Interstellar Age

Lieutenant Hilde Kuhne, better known by her underworld alias of Mirage, stood within the confines of the new Supreme Leader's office. After having her carotid artery ripped out by Erich's teeth, and being forced to bleed to death, she had been revived in a cloning facility. After all, the IIS would never be willing to lose such a wonderful talent in the art of espionage.

However, the woman was not able to properly get her vengeance, simply because Erich's self sacrifice had made him the Empire's greatest war hero, to the point where the new administration was kissing his ass. Though she did not enjoy this, she was forced to accept it.

Yet, Emrys still had concerns about the woman's hostility towards his newest pawn, and thus, he had summoned the young woman to his office to speak with her about her personal grudges. While Hilde stood at ease in front of the Supreme Leader's desk, the man's chair was turned around, so that his back was facing the young agent, while he himself gazed out the window onto the thriving landscape of Germania. Silence existed between the two for some time, before Emrys finally posed his question, with a bit of a dramatic tone no less.

"So... Agent Kuhne, after getting to know Commander Jaeger for the better part of two years, what do you think the chances are that he will betray us, now that he has everything he has always wanted?"

As much as Mirage hated Erich's guts, she had a proper assessment of the man and his thoughts, and thus she was quick to ask permission from her boss to speak openly about the matter.

"Permission to speak openly, sir?"

Though she could not see the slight nod that Emrys had made, Mirage could hear his voice as he uttered a single word in approval.

"Granted."

Mirage then eased up from her tense position and sighed heavily before revealing her thoughts towards Erich and where his loyalties lied.

"You know what Erich's last words were to me, before he ripped my throat out?"

Emrys suddenly shifted his chair around, and rested his elbows on the desk, as he placed his fingers together in contemplation before voicing his thoughts on the question he had just heard.

"Enlighten me..."

There was an anxious look in Mirage's sky-blue eyes as she debated whether or not she should actually speak the following words, but under the direct scrutiny of the new Supreme Leader, she felt compelled to, and thus did so.

"He said to me that this wolf still has teeth... This remark was in response to me telling him that he had nothing left in life, and because of that, he should just willingly obey the orders we gave him. My understanding of these words, were that they were a last act of defiance. That even after we had taken everything from him, he still had his teeth, and because of that, he would still resist.

From my observation after spending years as his contact within Splinter, as well as becoming quite intimate with the man, Erich has two very defining characteristics regarding his personality. He is incredibly defiant in the face of authority, and he has an unbreakable will. You might be able to kick him when he's down, but when he truly has nothing left to live for, he will fight until his last breath to take you down with him."

Emrys carefully took note of every word that Mirage had spoken to him before finally responding to her with a rather bold statement.

"Indeed, I have come to a similar conclusion. Our mistake was trying to force his hand to begin with. Erich is not a man who responds well to ultimatums, and the moment I gave him one, he took the first opportunity to rebel that was given to him.

It did not matter to him that Splinter was a criminal syndicate that engaged in countless forms of human suffering. Or that they had no viable plan on how to reform the government, assuming they had emerged victorious during their violent rebellion. All that mattered to Erich was that he could vent his hatred towards those who had wronged him.

Some men would sooner burn the whole world to the ground, then bend the knee to those more powerful than themselves. It is precisely for this reason that I have decided on an alternative approach to dealing with Erich. After all, he has exceptional talents, and I'm not just referring to his abilities as a pilot.

Do you know what was the actual occupation that the Artificial Intelligence which is in charge of assigning everyone their career had initially selected for Erich?"

Mirage looked at Emrys with a confused expression on her face, before voicing the answer she believed to be true.

"Obviously, the AI selected the role of a combat pilot for him. Why else would he be fulfilling such a task? Unless you are referring to the civilian job he is supposed to perform after his military service is over. In that case, I have no idea…."

However, Emrys shook his head, proving that this was not the correct answer. Which further shocked Mirage. Seeing that there was a deep sense of confusion in the woman's eyes, Emrys clarified the matter with a stunning revelation.

"He was selected to be the next Supreme Leader of the Empire. But for obvious reasons, the previous administration would never have allowed such a thing to happen. I'm not saying that in his current state Erich is anywhere near capable enough to fulfill that task, but he has the potential to do so, and more effectively than any of the other tens of trillions of citizens who the AI has given out occupations to since that damned coward Hans Epp was first selected for the role over a hundred years ago.

You say that Erich is not content to willingly follow the orders of other men, especially those orders which he personally disagrees with. I agree, because he was never supposed to be a man who follows orders. He was supposed to be the man who gives them. Why the hell do you think I went through all of that trouble to bring him back, after he had used up all of his usefulness to the Empire?"

After hearing all of this, Mirage felt as if her mind had been completely and utterly blown. She was forced to take a seat as she contemplated the ramifications of what she had just heard come from the Supreme Leader's mouth. It was only after several seconds had passed, did the young woman finally respond to her superior's words.

"So... You're grooming him for leadership? To take over as the Supreme Leader after he is capable of doing so? Do you really think the people will ever accept a mutant like him as their leader?"

Emrys simply smiled as he shook his head before further elaborating on the thought process that went behind many of his recent decisions.

"As things currently stand? No, the previous administration has built a society of hate around those whom we call mutants. But, give me fifty years, and I will change their minds. After all, the moment the people find out that their most beloved pop star is in reality a mutant herself. You can bet that perspectives will be changed.

I was never meant to be an emperor. I'm an Admiral! Leading our nation's fleets are what I am best at. Governing the people, and overseeing the reconstruction of our great Empire has been particularly vexing for a man like me.

But, after the disgrace that our previous politicians have shown us, someone has to take command of this ship, and because of that, I will do my duty to the Empire until a time when a worthy successor can replace me.

So, with all of that said, I suppose I should conclude our little meeting by giving you a fair warning. Erich is the man which has been chosen to become our next Supreme Leader. Naturally, you are a very gifted young woman, one who Imperial Intelligence has invested a great bit of resources into bringing back from the dead. It would be a pity if you were to let your petty emotions get the better of you. Because if that were to happen, I'm afraid you would instantly become disposable. Do you understand my intent, mirage?"

After receiving such a blatant threat from the Supreme Leader himself, Mirage was forced to quash whatever resentment she still had for Erich within her heart. Because it was now abundantly clear to her that this new administration considered his development and future to be far more important than her own.

Thus, the young intelligence agent sighed heavily, and accepted her fate. As she responded with a quick salute to the new Supreme Leader, along with her verbal agreement to his words.

"Yes, sir! Glory to the Empire!"

Emrys simply smiled and nodded his head before repeating the woman's words back to her.

"Glory to the Empire!"

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