Chapter 26 All In

Erich stood on board the flight deck of the Carrier which he served on. Standing in front of him was none other than Commander Erwin Wulf, who was absolutely livid with Erich for the actions he had taken during the brief interview he had with the field reporter known as Hedda Andersson.

Like everyone else in this conflict, Erwin was being pushed beyond the natural limits of his body and mind with no way to vent his stress but through the excessive use of tobacco, and by killing the enemy on the battlefield.

As a result, he instinctively took advantage of this situation to vent the frustrations he had with his daily life on the first member of his unit to act out in the eyes of the public. The man was smoking a cigarette, as was Erich, as he took a long drag before puffing out the smoke in his subordinate's face. An act which Erich simply tolerated, while wearing a stoic expression on his face, waiting for the eventual eruption that his commander would have. Which came soon thereafter.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Silber? You can't just assault a reporter like that! Especially when you are being broadcasted to the rest of the empire. For fuck's sake, if you really have to knock some sense into the dense cunt, then do so when you aren't being filmed, you fucking mongoloid!

These fucking interviews are supposed to fill the people back home with hope about the current conflict which we are waging. And your retarded ass decided to go ahead and reveal that we are all a bunch of chem addled junkies who are being forced to fight all day long! I know your monkey brain didn't stop to think about this, but that reflects poorly on the Admiralty!

Do you have any idea about the firestorm you have started on the grid because of your actions? Half of the people are pissed at you for lashing out against that fucking bitch, and the other half are now questioning the government for what they are doing to us! It doesn't help that the Supreme leader is off on an extended visit to the Alfheim Dominion, along with the rest of the senior leadership of the party!

The Admiral in charge of the Fleet wants me to revoke the Iron Cross that I am supposed to give you for your feats at Therakles, but I told him he can suck a bag of dicks, because you more than earned it! One hundred enemy fighters shot down in a single battle, that's some damn good fucking flying kid, so take this stupid piece of metal and wear it with pride, because at this rate you have made the Admiral's shit list, and you likely won't be seeing another award for the rest of your career!"

Erich was astonished that the Commander could both chew his ass out, and tongue it at the same time. He took the medal which was given to him and observed it closely. It was nearly identical to the Iron Cross First Class, which was issued to German soldiers during the Second World War of Earth's history. Although the swastika in the center had been replaced with the Black Sun, which was the symbol emblazoned on the Germanic Star-Empire's flag.

After looking at the medal for some time, Erich smiled and stashed it away for later use during a time when we he was required to wear his dress uniform. After which, the commander looked at him as if he were an imbecile before screaming at him once more.

"Well, what the fuck are you waiting for? We have a war to win!"

With this said, Erich raised his arm and saluted his commander, before repeating the battle cry that so many other Germanic soldiers shouted.

"Hail Victory!"

After saying this, he dashed off towards his Scimitar Bomber and climbed into its cockpit before flying down towards the frozen planet known as Skia'an, where he then continued his bombing campaign against the Dvrakian Army who struggled to maintain their hold over the world.

---

After his twenty-two hour shift was over, Erich returned to his bunk with a cigarette in his mouth. He had stripped entirely out of his flight suit and into his compression shorts before even stepping into his quarters.

He was just about to climb into the grimy bed which he shared with twelve other men via a rotation of sleeping shifts, when he saw a light was on in a small corner of the room. Curious about what was going on, Erich walked over to the light and found that several of his fellow pilots were engaging in an illegal gambling match, where they were betting their share of contraband, smuggled off of the Dvrakian worlds and into the fleet.

As a pilot in the Starfighter Corps, Erich was obligated to report any misconduct he might have towards his superiors, but after four months of nonstop combat he could not care any less about regulations, and thus, he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, to which one of his fellow black sun pilots smiled and welcomed him to their little game.

"Silber! I never thought I would see you of all people join us. If you've got contraband, then you are more than welcome to play your hand. Don't tell me you came to us empty-handed?"

Erich was more confused about why his fellow pilots were not getting the little sleep they were permitted to have and were instead wasting their time with gambling. Which he was quick to ask about.

"Why aren't you guys sleeping? I mean, even pumped full of stims, I can barely get through the day without taking out my service pistol and blowing a hole in my head..."

The four men chuckled, before one of them handed Erich a small bottle of blood red liquid, to which he responded to Erich with a playful tone in his voice.

"Go ahead, drink it. I promise you that it is not what you think it is.'

Erich took one gulp of the liquid and felt like his mouth was on fire. He quickly handed the bottle back while coughing up a lung. To which his fellow pilots all began to laugh before the man who gave him the beverage in the first place responded.

"That's Dvrakian Fire Whiskey, has a bit of a kick, doesn't it? You see, from what my friends in the Star Marines tell me, the Dvrakians have two livers, meaning it takes a hell of a lot more alcohol to get those bastards drunk than it does us, even without the physical enhancements we have. I have no idea what the hell this shit is made out of, but one shot will put you under the table. I'm surprised you're still sitting upright!"

Erich could barely register what the man had said, because he felt like he had just been hit in the head with a sledgehammer. His fatigued body wanted nothing more than to pass out, but the adrenaline which flowed in his veins as a result of twenty-two hours of combat, and stimulants, prevented him from doing so.

Thus, after nearly five minutes had passed, he finally regained his senses, and yet, he felt like all the fatigue which he had accumulated over the past four months was instantly washed away from his body, as if he had been born anew. He looked at the fellow pilot with a new sense of clarity before asking the immediate question on his mind.

"Vector? Just how the hell do I get my hands on a bottle of that shit?"

To which the man whose callsign was "Vector" smiled before pulling out the bottle which Erich had just drank from, and placed it on the table for all the men to see.

"Beat me in a game of cards, and the bottle is yours. How about it, Silber? Did you manage to get your hands on some loot that is worth my bottle of fire whiskey?"

Possession of contraband of any kind was strictly prohibited, and punished quite severely if discovered. However, Erich just couldn't help himself, and had indeed found some valuable contraband on the Dvrakian Network which could easily land him with ten to twenty years in a penal battalion. Seeing that all the men here were betting illicit items, Erich felt more comfortable revealing his precious secret and thus walked over to his bunk and pulled out a small drive no bigger than the tip of his thumb, where he placed it on the table before speaking the words that nobody expected.

"Two hundred and fifty yottabytes of Dvrakian Porn ripped straight from their interstellar network. If you manage to win, it is all yours, and if I might make a recommendation, I suggest that you use it during your bathroom breaks to release some of your pent up stress."

The four men looked at Erich with a mixture of excitement, horror, and intrigue, they did not know how to react to such information, and remained utterly silent, debating whether or not they should bet for such a rare, and priceless artifact, one which could easily ruin their lives if it was discovered in their possession.

It was not until Vector finally spoke did the tension in the air finally cease, and when he did, he said something that nobody at the table was expecting to hear.

'Damn, Silber, I didn't know you were a slicer! Shit, if you can get your hands on something this valuable, those idiots in the party should have put you to work in intelligence, instead of wasting your talents on being a fucking pilot!"

What the man said was true. Erich was what was known as a "slicer", or in the slang from 21st century Earth, he would be referred to as a "hacker". He was capable of bypassing the great firewall of the Germanic Star-Empire and slicing into the networks of other civilizations. Depending on how he used this talent would either make him a valuable asset of the Empire, or a nasty thorn in its side.

Most citizens of the Germanic Star Empire stayed within the legal confines of the grid, due to the strict penalties that came with slicing. But not Erich. No, he had always skirted on the edge of the law. Not an outright criminal, but also not a perfectly law-abiding citizen either. To Erich, slicing was a great way to get a better understanding of the Galaxy, considering the strict limits that the Empire put on its own network.

When the other pilots heard that Erich was a slicer, and was capable of hacking into the interstellar networks of other civilizations, they immediately became more interested in him. Thus, it came as no surprise when Vector suddenly pulled out his entire stock of the Dvrakian Fire Whiskey, and bet it all on a chance to obtain the sweet taboo of alien pornography.

"All in!"

Following his example, the other gamblers bet everything they had for a chance to see a bunch of Dvrakian girls in the nude, even if it was only on film. Where Erich emerged as the eventual winner of the pot. Having now gotten his hands on a literal treasure trove of contraband, Erich now felt like he would be better able to endure the stressful environment of nonstop combat.