Interstellar Age

Chapter 226 Getting To Know The Crew Part I

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The journey to the Ennead Theocracy was a long one. Erich and his crew would essentially have to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other, and because of this, there were many stops they would have to make along the way. However, most of the time was spent in the warp, which was a separate dimension that the Alfheim Dominion pierced into, which allowed them to travel quick throughout what they referred to as real space. 

During this time, Erich became more acquainted with his new team. While Mala spent every night in Erich's captain's quarters, it became abundantly clear to the man that he needed to temporarily disable his fertility. Because if he did not, she would be popping out kids every three months. 

After all, the Orcs were a hardy race, capable of reliably crossbreeding with most humanoids, and were even more fertile than the Germanic race was. If it weren't for the fact that they were constantly waging war across the galaxy, they might be one of the most populus species in the milky way, and if that were to happen, then nobody would be able to stop them. 

And while Mala embraced her role as Erich's wife, Mirage would sneak into his quarters to have the man take care of her urges. Thus, Erich was having a decent time, despite being stuck on board a frigate. 

In the mornings, the crew would meet in the mess hall, where they would share a meal, and make small talk. While afterward, they would each go to a different section of their ship. Since the ship's functions were automated by robots which were under Tia's control, they did not need to perform things like maintenance, and were thus left to their own devices. 

Mala spent the majority of her day in the gym, while Mirage spent most of her time on the bridge. Sinaria stayed locked in her quarters, not wanting to speak with her captors, and Kali wondered around, curious about the Vigilance, which was a starship designed after Germanic Frigates, but built with Alfheim Technology. 

She honestly found the utilitarian approach to the interior to be a bit depressing, and thus, she could not help but seek entertainment in the form of flirting with Erich. Which the man desperately tried to avoid. 

Unfortunately, on a ship this size, it was impossible to avoid someone at all hours of the day. And thus, Kali finally cornered Erich, where she was quick to ask him the question that had been bothering her for days. 

"Tell me, Captain, are you perhaps avoiding me? Do I make you uncomfortable?"

Obviously, the woman made Erich uncomfortable, especially after he had seen a potential future where she made him her sex slave. Thus, he did not even attempt to deny this. 

"Honestly, yes...."

This caused Kali to smirk as she leaned in close and sniffed Erich. Evidently she had a very good sense of smell, because she was able to pinpoint how many women Erich had been with in his life up until this point. 

"You're clearly experienced, by my count. The scent of fourteen different women are all over you... That is correct, is it not? That's how many women you have been with!" 

Erich had to count for a second, as he confirmed that he had been with that many women, especially if one counted the one-night stand he had with those five Oni maids. He was honestly shocked that Kali could tell this simply by smelling him and was quick to ask about it. 

"You can smell that? How? Some of those women were years ago!" 

Kali simply smirked as she avoided answering the question. 

"I can just tell... Well, although I think you are absolutely adorable, it is still too early to tell if you are my type. So we will just see what happens. In the meantime, you might want to check in on the dark elf. She seems to like you..." 

After saying this, Kali turned around and walked away. Allowing Erich to finally breathe a sigh of relief. He then did as Kali suggested and approached the crew quarters where everyone else slept. He found Sinaria in her bunk meditating. Since she was not given permission to access any of the terminals on the ship, she could only spend her time resting. 

The moment Erich stepped foot in the room, the chocolate skinned beauty spoke softly while in her trance. 

"You have finally arrived.... I was beginning to think that you were avoiding me."

Erich simply scoffed when he heard this before responding to the woman with a wry tone in his voice. 

"You aren't the only one.... So, if you're not busy, how about we have a chat?"

Sinaria did not say a word, and simply nodded her head. She was still in a meditation pose, with her caramel eyes closed, all while waiting for Erih to speak. 

"So... How are you finding your life? Is there anything you need?"

If Sinaria's eyes were open, she would have rolled them. Because of this, there was an equally sarcastic tone in her voice. 

"Oh yeah, everything is just great. I mean, I am a prisoner of my people's greatest enemy and even if I were to ever gain my freedom, I would likely never be able to wash away the humiliation of being captured alive. But you know just another day in the universe, I guess!"

Erich simply chuckled when he heard this, before patting the woman on the back. 

"It's good to see you getting acclimated to the new environment." 

He may not have known it, but in that moment, Sinaria wanted to slap the shit out of him. But she couldn't because if her mind were to even think of it as a genuine possibility, her head would explode. And thus, she simply grit her teeth, before asking Erich the question that was immediately on her mind. 

"Why are you bothering me? Are you bored? Or is there something you need from me?" 

Erich paused for several seconds, unsure if he should genuinely ask the question. But he realized he would not get a straight answer from Lunaria, and thus he could only ask Sinaria. 

"I'm curious... Why do the Light Elves and Dark Elves hate each other so much? I have heard the Light Elven perspective. That your race is a genetic mutation, and that long ago, your people waged a bloody campaign to seize control of Alfheim. But I don't know how much of that is true. So I wanted to know the Dark Elf's perspective."

Finally, Sinaria opened her eyes as she scoffed at the idea that the Light Elves were innocent in this whole dispute. She was actually a bit sympathetic to Erich because her people had a similar origin to his own. 

"Of course Empress Lunaria would say that... Honestly, it is hard to say, most of our species are not old enough to remember the Great Schism. In fact, few know if Lunaria was there to witness it or not. After all, her mother ruled over Alfheim for about as long as she has, if not longer. 

But from what we are taught in the Svartalfheim Federation, our race evolved alongside the Light Elves on Alfheim. Yet, the Light Elves and their subraces soon began to overwhelm us and invaded our countries. Where they began to take over from within. With no homeland to call our own, there were a series of racial conflicts, until my people were eventually driven off into space to find a new place to call home. 

We have never forgotten our exile, and we have never forgiven the Light Elves for doing so. Is it not a similar story to the origins of the Germanic Star-Empire? After all, don't you all wish to reclaim Earth and return to the lands of your ancestors?" 

Erich thought about it for several moments. The truth of the matter was, he had witnessed what humanity had become after the exodus of the Germanic Race, and he did not care for it one bit. That being said, he also knew that his people one day intended to return to Earth and reclaim their ancestral homelands. 

After thinking about it for some time, Erich realized he did not know enough about the Svartalfheim Federation to properly make a judgement on who was right, and who was wrong. After all, the events had happened so long ago; it was impossible to really know what happened. Especially since both sides had undoubtedly concealed their own sinister actions through a propagandized retelling of the story. 

With this in mind, Erich decided to let Sinaria get back to her meditation. After all, he was quite certain she despised him for saving her life.

"Alright, well, I will let you get back to your meditation...."

Sinaria did not respond to this with words. Instead, she simply nodded her head in silence. Which Erich saw as the signal to leave. Once he was gone, Sinaria opened her eyes once more and thought about what they had talked about.

If she were being honest with herself, she also did not know what had really happened all those years ago. But Lunaria had not given her any reason to believe that her own people were lying. Thus, she simply sighed, shook her head, and went back into a meditative trance.