastards. Because of this, they were immediately met with hundreds of impoverished Oni, some armed with blunt weapons and knives, others with guns. 

But what became apparent was that they would have to fight their way into the Anarchists’ hideout. Thus, Erich placed the makeshift power armor helmet on his head and pulled out his pistol while pointing it at the crowd. 

The men in his unit did the same, as they pointed their weapons at the mob, which sought to prevent their access to the Anarchist hideout. Ultimately, it was Ghost he gave them the order in their own native language. 

“We have no quarrel with you! We just want the Anarchists inside! Disperse, or you will be fired upon!” 

The moment this threat was made, the mob unleashed their blades and charged at the five WRAITHs. Erich did not hesitate to open fire, sending a projectile down range with his old rail gun revolver. The shot immediately tore open the torso of the first opponent he had targeted, as if it was hit by a .50 BMG. 

Yet that did not deter the angry mob, many of which were firing their primitive projectiles at Erich and his men. And while makeshift power armor was not nearly as good as the actual thing, it still had decent coverage against ballistic weapons. Thus, Erich and his comrades stood their ground and fired into the crowd. However, Erich could not help but complain about their own lack of firepower. 

“We really should have brought something more than just rail gun revolvers!”

JT’s voice erupted in the air with a hint of fury contained within it, as he punched towards a rioter who tried to stab him with a knife. His steel clad fist went straight through the Oni’s skull, and blasted his head apart as it did so. 

“Tell me something I don’t already know!” 

No matter how many angry Oni there were attacking Erich and his men, their defenses were just too great for their kitchen knives, crowbars, and ballistic weapons to overcome. Even if Erich and his men eventually ran out of bullets, they were simply able to punch through the flesh and bones of their assaulters, and because of this, a massive sea of corpses was left behind after only fifteen minutes of combat. 

The anarchists, perhaps realizing that their meat shields had been so quickly dispatched to the afterlife, began to fire from within their hideout. Their weapons were supplied by the Lutharian Ascendency, and though the Lutharians had recently cut off contact with the Anarchists, this did not mean that they did not have a decent sized stockpile of munitions remaining. 

There was even a heavy machine gun behind the barrier, which had the ability to punch through the makeshift power armor. As a result, Erich and his men took cover behind the nearest walls. Unbeknownst to Erich, Mirage had taken up a spot in a nearby building with a concealable sniper rifle. Which she had carried with her throughout this entire journey inside a briefcase. 

She used this weapon to pick off the heavy machine gunner, which she then gave a command to the WRAITHs with their NeuroLinks. 

“The heavy gunner is down. Now is the time to storm the gate. I’ll make sure nobody else gets on that bitch, but you don’t have much time. Go now!”

Feeling as if this was a good excuse to throw his life away, Erich picked up an Oni sword which lay within the pile of corpses from the rioters, and charged towards the gate at full speed. The door was heavily reinforced steel, but against Erich’s size, strength, and weight, it came crashing down the moment his shoulder impact it. 

Where he then gazed upon the Anarchists in the room. Although they raised their weapons at Erich, the man was too quick, and sliced the nearest hostile in half with his sword. After doing so, he quickly rolled away from the enemy fire and picked up the hostile rifle in the process. Where he began to return fire. Clearing three hostiles in less than two seconds. 

Now that the gates were breached by Erich’s rather reckless antics, the rest of his team moved in, where they secured weapons from the anarchists. Heavy did the unthinkable and ripped the heavy machine gun from its tripod where he used it as his primary weapon. 

Ghost then led the team through the compound, clearing every room they came across with ease. After all, they were larger, stronger, faster, and smarter than the Oni anarchists, while also heavily clad in makeshift power armor. 

A fireteam of WRAITHs, even one equipped with such obsolete weapons, was more than enough to take on a few hundred anarchists. Thus, they rapidly made their way to the main hub, where the leader of the Anarchists and the man who recognized Erich stood with his hands in the air. 

He had only ever witnessed what a Germanic male was capable of once before, and that was back when Erich was not only naked but had not received his cybernetic implants yet. The hooded anarchist was absolutely horrified at how easily Erich and his team cut through not only several hundred rioters but also his army of anarchists, who he, a former member of the Oni Royal Guard, had personally trained.  The Oni man could only concede defeat now that he was the last man standing. 

“I yield! I yield! By the gods, you people are fucking monsters! Not only is it damn near impossible to kill you, but you don’t even stay dead! What madness is this!” 

Erich responded by walking up to the man and punching him in the gut, albeit with enough force to bring him to his knees, but not enough to mortally wound him. He then wrapped some zip ties around the man’s wrists and carried him out of the hideout. 

JT stayed behind to wipe the Anarchist computers of any sensitive information, while Heavy rigged the place to explode. Once the team was united, Mirage simply scoffed and commented on Erich’s surprising ability to clean up his own messes. 

“What the hell are you smiling at? This is all your damn fault! I’m going to need details from you about just how this asshole knows your identity once this is all over! My place, Friday night, eight o’clock. You better fucking be there!” 

JT simply rolled his eyes at what he perceived to be a lovers’ quarrel before making a witty remark about it. 

“Oh, get a room, you two! We may have had some hiccups, but this mission is completed. The Anarchists are eliminated, their leader is captured, and from what I can tell, our cover still remains intact, albeit we were barely just in time. A few more minutes and they would have broken through IIS’s efforts to quarantine them.  Let’s get out of here before the authorities arrive!”

What JT said made sense, and thus, after detonating the explosives within the Anarchists’ hideout, the team fled back to their ship, where they were quick to take off. With their mission accomplished, they would return to the Empire’s borders to receive their next mission.

However, there would be longstanding consequences for the death of Hideaki, and his most elite thugs who were killed off by Ghost and his team. The Ronin would lose power, and in the vacuum a new gang would rise in their place. One that was far more brutal. But that was not a concern for the Germanic Star-Empire. 

What they cared about was that the IIS could continue to use Splinter as a cover for covert operations, and the fact that the Empire had advanced revival technology still remained a secret. As for the hooded anarchist who was previously a member of the Oni Royal Guard. He would be interrogated for information about others who might know of Erich’s true identity, and what really happened on that fateful day.