Interstellar Age

The journey to Asuran space was a long one, but after Erich and his crew finally arrived, they made sure to stop at the first major system that was directly under the control of the Asura Cabal. There was a certain order of things to be done if they wanted to speak with the bosses of the syndicate.

In truth, Mirage had several candidates in mind who she would like to acquire the services of. All of which were in a more middle tier level of the Asura Cabal. After all, the higher the rank of the Asura who they secured the loyalty of, the greater the benefits. Naturally, she did not expect to get one of the "Devas" who ruled over the syndicate.

But a middle tier Asura would force most criminals across the galaxy to treat them as if they were royalty. Thus, she wanted to meet with an underboss to see if she could acquire one of his or her subordinates.

When the Vigilance landed in the system, they immediately realized that not only had the entire world been turned into one giant city, but so had its moons. Because of this, this one star system was capable of supporting a vast population.

Once within range of one of the three moons star sports, Mirage activated the communications frequency attempting to get in contact with a represenatative the Cabal, specifically the faction which ruled over this moon.

Eventually she got through, and a young Asuran man ha answered. His holographic projection was displayed on the bridge of the Vigilance for the entire crew to see. Mirage was quick to introduce herself and the vessel.

"This is the Vigilance, personal starship of Archon Erich Jaeger of the Alfheim Dominion. We are requesting permission to speak with your underboss!"

The Asuran male was surprised that an Alfheim Archon was contacting him, but he was quick to verify the credentials before immediately patching Mirage and the rest of the crew through to his superiors.

"One moment as I verify your credentials.... Huh, that's strange.... Give me just another moment, I need to check something real quick...."

The representative went off screen for a few moments before returning with a rather petrified expression on his face. He then apologized to Mirage before informing her of some rather shocking news.

"My apologies Vigilance, but you are being denied entry to this moon... Instead, I have orders to redirect you to Svar-loka...."

Mirage's eyes widened in disbelief. Svar-loka was the homeworld of the Asura race and was sacred to the Cabal. Outsiders were rarely permitted to step foot on the world and were only done so at the request of one of the Devas.

This was not a luxury normally afforded to an Archon. In fact, despite the unofficial alliance between the Alfheim Dominion and the Asura Cabal, Empress Lunaria could count the number of times she had been permitted to step foot on Svar-loka on one hand.

For Erich to be given such an honor, it meant something very dangerous. It meant that a Deva, or Devi, had set their sights on Erich. And that was something that Mirage was terrified about. She was just about to decline the offer when Erich ignorantly spoke up.

"Very well, we will make our way to Svar-loka now. I look forward to speaking with your representative."

After saying this the Asuran male who had accepted the holocommunication profusely thanked Erich for his decision before hanging up. Mirage and Tia looked at Erich as if he were an idiot, it may have very well been the first time the two women had come to an agreement on anything. But shockingly enough it was not Mirage who voiced her complaints, but rather Tias as she shouted at her master in a hysterical tone.

"Is Master an idiot! Why would you accept a request to visit Svar-Loka has Master completely lost his mind?"

Erich looked over at Mirage for an explanation, who was so embarrassed right now she rested her forehead in the palm of her head, while shaking her head as if she simply couldn't believe what Erich had done this time.

Without either of the two women willing to explain what Erich had done wrong, he was quick to ask Tia why the two of them were so upset with him.

"Tia, what happened? Why are you so angry?"

Tia's eyes flashed red, which was the telltale sign that she had become angry, as she began to scold her master for his carelessness.

"Master, you know nothing about the Asura Cabal, and yet the moment they make an offer you accept it without even speaking with Tia or Agent Kuhne about whether it was a good idea? Is Master perhaps suicidal? Because Master might as well vent himself out the airlock right now!"

Tia had never spoken to Erich this way before, and he was quite a bit offended because of it. Just when he was about to protest his mistreatment, Tia continued her rant.

"Master, Svar-loka is hallowed ground. If you make one wrong mistake against the Asura Cabal's traditions and customs, they could kill us all! And while some of us might be able to come back from such a thing, you may have forgotten that two of your new crew members do not have the ability of rebirth!

There is only one reason someone like Master would be invited to Svar-loka, and that is because a Deva or Devi has requested for you to do so! These are ancient and immoral beings, who put profit above all else.

Who knows what reasons they might have to ask the Master to visit their home world? Perhaps they intend to coerce the Master into making a mistake so they can imprison him, and use him as a bargaining chip against the Alfheim Dominion!

Or maybe the Sages paid them to assassinate the Master! There is simply no way of knowing why one of these ancient and powerful beings would request the Master to visit Svar-loka! Yet the Master has so brazenly accepted their request, now we are forced to visit!"

Erich took one look at Mirage where he immediately realized by the look on her pretty face that everything the adorable little artificial intelligence had said was true. He had just made the bonehead mistake of a lifetime.

He had no idea what to do and was quick to interrogate Tia for help on the matter.

"Tia, what should I do?"

Tia seemed incredibly frustrated with her master, as she formulated a plan on the spot that would most likely allow them all to escape with their lives intact.

"Master has no choice. He must visit the Asuran homeworld and speak with whoever wishes to see him. But Master must also be on his guard constantly around these criminals. He must also not bring the Orc. She will only violate the customs of the Asura Cabal and inevitably bring our demise.

Nor can Master bring Tia. If he were to do so, her secrets would be exposed very quickly, and then Master would have even bigger problems to worry about.... So the Master can only bring Agent Kuhne and the Dark Elf... After all, that witch seems to be skilled with diplomacy. Perhaps she can help smooth things over."

After hearing this, Erich felt this was the most plausible solution to his little problem. And thus he could only sigh as he set a course for the world of Svar-loka. Whatever fate had in store for him, he would soon find out.