Interstellar Age

Chapter 121 A Cold Reunion

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Erich and his team made their way back to the hotel which they were staying out. In comparison to the strictly utilitarian architecture and interior design of the Germanic Star-Empire, one could definitely use the term "wasteful" to describe the overwhelming degree of luxury that was in their rooms. 

For the sake of the mission, and to maintain their cover as an executive, and his bodyguards, the Empire went out of their way to provide appropriate lodgings for the team. Which included a presidential suite designed to house six people. 

Because of this, the team of elite operators stared upon the neon lights of the decadent city, which was the capital of Alpha Centauri. Erich could hardly believe that he was staying the night in such a degenerate place, and felt dirty because of it. 

Luckily for him, he had Tia to keep him company, who he silently chatted with via his NeuroLink. Of course, it was not long before he was disrupted when Ghost's shouting interrupted the rest of the team and their activities. 

Erich, along with Heavy, JT, and Echo quickly ran into the office which was provided in their suite, and saw Ghost yelling at what appeared to be an ordinary human. However, Erich knew better than this, because this human was speaking to Ghost as a superior officer while on a holographic projection. Interestingly enough, her voice sounded incredibly familiar, and instantly filled Erich's guts with dread as she chastised Ghost for his reckless suggestion. 

"Colonel, you have your orders. Which are to sit tight, and wait for our analysts to determine the threat level of this weapon. I don't know why you are so heated over such a petty matter. After all, a petty civilization like the Confederacy poses no threat to the Empire, no matter how powerful they might believe this weapon to be. 

How about you and your team sit back, and relax, maybe even enjoy the night life while you're at it? You and I both know that while in the field we have far more leeway regarding what kind of activities were are able to participate in. Who knows, you might like some of the vices which Alpha Centauri has to offer..."

Ghost did not seem amused by the woman's response, and was just about to lash out at her, when Erich finally remembered whose voice it was. He stammered in disbelief as he spoke a single name out loud, one which he had not thought about for some time. 

"Heidi? Is that you? What the hell, since when are you involved with the IIS?"

Heidi gazed upon Erich as if she was looking at a literal ghost. The woman carefully scrutinized her brother's modified appearance with curiosity and horror for a long time in silence. It had been years since she last saw the man, nearly a decade.

During this time, she and her husband had a total of three children together. But due to the war with Terminus, her entire family had perished, leaving her as a childless widow. And the only use for such a woman in Germanic society was as a field agent of the IIS.

Thus, after the Emrys regime was fully established, Heidi along with a bunch of other women in a similar situation were drafted into the IIS, where they would be deployed across the galaxy to blend in with other civilizations and cultures for the purpose of espionage. 

It had been quite some time since Heidi had been deployed to Alpha Centauri, and though her loyalties were still to the Empire, one might claim that she had gone native. She had been enjoying the many vices which were available to her, while also providing intelligence to her superiors about the confederacy and its major players. 

Heidi had been so far removed from Germanic society, and for so long, that she had no idea that her brother was still alive. The last she heard of the man, he had given his life in sacrifice to the Empire. And because of this, there was a bit of warmth in her eyes that Erich had never seen before. 

All the regrets she had towards her older brother from their childhood seemed to have resurfaced in Heidi's mind, as she instantly began to regret becoming such a degenerate whore, one that could never truly return to the Empire after everything she had done within Alpha Centauri. 

Her older brother was alive and well, and a member of the prestigious WRAITHs. Even if he was only a W-1, he had proven his strength, intelligence, and tenacity in ways which she could never fathom. She honestly had no idea how a coffin jockey had become such a legendary figure, or how he was even still alive. 

After all, most of the men who had died in the War with Terminus could never be brought back to life. Something she was all too aware of because of her husband's untimely demise. There was a complicated mixture of feelings within Heidi's heart as she began to openly cry in front of the various WRAITHs. Something which made this reunion particularly awkward. 

"Erich.... You're alive? How? How is this possible?"

Erich did not immediately respond to his sister. After all, he had few, if any, good memories about the woman. Throughout their entire childhood, she had treated him like the dirt beneath her feet due to his status as a mutant. She had never even really considered him to be her family. 

Obviously Erich had no idea about the troubles which his eldest sister had endured over the years, nor did he really even care. Because of this, his face was stern as reacted rather cruelly to the woman's aggrieved state. 

"Get a hold of yourself, woman.... You are a goddamn field agent, and the last thing you should be doing is crying right now!" 

This cold response shocked even Erich's fellow WRAITHs, who gazed at the man as if he were heartless. Naturally, they thought that Heidi was nothing more than a degenerate whore, whose only use was to gather intelligence on the Empire's foes. But even then, she was visibly distraught, and seemed to know Erich to a certain extent. 

Yet they said nothing, and instead watched as Heidi whimpered and cried, while struggling to let her thoughts escape from her mouth. 

"I'm sorry Erich.... I'm sorry about everything... I was a terrible sister to you. I know that now. If I could take it all back, I would. Please.... Don't tell mother what I have become..."

The reality was that Erich simply did not care about Heidi enough to warrant speaking about her, even to their own mother. After all, he and his mother had departed on rather poor terms, and he had yet to truly make up with her.  Thus, Erich once more responded to Heidi with a rather blunt confession of his true feelings towards the woman. 

"You don't need to worry about such a thing. The truth of the matter is, I don't really care enough about you to ever bring up the conversation with Mother. Even if I were to ever see her again, it is doubtful we would speak of you."

These words had completely shocked Heidi and wounded her already broken heart. She had a lot of regrets about the way she had behaved towards her older brother whilst growing up. Hell, she had a lot of regrets about everything. 

But to hear the man so blatantly say that he did not care about her, that was a bit too much for her to handle. Hell, it was too much for some of his squad members to sit idly by. And just when Ghost was about to intervene by scolding Erich for being heartless, Echo grabbed hold of the man's shoulder and silently shook his head. Whatever he wanted to say was clearly conveyed with this gesture, and the look in his eyes, which was rather serious. 

Erich had been through so much in life by this point that he was emotionally numb to a lot of things that had previously been a source of pain and misery. This included his troublesome childhood and all of his family members beside his mother. 

There was a clear look on his face that displayed how little he cared about his sister and her plight. Even as he spoke the words which would end this cold reunion. 

"Do your duty and keep us posted about the super weapon. If there is nothing else that needs to be said about this mission, then we have nothing left to discuss. Goodbye Heidi...." 

Before Heidi could even plead with her brother to stay on the line, he shut off the communication, leaving the rest of his unit in shock over his actions. Erich, however, seemed completely indifferent, and simply shook his head, before responding to their concerns with a rather stone tone in his voice. 

"Mind your own fucking business.... Now, I'm going to go head out for a drink. You are all welcome to join me if you want to. If not, I suppose I will see you all in the morning." 

With this said, Erich departed from the room in silence. The only one to take him up on his offer was JT, who suddenly seemed much more interested in Erich after watching the man so coldly shut down his own little sister.  The rest of the soldiers stood by and waited for their orders, which would not come until the next day.