Interstellar Age

Chapter 63 Rising From The Ashes

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Erich's suicidal charge worked as intended, the world torpedo detonated within the hangar bay of the Naraku Kingship, and in doing so destroyed all life within it. Consuming everything within a seven thousand kilometer radius. It was not just the Naraku Kingship which had been consumed, but almost the entire fleet, along with their Queen and Generals.

What remained of the devouring swarm instantly entered a feral state, as the hive mind, which gave them sentient thought, collapsed with the death of their queen. The remaining insectoids which littered the space above the world of Suebi, and throughout the world's surface, entered a state of frenzy, as they turned on every living thing within their immediate vicinity, including each other.

Because of this, the world's defenders, and what remained of the Germanic and Oni navies, worked together to cleanse the area of all the surviving bugs. The battle was hard fought, but in the end, the Germanic Star-Empire had emerged victorious, and it was because of the actions of one man in particular. Who had sacrificed himself so that the Empire may live.

Or so was the official story that the Empire told its citizens. Over night, Lieutenant Commander Erich "Silber" Jaeger, had been cleared of all charges, so much so that the very notion that they existed in the first place became heresy to speak of, and was recognized as a national hero of the Germanic Star Empire. One which every citizen should seek to emulate.

Over the next few months, the Empire did everything it could to rebuild the world of Suebi, as they ventured forth and attempted to salvage their worlds that had been devoured by the Naraku. In fact, Erich did not know how much time had actually passed, but when he was finally resurrected from certain death. All the damage that had been done to Suebi had been entirely restored to its pre-war state.

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Erich awoke in a cloning chamber. His memories were entirely intact, and unmodified, as he fell to the floor on his knees. Just like the last time he had perished, there was a team of armed men waiting for him, but this time it was not Mirage who stood at the forefront of the unit. Instead, it was a man which Erich detested above all others.

But there was not a look of contempt on Grand Admiral Alaric au Emrys' face, rather one of sympathy and gratitude as he welcomed the young pilot back to the world of the living.

"You have no idea how much effort I had to go through, just to retrieve a functioning copy of your memories. Especially one that contained everything you experienced in life up until the moment of your death.

At first I thought about restoring your memories to an earlier point, one before you had begun to live a life of crime. But Lieutenant Hilde Kuhne was insistent that you remember everything, up until the moment of your death. She thought it would help you understand the gravity of your crimes, so that you might learn from your mistakes in the future."

Erich had no idea who Emrys was talking about, but he had far more important questions to ask, and was quick to ignore the critical detail about who had forced him to relive his torment. Instead, he asked a question which he found to be much more critical to his current mental state, one that he had asked Mirage when she had brought him back to life the first time.

"Why? Why the hell did you bring me back? I was dead, and gone, and had finally earned the peace I deserve! Only to be brought back to this hell, for what purpose? Have I not given enough already to earn some mercy? Was my sacrifice not worthy of death? Must you really force me to serve two hundred and fifty years in a god damned Penal Battalion?"

Emrys looked at Erich with a bit of sympathy on his face, as he placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, before informing him of why he was brought back, albeit he did this with a question of his own.

"Erich... Do you honestly believe the Empire would treat its greatest hero so cruelly?"

This answer startled Erich, who gazed up at the Grand Admiral with a hint of suspicion on his handsome face before posing another question.

"What do you mean?"

Emrys simply sighed and shook his head, as if he were scolding an errant child, before informing Erich of the future that awaited him, now that he had achieved the unthinkable.

"I never thought you would actually pull it off. You may have done so in the simulation, but that was over thousands of attempts. You only had one life to achieve success. The odds were against us. No, I was content to fight to the last man, woman, and child to leave our mark on this galaxy's history so that the Germanic race was never forgotten.

But you did the unthinkable. You wiped out the Naraku Kingship, and the entire hive fleet with it! What remained was easy enough to mop up, especially after they lost any semblance of intelligence.

Erich, you have more than earned a full pardon for what petty crimes you may have committed in what I can only describe as youthful ignorance. And the heavens know that we had our own part in your criminal past, of which there is no record of.

In fact, I am going to give you everything that you ever wanted. A wife, a family, a home, a place to belong. I realize now that the only reason Splinter was able to thrive was because we, the Empire, drove you so called "mutants" to such desperation in the first place.

The old order is gone, and the Supreme Leader as well as all his cronies, have been exiled in disgrace. They do not dare return to the Empire when everyone who still draws breath knows that they were abandoned by their politicians when they were most needed.

I know you have been through a lot, especially over the past few years. But the Empire owes you a debt that can never be repaid. But we will try our damndest to do so. All I ask is for your forgiveness, and in return, I will give you the world!"

Erich looked up at Emrys's face, to see that there was no lies in his eyes. Instead, the Grand Admiral was both literally and figuratively, reaching out a helping hand to the man who had saved the Empire. If Erich accepted it, he would be rewarded in ways he had always dreamed of.

But would his hatred allow him to do so? This was a question that only Erich knew the answer to. Whatever he chose to do in this moment would decide his future, and thus he sat in silence, with his head hanging low for several moments as he reflected on everything that had happened to him over these past few years.

There were many people he wished he could have said a proper farewell to, and every time he thought about S'aleth's final demise, he could not help but feel as if his heart were bleeding. However, despite the bitterness and resentment that he had towards the Empire for a life of mistreatment, the rational side of Erich's mind won, and in the end he sighed heavily before accepting the Grand Admiral's hand.

Like a Phoenix rising from its ashes, Erich put away his past mistakes, his past loves, and everything he once held dear. Instead, he embraced the bright future which fate had in store for him, albeit with a completely bitter expression on his face.

"Alright... Though I will never truly be able to forgive you for all that you have put me through, I will try my best to do so... Since you have brought me back from death a second time, the least I can do is try to move on from everything...."

Emrys wore a genuine smile as he heard these words before helping Erich to his feet, where he immediately spoke about the future plans he had for the man.

"I am giving you a choice. If you so desire, you can end your mandatory military service early. The heavens know you have given more than enough for this country.... But if you stay in the Navy, I will immediately promote you to the rank of commander, and give you control of the Black Sun.

To put it simply, the Empire is in a state of reconstruction. Half of our worlds are dead and gone, and only Alfheim's terraforming technology can restore them to their former glory. The Oni has promised to give us a helping hand, and as of right now, we are almost entirely relying on their protection.

The Military needs to be rebuilt almost entirely from scratch, and after that last battle we have few experienced pilots left among our ranks. If you accept my offer, you will be the new Wing Commander of the legendary Black Sun Squadron, and will be fast tracked to promotion. In ten years, you will be a Rear Admiral, and will naturally have a spot among the Admiralty.

Give me fifty years of service, and I will appoint you as an over sector governor of whatever region you decide to rule over. And eventually, after you have proven yourself in that role, I will make you the Deputy Leader of the Party. You will be second only to me, and will have authority over the entire Empire.

So... What do you say? Do you still have some fight left in you? Or do you wish to call it quits? No matter what you choose, I will respect your choice, and do my best to make things up to you until the day I die...."

Erich sighed heavily as he thought about his two choices. Since he had already chosen to forgive the Admiral for all that he had done, he did not see a reason to reject his generous offer. After all, though this battle may have been won, there were plenty of enemies that the Empire had left in the galaxy, all of which were currently scheming for their downfall.

If what Emrys had said was true, then Erich would now have a family and a home to call his own. Which meant it was his duty as a man to fight in their defense. He had to admit, Emrys was an extremely cunning man. He knew just what Erich needed to move forward as a loyal subject of the Empire. And although Erich lamented the idea, he begrudgingly accepted the Grand Admiral's offer.

"Alright... You have yourself a deal. But no funny business. If you even think if fucking me over like you did to Butcher, then I will make it my life's mission to destroy the Empire and everyone in it!"

Despite this threat, Emrys merely chuckled, as if he found it to be humorous. He then walked towards the nearby windows and gazed upon the world of Germania, and all of its glory. The star was casting its light upon the glimmering towers of the worldwide city, and in doing so created an almost awe-inspiring atmosphere. Which was perfect for the words that Emrys had prepared well in advance.

"It is the dawn of a new era, one that you and I will forge together.... As I have said before, the Empire owes you a debt that can never be repaid, and it would be quite ungrateful of us to return your sacrifice with an act of malice.

You can rest easy, Erich. I have no plans of turning against you. But I also understand it will take some time for trust to be properly established between us. Thus, I intend to spend every day until then, making things up to you.

You should get some rest. It has been some time since you perished in defense of the Empire, and it will be awhile before you become accustomed to the way things are now.... When you are ready, come to my office, and I will set you up with your new wife, and home.…"

After saying this, Emrys left the room, where Erich was once more all alone. Rather than take pride in his accomplishments, or joy in the new life which awaited him, he instead fell down onto the nearest bed, and cried his eyes out. Now that he had some time to grieve, he would do so properly.