Interstellar Age

Erich was dragged out of the cloning facility, which existed in a secluded area of the Empire, or what remained of it, and was quickly forced into a flight suit before being dragged off to the military base's hangar bay, where he saw several thousand men like himself all lined up.

Most of these men were the lucky few soldiers who were able to be revived. After all, the resources of the Empire were severely strained now that over half of their worlds had been devoured by the Naraku Hive Fleet Terminus. And because of this, most men who died would never be brought back to life.

In fact, almost every single one of these men was from a special forces fighter squadron, or were criminals who had previously served in one of them. As Erich was forced forward by the armed agents of the Imperial Intelligence Services, he saw a familiar face, which was none other than the Splinter underboss known by the moniker of "Butcher."

Butcher had what could only be described as an extremely vexed expression on his face, which was now completely devoid of its previous battle scars, as he gazed upon the screen, which had an image of the Grand Admiral on it.

Evidently, Emrys was preparing to speak with the brave men who had been selected to once more go out and die for the Empire. However, unlike in previous wars, there was no guarantee that these men would be revived in cloned bodies after their demise.

After reaching Butcher's side, Erich placed his hand on the man's shoulder, who looked at him as if he were seeing a ghost. The man saw the blood spread across the man's mouth, and could not help but be shocked by it.

"God damn Apex, you're still alive! And here, no less? I thought for sure you were the one who had turned on us after you stopped pulling jobs for Splinter. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that bitch Mirage was the rat this whole fucking time. What the hell is with your appearance?"

Erich chuckled when he heard this. He could still taste Mirage's blood in his mouth, as he boasted about how he had killed her.

"Unless she's got another spare body lying around, I'd say that whore's goose is cooked. I ripped out her carotid artery with my teeth. But I'd be willing to bet my fortune, assuming the IIS hasn't already seized my assets, that she will be back soon enough."

Butcher broke out into a fit of mad laughter as he patted Erich on his back before questioning just how he had managed to pull off such a feat.

"How the hell did you fucking kill the bitch? My whole team tried, but she shut down our bodies with her NeuroLink! I don't know of anyone who could override that shit!"

Erich smiled rather proudly of his actions as he detailed how he had overcome Mirage's neural block.

"One of my special abilities is cyberkinesis. It took some effort, but I hijacked her NeuroLink and secretly deactivated her control over my body. Then I baited her into the biting distance, where I tore into her neck. I can still taste the cunt's flesh and blood, and I have to admit, it is delicious!"

Butcher's smile turned grim as he gazed upon the live feed of Grand Admiral Emrys taking the podium and preparing to give his speech. Butcher was more than happy to give his true thoughts about their current predicament.

"Well, we are truly and utterly boned, but if I have to die in service to this shitty fucking nation, then I'm glad to do so by your side. I have heard you are quite the skilled pilot yourself, but all I know about you has come from Mirage, so I can't exactly say she is the most reliable source of information now that I know she was a fucking rat..."

Just when Erich was about to say something in response to Butcher's words, Emrys' voice boomed across the facility, as the cameras shifted from his person to live feed from another Germanic world which was currently under assault by the Naraku Hive Fleet.

"Look at it... The devastation of our worlds that these mindless bugs have caused. Gaze upon the ruins of your civilization, and the morbid deaths that have resulted from this madness! As we speak, every man, woman, and child capable of bearing arms is doing their damndest to fight off this invasion. And yet, at our current rate, our great Empire will not last another two weeks."

Erich gazed upon the destruction left in the wake of the bugs, as they shredded men, women and children apart with their razor sharp talons, pincers, and teeth. He did not know how long it had taken the Empire to revive him in its current state, but evidently some serious time had passed.

But he could not think about such things for long because the sights that were being displayed were beyond the level of gore that a normal human being should be able to endure, and yet, the Germanic Star-Empire proudly broadcasted their last stand to the entire Galaxy.

On the screen, what can only be described as a volunteer soldier ran out of his last plasma cell as a swarm of bugs surrounded him. But rather than go out without a fight, the man activated his chainsaw bayonet attachment and charged head first towards the insectoids which were the size of tanks, and crashed his tiny weapon against their rock hard chitin, attempting to rip through their exoskeleton and brains before going out.

But before he could do so, his body was pierced entirely through by another bug's tail, to which he responded by dropping his weapon and pulling out an antimatter grenade, which, after pulling the pin, detonated. And in doing so, blasting the entire ten meter radius into bits, including his own body, and the bugs which surrounded him.

All around the world, scenes like this were occurring. Boys as young as ten fired their weapons towards the enemy, some of which were even given heavy ordnance to shoot at the oncoming soldier bugs. Despite their young age, these boys did not break ranks, and flee when their position was overrun, instead they pulled out their grenades and charged into the mouths of the Naraku drones, taking as many of the enemy with them as possible.

To the citizens of the empire, especially those who were male, they would rather die honorably in battle, then flee in an attempt to buy themselves another hour of life. And upon witnessing this final struggle, even someone like Erich, who hated the Germanic Star-Empire to the core of his being, found himself slightly prideful in his people, perhaps for the first time in his life.

It was only after witnessing such horrific violence that the livestream switched back to the Grand Admiral's face as he made a public declaration to the entire galaxy.

"We will not admit defeat! We will never give up so long as one last German draws breath! We will fight against this foreign menace, and should we die, then we do so knowing that we have honored our ancestors, and taken as many as the enemy as possible with us!

However, my fellow citizens of the Empire, there is still hope to be had. For you see, after suffering numerous defeats, what remains of our Navy has finally discovered the Naraku Kingship! We know now which vessel the Hive Queen now lies upon. And in a last ditch effort, we will send every living man and woman capable of flying a ship towards the enemy, with one goal: to destroy the Kingship and the Hive Queen within. If we can do this, then we will survive, and if we survive, then we can endure the harsh and lengthy process of rebuilding our mighty Empire. There are only two fates which lie ahead for our people: Eternal Glory or Death!"

As Emrys said this last part, he raised his arm in the standard salute of the Empire, causing nearly every citizen who was watching to do the same. All except for a few, like Erich and Butcher, who were literally being forced into service at this very moment.

After saying this last part, the livestream cut, and the Admiral in charge of the facility began to give speak about the exact details of the mission plan, one which would rely entirely on Erich's shoulders to succeed.

"The mission is simple. The last remaining bit of our Navy will carry you all, and all the other pilots, towards the Naraku Hive Fleet. Where each and every one of you will sacrifice your lives, so that one man among you can get close enough to launch a world killer torpedo into the hangar bay of the Kingship.

There is only one man in the history of the Empire who has ever beaten the Naraku Hive Fleet training scenario, and he is standing among you. Lieutenant Commander Erich "Silber" Jaeger, do what you did in the simulation, and the Empire will be saved. Fail, and we are destined to die a bloody death, like you have seen in this video...."

Suddenly all eyes were on Erich, as he finally realized what mirage had meant when she said the Grand Admiral had resurrected him because he believed that Erich was their only hope of victory. Knowing this, he could not help but believe that the Germanic Star-Empire was truly destined to a morbid end. Because he did not have faith in his ability to pull off such a thing with a single attempt.

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