***
--- Fort Alnus, Field Hospital ---
February 21st, 2026
Rory is standing in this large white room within the US Army Field Hospital.
As the Apostle of Death and War, she has seen many horrors on the battlefield. Soldiers cut to pieces, blood everywhere, body parts missing, and so on. On the battlefield she is fine by the sight, it makes sense.
However, she hates coming to the hospital. Seeing wounded soldiers in a place like this makes it harder to separate the battlefield and the wounded. Here at the hospital, she feels bad for the wounded.
Today she has found the hospital unusually busy. About thirty wounded soldiers from the Elies Region were critically flown here for surgery. While NATO is occupying most of the region, the Empire is refusing to let it go uncontested. Now that the Ticaret Conglomerate is helping the Empire in the west she knows there are going to be far more dead Other Worlders before this war is over.
That is why at every chance she got she has been collecting the souls of the Other Worlders and sending them to Emroy. It has not been easy, but she believes it is the least she can do is protect the souls of the one who dies for her world freedom. The worst part is that because this is not the battlefield, she can't collect their souls. She hopes that Emroy collects their souls without her guidance.
But today she is not supporting the Other Worlders but her friend Myuute Luna Sires.
Myuute is standing right next to her, looking through a window. She looks terrified as she watches the surgery inside the cleanroom.
She reaches over and takes Myuute hand to help comfort her. "It will be ok Myuute."
"They are cutting into his head!" Myuute said. "How is that good? He is going to die!"
She looks up at her. "I don't think they wouldn't do this to him if it will kill him."
"But they are cutting into his head," Myuute said again.
Myuute informed her of what happened in Alnus while she was at Mount Tube. Her police partner was initially controlled by a brain slug, a creature used by the Haryo Tribe. They are assuming the Haryo Tribe did this to Miloslav Suchanek during the earthquake.
What is bothering her is that she has never heard of either these slugs or the Haryo Tribe before. She has faced what the Americans jokingly nickname as 'Man Bear Pig'. This a reference from an old TV show called South Park. Sometimes she hears them call them pigmen for short, but she didn't know they had been fighting the Haryo Tribe the whole time.
She watches as the doctors did their surgery on Miloslav. She sees them digging into the back of Miloslav's head. She has no idea how any of it works.
The doctor who explained how the surgery will work is a Polish doctor named First Lieutenant Ewa Kowalski. She is assisting an American Major who is doing the main part of the surgery.
"Ewa explained how everything will work," she said. "The doctors X-rayed Miloslav head which allows them to see inside without having to cut open. She said it is like taking a picture but inside the body. That is how they see the slug and how they will be able to cut it out. Everything will be fine."
She looks at her friend, trying to cheer her up. She can still see that Myuute is still worried.
"Hey," she said. "I didn't know you two were in love."
"I didn't know either," Myuute said. "When he was acting strange, I thought he just needed space. But he just kept getting more distant until he didn't want to be around. For some reason, we started getting into fights just going on patrol together."
"Sounds like marriage to me," She said as she chuckles. She looks over and sees Myuute not thrilled by the joke. "Sorry…"
"That is when Tyuule told me about the slug," Myuute said.
She heard about that. Tyuule helped NATO take down the Haryo Tribe within the city.
"But he was about to kill Tyuule and everyone else with a grenade," Myuute said. "Either I found a way to stop him or the MPs would kill him. I had to try and make him remember."
She chuckles as she watches the surgery. "Nothing more powerful than the woman's heart. Good job Myuute."
She sees the doctors remove the slug out of Miloslav's head.
Ewa Kowalski walks over and shows them the slug. "The operation was a success. We will begin patching him up shortly. Everything will be ok."
Hearing that both give each other a celebrating hug.
She then looks over and sees the little slug and is impressed that something so small can cause so much damage.
She heard that others were infected by these slugs, mostly kids. The Other Worlders have a more innocent perspective when it comes to children. They do not expect them to do evil acts so when the Haryo Tribe brainwashed them, no one would expect a thing.
Now that Miloslav is freed the others will be freed from the slugs.
"Well, I am happy for you two," She said.
"Thank you," Myuute said. "I am just glad he is ok."
"Same," She said. "Take some time, maybe go to Earth and solidify both of your love. Getaway from all this."
"Thank you, Rory," Myuute said.
***
--- Alnus Community ---
February 24th, 2026
Lillie Hauroth of Jagith’s adventurer party is walking through the streets of Alnus. She is with the other five members of the party, looking around the town.
She is looking down at this book within the Alnus Marketplace. Right now, she is holding a jewel. "These are well crafted. Do they do anything?"
"No, they don't," the booth seller said.
"That is strange," She says and then looks to Liz, the party lizard mage. "What other purposes would they have?"
"If these jewels have not been turned into amulets or other power stones," Liz said. "I have seen these in the Magic Guild where I was trained, waiting for an alchemist to make them useful."
Liz then looks to the salesman. "Is there an alchemist station here in Alnus? I was under the impression the Other Worlders do not have magic."
"No, they don't," the salesman said.
"Then why are you selling so many?" She asked. "It is strange you are selling jewels in this manner."
"The salesman smirks. "Most of my customers are female soldiers from Earth. They like how they look. Turning them into something you wear like rings, neckless. Let me explain this to you. Selling Other Worlder woman anything that is colorful, and shiny is big bucks."
"Bucks?" She asked, confused by the term.
"I am sorry," The salesman said. "Their version of coins."
"I see," she said as she holds up the red jewel. "Are people on their world that rich?"
"It is strange that they value such important materials for fashion," Liz said.
"Women, right?" The salesman said. "They will buy any dumb thing that's pretty."
She glares at him. "Jerk."
Then Harthdru Falith walks up. "Let's go. Karther got out of jail and we are meeting up with him and the rest."
She waves Harthdru off. "Coming."
"What was he in jail this time?" she asks.
"Being drunk," Harthdru said. "You know him. He likes to live free."
"I see," she replies. "I do recall the AMP's saying don't wonder around drunk."
"These people and thier damn laws," Gorgth says. "How stupid."
As Harthdru and Liz walk away she stops Liz and looks at him. "Liz. Do you think Karther will like this?" She holds up a green, emerald jewel. "Maybe I can have it around my neck as the prick said?"
Liz looks at her and smiles. "I don't think he will care."
She lowers her hand and drops the jewel on the table and starts walking. "It was a stupid question."
Liz walks beside her and smiles. "You of all people should know what he values."
"Money and vagina," she mumbles.
She thinks back on when she first became an Adventure. Her mother was a prostitute, and she was destined to join that laugh. Karther helped sponsor her into the Guild and since then she has been loyal to him, willing to follow him anywhere.
"You forgot to drink but that is fine," Liz said with a chuckle. "However, I did find the jewel looking good on you, matching your eyes."
She smiles. "Thank you lizardman."
All three of them head over to the others. They are meeting up at this coffee store that is owned by someone from Texas.
There she sees her father figure Gorgth Braoen, an old man who once was a soldier in the Imperial Army. Vauo Durgu the High Elf archer, he is holding an espresso drink. And there is Karther Jagith, Rank S party leader.
"I see they let you out of jail?" she said. "I am shocked they didn't put you in the dungeon."
"They don't have one," Gorgth replies.
"Whatever," Karther comments, not pleased. "This place has no brothels, only drinks. There's nothing fun here. How is there a military base with no brothel? It is Rondel all over again."
"I guess it is time to find a woman," she said with a chuckle.
Vauno takes a drink from his espresso. "I don't know. I like these drinks."
Liz looks at him. "Vauno. How many have you had?'
"Seven," Vauno said with a laugh.
Gorgth then takes away Vauno espresso and tosses it. "No more. You shouldn't sell out your principles for food and drinks."
She smirks at what Gorgth said. He has always been the most principled one of the groups, because of his military background. It is common for parties to break up quickly, especially larger ones like theirs. His boldness and Karther’s leadership have kept this party going far longer than most.
"Besides," Gorgth said. "We shouldn't get too cozy with these people."
"Gorgth is right," Karther said. "Our job is to establish a Post here for the Guild."
"And be the first one to reap the profits of such a Post," Harthdru comments.
Right then a helicopter flies over the town as it heads to the west. She has seen this happen many times, being close to a military base.
"That is the problem," Vauo said. "With all of their power, there hasn't been much profitable work."
"The problem here is that things are too peaceful," Harthdru said. "All we have done is pity work."
"Not everything is about money," Liz said. "There is a lot here to learn. Isn't that part of why we are here."
"Liz is right," she said as she looks around. "It might be peaceful, but a lot is happening. There is a lot of trading. The police guards are not brutal thugs. Women are treated decently; I even have seen some as shop sellers. We just have to adopt and find where the profit might be."
She looks around and sees children running around, women and men walking around. Shops everywhere with both men and women running them. The shops are nice and tell strange items and they have very exotic clothes and tools.
What amazes her the most is the status of women within the town. Women of all races walking around town free to do what they please, which is something she is not accustomed to. Freedom to talk with the males of this town and the rights to own shops.
On top of that, she is impressed by how much energy the Other Worlders Military Police put in protecting the female spaces within the cities like the Clothes Washing Market. While Karther is incredibly angry that there is not a brothel in Alnus. After an Adventure he always like to celebrate in the arms of a woman, just without the baggage of a relationship like commitments.
She does not mind that but is also surprised that there is not. The deep desire for men to have sex with a woman can be strong and with all these soldiers here, she expected this place to be full of whores. She does not have an issue with the line of work as she had sex with a male prostitute twice. It was more out of pure pressure from her party members than pure desire.
While most women are not treated horribly in the civilized cities within the Empire, however, they are mostly still second-class citizens. Very few opportunities for them besides managing the house and raising children. That is why she took the offer of being an Adventurer, it was one of the few lives outside the brothel or home she could take.
She looks back at the party. "There has to be something? Everyone looks civilized and civilized people never want to do dirty work."
"We are not messenger boys Lillie," Karther said. "We are Adventurers. What we do is in the name. Escorting a wagon is fine once and a while but we go raid old ruins, kill monsters and come back to drink and be heroes."
"I don't think many people here see us as heroes," Gorgth said as he glances around. "These people don't seem to want our help. Their loyalty seems to be lost."
"With all due respect, Gorgth, the Empire was never loyal to us," Vauno said. "Especially non-humans. I am not the biggest fan of all these rules these people have. For a people who talk about freedom, there seems little of it."
"I don't see slaves," she comments. "But I do miss that boy. I wouldn't have to carry this heavy bag everywhere."
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Not seeing slaves here has been the most baffling sight. Every town and city she has ever been to have slaves. Even Rondel has slaves even though they have the lowest amount in the Empire. Seeing no slaves in Alnus made her and the others feel like they are in a different world. While she likes how women are treated here, she is still struggling in accepting the lack of slave labor here, that being defiance of the natural order of things.
She then notices these three people standing there. She can see them glancing at them but in a negative way.
Being an Adventurer usually means when you walk into a town you are treated with a massive amount of respect and honor. During her time as one, she grew accustomed to getting that respect. She has yet to notice such respect here.
"And did you say in the meeting that Italica and Elbe hate us for what happens," she said.
"I don't care," Karther said. "If these people didn't arrive the Imperial Court would have resolved this mess with Italica and Elbe long ago."
"Is there a reason we gathered here?" she asked. "Otherwise, I am going to go find some pity work. I am hungry after all."
Karther takes a drink from a bottle. "While I was at the Alnus Military Police station, I was able to get us some work. It seems like they are overstretched with what happened with that attack. A farmer crops is being stolen by someone and he is about eleven leagues from Alnus. The military is too busy, and the police don't want to send anyone to deal with it."
She smiles hearing that. "A real mission. Well, close enough."
"I like that," Harthdru said. "And maybe we can finally get some respect from these worthless people."
"They will never respect us if you keep calling them that," Liz comments.
"Either way it will get us out of the town for a few days," Karther said. "We leave in one hour so gather your gear."
As everyone leaves, she walks over to Gorgth and then grabs his arms. "Hey, are you ok?"
Gorgth looks at her and smiles. "I am fine."
"I noticed you haven't been happy here," she replies. "Want to talk?"
Gorgth looks at her. "Be careful with these people."
"What do you mean?" she asks. "I honestly never felt safer."
"I guess that is the difference between men and women. You value safety the most." Gorgth said.
"Well, you don't have to worry about getting raped by some low life," she said, crossing her arm. One bad moment and puff."
Gorgth smiles and places his hand on her shoulder. "Never will let that happen."
Gorgth then looks around. "Look though. They have savages like Warrior Bunnies freely walking around. This place isn't natural."
She looks around and understands what he means. All her life she has heard propaganda from the Empire that Humans need to be in charge. All other races had their shot and failed, and Mankind needs to lead the way otherwise darkness will come.
She sees four females, one Warrior Bunny, one a Cat-Person, and the other two are Humans and they are all standing there, one of the Humans being am AMP. They are laughing, enjoying themselves as they talk about the two cute kids standing there.
As an Adventurer she remembers many missions having to hunt Warrior Bunnies because they are a threat to civilization if free. That always was a dangerous mission to do.
"Didn't you fight the Warrior Bunnies?" she asked.
"That was my last campaign before retiring to become an Adventurer," Gorgth said. "Twenty years serving the Empire."
As long as she has known him, he likes to brag about his military record. He has mentioned that he was part of the invasion of the Warrior Bunnies homeland however he rarely talks about it. She knows he lost a lot of good soldiers and friends in that campaign. While the Empire won, it was a bloody war.
Sometimes she wonders what it might be like in the Empire Army. Women are not allowed to serve and some stories Gorgth talks about, she is glad she cannot join. She would hate to become friends with her comrades just to watch them die like that. In big bloody battles with all the gore and screams that come with it.
"Look at this Lillie," Gorgth continues. "The Empire has spilled much blood and treasure to keep these lands safe. We brought order and peace. And now these strangers are trying to rip everything down."
"You were upset about the slavery stuff," she said.
"Weren't you upset about them taking away your property?" Gorgth asked. "These people claim to respect property rights but look at what they did with you. No compensation either."
"You see Lillie," Gorgth continues. "They have the balls to say that our ways are wrong because they have more powerful weapons. As I said, these people are not even from there. I honestly feel like I betrayed my country just being here. I cannot believe how many people are here, even Humans. All the other cities have given up their station for these Other Worlders. I hope their sin is worth it in the end because all this will explode from within."
She crosses her arms. "I hate economics and politics. I miss the days we didn't have to think about all this. Just sit by a fire, sing songs. Get drunk and be heroes. I just don’t understand why they freed my boy. He was so useful. It makes me wonder."
She then looks at him, remembering that conversation between Panchi and Gorgth(1). They were talking about how dangerous this works will be if the Other Worlders abolish slavery.
"Gorgth. Is it even possible for these people to abolish slavery?" she asks. "I hate to admit it, this place looks and feels better than most."
"I have been around Falmart all my life," Gorgth responds. "Slavery is not just an economic tool. Yes, they are needed to harvest crops and manufacture. It is also to provide social order and stability. You really should read the teachings of Idos more closely."
"Too many fancy words in those religious books," she replies. "I doubt any of these people would ever return back to that life."
Gorgth thinks about that. "Don't let your emotions get in the way from the truth. It all looks great but that doesn't make it right. Let's go, Karther is waiting."
***
--- Alnus Community, Liberty Apex ---
February 24th, 2026
Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe cheers his mug with three others and takes a drink. "Damn that is thick."
"Only the best my friend," Captain Karol Kowalski said with a cheerful laugh.
"You Polish and your beer," He mumbles.
"You have such a weak stomach Jackson," Rory says as she laughs. She then takes another drink.
Karol laughs hearing Rory say that. "Get conquered and rebel a few times you develop a tough stomach."
"Ha, ha, ha," he replies as he takes another drink.
"You have never been a big drinker Sharpe," Captain Ryder Watson said.
He shakes his head and then feels a tug on his dress uniform jacket. He looks and sees Selina sitting on the table looking up at him. She is in her favorite red and black dress with bows around it. "What is it brat?"
"Can I have a taste of that?" Selina asks.
He thinks on that and tells her no but just loud enough to make sure Sarah could hear that, just in case. He then looks behind the soldier in front of him to make sure Sarah is not looking. "Albert. Take two light steps to the right."
Once Albert does that, blocking Sarah's potential view he hands his mug to Selina. "Our little secret." He whispers.
Selina takes the mug and takes a sip from the mug. "It's strong."
Karol laughs from that.
"We will make a man out of you kid," Bailey comments.
He then takes the mug away, not wanting her to have too much to drink.
Selina smiles. "Who is the funny sounding soldier?"
"Funny sounding?" Ryder asked, shocked.
They all burst out laughing after hearing that.
“Definably Jackson kid,” Johnson said.
"Don't worry about him, Selina. He is just a paperweight Australian." He replies, still chucking.
"Paperweight!" Ryder says in disbelief. "We did three missions together. You were at my wedding."
"Definitely a paperweight," Bailey comments.
He points his mug at Ryder. "Who was the one who got shot, screaming in pain for his mother. And who was the one who had rushed out into the open in a hail of gunfire and dragged your ass back to safety."
"Yeah!" Selina said with pride.
Ryder looks at him with disbelief. "That was Call of Duty you moron."
He busts out laughing with everyone else around him.
"What just happened?" Selina asked, confused now.
"Men being men, Selina," Rory replies and takes a drink.
He looks back at Selina. "This is Captain Ryder Watson of the 1st Australian Commandos. This smelly Frenchie fellow is Major Grégoire LeBeau of the French 13th Parachute Dragoon special forces. The Canadian is Captain Derek Castle from their Special group. The Italian here is Captain Martino Bottoni, part of the famous 9th Paratroopers Assault Regiment. And here is Captain Lorenzo Santos Sá from the Brazilian Spec-Ops. I have yet to work with you on the field but heard a lot about you SOBs."
"What does SOB mean?" Selina asks as she looks up at everyone.
He looks at her and then everyone else. He can see no one wants to answer the question. He would however he know Sarah will murder him later. "Tell you when you’re older."
"Ok," Selina said and then points. "And he is SAS man Captain Albert Nelson. You are the Polish Captain Karol Kowalski. I met both of you at the gym."
"What about me kid?" Johnson asked.
"I already know you and Bailey," Selina said.
"And who is this? I have seen him on base with you," Rory said.
"I am Captain Yoji Itami," Itami said. He then extends his hand.
"My," Rory said as she blushes. She takes his hand and shakes it. "You’re cute."
Hearing that he glances down at Rory. He wonders if she is teasing him or if she means what he said. He then wonders why he cares so much. "Be good Rory."
"Have all of you worked with my father before?" Selina asks.
"I would say about half of us in some manner," Albert said. "He was stationed in South East Asia, so he mainly works with the countries there."
"Your father has a deadly reputation in the Special Forces community back on Earth," Ryder said. "You think the shit he does here is insane, but this is pretty normal."
"Excluding the demi-gods," he mumbles.
"Interesting," Rory said as she takes a big drink.
"Rory," Albert said. "You do realize you have a big reputation in the SF community too?"
Rory's eyes widen and point to herself. "Me?"
He looks down at her and smiles. "Of course. Back on Earth, our fights are being studied by these people to learn how to fight better. You have a pretty big fan club."
Rory laughs and then smirks evilly. She places her hand on top of her chest and laughs. "Wow. A bunch of grown old strong manly men looking at pictures and videos of little old me. Without my knowledge to."
Rory then places her hand on Sharpe’s arm and lightly slides her hand down it. "It makes me wonder what you boys are doing with the images of my young, beautiful figure." She then glances at all of them and winks.
All of them look at her in disbelief and then they all burst out laughing.
"Where did you meet these people?" Martino asked.
"All this time we’ve been hearing about you Colonel kicking ass and taking names. Literally slaying dragons but it seems all you do is flirt with the ladies." Derek said.
Before he could respond he feels Rory’s grip on his arm tightens. He looks over and sees this evil glare in her eyes.
"Who are these ladies he speaks of?" Rory demands.
"You," He responds like it is nothing.
Rory looks away, back to normal. "Ok."
Grégoire takes a long drink and finishes his mug. "I am going to go throw up. The princess of darkness is a bit much."
"Glad I was able to help!" Rory says with a smile.
As Grégoire walks away, Bailey looks over to him. "Hey. Don't forget the white flag.
Hearing that everyone bursts out laughing again.
---
Sarah looks behind her as all the guys laugh. "They are so loud."
"Looks like the Frenchman had enough," April points out as she drinks her wine.
"I have to admit I do enjoy Human high-class life," Tuka said as she drinks. "I wonder if I can drink as many as Legolas."
"Of course, Lord of the Rings," Keira Hill said.
"I wouldn't try, Tuka," she suggests. "That is a lot of alcohol."
"Actually, let her do it," Delilah said. "It will be funny."
"I think I am getting dizzy," Lelei said.
She looks to take and takes the wine glass away from Lelei. "You need to learn to slow down. Enjoy the win."
"It is not a contest Lelei," Keira said with a chuckle.
"It is tasty though," Lelei said, upset that the wine glass is taken away.
"You Humans have weak stomachs," Delilah says as she drinks a full glass.
"My husband would say something like that," Ewa Kowalski said.
"You two are married, right? Both military spouses?" she asks.
"May I ask why you care, Sarah?" April asks in a cheeky tone, implying a different meaning.
"Knock it off April," she said. "I am just wondering."
"Yes," Ewa said. "We knew each other from high school but got married while in the army."
"Why is it?" Pina asks. "Isn't it stressful working together?"
"It can be at times," Ewa replies. "But you just need to know how to handle each other. For us, the Army has helped because we know how to work through problems. After all, we understand each other."
"Interesting," she replies.
She thinks about what Ewa said. She has wondered what life would be like if she and Sharpe got married while both still serving in the army. Her father was a Captain in the Army, but her mother wasn't.
"So Lelei. I know you are a bookworm and all, but do you have a boyfriend?" April asks.
Lelei looks around and most of the ladies lean in. She blushes bright red as she tries to answer the question. "Boyfriend? No."
She giggles hearing that. "Ladies. If Lelei comes home with a boy, Jackson will murder him. He probably will be able to hide the body and none of us will ever know about it."
"That is true," Lelei said. "Alicia Moore asked this question and The Lieutenant Colonel said something similar. But that's nothing compared with Selina if she brings back a boy."
"What would he do?" Delilah asks.
Lelei thinks about the question. "It is similar but besides hiding the body he said he would hand it on the streetlight. And with the boy blood, he writes on the body 'I dare you'. And I got the impression he was leaving out details." She then thinks about that for a moment. "I found that very interesting."
She looks at Lelei and finds it fascinating that she finds everything she just said perfectly normal. Just shows how safe she feels around Sharpe.
"He is definitely a dad," April said and takes a long drink.
"Are all dads like this with you Humans?" Delilah asked. "We don't have males, or I have never seen one before. So, I don't understand this father's business."
She looks to Tuka, April, and Keira. All of them nod their heads. "Yup. It is a dad thing. You know if you have a good dad if he threatens to murder the boy you bring over."
"My dad didn't care," Pina said as she takes a long drink.
As she bonds with her girlfriends, talking about their relationships, work, picking on Lelei more she feels this pull on her dress uniform.
She looks over and sees Rory.
"Sarah. Did you invite Yao?" Rory asked. "Is she supposed to be one of these strippers I heard about?"
"Who and what stripper?"
None of that made sense to her. There is no way she would ever invite a stripper. She does not even think Sharpe would care for such things. Maybe one of the other officers might do something like that as a joke but not here.
"And did you say, Yao? The Elf we helped?"
Rory points towards the guys.
She looks over and sees the Dark Elf standing there.
---
Yao walks up to where all the males are at. She sees Sharpe standing there, laughing with the others. She sees the little girl called Selina sitting on the table looking up at them all.
She saw all the females on the other side of the room. She barely understands Human customs and assumes because they are all separated none of them must be together romantically.
"Hello there Jackson Sharpe," she said.
Sharpe and the others look at her.
She bows. "Thank you for all your help in saving my people. I am forever in your debt."
"Ahh…" Sharpe mumbles. "You’re welcome. It was a team effort but yeah. Help yourself."
She stands fully us and then reaches inside her cloak. She pulls out a chain and hands it to him. She can see this confused look on his face.
"Because you saved my people and allowed us to grow and rebuild, as part of our custom, I belong to you." She explains and then pushes the cloak off.
Once the cloak is off, she is wearing sluttish clothing, to maximize her figure. She knows that the female form is a powerful sight for a male and she wants to show her gratitude for saving her people. She can see his eyes were eyeing up her body, including the others.
She does not feel as confident as the other men staring at her. She wanted to do this in private however she has found it strangely hard to get a meeting with Sharpe.
"Please have me, master. I am all yours." She said as she smiles.
Sharpe looks back up at her. "What the fuck…. Look, lady… Yao. I don't believe in slavery."
"None of us do," Johnson said in an annoyed tone.
"Slavery is the sin of everything," he continues. "I find it personally disgusting. We all do."
She looks at him, confused about what just happened. She heard that they outlaw slavery, but she did not realize this includes willing slaves. "But…"
She then hugs him tightly, pushing him into the booth. She gets onto his lap, feeling desperate. It is her people's customs to become a slave to the one you are indebted to. Like most Dark Elves, her tribe does not use currency, so this is how they pay off their debts.
"Please master," she said. "I belong to you. I will have your children and… ahh!"
She suddenly feels the chain being pulled and she flies back.
---
Sharpe sits there all sweaty and confused. He watches as Yao flies away and lands on the ground.
He then sees Tyuule standing there with the chain in her hand.
"Slavery is outlawed here, you witch!" Tyuule yells as she looks down at Yao, scaring the Dark Elf. "It is not a game!"
He then looks over to the left and sees Sarah and Rory standing there. Their eyes look like they are about to murder someone.
"Did you invite her?" Rory asked.
"And what was this about babies?" Sarah asked.
He looks over to and sees the guys trying to warn him to 'tread lightly'.
He looks back, scared to death. He never thought he would rather fight Taylin and Jasis than being here but right now he wishes he is. "I have no idea what is happening. She is all yours…?"
"We will take out the trash," Sarah said.
He then sees both Sarah and Rory walk away. Rory grabs Yao’s chain and then drags her by the chain. He sees all three of them leave into the back room. Yao has this scared to death look on her face.
"Well… that was interesting," Bailey said.
"What do you mean by interesting?" Delilah asks, appearing beside him.
Bailey looks to his girlfriend and gets scared. "Ahh… in a sense… it was strange. That is what I meant."
He looks away. "What the hell just happened?"
Tuka walks up. "She is a Dark Elf. They live off the land and have no desire to adopt modern methods. They prefer to be isolationists, so they don't have currency. As payment, they become the personal slave until the debt is paid."
"It is not just some sick fetish like you see in the Empire," Tuka continues. "It is a discipline method. You are less likely to do something that hurts the tribe because whatever the debt is you have to give yourself up. It helps keep order. My people once did something like that, but we abandoned it once we opened ourselves up to Falmart."
Lelei then walks up. "I can confirm that. One of my old tribe members has a Dark Elf because he saved her. It is their way." She then thinks for a moment. "Remember Frayen? Krysist Apostle. He was a Dark Elf who called Krysist his master all the time."
He looks at both Tuka and Lelei. "I don't get paid enough for this."
He then looks past them. "Tyuule. Thanks for the save."
"You’re welcome," Tyuule said with pride. "I expect a good tip now."
They have some cheerful laughter hearing that, everyone letting out some stress.
"She did have a cute cloth though," Selina said.
He looks over at her and Selina can tell she is in trouble. "We are having a long talk when we get home."
"Oh no…" Selina mumbles.
He gets up and rejoins the conversation with everyone.
Itami stands there rubbing his head. "Glad you are the hero. It makes me wonder what it might be like if roles were reversed."
"Far simpler I believe," he replies.
"What do you think Rory and Sarah are going to do with her?" Johnson asked.
"I have seen and done some dark things in the name of my country," he said. "I think most of us have. I don't think any of that is going to compare to what they will do to her."
"Nothing scarier than a female fury," Lorenzo points out. "Cheers. For your promotion Sharpe."
They all grab their mugs and cheer their glasses. As they all take a drink, he sees Tyuule walk up with a mug.
Tyuule has been serving them tonight, providing the drinks and food, which was nice.
"Hello Lieutenant Colonel," Tyuule said. "For what it is worth, it has been an honor. I hope to work with you in the future."
For a while now she got the impression that she did not like him that much. After everything she has been through, he did not blame her. He knows he does not need everyone's approval and gave her the space she needed.
He clashes his mug with hers. "It is an honor. To victory and hopefully one day, liberation."
"I will hold you to that Jackson," Tyuule said. She then smiles and takes a drink.
As he takes a drink, he sees someone else walk into the bar. To his surprise it is Lieutenant Commander Daniel Richman, leader of Seal Team-3.
Daniel walks up to him.
He can see he is a bit uneasy. They have a strange past. A mission went bad and neither of them have ever been able to resolve it.
But they had to work together during the Sadera Raid(2). They had to put aside their differences for the mission. Then Daniel saved them during a rescue mission in Legreth(3).
“Hello Lieutenant Colonel,” Daniel said.
“Lieutenant Commander,” he replies.
“I heard you got a promotion,” Daniel said. “I was wondering who you had to bribe.”
Daniel then holds out a hand.
He looks at his hand and decides to take it.
“Congratulations,” Daniel said.
“Thank you,” he replies. “Make yourself at home.”